Unmarked Chapter 8

Chapter 08: Daughter of the Demon King

Two days after the elimination of Hardgore Alice:
解决掉哈德格尔·爱丽丝的两天后。

The Musician of the Forest Clamberry had accepted the request for a meeting. She could have refused, and they had considered that it might be a trap, but if they were not ambushed and they had made the appropriate preparations, then there would be no problems.
森林音乐家库兰贝莉接受了会面的请求。尽管可以回绝，也考虑过了是陷阱的可能性，但如果不会遭到埋伏并做好相应准备的话，就没任何问题。

Each person had been given one Vitality Medicine. It would last for only 30 minutes. On Swim Swim’s command, everyone would take the medicine and then rush Clamberry.
向每人分发了一粒“活力药”。药效持续时间仅有三十分钟。众人按照泳泳的指示服下药后，向库兰贝莉袭去。

The location was on Mt. Funaga, the second highest mountain within N-City. After travelling anticlockwise from Kojimadai Station, they would reach the entrance after following the trail up the side of the mountain. Unlike Mt. Takanami, this place had not been abandoned after its development failed. Instead, it had been rebuilt into a ski resort. Many tourists from inside and outside the prefecture came during winter to ski.
地点在位于N市内海拔仅次于高波山的船贺山。从项岛台站沿逆时针穿行，沿路爬上山坡即可看到入口。与高波山不同，这里并不是开发失败之后就废弃了。而是就地被改造成了滑雪场。冬季有不少为了滑雪而前来的县内外游客。

However, that was on the southern face of the mountain. The northern face had no tourism zones. An expanse of vegetation, unmarked by human artifice, expanded forth. There was only one road, an unpaved forest path; everything else was little more than a beast trail. Since the northern face was unusually steep, humans who wanted to venture there needed a certain degree of professional knowledge. However, Magical Girls could enter at will.
不过这是在山的南侧。山北是没有观光区域的。不着人工痕迹的草木任其延伸。路也仅有一条未经铺装的林道，其他都只有兽道的程度。由于北侧山坡异常陡峭，人类想要踏入需要一定程度的专业知识。然而魔法少女就能轻松入山。

Swim Swim fixed the meeting place at a certain mountain cabin on Mt. Funaga. The mountain cabin had been half-buried in an avalanche caused by heavy rains several years ago, so neither gentlemen or weirdos would go there.
泳泳将会面的地点指定在了船贺山深处的某个山间小屋。山间小屋被数年前一场因大雨而引起的山崩卷入，房屋有一半都埋在土里。所以就算是雅士或怪人，也不会有人到这里来。

Swim Swim let Minael and Tama split up and head to their pre-arranged locations on their own, while she waited in the cabin for Clamberry to arrive. This was because Minael’s mental state was very unstable, or perhaps it was because she had been influenced by such, and it was hard to say Tama was in perfect condition. As the team leader, she had to stay calm, so only Swim Swim was normal. After all, she even had to consider what would happen if her team members could not complete their part of the battle plan.
泳泳让米奈儿、小玉分别向着各自指定场所移动，自己一人在山间小屋中等待库兰贝莉的到来。由于米奈儿情绪极度不稳定，或许是受其影响的缘故，小玉也很难说处在完全的状态。作为队长必须保持冷静，因此只有泳泳很正常。毕竟甚至需要考虑到成员未能按作战计划赶来的情况。

It was late at night. The continuous chirps of insects were peppered with the occasional hooting from an owl as they filled the cabin. Swim Swim had had enough of the stale air inside the abandoned cabin, but when she poked her head out from inside, all she saw was vegetation rustling in the wind.
时值深夜。间续不断的虫声伴随着时不时猫头鹰的叫声传向小屋。泳泳受够了荒芜的山间小屋里霉腐的空气，从小屋内探出头来却也只能看到被风吹动的草木。

Be it in the day or night, to Magical Girls and their preternatural eyesight, the mountain forests were simply an unchanging piece of scenery. However, the humidity smelled heavier than in the day. Had the smell changed because it was nighttime? Or was it because rainclouds were coming?
无论是白天还是夜里的山林，对夜视能力拔群的魔法少女来说只是一成不变的景色。不过闻起来比起白天那时湿气更重。因为是夜晚所以气味也不同吗？亦或是积雨云快来了的缘故吗？

Swim Swim pulled her head back and continued to wait. There were cobwebs in the corners of the cabins, but no spiders. Perhaps they had gotten tired of waiting and moved elsewhere.
泳泳缩回头，继续等待起来。小屋的角落里张结着蛛网却不见蜘蛛。或许是厌倦了等待而搬到别的什么地方去了吧。

A tone came from her Magical Phone. She was here.
魔法终端响起了来电音。来了。

Clamberry would soon be at the mountain cabin. Then, they would murder her three-on-one. She was coming soon. Until then, she had to wait quietly. Swim Swim swallowed the Vitality Medicine. The pill was large, but her soft throat swallowed it. She felt power flowing out from inside her body.
马上库兰贝莉就要来山间小屋了。然后三对一加以虐杀。马上就来了。在此之前静静等待。泳泳吞下了活力药。药片虽大却被柔嫩的喉咙吸了进去。身体内部有种力量涌出的感觉。

Was she not here yet? Would she have to wait longer? Just then, a surprised cry came from the distance, and Swim Swim recognized that low howl, like a dog being kicked. It was Tama.
还没来吗？不得不再多等一会儿吗？此时远处传来惊乍声，泳泳对那种类似于被踹的狗的低吠声有印象。是小玉。

It had begun. With a rustling sound, Swim Swim sank into the earth.
已经开始了。泳泳唰一下潜伏进地面。

◇◇◇

The Musician of the Forest Clamberry had very keen ears. Her powers of hearing far exceeded those of regular Magical Girls. Before reaching the mountain, she had heard the flapping of an angel’s wings, and after reaching the mountain she sensed the footsteps and breathing and the rustling of clothes from a Magical Girl trailing her with a Coat of Invisibility. Her opposition possessed a powerful item like the Coat of Invisibility, but they had many openings. Once the wearer was worried, Snow White could find them. In the face of Clamberry, who could detect her opposition by sound alone, it was similarly useless.
森林音乐家库兰贝莉耳朵很灵。其拥有远超普通魔法少女的听力。进山之前就注意到了天使的振翅声，从进山后更进一步察觉到了披着隐形外套跟踪在后的魔法少女所发出的脚步声和鼻息、以及衣服摩擦的声音。对方虽有隐形披风这种强力装备，破绽却不少。穿着者一旦有困扰就会被白雪发现，在只凭声音就能察觉敌人动向的库兰贝莉面前同样是徒劳。

Clamberry picked up a palm-sized stone from the road. She balanced it on the tip of her finger, threw and caught it several times, then tossed it behind her, at the person following her. The stone bounced off thin air, and then she heard something like the howling of a dog. The earth suddenly opened up, and a one meter-wide hole appeared. The hole got deeper and deeper as the Magical Girl escaped.
库兰贝莉在路上捡起手掌大小的石子。她指尖把玩着石子，将其反复抛起又落下接住后，朝背后的跟踪者掷去。石子被本该空无一物的空间反弹回，接着听到了像是狗的呜咽声。地面突然被扒开，出现了一个直径约摸一米的洞穴。顺着洞穴越挖越深，魔法少女逃掉了。

While Clamberry had intended to kill her opposition when she threw the stone, she could not deal fatal injury to her opposition; they seemed to have the energy left to flee. They had probably blocked it with their arms. Even if they were badly hurt and their morale was broken, they were still quite lively when they fled.
虽然库兰贝莉是打算杀掉对方而投出石子的，然而未能给对方造成致命伤，似乎还留有逃跑的余力。恐怕是猛然间用胳膊挡下了攻击吧。尽管受了重伤，斗志也因而折损，逃跑却仍然活蹦乱跳的。

Opening a hole on the ground and then fleeing swiftly underground. Given that method of flight, it must have been Tama. Clamberry knew Tama’s abilities like the back of her hand. Normally, Tama’s reflexes would have been unable to react to Clamberry’s thrown stone. However, they were now better than normal. It was surely because she had used the Vitality Medicine.
挖开地面掘出一米的洞穴并迅速从地下逃跑。这种逃跑方式是小玉了。库兰贝莉对小玉的能力了如指掌。本来，小玉那种程度的反射神经是无法对库兰贝莉的投石做出反应的。现在却有超出平时的水准。毫无疑问是服用了活力药的缘故。

The sound of underground movement was now far away, but Clamberry did not give chase. Rather than chasing down a beaten dog, her priority was to deal with her present circumstances. The sound of an angel’s wings overhead could no longer be heard.
地下移动的声音已经远去，库兰贝莉却没有追赶。比起遁逃的败犬，接下来解决所面临的处境才是正事。本该在头顶上空的天使羽翼声现在已经听不到了。

Clamberry moved carefully. However, she deliberately walked with a natural ease, in a way that made others unable to pick up her wariness. She walked around the algae-encrusted trees and stepped over low-growing shrubs. She swung over a valley on a vine. She was getting closer. There were several notes of tension in her heartbeat. Given the effective time of the Vitality Medicine, she would have to make an attack now. Dropping her pretense, Clamberry stepped into a patch of vegetation and stabbed her right hand into a rock without any warning. After impaling the human-sized rock with her right hand, she raised it and smashed it heavily onto the ground.
库兰贝莉谨慎地行动着。却故作像是令人看不出丝毫谨慎般，极其自然的迈着步伐。避开绿苔丛生的巨树，踏过低矮的灌木。荡起藤蔓越过山崖。渐渐接近着。心跳带有几丝恰如其分的紧张感。将活力药的效果计算在内，此时必须做出攻击。库兰贝莉毫不做作的踏入密林，没有任何准备动作突然右手刺向了岩石。库兰贝莉的右手刺入了人身大小的岩石，然后将其举起，重重砸向地面。

The heartbeat from the boulder stopped. The boulder became an angel with its chest pierced, and then reverted to the body of a young woman. Turning into an object to ambush her was not a bad idea, but it was useless against an opponent like Clamberry.
岩石所发出的心跳声停止了。岩体变成了胸口被刺穿的天使，然后又恢复了年轻女性的身形。化作物体偷袭的点子虽不赖，但以库兰贝莉为对手就毫无意义。

So Winterprison had been killed by such boring opponents? As Clamberry thought that, she could not hold back a long sigh.
寒冬牢狱也是如此被无趣的对手给杀掉了，库兰贝莉想着不禁一声长叹。

◇◇◇

Five minutes after leaving the cabin, Swim Swim met up with Tama as she fled through the earth.
从山间小屋动身起五分钟后，泳泳与从土中遁逃的小玉汇合了。

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. She suddenly, suddenly threw a rock at me. My hand, my hand was…”
“非常抱歉、非常抱歉。突然间、突然间就朝我扔石子。我的手、手被……”

She listened to Tama wail, but now was not the time for sympathy. Swim Swim indicated that she should follow behind her, and then submerged half of herself in the ground, keeping an eye on her surroundings while looking for the enemy. Minael was probably still fighting. If they could work their way in there, they could launch a pincer attack.
倾听着小玉的悲鸣，不过现在并不是同情的时候。泳泳对她作出了跟在身后的指示，让半身潜入地面，一面警戒周围一面寻找敌人。米奈儿没准儿还在交战中。能成功摸入其中就能实施夹击。

Soon, they found the traces of a fight. A patch of shrubs had been squashed down. This was not the sign of an attack, but movement. In other words, there was a very high chance that there was an enemy ahead. Just as she planned to change directions and proceed forward, the earth’s surface shook.
不一会儿就发现了似于战斗的痕迹。低矮的灌木倒了一片。比起攻击来说看上去更像是移动时被带倒的痕迹。也就是说前方有敌人的可能性很高。正当打算改变方向继续前行时，地面动摇了。

Something was there.
有什么东西。

She rushed to the source of the sound, and found a young woman’s corpse lying on the ground. The body looked a lot like Yunael after she had detransformed. Swim Swim immediately realised what had happened. She tugged on Tama, who was about to kneel on the ground and grab her head. If she made any movements now, it would be bad.
朝声音的来源赶去，发现有一具年轻女性的尸体躺在地上。尸体很像解除变身后的优奈儿，泳泳立刻意识到发生了什么。她强行拉扯住打算跪地抱头的小玉。此时弄出动静就麻烦了。

Ruler would surely have scolded her. Just as Swim Swim thought to speak, she suddenly noticed a shape in the trees 30 meters behind Tama. It was surrounded by all manner of strangely-colored wildflowers. No, they were normal because it was the Musician of the Forest, Clamberry. Therefore, Swim Swim leaned close to Tama and whispered:
换做王权的话一定会叱责的吧。刚想开口的泳泳，突然在小玉背后三十米的树丛中看到了人影。周围还开有颜色突兀的各种野花。不，正因为是森林音乐家所以这才算正常吧。于是泳泳凑到小玉耳边小声说道。

“Clamberry’s behind you. Flank her.”
“库兰贝莉在背后。夹击她。”

Then, she sank into the ground.
然后潜入了地面。

◇◇◇

Swim Swim’s movements were faster than Clamberry’s assault. They were accurate and flawless. To date, she had killed three Magical Girls, more than any other. In truth, her Magic was in the most powerful class among the candidates. The opinion of her was that she was a cool, efficient and rational thinker. Before the game began, she had guessed that perhaps she might be the last man standing.
泳泳潜行比库兰贝莉的来袭更快一步。准确无误。迄今为止泳泳所杀害的魔法少女已至三人。战绩遥遥领先。事实上，即便是在参加者当中，她的魔法也属于最强级别。得到了人们冷酷高效理智的评价。在游戏开始前，就有人猜测最后存活下来的人应该有她吧。

--However, she could not win.
——可是赢不了呢。

Powerful opponents could struggle or writhe in pain, but in the end, Clamberry would destroy them. At the very most, Clamberry would demonstrate strength that surpassed theirs and claim victory. While Clamberry’s promotion was at odds with the principles of the game that selected for strength, that could only be blamed on those idiots who were deceived by Clamberry and did not realize the gulf between their strength and hers. Since they did not understand the difference in their strength, those idiots could not be considered the chosen strong.
强大的对手挣扎也好，苦痛也好，即便如此也会被库兰贝莉消灭。库兰贝莉顶多只是稍微表现出略高一筹的实力就能取得胜利。库兰贝莉的晋级虽然有悖于甄选强者的游戏宗旨，那也只能怪被库兰贝莉迷惑看不清实力差距的蠢货们自己。正因为不明白实力的差距，那些蠢货也算不上什么被选中的强者。

Clamberry smiled bitterly.
库兰贝莉苦笑着。

There were no Magical Girls in N-City who could beat Clamberry in the field of battle. Naturally, Swim Swim was no exception. Her Magic, “passing through objects” seemed invincible at a glance, but it had weaknesses. That was because there were objects that it could not pass through.
在厮杀领域能胜过库兰贝莉的魔法少女，N市内根本不存在。当然泳泳也不在话下。她的魔法“物质透过”乍看下无敌，但实际还是有弱点的。因为还有无法透过的物质存在。

For instance, light. The fact that she could be seen meant that she could not pass through light. There was also another substance she could not pass through.
比如说光。能够看到她的身影，就说明光线没有透过。并且无法透过的物质还有一种。

Tama was hiding in the shadows of the trees and drawing closer to herself. Could it be that she was trying to hide her trail> She could sense that Swim Swim moving underground. She could not completely erase the sound of her heartbeat. She could hear that surprisingly calm heartbeat from underground.
小玉正沿着树荫移动向自己靠拢。难道那是在试图隐藏踪迹么。也能够觉察到泳泳应该是在地下移动。她无法做到将自己的心跳声也完全消除。自己能够清楚地听到她那意外镇静的心跳声从地下发出。

Tama was moving in an anticlockwise direction, while Swim Swim was moving in a clockwise direction. Both of them were travelling in a spiral motion while closing in on Clamberry. Did they intend to launch a simultaneous attack? Then she ought to destroy them piecemeal before they did. But who to start from? Between Tama and Swim Swim, the latter seemed more troublesome. She was only 10 meters away from Swim Swim, who was underground. Her depth… her head seemed to be about 30 centimeters from the surface.
小玉绕着逆时针，而泳泳沿着顺时针移动。两人按螺旋线移动拉进与库兰贝莉的距离。是打算同时袭击吗？那就应该在此之前各个击破吧。那要从哪边开始呢？小玉和泳泳的话后者更为棘手吧。与泳泳之间约摸只有十来米远。位置在地下。深度……头部离地表三十公分的样子么。

Swim Swim leapt back without any warning, and at the same time Swim Swim poked her head out, and Tama arrived a moment later. A massive weapon appeared in Swim Swim’s hand, and she swung it at Clamberry. Clamberry extended her right hand.
库兰贝莉毫无预兆地向后跳跃。与此同时泳泳半身从地面探出，稍晚一步的小玉也赶到了。泳泳手里出现巨大的武器，向库兰贝莉挥去。库兰贝莉伸出了右手。

Since Swim Swim could speak while passing through objects, that implied that sound waves would not pass through her. It was not just light that Swim Swim could not pass through, but sound.
既然泳泳发动物质透过时仍然能进行交谈，就是说，声音也不会透过。泳泳无法透过的不仅是光，还有声音。

She attacked with sound.
用声音一击。

The surrounded vegetation was squashed flat, and the trees behind them were blown away. The sonic pulse struck Swim Swim’s body and sent it flying. This directed destructive sound wave was extremely powerful because her Magic had focused it into a single point.
周围的草木被卷起，后方的树依次被吹飞。轰鸣正中泳泳的身体将其弹飞。对于指向性的破坏音波，正因为将相应的魔法力量集中于一点因此威力极大。

Clamberry recalled the past. At that time, she had defeated the underground demon in the same way. She could not forget the joy she had felt back then. It was because she could not forget that moment that she sought to recreate it.
库兰贝莉想起了过去。那时也是如此击退地下室的恶魔的。自己无法忘怀那时的的快感。正因无法忘怀此时才重新上演。

Swim Swim’s entire body was subjected to a powerful impact, and it made the sound of bones breaking. She thought she would have killed her in one hit, but her opponent’s heartbeat and breathing had not stopped. How tough she was. Tama seemed to be observing the situation. Therefore, finishing off Swim Swim ought to be her priority. She would put an end to her.
泳泳全身受到强烈冲击，发出了骨折的声音。本以为能一击毙命，然而对方心跳和呼吸仍未停止。真是块硬骨头。小玉像是在观察情况的样子。那么果然优先解决的应该是泳泳呢。结果掉她好了。

Clamberry walked over to the fallen Swim Swim and raised her foot. She intended to crush the back of her skull and end Swim Swim’s life. However, Clamberry did not immediately stomp down. The person under her foot was not Swim Swim.The person who had fallen was not Swim Swim, but an ordinary human girl. She looked to be in her first or second year of elementary school.
库兰贝莉走到倒下的泳泳身边，抬起脚跟。打算踩碎后脑勺来终结掉泳泳的生命。可是库兰贝莉并没有马上踩下。脚下的人不是泳泳。倒下的并非魔法少女而是一名普通人类少女。年龄估计在小学一二年级。

Clamberry immediately realised that this was Swim Swim’s detransformed state. She had lost consciousness due to the sonic pulse, and so she had detransformed.
库兰贝莉马上意识到了这大概是泳泳变身前的姿态。由于受到了音波的攻击失去意识，从而解除了变身。

Clamberry was well aware of her lack of humanity. Magical Girls aside, she would even kill human beings when the need arose. Be they elementary schoolers or kindergarteners or infants, her benefactors or lovers or blood brothers, she could kill anyone at all. In that respect, age did not matterat all.
库兰贝莉对于自己的人性泯灭还是有自觉的。魔法少女自不用说，哪怕对方是人类只要有必要也会杀掉。小学生也好幼儿园孩子也好小宝宝也好，就算是恩人恋人亲兄弟，无论是谁都可以杀掉。这方面和年龄一点儿关系没有。

However, for just a moment, a brief instant that was less a quarter of a second long, Clamberry hesitated. The battle maniac Clamberry might have been interested in the strength and abilities of her opponents, but she had never cared about her opponent’s true identities, and so she had revealed a weakness. The fact that such a highly-rated Magical Girl could be such a young girl confused Clamberry.
然而，就那么一瞬，零点一秒一半的一半都不到的极短时间里，库兰贝莉犹豫了。于战斗狂库兰贝莉来说，尽管对敌人的强大和能力有着兴趣，但完全不曾在意过敌人真正身份的缘故，此刻暴露出了破绽。拥有极高评价的魔法少女竟然是如此稚嫩的少女，让库兰贝莉感到了迷惘。

While her hesitation had lasted only a moment, Clamberry realised that she had actually hesitated due to her opponent’s age, and it shook her. Her heart was in turmoil. Therefore, she could not avoid an attack she should have effortlessly evaded. Tama rushed up from behind and her attack tore open Clamberry’s back.
虽然犹豫只有一瞬，但当库兰贝莉意识到自己竟然为敌人的年幼而犹豫不决之时，有些动摇了。心也乱了。也因此，没能避开本能够从容不迫避开的攻击。从背后冲上来的小玉的攻击撕开了自己的后背。

That said, while it was technically an attack, what had been torn open was only her jacket, and in truth Clamberry had only received a small scratch. It had not even drawn blood, leaving little more than a slight dent on her skin. Of course it did not cause any damage. It should have been that way. Of course, that was only if the attacker had not been Tama.
虽说是受到攻击，被狠狠撕开的也只有身穿的夹克，库兰贝莉实际只受了小小的擦伤。连血都没出，留下比肿痕略深一点的伤而已。当然无法造成损害。本该是这样的。前提只要攻击的不是小玉的话。

Clamberry knew Tama’s Magic very well. Tama’s Magic was to dig holes. If she dug just a little bit, she could use the power of her Magic to instantly enlarge it into a one meter-wide hole. The surface in question was irrelevant; be it concrete or steel or even a human body, any holeshe made would instantly widen into a meter-wide hole.
库兰贝莉很清楚小玉的魔法。小玉的魔法就是挖洞。哪怕只要挖一点点，就能用魔法的力量瞬间将其扩大为直径一米的洞穴。地面自不提，其它无论是水泥还是钢铁哪怕人体，只要是自己所挖的坑都能变成直径一米的洞穴。

Regret flooded her, and Clamberry thought of how to talk down her opposition. Before she could come up with anything, Tama’s Magic activated. Clamberry’s back began to twist, and then she was perforated. Her head and torso were blasted into the air, her arms and flowers scattered, her vines drooped limply, and her lower body fell on its rump, trailing intestines behind it.
后悔涌上心头，思索接下来要如何劝服对方的库兰贝莉，还未来得及想出时小玉的魔法已经发动。库兰贝莉的后背开始弯曲，然后被打通了。她的头部和躯干被炸飞，胳膊伴着花朵零落，藤蔓无力地垂下，下半身不断流着肠子屁股重重摔在地上。

◇◇◇

Tama’s entire body was drenched in Clamberry’s blood, and her legs trembled non-stop. When she thought of how the hideous death she had just witnessed was caused by her own Magic, her stomach churned. She forced her body--which was on the verge of collapse--to hang on. There was still something Tama had to do.
小玉全身沐浴在库兰贝莉的鲜血里，双腿不住颤抖。一想到眼前惨不忍睹的死状是自己的魔法所造成的，胃里便翻江倒海。勉强维持着几近就地瘫软的身体。小玉还有要做的事。

“Swim-chan!”
“小泳！”

That was… Swim Swim, right? The elementary scchooler remained immobile on the ground.
那是……泳泳吧？小学低年级生的女孩子仍然倒在地上无法动弹。

“Swim-chan! Swim-chan!”
“小泳！小泳！”

Tama shouted desperately, but there was no response. She did not know if she ought to try and shake her awake, but in any case, she scooped her up into her arms. She found that her eyelids were still trembling. It would seem she was still alive.
小玉拼命的呼喊着。对方却没有反应。不知该不该用摇醒办法的当下，总之先将她抱起来。发现她的眼睑在微微颤动。看来还活着。

“Swim-chan!”
“小泳！”

Her eyelids moved, and her eyes blinked and opened.
眼睑动了动，砸吧砸吧睁开了眼。

“Swim-chan?”
“小泳？”

“Mm.”
“唔。”

The girl stood up.
少女支起身体。

“Wonderful… Fortunately you’re alright. Still, I was quite surprised. So you were still a child, Swim-chan.”
“太好了……幸好没事。不过真是令人吃惊呢。小泳竟然还是小孩子。”

She had always thought Swim Swim was older than herself. After Ruler died, Swim Swim had given Tama orders as the team’s leader. Even though Tama frequently messed up, Swim Swim had never scolded her like Ruler had, nor had she abandoned her, but let her stay by her side. Therefore, her impression of Swim Swim was that of a gentle leader.
一直都以为比自己年长呢。王权死后泳泳就作为领队给小玉下达指令，尽管小玉经常搞砸，但泳泳既没有像王权那样呵斥过她，也没有抛弃她而一直让她在一起。所以一直对她的印象都是温柔的长者。

The girl tried to stand while holding on to Tama, then grabbed her waist and furrowed her brows. She stumbled a few times before she finally managed to maintain her balance with Tama’s support. Only then did she manage to stand up. At that moment, she was no longer that girl, but the Magical Girl Swim Swim.
少女试图靠着小玉站起身，捂着侧腹皱起眉，踉踉跄跄地在小玉的搀扶下才保持住平衡，这才终于站了起来。此时眼前的已不再是少女而是魔法少女泳泳了。

Swim Swim summoned her weapon, and swung it to the side. Tama felt a searing pain in her throat, and then felt something spurting out, coupled with the feeling of the warmth fleeing her body. Her legs could no longer support her, and her knees collapsed. Before she realised what had happened, her mind had already faded into darkness.
泳泳唤出掌中的武器，向身旁挥去。小玉只觉喉咙一阵灼烧，随着什么东西飞溅的感觉，全身的体温都一起逃逸，双脚无法支撑，膝盖瘫软了下来。还没来得及明白发生了什么意识已经融入黑暗。


◇◇◇

That could not be helped. Thanks to Ruler’s teachings of “You cannot let anyone who knows your true identity live,” she had no choice but to kill Tama. Even though Tama was a comrade, and the way she hung her head and listened obediently after messing up was very cute, Ruler’s teachings had to be obeyed.
这也是没办法的。在王权“不可让知道真实身份的人活着”的教诲下，自己不得不杀掉小玉。尽管小玉是同伴，并且每次事情搞砸后俯首帖耳言听计从的样子非常惹人怜爱，不过王权的教诲还是要好好遵守。

“Hey! New Master--can you hear me ~pon?”
“嘿！新主人——能听到吗pon？”

Fav’s voice came from the other end of the Magical Phone.
魔法终端另一头传来了法布的声音。

“There’s a lot of things I want to talk about with you, is it alright? You should have a lot of questions to ask too, right? Like ‘what is the Magical Girl Raising Project’ and all that. You don’t mind about what really happened, right ~pon?”
“有好多好多话想和你聊聊，没问题吗？你也应该有不少问题想问才对吧？像是‘魔法少女育成计
划’到底是怎么回事之类的。事情的真相怎样就不在意吗pon？”

Swim Swim wiped the tears off her face.
泳泳用手擦干脸上的泪。

‘Hey, hey, are you listening ~pon? We’ll need to work closely together afterwards, and if we don’t interact enough, both of us will have a hard time ~pon. Don’t tell me you don’t want to be a master or something ~pon?”
“喂喂我说，在听吗pon？为了接下来势必激烈的两人三足，若是交流不充分双方都会很困扰的吧pon。该不会说出不想成为主人什么的吧pon？”

“What’s a Master?”
“主人是什么？”

“An amazing Magical Girl ~pon.”
“就是非常了不起的魔法少女哟pon”

“Then I’ll be one.”
“那我就要做。”

“Excellent answer. I’m very glad to hear it ~pon. Now then, you’ll be working with Fav after this.”
“很好的回答，真是令人感激pon。那接下来就与法布两人三足吧”

“I don’t want to .”
“才不要。”

Swim Swim cut the power to the phone.
泳泳关掉了电源。

Only Ruler needed to be at the peak. Teaming up and the like was not something Ruler would do.
王权在顶点就够了。两人三足什么的并非王权所为之事。


Emergency Communication

Fav: Ah, there’s an important announcement, so everyone, please pay attention ~pon.
法布：那个，本次有重要通知还请诸位切勿漏听pon。

Fav: First things first, a list of last week’s eliminatees:
法布：首先发表上周的淘汰者：

Fav: Tama.
法布：小玉。

Fav: Hardgore Alice.
法布：哈德格尔·爱丽丝。

Fav: Minael.
法布：米奈儿。

Fav: Musician of the Forest Clamberry.
法布：森林音乐家库兰贝莉。

Fav: As such, we have reached our goal of four people or less.
法布：因此顺利减少到目标的四人以内了pon。

Fav: We will contact you shortly after this.
法布：诸位将在稍后收到联络。

Fav: See you.
法布：see you