“Speaking of which… where did Nadeshiko go!?”
Nadeshiko, who had secretly circled around into the bushes behind Sakuraraku, jumped.
Why did they suddenly start talking about me?
Nadeshiko poked her little head out of the bushes and peeked at the scene.
Mawata was hanging upside down in the air, looking pitiful, while Sakuraraku and Seika watched her with unkind faces and discussed something.
Are they going to lynch her? That can’t be right!
The Rakuraku and Hanaka I know aren’t that brutal.
Just then, the Villain Role-Playing System in her mind flashed with light.
[Timed Quest: Defeat All Magical Girls in the New Urban District]
Nadeshiko’s eyes sharpened.
A timed quest was different from the vague main quest of “play a qualified villain.”
It was more specific, its demands harsher, and the Villain Points it offered were high.
If she failed, the corresponding Villain Points would be deducted.
Nadeshiko rubbed the mask, hesitating over how she should make her entrance.
Coming out as Fox Mask would be far too obvious…
She was not worried that Mawata or Rakuraku would grow suspicious, but clever Hanaka would definitely notice something off.
If she jumped out without the mask, though, it would also be hard to explain why she was mixed up with Mawata, and that would only make the already chaotic situation worse.
What should I do…?
While Nadeshiko was thinking furiously, several figures suddenly flashed through her mind.
I almost forgot I joined a villain organization.
Nadeshiko took out her phone and @’d Owl in the [Night Theater] group chat, praying he had not suddenly decided to sleep early and rise early today.
Owl: I’m here. What’s wrong?
Watching the situation, Nadeshiko typed.
Fox Mask: Come save me.
“Let’s put her down first.”
On the other side, Sakuraraku spoke to Seika.
Seika clapped her hands.
The golden threads turned into points of light and scattered.
Mawata failed to react in time and thudded face-up onto the ground.
“Um… sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Seika looked guilty and reached out to help Mawata up.
Mawata ignored her.
She got up on her own, patted the dust off her clothes, bit her lip, and would not look at Sakuraraku or Seika.
She only stared at the ground and said nothing.
Ugh… people my age are so scary. I want Nadeshiko…
“Ahem… well, why don’t we go look for your friend together!”
Seeing the mood turn sour, Sakuraraku smiled and tried to smooth things over.
Just as the three of them were about to leave, a thick fog suddenly rose in the forest.
“This fog is so thick… I don’t remember it being like this when we arrived.”
Sakuraraku complained.
The scenery more than a meter away was already completely gone.
They could only watch the path under their feet and walk back.
“That’s not right…! This isn’t natural fog. Everyone be careful!”
Seika was the first to notice something wrong and shouted toward Sakuraraku and Mawata.
But the surroundings were dead silent.
The only answer she received was her own echo.
“Sakuraraku! Mawata! Where are you!?”
She shouted again, but still got no response.
Fear gradually climbed her spine.
Seika ran with all her might, trying to get out of the mist, yet no matter how long she ran it felt as if she were spinning in place, unable to find an exit.
“Please don’t be nervous, miss. Staying calm on stage is very important.”
A mild male voice sounded behind her.
In an instant cold sweat ran down her back, and she turned toward the sound.
The mist had already begun to fade.
There, a man in a black suit and an owl mask stood quietly.
Sakuraraku and Mawata lay on the ground, their fates unknown.
Nadeshiko lay inside a cocoon packed from white feathers, her expression peaceful, as if she were asleep.
Anger overcame fear.
Seika swept her hand, a longbow drew taut and pointed at Owl, and she roared.
“What did you do to them!?”
“There’s no need to worry. They’re only having a pleasant dream.”
Owl did not attack.
Just standing there, he brought Seika a crushing sense of pressure.
Facing the “Playwright” of [Night Theater], she did not dare take him lightly.
Owl placed a hand on his chest and bowed to Seika.
“Well then, I take my leave.”
As he spoke, magic surged around them.
It was the precursor to teleportation magic.
Then, against everyone’s expectations, a hand seized the cuff of Owl’s suit trousers.
“Where are you taking Nadeshiko…!?”
Sakuraraku was like a vengeful spirit climbing up from hell, clutching the neatly tailored cuff, pink eyes glittering with killing intent.
Owl instantly flickered ten meters away with the cocoon binding Nadeshiko.
Sakuraraku grabbed empty air, yet still wrenched herself upright by sheer force.
Mawata, who had been lying to the side, now braced herself on her broom and barely stayed standing.
Her eyes had become a cat’s vertical pupils in the night glow, locked on Owl ten meters away.
“Don’t take Nadeshiko away from me…”
She murmured it softly, yet everyone could hear her voice.
“Nadeshiko… these friends of yours really are… beyond my expectations.”
Owl whispered to Nadeshiko, who was pretending to sleep inside the cocoon.
Nadeshiko did everything she could to keep her sleeping face.
Sakuraraku smashed the ground, sending up great clods of earth and stone, and charged at Owl.
In a single breath her longsword, carrying savage force, slashed toward him.
Her body twisted to its limit in midair, enough to warp the air itself.
There was no technique.
The fear of losing Nadeshiko occupied Sakuraraku’s mind.
That furious blow still missed.
Where Owl had just been standing, only a huge sword scar remained, as if the earth itself had been split open.
Seika drew her bow and joined the fight.
Owl kept using short-range teleportation magic to achieve a blink effect.
She ignored the drain on her magic and shot arrows in a frenzy, hanging golden nets throughout the woods.
The moment any thread trembled, she could instantly change the nature of her magic and trigger an explosion on that line.
“This is… a pleasant surprise.”
Owl could only teleport into the high air and speak to Nadeshiko, who was still pretending to sleep beside him.
“Stop playing dead, Nadeshiko. What do we do next?”
The only answer he received was Nadeshiko’s long, even breathing.
“She actually fell asleep!?”
Owl began to doubt whether there was anyone reliable left in [Night Theater].
As a monster, he possessed keen magic perception and could sense even the slightest change.
At that moment the air was filled with an unknown magic source.
The cat-eyed lady standing in place with her staff was chanting a powerful spell.
I have to get out of here, he thought.
As if answering its master’s anger, Mawata’s card case opened on its own, and a card flew out to hover in front of her.
Mawata gripped it tightly and read the words carved on it.
“[DROP]!!“
Like the decree of a god, as if a pair of invisible hands were yanking him down, Owl plunged toward the ground out of control.
The same overbearing weight pressed equally on every target within an eighty-meter radius.
Except for Nadeshiko alone, Owl, Sakuraraku, and Seika were all slammed into the dirt.
The surrounding trees began to snap and fall.
Some were driven straight into the earth.
Seen from above, it looked as if a huge circle had been drawn in the dense forest.
“How can you unleash magic this strong without a chant…?”
Owl held up his nearly cracked mask.
Fortunately he had no face there, or his jaw would have dropped in the physical sense.
“Still, this is what it takes to protect Nadeshiko.”
As if he had figured something out, Owl gave a relieved little laugh, then activated teleportation magic and vanished from the spot, leaving Nadeshiko sleeping in the cocoon.
“Mawata—stop! Owl already ran!”
Kneeling on the ground, Sakuraraku struggled toward Mawata.
“Ah!”
As if waking from a dream, Mawata lifted her head and looked around blankly.
The gravity pressing on them suddenly vanished.
Sakuraraku and Seika staggered to their feet and, supporting each other, walked toward Nadeshiko.
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