Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

Even in the urgency, it was extremely difficult for Terasaki Ayasa to locate the world where Haga Mayumi had fallen, and it would take a considerable amount of time.

While Terasaki Ayasa was making preparations, Sugiyama Rika, the head of the city's magical girl group who was originally traveling abroad and was also Mayumi Haga's guardian, also arrived.

Originally, it was thought that Sugiyama Rika's arrival would ease everyone's tension, but this older woman, who was the same age as Terasaki Ayasa, was just as flustered as Tono Hitomi, with emotional fluctuations comparable to a five-year-old child, and she was just short of pouting and crying.

The only reliable adult, Terasaki Ayasa: "..."

She knew she shouldn't place her hopes on Sugiyama Rika.

This guy's mental age is even younger than Hitomi Tono's!

However, what those present did not know was that Sugiyama Rika was actually in such a panic because she knew about the dangers of the world that Haga Mayumi had fallen into.

Rika Sugiyama was able to become the head of Miracle City, and she was once a red-themed magical girl who was like a protagonist. Even after retiring, she still possesses some abilities that ordinary people do not have.

Her body was assimilated by the spiritual veins, thus enabling her to communicate with the magical deities of this world for a short period of time.

Upon learning of Mayumi Haga's disappearance, she immediately inquired about the whereabouts of [God] Mayumi Haga.

But even the "god" could only give a vague answer, allowing images of another world to flash before Sugiyama Rika's eyes.

Sugiyama Rika saw blood and flesh everywhere, continuous explosions that stained the sky blood, the city destroyed by the witch, and the death of humanity.

That was definitely not a world where one could live in peace, and the probability of ordinary people dying was unexpectedly high... After all, monsters called witches would actively attack humans and use them as food.

Especially after witnessing the horrific scenes of people being crushed into mincemeat and scattered over the city... it's hard to imagine how many people have perished in such a disaster.

Although Sugiyama Rika was irresponsible, she was still Mayumi Haga's guardian and genuinely treated her like family.

The thought that her own Haga Mayumi might be struggling to survive in such a perilous situation filled Sugiyama Rika with uncontrollable panic.

She had to get to Mayumi Haga as soon as possible and pull her back from that dangerous world.

Even if it meant roughly tearing open the tiny crack in front of her, she would do it.

.................................................. ..................

Mayumi Haga felt a slight itch in her nose, as if someone was thinking about her.

Strange, why did I think I just heard the guardian's and Hitomi's voices...?

"Miss Haga?" Mami Tomoe's voice snapped Mayumi Haga out of her daze.

Mayumi Haga looked up and saw Mami Tomoe staring intently at her face.

Ah, yes.

The magical girl in front of me is doubting herself.

I suspect I'm the stray cat she kidnapped earlier...

Generally speaking, such speculation and questioning are obviously absurd, after all, how can a person turn into a cat?

But Mayumi Haga was drenched in sweat.

Because she can really turn into a cat.

Moreover, it disguised itself as a stray cat to deliberately approach Mami Tomoe, not only freeloading at her house but also putting fake cat poop in the litter box.

Now that I've been caught red-handed, I really don't know how to explain it.

Especially when the other party has just been resurrected and is still in such a vulnerable mental state.

Ah, no, it's not actually that fragile.

After all, the other party now shares mental protection with him, so even if he learns some of the truth, he won't easily collapse.

Instead of immediately answering Mami Tomoe's question, Mayumi Haga suspiciously averted her gaze.

With this, Mami can pretty much conclude that there is some connection between the other person and her cat.

...No, that look in his eyes is definitely his own.

Even a magical girl would find it hard to connect a cat with such a tall person in front of her.

But once a crack is opened, it will begin to appear that:

Huh? The eyes look like...

Huh? This expression is strangely similar, and the guilty look in their eyes is too...

And they are all quite large.

Both cats and humans fall into the category of relatively large body size.

While Mayumi Haga was still racking her brains trying to figure out how to get away with it, Mami Tomoe in front of her had already confirmed her identity through her silence.

Mami Tomoe solemnly replied, "As expected, you are a feather."

"..." Mayumi Haga felt like she was doomed.

Although she meant well, she had indeed deceived Mami Tomoe in front of her. Moreover, Mami Tomoe knew how much Mami initially hated being with Homura Akemi, and how much she loved the stray cat she had transformed into.

The other party must be angry about such deception.

Although Mayumi Haga wasn't particularly concerned about whether Mami Tomoe was angry or not, if this incident created a rift between them, it would make their next steps very difficult...

After all, Mami Tomoe's power is still needed to fight against Witch Night.

Between Mayumi Haga and Homura Akemi, the latter's magical power is indeed insufficient. Several previous failures were due to Homura Akemi's magical power allocation issues.

While Mayumi Haga's bombs are powerful, they are not magical attacks. Homura Akemi needs to expend a lot of magic power to stop time and deal with Witch Night. If she is not careful, she will fail.

If we could have Mami Tomoe, the strongest magical girl in Mitakihara, to help us, things would probably be much easier to resolve.

All the information Mayumi Haga currently possesses comes from Homura Akemi's written records. Since Homura Akemi claims it's a problem with her own magical power, Mayumi, while somewhat confused, is half-convinced.

Homura Akemi is, after all, a comrade; she wouldn't hide information without a reason. Just do your best in your own role and then figure it out.

Mami Tomoe's help is crucial in preparing for the battle against Witch's Night. If Homura Akemi loses this support here due to her own exposure, she might have to start all over again.

Thinking of this, Mayumi Haga's expression turned serious, and she was about to apologize: "I'm sorry, I..."

Unexpectedly, Mami Tomoe burst out laughing, interrupting Mayumi Haga's apology: "I'm not angry with you, I just find it a little... unbelievable?"

When she named the cat Feather, she had no idea that the cat demon's surname was "Yu He." How can that not be considered fate?

Mami Tomoe isn't the type of person to harbor resentment over such things.

Although she did feel a strong sense of disbelief at first, at the same time that negative emotions arose, the other person's feelings seemed to be transmitted to her through a special connection.

Once she realized that the other person was acting entirely out of goodwill and felt guilty about deceiving her, Mami Tomoe no longer thought that Mayumi Haga was a bad person.

He's a kind person who seems cold on the outside but is warm on the inside.

Seeing that Mami Tomoe was only briefly angry before her emotions calmed down, Mayumi Haga was immediately relieved.

“After all, I wouldn’t be angry with my savior,” Mami Tomoe said softly.

She lowered her eyes, recalling the scene she had seen before her vision was completely enveloped by the Snack Witch's mouth.

The cat she had just met rushed over without hesitation, and was even bitten in two by the witch.

She was able to survive thanks to Mayumi Haga.

Although there were still many things she didn't understand:

Why am I still standing here intact even though my head has been bitten to pieces?

Why do I always feel that my body is inexplicably unnatural?

Why did Mayumi Haga know that she would die due to underestimating her enemy, and disguise herself as a cat in advance to save herself?

Mami Tomoe is just emotionally fragile, not stupid.

She discovered that Mayumi Haga's purpose was clear from the beginning: to protect herself.

Once I realized this, the shame and anger of being deceived vanished.

Although this open-minded attitude was probably stolen from the other person.

Mami Tomoe gave a wry smile.

What would she be like if the person in front of her weren't standing here?

Her emotions shouldn't be this calm; if it were her usual self, she might already be overthinking things.

But there was always an invisible hand that held her up as her emotions sank into the abyss.

Mami Tomoe felt a little warmth.

And as she lay dying, those words that had echoed in her ears continued to resonate within her:

"You've done a great job."

He's truly... an amazing person.

Mami Tomoe gained a small amount of courage from her brief connection with Mayumi Haga, courage that might vanish at any moment.

Then, seemingly sensing that Mami Tomoe's emotions had calmed down, Mayumi Haga, who valued efficiency, said, "Now that you've calmed down, I'll tell you the truth."

The truth about magical girls and witches.

Normally, telling Mami Tomoe this would definitely cause her to have a mental breakdown.

But now that there's a mental lock on blood, it's best to finish explaining quickly.

Side Story: Mayumi Haga and Madoka Magica: Madoka Magica Episode 18 - Are You Really Not a Murderer?

"So you really aren't a serial killer..." Sayaka Miki sipped her orange juice and exclaimed.

Mayumi Haga, slightly distracted by the orange juice in Sayaka Miki's glass, said, "Where did you get that wrong impression from?"

The two sat facing each other in the dessert shop. Sayaka Miki had her schoolbag next to her, and the sunset was visible outside the window.

On her way home from school, she saw Mayumi Haga walking alone. Out of concern for Mami Tomoe and curiosity about Mayumi Haga, she called out to Mayumi Haga, who seemed to be looking for something.

"Hey! Um... Miss Murderer?" Since she didn't remember Mayumi Haga's name, Sayaka Miki had no choice but to call her that.

By the time they realized what was happening, the two were already sitting in the store, drinking and chatting.

The incident involving Mami Tomoe a couple of days ago really startled Sayaka Miki and Madoka Kaname, but thankfully, it seems there's still hope. Later, the two also received a text message from Mami Tomoe's phone.

However, when you try to call her, Mami Tomoe won't answer, and not only that, she also won't go to school.

This prevented them from contacting Mami Tomoe through Kyubey's telepathic communication.

The two younger generation members were very worried.

So, when Sayaka Miki was alone with Mayumi Haga, she wanted to ask Mami Tomoe about her in detail.

However, Mayumi Haga first needs to clarify one point: "I am not a murderer."

To be honest, after seeing Mayumi Haga and Homura Akemi rescue Mami Tomoe together, Sayaka Miki already had a bit of a good impression of this exceptionally fierce young lady in front of her.

The other person didn't seem like a bad person...

At first glance, this face looks fierce and menacing, but when you think about how the person risked their life to save Mami Tomoe with the same stern face, you can't help but find it a little clumsy and cute.

It's mainly because she's good-looking.

Like the transfer student, they both have a cold but kind face; you can tell they're kind just by looking at them.

Miki Sayaka asked, puzzled, "Then what about the night I saw you dismembering someone...?"

“That’s my own body,” Mayumi Haga said honestly. “I died once from a fall from a great height, and I have to get rid of the previous body after I’m resurrected.”

After all, in modern society, the appearance of an unidentified corpse in a residential area, whose true identity cannot be determined no matter how much investigation is conducted, combined with Mayumi Haga's characteristics, would be a waste of police resources.

"...Should I say you're surprisingly familiar with the rules of this society..." Miki Sayaka retorted, "Being considerate in a place like this?"

Mayumi Haga nodded, her expression unchanged, but Sayaka Miki inexplicably sensed that she was actually happy to be praised.

Mayumi Haga was naturally delighted; her emotional intelligence had been recognized, and she was overjoyed.

Overjoyed, when Sayaka Miki showed curiosity about her abilities, Mayumi Haga began to explain: "I can regenerate at a high speed to the point of immortality."

Is it because they're so used to their own corpses that they can commit such shocking acts as dismembering bodies with an axe and stuffing them into garbage bags...?

For these immortal beings, dealing with their own remains is probably as simple as flushing the toilet after using it...

Sayaka Miki was internally complaining, but she didn't say it aloud.

I have a feeling that there's a boomerang hidden in these words.

“However,” Sayaka Miki suddenly asked curiously, “if you use magic, you can heal yourself, right? Can you reach that level?”

Mayumi Haga didn't know: "I don't know much about magic, but if it's just healing, I've seen Homura use it, and her self-healing speed can't compare to mine."