Riding the old, downward-moving elevator, Clara and Lucia arrived at the company.
After being tended by a professional gardener, the garden—once looking like it had been chewed up by dogs—had improved considerably, though it still couldn’t be called beautiful.
The scars of its past destruction were still evident. After all, no matter how skilled a gardener was, they couldn’t regrow plants that had been damaged; that part would have to wait for time to heal…
If the members of the “Natural Order” were to see the once-beautiful base so ravaged, they might just reorganize on the spot and become the top enemies of the “Magical Girl Clara.”
Outside the elevator, Fran was sucking on a lollipop.
One hand was stuffed into the pocket of her white lab coat, the other fiddling with her phone.
Fran’s phone case was outrageously large and covered with a bunch of cute charms. In this pose, her flashy, elaborate manicure stood out even more.
Jump.
Only when the elevator doors opened did she look up and greet them:
“Yoo-hoo~ Welcome to the Dream Witch’s Garden~”
“Good morning, Miss Fran.”
Lucia greeted her cheerfully, her ponytail bouncing behind her.
She said “good morning” and not “long time no see” because Fran nearly always came by the dorm after work to sit for a bit and have dinner together.
After all, the company had only four people in total. Taking care of Clara and Lucia, who had trouble walking, couldn’t possibly fall to President Cecilia. Naturally, it ended up being Fran’s responsibility.
“Yo, you’re bouncing around already? Your recovery’s going pretty fast!”
Seeing that Lucia had finally returned to work, Fran pulled her long white lab coat tighter, revealing the syringe pistol strapped to her thigh beneath her skirt.
They’d arrived.
“I was actually going to have you try out the special medicine I developed…”
“Wait, you want to use Lucia as a test subject?”
Clara immediately furrowed her brows, but Fran caught the change in expression.
“Clara dear, what’s with that look~ I’m not a doctor, but I’m at least somewhat of a professional, alright~”
“The more you say that with such certainty, the more dangerous I think that medicine must be.”
Clara regarded Fran’s cursed mouth with reverence.
And when it came to the medicine Fran mentioned, Clara’s face was written all over with distrust. Ever since she’d met Fran, nothing she’d done seemed especially reliable…
Luckily, Lucia had recovered, so that was one disaster averted.
“Where’s President Cecilia?” Lucia asked.
“Not here yet. Our little president is super busy,” Fran replied.
Clara didn’t understand that either. From what she’d seen in the past few days, Cecilia hadn’t seemed to be handling any company business. What was she even busy with all day?
Fran led Lucia toward their laboratory.
As the only hero of the Dream Witch, Clara had her own independent office…
That said, it was basically just a European-style domed pavilion with no walls.
Though she could pull the Venetian blinds to block out the light, those blinds never offered any real security. Working in such a place offered no privacy, naturally meaning there was no room to slack off, since the boss occasionally peeked in outside the pavilion.
Luckily, the little president was a slacker herself and rarely spent time in the office…
Inside, the office was furnished entirely with pink office furniture. There was even a princess bed, which was strange enough by itself.
On that bed lay a pile of various plush toys…
They said it was for the visitors from other companies, to match the cute magical girl persona, but Clara thought “cute” was just a stereotype people held.
Magical girls came in all shapes and sizes. Take Kamui, for example—plush toys wouldn’t fit her at all. That woman, who wielded a wolf’s tooth club as her weapon, probably had dumbbells and resistance bands in her room…
Clara sat down at the pink desk and pulled out paper and pen from the drawer.
What did heroes do when they had no missions?
Clara didn’t know what other heroes did, but she chose to continue working on her own fan comics.
However, her creative flow was sluggish, and with Nangu Hope missing, it was even harder to concentrate…
Clara’s mind began to drift, unconsciously recalling the matter that had been troubling her.
One week ago…
Who exactly was that guy?
One afternoon a week ago, Lucia had received a call from “Brother Squire.”
As Lucia’s older brother, Clara herself was right there in front of her, even with her phone in her pocket. So who was calling her little sister from her own number?
Was it a scam call?
How was that even possible?
While Clara was puzzled, Lucia lay on the bed and slid to answer.
Nyx connected to Lucia’s phone, letting Clara hear the conversation.
【Sis, can you help me tell the security guard downstairs something?】
“Huh? Downstairs?” Lucia sounded surprised but pleased.
【Someone at your company contacted me, saying you were injured.】
…Miss Fran sure worries a lot. Lucia smiled wryly.
【I said I was coming to visit the patient, but the security guard wouldn’t believe me… I can’t get in without your permission… I was trying to surprise you, but in the end…】
Dang it, your brother…
“It’s Squid Head, I get it~”
The modified freaks from the evil organization weren’t popular, which was understandable. Though the freaks often had decent welfare, society’s discrimination never disappeared, making everything difficult…
“Tell him I’m the one they carried into the elevator at noon. He should know then.”
After a short pause, the voice on the other end finally said:
【Alright, alright. Big bro says he remembers now. I’m coming up.】
“Our dorm is 1408! Don’t get lost!”
【The elevator is transparent too.】
Clara shivered hearing that.
Both the voice and personality, even the tone, were exactly the same as the old Squire. Not only did Lucia believe it completely, Clara even had the confused thought that she was the fake one…
Lucia hung up with a beaming smile and looked back up at Clara.
She said:
But the next moment, her cheeks suddenly flushed.
To cover the awkward misunderstanding of talking to herself, Lucia timidly asked,
“S-So, Clara senpai, what was it you were going to tell me just now?”
Clara’s brain was still slow to catch up.
“Uh, ah? L-Let’s talk about that later!”
The temporary courage buff she’d gotten vanished after that call. She didn’t dare mention the confession, and even Lucia’s suspicions disappeared.
In the end, the imposter did help Clara.
But his identity remained a mystery.
opop—
There was a knock at the door, and Clara had no choice but to lean on her cane and open it.
“……”
Though she’d been prepared, when she nervously pulled the door open and saw another version of herself standing there, Clara felt her vision darken and even stepped back in fear.
That slippery squid-like head, the large, dull dead-fish eyes, and the suit that couldn’t hide the lowly vibe—this was exactly the appearance Clara saw every day when looking in the mirror before.
This imposter “Squire” was identical to her past self.
And it was precisely because they were so alike that it repulsed her…
Ah, was her original self really that disgusting?
Imposter Squid!