Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

"Since they've been caught on camera multiple times, is there no way to catch them?"

"No, because your mother has also developed her own magic."

As Miss Sirius spoke, she pressed the spacebar, and the surveillance footage on the projection screen continued to play.

When the four of them stepped out of the sunlight into the shadows of the street, they vanished instantly, like ice cubes falling into water.

"Ok?"

Miss Sirius continued, "Isn't it obvious? What Yuehan has mastered is magic that allows one to become invisible in the shadows, or more precisely, in places where the sun cannot shine directly. At least that's the effect."

"Invisibility...is this Mother's magic?"

It's a support-oriented magic, but it can also be used in combat.

I wonder how well they can become invisible. If they can even eliminate scent, infrared radiation, and their very existence, then neither surveillance nor search dogs will be able to find Dad and the others.

Not to mention Miss Ange's bloodline magic, which is inherently difficult to detect but deadly.

"This seems tricky... Is there anything I can do right now?"

You didn't call me over just to tell me this, did you?

"No, you can't help with the search, but don't be discouraged. Everyone has a different role and is good at different things. Before you come to your father, you should conserve your energy and prepare yourself... By the way, you can go and take a look at your father's office."

Miss Sirius tossed over a key.

“This is the spare key to Aji’s office. I think he must have his own purpose in approaching the branch. If we can find out what he wants to do, we can take precautions in advance and even set a trap.”

"What was Father's purpose in coming here...?"

Now that his mother has woken up, what exactly does he want to do?

I took the key to my dad's office.

"I understand. I'll go check if there are any clues, but if I find anything, please contact me immediately."

"Of course, that's no problem."

------

Miss Lulu was the person who led me upstairs to my office. I didn't have a card that allowed me to directly access the upper floors, so I needed someone to show me the way.

But she stopped in front of her father's office.

He asked, "Do you want me to come in with you?"

Even though her father's official position was basically over, Miss Lu was still hesitant to enter the office without permission. After all, Miss Spica hadn't sent anyone to search the office directly, and he was still nominally the chairman of the association. He could only send me, his "son," to investigate.

"No need, I can go in by myself."

I didn't want to put her in a difficult position.

"I'll go take care of other things now. Call me when you come downstairs."

"Ah."

This is my third time in this office, and it's almost unchanged from the previous two times. The doll that fell to the ground and turned its head over is the same one we left behind yesterday.

Although my father is the chairman of the association, his main office is in Changkong City. However, he stays away from the European headquarters not to avoid internal affairs, but to better prepare for his plans...

He had been waiting.

It wasn't until Yang Yan was hospitalized that he finally got the last and most crucial piece of his plan: a star crystal that could be matched with his mother.

That's why we took action yesterday, the day Yang Yan was discharged from the hospital.

Even without this press conference, Kagerou would have needed to have his cast removed sooner or later, so his father's plan was just brought forward.

I looked through the densely packed folders on the bookshelf in the office, but my dad hadn't left any clues. They were all work-related, with no mention of those third-party agencies. However, there was a thick stack of medical reports for various magical girls, including Kagerou... and mine was among them.

These reports are all for the purpose of screening Star Crystals.

"How many years has he been planning this?"

I did find a photo of my parents in the drawer, but the colors were no longer vibrant and it looked quite old.

However, I wasn't in the photo.

Dad... he really hates me, doesn't he?

The all-in-one computer on my desk can't be turned on because it's password protected.

After several unsuccessful attempts, I turned my attention to the secretary's desk next to me... Miss Ange had a pair of dolls on her desk, just like my father's... I roughly understood why she was angry about the broken dolls.

Turn on.

A password is also required...

"Huh? They went in?"

Although her father was cautious, Miss Ange's thoughts were not hard to guess.

"It really is my father's birth date..."

There is a prominent document on the desktop.

Is this the security department's shift change schedule?

The inpatient ward and research ward are not the association's security, but the security of the treatment facility...etc.

Perhaps it's not that Dad is getting closer to the Association, but rather to a treatment facility not far from it. Yang Yan is no longer there, so what could possibly attract his attention...?

witch.

He wants to take away the Mermaid Witch?!

Chapter Forty-Five: Tracing Longing

(Albinocotyledon)

"……mom."

"Oh dear, why don't you call me 'Miss Prosecutor' anymore? That sounds younger~"

"Spica notified me to go to a branch meeting..."

"I have to attend that meeting too. First, come with me and find Chairman Sun and his entourage, daughter~"

Being addressed like that made me shudder.

The magic Seruno's mother obtained from the Star Crystal was the magic of invisibility in the shadows. Although it was the same crystal, the magic was completely different.

"Even if you become invisible, you will still leave behind memories. I can see it clearly."

My mom tapped her sunglasses, revealing glowing red eyes beneath them, and struck a pose.

We are tracking down Serono's father on the streets of the city.

"At this rate, stopping and starting, when will you ever catch up with them?"

"There are too many people on the street, and all sorts of feelings swirling around. I have to discern them all! But as long as they don't use that portal magic, I can chase them all the way to the ends of the earth!"

If Seruno were here, she could use the remaining magic to open another door leading in the same direction. I'm afraid I can't do that; that idiot is a genius far superior to me when it comes to applying magic...

As I walked and pondered, I asked again, "Mom, how detailed are the contents of your 'Record of Longing'? Didn't they use a phone for navigation? If they did, wouldn't it be faster to just look at the destination displayed on your phone?"

"My silly daughter, why do you think they can still use their phones? If their phones were still on, your dad would have already gotten results... Sniff sniff... Would your mom still need to be here on the street like a police dog?"

So you see yourself as a police dog?!

"Ugh--"

Feeling helpless towards her mother, she said, "Why are you sighing like that? Didn't I promise to keep it a secret for you? I won't tell your dad either. I'm very tight-lipped. Even if you don't trust me, you should trust my professional ethics!"

"Sigh, that's not why I'm sighing..."

So that's how it is.

"Mom, don't you have a name as a magical girl?"

"No! To be precise, I don't realize that I'm a magical girl."

"What do you mean?"

Mom didn't turn around, and said as she walked, "Your mom is a reconnaissance type of magic. Unlike other support magical girls, I need to operate covertly for a long time, and my identity information needs to be kept secret. The label of magical girl is even more troublesome for me. I don't want to be recognized by anyone at all. So, you can just think of me as a secret agent who can use magic."

"Aren't you afraid of being overheard saying this in the street?"

She turned around.

"What I'm saying to you, no one else can hear it, okay? These are all sent directly into your head in the form of thoughts."

My mother's mouth didn't move when she spoke.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Telepathic communication?

"Without contact, I can't see what other people are thinking, nor can I send out anything beyond sound... My magic still needs further development."

If we could share what she's seeing right now, many things would be much easier.

With that in mind, we entered the roadside...

"Old subway shopping mall?"

The abandoned subway line in Changkong City was transformed into an underground shopping mall running through the city center after the opening of a parallel line of the same name. The long, narrow pedestrian street, with its apocalyptic feel, has its entrances and exits located at the original station.

Incidentally, the reason for its abandonment was the deformation of the passageway caused by land subsidence. As a pedestrian street, a little undulation is acceptable, but the undulating slope cannot tolerate the light rail transit.

"I see. Although we can't take public transportation, can we use the remaining passageways to get closer to our destination?"

"Where is Old Man Seruno's destination?"

“Spica said it was a branch, and this route does indeed lead to the branch.”

I asked again, "What is he going to the branch for?"

"who knows?"

My mom shrugged, then picked up a crystal hair clip from a jewelry store we passed and put it on my head. I wanted to turn my head away to avoid it, but thinking about how unreasonable she was, I obediently let her do it.

"Great! My daughter is beautiful!"

She didn't move her mouth, after all, saying these words would easily attract the attention of those around her. What mother in the world is about the same age as her daughter?