A sharp beeping sound and faint groans filled the hospital room, where the air was thick with the scent of pain. Children lay on their beds, each suffering from various afflictions. Some were battling rare conditions caused by superhuman abilities, others had incurable diseases that could be treated only with enormous sums of money, and some suffered from illnesses so unknown that not even their names were identified.

Beside these children were their parents, their faces etched with worry. Though they weren’t the ones suffering physically, the anguish of watching their children in pain took a heavy toll. After all, what parent could remain calm while watching their child suffer?

A middle-aged man slowly panned the camera across the room, showing the faces of these patients, before stepping forward and addressing them gently.

“You’ve all been through so much,” he said softly.

“…Excuse me?” one of the parents replied, bewildered.

“You won’t need to suffer any longer.”

With those words, the man produced a vial of liquid, faintly glowing red, and injected it into the child’s IV. Slowly, the child opened their eyes and blinked up at their parents.

“...Mom?”

The mother, in shock, could only stammer.

“Oh—oh my…”

“Mom, why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying… I’m not…,” she said, her voice shaking as she held back tears.

“Don’t cry!”

As the child and their mother embraced, both weeping, the man turned back to the camera, speaking with a calm but serious tone.

“We share in your suffering.”

A banner appeared at the bottom of the screen:

The Eblis Foundation is dedicated to supporting children with incurable diseases, children from underprivileged backgrounds, and those in need. For donation inquiries, call 030-XXXX-XXX...

Some time ago, I had conducted research on the enemies of the world, magical girls, and the Fairy Queen that had appeared in H City.

Through that research, I learned that the enemies of the world and the Fairy Queen were in cahoots, and that even the H City government and major corporations were entangled with them.

From there, things progressed quickly. I managed to completely drive the Fairy Queen out of this world. Well, to be more precise, she fled after a little prodding—she panicked and ran on her own.

Of course, I didn’t do this out of any sense of justice. I didn’t feel sorry for the millions of citizens under the thumb of H City and its corporate overlords. No, they started it by messing with me, and I gave them exactly what they deserved. A villain’s reason, through and through.

‘I never thought I’d have to look into this again.’

I rummaged through the notes I had taken back then, flipping through my research on the Fairy Queen, and once again attempted to reconnect with the spirit realm.

Unlike before, when I had the giant beacon that was the Fairy Queen, it was exceedingly difficult to locate the spirit realm again. Had I not left coordinates, I might never have found it.

After all, dimensional coordinates constantly shift. Just as Earth spins and revolves without pause, there’s nothing in this world that remains truly still.

‘The spirit realm… Do I have to go there myself?’

The problem that arose after finding the coordinates was that I couldn’t simply waltz into the spirit realm. Who knew what dangers awaited inside?

I couldn’t just send anything in, either, as whatever I sent in would need to interact with whatever was inside.

In the end, the only thing that could enter the spirit realm was something originally from there—spirits.

“Aile. You know where she lives, right?”

“Huh? Who?”

“The person you fought.”

Of course, Aile knew Flame’s address. Normally, such information wouldn’t be accessible to civilians, but was Aile a civilian? No, she was the evil magical girl and the chairwoman of the World Enemy, the very force that gave magical girls their purpose.

After quickly obtaining Flame’s address, Aile and I headed to her home. It was far smaller than what one would expect for a magical girl.

Considering that other famous magical girls lived like celebrities in penthouses, this place seemed more fitting for an orphaned boy than for a magical girl.

“Is this really the place?”

“Yes… I’ve sent packages here before.”

Slightly puzzled, I trusted Aile’s judgment and rang the doorbell.

Moments later, a red-haired girl appeared, scratching her rear. The smell of ramen wafted out as the door opened, making it clear that she had been eating instant noodles.

The moment she saw us, Flame scowled and immediately took a stance, ready to transform into her magical girl form.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Excuse us—Wow, you live in a pretty cramped place for a magical girl.”

“What the—Hey! You can’t just come in—!”

Ignoring her protests, I stepped inside. I realized it wasn’t even ramen she was eating, but cup noodles. I glanced around, taking in the sight of the scattered hair, dust, and piles of disposable trash. It was easy to see what kind of life Flame led.

It wasn’t the life of a magical girl, but more like that of a shut-in or a graduate student.

“Why the hell are you barging in like this?”

Flame stormed over to where I had settled onto the couch, yelling. Maybe it was because I had introduced myself as an ordinary person, or perhaps because neither Aile nor I had transformed, but Flame didn’t kick us out by force. She just shouted.

“Flame, I brought something for you.”

“What? Get out— Wait, what’s this…?”

I handed her the gifts I had brought. They were the standard holiday gifts Eblis Corporation gave its employees—canned ham, tuna, and various foods that you wouldn’t normally buy but would happily eat if someone gave them to you.

I had considered bringing her some beef, but Aile mentioned that Flame lived alone, so I changed my mind. Beef isn’t the best gift for someone living alone—it’s more of a hassle to cook and clean up afterward.

Judging by the state of her home, it was a good decision. A magical girl who lives on instant noodles wasn’t likely to grill herself a steak.

“I figured it wouldn’t be polite to come empty-handed.”

“…What the hell. Fine, whatever. Now tell me why you’re here and then get out.”

A moment ago, Flame had looked like she wanted to kill us, but the moment she saw the gift, her gaze softened. It was kind of pathetic, honestly. A magical girl living so miserably… It wasn’t exactly the image she projected.

Seeing her change so quickly, I explained the reason we had come.

“I have a request. Something only a magical girl can do.”

“A magical girl? You’ve got one right there. Why ask me?”

“Hmm… Should I tell her?” I glanced at Aile, who gave me a nod, completely unbothered by the idea of revealing the truth. It wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret anyway, given the speculation in the media.

“Aile—well, the evil magical girl—she’s not actually a magical girl. She’s a fake I created.”

“…A fake? What do you mean?”

“If magical girls gain their powers from spirits, then the evil magical girl gains her powers from science.”

“Science? Science, you say?”

Flame looked at both of us in disbelief, as if reassessing her previous assumptions about who I was. Her expression clearly asked, Are you not just some ordinary producer in a suit?

I smiled and introduced myself properly.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Eight, a scientist and an executive from the Eblis Corporation.”

“Eblis Corporation… You mean from H City…?”

“Yes, that Eblis Corporation.”

Flame visibly tensed. The Eblis Corporation was a global villain organization, one that housed several villains of S-rank caliber.

To hear that not only was one of their executives standing in her living room but that this executive had created the evil magical girl with his own power… She was probably wondering why on Earth we had come to her.

The reason was simple. I had judged that telling her my true identity wouldn’t pose much of a risk, and besides…

Flame was the only person who could help me find what I was looking for.

“There’s something only you can do, Flame.”

“…I’m a magical girl. You think I’m going to work with a villain?”

“It’s about finding your comrades who you thought were dead.”

At those words, Flame froze. Her eyes burned with fury.

She didn’t curse at me as she normally might, and I knew it wasn’t because her anger had diminished but because she had realized who I truly was.

I continued, explaining carefully.

─Aren’t you curious why the enemies of the world suddenly vanished? ─Or why the spirits can no longer return to the spirit realm? ─What caused the Fairy Queen to abandon everything and disappear?

All of these things… were my doing.

And I had no intention of stopping. I was going to push even further.

“If you help me, I’ll bring back those comrades of yours who you thought were dead.”

“…Bring them back?”

“Yes. Assuming they’re still alive, of course…”

But I was sure of it.

There was no way the Fairy Queen would have simply taken away the power she had granted magical girls without a plan.

That wasn’t her style.

The magical girls who were thought to have died after being devoured by the enemies of the world were likely still alive.

From the moment they “died” until now.

They were still out there.

“You’re the only one who can save them.”

At my words, Flame slowly lowered her head.