Yukieda now faced two choices.

First: ask who needed killing before deciding whether to accept.

Second: accept first, then ask who.

“Mm.” Yukieda hesitated for a moment—then agreed outright.

After all, the one making the request was Mr. Kenji.

She owed him countless favors. Even her life belonged to him.

Kill someone? Yukieda poured herself another cup of sake. Then another.

She’d never killed a human before—if Demons didn’t count.

Mr. Kenji stayed silent, quietly eating as if giving her space to process.

“Who do I kill?”

“Omi.”

Yukieda remembered him—the graying old man who’d once ordered her back to the battlefield.

But she didn’t know Kenji’s reason.

“I understand.”

After some idle chatter, Yukieda couldn’t hold back. “Mr. Kenji… why kill Omi?”

Steam curled through the room.

Kenji’s face was flushed. Logically, he shouldn’t drink while injured—but he didn’t care. With his one working hand, he scooped up food, chewed slowly, then grinned at Yukieda. “Knew you couldn’t resist asking.”

Yukieda sat straight, golden eyes locked on him.

“Yukieda must’ve heard from Mai. Her sister was my partner… and my lover. Long ago, of course. She’s gone now.”

Nostalgia softened Kenji’s features. “Mai took her sister’s name: Mai Haruara.”

“Nice name, right?”

Yukieda nodded, listening.

“Haruara was a true genius. Reached Rank A Magical Girl young. Rank S wasn’t out of reach.”

“But she fell in battle. The culprit? That Witch—Borel!”

Kenji’s eyes sharpened.

“That despicable creature… Right as Haruara moved for the final strike, Borel attacked the evacuees. Haruara twisted to block it—and Borel seized the opening.”

“That’s why I seek revenge!” Anger tightened Kenji’s jaw. “And Omi? He chose appeasement. Called hunting one Witch ‘not worth the cost.’ Just waited for Borel to leave Hakutsuru City.”

Kenji added: due to massive damage in Ryo District, he’d soon be removed and punished. Eliminating Omi was his last move.

Hakutsuru District couldn’t stay leaderless. With Omi gone, Kenji could stay—unless HQ sent someone new.

“I see…”

Kenji said to follow his lead next. Yukieda nodded again.

By the time Yukieda returned to the apartment, it was late. Shizuku eyed her suspiciously.

“Yukieda… you didn’t take some weird part-time job, did you?”

Yukieda reeked of alcohol, uniform and hair slightly messy. Hard not to suspect.

“Really, I didn’t!”

She explained for ages. Mai stayed quiet—maybe she already knew where Yukieda had been.

Days passed calmly in Hakutsuru City. No word from Mr. Kenji.

*Ding-dong.*

Her terminal chimed. A long string of digits flashed in her account.

Whoa—exactly 100,000 credits.

Another deduction like last time?

Yukieda waited tensely. No follow-up message came.

Hehe. With 50,000 credits now, she could buy anything. First, repay Mai’s 1,000. Save the rest for Shizuku’s wedding.

Plus the apartment compensation—Shizuku was now quite the wealthy young woman.

Still puzzled by the reward system, Yukieda sought out Mai.

Mai was packing a bento.

Making bento now?

Wasn’t today a rest day? Heading out?

“Mm. Visiting my mom. Want to come, Yukieda?” Mai closed the lid, sealing in the warm aroma.

Too bad Shizuku wasn’t there—she’d have loved it.

Yukieda agreed instantly. Nothing urgent. And she was curious about Mai’s mom. Maybe she’d learn something about Mai’s past.

Bento in hand, they boarded the train. Two striking girls—one in black, one in white—drew lingering glances.

“About the bonus…”

Mai explained en route: payouts depended on the enemy’s magical strength. Yukieda’s first foe was weak—only 10,000 credits. The deduction? Unnecessary damage: firing extra shots after defeating the Demon, destroying a residential building.

A 9,999-credit fine was actually lenient.

Yukieda felt a little embarrassed.

The train passed stations. They arrived at Kusaki Psychiatric Hospital.

Iron gates stood shut. Through the bars, patients in blue-and-white stripes wandered.

Above the entrance: KUSAKI PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL.

Yukieda followed silently. After Mai cleared procedures, the guard let them in. “Be careful,” he warned.

A plump nurse led them to a woman with tangled hair.

You could see Mai in her—once surely beautiful. Now, only a hollow-eyed woman remained.

“This is my mother.”

The woman rose from her rocking chair and pulled Mai into a tight hug.

“Daughter… my sweet daughter… where did you go… did you abandon Mama?”

Mai gently patted her back. “Mom, I brought your favorite.”

The woman clung like a child. Mai kept patting, soothing.

After a while, she opened the bento, eating slowly—eyes fixed solely on Mai. Yukieda beside her? Unseen.

“What happened?” Yukieda whispered. The nurse, seeing the patient calm, left with a reminder: “Press the bell if she gets agitated.”

“The death of my sister shattered her,” Mai said softly. “She chose to forget me… and only remembers her.”