Chapter 72

“……”

Right now, I’m sitting quietly, watching something bubbling in a pot.

I definitely said I wouldn’t cook, but why am I boiling stew? Honestly, I’m tired of it.

Of course, regular meals are delicious, sausages are tasty, and beer is really good too.

But for some reason, except for beer, I’m strangely fed up.

So, as advised before, I threw in all sorts of sausages and made a stew.

I even went to the Asian mart and bought some ready-made rice.

“…Oh, it’s done.”

By the way, it’s already been 5 days since Magical Magician left.

She seemed to have regained her energy, leaving with a bright face.

If there are no problems, that’s good, but I’ve never seen anyone resolve their issues neatly after just one counseling session.

So, she’ll probably show up again in some gloomy form, but I don’t know what that will be like.

“It’s delicious.”

Anyway, the stew I’m eating after a long time is really tasty.

Plus, I carefully selected sausages that would go well with it, so it’s even more delicious.

“Hoo~.”

Hmm… It’s a bit too much to finish, maybe I’ll eat it again for dinner.

I don’t have a small appetite, so it should be fine.

Now that I’ve finished eating… what should I do?

“…Huh?”

Is that a Duke-Class monster signal…

Should I take this or not?

Aren’t there magical girls in Germany who handle Duke-Class monsters?

But since the signal came to me…

…Well, I guess I have to go.

I’ll go and think about it later.

First, to check the situation, I transformed and went to the location where the Duke-Class monster appeared.

For some reason, I feel uneasy.

I could handle it myself, but something feels off…

“Magical Magician, huh…”

When I arrived at the location, the Duke-Class monster was surprisingly calm, and Magical Magician had already arrived.

I don’t know why Magical Magician, who only knows how to handle Marquis-Class monsters, went to a Duke-Class one… but there must be a reason.

And… first, the evacuation of the residents.

Normally, you evacuate first and then fight, right?

Duke-Class monsters cause a lot of collateral damage.

“Hey, Magician.”

“…Huh? Rampage?!”

“Why are you here?”

“I want to take down Duke-Class monsters now too!”

“Is that so?”

Hmm… Well, I guess I’ll just have to watch then.

If I just handle it here, I’ll look like an inconsiderate jerk.

So, let’s see how she fights.

“Oh, the monster’s starting to move. What a polite guy.”

“…Here I go.”

Her weapon is a magic wand.

Her main magical attacks are cards, I see.

And she uses various other spells to confuse and increase evasion, focusing on sneak attacks.

That doesn’t mean she doesn’t have frontal attacks; she stabs directly with her magic wand or slashes with an energy blade.

…But unfortunately, the monster’s talent is just like Diamond Dust’s… no, exactly the same.

It’s important not to get surrounded by those waves of blades while focusing on sneak attacks.

By the way, she’s really agile.

Her reaction speed is good, and seeing her find gaps to stab in that speed shows she’s worked hard…

She’s a bit like me, so I personally want to cheer her on.

“Kuh… Hahp!”

“Clang clang… You’re annoying.”

That teleportation magic… must be a skill as a “Magician.”

Magic can theoretically make anything seem possible.

That’s why magicians are also called wizards.

By the way, it’s an impressive ability.

Even if she gets hurt, she can make it seem like it’s not her but a dummy, send the enemy’s attacks to another space, or use illusions to mislead her location.

She has quite a few utility skills… but there’s one drawback.

Since it’s not direct or regular magic, she lacks finishing power.

Seeing her go this far against a Duke-Class monster, it’s clear that solo Duke-Class extermination isn’t impossible.

But with her lack of finishing power, she’ll probably tire out before she can defeat it.

At this rate, Magician will lose.

The Duke-Class monster is struggling with all the magical attacks but remains quite calm.

Plus, with that Diamond Dust-like talent… it’s just too powerful, so Magician will be in danger if she gets hit even once.

Frankly, she’s at a disadvantage.

If the monster had better control over its abilities, she would have already lost.

“Haa, haa…”

“Is that all? …Then it’s my turn.”

The monster is now getting serious.

The weapon it’s using… a giant trident.

Its martial arts skills don’t seem bad, so handling a weapon isn’t surprising.

“Thief girl. Your dodging skills are impressive.”

“I’m not a thief! I’m… a Magician!”

“Hmph, same difference.”

Now, the Duke-Class monster starts chasing Magician while swinging its weapon.

The waves of metal pieces still overwhelm Magician, but she desperately uses her magical abilities to dodge and attack.

The attacks that keep changing forms are still effective, but all lack finishing power.

Reality isn’t a game, so defeating an enemy with small attacks is too difficult.

Unless she creates a new ability to boost her finishing power, right now… honestly, it’s hard to watch.

“Kuh…!”

“I think I’ve got the hang of it.”

“Haa, haa…”

This time, she barely blocked it without time to dodge.

The monster’s learning speed seems faster than expected.

“…Rampage.”

“What?”

“How can I… defeat that monster…?”

“Well, you’ll have to figure that out yourself. Develop a new ability, or awaken your Third Ability.”

“…Third Ability?”

“Yeah. Want a hint?”

“Yes!”

Come to think of it, most don’t know how to awaken their Third Ability, right?

Without knowing that, awakening the Third Ability is just a matter of luck.

…If this girl can grow stronger just by knowing, then it’s fine to tell her.

It’s not like it’s a secret, and there’s no reason to hide it and hinder her growth.

Alright, let’s tell her clearly.

“The condition for awakening the Third Ability is very simple. Understand the ‘concept’ of your talent… and explode with emotions related to it.”

“…’Concept’?”

“Yeah, ‘concept.’ When we become magical girls, we are assigned one ‘concept’ based on our potential. So, the closer you get to it, the stronger you become.”

“Ah…”

“If you want to awaken your Third Ability, show that you are worthy of approaching that ‘Magician’ concept. Then, your magical girl talent will answer.”

“…Yes!”

This much should be understandable unless you’re an idiot.

If she awakens her Third Ability, that’s good, and if not, at least she has a goal.

Good luck, Magical Magician.

“Is the conversation over? Then let’s continue.”

“But don’t obsess over awakening the Third Ability. The more you do, the further you get. So don’t get caught up in it, just think about how to land a hit on that polite guy. Don’t forget your purpose as a magical girl, and give it your all.”

“Understood!”

Did she get her strength back?

If that gave her strength, then that’s good.

Whether the Third Ability awakens or not is secondary.

…Man, being a magical girl is such a hassle.

I really don’t understand why or who made this structure.

Honestly, it’s so inefficient.

“Guh…!!”

“Still not giving up? The difference in strength is this big, why are you so stubborn?”

“…Because I’m a magical girl. Rampage told me. Don’t forget my purpose as a magical girl.”

“Hmph, what does that matter? The result won’t change.”

“I’m a Magician. To protect my family, my friends, and even my country! That’s why I became Magical Magician! So, I will definitely defeat you with my own hands!! I don’t care about the result!!”

…I don’t know if she has to say that out loud.

Well, if it helps her get immersed, then it’s fine.

Getting immersed is the key to awakening, after all.

“Then die, thief.”

“I’m not a thief…!! I’m a Magician! A magician of justice who defeats guys like you!!”

Oh, the monster is serious now.

Seeing it glance at me, it probably wants to finish this quickly and deal with me.

But unfortunately… you’ll end here, Magician.

I can see her emotions are incredibly heightened.

Thanks to you calling her a thief, it really helped.

“……Third Ability, ‘Magician.'”

As expected, thanks to that guy’s provocation, she quickly awakened her Third Ability.

I thought it would be harder, but she’s impressive.

“What…?!”

“Hahp!!”

“…What was that just now?”

“Magic doesn’t reveal its tricks…!”

“…I see.”

I didn’t expect her to completely deflect the monster’s attacks head-on.

Is the Third Ability turning even herself into magic?

Plus, seeing the surrounding space change, it seems she can alter anything with magic.

“This is… the end!”

“……”

After awakening her Third Ability, Magician overwhelmingly dominated the monster, stunned it, and trapped it in a magic box.

Then, she mercilessly slashed it to finish it off.

Decorating it with magic till the end?

Very magician-like.

“It’s over!”

“Yeah, well done.”

“Magician~!”

By the way, if you create a situation where they can get immersed, can’t everyone awaken their Third Ability easily?

Like the senior, and this girl… I think I get the gist of it.

“…What’s wrong? If it’s over, let’s go home.”

“I want to say thank you! Thank you!”

I don’t think I did anything worth thanking.

I just gave some basic counseling and told her the conditions for the Third Ability.

I didn’t directly teach her anything, but if she wants to thank me…

“You don’t need to thank me. I wasn’t by your side as your senior, I just gave you some advice.”

“But it really helped! If it weren’t for Rampage, I would have stayed stuck in the same place!”

“…If it helped, then that’s good.”

Well, it’s a much better outcome than dragging it out for a long time, so let’s call it good.

I need to restore this place, so you should leave now.

“Go home and rest. Don’t go around bragging about awakening your Third Ability.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

“Thank you!”

By the way, what’s the criteria for that mascot to mimic speech?

It just does whatever it wants.

…I guess worrying about it means I lose.

Now that I’ve confirmed she’s leaving, I should go too.

One more day and I’ll say goodbye to Germany…

Then, on the last day, I’ll go eat that delicious pork knuckle again!

And since I’m in a strangely good mood, I’ll buy a lot of that especially tasty beer and drink it.

There’s leftover stew too, it’s going to be a good evening!

“…Huh?”

Is this a hole-punched notebook…

It survived that battle.

Let’s see… translating the remaining parts with a translator…

“……”

This monster was secretly plotting a rebellion.

What’s going on in the Demon Realm with monsters like this…

…I should go see the Fairy Queen.

……Let’s go back.