Chapter 5: Trial in Absentia

Trial in Absentia

Just as a tense atmosphere began to form between Sumire and Alice-chan, the surroundings were suddenly enveloped in smoke.

When I breathe, the smoke gets sucked into my lungs and it's painful, so I instinctively cover my mouth with my hand.

--What's going on?

Before I could comprehend it, a gunshot rang out, roaring me out of my thoughts. The dry sound, symbolic of something out of the ordinary, stuck in my ears for a while. Then, before the high-pitched ringing in my ears had even died down, another gunshot rang out.

Terrified, I crouched down and covered my ears.

Make it over.

Make it over.

Make it over.

Make it over!

It seemed my wish was answered, as I heard a short scream and the gunfire stopped. Immediately afterwards, a high-pitched scream began echoing from the center of the room.

Gradually the smoke cleared.

I was afraid to look at the state of the room. What if the gunshot had caused irreparable devastation?

Still, my desire for Kaoru-chan and Sumire's safety made me check my surroundings.

The first thing I saw when I regained my sight.

It was Alice-chan, lying face down on a round table, with Mitaka-san perched on her back. The gun Alice-chan had been holding was now being crushed by Mitaka-san's thick-soled hiking boots. Alice-chan's right hand was outstretched towards the gun, but it was just out of reach.

Next, I looked for Sumire.

However, Sumire was nowhere to be seen, perhaps having escaped outside during the commotion earlier.

I'm worried that I can't see her, but at the same time I'm relieved that she was able to leave the place safely.

Everyone except Sumire was still there.

"Get off of me! You're heavy! Too heavy!"

Alice-chan is thrashing around under Mitaka-san.

"It's rude to be so heavy-handed with a young lady. I'll get off of you, but can you promise me you'll be able to speak calmly next time?"

"I promise! I promise!"

"Really? I doubt it. Can we pinky promise?"

"Huh!?"

"A pinky promise. Come on."　

Mitaka-san clenched her fist, raised her pinky finger, and held it out to Alice-chan. Alice-chan was reluctant to respond, saying, "Don't treat me like a child!", but she obeyed Mitaka-san, eager to be set free.,

"Pinky swear, if you lie, you'll eat thousand needles, and I'll cut your pinky!"

"I did it! Hurry up!"

"I understand. By the way, if a magical girl breaks a pinky promise, there are severe penalties."

Mitaka-san dropped the bombshell and then stepped down from the round table.

"I, I didn't hear anything about that! What kind of severe penalties?!"

"In the cases I've seen, the whole body exploded and the victim died."

"Wh-what's that?"

Alice-chan's face turned pale.

The shock spread not only to her, but also to me, Kaoru-chan, and Asahina-san.

I've never pinky-sweared since I became a junior high school student, and I don't intend to do so, but the thought of such a severe penalty makes me shudder.

"Is that true?"

Kaoru-chan raised her voice.

Mitaka-san then grinned and put her index finger to her mouth. Because she had her back to Alice-chan, she couldn't see what she was doing.

Apparently it was a lie... an excuse.

"Yes, it is true. It is not unreasonable to doubt it—but we cannot test it, can we?"

"Uuuh..."

Alice-chan gritted her teeth in frustration.

"Don't be so sulky. I just want to calmly discuss this. Even if there are minions of the demon among us, they won't be a threat if we all work together. What I'm most afraid of isn't the eighth person baring their fangs at us, but us getting into a fight. That's why I keep telling you to 'stay calm'."

"Oh, I think so too!"

Asahina-san raised her hand enthusiastically. 

Mitaka exhaled smoke from her cigarette and sat back down on her seat.

"If you understand, then take a seat. We haven't settled the matter yet."

"I understand..."

Alice-chan reluctantly takes her seat.

"For Tachibana.... well, she is gone. There are enough seats for everyone now, so it's fine. You guys, have a seat."

As instructed, everyone sat in the seven chairs.

I was relieved that the conflict between the two had calmed down. I have always disliked conflict, and if I happen to be present when someone is fighting, my heart starts beating so fast that I even forget how to breathe.

"Well, it looks like we can finally talk in peace. We're one actor short, but that's okay. If you have any ideas that might help us bring out the eighth person, please let me know."

"Oh, then is it okay if I do?"

"Of course."

Yuzuriha-san immediately raised her hand.　

"I think each magical girl has their own 'Agent,' so if we bring them out and check, we can prove that they're the proper magical girls under contract."

"Oh, that sounds good!"

Indeed, each magical girl has a contracted 'Agent.' If we bring them out, we'll naturally find out who the eighth person is. After all, the person without an 'Agent' would be the eighth.

My Rococo, Mitaka's Rod, and Nemuri's Logos have already appeared. So, if the remaining four could just bring out their respective 'Agents,' this would be settled.

First, Kaoru-chan showed us her 'Agent.' Her 'Agent' is called Ross.

Following Kaoru-chan, Alice-chan, Asahina-san, and Yuzuriha-san introduced their 'Agents.'

They introduced themselves as Rock, Loki, and Romeo, respectively.

Everyone in the room had an 'Agent' attached to them.

My heart began to make unpleasant noises. A dull feeling spread from my chest, as if the blood coursing through my body had mixed with rust.

I could see what was going to happen next.

"Oh, so now we have seven people, right?"

Kaoru-chan raised a question.

"Hmm? So that means..."

"Does that mean the remaining, Sumire, is the eighth person?!"

The discussion went in the expected direction.

"See? I told you! She's black!"

Alice-chan glared at Mitaka-san. Following Alice-chan's example, everyone's gazes turned to Mitaka-san.

Mitaka-san seemed to be deep in thought, with her hand on her chin.

"Um, well... I think it's still too early to assume that Sumi--, Tachibana-san is the eighth."

I mustered up the courage to argue.

Alice-chan, who had been glaring at Mitaka-san, turned her eyes towards me, and my heart leapt.

"What evidence do you have to argue with Alice? It's obvious that she's the eighth. If you say otherwise, provide proper evidence!"　

Every time Alice-chan taps the round table, my shoulders jump and my mind goes blank.

But if things continue like this, Sumire will become the eighth person without her knowledge. It's true that she is suspicious. Right now, I'm the only one who can defend Sumire.

"B-But...! Treating someone as the culprit without their knowledge... Condemning them without giving them a chance to defend themselves..."

"So please provide evidence that she's not the eighth!"

When someone interrupts you and yells at you, everything you were trying to say falls flat.

I choked up and tried to argue, but my panic made it difficult to say anything.　

As I was doing this, Mitaka-san came to my rescue.

"Well, I understand that the situation makes Tachibana suspicious. But we should be careful here. We should give her a chance to show her 'Agent'."

"What's wrong with you?! We've already revealed everyone. There's no way she can show her 'Agent'."

"What if the eighth person also manages to reveal their 'Agent'?"

Alice-chan was silent.

"Well, that's it. Just being able to reveal their 'Agent' isn't proof enough. Only once we can confirm that Tachibana can't reveal her 'Agent' can we conclude that she is VERY close to being guilty."

For now, it seems we've managed to get through the crisis. I can't relax yet, but Sumire still has room for an excuse.

What if Sumire couldn't reveal her 'Agent'... I don't even want to think about it.

"All we can do now is get each 'Agent' to tell us their story and look for anything suspicious..."

So, each 'Agent' gave a presentation about the activities of their assigned magical girl and how the contract was formed.

However, no inconsistencies or suspicious points came to light.

"Well, I don't think anyone will find anything strange, right?"

"That woman! She must be the eighth! If only I could kill her then..."

Alice-chan started saying something scary again.　

"Now that I think about it, even if you killed the most suspicious person... how would you know if that person was really the eighth person?"

I took advantage of Kaoru-chan's comment and subtly warned Alice-chan.

"Certainly, unless there's a way to completely prove it, the shadow of the eighth person will always be there, even if you defeat the suspicious person..."

"That's it."

Mitaka-san lit a new cigarette.

"I've been a magical girl for 12 years, and I've visited this place a few times. The truth is, the things installed here can't be taken outside, but sometimes the number of chairs increases or decreases. This is just a hypothesis, but isn't it possible that the number of chairs here matches the number of magical girls in the era?"　

If that were true, it should have been in our favor, but for some reason Mitaka-san explained with a grim expression.　

"Well, if you defeat the eighth and the number of chairs doesn't decrease, then you can tell she's the eighth, and if the number decreases, then she's a magical girl! Whether you do it or not is another matter!"

"But how do you prove that Raika is telling the truth? It's possible that Raika was the eighth, and that she lied after killing one of us to insist that 'there were no change of chairs number, so she must have been the eighth after all,'"

Alice-chan had assumed that Sumire was the eighth, but she surprisingly calmly mentioned other possibilities.

"In that case, I'll testify too. I've seen chairs appear and disappear."　

But Alice-chan still remained skeptical. While acknowledging that the number of chairs had increased and decreased, she suggested that perhaps the eighth person had been hiding and returning the furniture in this room in anticipation of this discussion.

I was honestly impressed. Alice-chan's suspicions are stronger than most and she can sometimes lack composure, but when she calms down and thinks about it, she seems able to present a well-reasoned opinion.

"Shall we try it then? See, it doesn't move."

Mitaka-san stood up and grabbed the chair. The chair didn't budge, so it looked like Mitaka-san was just holding on to it, not trying to lift it. However, from the slight tension in her muscles, it was clear that she was exerting force.

"Damn it! Why aren't you moving?!"

It seemed Alice-chan was trying it too. Kaoru-chan and I stood up and tried to follow their example by lifting our chairs, but the chairs didn't budge even an inch. 

When we pulled the chair out to sit on, it moved normally...

"Hey, move!"

Alice-chan seemed unsatisfied until she had checked all the chairs with her own hands, and she proved with her own hands what Mitaka-san had said.

"Hmm, looks like you're not lying!"

Alice-chan leaned back in her chair and said in a haughty manner for some reason.

"Well, it's great that we finally have a way to confirm whether or not we were able to defeat the eighth person."

"But how are we going to identify the eighth person? It's so barbaric to just execute them and then check by checking the number of chairs placed!"

"Hehe, then Alice has a great idea!"

Alice-chan stood up again.

She proudly puffed out her chest and raised her right hand with only the pinky finger extended. She then proudly spoke about her idea.

"We should pinky swear! We should pinky swear that we won't lie! Isn't that a great idea?"

"Ahh."

Kaoru-chan shrugged.

"Alice-chan, that's..."

Mitaka-san interrupts Kaoru-chan who is about to tell the truth.

"No, the eighth person isn't a magical girl, so even if they pinky-swear, they can lie as much as they want. That's not proof."

"Ah!"

Alice-chan's proud expression crumbled.

"That's true... I wonder why I didn't notice. Alice was a little crazy..."

"Pfft, hehe."

Mitaka-san laughs while hiding from Alice-chan.

"Sorry," Kaoru-chan muttered.

"Well, it looks like we won't be able to get any further without Sumire-san here!"

"Uh, sure. What do we do? Shall we disband?"

In response to Asahina-san's words, Kaoru-chan makes a suggestion.

"Is it okay to leave the eighth person behind and go home? If they come into contact with the Heart of the World, I think it could lead to an irreversible situation."

"I think that's fine. The eighth person is not a demon. I don't know how she's connected to the demons, but she is certainly human. She's not caught in the barrier either. Rod, it's fine if someone other than a demon comes into contact with the Heart of the World, right?"

"Yes."

Mitaka-san's 'Agent' appeared and confirmed the point.

He then added an additional comment.

"The Heart of the World, like the other equipment here, cannot be taken outside. In other words, even if we leave the Eighth Person alone, there's no risk of a demon coming into contact with the Heart of the World without our knowledge."

"Well, that means the immediate problem is a sneak attack by the Eighth Person and internal collapse due to suspicion and distrust. As long as everyone is careful, the Eighth Person isn't much of a threat. Please don't act rashly."

"Oh, can I make a proposal?"

"What is it?"

"Why don't we cooperate as much as possible until we identify the Eighth Person? Acting as a group will always give us the advantage against the Eighth Person."

"Ah, I see..."

Mitaka-san turned away and scratched her head embarrassedly.

"Sorry, but I have no intention of hanging out with you guys--"

"Wait!"

While Mitaka-san was still in the middle of speaking, Alice-chan stuck out her pinky finger.

"What is it?"

"Let's pinky-swear! Alice doesn't trust strangers, but if an oath to 'not betray my friends' is binding, then I wouldn't be opposed to cooperating with you guys!"

"No, that's..."

"Even if there is an eighth person among us, if we all unite we will not be enemies! Come on, quickly put out your pinky finger and make the oath!"

"Oh, yeah..."

Succumbing to the momentum, Mitaka-san reluctantly agrees to the pinky promise.

"Now we're all 'friends'!"

At this point, Alice-chan showed a carefree smile for the first time. However, that innocent smile disappeared in an instant, and she returned to the stern expression she had had earlier.

"--That is, unless you're the eighth member!"

She then forced everyone there to pinky-swear.

Although the unpredictable emergency situation is still frightening and I don't know what to do, I feel a little less suffocated.

"Magical Girls Killing Each Others" main characters list:

Black - Tachibana Sumire (MC who want to cloud everyone) - Agent: Ryo

Pink - Kisaragi Koharu (The original anime MC, 100% all support stats, no offense) - Agent: Rococo

Red - Akabane Kaoru (Koharu's childhood friend) - Agent: Ross

Green - Mitaka Raika (25 years old biker Onee-san who smoke) - Agent: Rod

Blonde - Alice (the pretend rich loli girl) - Agent: Rock

Orange - Asahina Shio (a real rich girl) - Agent: Loki

Purple - Yuzuriha Yuzuki (tomboy) - Agent: Romeo

White - Tengai Nemuri (amnesiac girl) - Agent: Logos