Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

"...Wouldn't it be fine if we took Miss Falcon there?"

When this was mentioned, Falcon curled his lip.

"Serno, don't talk to me like I'm a taxi. No matter what, I can't possibly carry... five people flying!"

She even counted the number of people.

"I can carry three people, so what's wrong with carrying two more? I can continue to use bubbles to reduce weight, and besides, Miluno is here... I have a way to make you fly faster than usual!"

------

Although he spoke mysteriously, it wasn't hard to guess this idiot's plan. He simply wanted to wrap me and Falcon in bubble wrap, then have me accelerate the bubble to achieve the effect of "accelerated flight"...

However, doing this, neither Falcon nor I felt any acceleration.

After all, whether you accelerate or decelerate in the night sky, the scenery is almost the same, and it's a normal flow of time for us.

"Your magic is manipulating time, you know?"

Tsk, the true nature of my magic has been exposed.

Although I was a little annoyed, I still explained, "Neither you nor I can feel it; only they would feel that we're flying faster... Hey, how about I climb onto your back?"

"No, that position makes me feel embarrassed."

So she's comfortable lying on my back? This foreign girl's bra size is pretty big!

She still insisted on hugging me from behind. This time, she didn't complain about the weight because of Yang Yan's safety. In my hands, I was carrying a huge bubble that could hold four people. It was very light and flat and pointed like a spaceship, which also reduced wind resistance.

There is no time acceleration inside the "bubble cabin," so for passengers like Mom, Spica, and Serino, it's like riding a Concorde at speeds of thousands of kilometers per hour, only without the same sense of security as an airplane.

You'll be scared, won't you?

Looking down, I could still appreciate their reactions to this flight...

Miss Spica has transformed herself; she has blindfolded herself and Ange with a white cloth, emphasizing the idea that out of sight, out of mind.

My mom is lying down playing on her phone, occasionally taking a picture. She says she's going to do some research, but it's more like she's killing time during her trip.

Seruno, on the other hand, who was the one who proposed this plan, had his face contorted with anger, his eyes closed, and his hand tightly gripping his mother's clothes.

Falcon noticed this as well, saying, "Serunno is very scared."

"She's usually quite timid, but she becomes very bold when it comes to magical girls."

So I wasn't too surprised when she refused to stay.

Although she came along against her will, she must be terribly panicked right now, since the person she fears most in her life is probably her father.

For whatever reason, the child had to stop his father from saving his mother...

Sigh, she really shouldn't have come.

"We've entered area A2, and we can also see the phase detection airships."

Falcon's words interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up.

The huge reconnaissance airship, flashing its flight warning lights, was already close at hand.

Chapter Thirty-Two: A Missed Opportunity

(Sun Yao)

Phase detection airships are a prime example of grid-based cities.

The city was crudely divided into grids of equal size, with the size of each area depending on the airship's surveillance range.

These giant steel balloons are basically suspended in the sky all year round, except when they return to the dock for maintenance or during extreme weather such as typhoons. From the ground, they look about the size of a matchbox, but their actual size is much larger than I imagined.

Miss Spica sighed, "The association has spent a lot of manpower and resources to set up these airships in order to provide early warning of wormholes and protect citizens, but some people still feel that they are being monitored and are dissatisfied with this."

Auntie shrugged at this.

"Human beings never learn from history. Many people think that the war twelve years ago was a long time ago, but they forget that the war is not over yet."

Although I hate to admit it, I used to belong to this group of people.

That's why he went to the site of the wormhole blockade, just to witness the magical girls' battle, but ended up causing Kagerou to end up in this state.

Of course I want my mother to wake up, but if the price has to be paid by Yang Yan...

As it approached the airship, the Falcon slowed down.

To be precise, it was Milno who deactivated the time acceleration, and time slowed down for her and Miss Falcon.

"This distance should be about right, Director Spica. Please have Secretary-General Anjie open a door for us."

After hearing what her aunt said, Miss Spica also cautioned, "Be prepared for battle. There's a possibility that there are other magical girls inside the research lab who have forcibly fused with the Star Crystal, so don't let your guard down."

The airship is large, but the research lab is probably not that big. After all, it needs to maintain the normal operation of the airship's functions, so it's impossible to free up too much space. Perhaps, as Aunt Rinki said, this is just a life support pod to keep her mother alive.

Miss Ange, controlled by Spica, raised her hand, and a red magic, unlike the bloodline, unfolded in a ring before us.

"It's very close to a wormhole, but it's not a wormhole... It was developed based on wormhole technology, not her magic."

"This isn't magic?"

The aunt replied, "The magic she received as a magical girl is undoubtedly that barely visible bloodline. It's probably a trick created by a third-party organization, which Chairman Sun used as a front door."

"Could a third-party organization outside the association possess this kind of technical capability?"

"It's not a very complicated technology. It's precisely because they can't handle wormholes that they're struggling with this short-distance application. The distance traveled is short enough, and the pressure inside the wormhole is much lower, so ordinary people can pass through... Little Eagle, are you impatient? Then let's go in!"

My friend's Falcon was getting impatient, but then my aunt gave the order. Her braids shone brightly, and she led us headfirst into the teleportation ring that looked like a "wormhole".

塡——!

The expected impact sound.

The space inside the airship cabin is limited, and the research room won't be too big either. If Falcon rushed over at that speed, it would definitely crash into the wall. She was unharmed because of my bubble wrap, but we inside the big bubble were thrown around in a daze.

I removed the bubbles.

Falcon drew his revolver from his waist and shouted, "Don't move! Police!"

"They're not police officers, are they?"

Miluno, who was equally unharmed, glanced at her and then pulled me up from the ground.

Although it is not large, this research institute hidden inside the airship is divided into several rooms, and the place we are currently in is like an office.

The only room connected to the office must have been the life support capsule my aunt mentioned... my mother's.

"Um, you are..."

The male researcher in the white coat stood up groggily. There was no one else around; it seemed he was the only one on duty.

However, researchers from all the research institutes dressed in roughly the same way.

The aunt patted her bottom and stood up, then took out her identification documents.

"Association, Prosecutor's Office! Do I need to read your lines from the script again?"

The researcher was taken aback at first, and then began to panic.

"Prosecutors... wait! You've misunderstood! This isn't some illegal research facility, and I'm not a heartless scientist!"

Oh, is this an admission of guilt?

However, this middle-aged man's scholarly appearance did not seem like that of a scientist from a criminal gang, but his aunt said, "To deny your identity over such a trivial matter, do you deserve the white coat you're wearing!"

"I...I'm really not a researcher! I'm just a doctor!"

"Doctor? Whose doctor?"

He avoided eye contact and replied, "I... I was hired to be in charge of the health of a distinguished patient..."

"A patient? Hmm, you mean this is a VIP ward?"

"Yes, yes, yes." The uncle nodded repeatedly.

"And then today another patient came in? A magical girl with her whole body in a cast, only her left hand can move?"

"Um, the one that can move is the right hand."

The middle-aged man, who identified himself as a doctor, corrected him in a low voice.

"Okay, looks like we've come to the right place."

boom--

Falcon could no longer contain his rage and fired a shot at the man's leg with his revolver. Although the bullet missed, it startled the man so much that he fell to the ground, and it was unclear whether he urinated or not.

Milno coldly reminded him, "Hey, it's dangerous to fire a gun in a small room like this."

"Relax, the bullet trajectory is also within my control... But the next shot won't be a warning. Answer our questions honestly, no tricks allowed!"

"But, but this really is a hospital ward."

"Still dare to be stubborn? Aren't there a whole bunch of research instruments inside?"

Auntie's magic allows her to see other people's memories. She clearly saw something in Miss Ange's head, which is why she said this was a research institute.

"Instruments? How do you know? But those are for monitoring patients' vital signs... You should know about the ICU, right? The patients here are in worse condition than those over there!"

"...The patient you mentioned is very likely my mother."

I knelt down in front of him and patiently said, "The other patient is my friend. Could you let me see them?"

"Oh no, this won't work... Oh no!!"

Milno also drew her short sword and held it to the man's neck, but she said nothing; that alone was enough to intimidate him.

But I always feel like what we're doing now doesn't quite resemble magical girls...

Aunt Linxi took the name tag hanging around his neck.

“The search is mandatory, there’s no need to ask for his opinion, Seruno, go in and take a look with this.”

"Ok!"

Use the uncle's name tag to open the door to the research lab.

My mother is there, but I haven't seen her for almost ten years—a long time that has made even my memories blurry.