Restart Chapter 05

Chapter 05 - The Big Dragon and the Chinese Girl

☆Pechika

Cerna Mouse collapsed, and everything which happened afterwards felt strangely detached from herself.
切尔娜米奇倒下了，在那之后所发生的事情，仿佛都与自己无关。

Someone checked Cerna’s Magical Phone and shouted that she was one Candy short; everyone shouted at Pfle, who was in charge of making sure, and then people stepped forward to defend her, speak for her, and an intense argument raged. Everyone was deeply uneasy; they had accepted the plan Fal guaranteed was flawless, yet it had failed for whatever reason. They discussed the matter, shouted at each other, shoved each other, going on about what they would do, why things had ended up like this, people made demands, people made proposals, but in the end they had not yet reached a conclusion, and when they asked Fal for answers, even it could not tell them, because it was completely clueless.
有人确认切尔娜米奇的魔法终端设备，大喊她的糖果数量少了一颗；负责确认的普芙蕾受到众人责备，然后有人出面袒护、替她辩解，激动地争吵不休；大家都相当不安；接纳了普芙蕾保证没问题的方法，却莫名其妙地失败了；大家彼此讨论、互相怒骂、互相推挤、什么事情如何、结果却是如此、有人提出主张、有人议论，即使如此仍然没有结论；询问法尔它也不清楚发生什么事，完全不知所云。

Detick Bell’s party said they were going to bury Cerna, and left the plaza. The other teams scattered in their twos and threes. A formless unease remained within their hearts, and Pechika was deeply aware of what it meant for one’s life to be snatched away for no rhyme or reason
滴答贝儿的队伍说要去埋葬切尔娜米奇，便离开了广场，其他的队伍也三三两两地做鸟兽散。无形的不安仍残留在心中，蓓蒂卡现在深刻体会到什么叫做性命毫无理由地遭到掠夺。

Just being dragged into the game and being forced to participate in a game which presented the risk of mortal danger was enough to make her head spin. In the end, the game rules were so vague that there was little way of telling why or how one might die.
光是被拖进游戏里、被迫参加有死亡风险的游戏，就已经令她感到一阵头晕目眩。结果，游戏规则却如此暧昧不清，根本难以预料自己到底会因何种理由、何种方式死掉。

Rionetta and Miyokata Nonako were still arguing with each other in the two hours between Cerna Mouse’s collapse and their return to the real world. Clantail stomped her hooves impatiently, while Pechika simply looked up to the sky. There were no stars, no clouds, just an endless stretch of black.
莉欧妮塔与御世方那子在切尔娜米奇倒下以后约两小时的时间，一直到回归现实世界的前一刻，还在互骂，古兰迪儿则是不耐烦地踢着蹄子，而宿蒂卡只是抬头望着天空。没有星星、没有云朵，只是一片漆黑无比的天空。

Seeing Pechika stare into the empty sky, Rionetta and Miyokata Nonako decided to stop fighting and looked into the air. Clantail stopped kicking and stomping and looked to the heavens as well.
看到蓓蒂卡望着空无一物的天空，莉欧妮塔与御世方那子也停止互骂，看着上空；古兰迪儿停止不断踢响蹄子的动作，同样地看着上空。

Rionetta muttered to herself:
莉欧妮塔喃喃自语地说：

“Hunting will be much easier now.”
「狩猎会变得容易多了。」

That was because Cerna Mouse was the gatekeeper for the best hunting spots. Without her around, nobody would complain even if Pechika and the others entered. More to the point, the only four-girl party, without any missing members, was Pechika’s. That being the case, the party with the most fighting power was Pechika’s.
因为切尔娜•米奇过去正是占领极佳狩猎场的守门员。如果没有了她，即使萑蒂卡她们进入上等的狩猎场，也不会有人发牢骚。更何况，目前还维持四个成员，一个人都没少的队伍，只剩下蓓蒂卡她们了。既然如此，拥有最强战力的队伍也变成蓓蒂卡她们了吧。

Pechika felt sad that she had actually thought about that sort of thing. She looked to the other party members and realized that Rionetta--who had just spoken--was no exception, and it appeared that the nodding Nonako and Clantail had the same idea too. That made her even more sad.
蓓蒂卡不禁对浮现如此念头的自己感到悲哀，看向其他的队员，才发现将话说出口的莉欧妮塔当然不例外，而点着头的那子与古兰迪儿似乎也想到了同一件事情，令她的心情变得更加悲伤了。

***

When Chika returned to the real world, the first thing she did was look up at the night sky. The waxing moon was two-thirds hidden by the clouds, and the stars were so thoroughly hidden by grey clouds that their light could not be seen. Even so, it was a night sky that looked like a proper night sky, and she was grateful that she could return to reality and see this/
回到现实世界中的智香，首先就是抬头望向天空。上弦月有三分之二被云遮蔽，星星也被深灰色的云盖住，连一丝光线都看不到，即使如此，仍然是像夜空的夜空。对于能回到现实看到这片夜空，只让她心存感谢。

Afer waking up in the morning and washing her face, Chika went to the family altar before breakfast and put her palms together in prayer. She did not normally have this sort of habit and neither did she believe in this sort of thing; she simply did not have anything else to entrust her hopes to. Therefore, her little brother laughed at her, her parents were worried, her grandfather was deeply moved and praised her, but she let their words go in one ear and out the other as she prayed as hard as she could. She knew very well that it was a comical sight, but she would clutch at straws so long as she could entrust her hopes to something.
早上起床后洗了脸，用餐前在佛坛上香，双手合十。她原本没有这个习惯，也不信这一套，她只是没有其他能够寄托的事物。因此遭到弟弟嘲笑、双亲对此感到忧心，祖父则是极为感动地夸奖自己，但智香对周遭人的反应左耳进右耳出，全心全意地双手合十祈祷。她也很清楚这么做相当滑稽，但只要是能够有所寄托的事物，即使是一根稻草她也会紧抓不放。

She was spacing out almost all the time in school, she nearly walked into a power pole on the way to school, the teacher had to admonish her to pay attention in class, which drew the laughter of her classmates; Chika, who had struggled to keep a low profile, had become everyone’s laughingstock. The Chika from before might have been depressed for an entire week, but now, she did not mind.
她在学校时几乎都在发呆，放学途中还差一点撞上电线杆；上课时老师提醒她回神，得到周遭同学一阵失笑；一直以来刻意保持低调的智香，变成众人嘲笑的对象。如果是从前的智香，一定会因此沮丧难过整整一个星期，如今的她则不那么在意了。

If she relaxed for a single moment, her mind would fill up with thoughts about the game, about things like which area to unlock next, where were the best places to hunt monsters and other things related to clearing the game. In any case, half of her prayed that she would be safe, while the other half was spent moping about how she might die a miserable death.
只要一松懈就会满脑子都是游戏的事情，而且还不是关于该如何开放接下来的区域、哪里最适合狩猎怪物等，以破关为目标的事情。总之，一半的她祈祷自己能安全活下去，另一半则是想象到自己将会毫无价值地死去的模样，不禁沉浸在难过的心情之中。

She spaced out at the reading club for half an hour, forced a smile to her face as she told her worried friends “I’m fine”, then rushed home to transform into Pechika and dig up dirt from the yard so she could put it in a pot and turn it into a packed meal. She prepared dashimaki eggs, bacon-wrapped asparagus, octopus sausages, furikake rice, chicken karaage, sliced mini tomatoes and spinach ohitashi. Fruits went into another lunchbox.
在读书会上呆坐了三十分钟，强颜欢笑地告诉担心自己的朋友「我没事啦」，急急忙忙回到家后立刻变身成蓓蒂卡，挖了院子里的土放到锅子里煮，然后就变成了便当。高汤煎蛋卷、芦笋炒培根、小章鱼热狗、洒上香松的白饭、炸鸡肉、小番节、凉拌菠菜，水果则是放在另一个保鲜盒里。

The menu looked a little childish. Chika had come up with it based on her own tastes and what she thought Ninomiya-kun would enjoy. Perhaps she ought to research relevant recipe sites.
总觉得菜色看起来有点孩子气。这是智香根据自己的兴趣，想着对方在用餐时会很愉快，于是就产生了这样的便当菜色。也许她应该研究一下相关的食谱网站了。

After changing, she headed for the training grounds. Along the way, she helped an old grandpa load carrots onto a light truck. Upon being thanked, she returned it with a smile, though in her heart she mocked herself for helping others at a time like this. Was this trying to escape reality?
换好衣服后，在前往操场的途中，她帮忙老爷爷把萝卜搬上小型卡车。受到对方的感谢，她带着笑容回应，在心里则是自嘲着这种时候还在帮助别人的自己。这也算是逃避现实吧。

She watched the team practice, and by the time she headed for the park, the crows were cawing, and the red of the setting was especially blinding. Before long, the sky had grown dark.
在一旁观看球队练习，当她走向公园时，已经是乌鹃啼叫，夕阳的红色显得刺眼的时间带。过不了多久，天色已变得昏暗。

Ninomiya-kun literally sprinted all the way over. The baseball pitch was equipped for night-time matches, as though its lights would not allow the night to remain dark so the baseball team could practice. Those lights attracted bugs, as well as the occasional unicorn or stag beetle, and in the summer they also drew a lot of insect maniacs or kids who were not interested in baseball.
二宫同学如字面上的意思般，朝这里飞奔过来。操场也附设夜间比赛的设备，仿佛不允许夜晚变黑般以灯光大亮的照明设备，让球队进行练习。那些灯光引来了昆虫，偶尔还会出现独角仙或锹形虫，夏天时似乎能吸引不少对棒球没兴趣的小孩或是昆虫迷。

Ninomiya-kun wolfed the bento down in order to make it in time for night practice, and after he was done, he put hands together and gratefully told Pechika: “Thank you! That was delicious!” While it made her very happy that Ninomiya-kun was grateful to her, she felt a little uncomfortable.
二宫同学为了赶上晚上的练习而埋头吃着便当，吃完之后朝蓓蒂卡双手合十，感激地道谢说：
「谢谢你的招待！」虽然她很开心，二宫同学也对她心存感谢，但觉得有点难为情。

While Ninomiya-kun was eating, Pechika sat on the same bench as him, watching from by his side. If she stared continuously she would be found out, so she occasionally looked away, stealing peeks at Ninomiya-kun as he tucked into his food.
蓓蒂卡在二宫同学吃东西的期间，与他坐在同一张长椅上，从隔着两个人的距离看他。如果一直盯着他一不小心就会被察觉，所以她偶尔会移开视线，频频偷猫吃得津津有味的二宫同学。

She saw the signs of shaving, as well as a few bits of stubble he had missed. Though they were the same age, Pechika felt like she was still a child, but Ninomiya-kun was like a grown man. His cheeks and chin moved up and down in time with his muscular chest, and there were faint traces of pimple scars on his cheeks. That aspect seemed more suitable to a middle-schooler. He had run all the way here after practice, so he was covered in sweat. The scent of his sweat assaulted her nose, making Chika’s already blushing face turn even redder. While he ate with astonishing speed, he held his chopsticks in a very proper way. Chika could not help but think, his family seems to value proper manners, that’s not bad. Chika noticed a grain of rice on his face, and thought, should I bring it up? In situations like these, it ought to be okay to help him wipe it off, right? She could not bring herself to pick it off her face and put it into his mouth, but what about wiping it off and then wrapping it up in tissue for later disposal? As she agonized about the matter, Ninomiya-kun had already plucked it off with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.
刮胡子的痕迹、偶有一些没刮干净的胡碴。明明是同年级，蓓蒂卡却觉得自己还是小孩子，但二宫同学却做着与一般的成熟男性同样的事情。脸颊与下巴随着健壮的胸肌上下起伏动着，脸颊隐隐约约残留着青春痘的痘疤，这一点比较符合国中生的年龄。因为他是在练习后一路跑来这里，所以身上都是汗水。汗水味在这个距离下扑鼻而来，智香原本红通通的脸又更红了。虽然他以惊人的速度猛吃，但拿疾子的方式却相当正确。智香不禁心想，他的家里似乎很注重规矩，真是不错。智香发现他的脸上沾了饭粒，该说吗？碰上这种情况，就算帮他拿掉饭粒也没关系吧？拿掉饭粒之后放进他嘴里的举动，她实在做不出来，不过拿掉之后再用面纸包起来丢掉似乎可行吧？正当她反复苦恼着这些事情时，二宫同学已经用手指拿下饭粒送入口中。

On the first day, she simply snuck peeks at Ninomiya-kun’s face or the way he ate, and the two of them did not speak much. Pechika was nervous enough just thinking about what to say, and she did not want to interrupt Ninomiya-kun as he tucked into his food and enjoyed himself.
第一天，她就像这样子偷偷観察二宫同学的脸或是吃东西的动作，两人并没有太多的对话。蓓蒂卡光是思考要说什么就已经紧张不已，而且她也不想打扰尽情大吃、享用着料理的二宫同学。

However, on the second day, Ninomiya-kun made the first move and spoke to her. His surprisingly chatty nature was something she had learned long ago while doing her research. Ninomiya-kun spoke excitedly about how his batting performance had been good recently, how his coach sometimes brought his dog along--it was a scary breed of large dog--and had to warn it not to mess around while the team was practicing knuckleballs, how he ran to school nowadays because the bike he usually rode was broken, and so on. As Pechika watched the happy look on Ninomiya-kun’s face, she felt very happy too.
然而，第二天开始，二宫同学开始主动找她说话。他意外健谈的个性，是智香做事前功课时早就知道的情报。最近打击状况很好、教练偶尔会带自己养的狗来，而且还是一只长得很恐怖的大型犬、练习蝴蝶球的时候还被教练训斥别玩了、平常上下学时骑的脚踏车坏了，现在都是一路跑来学校等，二宫同学眉飞色舞地说着这些事情，而蓓蒂卡看着一脸开心的二宫同学，她也觉得很开心。

When Ninomiya-kun asked, “What about you?” she froze up.
当二宫同学一问起「你呢？」，蓓蒂卡顿时语塞。

He had sensed it. Pechika could not talk about herself; she could not say that she was a Magical Girl, and neither could she say she had been forced to join a ridiculous game. Chika could not even introduce herself as Chika; even if she told him “I study in the same school as you”, that person was Chika, and not Pechika. Even if it was not a lie, it would become a lie.That was because he would not be able to find the Pechika who made the delicious meals for him.
他察觉到了。蓓蒂卡无法提及自己的事情：她无法表明自己是魔法少女，也没办法说出自己被强制参加某个荒唐的游戏；智香甚至无法介绍自己是智香；即使告诉他，我跟你就读同一所学校，但那也是智香而非蓓蒂卡。即使不是谎言也会变成谎言。因为就算他找遍学校，仍然找不到那个会替他做美味便当的蓓蒂卡。

And so, she answered that she typically cooked for her friends, and that everyone liked it. Ninomiya-kun smiled and replied, “But of course, nobody could dislike such delicious food,” and then he smiled again. Pechika smiled in turn, but her heart was heavy.
于是她回答，自己平常都会做些料理给朋友吃，大家都说很好吃。二宫同学也笑着说，这是理所当然的，绝对没有人会觉得这么美味的料理不好吃，然后又笑了。蓓蒂卡也跟着笑了，内心却感到万分沉重。

The third day came, and after it ended she would be pulled back into the game. Then, she would have to think of a way to survive for three days. I don’t want this! I want to cry! I want to collapse on the ground! At least, I want to tell him everything! Even if he could not do anything about it, she wanted to earn his sympathy.
第三天，今天结束之后又会被叫进游戏里，然后，三日内必须想办法存活下来。我不要！好想哭！好想瘫软在地！至少想在这里将事情全盘托出！即使他没办法做什么，至少还能博取他的同情。

Although she thought those things, she could not speak them. If she did, she woudl die.
即使内心这么想，也不能说出口。说出来的话，她就会死掉。

Pechika talked about her own affairs. She was not Tatehara Chika or the Magical Girl Pechika, just a fictional girl who studied at a nearby high school, who liked cooking and watching baseball matches. Her mother taught her how to cook; her mother was much better than Pechika; a cat had taken a dump in the backyard and angered her grandfather; her friend had slipped on a banana peel like in a manga and had embarrassed herself; she went to a KTV and selected a song, but she entered the wrong number and called up the wrong song, but fortunately, it was one she knew, so she forced herself to sing it anyway.
蓓蒂卡谈起自己的事情。她既非建原智香，也不是魔法少女蓓蒂卡，而是就读于附近高中，喜欢做料理与看棒球比赛的虚构少女。料理是妈妈教的；妈妈的手艺比蓓蒂卡好很多；最近有猫咪在后院留下便便，惹得爷爷大发雷霆；朋友像漫画一样踩到香蕉皮跌倒，出了个大糗；去KTV点歌，结果按错号码点到完全不同的歌曲，但恰巧是自己知道的曲子，便硬着头皮唱完了。

The account of these fictional failures earned a warm chuckle from Ninomiya-kun. All Pechika could do was bite back her sadness and pain, and force a smile to her face.
虚构的失败经验博得二宫同学的欢笑，蓓蒂卡也只能压抑悲伤与痛苦，努力堆出笑容。

Ninomiya-kun finished up the packed meal, then thanked Pechika with his palms together before returning her the lunchbox. As he handed it to her, his little finger grazed hers. Ninomiya-kun thought nothing of it, and after saying “I’ll be off, then”, he ran off.
二宫同学将便当吃个精光，一如往常般朝蓓蒂卡双手合十，归还便当盒。接过便当盒时，他的小指轻轻拂过自己的小指。二宫同学完全没放在心上，说完那么我先走了，就跑走了。

Pechika stared at her little finger, then she bent it, gripping it tightly in her hand.
蓓蒂卡凝望着小指头，将手指一弯，紧紧地握在手中。

☆Shadowgale

Kanoe was more and more pensive recently. Or, to be precise, “she did not intend to hide the mesmerized look that came over her when she fell into thought”. This was something they had never seen before, so her parents and elder brother were quite worried. Even when they asked what was troubling her, Kanoe would simply smile and reply by saying “Thanks for your concern”, which only made them worry more. Mamori had also been questioned about Kanoe’s situation, but she did not give any reply. Obviously she could not say that the Young Mistress was a Magical Girl, and she had been forced to participate in a game where defeat equalled death. If she could do that, she would very much like to.
庚江越来越常陷入沉思之中，精淮说来，是「她并不打算隐藏自己神情恍惚地陷入沉思之中」。这是前所未见的事情，因此她的双亲与兄长都相当担心。即使被问到是否有什么烦恼，也只会笑脸迎人地回说「谢谢关心」的庚江，反而令人忧心忡忡。护也被问及庚江的状况，但她并没做任何回答。总不能说，府上的大小姐在当魔法少女，现在被强制参加败北等于死亡的游戏喔。如果能说的话，她真的很想说出口。

Kanoe looked quite thoughtful now. That was good, because Mamori also had a lot of things she wanted to think about. However, if it were up to Mamori, she would carefully pick a place to do her thinking. Whenever she wanted to ponder a matter, she would do so within her own room. She would not do what Kanoe did and occupy someone else’s room like she owned the place, and neither would she line a tray with wine and crackers, then eat and drink them on someone else’s desk; and she would certainly not leave a mound of cracker crumbs on that someone else’s desk.
庚江现在也一副若有所思的神情。这样也好，因为护也有许多事情想要好好思考。但是，如果是护的话，必须慎选思考的场所。想思考事情的时候，她会选择在自己的房间内进行。她不会像庚江那样，以这是自己所有物的态度占据别人房间；也不会在托盘上摆上红酒与苏打饼干，在别人的书桌上吃吃喝喝起来；更不会在别人的桌子上掉一堆苏打饼干的碎屑。

Mamori rose to her feet, rolled up the blinds, and opened the window. The autumn wind at night was cool, and some might even say it was cold. The heat inside the room escaped, and the air outside flowed in. Outside the window was a field of green grass, but at this time of night, the grass was now a dark purple. The yard was encircled by high trees, and the sound of bugs chirping was quite soothing. The Hitokouji family seemed to have specially bought golden tortoise beetles for the yard. When she heard that each of them had cost thousands of yen, she hoped that it was simply an exaggeration.
护站起身，拉起百叶窗，打开窗户。夜晚的秋风透着凉意，吹起来有些许寒意。房内的热气窜往外面，外面的空气流泻进来。窗户外头是一片绿色的草皮，夜已深沉的此时，草皮被染成暗紫色。高高的树篱围绕着庭院，虫鸣声听起来令人身心舒畅。人小路家似乎还特地买了金琵琶放生在院子里。听闻一只要价数千圆，她希望这只是以讹传讹的夸大消息而已。

Mamori sat back on her bed after opening the window, then looked at Kanoe, who was sitting thoughtfully on her swivel chair. It would be nice if she would at least see this as Mamori’s room. The Totoyamas all lived on Hitokouji property, and Mamori’s room was simply one of many in the Hitokouji mansion, so it was hard for her to complain when Kanoe made use of it.
护离开窗边回到床上坐下，看向庚江，她在旋转椅上仍然一副若有所思的模样。希望她好歹也把这里视为护的房间。鱼山一家人都住在人小路家里，护的房间也是位于人小路宅邸内的某一间，因此庚江自由使用实在也难以发出怨言。

However, that chair was a different matter. She had ordered that chair from a mail order furniture catalogue; it had cost 35’000 yen and was made in Europe. It was a beautiful and comfortable chair that Mamori had scrimped and saved for in the hopes of using it for 20 to 30 years. There could be no doubt that said chair was Mamori’s personal property. Even if it was in the Hitokouji mansion, Kanoe had no right to it.
但是，那张椅子并不是。那张椅子是她在家具邮购型录上，以三万五千圆的价钱买下来的欧洲制椅子。那是护抱持着使用二、三十年的心态，狠下心用自己一点一滴存下来的钱，买来的完美又舒服的椅子。毫无疑问的，这张椅子是护的个人物品。即使是在人小路宅邸中，庚江也没有权利占有它。

“Could I at least trouble you to return that chair to me?”
「至少可以请你把椅子还给我吗？」

“What are you thinking about again, Mamori?”
「护，你又在想什么呢？」

She asked a question, and was answered with a question in turn. However, it was true that she was thinking of something. Mamori’s thoughts were troubled, and in the end she still could not think of  a solution. How could someone reduce the amount of Cerna Mouse’s Candies? She had no idea how, and she did not understand the reason why anyone would do such a thing.
丢出去的问句，又被以问句的形式丢了回来。不过，她的确是在想事情。护满脑子都是烦恼，最后还是想不出任何解答。到底该怎么做才能减少切尔娜•米奇的糖果呢？她完全想不通，而且也不懂这么做有何意义。

In the most recent logout event, Cerna Mouse had died. Detec Bell and Melville had tried to resuscitate her, but neither assisted breathing or cardiac massage helped, and neither did feeding her Recovery Medicine. She never woke up. The cause of death was a heart attack.
在上一次登出日举办的最终事件中，切尔娜米奇死了。滴答贝儿与梅尔维儿当场对她进行急救，但人工呼吸与按摩心脏都无效，使用恢复药水也毫无作用，她并没有苏醒过来。死因是心脏麻痹。

According to the rules Fal announced, the player with the fewest Candies would be eliminated. The conditions were “fewest” and “single player”; both conditions had to be met before someone would be eliminated.
根据法尔所公布的事件规则，拥有最少魔法糖果的一位玩家就会遭到淘汰。条件是「最少」的「一人」，必须满足两者才会有淘汰者产生。

Therefore, Pfle theorized that if there were multiple people with the fewest candies, nobody would be eliminated, and Fal had agreed on that point. So long as two or more Magical Girls had the least candies, the matter could be concluded without anyone having to be eliminated.
因此，普芙蕾推测如果拥有最少糖果的人有复数以上，便不会产生任何淘汰者，而法尔也认同了这一点。只要拥有最少魔法糖果的魔法少女超过两人，事件就能在没有任何淘汰者的状况下落幕。

With everyone’s help, they evenly distributed everyone’s Candies, and Pfle verified the numbers too. Therefore, everyone thought that they were safe. But then, Cerna Mouse collapsed unexpectedly. Her name had been called. After picking up Cerna Mouse’s Magical Phone and checking it, they found that she was short of all the other Magical Girls by… one Candy.
在大家互相帮忙的状况下，统一每人拥有的糖果数量，而普芙蕾也确认过了。于是，众人心想这么一来就能安全过关了。没想到才一眨眼的时间，切尔娜米奇倒下了，她的名字遭到点名。捡起切尔娜米奇的魔法终端设备，确认后发现她的糖果数字只比其他魔法少女少了……一颗。

Although people started blaming Pfle for not checking the Candy amounts thoroughly enough, several others stood up to refute those words. Pfle had lost her wheelchair in her battle with Cerna Mouse and thus she had to be carried by Shadowgale in order to get around. Therefore, the person who went around the fountain to check the amounts of everyone’s Candy was not Pfle, but Shadowgale. Shadowgale was not just responsible for walking, but also for checking Magical Phones. Everyone had the same amount; there was no way a shortfall in one person’s Candy count could have gone unnoticed by everyone.
虽然有人开始责怪普芙蕾没有善尽确认糖果数量的责任，但有复数以上的人否定了这个说法。
普芙蕾在与切尔娜米奇的决斗中失去了轮椅，因此移动都必须靠暗影叶尔背。为了确认糖果数量，走向绕着喷水池围成圆圈的魔法少女们身边的，实际上并不是普芙蕾，而是暗影叶尔。暗影叶尔不只负责走，也会确认魔法终端设备。大家的数字的确都一样，如果只有一个人数字不同，绝对不可能没人发现。

The other Magical Girls vouched for Pfle’s innocence as well. While nobody had been acting suspiciously, when the Magical Girls had been exhorted to pay attention to each others’ companions, everyone had been quite wary of the movements around them, be it because they did not trust the others, or because they wanted others to trust them. The person on Cerna Mouse’s right was Detec Bell, while the person on her left was Melville, and both of them had verified that the amount of Magical Candies displayed on their Magical Phones was the same as their own.
其他的魔法少女也证实了普芙蕾的清白。虽然没有人行迹可疑，但是被吩咐互相注意身旁伙伴的魔法少女们，也许是无法信任彼此，或是想要彼此信任，大家都相当注意周遭的动静。切尔娜米奇的右边是滴答贝儿，左边是梅尔维儿，两人都证实切尔娜米奇的魔法终端设备里的糖果数字与自己相同。

That being the case, why had Cerna Mouse died? Why had her Magical Candy total been one fewer than everyone else’s?
既然如此，为什么切尔娜米奇会死掉呢？她的魔法糖果数量为什么会比其他人还少一颗？

She could not think of an answer.
答案百思不解。

One could use a Magical Phone to transfer Candies, but doing so after everyone’s Candies had been normalized would mean they would be revealed by sound effects from the keystrokes. It could only be done before everyone’s Candy counts had been equalized. Before their Candy totals had been normalized, the plaza had been a sea of electronic beeping. However, transferring Candies during that time would be pointless. That was because Pfle and Shadowgale would check after that, and so would the people around them. If the numbers did not tally up, they could put a stop to it.
只要操作魔法终端设备就能转移糖果，但是，在全员的糖果数量统一后这么做的话，就会因为电子音效而行迹败露。只有在大家的糖果数量一致前，才可能办到。在糖果数量统一前，广场一带四处充斥着哔哔哔的电子音。只不过，在那段时间内移动糖果并无意义。因为，普芙蕾与暗影叶尔在那之后会进行确认，身旁的人也会确认。数字不对的话，一定能拦截到。

Had someone used Magic to manipulate the Magical Phones? That was impossible. Even if Magical Phones could be damaged through physical impacts, there was no way to dismantle it and install a mechanism or otherwise tamper with it. Using Magic to affect from the outside would only result in the device malfunctioning. Shadowgale had already tried that herself.
是否有人使用魔法，操作魔法终端设备？这一点是不可能的。即使魔法终端设备会因为物理上的敲打遭到破坏，但没办法在拆解之后设下机关或是动手脚。如果要从外部透过魔法操作，也只会造成机械故障而已。暗影叶尔已经亲身验证过了。

“Cerna Mouse’s Candies…”
「切尔娜米奇的糖果……」

She murmured the words in her heart.
她将心里想的事说出口。

Kanoe took out several notebooks from the desk drawer, flicked open the cap of a pen with her thumb, and with swift, flowing strokes, she began writing down the names of the various Magical Girls, the parties to which they belonged, and the Magic that they could use.
庚江从书桌的抽屉取出数学笔记本，用大拇指将原子笔的盖子推开后，流畅地写下魔法少女的名字、隶属的队伍，以及使用的魔法。

“That’s my notebook… and my pen…”
「那是我的笔记本……我的笔……」

“Ah, I’ll be using them.”
「啊啊，我要用。」

Party A

Pfle - high-performance wheelchair
Shadowgale - mechanical modification
队伍A。
普芙蕾……高效能轮椅
暗影叶尔……改造机械类

Party B

Clantail - transforming her lower body into animals
Rionetta - doll control
Miyokata Nonako - befriending animals
Pechika - making delicious food
队伍B
古兰迪儿……下半身能变身成动物
莉欧妮塔……操作人偶
御世方那子……与动物成为好朋友
蓓蒂卡……制作美味料理

Party C (Cerna Mouse’s Team)

Detec Bell - speaking with buildings (Unusable in-game, was sitting on Cerna’s right)
Melville - blending into the scenery (was sitting on Cerna’s left)
Lapis Lazuline - teleporting to a gem’s location
Cerna Mouse - becoming huge (victim)
队伍C（切尔娜•米奇隶属的队伍〕
滴答贝儿……与建筑物对话。游戏内无法使用（站在切尔娜米奇的右边）
梅尔维儿……能融人风景中（站在切尔娜米奇的左边3）
菈彼丝蓝金莉汀……能瞬间移动到有宝石的地方
切尔娜米奇……巨大化〔被害者〉

Party D

Nokko-chan - broadcasting her emotions
@Nyannyan - sealing objects into paper talismans
Yumenoshima Genopsycho - invincible suit (only her Magical Phone was present)
队伍D。
小原原……散播自己的情绪
@娘娘……将物体封印在符咒里
梦之岛杰若疯子……无敌紧身衣〔只每终端设备出席)

The list--which had been written on the stationery whose use had only been approved post facto--was more detailed than what Shadowgale had expected.
事后才获得文具使用许可的明细表，比暗影叶尔预期的还要详尽。

“How do you know all this? I didn’t expect you to know the Magic of people you haven’t even spoken to before.”
「为什么你会这么清楚？居然还知道从来没交谈过的对象使用什么魔法。」

“As someone responsible for exploration, it makes sense that I’d have more friends than a hunter like yourself, Mamori. After the battle in the plaza, I began snooping around. Although the samurai Magical Girl was regarded as the killer, that didn’t change the fact that we were the victims whose friend was killed and whose items had been stolen. I’m fairly certain everyone was thinking that they didn’t want to cover things up and be suspected.”
「比起负责狩猎的护来说，负责探索的我当然会认识比较多的朋友。在广场上发生激烈的武打场面后，我就立刻到处探听。虽然武士魔法少女被当成杀人凶手，但是仍然改变不了我们是伙伴被杀害、道具遭到夺走的被害人的事实。不想乱隐瞒、遭到怀疑的想法，众人都有吧。」

This was the first time that Shadowgale learned about Pfle doing all this.
暗影叶尔现在才知道，她做了这些事情。

“And is this information reliable?”
「这些情报可信度高吗？」

“I asked while other members of their party were around. If someone told a lie, they’d react to it. Even if they didn’t speak out against the other party, they’d act in an unnatural way. Of course, it’d be a different matter if someone was hiding their Magic from their own party members.”
「我是在其他队员也在场时询问的，如果有人说谎，一定会有所反应。即使没出言责备对方为什么说谎，也会做出不自然的举动。不过，如果有人对自己的队员隐瞒魔法能力的话，就另当别论了。」

If someone was hiding their Magic from their fellow party members, that would mean that person was the culprit.
如果有人连自己的队员都隐瞒魔法能力，换句话说，那个人就是犯人吧。

“Do you know who the culprit is? Like say, if someone among them could control Cerna Mouse with Magic.”
「知道犯人是谁了吗？像是在这些人之中，有人能使用魔法操作切尔娜•米奇的糖果之类的。」

“How could I possibly know that kind of thing?”
「那种事情我怎么可能知道。」

“How could you not know?”
「怎么会不知道。」

“I told you before, right? I don’t need any evidence. I just need the person in question. This memo was also written for your convenience. I don’t deduce the suspect from opportunity or motivation, but you’re not the same right, Mamori? In that case, this will surely be useful.”
「我告诉过你吧。我不需要任何证据，只要有人物存在就够了。这个备忘录也是为了向你表达善意才写的。我不会从时机或是动机推敲出犯人，但是护你不一样吧？既然如此，这个一定能派上用场。」

Kanoe pushed the notebook towards Mamori, then picked up the teddy bear beside the bed and sat back on the chair. It would seem she was not just pondering the matter of how Cerna Mouse’s Candies had decreased, or who the criminal was. Mamori felt her heart sink, but she still had no clue. All she could do was sit blankly on her bed, and then lie down.
庚江将笔记本推向护，然后抱起放在床边的熊熊玩偶，重新坐回椅子上。看来她陷入沉思并不是在思考切尔娜米奇的糖果是如何减少的，或犯人是谁的谜题。护只觉得内心一阵失落，但她就是想不通，只能板起脸在床上坐下，然后又躺下。

Now that she knew the abilities of everyone’s Magic and the items within the game, she tried to use those as a stepping-off point to figure out how someone could have taken Candies from Cerna Mouse’s Magical Phone. She could not think of anything; or rather, it was impossible.
掌握了大家的魔法性质，再加上游戏内的道具，以这些为前提试着思考从切尔娜米奇的魔法终端设备中，抽出糖果的方法。她想不到，应该是说根本办不到吧。

It would be one thing if it was simple destruction, but being able to control a Magical Phone at will was not possible. How could anybody cause the display to show the wrong thing or eliminate electronic sound effects?
如果只是单纯的破坏就另当别论了，但是要随心所欲地操作设备，根本不可能。怎么可能让显示的数据出错或是消除电子音效。

If one was pressed to name someone who could have done it, then Shadowgale would be the only candidate. The remit of “modifying machinery” was very broad, and perhaps she could think of some surprising way to take Candies away without having to tamper with the Magical Phone display or the sound effects.
如果硬要列举一位有可能办到的人，也只有暗影叶尔了吧。改造机器的魔法应用范围很广，即使不用透过魔法终端设备的显示或是对电子音效作手脚，也许她能想出出乎人意料之外的方法，抽走糖果也不一定。

However, Mamori knew Shadowgale was not the culprit. She had not done anything like that.
但是，护知道暗影叶尔不是犯人。她没有做这种事。

Still… Mamori knew this very well because it concerned herself. However, the others did not know what Mamori had done, and she even had the motive of “having lost miserably to Cerna Mouse in their duel”. How bad would things be if someone suspected her?
但是呀……因为这是护自己的事情，所以她很清楚。然而，其他人不会知道护做了什么，她甚至有「之前与切尔娜米奇决斗惨遭败北」的明显动机。如果有人怀疑起她的话，不就糟糕了吗？

“I didn’t do it.”
「我没有做。」

“I already knew that.”
「那种事情我早就知道了。」

Well, Kanoe would surely say that. Granted, as a bystander, it felt more like she was covering for one of her own. She would leave aside the matter of whether it would actually fly, for the time being.
嗯，庚江一定会这么说吧。虽然站在旁人的角度听来，只觉得她是在包庇自己人，替自己人辩解。先暂且不论这种说法是否说得通。

“It’s fine, nobody suspects you.”
「没问题的，没有人怀疑你。」

“No, I’m the most suspicious if you think about it normally.”
「不，随便想都觉得我被怀疑的机率比任何人高。」

“That’s because I told everyone that your Magic was ‘to build tanks.’”
「因为我告诉别人，你的魔法是『制作战车』。」

Shadowgale’s eyes went wide as she looked at Kanoe, and all she saw was Kanoe looking nonchalantly back at her.
暗影叶尔大吃一惊地看向庚江，只见她一脸若无其事地回望着自己。

“That ought to make you less suspicious, no?”
「这么说比较不会被怀疑吧？」

“In the first place…”
「但是话说回来……」

Mamori rose from the bed.
护从床上坐起身。

“We still haven’t found the person who killed Masked Wonder and stole her items.”
「我们还没有找到杀害玛丝克德汪达，并且抢走道具的人。」

“Indeed...”
「是呀。」

Masked Wonder had been murdered, and she had been robbed of her items. One of them, the Miracle Coin, did not exist in anyone’s Magical Phone, yet it was on someone’s possession. The item was clearly not in anyone’s Magical Phone, yet the item status still read 1(1). It seemed strangely coincidental. Be it the Miracle Coin or the Cerna Mouse incident, both of them were involved impossible developments, and both of them were linked to Magical Phones.
玛丝克德汪达被杀、道具被强行夺走。其中的奇迹金币不在任何一个人的魔法终端设备里，却在某个人身上。东西明明不在任何人的魔法终端设备里，道具的状态却一直维持在「1(1〕」。
总觉得情形有点雷同。无论是奇迹金币的事件，或是切尔娜•米奇的事件，两者都发生了绝对不可能发生的状况，而且都与魔法终端设备有关。

“...Are the culprits the same?”
「……犯人是同一人？」

“It’s definitely possible.”
「的确有可能。」

But what was the motive?
动机又是什么？

The reason why Masked Wonder had been killed was probably to steal her Miracle Coin. While it was a rare item, who would kill someone for the sake of something which might or might not be of use? Even if they were not familiar with how death in the game was linked to death in real life, the people who were gathered here ought to be Magical Girls of justice.
玛丝克德汪达会遭到杀害，恐怕对方的目标就是抢夺奇迹金币吧。虽然物以稀为贵，但是哪有人会为了不晓得何时能派上用场的道具杀人啊？即使当时并不清楚游戏内的生死会连结到现实，但是被聚集起来的都是代表正义的魔法少女们呀。

As for Cerna Mouse… was it because she was in the way? After all, her job was to chase away the people from other parties who entered the best hunting spots. She might be a big hindrance for anyone who wanted the game to flow smoothly.
至于切尔娜米奇的话……是因为她很碍事吗？毕竟她负责赶跑进入极佳狩猎场的其他队伍成员。如果想确保游戏顺利，也许她会是一大阻碍。

Both these motives seemed linked to the game. Masked Wonder’s murder aside, the objective of the other party was not playing the game, but escape. They wanted to escape from playing the game. While Cerna Mouse did everything in for the benefit of her party, there was no need to kill her. They did not know what sort of events would happen next, and there was no guarantee that there would be no monsters which only Cerna Mouse could beat. If the Demon King showed up and he happened to be 100 meters long and weighed 15’000 tons, then Cerna Mouse’s victory or defeat would decide the fates of all the participants.
无论是哪一件事的动机，皆与游戏有关。先不论玛丝克德汪达被杀时，就连切尔娜米奇发生事情时，对方的目的显然不在于玩游戏，而是在于逃脱。继续待在游戏的延长线上，就有逃脱的机会。虽然切尔娜米奇是个自私自利且为所欲为的人，但也没有必要杀了她。又不知道接下来会出现什么事件，也没办法保证未来不会出现只有切尔娜•米奇才能打倒的怪物。如果出现总长达一百公尺、体重一万五千吨的魔王，那么切尔娜米奇的胜利与否，就会决定全体参加者的命运。

With all these reasons, who would still want Cerna Mouse gone? Or was it that Cerna Mouse was not being specifically targeted, but it was pure coincidence? Or--
即使有这些理由，仍然希望切尔娜米奇消失的人……会是谁呢？还是，并不是切尔娜米奇被锁定，而是纯属偶然？或是——

“...I’ve just thought of a possibility I do not want to entertain. Want to hear it?”
「……我刚才想到一个让人非常不愿意这么想的可能性，你想听吗？」

“Shoot.”
「说出来听听。」

“All this is a scheme by the gamemaster.”
「一切都是大使的诡计。」

“And the reason?”
「理由呢？」

“Here’s what I think. Stealing the Miracle Coin and interfering with the elimination are all actions designed to keep us from clearing the game. The gamemaster’s giving us the slim thread of hope that we can escape by clearing the game, and then sabotaging us under the table to prevent us from doing so. Don’t you think it’s very likely that they would do all this in order to laugh at our frightened faces? The gamemaster can even pull us into the game world, so their power is clearly related to magical technology or computer’s right? They would be omnipotent within the game world, which means she could also control our Magical Phones at will, right?”
「我是这么想的，无论是抢走奇迹金币、妨碍淘汰活动，全都是阻挠游戏破关的行为。只要破关就能从游戏中逃脱，明明给了我们一丝希望，却又在私底下搞破坏，阻止我们破关。做出这些事情，然后在一旁笑看我们害怕到发抖的模样，你不觉得非常有可能吗？大使还能将我们拉进游戏的世界，很明显与魔法方面的机器或是电脑有关吧？她在游戏里面绝对是无所不能，也能够像这样随意操作魔法终端设备吧？」

If that were true, then all hope was lost. If the game’s organizer--who was also the master of the game world--were deliberately working against them, then the players would be powerless to resist. If the gamemaster wanted to slowly torture everyone to death, then they would have no choice but to suffer until they expired. If the gamemaster wanted to kill them all on the spot, then all they could do was die immediately.
如果真被她说中的话，那就彻底绝望了。游戏的主办者，同时也是该世界管理者的大使，如果有心妨碍的话，玩家根本毫无招架之力。如果大使想要将人慢慢凌迟致死，对方也只能被凌迟一番后才赴死；要对方当场毙命，也只能当场死掉。

“I think it would be wiser not to suspect the gamemaster.”
「别去想大使就是犯人的可能性比较明智。」

“Why is that?”
「为什么？」

“Because if the gamemaster really wanted to do that, then all we could do is sit on our hands and wait to be killed. There’d be no way out of it.”
「因为大使真的有心这么做的话，我们只能毫无抵抗地乖乖束手被杀。完全没有闪避的方法。」

“So, your meaning is that we should just let them do as they please?”
「所以，你的意思是就这样任人宰割吗？」

“No.”
「不是。」

It was a depressing notion. In addition, there did not seem to be any possibilities apart from it. Kanoe had just heard all that, yet there were traces of a faint smile on her well-formed lips.
令人绝望的念头，而且，除此之外似乎没有其他可能性了。庚江刚才明明听到这些话，然而她那片形状姣好的唇瓣，却微微浮现笑意。

“If the gamemaster really wanted to do that, then we would be helpless to resist. She can drag 16 Magical Girls into the game world where she holds the power of life and death. Her Magic is very powerful, so trying to fight back or surrender would be completely impossible.”
「如果大使真的有心这么做，我们的确是完全束手无策。将十六位魔法少女关在游戏的世界里，生杀大权全部操之在手。她的魔法非常强大，如果你想击退或是降伏对方，根本是不可能的事情。」

“So you’re saying we should just... give up?”
「你是叫我死心……吗？」

“Let me finish.”
「听我把话说完。」

Kanoe put the teddy bear on her knee, then turned the spinny chair to face Mamori.
庚江将熊熊布偶放在膝上，将旋转椅一转，与护面对面而坐。

“I can’t rule out the possibility that the gamemaster really does want to torture us all to death, no matter how hard I think about it, so I won’t consider that. All I can do is operate on the assumption that we will be released after we clear the game. So there might be someone malicious among the Magical Girls participating in the game, who used some unknown means to steal Masked Wonder’s Coin and meddled with Cerna Mouse’s Candies. All we can do is bet on that possibility.”
「关于大使想将我们凌虐致死的可能性，即使深究也无法解决，所以我就不考虑了。只能以游戏破关之后，就会遭到释放的规则为前提。参加游戏的魔法少女之中，混入了带着恶意的不肖分子，使用了不知名的手法，夺走了玛丝克德•汪达的金币、对切尔娜米奇的糖果动了手脚。我们只能把资源耗在这个可能性上。」

“Is that so…”
「是这样子的吗……」

Ruling out the most likely possibility because “it did not make sense no matter how hard I think about it” and then going on to investigate a less likely alternative might appear to be thinking positively, but in truth, it was still running from reality.
因为「即使想破头也无解」的理由排除最有可能的情形，只去深究可能性较低的情况，乍看之下似乎很积极，但仍然是逃避现实吧。

“If the gamemaster really is the culprit, then all we can do is give up. Firstly, standing up to the gamemaster as a player in the game is impossible. Even seeking her out to fight her should be put on the back burner. Besides, the hypothesis that a player other than the gamemaster is the culprit is not entirely ridiculous. It’s certainly possible. The gamemaster might have prepared a difficult and mean-spirited game for us, but she also prepared loopholes wise people could exploit. Like say, evenly distributing Candies so everyone has the lowest number, or placing Monster Manuals in towns where the enemies might reflect ranged attacks; they’re the type who prepares ways out of a problem so that they could laugh at the people who didn’t think of using them and died as a result. Stealing items by force or manipulating the amount of Candies from the outside doesn’t fit the gamemaster’s character. It’s quite natural that the gamemaster should be an observer of what others do. Of course, that’s from our point of view.”
「如果大使是犯人就没办法了，只能早点死心。首先，以游戏玩家的立场在游戏内对抗大使是不可能的。就算想找她挑战，也应该摆到后头。再说，犯人是大使以外的玩家，这个假设也没有那么荒唐，还是有可能性。虽然大使淮备了高难度且满含恶意的游戏，但聪明人应该会淮备好能够察觉的漏洞。像是统一糖果数量的最低数量、在能反弹飞射型道具的敌人会出没的区域城镇上，配置怪物图鉴，淮备好退路之后，嘲笑着那些没能察觉就死掉的人。无论是以武力强行夺取道具，或是从外部操作糖果数量，都不符合大使的人格特质。所谓的大使就是会旁观别人的行动，这是极为自然的事情。当然，是指对我们而言。」

The teddy bear was deformed, because Kanoe’s hands were wrapped around its neck and squeezing. Her smile remained the same even as she applied enough for the the bear to change its shape.
熊熊布偶歪了，庚江缠绕着它脖子的双手正施力着。她脸上的笑容依旧，对着熊熊布偶施加了足以变形的力道。

“I want to make the culprit pay for this.”
「我要让犯人得到报应。」

Mamori sensed it; Kanoe was angry.
护察觉到，庚江生气了。

She would never forgive anyone who tried to do anything to her people. “Her people” in this case did not mean her family, relatives, or anyone bound to her by blood, but anyone around her.
如果敢对她身边的人下手，她是绝对不会饶恕对方的。所谓的身边的人不是指家人或是亲戚之类有血缘关系的人，而是指她周遭全部的人。

When they had just entered high school, several students mocked Mamori as “goldfish poop” behind her back. Given that it had even reached the ears of Mamori herself, it was clear how big the matter had gotten. The students who had graduated from the same middle school as them would never say such things, but their high school enrolled a lot of people from different schools. The girls who were so eager to slander Mamori took a week’s leave of absence from school after that, and when they returned, they were docile, obedient girls who would never speak ill of anyone else again. In fact, they probably turned pale and started trembling once Kanoe went near them.
刚进入高中就读时，有数名学生在背后嘲笑护为「金鱼之粪」。甚至还传到当事人护的耳里，可见得事情闹得沸沸扬扬。从同一所国中升上来的学校，绝对不会散播那些坏话，但是高中里仍有不少从别所学校进来的学生。说护的坏话说得很起劲的那些女生，在那之后向学校请了一个星期的假，放完假开始上学时，已经变成绝对不会说别人坏话的乖乖牌了。只要庚江一接近
她们就会脸色惨白地颤抖，应该就是那么一回事吧。

Masked Wonder was a comrade.
玛丝克德汪达是伙伴。

Mamori meshed her fingers, placed her hands on her knees, and lowered her head.
护手指交错，双手置于膝盖上，低着头。

She was someone who went forward unguardedly to help someone who was hurt, and even against a 30-meter tall adversary, she stepped forth without hesitation if she was certain that she was in the right. She was a true heroine of justice. While fighting in the name of justice sounded very pretentious and made people want to roll their eyes at her, she strove to push things toward the right path with all her strength, regardless of the situation. She did not beat around the bush and mock others, but always faced everything head-on, no matter what.
看到受伤的人就会毫无防备地前去帮忙，即使是超过三十公尺的敌人，只要认定自己是正确的就会毫不犹豫地挺身而出，她才是真正的正义女英雄。虽然以正义为名听起来很臭屁，让人不禁想斜眼瞄她，但是无论面对何种局势，她都会全力以赴地想把事情导向正轨。她并不会拐弯抹角地讽刺，无论何时总能正面迎战。

Masked Wonder had died due to her head being smashed in by a rock. She could not excuse that under any circumstances.
玛丝克德汪达是被岩石砸烂头而亡的，那种死法绝对算是死于非命。

Mamori but her lip, then looked up to Kanoe. Kanoe’s smile remained as it was, and the teddy bear had returned to normal.
护咬紧嘴唇，抬起头看向庚江。庚江脸上笑容依旧，而熊熊布偶已经恢复正常了。

“I’ll be in charge of observing people. You think of a way, to find the culprit, Mamori.”
「我负责观察人，护负责思考手法，就用这个方式找出犯人吧。」

Mamori continued biting her lip, and she nodded.
护仍然咬着嘴唇，点了点头。


☆Detec Bell

Detec Bell buried Cerna Mouse at the outskirts of town, placing one of the sunflower seeds she liked as a grave marker upon the mound. The gigantic sunflower seeds could not exist in reality, and it was part of Cerna’s costume. In fact, it was actually edible, and one could chew on it when she was bored. Lapis Lazuline was quite envious of the fact that she was the only one who did not need to buy Preserved Food at the Shop.
滴答贝儿将切尔娜米奇的遗体埋在城镇的郊区，在墓穴里放入她喜欢的向日葵种子，留下一个当作墓碑，立在土冢上。巨大的向日葵种子当然不是实际存在的东西，那是切尔娜米奇魔法装扮的一部分。事实上，那东西真的可以食用，闲暇之馀还能用来啃。只有她不需要在商店购买存粮，这一点令菈彼丝蓝金莉汀相当羡慕。

And that Lapis Lazuline was still sniffling and crying,
而那位菈彼丝蓝金莉汀，直到如今仍然吸着鼻子啜泣不已。

Detec Bell wanted to call out to Melville to decide their future plans, and so she turned towards her. However, she saw Melville looking straight at her, and the words she wanted to say died in her throat. Melville quietly said:
滴答贝儿想要出声喊梅尔维儿以便讨论今后的方针，于是朝她的方向一望。只见梅尔维儿正望着自己，刚要喊出口的话就这样卡在喉咙。梅尔维儿静静地开口说：

“I’m leaving the party.”
「我要离开队伍。」

“Why?”
「什么？」

Melville’s attitude was more indifferent than usual.
梅尔维儿的态度显得比平常更加淡然。

“Vhile I knau nhot hu ded it, zere’s a bahd ehg amang zem. Sherna vhas kild by zhat prsun. Ah kent drust aniwan animo. Zho zadlei, ey hef tu goa.”
「虽然阮呒灾系虾郎，但是有坏米。切尔娜就系吼那家伙干掉的。阮呒搁相信任何人。虽然呒菜，阮丫系买离开。」（原句）

“While I don’t know who it was, there’s a bad guy among these people. Cernie was killed by that guy. I can’t trust anybody any more, so there’s no point staying in a party. While it’s a shame, I’ve decided to leave. That’s what Melly said… huh? Melly!”
「虽然不知道是谁，但是有坏蛋混在我们这些人之中。小切尔就是被那家伙杀害的。我再也不相信任何人了，所以即使组队也没有任何意义。虽然心中觉得遗憾，但我决定要离开了。小梅尔是这么说的吧……咦？小梅尔！」

Lapis Lazuline wiped away her snot and tears with her sleeve and put a hand on Melville’s shoulder.
蓝金莉汀以袖子擦掉泪水与鼻水，将手搭在梅尔维儿的肩膀上。

“You’re saying you want to leave the party? But we need to work together if we’re going to beat the challenges ahead! If you leave now, it’ll all be over, Melly!”
「你是说，你要离开我们的队伍吗？接下来我们必须同心协力，才能克服难关吧！小梅尔现在脱队的话，一切都没戏唱了吧！」

“Do you want to come too? Eye won’t stop you if you want to follow me.”
「你也要来吗？想跟我走的话，阮不会阻止你。」

“I’m not going ~su! But I’m against Melly leaving ~su!”
「我才不走！但是，我坚决反对小梅尔你离开！」

Melville shrugged off Lazuline’s hand. Even so, Lapis Lazuline was intent on saying more, but then Melville launched herself off the ground, landing behind the grave. Lazuline stomped the ground in frustration, but she took care not to actually step on the tombstone.
梅尔维儿挥开蓝金莉汀的手。即使如此，蓝金莉汀似乎仍然打算反驳，只见梅尔维儿轻轻踢向地面，跃过向日葵种子墓碑，站在墓冢后方。蓝金莉汀情绪激动地踩脚，但并非打算踩倒墓碑。

Detec Bell was thinking about what to say. She could not approve of Melville’s departure. If only there were something she could say to change Melville’s mind, one thing she could say to make her stay. She thought, and she pondered, but she could not come up with anything...
滴答贝儿正在思考该说什么话。她不能答应让梅尔维儿脱队，只要一句话，能改变梅尔维儿想法的一句话，能让梅尔维儿留下来的一句话。她这么想、反复思索，但想不到……

“So you’re saying I can’t be trusted, then?”
「你的意思是说，我不能相信吗？」

The words she spoke were cold, and their tone unpleasant. Detec Bell licked her lips. They felt coarse and dry, with no moisture at all.
说出口的话语极度冰冷，声音艰涩。滴答贝儿舔了舔嘴唇，相当粗糙干燥，毫无水气。

“You’re not opposed to Lapis Lazuline going with you, but you want to leave the party. Doesn’t that mean you don’t trust me?”
「你不反对蓝金莉汀跟你走，但是你要离开队伍。这不就意味着你不相信我吗？」

“Nya.”
「嗯呀。」

Melville’s body slowly faded away. Her face, clothes, longbow, harpoon, all of them took on the color of the wilderness and she soon melded with the scenery.
梅尔维儿的身体逐渐变淡。她的脸、衣服、大弓、鱼叉，全都染上荒野的土色，逐渐融人景色之中。

“Ah dent zae yowr bhad, ets nod tat eye doan truss yew, Bell. Du wat yew want. Ahm going to find Cherna’s killer, they’re definitely hiding sumwaer.”
「阮呒想甲迈，哪有谋相信贝儿伊。伊去做想做谁歹志。阮系误去找切尔娜的凶手，绝对系藏滴对。」（原句）

“I don’t think badly of you. I simply want to kill the person who murdered Cernie and take revenge for her. Go do what you want to do and work hard on clearing the game. That’s what Melly said ~su.”
「我没有把你想成那么坏。我只是要去捜寻杀害小切尔的家伙，替她报仇。你就去做你想做的事情，以破关为目标好好努力就行了。小梅尔是这么说的。」

“Didn’t the gamemaster kill Cerna?”
「杀了切尔娜的是大使吧？」

That was the only possibility she could come up with. Cerna Mouse’s Magical Phone had showed the same digits as everyone else’s just before and even after the deadline came. Detec Bell was watching from the side, so there was no way there could have been a mistake. However, once Cerna Mouse collapsed, the Magical Phone fell to the ground, and the number on the Magical Phone was less by one for no reason.
无论怎么想都只有这个可能性。切尔娜米奇的魔法终端设备别说是在限时快结束的前一刻，就连时间到了之后，也显示出与其他人一样的数字。滴答贝儿就站在她旁边看，所以绝对不可能出错。但是，切尔娜倒下之后，魔法终端设备掉在地上，而掉在地上的魔法终端设备里的糖果数字无故少了一颗。

This was something neither Magic or items could do. Something impossible had happened. The only person who could do this was the gamemaster.
无论是魔法或是道具都办不到那种事情。确实发生了不可能办到的事情。能做到的人，唯有一个就是大使。

“This was clearly an event to eliminate someone, but Pfle found a loophole and refused to let go. The gamemaster got angrey and twisted the rules of the game in order to eliminate one person as planned, and in order to make everyone accept that outcome, the guildmaster removed one Candy.
「明明是用来淘汰一个人的事件，却被普芙蕾看穿漏洞，紧咬不放。对此感到火冒三丈的大使，扭曲了游戏的规则，按照一开始的预定，淘汰掉一个人，为了让大家心服口服，便拿掉了一颗糖果。」

“Rong. Tink bak on Fal’s reaction, how it wuz.”
「呒对。哩想看卖法尔误反应，那家伙灾样。」

“That’s not right. Think about Fal’s reaction, it knew ~su.”
「不对。你回想一下法尔的反应，它知情。」

“Et woznt a loophole in the rules, et woz trying to hep za players.”
「呒系规则的漏洞，系咧嗄咱玩家凑脚手。」（原句）

“It wasn’t a loophole in the rules, it should have been trying to find a way to save the players, right ~su?”
「那并不是规则的漏洞，应该是帮助玩家的拯救措施吧？」

“Ef et wuz da gamemaster’s urijinal solushin, et wud haf no reason tu bi angre.”
「咚初系大使传好误物件，哪无理由休息。」

“That should have been the right answer which the gamemaster prepared beforehand, why would it get angry because of that ~su?”
「那个应该是大使事前就淮备好的正确答案，怎么可能因此生气。」

“Et det taim I hed a bad feeling, because sumwun wuz smylin.”
「咚时阮金价感觉就呒好，有郎咧笑。」

“At that time, I felt very uncomfortable, because someone was smiling ~su.”
「那个时候我有一股非常不舒服的感觉，有人在笑。」

“When Cherna kullapst, sumwun smiled.”
「切尔娜倒误时，有郎咧笑。」

“When Cherna collapsed, someone was smiling from the side ~su.”
「切尔娜倒下的时候，旁边有人在笑。」

“Ulsuh dere wuz Genopsycho’s messij, seyeng thur wuz a traitor.”
「搁有杰若疯子误歹志，伊共有背叛者。」

“Also, there was the message Genopsycho left, she said there was a traitor among us ~su.”
「还有梦之岛杰若疯子留下来的讯息，她告诉我们存在着背叛者。」

“While I dunno whu et es, I will stehl fyn zem.”
「虽然呒灾系瞎郎，不过阮误找出来。」

“That person is the culprit, I will find them ~su.”
「那个人就是犯人，我会找出那个人。」

After Melville finished, Lapis Lazuline translated, and in between their back and forth, Melville had already blended with the scenery. In the end she vanished, and her words faded away. Lapis Lazuline waited for the next sentence to translate, but Melville did not say anything else.
梅尔维儿说完，蓝金莉汀翻译，就在两人你一言我一句的期间，梅尔维儿已经化为风景的一部分。最后终于消失，话也停了。蓝金莉汀等着要翻译下一句话，然而梅尔维儿再也没说出任何一句话。

“Ah… Melly’s gone ~su!”
「啊……小梅尔不见了！」

She ran around the tombstone, waving her arms wildly, but all she touched was air, and she caught nothing. Melville had already disappeared, departed for somethere else.
她绕着墓碑跑，双手胡乱挥舞，但只有挥到空气，什么都没有抓到。梅尔维儿已经消失不见，离开这里去别的地方了。

Detec Bell started up her Magical Phone, and called up the party screen. It displayed the names of the party members, which were Detec Bell, Lapis Lazuline and Cerna Mouse; Melville’s name was gone. Fal had said joining or leaving a party was very simple. And indeed, it was.
滴答贝儿启动了魔法终端设备，叫出组织队伍的画面。上面显示着队伍成员的名字，写着滴答贝儿、蓝金莉汀以及切尔娜米奇：梅尔维儿的名字已经消失了。法尔说过无论是入队或是脱队都很简单。的确很简单。

“ Lazuline.”
「蓝金莉汀。」

“What’s the matter ~su? Do you have a way to call Melly back ~su?”
「有什么事？你有办法叫回小梅尔吗？」

“Please lend me your Magical Phone.”
「终端设备借我一下。」

“Sure, but what do you want to do with it ~su?”
「可以是可以，不过你要做什么？」

She took Lapis Lazuline’s Magical Phone from her. Its shape was fundamentally the same as hers. Detec Bell traced her finger over the heart-shaped screen, and once it displayed a standby screen, she moved to another screen, displaying the login address..
从菈彼丝蓝金莉汀那里接过魔法终端设备。形式基本上都是一样的。滴答贝儿以手指在心形画面上操作，显示待机画面后，再移动到别的画面，叫出登录的帐号资料。

“Sorry, I pressed the wrong thing.”
「抱歉，我点错了。」

She went back one screen to the party member display. It showed the same thing as Detec Bell’s Magical Phone; the names of the three party members minus Melville. She selected Cerna Mouse’s name, and after deleting it, only two were left. Removing the names of the dead from the party roster seemed to be the job of the living.
她跳回画面，来到组织队伍的显示画面。上面与滴答贝儿的魔法终端设备一样，显示着少了梅尔维儿以外的三个人名字。动手点了切尔娜米奇的名字，选择删除之后，留下雨人的名字。将死者从队伍删除的举动，似乎必须由活下来的人执行。

Detec Bell returned the Magical Phone to Lazuline, then readjusted her hunting cap, squashing it low on her head. That was because she was on the verge of tears, but she did not want Lazuline to see them.
滴答贝儿将魔法终端设备还给蓝金莉汀，重新调整狩猎帽，将帽檐压得低低的。因为她似乎快哭出来了，但她不想被蓝金莉汀看到。

“Melly… said she was going to find the culprit ~su. Is there really a culprit ~su?”
「小梅尔……说要去寻找犯人吧。真的有犯人吗？」

It was unclear whether she was talking to Detec Bell or muttering to herself. Since Lazuline did not respond even after getting no answer, it was probably the latter. Detec Bell clenched her teeth and struggled to holds herself back, the corners of her mouth drooping. Her regret and her almost unbearable emotions made her feel utterly powerless.
不知道是在对滴答贝儿说话，或是自言自语。即使没回答蓝金莉汀也毫无反应，想必是后者吧。滴答贝儿咬紧牙关拼命忍耐，嘴角向下垂。后悔与快要承受不住的情绪，令她感到相当无力。

Detec Bell had always believed that so long as they had Cerna Mouse, they would be fine no matter what happened. Cerna Mouse also proudly believed that as long as she was around, she could protect everyone. While she used that strength of hers to chase others out of her territory, she had still been a reliable companion. And that Cerna Mouse had been senselessly murdered, in a way which had nothing to do with her strength at all.
滴答贝儿一直相信，只要有切尔娜米奇在，无论发生什么事都不会有问题。切尔娜米奇也相当骄傲地认为只要有她在，就能保护大家。虽然她也仗势着那份强大的力量将其他队伍的人赶出地盘，即使如此她仍然是一位可靠的伙泮。而那个切尔娜•米奇却遭到不合理的杀害，以与她的强大完全无关的方式死去。

Although Detec Bell’s name was in the party leader slot, in practice Cerna Mouse had been the one in charge, and Melville had been the one giving Cerna instructions. Without the linchpin of Cerna Mouse, Melville had left, and Detec Bell remained.
虽然队长是挂滴答贝儿的名字，但实质上却是以切尔娜米奇为主，向切尔娜•米奇下达指令的则是梅尔维儿。缺少切尔娜米奇这个主轴，梅尔维儿因此离去，留下了滴答贝儿。

Lazuline seemed to have been left behind as well, but there was a marked difference between her and Detec Bell. That was because Melville had asked Lazuline to leave with her before departing. The fact that she would not stop her from following implied that they could form another team elsewhere. From that point, it could be deduced that the reason Melville had left was because of Detec Bell.
蓝金莉汀看似同样被留下来了，但她与滴答贝儿有着决定性的不同。那就是梅尔维儿离去之际，邀请她一同离开。不会阻止她跟去，意味着即使另外组队也可以。由此可知，换句话说，梅尔维儿离开的理由就是滴答贝儿。

Did Melville not trust Detec Bell? Or was Detec Bell unnecessary? Regardless of which one it was, they both made her want to cry. Detec Bell might have been the nominal leader, but she had not accomplished anything of note, and neither had she unlocked any areas. All of those had been done by the other parties.
梅尔维儿不相信滴答贝儿吗？抑或是滴答贝儿是不必要的存在呢？无论是哪一个理由，想来都令人想哭。虽然滴答贝儿在名义七是队长，但她并没有任何显赫的功绩，也没有成功开放过任何区域，都是别的队伍完成的。

Detec Bell’s Magic was useless in the game. However, she still had her work experience as a detective, her knowledge absorbed from mystery novels, so she felt she was useful even without the ability to use her Magic. However, ever since the game began, not only could she not unlock any areas, but she had not displayed any leaderships skills that a proper party leader ought to have. More to the point, any orders she did give were ignored by Cerna Mouse or Melville.
滴答贝儿的魔法在游戏中派不上任何用场。但是，她还有当侦探的工作经验；拥有从推理小说里吸收到的知识，所以即使无法使用魔法，她仍然相信自己很有用处。然而，在游戏开始之后，她不仅无法开放区域，也没有发挥身为队长该有的领导能力，更何况下达的指示还会遭到切尔娜米奇或是梅尔维儿无视。

“If the person who killed Cernie’s still around, I won’t let her off easily! No, letting someone like that walk around doing anything they want must be super dangerous ~su…”
「如果害死小切尔的犯人真实存在，我绝对不会轻易饶过她！不过，放任那种家伙大摇大摆地在路上走，不是超级危险吗……」

Detec Bell looked toward Lapis Lazuline, who was filled with righteous indignation one moment, and full of fear in the next. Melville had invited Lazuline. When she had left Detec Bell’s party, she had asked Lazuline to come with her.
滴答贝儿将视线投向一下义愤填膺，一下又胆怯起来的菈彼丝蓝金莉汀。梅尔维儿邀请了蓝金莉汀，当她要离开滴答贝儿的队伍时，开口邀请了蓝金莉汀。

Detec Bell eyed Lazuline from under her hunter’s cap, and she saw Lazuline pat her chest in assurance.
滴答贝儿从狩猎帽下瞪着蓝金莉汀，只见蓝金莉汀以右手拍胸脯保证。

“Still, you don’t have to worry. As long as Lapis Lazuline’s around, you’ll be safe enough, Bellsie ~su”
「不过你尽管放心，只要有我菈彼丝蓝金莉汀在，小贝儿会很安全。」

***

The game had ended not long after that, and Detec Bell had changed back into Hioka Shinobu. Having resumed her human, non-Magical Girl form, her heart could not calm down, and she was thoroughly depressed.
游戏在不久之后暂停，滴答贝儿又变回冰冈忍，回到现实世界。恢复成不是魔法少女的人类身分之后，她的内心仍然无法平静、郁闷不已。

She punched the wall of the building, and immediately contacted her office to take ten days off. She did not want to be coldly sacked or told not to come to work any more or hear someone screaming at her about what was going on, so after laying out the situation on her part, she immediately turned her phone off.
伸手揍向大厦的墙壁，立刻联络事务所请假十天。她不想要遭对方无情解雇，叫她不用再去上班了，或是破口大骂她脑袋到底在想什么，所以单方面说完事情之后，立刻关掉手机电源。

She took out her Magical Phone and began a web search. She had noted down the address and area code from Lazuline’s Magical Phone, and after checking that number, she found the name of the city in question. Detec Bell wrote that information on a piece of rough paper and then searched through the train schedules.
取出魔法终端设备，在网路上搜索。她记下了登录在蓝金莉汀的魔法终端设备里，联络人的电话号码区码。用那个号码一査，立刻出现该市的名字。滴答贝儿将资讯写在便条纸上，接着搜寻电车时刻表。

Detec Bell’s Magic was unusable in the game, but it could be used in real life. First, she had to find Lapis Lazuline. She would find her active area in the real world, and then track her down in the same way she had Magical Daisy.
滴答贝儿的魔法在游戏内无法使用，但能用在现实世界中。首先要找出菈彼丝蓝金莉汀。在现实世界里寻找她活动的区域，然后用找魔女黛西时一样的方法找出她本人。

She would work in real life, and increase the amount of information she had in real life. If what Melville said was true, if there was a Magical Girl working with the gamemaster, then she could stop that arrangement. Just confirming that someone had nothing to hide and was a pure, innocent Magical Girl was useful information. Steadily increasing the number of people she could trust was good.
在现实活动、在现实增加情报数量。如果真的如梅尔维儿所说，有魔法少女跟大使联手的话，就能阻止这个情形。只要确认对方是毫无隐瞒、纯白无瑕的魔法少女就是有利的情报。逐一增加能够信赖的人也好。

Indeed, that was why she had to be sure of Lapis Lazuline. Her companion had been killed, yet her attitude seemed far too composed. Was she really that easygoing, or was there a secret to her composure? Detec Bell would solve that mystery.
没错，所以首先要确认菈彼丝蓝金莉汀。伙伴明明遭到杀害、离去，但她的态度却过于从容。她是真的神经大条，抑或深藏着能如此从容的秘密呢？就让滴答贝儿来揭穿其中的谜团吧。

☆Pechika

The restart location for the game was the Wilderness Area. Regardless of where they had been when the game ended, when it started again, they would always be in the Wilderness. In other words, they would always return to the place where the game had begin. She checked the locations of the rest of the party on her Map, and found that they were distributed in much the same way as they had been the last time around.
游戏重新开始的地点是荒野区域。无论上一次游戏是在哪里结束，重新开始的时候都会以荒野区域为起点。也就是说，她们会一直回到游戏刚开始时身处的地方。在地图上确认队伍的位置，发现队员的分布似乎与上一次回来游戏时差不多。

The scenery of the WIlderness had not changed. The sky was a clear blue, the sunlight was very strong, there was no grass on the land, and the almost-collapsed buildings still loomed tall. Every time a gust of wind blew past, it conjured up a cloud of red sand and dust, forcing Pechika to close her eyes.
荒野的景色毫无变化，天空是一片蓝，太阳光异常强烈，大地寸草不生，快倒塌的大楼耸立着。每次一有风吹过，就会扬起赭红色的土与砂，蓓蒂卡就得闭上眼睛。

Pechika met with Clantail first. Just now, she had spotted a shape on the horizon, and in the blink of an eye, she was before her. While she had lost to Pfle in the race, when Clantail ran with all her might, she was faster than the original animal whose lower body’s form she was taking.
蓓蒂卡首先与古兰迪儿会合了。才刚在地平线上看到人影，一眨眼的工夫就来到她的面前。虽然在竞速比赛中败给普芙蕾的轮椅，但是古兰迪儿尽全力奔驰的话，会比原本的动物还迅速。

“It’s been a while.”
「好久不见。」

“Mm.”
「嗯。」

She was as quiet as always. Clantail knelt, pointing her back to Pechika. Pechika straddled Clantail’s back and then wrapped her arms around her belly… not the abdomen of her animal half, but her upper, human half. Pechika could not help but recall how she had trembled in fear when she had been bound with spider silk and slung onto Clantail’s back when they had first met. At that time, Clantail’s monstrous appearance had frightened Pechika to no end, but now, after battling the Dragons, it was no longer strange to her. There was a big difference in bodily warmth between the animal half she was riding and the human tummy she was hugging, which was quite interesting.
依旧一如往常沉默寡言。古兰迪儿蹲下来，将背朝向蓓蒂卡。蓓蒂卡跨坐在古兰迪儿的背上将手绕过她的腹部……不是下半身动物的，而是上半身人类的肚子。蓓蒂卡不禁回想起，刚见面时自己被蜘蛛丝五花大绑，在古兰迪儿背上害怕地颤抖不已的回忆。那个时候，古兰迪儿那宛如怪物的外貌令蓓蒂卡恐惧不已，然而时至与龙战斗的如今已经见怪不怪了。跨坐的动物部位，与手臂环抱的人类部位，体温有很大的落差，这一点还满有趣的。

“Clantail-san…”
「古兰迪儿……」

“Mm.”
「嗯。」

“Your human half and animal half have different temperatures.”
「人类的身体与动物的身体，体温不一样耶。」

There was no answer. Pechika leaned over to look at Clantail’s face, and found that her expression was tense and flushed red. Was she angry? Even if they were more familiar with each other, that did not mean she could address her so casually. Pechika rushed to apologize, but then Clantail leapt, causing her to lose her balance, so she had no choice but to cling to her. Pechika looked behind herself and saw a huge boulder. It would seem they had just leapt over it.
没有回答。蓓蒂卡倾斜身体偷瞄了一下她的表情，发现古兰迪儿的表情紧绷，涨得通红。难道说她在生气吗？即使现在比较熟了，也不代表自己能够用这种随便的口吻说话。蓓蒂卡急忙想道歉，但因为古兰迪儿突然一个跳跃，身体一时失去平衡，只好赶紧抓住她。蓓蒂卡望向身后，看到一个巨大的岩石。看来她刚才是从岩石的上方飞跃过来的。

Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but she had almost been flung off. Therefore, she must have been angry, right?
也许只是偶然，但自己差一点被甩下去。所以，她果然是在生气吧。

“Ah… every time we meet, I have to trouble you to carry me, thank you very much.”
「那个……每次会合的时候，都麻烦你载我，真是谢谢你。」

“It’s okay.”
「不会。」

Clantail’s voice suddenly became very soft.
古兰迪儿的声音突然变小……

“It’s the same… we have to bother you during mealtimes, thank you…”
「彼此彼此……每餐都麻烦你，谢谢……」

Although her voice was so soft that her hooves nearly covered it up, she still managed to hear it somehow. Since she was thanking her, that indicated that she was not angry. Was that it? Clantail raised her lance and pointed forward.
虽然声音小到几乎被蹄声掩盖，不过还是勉强听到了。既然会向自己道谢，代表她没有生气。应该是这样吧？古兰迪儿举起长枪，指向前方。

“Over there.”
「在那里。」

Someone was waving. It was Miyokata Nonako. She was trailed by the Dragon she had befriended in the game last time.
有人挥着手，是御世方那子。她带着在上一次的游戏里，成为好朋友的龙。

“Hahaha! As I thought, we were destined to meet here! It’s been a while~!”
「哈哈哈！能在这里遇见你们，果然是命中注定的！好久不见〜了！」

Nonako grabbed Clantail’s hand and shook it vigorously up and down, then grabbed Pechika’s hand and vigorously shook it as well. The force was such that Pechika was pulled off the horse, but even after being unseated, Nonako refused to let go and spun Pechika round and round and round.
那子拉着古兰迪儿的手上下甩动，然后拉起坐在马背上的薜蒂卡的手，又是一阵甩动，蓓蒂卡就在那股力道的拉扯下，被拉下马。即使是下马之后，那子仍然不放开手，拉着蓓蒂卡转起圈来，转呀转地。

“Hahahahaha! High tension~!”
「哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈哈！真开心！」

After faithfully expressing herself and going round and round for a while, she finally let go of Pechika. Perhaps she had been too excited, but she was panting hard. The Dragon looked at her worriedly.
忠实地表达当下的自我，转来转去好一阵子之后，她终于放开蓓蒂卡。也许是太过兴奋的关系，只见她上气不接下气地喘着。龙担心地看着她。

“Oh… too much high tension, I guess...”
「唔……不小心兴奋过头〜了……」

“Are you alright?”
「你没事吧？」

“Okay, okay...I’m fine. Right, let’s go~ That annoying Realdoll won’t stop complaining if we’re late~”
「OKOK…我没事。好了，快走〜吧。只要晚了一点，那个麻烦的真人人偶就会抱怨个不〜
停。」

And so, the three of them ran toward Rionetta’s location. While running, Nonako occasionally laughed out loud, or giggled, or played with her Dragon
于是三人一同朝指着莉欧妮塔所在位置的游标处飞奔而去。奔跑的时候，那子偶尔大笑，或是嬉闹，或是与龙玩在一起。

She was being deliberately cheerful. Pechika was the same. Clantail had always been softspoken, but she seemed to have been affected by Nonako’s actions, and the corners of her lips curled up in a smile. After what had happened when the game ended the last time, how could they have such a happy beginning? However, everyone put on a show of being happy. Even if it was like a joke, she hoped that it would become true mirth. Everyone seemed to think so.
她是刻意故作开朗的。蓓蒂卡也一样。古兰迪儿原本个性很文静，但是她也受到那子的举动影响，嘴角浮起微笑。上次游戏结束时发生了那种事，这次怎么可能有个愉快的开始？但是大家都表现出相当欢笑的模样。即使只是个小玩笑般的举动，希望能成为真正的玩笑。大家似乎都这么想。

As Pechika’s thoughts were starting to cloud over, they reached Rionetta’s location. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she was tapping her bicep with her index finger.
当蓓蒂卡思绪被些许灰暗的想法占据时，已经抵达莉欧妮塔的所在地了。她双手环胸，用食指敲着手臂的二头肌。

“You’re so slow!”
「很慢耶！」

She was clearly not bothering to hide her displeasure.
只有她完全不掩饰心中的不悦。

“Why did you keep me waiting for so long? I would be terribly grateful if you could do me the favor of telling me why you were dragging your feet all this time.”
「为什么让我等这么久？如果你们可以告诉我，到底是去做了什么才会拖这么久的时间，我会感激不尽。」

“Told you so~ We run here at Mach speed and this woman still complains about it.”
「我说得没错〜吧。我们用超音速拼命跑来，结果这女的还是这样满腹牢骚。」

“Ara? Araara? Speaking ill of me behind my back? How adaptive you are. Your studies of Japanese culture are quite thorough. I’m impressed.”
「哎呀，哎呀呀〜你居然在我背后说我坏话？还真是了不起的适应能力耶。你学习日本文化学习得还真是彻底耶。令人佩服。」

“I was just making an objective observation of the truth. If you don’t like what you hear, then do something about it and fix yourself~!”
「我只是叙述客观的事实。如果你觉得这是坏话，就请你好好忏悔〜吧！」

“My, aren’t we stubborn.”
「还真是死鸭子嘴硬。」

“I shall reflect these words back upon you.”
「那句话我原封不动送还给你。」

They showed no signs of getting sick of this.
完全吵不腻。

Clantail silently turned her back on them and ran off towards the Wilderness Town. Rionetta and Nonako traded barbs as they followed behind her, and then the Dragon flew after them. Just as Pechika was about to give chase, she suddenly stopped.
古兰迪儿沉默地背对她们，朝荒野的城镇飞奔而去。莉欧妮塔与那子则是一边互骂一边追在后头，然后龙也跟着飞去。蓓蒂卡正想要追过去时，冷不防地停下了脚步。

Sniff. She worked her nose. Sniff sniff. She moved her nose around twice to catch the scent. It was very faint, but there was a floral fragrance which did not suit the Wilderness Area at all. These flowers were not rare, and if she had to describe them, she would say she could smell them everywhere. She remembered that this flower was...
嗅，她动了动鼻子。我嗅我嗅，又动了两次鼻子闻味道。虽然很淡，但是的确飘着不符合荒野地区的花香味。这花并不稀有，如果真要形容的话，是那种到处都闻得到的。记得这个花……

“Pechika... going to… leave you behind~”
「蓓蒂卡……要把你……丢下〜噢……」

She was pulled back to reality. Looking over, she saw the Dragon and the three people other than Pechika standing still and looking at her. Miyokata Nonako had her hands to her mouth like a megaphone and she looked like she was shouting, but she could only pick up vague scraps of speech. Pechika hurriedly ran over.
她被拉回现实中。一望过去，只见蓓蒂卡以外的三人与一只龙正在遥远的另一端，停下脚步回头望着这里。御世方那子的双手抵在嘴边，似乎正在大声呼唤，但是距离远到只能隐隐约约听到片断而已。蓓蒂卡急忙跑过去。

***

“They’re heading that way! One red, one green!”
「去那边了！红一、绿一！」

Rionetta baited the enemy Dragons, while Clantail dodged and attacked with her lance. With a sizzle of electric current, the Red Dragon was charred black and hit the rock wall.
莉欧妮塔诱导着敌龙，古兰迪儿则是一边闪避，一边用长枪攻击。啪滋啪滋的电流一闪一闪，红色的龙被烤成焦黑色之后，撞上岩壁。

They continued their hunting in the Underground Area. Thanks to repeated hunts, they had largely grasped the movement patterns of the Dragons. Now, they could hunt very efficiently, and the expenditure of Pechika’s healing potions had slowed greatly.
她们继续在地底区域进行狩猎。也多亏了不断重复的狩猎行动，她们大致卜一掌握到龙的行为模式了。如今已经能非常有效率地狩猎，而蓓蒂卡持有的恢复药水的消耗速度也渐趋和缓。

Of course, a big reason was also because Cerna Mouse could no longer stop them from hunting, like Rionetta had said before the most recent logout. At first, they were worried that Melville or Lapis Lazuline would be barring the gates even without Cerna Mouse around, but currently, they could move freely in and out of the hunting grounds. Said grounds were a treasure trove of Dragons, and they bagged Dragons one after the other, also earning a considerable amount of items and Candies.
当然，在上次游戏结束前的最后，莉欧妮塔说过切尔娜米奇再也无法阻拦狩获，也是一大要因。原本还杞人忧天地担心即使切尔娜米奇不在，还有梅尔维儿或菈彼丝蓝金莉汀守门，但如今她们都能自由地进出狩猎场。滴答贝儿的队伍占领的狩猎场是龙的宝库，她们接二连三地狩猎着三种颜色的龙，也存了不少掉落的道具与魔法糖果。

“I want to change my weapon, how about it? While what I have now is more than enough to deal with Dragons, there are other stages to clear. However, everything in the Underground Shop is so expensive, which is annoying.”
「我想要更新武器，可以吗？虽然现在的武器装备对付龙绰绰有馀，但是毕竟还有其他关长。不过，地底的商店什么东西都很贵，真是伤脑筋耶。」

“Want to buy a few [R]s? Also, if my darling can use equipment, I’d like to buy some~”
「要不要买一些『R』〜呢？还有，如果有我的宝贝能够配备的武器护具，我也想买〜」

“If we had a first aid box, we could put a dozen Recovery Medicines into it. This way, we’d be able to carry even more healing items.”
「如果有急救箱的话，似乎就能在里面放一打恢复药水。这么一来，就能携带更多的恢复药水了。」

After buying their items, changing their equipment and hunting their fill of Dragons, Pechika prepared a meal.
买足道具、整备装备，再去狩猎完龙之后，蓓蒂卡淮备了餐点。

Rionetta and Nonako had blissful looks on their faces, while Clantail simply swished her tail lazily as she ate. Continued purchases of [R] had yielded spoons, forks, plates, bowls and other dining utensils, so not only did they have proper food to eat, but proper cutlery to eat it on, and so they could have a good meal.
莉欧妮塔与那子都露出一副沉醉的神情，古兰迪儿只是陶醉地摇着尾巴、吃着食物。持续购买「R」得到了汤匙、叉子、盘子或是碗之类的餐具，不只餐点内容，连餐具都一应俱全，如今已经能好好吃上一顿饭了。

Be it fighting, equipping themselves with gear, or enjoying the cuisine, all of these were a form of escaping reality. If they did not keep moving, did not stay in motion, they would be broken. Cerna Mouse’s utterly unreasonable death had given them ample reason to just give up on the game, but even so, Pechika and the others could only choose to continue playing. They did not know when it would be their turn to have their eyes closed forever by some incomprehensible situation, but all they could do was hope that such a thing would not happen again.
无论是战斗、用装备或是道具来武装自己，或是吃美味的佳肴，在某种层面上都是在逃避现实。如果她们不持续动、不持续跑，一定会崩溃。切尔娜米奇那极度不合理的死法，给了她们充分的理由放弃游戏，即使如此，如今的蓓蒂卡等人只有继续游戏的这个选项。不知道什么时候，自己会因为不合理的事情而永远地闭上眼睛，但是她们只能拼命让自己相信，不会再有这种事情发生。

In any event, they had to keep moving. They had trod every inch of the Underground Area shown on the map and found hint messages. This sprawling underground area was easily the size of the Wilderness and Grasslands Areas put together, and there were many things places they had to investigate. If they had to hunt Dragons along the way, they could only advance at a turtle’s pace.
总而言之，必须持续不断地动。踏遍地底区域地图上的每一块土地、找出提示讯息。几乎涵盖了荒野与草原区域的地下的宽敞地底区域，有许多地方必须调查，如果还得一边狩猎龙的话，就只能龟速前进。

“There’s a Dragon King among the Dragons, according to the message in that multicolored rock wall.”
「在龙之中有龙王，这个讯息就在这些五颜六色的石壁里面。」

“A King? A king ought to drop a lot of candies, right?”
「KING？应该会掉很多糖果出来〜吧？」

“It says that the throne is rimmed in red.”
「上面说王座周围的边缘是红色的。」

From the way they had not unlocked a single area ever since they had started playing, it was clear that this team was not skilled at puzzle-solving. While Pechika was a noncombatant-type, she could not handle any intellectual activities; Rionetta and Nonako merely looked at the hint and groaned, while Clantail had made it abundantly clear that racking her brains was not her job, so she had never seen her pondering.
从她们截至目前为止，没有开放过任何一个区域就能知道，这个队伍并不擅长解谜。虽然蓓蒂卡是属于非战斗型的要员，但也没办法担任动脑筋的职务；莉欧妮塔与那子也只是看着暗号沉吟：古兰迪儿则从一开始就表态动脑筋不是她的工作，所以从来没看过她一起思考的模样。

The hints they had gathered--”There is a Dragon King among the Dragons”, “The throne is rimmed in red”, “Under the town”, “34, 41, 26”, “Water and Greatshield”, “Spectacles of a past life”, “Something gained from death”, “Everything has its use”-- did not seem like hints at all, but they could not divine any sort of answer from them. Therefore, they decided to leave the task of unlocking areas to other teams and let others set the pace as they searched for hints and continued their main task of hunting Dragons.
她们搜集了「在龙之中有龙王」、「王座周围的边缘是红色的」、、「城镇下面」、「三十四、四十一、二十六」、「水与大盾牌」、「生前的眼镜」、「藉由死能得到的事物」、「天生我材必有用」如此之类的提示与看不出来是什么的提示，却完全没办法从其中导出任何解答。因此，她们是抱持着将开放区域的工作交给其他队伍，全凭别人作主的方针一边搜集提示，一边继续主要的狩猎龙的行动。

“Still… it’s so slow.”
「不过……好慢喔。」

Rionetta grumbled as she ate.
吃饭时，莉欧妮塔不禁发出牢骚。

“You keep saying slow this and slow that, is it about that matter again~? You’re really fussy about time~.”
「你一直说好慢好慢，又是那件事〜吗？你真的对时间很萝嗦〜耶。」

Rionetta ignored Nonako’s jibes and continued speaking:
无视于泼冷水的那子，莉欧妮塔接着说下去：

“Don’t you think someone ought to have unlocked a new area by now? It feels like the areas before this were unlocked more quickly.”
「不觉得差不多也该有人开放区域了吧？之前的区域开放速度好像比较快。」

“Ahhh, it has been a little slow.”
「啊啊，的确是有点慢。」

“I do not wish to stay too long in such a dark and clammy place, how can you be so insensitive? Ah, Pechika, what did you use to thicken this hamburger steak?”
「人家原本就不想在这么阴暗潮湿的场所待太久的说，怎么这么不贴心呀。啊，蓓蒂卡，这个汉堡排是用什么增加黏稠度的？」

“Flour, I think.”
「应该是面包粉吧。」

“Amazing.”
「真了不起。」

“When you say that, it really does sound a little slow~”
「听你这么一说，好像真的有点慢〜耶。」

“Idiots are like that, they will not know unless someone else points it out.”
「笨蛋就是这样，别人不说就不会知道。」

“Pardon?”
「Pardon？」

“I was praising you for understanding after someone finished speaking, are you unhappy with that?”
「我是在夸奖你，听别人说完就懂了，这样你还有什么不满吗？」

“Ah, would anyone like another helping?”
「那个，有人想要再来噫碗的吗？」

“Give me!”
「Giveme！」

“Please do.”
「那我就不客气了。」

She helped scoop more rice for Nonako, Rionetta and Clantail as she silently held out her bowl. At the same time, she also topped up her bowl, and then they began working their spoons. Right now, it felt like Pechika was the team mom.
帮那子盛饭、帮莉欧妮塔盛饭，也帮默默递出木碗的古兰迪儿盛好饭，顺便也替自己的木碗添了饭，之后就动起汤匙来了。总觉得现在的蓓蒂卡俨然成为大家的妈妈了。

Several hours later, something happened. Clantail’s Magical Phone rang with a text alert, and everyone stopped instantly. Clantail checked her Magical Phone, and then showed the display to the other three. The display showed her text message inbox, and it showed a text message which had come from Pfle. The message read simply: “I’ve discovered the event needed to unlock the next area, but it’ll be hard to clear it alone, so I’m requesting help.”

And so, Rionetta muttered:
有动静也是在那之后数小时的事情了。古兰迪儿的魔法终端设备响起简讯铃声，大家瞬间停下动作。古兰迪儿确认了魔法终端设备，将画面秀给另外三人看。那是简讯的收件画面，显示是来自于普芙蕾的简讯。文章相当简洁，写着『发现开放区域的任务，但是难以独力达成，寻求协助。』于是，莉欧妮塔喃喃：

“Looks like we’ll be able to move on to the next area.”
「似乎终于能前进下一个区域了呢。」

She smiled in satisfaction.
露出了满足的微笑。

☆Nokko-chan

In the end, they still had not solved the mystery of Cerna Mouse’s death. At the very least, Nokko-chan had not touched her Magical Phone, so someone else should have done it. There were also people who whined about how it might have been the gamemaster’s doing, but given what she knew about the gamemaster’s personality ever since the game began, it did not seem likely that the gamemaster would ignore the rules and interfere in a way that left the players helpless.
最后仍然没有解开切尔娜米奇的死亡原因。至少小原原没有碰触过设备，所以应该是其他人做的吧。虽然也有人吵着说该不会是大使做的吧，不过从截至目前为止她们所知的大使个性看来，并不认为大使会无视规则出手干涉，置玩家于不测。

Cerna Mouse should have been hated and despised. How could anyone like a Magical Girl who chased other teams from the best hunting spots? Perhaps Cerna Mouse had been doing it on orders, but she seemed to be an example of how not to do things. In addition, one could say that she was strong; or rather, with that body of hers, she could back up her intention to monopolize the hunting grounds.
切尔娜米奇应该是惹人怨、遭到排挤。会将其他队伍赶出极佳狩猎场的魔法少女，怎么可能受人喜爱。也许切尔娜米奇本身是奉命才这么做的，但她的确是象征着该不当行为的代表人物。而且，也可以说是她拥有实力，应该是说那体格，才能实践占领行为。

That point had also been the reason why she had won in her battle against Pfle, which had further solidified her position. Pfle’s wheelchair tank, which had been built using so many parts, had not achieved victory. Nobody could beat Cerna Mouse, and as long as she was around, Detec Bell’s party would continue controlling the hunting grounds.
这一点也因为她与普芙蕾之间的决斗获得胜利，进而得到巩固。搜集了那么多材料，制作而成的普芙蕾的轮椅战车并没有获胜。没有人赢得过切尔娜米奇，只要有切尔娜米奇在的一天，滴答贝儿的队伍就能持续占据狩猎场。

If one wanted to stop them from monopolizing the hunting grounds, they would need to eliminate Cerna Mouse. Even so, using an event to kill a powerful player was impossible, from a player’s perspective. Clearing the game was a matter which concerned their own lives, and that required powerful players. There was no merit in killing someone for a temporary dispute.
如果要阻止她们占领狩猎场，就必须铲除切尔娜米奇。即使如此，利用事件杀害强大的玩家，站在玩家阵营的立场而言，是不可能办到的事情。既然能否破关，关系着自己的性命，就必须有强大的玩家存在。只因为一时的纠纷而杀人，绝对没有任何益处。

In that case, who had done it?
那么，到底是谁？

No player would have benefited from killing her. Neither was this a crime of passion born out of a moment’s anger. The gamemaster had no reason to kill her either; Nokko-chan was very clear that she was not the criminal.
杀了她没有任何玩家能从中获利。也不可能是一时气不过，愤而下手的情形；大使也没有理由杀害她；小原原很清楚自己不是犯人，也没有可能是犯人的人物。

Now that something so frightening had occurred, @Nyannyan most likely felt that if she did not take the appropriate steps, this incident would drive her to despair. That said, @Nyannyan continued hunting Dragons, searching for hints, and looking for a clue to Genopsycho’s whereabouts. Apparently she had even given her phone number to people from other teams, telling them to notify her if they spotted Genopsycho.
发生如此令人毛骨悚然的事情，想必@娘娘也认为没处理好的话，也许会因此事件而陷入绝望。即使如此，@娘娘仍然继续狩猎龙、搜集提示，并且寻找杰若疯子的下落。她似乎还将自己的手机号码告诉其他队伍的人，如果看到杰若疯子的话，请大家联络她。

“There must be something going on behind the scenes. She must be in some sort of dilemma that prevents her from from showing up in front of us ~aru.”
「一定有什么隐情儿。她一定是有无论如何都没办法出现在我们面前，进退两难的苦衷儿。」

“Mm... that’s right, I guess...”
「嗯，就是说呀。」

@Nyannyan seemed to be speaking for her own benefit, but the way she was not seemed much more positive than the distracted, absent-minded state she had been in until now.
@娘娘仿佛是在说给自己听，不过，她这副模样看起来比以前一直呈现在恍惚的状态，还要积极正面多了。

They hunted Dragons, collected Candies, and bought gear and items. Nokko-chan thought, the other teams ought to be doing the same thing too. It was not that she did not want to play the game any more, just that she could not find anything else to do. The Magical Girls could only unleash their power in the game, and right now they vented their anger and depression on the Dragons.
狩猎龙、搜集糖果、购买装备或是道具。小原原心想，其他队伍的人也都在做一样的事情吧。并不是她不想玩游戏了，只是找不到其他事情可以做。魔法少女的力量只能发泄在游戏里，如今正将满腹愤怒与郁闷发泄在龙的身上。

She had been in that state of mind when she received Pfle’s text message.
当她接到普芙蕾传来的简讯时正处于这种状态。

“I’ve discovered the event needed to unlock the next area, but it’ll be hard to clear it alone, so I’m requesting help.”
『发现开放区域的任务，但是难以独力达成，寻求协助。』

It said that Pfle would be waiting in the Underground Town, and she would like everyone to step forward if they could help.
上面写着普芙蕾会在地底的城镇等，如果能帮忙的话，希望大家前去。

“That’s what she said. What do you plan to do?”
「她这么说。你打算怎么做？」

“Of course we’re going to help her ~aru!”
「当然要助她一臂之力呗！」

@Nyannyan’s will was firm, and her eyes gleamed with determination. However, given the air of unease around her and the unstable situation they were in, that vitality felt very unnatural. While she was the picture of what a Magical Girl ought to be--stepping forward in times of danger, believing in her friends, never losing hope, never giving up--it would not be unusual for even a Magical Girl of Righteousness like that to feel even more impotent and burdened than usual in a situation like this.
@娘娘神情坚毅，瞳孔因为坚强的意志而闪闪发光。然而，从现状带来的不安感以及处境的不安稳看来，那饱满的生命力极为不自然。虽然她遵循着魔法少女该有的姿态——遇到危机即挺身而出、相信伙伴、不可灰心丧志、不可屈服，但就算是如此「清新正直的魔法少女」，遭遇这种状况，会受到加倍强烈的无力感苛责也完全不奇怪。

Did she know something? Before @Nyannyan had regained her spirits, she had been muttering to herself. She must have learned something; that was why she could stand up boldly in that fashion.
她知道些什么吧？@娘娘在恢复朝气之前，一直口中念念有词地自言自语。她一定是知道了什么，所以才能挺身面对吧。

***

The Underground Town did not look too much different from the other areas. The buildings were made of stone, and looked fairly ancient. There were no residents and nobody around. There were windows, but no glass. The shop messages were caring and polite, but they were useless apart from that. If one really had to point out a difference, it would be that this place was markedly more humid and there was the smell of mildew in the air. One could say that the Underground was not a place where people would want to live.
地底区域城镇的外观与其他区域比较起来，没有太大的差异性。建筑物是以石头建造，相当古老。既无人烟，也无居民。虽然有窗户，但没有玻璃。商店的讯息尽是些亲切的话语，除此之外没有任何作用。如果真要举出相异处，那就是湿度明显高出许多，而且有一股霉味，可以说整个地底都不会让人想住在这里。

There were several Magical Girls at the meeting point.
碰面地点已经聚集了几位魔法少女。

A centaur, a shrine maiden, a chef, and a doll; these were the members of Clantail’s party. The shrine maiden and the doll were glaring at each other, and every time she saw them, they were arguing. Was that really alright?
半人马、巫女、厨师、人偶四位是古兰迪儿小队的。巫女与人偶正互相瞪视，每次看到她们都是在吵架，没问题吧？

Detec Bell’s party was there too. Without Cerna Mouse, that left Lapis Lazuline and Detec Bell, and Melville… she looked around for her, and in the end she found Melville by herself, on a rock far away from her party.
滴答贝儿的队伍也在。少了切尔娜米奇，现在只有菈彼丝蓝金莉汀与滴答贝儿，还有梅尔维儿……四处搜寻她的身影，结果发现梅尔维儿独自一人远离队伍，坐在石头上。

Shadowgale carried Pfle on her back. Nokko-chan and @Nyannyan approached Pfle and greeted her.
普芙蕾则是被暗影叶尔背着。小原原与@娘娘首先靠近普芙蕾，主动向她打招呼。

“Hi, so you came.”
「海，你们来啦。」

“Your wheelchair hasn’t been fixed yet?”
「轮椅还没修好吗？」

“Rather than fix it, it would be better to build a new one. Did you obtain a chair or something from [R]?”
「比起修理，倒不如重做一辆。你们有在『R』得到椅子之类的东西吗？」

“Sorry, but we didn’t buy [R]s.”
「不好意思，我们没有买『R』。」

“Is that so… I asked the others who just came, and nobody got a chair. If you do get a chair, please give it to me. I’ll make sure you’re amply rewarded for it.”
「是吗……我也问过其他刚来的人，没有人得到椅子。如果有得到椅子的话，请你务必让给我，我会准备丰厚的谢礼。」

Pfle did not have a wheelchair, which meant that the only person who could move about normally in their team was Shadowgale. Just the thought of that sounded very tiring, and while Nokko-chan could understand why she had recruited others to help with the area unlock event from that, she could not discern any misery or pain from Pfle’s expression. Neither were her clothes dirty or her body injured in a way which might elicit sympathy from others. Nokko-chan simply felt that the way she was being carried by Shadowgale seemed like second nature to her.
普芙蕾没有轮椅，也就代表她们队伍能够正常活动的人，只剩下暗影叶尔了。光是想象就觉得很辛苦，虽然多少能由此得知普芙蕾为了区域的开放任务召集其他人的理由，但是从她的表情完全看不出辛苦或是痛苦，也没有因为衣服被弄葬或是哪里受伤让人看来于心不忍，只觉得她被暗影叶尔背着，仿佛是再理所当然不过的状态。

The one who looked tired was the one doing the carrying. The bodyweight of a single girl would not impose any burdens on a Magical Girl. That said, if she had to take that girl’s safety into consideration while fighting dangerous monsters, that ought to make her feel fatigued.
看起来疲倦无比的反而是背人的那一方。一位少女的体重，并不会对魔法少女造成任何负担。话虽如此，如果她得顾虑那位少女的安全，甚至与危险的怪物战斗的话，应该会产生疲倦感吧。

“Now then, everyone’s assembled.”
「那么，大家都已经到齐了吧。」

All the Magical Girls were present at the entrance of the Underground Town, apart from Yumenoshima Genopsycho. Pfle looked around, her gaze lingering on everyone, and finally she looked at Nokko-chan and nodded.
地底城镇的人口处，除了梦之岛杰若疯子之外的魔法少女全员到齐。普芙蕾环视四周，将视线停伫在每个人身上，最后看着小原原点了点头。

“Please follow me, everyone. I shall explain the event to unlock the next area.”
「那么，请各位跟我来。我来说明一下开放区域的任务。」

Shadowgale began walking, in accordance with Pfle’s instructions, and everyone else followed behind her. The Underground area was fundamentally a cave. The ground was made of hard, uneven rocks, it was very damp, and the water dripping from above formed a lot of small puddles. One would slip if one was careless, so they had to set their feet carefully as they advanced. Their footsteps resounded as they walked. The sound of so many peoples’ footsteps was quite startling. There was a Magical Girl who did not wear shoes--Clantail--but her hooves were noisier than shoes.
暗影叶尔根据普芙蕾的指示，迈开步伐，众人跟在后面。地底区域基本上就是洞窟。地面是以坚硬乂凹凸不平的岩石形成，相当潮湿，还有许多从上方滴落水滴而形成的小水洼，一不小心就会滑倒，必须用脚贴紧地面前进。一走动就会传来脚步声。这么多人的脚步声加起来也相当惊人。有个没有穿鞋子的魔法少女——古兰迪儿，但是她的蹄声比鞋子的声音还吵。

The tunnels here were narrower than the Wilderness, the Grasslands, or the Mountains. They could not travel in a row, so everyone had to advance in single file.
这里的通道比荒野、草原或是山岳更加狭窄，无法并排行进，必然也导致大家呈一列纵队前进。

Nokko-chan looked ahead, from her position at the very end of the line. Each of the Magical Girls’ backs followed another, and those backs appeared completely defenseless. If there were someone with malicious intent among them, they might decide to attack from behind; had nobody considered that possibility? Or had they considered that, and thus they deliberately exposed their backs as a lure to bait that evildoer onto the hook?
小原原从后面数来第而个的位置向前看。魔法少女的背影一个连着一个，而那些背影看起来毫无防备。如果她们之中混人抱持着恶意的人，也许会从背后遭到攻击，难道就没人考虑到这种可能性吗？或是考虑到了，所以刻意暴露背影，想引那个怀抱恶意的人上钩？

After walking for quite a while, the group halted, and Pfle shouted:
走了好一阵子之后，突然停止行军，普芙蕾出声道：

“The event area for the unlock event is up ahead! There is a very dangerous enemy here! Everyone, please be on your guard!”

Pfle took out a pair of glasses from her Magical Phone. They were simple, silver frames with no adornment, and they looked practical enough, but they did not match a Magical Girl’s style at all. Pfle put them on without a word, and as expected, they did not suit her.
「前方就是开放区域任务的舞台了！有非常危险的敌人！请各位提高警觉！」普芙蕾从魔法终端设备中拿出眼镜，无任何装饰作用的简约银框设计，外观看起来很实用，但不符合魔法少女的风格。普芙蕾不发一语地戴上眼镜，果不其然，非常不适合。

“Everyone, please follow behind me.”
「那么，请各位跟在我身后。」

Shadowgale moved forward, following Pfle’s instructions. “Right a little, that’s right, over there,”--as she listened to those instructions, she headed straight for the wall, and after she bumped into it, she was neatly sucked in. There were cries of surprise from the other Magical Girls, whereupon Pfle stuck her head out of the wall and said:
暗影叶尔在普芙蕾的命令下，向前迈开步伐。右边一点点、没错，就是那里，她一边接受仔细的指示，一边笔直地朝墙壁走去，撞上墙后，就被俐落地吸了进去。在其他魔法少女们一阵惊呼声中，只见普芙蕾从墙壁探出头来说：

“You can enter through here, but there’s a limited area, so please be careful not to bump into the wall.”
「这里是可以进入的，范围有限，请大家小心别撞上墙壁。」

Clantail was next, and as she gingerly touched the wall, her fingers, wrists and arm passed through it and vanished. There was a fake wall here which was an illusion or a hologram; the truth was that the way ahead was clear. Pfle’s glasses were probably an item to see through that false wall.
走在队伍第二个的古兰迪儿，战战兢兢地用手一触碰墙壁，指尖、手腕、手臂就穿过了墙壁，消失不见。这里存在着一道幻觉或是立体影像之类的假墙，前方其实是通路。普芙蕾的眼镜应该就是用来看穿那道假墙的道具吧。

The party began to move again. Clantail entered the wall, and the people behind her were hot on her heels. Nokko-chan tried touching the wall, and she passed through effortlessly.
队伍再度开始移动。古兰迪儿进入墙壁里，后面的人也紧跟在后。小原原也试着用手碰触墙壁，毫不费力地穿过另一侧。

“Amazing, it looks just like a real rock wall ~aru.”
「好厉害呀，看起来就像是真的岩壁一样儿。」

As she heard the voice coming from behind, Nokko-chan nodded and went straight through. For a moment, her vision turned black, and after the blackness was a tunnel. Unlike the caves they had just passed through, it felt like it had been worked by stonemasons. The walls, ceiling and floor were flat and advanced in parallel to each other, and the joins between them were at a perfect 90-degree angle. The walls felt more polished than ordinary rock, and there were evenly-spaced torch sconces on the walls for illumination. Her hand felt warm when she brought it near, so the flames were real. While Magical Girls did not need that light, having them around made her feel somewhat more reassured.
听到身后传来的声音，小原原点了点头便直接穿越过去。视线只有短短一瞬间变得一片漆黑，穿过那片漆黑之后，出现了通道。不同于刚才走过的洞窟，道路有一种经过人工钻凿的加工质感。墙壁与墙壁、天花板与地板平行延续下去，墙壁与地板、墙壁与天花板的交界处呈现完美的九十度直角。壁面的质感比普通的岩石还光滑，墙壁以等间隔的距离装上照明用火炬。手一接近便能感受到热度，这是真的火焰。虽然魔法少女并不需要照明，但还是隐隐约约觉得心里比较踏实。

The hidden passage continued for another 500 paces, and the sound of footsteps from ahead began to change. Nokko-chan was not tall enough to see what was going on ahead, so she had to stick her head out from the side. She saw the sconces continue further down. There was a staircase there.
隐藏通道继续向前延伸约五百步的距离，从前方传来的脚步声产生了变化。以小原原的身高看不到前面，只好从旁边探出头。只见火炬的位置往下延续。那里有阶梯。

The stairs and the passage were man-made as well. They did not look naturally formed at all. The stairs did not proceed straight ahead, but they curved very slightly to the right.
阶梯与通道一样都是人工产物，完全不像自然形成的。阶梯并不是笔直向前进，而是一点一点地向右弯。

To the right, to the right, and further to the right. This was a set of right-handed spiral stairs.
往右、往右，又往右。这是右旋的螺旋阶梯。

They descended about 200 steps. This area was subterranean to begin with, and so one could conclude that they were very far underground. Was she imagining things? It felt like the temperature was dropping and she was having a hard time breathing the further she went.
大概往下走了约两百阶吧。这个区域原本就在地底，因此可以判断她们来到相当深的地面下。是她的错觉吗？总觉得气温也跟着下降，也越来越喘不过气来了。

After exiting the stairs, they found an incredibly spacious area before them. It was wider than the Underground Area’s Dragon hunting grounds, more than two or three times the size.
离开阶梯之后，是一面宽敞无比的空间。比地底区域的龙狩猎场还更宽敞，也许规模大上不只两、三倍。

The floor was paved, and the walls were unlike the tunnel or the stars; they were made of real rocks, hard and uneven. The ceiling was very high, at least a hundred meters above the ground. The central area was much higher than the sides, towering above them like a cliff face, and when Nokko-chan saw the creature on top, she could not help gulping. The other Magical Girls were no exception. Some exclaimed, some froze in place, all of them reacted differently, but all of them were just as shocked.
地面铺着石板，墙壁与通道或是阶梯的壁面皆不同，而是货真价实的岩石，坚硬又凹凸不平。天花板很高，距离上面最少有一百公尺。比旁边高出许多的中央处仿佛直立的悬崖般耸立，小原原看到那上面的生物后，不禁吞了一口口水。其他的魔法少女也不例外，有人发出惊呼、有人呆立不动，反应不一，但大家同样震惊。

“And that, as they say, is that.”
「就是这么一回事。」

Pfle turned around to face them, and shrugged. Thanks to the glasses, she looked a little comical. Nokko-chan breathed in deeply, and exhaled.
普芙蕾转向她们，耸了耸肩。也因为眼镜的关系，使她看起来有点滑稽。小原原深吸一口气，
吐气。

The central raised area was a circle roughly 20 meters across, and upon it lay a massive creature. Its curled tail looked to be about 15 meters long when outstretched. Its scales were big enough that they could see them clearly even from this distance, and they gleamed a metallic red. Its fangs were thick and long, even with its mouth closed, and they looked very sharp. Its wings were big enough to match that massive body; could it be that such a huge creature could still take to the sky? Its claws looked to be as long as Nokko-chan was tall; even a simple scratch would probably tear a body to pieces.
中央处高出旁边许多的地方是一个直径二十公尺左右的圆形，上面趴伏着一只巨大的生物。如
果将蜷曲的尾巴伸长后测量的话，总长似乎有十五公尺。一片一片的鳞片大到即使距离这么远，也能看得一清二楚，带着金属般的光泽绽放着红光。就算闭着嘴巴，也能从外面看到的僚牙又粗又长，而且看起来相当锐利。翅膀也大到足以匹配那巨大的体型，难不成那个庞然大物还能够在空中飞吗？它的爪子与小原原的身高相当，被它轻轻一划，似乎就会五马分尸。

It was a gigantic Dragon. The creatures they had hunted underground until now could not be considered Dragons in comparison. Not only did it differ in size, but it had a completely different appearance. Its eyes flared as it looked over to them, the black slits in their centers long, slender and straight. Nokko-chan could sense its hostility and bloodlust from its gaze, from the way it reared up, and her legs trembled uncontrollably.
有一只巨大的龙。至今为止在地底狩猎的生物，与它相比根本不能称之为龙。不仅大小不同，龙的外观也完全不同。它的瞳孔瞪得大大地望向这边，黑色眼珠的部分又直又细长。从它的视线中、从它伫立的模样传来阵阵敌意与杀意，小原原的脚忍不住颤抖。

“Do you see that red line?”
「有看到那里的红线吧？」

She looked in the direction where Pfle was pointing, and indeed, there was a red line there. It was roughly 30 meters from that huge Dragon, perhaps? It encircled the Dragon at an even spacing from it.
她朝普芙蕾所指的地方望去，的确画了一条红线。大概距离那只巨龙三十公尺左右吧？以等距离环绕着龙所在位置的四周。

“If you cross that red line…”
「如果跨越那道红线的话……」

Shadowgale picked up a fist-sized rock by her foot and tossed it at the Dragon. At the same time, the Dragon opened its mouth, baring its carnivore’s fangs. A flash of red came from the depths of its throat, and it launched a huge fireball which struck the rock. The fireball consumed the rock and continued straight at them. Nokko-chan leapt aside, some of the other Magical Girls fell prone, someone raised a shield to block, but the fireball did not cross the red line, vanishing into the air like smoke. The Magical Girls, still in their defensive stances, breathed deep sighs of relief.
暗影叶尔捡起躺在脚边如拳头般大的石头，朝龙扔去。与此同时，龙张开那巨大的嘴巴，毫不掩饰露出肉食动物充满兽性的僚牙。它的嘴巴深处闪着红光，接着飞出巨大火球，命中石头。火球吞噬掉石头之后，朝这里笔直飞来。小原原跳向旁边，其他的魔法少女有人趴下、有人以盾牌挡住，但是火球并没有越过红线，便如一阵烟般消散在空中。仍然摆着防御姿势的众人，深深地吐了一口气。

As for the rock, it was not so much carbonized as completely eradicated from existence.
而石头别说是变成煤灰了，根本就消失得无影无踪。

“...It attacks, just like that. Fortunately, its attacks cannot cross the red line.”
「它就会像这样发动攻击。庆幸的是，它的攻击没办法越过红线。」

In that case, you should have told us! Nokko-chan was not the only one who thought that; everyone turned accusatory glares at Pfle, which said more than words ever could.
既然如此，你应该先告诉我们吧！不只小原原如此想，众人皆以比言语还激动的眼神控诉着普芙蕾。

“After that, please look over there, everyone.”
「接着，请各位看那边。」

The place Pfle was pointing happened to be directly above the Dragon. A rope ladder dangled from there. It was connected to the ceiling, where there was a hole which one person could squeeze through at a time with difficulty.
普芙蕾所指的前方，恰巧就在巨龙的正上方，那里垂挂着一条绳梯。绳梯连接着天花板，开了一个只能勉强容纳一人通过的洞。

“According to the hints I found, that hole leads to gate which connects to the next area. Of course, if you want to pass through that hole…”
「根据我搜集到的提示，那个洞就是通往下一个区域的门。然后，如果想钻过那个洞。」

Pfle’s finger lowered, until it pointed at the enormous Dragon.
普芙蕾的手指往下移动，指着巨龙。

“...You will have to defeat the Dragon who is squatting there.”
「你们就必须击退盘踞在那里的龙。」

“How can we beat it?!”
「怎么可能打赢啊！」

Rionetta screamed hysterically.

莉欧妮塔歇斯底里地大叫。

“You saw it too, didn’t you? If it hits you, you’ll be charred to ash right away! And there’s that massive body! Those sturdy scales! I don’t think punching or kicking will work on it!
「你们也看到了吧？如果被那东西命中的话，马上就会变成黑碳耶！还有那巨大的身体！看起来很坚固的鳞片！我可不认为用揍的或是用踢的攻击方式，能发挥作用！」

With a pained look on her face, Detec Bell muttered,
滴答贝儿一脸难过地低喃：

“If only Cerna were here…”
「如果切尔娜在的话……」

“What’s the point of calling for someone who isn’t around any more? We’re all stuck here and can’t progress.”
「喊着已经不在的人的名字做什么？我们大家全都卡在这里无法前进了。」

“That might not be the case. At the very least, the game has provided us with a way to beat this scenario.”
「这也很难说。至少，游戏有替我们淮备好攻略手段。」

Pfle picked up her Magical Phone and slid her finger across the screen.
普芙蕾拿着魔法终端设备，滑动画面。

“Everyone, please open up the Monster Manual. It contains information about this guy.”
「请各位启动怪物图鉴，上面记载了这家伙的相关资讯。」

When they opened the Monster Manual, they saw the information in question. It was called a Great Dragon. That name was simple, direct, and explained its nature without beating around the bush. While there was information pertaining to it, almost all of the entries read “???”, and its attack methods and dropped items were all hidden.
一打开怪物图鉴便能看到记载的相关资讯。名字是巨龙。这名字还真是既不拐弯抹角又毫不费心思的简单扼要。上面虽然有记载资讯，但几乎都是「？？？」，攻击方式与掉落道具等都被隐藏起来了。

“This must be the mid-boss. The relevant info’s all been hidden, but parts of it are still viewable to all.”
「它就是所谓的守关魔王吧。相关资讯几乎都被隐藏起来了，不过还是有公开的部分。」

Aside from its name, they could see its location and that it was a fire-elemental creature. Those two entries had not been covered up.
除了怪物名称以外，出没地点与火焰属性，这两点没有被隐藏起来。

“Since it’s fire-elemental, that implies Water Charms will both improve the damage we deal and reduce the damage we take from its attacks. However, even with that, a direct hit will surely result in instant death.”
「既然它是火焰属性，即意味着戴上『水护身符』，就能增强我方攻击造成的伤害力，同时也能减轻我方遭到攻击时的损伤。不过，就算这样，只要被直接命中还是逃不了当场毙命的下场。」

“So what good does it do, then?”
「那有什么意义啊。」

“I said, ‘a direct hit’. Using a Water Charm and blocking with a Shield +5 should be enough to avoid being killed in one shot. You’ll be burned, of course, but that’s within acceptable parameters.”
「我是说被直接命中的话。如果戴上『水护身符』与『遮蔽力+5』挡在前面的话，就不会一击毙命了。多少会被烧伤，但还在能忍受的范围。」

Shadowgale nodded. It would seem she had already tested it in person.
暗影叶尔点了点头。看来她已经亲身测试过了。

“And then, there’s this.”
「然后，还有这个东西。」

Pfle pulled out a weapon from her Magical Phone. It was a dagger, and while it looked easy to use, its attack power ought to be equally low as well.
普芙蕾从魔法终端设备取出宝剑。一把小短剑，虽然看似很好掌握，但攻击力应该也相对低落。

“The Dragon Slayer. It’s exceptionally powerful against Dragon-type monsters, and it ought to be able to kill it on a direct hit, according to the Monster Manual. I had to jump through a lot of hoops to obtain this, but that has nothing to do with our present situation.”
「斩龙剑。对付龙系的怪物时，威力特别强大，只要砍中就能杀了它，怪物图鉴上面是这么说的。为了得到这个我做了不少棘手又麻烦的事情，不过与现在的情况无关。」

Pfle then continued:
普芙蕾又接着说：

“Also, @Nyannyan.”
「还有，@娘娘。」

“Yes ~aru?”
「有什么事儿吗？」

“How far can you throw your talismans? If you can drop a building on it, I doubt even that Dragon can survive unscathed.”

@Nyannyan’s expression darkened. Perhaps she was recalling the incident when she had flattened the samurai Magical Girl with a building.
「你的符咒射程有多远？如果用大楼攻击的话，就算是巨龙也不会毫发无伤吧。」@娘娘的表情浮现些许晦暗。也许是亿起用大楼压烂武士魔法少女的事情也不一定。

“...I can only throw the talismans normally, so I need to get very close to attack ~aru.”
「……符咒只是很普通地扔出去而已，必须靠非常近才行儿。」

“Mmm, I see. That being the case, let’s go with a pincer attack. The Dragon Slayer from the right and @Nyannyan from the left. As long as one side succeeds in striking the Dragon, we win.”
「嗯，果然是这么一回事。既然如此，就从两边攻击吧。右翼是斩龙剑，左翼是@娘娘。只要有一边成功击中龙，我们就获胜了。」

Nokko-chan went over Pfle’s words in her head. Being hit was not necessarily fatal; we have a massive advantage in numbers; the Dragon is vast, but because of that vastness it should have an equally large turning radius; if we surround and attack it, we have a chance of victory.; we have two killer moves on our side, either of them will defeat the Great Dragon if they connect; and the fact is that despite the danger, we can’t move on to the next area if we don’t beat the Great Dragon.
小原原在脑袋中反复思索普芙蕾说过的话。攻击并不会造成致命伤；我们在数量上有着压倒性的胜利；龙虽然巨大，但就是因为巨大所以应该无法灵敏地小幅度转身；如果进行复数包围的话，似乎有获胜的可能性；必杀的攻击方法有两种，无论是哪一种，只要命中的话就能打倒巨龙；还有，即使有危险，但不打倒巨龙，就没办法前进到下一个区域。

That being the case, the players would be forced to fight an uphill battle.
如此一来，恐怕玩家只能选择背水一战了。

“A question please?” Clantail raised her right hand.
「可以问一件事吗？」古兰迪儿举起右手。

“The effectiveness of Water Charms aside, there aren’t enough Shields +5. I’m the only one with one on our team.
「如果先不论『水护身符』的效用如何，但是『遮蔽力+5』的数量不够。我们队上只有我有。」

“Our party doesn’t have Shields +5 ~su, because shields are just too heavy ~su.”
「我们队伍也没有『遮蔽力+5』耶，因为盾牌那种东西实在是太重了。」

“We only have one Shield +5 ~aru.”
「我们只有一个『遮蔽力+5』儿。」

“On that note, there’s no need to worry. We have stores.”
「关于这一点大家不必担心，我这里有库存。」

Pfle held up her Magical Phone.
普芙蕾举起自己的魔法终端设备。

“Just loaning them out would be too miserly. Consider this on the house.”
「如果只是出借的话，就太小家子气了。这个就免费送你们吧。」

“Well, that’s mighty kind of you. What’s the catch?”
「还真是体贴呀，想必是有什么条件吧？」

“I want the bonus for unlocking the area. Specifically, I want the Candies and the cash.”
「我想要开放区域的报酬。具体来说，我想要的是糖果以及全部的现金。」

This was an easily-understood request, so everyone fell silent. All sound vanished from the underground square other than the breathing of the Great Dragon.
因为这过于浅显易懂的要求，众人的声音骤然停止。地下的大广场除了巨龙的鼻息以外，其他的声音都消失了。

“That should be okay, right? After all, Shadowgale and I felt out the path that leads here.”
「应该没关系吧？毕竟到这里为止的路，是我跟暗影叶尔一路摸索出来的。」

“As if.”
「想得美。」

“The bonus is a million yen, right? That’s a sizable sum. Being too greedy might lead to an early death.”
「现金不是有一百万圆吗？这是一笔很大的数目耶。太过贪心的话，可是会早死的。」

“Besides, taking all the Magical Candies, that’s simply profiteering~”
「再怎么说，拿走全部的魔法糖果，根本就是赚取暴利〜嘛。」

“Please have some mercy…”
「请手下留情……」

As the gathered people complained, Pfle pursed her lips in a moue of annoyance.
众人纷纷抱不平，普芙蕾则是不悦地都起嘴。

“We’re unlocking the next area, aren’t we? So the money’s not important at all, is it?”
「可以开放区域耶？报酬根本不重要吧？」

“If it’s not important, then don’t hoard it all! Give me Candy!”
「如果真的不重要的话，你就不要独占啊！GiveMeCandy！」

“What kind of twisted logic do you operate by where it’s okay for others to work and not collect a single cent for it?”
「叫别人工作不收取半毛钱，这种歪理你以为行得通吗？」

“It can’t be helped… Alright, I’ve got it. We’ll divide the clear bonus evenly among ourselves. However, if the Great Dragon drops any items, they’re mine. Is that acceptable?
「真拿你们没办法……我知道了。那么就由在场的每一位平分过关的报酬吧。但是，如果巨龙有掉落道具的话，就是我的了。这样可以吧？」

If the Great Dragon dropped any items, there would probably only be one of them. Since there was only one of them, that implied only one person would be able to get it. If one thought about who had the right to any dropped items, the sole conclusion would be Pfle. The people from the other parties exchanged looks.
如果巨龙会掉落道具，恐怕也只有一个。既然只会掉一个出来，即意味着只会有一个人能得到。如果要说现场的人之中，谁有权利拿道具，也唯独普芙蕾了吧。其他队伍的人纷纷与自己的伙伴交换视线。

“That’s fine.”
「可以。」

“I can agree to those conditions.”
「这个条件可以。」

“Then that’s settled.”
「就这么说定。」

After the party leaders expressed their approval, Pfle’s displeasure vanished without a trace and a smile appeared in its place.

“Then let’s begin the battle! People without shields, come get one from me. There’s also the matter of our formation. Any Magical Girl brave enough to be the vanguard gets an extra share, how about that? After that, the person who gets the Dragon Slayer…”
待队长表示同意后，普芙蕾不悦的表情当场消失得无影无踪，转而浮现出笑容。「那么开始进行攻略吧！没有盾牌的人，请过来找我领取。还得讨论一下配置。有勇气担任先锋的魔法少女，能获得比其他人还多的报酬，这样如何？接下来，是拿斩龙剑的人……」

Pfle cheerfully began dictating orders.
普芙蕾欣喜地开始下达指令。

***

Everyone took their places. They waited in front of the red line, careful not to touch it. The ones not used to their shields felt that they were much heavier than they actually were, but at the same time they felt much more confident. If anything actually happened, the shields ought to be able to protect them.
大家各就各位。红线在众人脚尖前方要碰不碰的地方待命。用不惯的盾牌装备，比实际看起来要重上许多，但也因此令人感到可靠多了。真的发生什么事情的话，盾牌能够保护自己1应该吧。

Beside Nokko-chan was the Magical Girl in white from Clantail’s party… Pechika, who was trembling nonstop. She felt like she had some sort of karmic tie to this girl; when situations like these came up, she was always nearby. It would seem she was not very reliable.
小原原身旁是隶属于古兰迪儿小队的白色魔法少女……蓓蒂卡颤抖不已。总觉得自己与这女生似乎颇有缘分，面对这种场合的时候，不知道为什么她都会在自己附近，看起来不是很可靠。

Clantail held the Dragon Slayer in her right hand and her Shield +5 in the other. @Nyannyan was in front of the Dragon. Nokko-chan was carrying a Shield +5 herself, and the other Magical Girls were similarly equipped with Shields +5. Only Melville had her bow and harpoon in hand, standing far away to provide ranged support. Everyone had Water Charms around their necks, and they surrounded the Great Dragon.
右手持着斩龙剑，左手拿着遮蔽力十5盾牌的是古兰迪儿，@娘娘则在巨龙的正面。而小原原自己也拿着遮蔽力+5的盾脾，其他的魔法少女也同样以遮蔽力+5进行武装，只有梅尔维儿一人拿着弓箭与鱼叉站在远方负责掩护。大家的脖子上都挂着水护身符，将巨龙圑团包围。

As the Magical Girls prepared themselves, the Great Dragon simply blinked lazily, not even bothering to look. It seemed completely uninterested in this as though certain that it could not be beaten by any amount of people with all the time they needed to prepare.
在魔法少女们进行淮备的期间，巨龙只是懒洋洋地半睁着眼，看也不看一下。它看起来对此毫无兴趣，似乎认定无论人类进行再多的淮备都打不赢自己。

Shadowgale placed Pfle on a boulder, and took her own position.
暗影叶尔在岩石上放下普芙蕾，自己则就配置位置。

“Then…”
「那么……」

Just as Pfle was about to signal the beginning of the battle...
就在普芙蕾正要打出作战开始的暗号之际……

“Eh?!”
「咦！」

Rionetta jumped. Her mouth was wide as she looked toward the entrance of the room. Nokko-chan looked in that direction as well. Standing there was Yumenoshima Genopsycho.
莉欧妮塔猛然起身。张着嘴，望着大房间的人口处。小原原也跟着望过去。梦之岛杰若疯子就站在那里。

“Genopsycho-san!”
「杰若疯子！」

@Nyannyan shouted and stood up. Her expression changed from surprise to delight, and her face glowed with emotion as she finally saw the person she had been seeking for so long.
@娘娘大叫，站了起来。表情从吃惊转变成喜悦，终于见到苦苦寻觅的人，脸上散发出感动的光芒。

Genopsycho raised her visor, and they could see her face. She looked just like the old Genopsycho, without the scars Detec Bell’s party had mentioned. It would seem she had been healed. Or had she been like that from the beginning?
杰若疯子拉起遮阳镜片，脸可以看得一清二楚。与从前的杰若疯子一样，也没有滴答贝儿小队看到的伤痕。看来是接受治疗了吧。抑或是她从一开始就是这副模样？

Genopsycho smiled too. She ran towards @Nyannyan with arms outstretched, and hugged her. In turn, @Nyannyan welcomed her with open arms, and the two of them rolled past the red line, whereupon the Dragon launched a fireball at them.
杰若疯子也笑着。高举双手朝@娘娘跑去，抱住她。而@娘娘同样带着笑容接住了她，两人滚到超越红线的地方，于是巨龙朝该处喷出了火球。

Before everyone knew what had happened, the Dragon spat another fireball, which hit the two of them as they lay upon the ground. Before it could belch a third fireball, Melville threw a harpoon and hit the Dragon’s neck. Blood sprayed like rain, and the Dragon roared to the ceiling, which shook the large, enclosed area…
 在众人尚未理解发生什么事情之前，巨龙再度喷出火球，命中倒在地上的两人。在它喷出第三颗火球前，梅尔维儿掷出鱼叉，刺中龙的脖子。迸出血雨，巨龙朝着天花板大声咆哮，整个宽敞的空间发出巨响……

“Don’t just stand there! Move!”
「别呆站着不动！还不快跑！」

It was only then that everyone sprang into action, like they had just thought of doing so.
众人才仿佛想起来般纷纷动了起来。
Gamemaster’s Side 05
“Fal?”
「法尔？」

No voice answered the girl’s call.
没有声音回应少女的呼唤。

“Faaaal~?”
「法〜尔？」

The room was silent. The Magical Phone was off and did not activate. The girl smiled thinly. Among smiles, it would be classified as a wry grin. She reached out to the Magical Phone, but stopped before she touched it. She turned to pick up her glasses from beside her, and put them on.
房间里一阵静谧。魔法终端设备的电源仍然关着，没有开启。少女的嘴角露出一丝浅笑。以笑容的种类而言，则是接近苦笑。她将手伸向魔法终端设备，在即将碰触之际停住动作，转而拿起一旁的眼镜，然后戴上。

“Going out one moment and running around the next, aren’t we busy. Speaking of which, won’t you say something, Fal?” In contrast to the shining monitors everywhere, the Magical Phone was still.
「一下子外出一下子到处奔走，还真是忙碌耶。话说回来，法尔你不回话吗？」与房间里到处都发着光的萤幕形成对比，魔法终端设备仍然毫无动静。

“Does betraying your master bother you so much that you’ve broken down in despair? If so, don't worry about it--”
「这么在意自己背叛大使，所以沮丧到不行吗？如果是这样的话，你不用放在心上啦——」

The girl rolled up the sleeves of her white coat, and the large garment seemed at least two sizes too big for her. After three rolls, she held them in place with clips.
少女将白衣的袖子卷起，宽大的白衣看起来比少女的身体大了两号。她将袖子绕了三圈后，以夹子固定住。

“That’s why  I was so interested in you, Fal. Did you know? Among the electronic fairy-type familiars, the FA series has a major flaw in its security measures. Thanks to a patch, all the obviously flawed units won’t cause trouble, but you never had that patch installed, did you, Fal? Therefore, I know you can betray your master. After all, one of your predecessors was an amazing chap, Fal. It wanted to watch Magical Girls kill each other, so it incited its master to do so… well, such familiars do exist. You’re naive in comparison. That’s why I knew you were planning to betray your master and tattle on me to the Land of Magic. Also, I knew that if Fal wanted to talk me down, it’d find you…”
「也因为如此，我才会特别注意法尔你喔。知道吗？在电脑妖精型的使魔中，FA系列的保护措施有很大的缺陷。因为现在都有配置修改应用程式，所以有明显问题的不良品并不会出货，但是法尔还没有装上修改应用程式吧。所以，我知道你做得出背叛大使的举动，再说法尔的前辈之中，有个非常了不起的家伙喔。因为想看魔法少女们自相残杀，便怂恿大使……存在着这样子的使魔喔。相较之下，你实在太天真了。所以，我也知道违背大使意思，向『魔法王国』打小报告的这件事，你做得出来。还有，我也知道如果法尔想说服我的话，一定会把你找来……」

Someone banged roughly on the door. A Magical Girl in pure white stood there. The girl smiled to the pure white Magical Girl, and waved to her with a rolled-up sleeve.
门遭到一阵粗鲁的拍打。那里站着一位纯白的魔法少女。少女冲着纯白的魔法少女微笑，以卷起来的袖子招呼她。

“Welcome to my world. Pleased to meet you, Snow White.”
「欢迎来到我的世界。初次见面，白雪。」