Episodes 14

Memories of the Blue Magical Girl

This story takes place before the in game Magical Girl Raising Project: Restart begins, and after the game ends.

Me? Eh, the Land of Magic? Could it be that this has something to do with Magical Girls? Ehhhhhh?!

Ah, sorry about that. Ah… how shall I put this? Looking for me while I’m walking doesn’t seem very “magical”... ah, that’s not what I meant. I just had my own mental image of how these things would happen. For example, having a giant owl send a letter, or having a witch on a broom deliver it… Sorry abou that.
啊,抱歉。那个……该怎么说呢？走路时找我说话的这种做法，实在不怎么「魔法」……啊,我并不是这个意思啦。我只是擅自想象过这种情境而已。举例来说，像是派巨大的猫头鹰送信来，或请骑着扫帚的魔女带来之类的想象……真的很抱歉。

Eh? Ah, yes. I have time. Then, let’s go to the cafe over there.
咦？啊，是的。我有空。那就去那边的咖啡厅吧。

Blue Comet? Ah, yes. I’ve seen her before. Of course I can’t forget her. It seems it was about two years ago. Let me think… one, two… yes, that’s it. Two years ago. Ah… am I in trouble or something? It doesn’t concern this? Then what does it concern?
蓝色彗星？啊’是的。我的确见过。当然不可能忘记。好像是在距今两年前吧。我想想……一、二……没错。两年前。那个……难道说我惹上什么麻烦了吗？不是这方面？要不然是关于哪方面的事情？

You just want me to tell you about my encounter with her? Okay.
只要叙述我与她的邂逅经过就好了吗？是喔。

Well, ah, two years ago, I was in my third year of middle school. At that time, all I did was prepare for my graduation exams, and even though I felt frustrated, I still had to study. I worked so hard, but my grades kept sliding down, so I spent every day wondering if I ought to lower my standards for my new high school.
这个嘛，两年前的我就读国中三年级。当时做的事情就是准备升学考试,即使感到烦恼也还是得读书，明明那么用功，成绩却不断下滑，所以我每天都在犹豫到底该不该降低志愿学校的标准。

Ah, I’ll have a cafe au lait.
啊，我要咖啡欧蕾。

...Where were we? Right right right, preparing for graduation exams was no fun at all, and I wondered why my life was so boring. Even so, while I felt my life was utterly dull, I didn’t have the courage to break out of the deadlock I was in.
……刚才说到哪里了？对对对。读书准备升学考试一点都不有趣，我不禁心想自己的人生怎么净是一些无趣的事情。觉得这种日子实在无聊透顶，话虽这么说，我也没有勇气打破这种僵局。

That day especially. My luck had been downright awful. My bike’s chain slipped. I was a temp at the library, and so when it closed and I about to go back, I hit a piece of concrete sticking out from the roadside and it made my bike chain slip. At that time, I had no idea how to fix it, nobody was walking past, and I had nobody to turn to.
尤其是那一天，简直就是倒楣透了。自行车竟然脱炼。我是在图书馆当工读生，到了闭馆时间，正打算回家时，却因为撞到路旁水沟凸起的水泥块，害我的车炼就这样松脱。当时的我根本不知道该如何修理。周遭也没有路人经过，根本求助无门。

The sky was getting dark. All I could do was drag my bike under one of the street lights and then I tied everything I could think of to fix the bike chain, but none of them worked. My hands were stained black too. Just as I was starting to feel at a loss, someone suddenly spoke to me.
当时天色已经变暗。我只好将自行车牵到路灯下方，尝试许多方式，想要修好车炼，但完全行不通。我的手也都变得黑漆漆的。正当我感到手足无措的时候，突然有人主动跟我说话。

“Hi~ Are you in trouble?”
「嗨！你碰上麻烦了吗？」

When I turned around, I was nearly scared to death.
转过头去时，真是吓死我了。

She had neatly-trimmed black hair, and kind-looking brown eyes. Those two things alone made her look really mature, but then she turned out to be super beautiful on top of that. I was so fascinated that I just stared dumbly at her. Also, her clothes were really striking. She wore a blue one-piece dress that looked like the traditional attire from some country, along with white stockings and a cape of fluffy pure white fur. Before I started cramming for my graduation exams, I watched a lot of anime and read a lot of manga and light novels too. Now, I’d seen them many times before in stories, but this was the first time I’d ever seen someone wear a cape in real life. And then there was that… well, it should have been an accessory of some sort. Now that I think about it, that black and white striped tiger’s tail she had on might have been real.
一头整齐俐落的黑色短发，以及看似温柔的浅咖啡色瞳孔，单就这两个元素似乎很成熟，结果却是超级美少女。我甚至看到入迷，痴痴地望着她。还有啊，她的打扮也很惊人。仿佛某个国家的传统服饰般的蓝色连身洋装，配上白色的膝上袜，还有蓬松柔软的纯白毛皮制成的斗篷。在我进入升学考试的用功模式前，也看过很多动画、漫画、轻小说等，多到不可胜数。我曾经在故事里看过很多次，却是第一次在现实世界里看到披斗篷的人。还有那个……应该是配件之类的东西吧。现在回想起来，搞不好是真的也不一定，她还长出一条白老虎般的黑白条纹尾巴。

A mysterious bishoujo cosplayer appeared! That was what I thought back then. Now, I could understand if this were some kind of otaku paradise like Akihabara, but why would someone like that show up in a small town like this. I was still confused as the girl pushed me aside and laid hands on my bike. Until now, I still remember that when she pushed me aside, there was a evry nice fragrance.
谜样美少女角色扮演玩家现身！我当时就是这种感觉。如果是在秋叶原那种动漫圣地就算了，为什么会出现在这种小镇？接着，那个少女推开脑袋一团乱的我，碰了我的自行车。直到如今我还清楚记得，被她推开的时候，闻到一股很香的味道。

“Oh, so it’s the bike chain. Let me take a look.”
「喔，车链啊。让我来瞧一下吧。」

Back then, I broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want a stranger to touch my bike, more than I was worried about getting the girl’s clothes dirty. After all, that outfit looked very expensive. Even I knew that stuff like that didn’t come cheap.
我当时真的是捏了一把冷汗。并不是因为不想让陌生人碰自行车，而是担心因此弄脏那个女孩的衣服该怎么办。毕竟那套衣服看起来真的很昂贵。好歹我也具备那种衣服可不便宜的常识。

The girl tilted the bike and hooked up the chain, then rotated the pedals, and in the blink of an eye, it was fixed.
女孩倾斜车身卡上车炼，再转起脚踏板，一眨眼的工夫就修好了。

“Thank, thank you!”
「谢、谢谢你！」

“No problem, I was happy to help. More importantly…”
「不会不会，我也很高兴能够帮上忙。比起这个……」

The girl stuck out her hands. Those slender fingers and her beautiful white palms were now blackened and stained by the oil from the bike chain. I hurriedly took out my handkerchief and wiped her hands. However, I had forgotten something. I had forgotten that my hands had touched the chain as well, and they were just as black and filthy. The handkerchief was one thing, but everything I had touched had turned black as well, and I panicked.
女孩伸出双手。修长的手指以及白晰美丽的手掌，被炼条油弄得又黑又脏。我慌张地拿出手帕，擦拭她的手。不过，我忘了一件事情。那就是我的手也碰过车炼，同样又黑又脏。姑且不论手帕如何，我握过的地方也都变黑了，我立刻恐慌起来。

“Er… that wasn’t what I meant. Forget it, let’s go wash up.”
「呃……我并不是这个意思。算了，先去清洗一下吧。」

The girl took me by the hand and dragged me over to a nearby tap, where we washed our hands side by side. Uwah, she was super cute close up. Oh yes, she had a beauty mark at the corner of her eye. Just as I was thinking, holy crap she’s so cute~ she suddenly looked at me, and I was shocked. I think I shuddered back then, but she did not seem to mind it at all.
那个女孩拉起我的手,带我到附近的水龙头，我们就这样并排在一起洗手。哎呀，不是我在说,近看真的超级可爱的啦。对了，她的眼角有颗爱哭痣。就在我暗自心想「她好可爱喔〜」的时候，她突然看向我这边，害我吓了一大跳。我当时似乎有大大地抖了一下，不过她似乎完全没放在心上就是了。

“Ah, that’s right! I need to give this to you, sorry about that.”
「啊，对了！必须把这个给你，不好意思喔。」

As she shook the water droplets off her hands, she handed me something. It looked like an ordinary corncob from every angle. However, it wasn’t one of those mass-produced things wrapped in plastic, but more like the kind sold at a mom-and-pop store… the kind with varying sizes and shapes.
她一边甩手甩掉水珠，并一边递给我的东西，无论我怎么看，都是个普通的玉米棒。但不是以塑胶袋包装好的工厂量产品，而是会摆在老婆婆经营的杂货铺店头贩售的……大小与外形都不一样的那种。

I had no idea how to respond to the corncob, so all I could do was smile embarrassedly at the girl. While it wasn’t as bad as mine, the girl also had an uncomfortable look on her face.”
不知道该对玉米棒做何回应的我，只好带着尴尬的笑容回望那个女孩。虽然程度不及我，不过那个女孩子也露出一副困惑的表情。

“I want to use this to make a trade with you.”
「我想要用这个跟你交换东西啦。」

“What?”
「什么？」

“A trade, a trade. Anything will do, please.”
「我是说交换，交换啦。任何东西都可以，拜托你了。」

As we had our conversation that could hardly be called a conversation, she was still shaking her hands dry. Perhaps she had been distracted because all her attention was going to our conversation, but she went “Ah!” as one of the hands she was shaking hit a power pole, and knocked a chunk out of it. Chunks of concrete flew out like a shotgun blast… although, I’ve never seen a shotgun before. After that, they hit the wall of the library and left a big crater in it.
我们一边进行谈不上是对话的对话，她仍然一边甩手，想将手上的水甩干。也许是注意力都集中在对话上的关系，才会导致她分心吧。当她发出啊的一声时，用来甩去的手已经狠狠地撞上电线杆，结果电线杆的一部分砰地弹开。水泥块就像霰弹枪的子弹般飞射出去……不过，我没亲眼见过霰弹枪就是了。然后，命中圆书馆的墙壁，变成墙壁凹了一大块。

Her eyes went between the power pool and the library wall and there was a look of “Oh crap!” on her face. As I looked at her… how shall I put this? In any case, I was pretty startled, and a little happy. I mean, after being around for ten-odd years, this was the first time I’d seen a manga-like event like this. Looking back, it actually made me pretty happy.
她的视线在电线杆与图书馆的墙壁之间来回，露出一副「啊！糟糕了！」的表情。我看着那样的她……该怎么说呢？总而言之，我吓了一大跳，以及感到一丝欣喜。活了十几年，第一次目睹这种仿佛漫画情节般的事情。之后回想起来，真的会让人情不自禁地高兴起来呢。

I was entranced by her. My eyes were probably all shiny too.
我整个人都被迷住了。眼神中大概还散发出闪闪光辉吧。

“Are you superhuman? A mutant? An esper? A visitor from outer space? An alien? A monster? A guyver? A machine? A traveller from another world? An angel? A god? An experimental test subject? A witch? An aberrant?”
「你是超能力者？突变种？特异功能？外星访客？外星人？异形？生化人？机器人？异次元旅人？天赐者？神？实验体？妖术师？异种？」

“What?”
「什么？」

“A supersoldier? A zombie? Someone with awakened powers? An Apostle? A devaraja? A demon summoner? A ninja? A Magical Girl?”
「超级战士？殡尸？能力觉醒者？使徒？神将？召唤恶魔的法师？忍者？魔法少女？」

“Eh? How do you know about Magical Girls…”
「咦？你为什么会知道魔法少女……」

“A Magical Girl! You’re a Magical Girl!”
「魔法少女！你是魔法少女吧！」

“Ah, no… er…”
「啊，不是的……呃……」

“Please! I won’t tell anyone else, so please tell me.”
「拜托你！我绝对不会告诉任何人的，请你告诉我吧。」

I had no idea if I were fervently arguing or frantically begging, but in any case I was coming on really strong. In all likelihood nothing like this had ever happened before in my entire life, me being so desperate about something before. I didn’t want to let the first manga-like experience in my life end just like that. With that belief in my heart, I gave it everything I had.
已经分不清楚我是在激动辩驳，还是苦苦哀求，总之就是气势相当惊人。大概在我截至目前为止的人生中，从来没有为了某件事这么拚命过。我不想让人生头一遭的漫画情节般的体验在此画下句点。就凭着这一股信念，我真的豁出去了。

The girl said, “You really can’t tell anyone” and then she told me everything.
那个女孩一边说「真的不可以说出去喔」一边告诉我事情的经过。

Her name was Blue Comet.
她叫做蓝色彗星。

“That, that’s a pretty amazing name.”
「好、好惊人的名字喔。」

“It’s not so bad. Kind of like a stage name or something.”
「还好啦。就像是艺名之类的东西。」

The fact that the Magical Girls I had always thought of as fictional actually existed made my heart race, and I listened to her go on and on.
我一边对原本以为只是虚构的「魔法少女」实际存在一事，感到情绪沸腾不已，一边听她娓娓道来。

Blue Comet was currently being tested on whether or not she was worthy of inheriting her master’s name of Lapis Lazuline. The test was to help “someone in difficulty”, and then trade something with them. During the process of this exchange, she had to steadily improve the quality of the item she possessed. Tomorrow was the deadline, and as long as she managed to trade for something which met with her master’s approval--there were no guidelines for this; “anything that fit the name of Lapis Lazuline” would do--she would pass.
蓝色彗星目前正在接受测验，测试她是否有资格继承师父的名字「菈彼丝•蓝金莉汀」。测试的内容就是帮助市内「有困扰的人」，并与那个人交换物品。必须在这样的交换行为中，一步一步地帮物品升级。明天就是最终期限，只要她交换到能够获得师父认同的好东西——并没有明确的指示，只说要符合「菈彼丝•蓝金莉汀」的物品即可——就能够通过考试。

As she gave that detailed explanation, it was then that I was sure she was a true-blue Magical Girl. In addition, if I let this chance get away, I would never encounter something like it again. I wouldn’t be able to experience a mysterious and fantastic event like this again, and I would live an ordinary, plain life. I’m not saying that such a life is a good or bad thing, but it would definitely be mundane and uninteresting.
她详尽地进行上述的说明，而我也在这个时候确信，她是货真价实的魔法少女，还有，如果让这个机会溜走的话，就再也碰不到了，我就会在从未体验过「不可思议」以及「奇幻历险」的情形下，度过不好也不坏的人生。并不是说这种生活好或不好，但我的人生一定会平凡无奇。

“Blue Comet-san?”
「蓝色彗星小姐。」

“What is it?”
「什么事？」

“In that case, I’ll trade this with you.”
「既然如此，我用这个跟你交换。」

I took out a fountain pen from my bad and showed it to her. I’d bought that fountain pen with that year’s New Year money, and it had cost around 5’000 yen. It was very handy and I treasured it very much. However, it was a price I would gladly pay in order to experience mysterious encounters with a Magical Girl. I gave her the most valuable item I currently possessed.
我从书包里拿出钢笔，秀给她看，那是我用那一年拿到的压岁钱购买的钢笔，价钱大概在五千圆左右吧。非常好用，我很宝贝它。但是，能够用来做为体验魔法少女不可思议经历的代价的话，我绝对不会舍不得。我将自己目前拥有的物品之中，最高价的物品递给她。

“Ohhhh! My corncob levelled up a whole lot! Thank you so much!”
「喔喔！玉米棒一口气升级超多耶。谢谢你喔！」

I evaded her hands as she was about to take it from me, and clasped the fountain pen to my breast.
避开正打算收下东西的她的手，我将钢笔靠近胸前。

“And then… there’s one thing I want to discuss with you.”
「然后……我想跟你商量一件事。」

“What is it?”
「什么事？」

“I’ll trade you the pen… but in contrast, I’d like you to let me follow you.”
「我会用钢笔跟你交换……相反地，我希望你能让我同行。」

Surely she’d reject me. If she rejected me, how about begging her shamelessly? Just as I was pondering the matter, she actually replied without any hesitation, “Well, if those are the terms, then it can’t be helped”, and agreed.
一定会遭到拒绝吧。如果被拒绝的话，该如何死皮赖脸地拜托呢？就在我思考着这件事的时候，她竟然超级干脆地说「如果是交换条件那就没办法了」，并答应了。

And so, I called my mom and told her that a friend’s parents were off attending a relative’s wake and my friend would be home alone, so I would be staying overnight to study at my friend’s place. Since I was a good girl normally, they didn’t suspect anything. Also, I asked Blue Comet to pretend to be my friend and talk to my mom. That said, Mom was a little uneasy because her “Yo~ how are you ~su” didn’t sound like the sort of friend I’d make.
于是，我打电话告诉母亲，朋友的双亲去参加亲戚的葬礼，独自一个人看家，所以我打算住朋友家晚上一起读书。我平日姑且算是个认真乖巧的女儿，因此并没有遭到怀疑。而且，我还请蓝色彗星假扮朋友，跟母亲通电话。虽然母亲因为她那「哟〜你好呀〜」的轻浮问候，感觉不像是我会交的朋友，而心生些许不安就是了。

“Speaking of which, I don’t think I asked your name, did I?”
「这么说来，我还没有问你叫什么名字耶？」

“Ah, I’m Tanitsu Miharu.”
「啊，我叫做谷津三春。」

“Ohhh, Miharruchi.”
「喔喔，三春儿呀。」

“Er… what’s that -chi for?”
「呃……那个儿是？」

“For names that don’t end with -ko, I end them with-chi. If they end with -ko, then I end them with -chan. If they’re more formal names, I use -shi.”
「『子』以外的结尾，就在『儿』。如果是什么『子』的话，就是『小妹』。另外，如果是老派一点的名字，那就是什么『氏』喽。」

In all honesty, I didn’t quite know what she was talking about, but I put on a show of understanding and nodded. Besides, I didn’t know how real Magical Girls differed from the Magical Girls that I knew.
老实说，我并不是很明白她到底在说什么，但还是露出一副明了的表情，点了点头。再说，我也不知道真正的魔法少女，与我所知的魔法少女是否相同。

Ah-ah~ I thought. These must be the rules of being a Magical GIrl.
啊啊〜我当时心想，这就是魔法少女的规则吧。

Magical Girls were pretty mysterious beings after all. I had to pedal with all my might on my bike just to catch up with her pace, but it would seem I was still dragging her down. She had to stop every now and then to turn back and look at me with a “haven’t you caught up yet?” look on her face, and she even sounded sympathetic when she said, “it’s pretty inconvenient to ride a bike, you can’t climb power poles or jump onto roofs.”
魔法少女果然是相当不可思议的人呢。我拚命地踩着自行车才能够勉强追上她的脚程，但似乎还是扯到后腿了。她必须不时停下脚步，转过头看我，脸上露出一副「还没跟上吗？」的表情，还同情地说「骑自行车没办法爬电线杆或是跳到屋顶上，真是不方便呢」。

I was also quite curious about how she would find people in difficulty, and when I asked--
我相当好奇她如何寻找有困扰的人，一问之——

“My instincts tell me. I’ve got a feeling there’s someone in this direction.”
「直觉会告诉我喽。隐隐约约会觉得应该就在这个方向吧。」

--I got that vague answer.
得到如此模棱两可的答案。

In truth, her instincts were quite accurate. After riding in the direction she indicated for about 15 minutes, we discovered an old granny and a white male tourist with a backpack talking in front of a small bus stop. The granny was petite, while the white man was two heads taller than me and very loud, which frightened me a little. The white man seemed to be energetically expressing something, but the granny did not understand him, and all she could do was shake her head in bafflement. Quite a few people were watching from the side, but they only had worried looks on their faces, with no intention of helping.
事实上，她的直觉似乎相当准。沿着她指示的方向骑了十五分钟后，我们在一个小车站前发现一位老婆婆跟一名背包客白人男性在对话。老婆婆相当娇小，而那名白人男性则比我高出两颗头，而且嗓门很大，看起来让人有点惧怕。白人男性似乎正在极力表明什么，但是老婆婆听不懂，只能一脸不解地偏着头。旁边有不少人围观，但只是带着担心的神情，根本不打算帮忙。

Blue Comet inserted herself between the two of them, and began talking to the man. No, that wasn’t a conversation… how should I describe what happened? Both of them were using completely different languages, but for some reason, they managed to communicate. As this mysterious situation unfolded… she pointed to the ticket vending machine, and then the bus bay, and then the two of them smiled and hugged each other. In the end, the foreign man waved happily to us and then took his leave in front of the platform.
蓝色彗星立刻介入两人之间，开始与男子对话。不，与其说是对话……应该怎么形容那个状况呢？双方明明使用完全不同的语言，不知道为何竟然能够顺利沟通。就在这种不可思议的状况下……她指了指售票机，又指向搭车处，然后两人相视而笑，还互相拥抱。最后,那个外国男人一脸愉快地挥了挥手，消失在月台前。

“Question, please… what exactly happened just now?”
「请问……刚才是怎么一回事？」

“He was having a headache because he didn’t know how to get to his destination, so I just told him how to get there.”
「他正在为了不知道该如何搭车去目的地而伤脑筋，我只是告诉他怎么坐而已啦。」

“You understood what he was saying?”
「你听得懂他在说什么吗？」

“Not  at all, but my instincts gave me a pretty good idea of what he meant.”
「完全听不懂，不过大概能够凭直觉明白他的意思。」

That instinct again. Was this the Magic of a Magical Girl?”
又是直觉。这就是魔法少女的魔法吧？

And so, after hiding the truth of the matter and explaining to the granny, the granny said, “My, kids nowadays have such interesting ways of playing,” and then she took out a handkerchief, which she used to trade for the fountain pen. It was an elegant handkerchief printed with patterns of violets… it looked pretty expensive.
于是，她隐瞒重点向老婆婆说明事情经过，老婆婆边说「现今孩子的游戏方式还真是有趣吶」边拿出一条手帕，用来交换钢笔。那是一条绣有高雅的蓳草图案的白手帕……看起来相当昂贵。

After that, the items she traded for kept changing.
在那之后，交换到的物品也一变再变。

One moment, I saw her running up a building… yes, she wasn’t climbing it, she just ran straight up the side. After she went up there, she vanished with a whoosh, then reappeared with another whoosh, running all around and looking for “people in distress”. It took everything I had just to keep up with her.
一下子见她「哒哒哒」地跑上建筑物……没错，并不是攀爬上去，而是跑上去的。跑上去后，又突然咻地消失不见，再咻地现身，总之就是四处奔走，寻找「有困扰的人」。我光是要跟上她的脚步，就大喊吃不消了。

The next moment, I saw her drawing a cartoon character and giving it to a kid who was sticking around while throwing a tantrum, and then I saw her bend a spoon with a magic trick… well, it was just brute strength, but it shut a crying kid up.
一下子又干脆倒落地画出卡通人物，送给闹脾气赖着不走的小孩，还秀了一手折弯汤匙的魔术……其实只是一般的蛮力而已，但成功地让小孩停止哭闹。

“You’re really good at drawing.”
「你好擅长画画喔。」

“Magical Girls can’t survive with just a skill or two. If you learn all manner of skills, you won’t have any difficulty if you run into any problems. That’s what Master taught me.”
「魔法少女可不能只会一招半式，那是无法生存下去的。不管三七二十一先习得技能，碰上状况时，就不会伤脑筋了。这是师父的谆谆教诲。」

And then, there was an OL who had to attend a mixer, but had not done her makeup because she was late, so she was struggling in the bathroom. She swiftly helped the OL do her makeup with just a few quick movements. I feel qualified to comment because I’ve seen makeup being done before, but after her makeup, she looked like a ravishing beauty, though that was basically a deception to begin with. Still, that OL seemed very moved by it.
还有，必须赶去参加联谊，却因为迟迟化不好妆，而在女厕里苦战的OL。她两三下就帮对方化好了妆。因为我有看到化妆前的模样，所以才有资格说这句话。化好妆的模样简直美得冒泡，不过这根本就是诈欺行为嘛。但是，那位OL似乎感动到无以复加。

“You’re very good with makeup too.”
「你也很擅长化妆耶。」

“Well, even after being transformed, Magical Girls still show a few hints of their original looks. In that case, if you don’t camouflage your looks with makeup, people will discover your true identity. That’s also another lesson from Master.”
「因为魔法少女即使在变身之后，会隐约透出原本的长相。这么一来，如果不用化妆掩饰原本的长相，就会被人发现真实身分。这也是师父的谆谆教诲。」

We were even hit on by a pair of men with brightly-colored hair.
还被将头发染成明亮浅色的两名男性组合搭讪。

That experience made my heart beat faster, in a way that was completely different from a mysterious or a fantastic adventure. I’d never been hit on before, not even by the people in my class. Maybe it’s because I went to a pretty straight-laced private school, but middle school’s too young to be hit on… at least, that’s what I thought.
这次的体验与不可思议或奇幻冒险之类，在不同的意义上令人感到心跳加速。即使是同班同学，也没人有被搭讪的经验。也许是因为自己就读的是认真严谨的私立学校，但搭讪对国中生而言还太早……我是这么认为啦。

At that time, I wondered if being hit on counted as helping people. Still, when the men said, “Come have fun with us for a while” and “Think of it as your good deed for the day”, Blue Comet cheerfully said, “If it’s to help others, then there’s no getting around it,” and dragged them off to a karaoke lounge… that was the first time I’d been in a karaoke lounge without a chaperone, so I was really on edge. I don’t even remember what songs I sang, and I thought of passing the time by eating, so I had a pizza and spaghetti.
我当时心想，搭讪算是助人吗？但面对嚷嚷「陪我们稍微玩一下嘛」、「就当成是在日行一善喽」的两人，蓝色彗星则是兴致高昂地表示「如果是助人的话，那就没办法了」，并拉着那两人的手朝KTV走去……我可是第一次在没有监护人陪同的情况下走进KTV，整个人超级紧绷。甚至不记得自己唱了什么歌曲，想说吃东西可以打发时间，所以就吃了披萨与义大利面。

Blue Comet was gulping down beer and making the two men drink too, and they were singing and having the time of their lives. By the time I realized it, they were both blind drunk. When Blue Comet asked them to trade an item, they took out a sparkling silver chain… or would it be better to call it a piece of pure silver jewellery? After handing it over, they were passed out on the sofa within five minutes, snoring like thunder.
蓝色彗星大口大口地灌酒，同样也灌那雨个男的喝酒、尽情地欢唱，等到我察觉时，他们已经醉到神智不清了。面对蓝色彗呈提出交换东西的请求，对方拿出一个闪着微微光芒的银色链子……应该是叫做纯银首饰的东西吧？递出东西后，不到五分钟的时间，他们就横躺在沙发上，鼾声如雷。

“Basically, I’m immune to poisons, so I won’t get drunk no matter how much I drink.”
「基本上，任何毒对我毫无影响，无论喝多少都不会酒醉。」

“Really~”
「是喔〜」

“Singing and drinking gets people drunk especially fast. This way, after getting them stinking drunk, I can drag them home, which is what Master taught me… ah, but I’m not doing that this time, you know? I’ll only do that for someone who interests me.”
「一边喝酒一边唱歌，酒就会灌得特别勤。这么一来，就能够让对方烂醉如泥后，再扛回家去，这也是师父的谆谆教诲……哎呀，这次我可不打算这么做喔？有特别中意的人才会这么做。」

“I, I see…”
「是、是喔……」

What kind of person was her master, I thought. She was probably nothing much.
那个师父到底是什么样子的人。我忍不住心想，应该没有什么出息吧。

Compared to that sort of thing, it was much better when she helped people by grabbing the collar of an elementary schooler who nearly rushed onto the road in their eagerness to get home after tuition classes. As I was about to cry out, she had already made her move, with the speed of a thunderbolt.
与那种事情相比，抓住差点直接冲到马路上，刚上完补习班正要回家的小学生的衣领，这种助人行动实在好太多了。当我正要发出惊呼时，她已经行动了。以一种迅雷不及掩耳的速度。

“After improving my already superhuman reaction speed and utility with training, when something happens, I can react quickly… that’s what Master said.”
「将远远超乎人类的反应速度与适用范围，透过训练加以强化后，等到发生事情时，就能够迅速行动……师父这么说。」

“That’s amazing.”
「好厉害喔。」

“Once I fully master it, I’ll apparently be able to let my subconscious control my body. Even if my brain completely stops functioning, I’ll still be able to make small movements, according to Master. Although, I think Master was kidding.
「如果达到颠峰，似乎就能够透过潜意识让身体动作。即使脑袋完全停止运作，还是能够做出微幅动作，师父是这么说的。虽然我觉得师父是在开玩笑。」

“Ah, ahaha…”
「啊、啊哈哈……」

When she got the kid to stop crying, the kid’s mother traded her a shawl for her handkerchief; when she helped someone with makeup, she exchanged the shawl for earrings, and after her singing session in the karaoke lounger, she traded those earrings for that pure silver jewellery.
她哄小孩停止哭闹时，那小孩的母亲用披肩交换手帕：帮人化妆时，再用披肩交换耳环；在KTV欢唱痛饮时，用那对耳环换到纯银首饰。

After that, she helped the elementary school kid, but there was no way an elementary schooler on their way home after tuition would have ‘anything good” on them. However, she still had to trade with them, so she handed over the pure silver jewellery and got a little doll instead. It appeared to be a figure of a character from a shonen manga… apparently it was a free toy given away with soft drinks, in other words, a snack toy.
后来帮助了小学生，但刚匕完补习班正要回家的小学生，身上不可能有「好东西」吧。不过，还是必须跟对方交换一行，所以将纯银首饰送了出去，得到一只小人偶。少年漫画的角色人物公仔……看来是汽水糖附赠的小玩具，也就是所谓的食玩。

In the end, the game which I had gotten involved in through that corncob had ended with a s tiny little trinket. Was it appropriate… the elementary schooler seemed really happy with that silver jewellery, going on and on about how amazing and awesome it was. Still, from our point of view, there was a sense of loss, like we had steadily upgraded to something really good, but then ended back up at the starting point.
结果,我透过玉米棒而得知这个游戏，自己也牵连进来，最后竟然以零嘴的赠品作结，该说是很贴切吗……小学生得到纯银首饰倒是很开心。一直嚷嚷着帅爆了、好棒喔。但是，站在我们的立场，却有一种好不容易逐渐升级成好东西，到头来却回到原点的失落感。

The sky was dark, the night was deep, and my cell phone clock said it was 10:30.
天色昏暗、夜已深沉，手机的时钟显示为十点半。

Even if we started all over again, we’d probably be too late… just as I thought that to myself, Blue Comet suddenly broke into a run.
即使现在从头来过，也来不及吧……就在我暗自如此心想的时候，蓝色彗星突然狂奔起来。

“Hey… what’re you doing?!”
「喂……你在干什么啊！」

“I’ve got a feeling that something good’ll happen if we go this way.”
「我有一种走这里会发生好事的预感。」

And so I exerted my will as well and pedalled my bike with all my might. While Blue Comet had slowed down a little to match my pace while she ran, catching up to her was really tough. I couldn’t breathe, my thighs hurt, and the next day my muscles completely seized up with cramps.
所以我也凭借意志力，拚命踩自行车。虽然蓝色彗星奔跑的时候有稍微斟酌速度，但想要追上她实在很辛苦。喘不过气、大腿痛得要死,隔天肌肉酸痛到爆炸。

I don’t know how long I rode, but before I knew it we had left the urban areas and the number of street lights grew fewer and fewer… this felt like the sort of place where you’d hear more stray dogs barking in the distance than human beings. The surface of the asphalt road around us was worn out, and riding a bike in the dark like this was a torturous experience.
不知道骑了多久，不知不觉间我们已经离开闹区，来到路灯数量逐渐减少……感觉就是那种比起人声，更能听见流浪狗在远方吠的地方。到处都是沥青已脱落的柏油路面,在一片昏暗中骑自行车简直寸步难行。

Just as I was about to jump off my bike, Blue Comet came to a halt too… and then, less than a minute later, a man walked out from the shadow of a building.
几乎就在我跳下自行车的同时，蓝色彗星也停下脚步……接着，不到一分钟时间，从大楼的阴影处走出一名男子。

I was shocked, and unconsciously backed off.
我吓了一大跳，下意识地向后退去。

The man was shaven bald, and he wore a black suit. His tie was intricately patterned with gold and silver thread, while his shirt was bright red… in any case, he looked like the sort of person who was up to no good, and given the present location, it was no wonder that I thought of someone like that.
男子剃了一颗光头，身穿黑色西装，系上金银线条图案的领带、鲜红色的衬衫……简言之，就是「看起来不正派」的人,再加上地理位置的关系，只会让人联想到那类人。

The man approached Blue Comet without hesitation. At a closer look, his suit looked like it was going to split open. He was massively muscled, and if he got angry, probably nobody would be able to stop him. I shuddered uncontrollably.
男子毫不迟疑地走近蓝色彗星。近看之下，他的西装似乎都快迸裂开。超级结实的肌肉，如果这个人发怒的话，没有人能够阻止他吧。我忍不住发抖。

“Are you Magical Girl-san?”
「是『魔法少女』小姐？」

His voice was exactly what I expected from his image, low and filled with a sense of oppression.
完全与印象毫无差别、低沉、充满压迫感的声音。

“Yup.”
「是呀。」

“Really? You’re a lot earlier than arranged… but still, being able to start as soon as possible is a big help for me.”
「是吗？虽然比约定好的时间早许多……不过，能够尽早进行，真的是帮了我一个大忙。」

“I’m happy to help. Helping people’s my job, after all.”
「能够帮得上忙真的是太好了。助人本来就是我的本行。」

Blue Comet did not seem to have realized that her opposite number was a very scary-looking person, given that she had replied in a completely carefree voice. The scary-looking man’s voice slurred a little as his shoulders heaved in laughter.
蓝色彗星似乎并没有意识到,对方是个看起来很恐怖的人，她以爽朗无比的声音回应。那位看起来很恐怖的人，声音含糊不清地抖着肩膀笑了起来。

“Interesting. So your job is helping people, and I heard the identifying object was a doll…?”
「真有意思。你的本行的确是助人呀，我听说识别物是人偶……」

“If you want a doll, I have one.”
「你要人偶的话，我有喔。」

She handed the snack toy to him, and the scary-looking man muttered, “so it’s the puppeteer” nodded twice, then handed over an aluminum briefcase.
将刚才从小学生手中拿得到食玩公仔秀给对方看后，看起来很恐怖的人低喃了一句「人偶师啊」，点了两次头后，交出铝合金手提箱。

“I’ve already reported the results of the job to Master. The payment is as we agreed. We can convert it to cash right now if you want.”
「我已经向『MASTER』报告过委托内容了。报酬符合你当初的要求。如果要转卖换成现金也随你便。」

“Giving me cash would be quite troublesome for me.”
「给我钱的话，可就令人伤脑筋了。」

“Then I’ll give this to you.”
「那么东西就交给你了。」

After that, Blue Comet shouted “Hang on a bit!”, calling out to the scary-looking man who seemed to be backing off while still looking in our direction.
接下来，蓝色彗星大喊「你等一下」，唤住脸朝这边正要直直向后退去的看起来很恐怖的人。

“I’ll be in a lot of trouble if you don’t take this doll.”
「你不拿走这个人偶，我会很困扰耶。」

“No, how could I take something like that…”
「不，我怎么可以收下那种东西……」

“DIdn’t you say I did you a great favor?”
「你不是说我帮了大忙吗？」

“Yes, you did help me out a lot.”
「是啊，的确帮了大忙。」

“In that case, we need to trade to stick to the rules.”
「既然如此，交换才符合规则呀。」


“Is… that so? I’m not too sure on that…”
「是……这样的吗？我并不是很清楚……」

I looked at the man who seemed very scary… I might as well just call him the scary man. In any case, I watched the scary man look uncomfortably at the snack toy, then fade into the shadows of the building, just like he had when he appeared. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. Ever since he had showed up until now, I hadn’t even dared to breathe. And I’d just pedalled my bike until I was almost out of breath too.
看到那个看起来很恐怖的人……直接称呼他为恐怖的人吧。总之，看到那个恐怖的人面有难色地瞪着食玩，如同出现时般，缓缓消失于大楼阴影处，我才终于吐出一口气。从那个人现身后直到现在，我连大气都不敢喘一下。明明才刚踩自行车踩到都快断气的说。

“Do you… know him?”
「你认识他……吗？」

“Nope, never met him before.”
「不，不认识耶。」

The aluminum briefcase was not locked. After opening it, there was some kind of wine-red cloth material inside, as well as a gemstone secured in the middle. That’s right, it was a gemstone.
那个铝合金手提箱并没有七锁。打开一看，里面铺着看起来相当柔软的酒红色布料，以八爪爪镶稳稳固定住正中央的宝石。没错，里面是宝石。

I’d barely managed to breathe again after so long, but then I held my breath again. It was a sapphire the size of a baby’s fist, exquisitely cute… although, there’s no way it could have been a real gemstone. If it were real, then it would have been insanely expensive. Still, there were things that were big, but were cheap because they were of low quality. I didn’t really understand gems so I wasn’t sure.
我好不容易终于能够呼吸，又立刻屏住呼吸。那是个如婴儿拳头般大小的蓝色宝石，切割得相当完美……不过，那不可能是真的宝石吧。更何况，如果是真品的话，价格可不菲。不过，也有明明很大一颗，却因为品质不侘，其实很便宜的东西吧。我不是很了解珠齐，所以并不清楚。

Blue Comet lightly closed the aluminum briefcase and extended a hand to me. I reflexively reached out to shake it, but she might have wanted to high-five me instead. I clearly remembered that her palm was very soft.
蓝色缉単轻轻盖上铝合金手提箱，朝我伸出手来。虽然我反射性地回握，但搞不好她是想要跟我击掌也不一定。我记得非常淸楚，她的手掌相当柔软。

“Mission complete! This way, Master ought to approve!”
「任务完成！这么一来，应该能让师父点头了！」

“Con-congratulations!”
「恭、恭喜你！」

I’d thought her mission was a failure, but she’d managed a last second save in the end. How should I describe this chain of events… what on earth had just happened? I guess this was what they called a Magical Girl.
原本还以为任务失败，想不到最后竟然能够强行达阵，这稀情形该怎么说呢……到底是这么一回事啊？看来这就是所谓的魔法少女吧。

And so, my “mysterious” and “fantastic adventure” ended there. After that, I went to a 24-hour family restaurant to eat and talk with Blue Comet… we had some good times. We didn’t finish on a “mysterious” or “fantastic” note after all.
到此，我的「不可思议」的「奇幻冒险」体验就这样落幕。在那之后，我跟蓝色彗星跑去二十四小时全天候营业的家庭餐厅边吃边聊……度过一段快乐的时光。结尾不是走「不可思议」的「奇幻冒险」路线就是了。

From that day on, I didn’t encounter anything amazing like that any more. Although, I was happy that I succeeded in getting into the school I wanted… I never got a boyfriend.
从那一天起，我再也没有碰上那么不可思议的体验。虽然顺利地考上志愿学校也很开心……我没有男朋友。

Yes. Even now, I still want to become a Magical Girl. That’s because that Magical Girl looked really happy. Still, it’s probably really difficult. I wonder which would be more difficult between that and making a boyfriend.
是的。直到如今，我还是很想成为魔法少女。因为那个魔法少女，看起来真的非常开心呢。不过，很难吧。不知道跟交男朋友比起来，哪一种比较难呢？

Besides, I… I… huh? What were we talking about?
而且我……我……咦？我们刚才在聊什么？

***

Her white-streaked hair trailed behind her body, while her arms were encased in a pair of dark green coat sleeves. The woman in her 40s left the cafe as the automatic doors shut behind her.
将一头斑白的头发拨至身后，双手穿过深绿色外套的袖子。约莫四十多岁的女性，背对自动门的关门声，离开咖啡厅。

She meshed her fingers and stretched her palms out over her head. Her spine cricked and clicked.
双手交迭反握，并高举至头上伸了个懒腰。脊椎的骨头喀啦作响。

“Master, Master.”
「师父、师父。」

The woman looked to the side. A girl in a school uniform stood there, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
女子瞄向一旁，那是一名穿学生制服的少女，那双眼睛里似乎因为某种期待而闪闪发光。

“Was it okay to erase her memories?”
「消除她的记忆好吗？」

“The memories of ‘That Girl’ are just like what you understood just now, right?”
「关于『那孩子』的记忆，你所理解的内容与刚才所闻一样吧？」

“Yes.”
「是啊。」

“In that case, it’s better to erase them.”
「那么，还是消除比较好。」

“Master” walked towards a shopping street filled with many stores whose iron roller shutters were tightly shut. The girl followed closely behind.
「师父」走向明显有许多商家铁门深锁的商店街。少女紧跟在后。

“Isn’t it a little lonely if nobody remembers the Second?”
「都没有人记得关于第二代的事情，不会很寂寞吗？」

“There’s no need for you to be so sentimental. Didn’t you have a lot of trouble when becoming the Third because of the Second’s improper actions putting obstacles in your path? That Girl apparently forgot that Magical Girls need to conceal their identity and act in a low-key fashion.”
「你不需要那么多愁善感。你要继任为第三代的时候，不也因为第二代品行不正的关系遇上障碍，而相当困扰吗？『那孩子』似乎忘记了，魔法少女必须隐瞒真实身分以及低调行事的原则。」

“Wasn’t that because you trained her that way, Master?”
「不是因为师父教导方式的关系吗？」

“True, and perhaps I taught her the wrong way. In order to avoid being questioned in an investigation by the Land of Magic, we need to eliminate all memories concerning Blue Comet.”
「是啊，也许错在我的教导方式吧。为了避免在『魔法王国』的调查中被侦讯，势必得将关于蓝色彗星的记忆全部消除才行。」

“Is that really a good thing?”
「这样好吗？」

“Of course it is!”
「当然好！」

“Master turned to the girl who had stopped in her tracks. The way she cast her eyes down looked quite desolate, but sjhe seemed quite happy given the upturned corners of her mouth. With that expression on her face, she said:
「师父」转过头去看向停下脚步的少女。垂下的视线看起来相当落寞，但上扬的嘴角则看起来很开心，她带着如此的表情说：

“Even if nobody else remembers, I’ll still remember That Girl. That ought to be enough.”
「即使大家都不记得，我依然会记得『那孩子』。这样子就够了吧。」