Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

Nine out of ten!

A perfect score? That can only be reserved for the princess and her knight.

"Ow!"

Seemingly dissatisfied with her own aesthetic vision, she roared at herself and pulled several water spears from the river, unleashing a volley of fire.

Liu was unconcerned about such wide-ranging attacks.

He could easily dodge it, and even taking the hit head-on wouldn't be out of the question, but he didn't want to go back to the Steel Dragon Machine Workshop for repairs so soon.

The nimble, evasive Liu was like a slippery bar of soap, making the Mermaid Witch extremely annoyed. She bombarded the scenic corridor with her water curtain, leaving it riddled with holes, yet she couldn't hit him even once, and could even feel his lecherous gaze...

Her attacks failed to hit her opponent, but she was clearly no match for him in close combat. She could only stalemate with him on the water's surface, and he dared not go into the water either. For a time, neither of them could gain the upper hand.

Under these circumstances, Liu brought over two folding stools that the fishermen had abandoned.

"Miss Shark, cough cough."

He cleared his throat.

"Since we're both eccentric, can we sit down and talk?"

2. Flow, displacement and migration

"..."

The Mermaid Witch could understand human speech, but she disdained to speak. Besides, the werewolf's incoherent proposal left her unsure how to react.

She was there to take his dog's life, so why was this lecherous dog bringing out a stool to invite her to sit down and talk?

To put it another way, close-range conversations are clearly not in one's best interest.

"Then I'll ask the questions here, and you can listen from the water."

Sensing the mermaid witch's wariness, Ryu moved a stool and sat down by the river.

Why did you kill me? Does this mean "the other side"?

"..."

"Oh, you can't speak human language either?"

Based on his previous experience, Liu felt this was very likely.

The Mermaid Witch frowned.

Do you know what you are?

Her voice was sharp and shrill.

"Hmm, I guess I'm some kind of weirdo with a malfunctioning brain. I firmly believe I'm a person, but in reality, I can't be, right?"

"...I've been abandoned by those above. Only by getting rid of me will you be qualified to go back."

The Mermaid Witch touched her chest, where a hunter witch's dagger had pierced through her, but it was the power of a certain magical girl that saved her life.

"Do we really have to go back?"

"Of course, do you really think there's a place for us in this world?"

"Hey, if you hadn't called me out of the blue, I would still be at work right now."

"Our innate mission is to conquer this world."

"That's the mission from above. You and I are just pawns, nothing more."

A chess piece whose identity is unclear due to a malfunction;

A pawn that was discarded because it was captured.

As a malfunctioning oddball, Ryu doesn't know much about what's happening "on the other side," but it's precisely because of this lack of knowledge that he can vaguely guess some things. Oddballs like him are just biological weapons created to achieve the purpose of a certain will.

As for the difference, it's simply that some weapons use more precious materials, while others use cheaper ones.

Every day, wormhole invasions occur in this world, followed by magical girls rising up in resistance, but the events always end with the monsters being eliminated.

After all, these are mass-produced weapons, as if they were sent here just to die... and die without any value, which does not achieve the so-called purpose of invasion at all.

"A chess piece...?"

The Mermaid Witch possesses the memories of a magical girl, though they don't belong to her, but they are the only things she remembers after waking up in the incubation tank.

She knows what human society is like, but she can't empathize with humans because she knows herself very well...

She is the weapon of aggression on the "other side".

As a weapon of aggression, I have already been killed once.

Does she now have the right to decide "what she is"?

The will to fight vanished as he pondered the situation.

Liu also noticed her confusion and wavering.

"Miss Shark".

"Call me Kawanami... no, call me Mizuichi."

"So, Miss Water Resources Committee, would you be willing to try living with me—"

He hadn't even finished speaking.

The ultra-high pressure water gun, which was thicker than before, easily shaved off a large section of the ground next to the stream.

"...Gurgle."

Liu glanced at the clean, crisp cut on the floor tile and swallowed hard. Could a woman unleash such power when she was extremely angry?

"Cough cough."

He changed his tune, saying, "What I meant was, would you be willing to live alone as a human being for a period of time?"

"If I don't carry out the mission, not only will the humans arrest me, but they will also continue to bring in the execution squad."

"Huh? You ran into that robot clone too?

"...I almost died."

The Mermaid was telling the truth, but Liu, who was unaware of the truth, admired her and said, "Wow, you're really amazing to be able to take her down by yourself. I was beaten pretty badly back then, and she even tore my armor to shreds."

The Mermaid Witch frowned and replied, "Unless there's water, I'm not confident I can defeat her..."

"But you're not confident you can beat me, are you?"

"Huh?" The Mermaid Witch made a displeased sound.

"Did I say something wrong? You don't dare to approach me, you don't even dare to stand on land, isn't it because you're afraid I'll take you down?"

Although it sounds like a provocation, the Mermaid Witch really couldn't refute it.

This made Liu somewhat smug.

“Miss Water Resources Commission, since both paths in front of you are risky, why don’t you choose the one that will make your life better… no, the one that you believe is right in your heart?”

Liu's tone was very serious.

At this moment, offering advice to the mermaid witch is also a way of convincing oneself.

"Don't hesitate any longer. You don't still want to fight me, do you? Just because I have no ill intentions towards you and the risk is relatively low, you're planning to deal with me?"

"..."

Although this pervert has a contrasting female voice, he's quite eloquent.

The rarely speaking mermaid witch simply couldn't win an argument...

Ultimately, she didn't know what the "right" path was.

At this time.

More than a dozen large drones drifted over from a distance in a grand procession.

"Oh no, I've been here too long."

The fleeing fisherman and passersby will definitely call the police, and it's reasonable for the association's drones to come and investigate.

After changing into a stone gauntlet inlaid with amethyst, Liu pulled one down from the air and said, "Let's go somewhere else and think about it slowly. Come find me when you've figured it out. I'd love to hear your new ideas."

After saying this, Liu plunged into the water, leaving the Mermaid Witch alone to face the dozen or so drones.

For the Mermaid Witch, who excels at long-range attacks and has unlimited ammunition on the water, these reconnaissance drones are nothing more than toys that she can destroy at will.

The problem is that magical girls might arrive later.

"An irresponsible man."

She didn't want to clash with those magical girls right now, so she sank underwater and disappeared without a trace, as if dissolving.

------

Back in his tent, Liu began packing his things.

"What just happened... will probably be mistaken for a conspiracy, right?"

In any case, there's no going back to the docks. "The other side" is still watching him, this defective product, and anyone who comes into contact with him is in danger.

This underpass will be searched soon, and I can't stay here any longer.

"Looks like we'll have to go back to the forest and wilderness to survive again."

Shouldering his only backpack and carrying his folded tent, he set off on his hike once again...

As soon as he stepped out of the underpass, someone kicked him in the chest with great force, sending him flying back.

Liu was about to get angry, but when he saw who it was, he immediately lost his temper.

"...Miss Sirius?"

Even if the other party disguises themselves, wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask.

He could still recognize it; after all, smell doesn't lie.

In terms of status, I'm currently still considered her dog.

"What are you doing? How did you get filmed by the drone? And you're with the fugitive we're trying to catch? You think you're getting cocky because SPica isn't after you? What are you trying to do?"