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

Main Text: Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Guardians' First Meeting

Having returned to the ley lines of Miracle City via teleportation magic, Sugiyama Rika dragged her suitcase out of the station; it was already evening.

Before she returned, she received a call from Ms. Kirino.

"A home visit?" Sugiyama Rika was a little flustered when she heard Kirino ask where she was and that she was supposed to visit Mayumi Haga's house today. "Huh? Huh? Is it today?"

Generally speaking, you shouldn't only visit a few places a day... Ah, the Tono family's place is nearby.

It must have been after visiting Hitomi Tono's house that they came to the Sugiyama family.

However, Ms. Kirino's explanation left Sugiyama Rika completely baffled: "...You said that Hitomi used illusion magic to impersonate me and help Mayumi get away with it...Huh—?!"

She let out an exaggeratedly long, questioning sound.

At this point, Sugiyama Rika realized that something was out of her control.

When did Mayumi find out that Hitomi could use magic? Had she already guessed the true identity of the magical girl Crimson...?

Why did things develop to the point where I don't understand anything after only being away for half a month?

However, even more perplexing information kept pouring in from the other end of the phone. Her mind raced, and she stood there dumbfounded on the spiritual vein platform, uttering astonished sounds:

"What? Mayumi skipped class? Attendance is in serious danger..."

—How could Mayumi possibly skip class?

"...Huh? You mean there's already a matriarch in the family?"

—Where did Mayumi get the other parents?!

Sugiyama Rika then realized that things were in serious trouble.

She simply went out as usual, and it was as if there was an extra parent at home who was more competent than her—at least able to sit quietly on the sofa when the teacher made a home visit.

And she even claims to be Mayumi's parent!

Most importantly...

...Why didn't I feel anything when Ms. Kirino used her Word of Power to summon me?

Am I really such an incompetent guardian?

Sugiyama Rika's guardianship status is in serious crisis!

She immediately sounded the alarm.

Although she herself wasn't very suited to raising a child... to be honest, she didn't feel like Mayumi's mother or any similar elder; she was at most Mayumi's older sister.

Because of her excessively youthful age and mindset, Sugiyama Rika, the mysterious guardian who has never existed for many years, is not recognized as a parent by Kotodama.

Rather than a guardian, Sugiyama Rika should be positioned as an "older sister".

So, who exactly is the person who can be identified as Mayumi's parent...?

While feeling a sense of crisis, Sugiyama Rika was also curious about the person she had never met.

Because she never knew that Mayumi still had a guardian in the world.

If she's still in this world, why didn't she come looking for Mayumi before?

And if any difficulties arise... I can help solve them.

Sugiyama Rika could tell that although Haga Mayumi had accepted her, there was still a distance between them.

Mayumi Haga is an overly independent and mature child, which makes her quite distant from everyone. It would be better for Mayumi if someone who knows her inner struggles were there to help her open up.

So let's see who this [Mayumi's parent] really is.

Standing in front of her own door, she was about to reach for her key when she realized she hadn't brought it. And with Mayumi Haga inside, it wasn't a good idea to use magic to fly over directly.

Sugiyama Rika was a little nervous. She took a breath and pressed the doorbell: "I'm home, Mayumi!"

Two seconds passed.

Hurried footsteps sounded, and the person who opened the door for her was clearly not Mayumi Haga.

As soon as the door opened, Hitomi Tono's guilty face appeared in front of Rika Sugiyama.

Sugiyama Rika immediately understood that she had done something wrong, and indeed, she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong. However, Sugiyama Rika was not the kind of elder who would hold a grudge over such trivial matters.

She winked at Hitomi Tono and lowered her voice, "Hitomi, where's Mayumi?"

"Mayumi is in the room." Tono Hitomi also lowered her voice.

"Then, are there any others?" Sugiyama Rika asked more cautiously, "The one who's supposedly from Mayumi's family..."

“Miss Urzana, she’s right behind me… ah,” Hitomi Tono said.

Sugiyama Rika then noticed that there was actually someone standing behind Tono Hitomi.

This woman was unusually tall. Standing behind the petite Hitomi Tono, she looked like a wall. She should have had a strong presence, but because she was too tall, her head was not visible, and she seemed to be part of the building.

Sugiyama Rika raised her head and met Urzana's golden eyes.

At this moment, the two red-haired guardians had the same thought:

—Is this Mayumi's guardian?

Putting aside Sugiyama Rika's amazement at Urzana's enormous physique, Urzana felt that Sugiyama Rika herself was like a child, not her peer—in fact, very few people could be her peers—she was about the same age as Mayumi back then.

No wonder that spell that supposedly summons parents didn't bring the child.

"Hello, I'm Sugiyama Rika. You must be Mayumi's parent, right?" Sugiyama Rika felt that Ulzana's physique was quite intimidating, as the other woman could only look down at her with her head down the whole time.

Wow, it's really huge... I feel like it could knock down my untransformed self with one punch.

But he really looks handsome.

Sugiyama Rika was very able to appreciate the wild beauty of Urzana. She was like a strong and sturdy beast, with wheat-colored skin and smooth muscles. Her clothes were also very exotic, and although she exposed a lot of skin, it did not feel erotic. Combined with the white totems painted on her body, she had a kind of natural and powerful beauty.

Because of some adult reasons, Sugiyama Rika is also exercising, but she still has a long way to go to reach that level.

Urzana had no idea what Sugiyama Rika, that unreliable guy, was thinking.

She knew that Sugiyama Rika had helped Mayumi a lot and was Mayumi's support in this world. If it weren't for this kind person taking Mayumi back, it's unknown what would have happened now, and it might have been even worse...

So she thanked her sincerely: "Ms. Sugiyama, thank you for taking care of Mayumi."

Sugiyama Rika stared intently at the bodies within her line of sight, seemingly lost in thought.

"Miss Sugiyama?" Urzana called her but received no response. She waved her hand in front of her face. "Hello?"

Sugiyama Rika suddenly snapped back to reality: "Huh? Miss Urzana, may I touch your abdomen... oh no, hello, hello!"

She warmly shook hands with Urzana, her initial wariness and slight anxiety about the real bow being stolen completely disappearing in the amazement she felt upon seeing Urzana in person.

Her intuition told her that Urzana was a good person.

Main text: Chapter Ninety-Nine, Oh my, Mayumi!

When Sugiyama Rika shook hands with Urzana, she noticed something was amiss.

"...This feel?"

Upon touching the other's palm, she could clearly sense that the person in front of her, Urzana, was not human.

It's not even a physical entity.

Ulzana was also taken aback: "Miss Sugiyama, you were able to meet me? You're a wizard... no, in this language, you're a magician?"

She can't even pick up a cup. She just tried and it's basically impossible for her to touch anything. When Hitomi Tono tries to touch her, the cup just passes right through her.

Sugiyama Rika was able to touch her directly, and the sensation was no different from when she was still alive.

But why Sugiyama Rika? Wasn't Tohno Hitomi, who also uses magic, untouchable? What's the difference between Sugiyama Rika and Tohno Hitomi? Is it a matter of total magical power or magical skill?

Sugiyama Rika already had a guess in her heart.

Her physical condition changed ten years ago due to a brief contact with a spiritual vein.

No matter how powerful a magical girl's abilities are, her body is still that of an ordinary human. Therefore, the standard of magical abilities, which is determined by factors such as magic output, is limited by physical conditions, which is the so-called potential ceiling.

Physical ability has always been a weakness for magic users. For example, Tohno Hitomi, whose innate magical power is astonishing, is unable to unleash her full potential because her physical condition has not yet caught up. Despite this, Tohno Hitomi's potential for growth is also quite remarkable.

Sugiyama Rika's potential ceiling was completely dissolved due to contact with the spiritual vein.

She herself didn't know what changes had occurred to her body, but since then, she could easily control any kind of magic, using magic was as easy as drinking water and breathing, her ability to sense magic traveling in the air was also stronger, and she even had some management authority over the spiritual veins.

She hadn't told anyone else about this, not even Terasaki Ayasa.

If I had to put it into words, I would say that she was almost assimilated by the spiritual veins at that moment.

Because of her strong will, luck, and the support of her friends, she successfully climbed out of there.

Since then, she has clearly felt unexpected changes in her body. Although they may not be obvious to outsiders, for her, the changes are significant enough to affect her daily life.

If I had to say, they're closer to being "magical spirits" than humans.

Unlike the spirits of Mayumi Haga's ancestors, the spirits here refer more to magical creatures constructed from magical energy. A significant portion of Sugiyama Rika's body has been assimilated by a high concentration of magical energy, and she is no longer purely physical, thus eliminating any magical bottlenecks.

And now, she finds herself able to touch Urzana.

The other party was not a ghost; to be precise, it was a soul carrying power similar to that of a spiritual vein.

She was able to touch that power.

That power is—

—The spark.

The embers of another world.

The world's fundamental forces exist in various forms and have different essential attributes, but as long as one reaches a level of perception like Sugiyama Rika, one can recognize them upon contact.

So, this Ms. Urzana in front of us is a visitor from another world?

That makes sense. After all, ordinary people couldn't grow that tall, and judging from her current weakened state, this probably isn't even Ulzana's full height. There aren't any humans this huge in this world yet; she's definitely from another world.

It must be something like a giant from a fairy tale, right?

Wait, so if that's the case, then Ms. Urzana is Mayumi's guardian, then...

"Huh?!" Sugiyama Rika's brain, which hadn't been working much since she picked up Haga Mayumi, was about to overload. "So Mayumi really is from another world?"

She had always thought that Mayumi was just an ordinary child who appeared on the battlefield where she was fighting monsters and got caught up in it.

Although Mayumi initially seemed to have some difficulty speaking the local language and displayed some awkwardness regarding common sense, she assumed the child had lost all of her previous memories after being frightened...

Now that I think about it, a normal person wouldn't be completely without any magical talent, right?

After all, magic exists in every corner of this world. Whether it is humans, animals, or plants, they all possess a certain amount of magic. The only difference is the amount of magic.

Magic is like water in this world.

Mayumi Haga's body was completely clean, making her an unprecedented source of magical immunity.

It's as strange as having no water in the human body.

The difference between the people of this world and those of the other world is so obvious, yet Sugiyama Rika hasn't thought about it in detail yet.

Urzana looked at her blankly: "Yes, yes."

“Another world… I’ve met quite a few people from other worlds,” Sugiyama Rika said. When she was a magical girl, she would occasionally encounter magical girls from other worlds or other people who were very similar to magical girls, only with different names, during winter and summer vacations.

For example, Valkyrie, Hero, PreDraw, and Kamen Rider (this is just a playful reference and I will not write any fan-made collaborations).

During the special events of the long holiday, she was able to meet people from other worlds and make many friends. The spiritual veins of this world are quite friendly, basically opening their doors to other worlds and welcoming everyone to visit, so it is often lively and bustling.

Sugiyama Rika really liked that atmosphere.

Therefore, after learning that Mayumi Haga came from another world, Rika Sugiyama did not feel anything was strange.

Because the people from another world are just like them—they are human beings who can communicate and are friendly enough. Since everyone is human, they will definitely be able to communicate well.

Even if they are not human, there will be times when they can connect on a deeper level.

Sugiyama Rika will not feel alienated from Urzana and Haga Mayumi just because they are visitors from another world.

Regardless of the other person's appearance or where they came from, they were simply someone she knew.

Moreover, Mayumi is the younger sister she considers her to be.

When Sugiyama Rika found Mayumi, she placed it in the family's place.

"Then... Urzana, will you take Mayumi with you?" Sugiyama Rika straightened her posture, staring intently into Urzana's eyes, and asked the most important question at hand.

She waited anxiously for Urzana's reply.