The doot was further delayed by a plot hole, but it has been repaired and is now even better than it was going to be.
You tell Ms. Valentin that you'll consider her advice.
"Before I go," you add, "I was hoping to ask about an unrelated matter … I'm concerned about one of the students, and was wondering who I should speak to on the matter."
"Oh?" she replies.
"Shiina Yuuka," you tell her.
"Miss Shiina is one of our very special students," says Ms. Valentin. "She is quite fortunate to have friends who support her. Was there something in particular?"
"I am more concerned about her well-being at home," you say.
Ms. Valentin looks at you askance, and blinks a few times. Then she stands up and leaves the room.
Okay, that's weird, you note.
That room is weird, Ryouko opines.
Its spartan aesthetics are somewhat comforting, reminding her of the future, but there's something wrong that's hard to place. It feels ominous. Not quite threatening, so much as passively deadly, as if there were a sharp sword hanging from the ceiling — which, behind the lights, is shrouded in darkness.
Is it magic? you wonder.
Ryouko doesn't feel any magic exactly. But it seems to be a magic feeling anyway, the sense that many futures are decided here, some potentials realized, while other dreams and possibilities are ended. It feels like it's a temple to the Fates.
Which, to be sure, rings true to its purpose. Your own fancy of reversing despair and saving even witches, through the study of dance and ballet, hangs in the balance even now, opposite the sacrifices you would need to make for it. That's certainly ominous in its own right, isn't it? ...
Ms. Valentin suddenly reappears behind the two of you.
"My apologies for the interruption," she says. "Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention, Shizuki Clarisse. Rest assured, it will be taken care of. Shizuki Ryouko, thank you for waiting. Shall we begin? There's no need to be frightened."
Ryouko's interview is a little more straightforward, despite her feeling distracted, and she agrees to discuss the meaning of her life tomorrow. The feeling dissipates as the meeting continues.
> Damage control on the incident near Salem College
>> Simona was approached by agents of WXII-12, a local news station
Your processing sub-units have identified a candidate match for the hover vehicle. I understand that in principle you might have done this sooner, and attribute the delay to a number of factors, including the difficulties of internalizing knowledge obtained from direct interaction with Simona's soul. Also, of course, you've been busy with some of the duties of a responsible student.
In any case, you share this knowledge with the group.
I'll start planning a raid, sends Nanami.
It doesn't look like they've aired it? They've been airing prerecorded shows all night. There's probably a high bar to actually getting something like that approved… We're probably good until the 6 am news. Let me see if I can hack their networks and figure things out so there's not any surprises, okay? Half an hour, maybe an hour, tops.
Are you sure? you ask.
I'd like to be confident this won't spread.
She reassures you.
Look, it's early over there, and if they start airing something, there will be, like, eight different ways I can shut them down, at least. I'd rather take the time and absolutely nail this.
> Help other students with math and algorithms
You suppose if you're dutiful about helping out the class now, you might have more leeway to act in a future exigency. It feels like it might be enough of a concern that it's worth a try, anyway, and Ryouko is still somewhat occupied with formalities.
Your help is quickly solicited by a girl who has herself been attempting to assist another classmate, a certain Miss Sengoku. This classmate seems to be hitting a brick wall in terms of her understanding. The problem soon becomes apparent; it is less that she fails to understand the backtracking and more that she doesn't really have a grasp on the fundamentals of the data flow, relying on the results to be available to her code before they are computed.
You try to step back a little and have her model inputs and outputs more carefully as pure functions, but she sort of doesn't listen to you and goes on explicitly reaching for the same mistakes time and again. Actually, she may sort of resent your help. She's been quite nice and friendly, but also seems to almost be taunting you, as if a mild disapproval is cause to double down on a terrible approach. Maybe she's just feeling really defensive? It's still quite bad. You can only do so much here.
And you're feeling sick again.
I did warn that you're a terrible algorithms instructor, Clarisse. You've got the patience for it, just not the stomach.
You take refuge in the girl's room for a moment, and this is where you find the second of the discharged magic spell-cards, near the top of the waste paper basket.
… You'll handle this one more gingerly to preserve the evidence.
May I ask for a non-magical-girl to assist me with something in the ladies room? you ask.
On it! volunteers Sayaka, with her usual enthusiasm.
Headed that way anyway.
You begin to lay out this problem to your operations working group, which consists primarily of the magical girls, plus Wakaba as your liaison.
<
Clarisse> It appears I was followed quite closely on my recent excursion.
<
Clarisse> I believe I am being stalked.
<
Nanami> For your artifacts, your magic, or your science?
<
Nanami> Or was it something you did in another life?
Sayaka soon arrives, and you summarize the situation for her as well.
You've managed to reproduce a bubble, which you think should isolate the card from interference until you can better study it.
She inserts the card into the bubble gingerly, then volunteers some further assistance just in case.
"If it's a problem at the school," she observes, "you can have someone follow you when you go somewhere, and try to catch them in the act. Lay a trap."
"Thank you," you say. "It's a good idea. If I can put it to use, I'll let you know."
She grins, and gives you a salute as she departs.
Machina is very uncomfortable with there being someone who's able to operate right under your nose.
<
Machina> I think this is incredibly dangerous, and we need to get to the bottom of it before we go out on another mission.
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Nanami> We've had aliens land. I think this is a more urgently pressing problem.
<
Wakaba> Are we even sure that this person is hostile? All they've done is follow Clarisse and run away.
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Machina> I don't think we can afford to take that sort of a chance.
<
Machina> It might be an alien, for all we know, or in league with the aliens, and as far as we can tell, it's a lot closer to us right now than they are.
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Clarisse> I don't think it's physically an alien. I'm also wondering why they're landing halfway around the world, if they know enough to stalk us here?
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Wakaba> If it actually is human, might it be one of the students?
<
Clarisse> It's definitely possible. That would explain why the card was left behind where it was. We would have noticed the magic signature if it was carried back to a classroom while it was active. If it were an outsider, they would have been better served discarding it elsewhere.
<
Nanami> I'd like to think our group can handle a middle school girl, even a magical one if necessary. On the other hand, a worldwide panic could end up exposing the existence of magical girls entirely, and expose us. Do you really think that's less risky?
> Raid WXII-12, a quick three-mile jaunt from Salem College
A few ideas and side missions for you to consider; feel free to suggest variants of course.
[] Delay raid until the interloper is found, or just in time for the 6am news
-[] Research the card for clues
-[] Sweep the school systematically for magic signatures
[] Put Nanami in charge and conduct a focused raid immediately
[] (write in a detailed plan of your own)
-[] Side mission: repurpose WXII infrastructure to improve your monitoring of orbit
(Just look at those lovely satellite dishes! So many!)
-[] Side mission: repurpose local infrastructure to obtain terrestrial monitoring of Salem
-[] Side mission: check in on Simona and Ophelia in person
-[] Secondary objective: Plot to draw out the interloper
--[] Involve Sayaka
---[] As superficially as possible
--[] Draw out the interloper by going on the mission
-[] (write in any side missions or tactics)
