While chatting, the two had already finished half a pizza.
“So, what’s your take on this?”
The woman picked up a new slice of pizza and took a bite, listening attentively to the girl’s true thoughts.
“Hmm…” the girl hesitated for two seconds, “Senior, don’t you think something’s been off lately?”
“How so?”
The woman was unfazed, continuing to eat her pizza.
“Well… I mean, since the start of the new year, which hasn’t been that long, strange things have been happening one after another.”
“On the first day of the new year, the Worldburn Flame reappeared in the world, and just over a week later, we found another entity that can instill fear in Calamity.”
“Maybe I’m overthinking it, but I believe these incidents need to be thoroughly investigated.”
“So, how do you plan to investigate?”
The woman finished speaking and stared into Stella Rose’s eyes, knowing that unprepared actions are inherently dangerous.
“First of all, it’s been so many days, and there’s still no news about the Worldburn Flame. Don’t you find that strange?”
Strange? Isn’t it strange enough that we Magical Girls exist in this world?
The woman had long grown accustomed to the absurdities of life. A few more strange occurrences didn’t faze her.
“I don’t overthink like you do. If it were me, I’d just find it and deal with it. I only care about the result.”
“Overthinking only leads to mental exhaustion.”
“Mhm~, you really have a clear perspective, Senior~”
The girl propped her cheeks with her hands, looking at the other with an expression of admiration.
“Continue with your thoughts. The appearance of a world-class Calamity still has no definitive explanation. Perhaps your unique ideas might touch upon the real answer?”
The woman paused, recalling a disaster from her childhood, then brought her thoughts back to the present.
“Once, we thought all Calamities originated from that gamma-ray burst named ‘Abaddon.’ People named this calamity after a term from hell.”
“After that, a multitude of Calamities emerged, and we took it for granted that all Calamities were born from that gamma-ray burst. But the appearance of the Worldburn Flame completely shattered that notion.”
“From then on, we had to re-examine the question we had long ignored—what exactly is Calamity?”
“To this day, we still have no answer, but the lives of the people are paramount. More important than understanding Calamity is eradicating it. Human safety is always the priority. Every life, from start to finish, is a battle against death.”
“So when I heard your thoughts, I felt like we’ve found another path, a better way to understand this world.”
After saying this, the woman felt a bit parched and took a sip of her black tea.
“Thank you for your support, Senior. If I said these things to ordinary people, they’d probably think I’m crazy, right?”
Stella Rose said, taking out a pen and a notebook from her school bag, flipping to a blank page, and sketching a rough diagram.
Stella Rose then took out her phone, opened her photo album, and found the picture of the Worldburn Flame she had taken a few days ago.
She handed both images to the woman: “Don’t you think these two back views are strikingly similar?”
The sketch depicted the black-haired girl from the projection, her face obscured by a hood.
The photo showed a girl with light yellow hair, her posture identical.
Stella Rose pointed at the images and explained: “Currently, the biggest commonality between these two is that their heights are almost identical.”
After hearing this, the woman lifted her gaze from the images and looked at Stella Rose: “So you think the black-haired girl is the Worldburn Flame?”
“Not sure~”
Stella Rose shook her head helplessly.
“If I were on the scene, I could probably tell. My ability is mainly to discern and manipulate light.”
“The reason I recognized the Worldburn Flame was because the spectrum of the faint light from the sky matched the recorded fire perfectly.”
“But now, what we see in the projection is what this guy saw.”
As she spoke, Stella Rose picked up the chip, wearing a troubled expression.
“Its eyes can’t see that much, so I can’t identify it.”
“It’s like a black-and-white TV; no matter what, you can’t see colors, right?”
“Even though we know the actual content is in color.”
“So you want to find that black-haired girl?”
The woman understood the implication. This was the only lead on the Worldburn Flame. Without a doubt, even if it took all methods, they had to try breaking through from this direction.
“Exactly!”
Stella Rose excitedly stood up from her chair, leaning over the table towards the woman, her eyes sparkling with joy.
Stella Rose then realized her impropriety and sat back down, embarrassed.
“Ahem,” after a tactical cough, Stella Rose continued with her thoughts.
“From the images in the projection, I at least feel that the girl is approachable.”
“Undoubtedly, she possesses immense power, but from her behavior, she doesn’t seem likely to harm people. The only moment of uncontrollable power was when she shook the bell.”
“But in my view, that was more like an instinctive survival response in a desperate situation.”
“In other words, the girl seems completely unaware of her own power.”
“As long as we provide her with a comfortable environment and don’t cross her psychological boundaries, I believe there won’t be any major issues.”
After hearing Stella Rose’s thoughts, the woman finished her last slice of pizza.
“Then there’s one more question: how should we find her?”
The woman looked at Stella Rose, who was now excited, and poured cold water on her enthusiasm.
But Stella Rose wasn’t discouraged; she immediately presented her plan.
“At least we can find the Magical Girl she rescued,” Stella Rose said, opening her phone and pulling up a file.
“G-Rank Magical Girl Ellie Dreamer, originally named Miri Dreamwell, was injured in a battle with Calamity and was taken to the General Hospital that night.”
“The ambulance went to an old neighborhood called Warm Garden. Due to privacy issues, I can’t access more detailed information, so that’s all I know.”
“If the Country is willing to allocate a few cameras to this old neighborhood, I think we can find her. After all, the neighborhood isn’t that big; three cameras could cover all the streets.”
“Make it five. Install the other two once we know which building she’s in.”
After hearing Stella Rose’s request, the woman unhesitatingly gave her offer. After all, it’s public funds, and solving the issue quickly is best.
“Thank you so much for your support, Moira Blackwell Senior!”
