Chapter 27: The Failsafe and the Abduction

At noon, in the opulent independent suite occupying the highest floor of the city’s sole high-end hotel, a warm mist, imbued with a sweet, cloying fragrance, permeated the lavishly appointed room.

The swirling mist blurred the mirror’s surface, within which one could vaguely discern the lush, mature curves of a body, modestly veiled by a bath towel, distinctly not those of a mere maiden.

Kuonji Mashiro, the esteemed young lady of the noble Kuonji family, found her turbulent emotions somewhat soothed after her warm bath.

Extending a finger, she swiped her fingertip across the glass, clearing the mist and fully unveiling the figure reflected within.

The reflection was unmistakably Kuonji Mashiro’s: skin exquisitely delicate and fair, her substantial curves gently rising and falling with each breath.

As she subtly shifted her stance, her soft, sensual thighs brushed and pressed together, sending faint ripples across her flesh.

Even beneath the obscuring bath towel, one could sense the alluring sweetness and supple softness of her body, mirroring the very fragrance that perfumed the air.

Her unpleasant temperament notwithstanding, she was undeniably a woman of considerable beauty.

Though, perhaps, that was a rather difficult caveat to overlook.

“Hmph,” she scoffed. “I had intended to lead a grand operation myself, but those ungrateful fools dared to strike first… Now, Hane will simply have to resolve them directly.”

The young lady subtly adjusted her bath towel, revealing an even greater expanse of the soft, yielding flesh between her thighs, the already scant fabric barely concealing a glimpse of rounded curves from its edges.

It was only when one’s gaze finally drifted away from that captivating sight that the next detail became apparent.

She was engaged in a communication, or more precisely, conversing via a holographic terminal with a familiar acquaintance.

On the terminal screen appeared the very acquaintance Chao Wu had longed for, her former partner, Qi Teng Shen Xue.

Qi Teng Shen Xue remained as stern as ever.

Likely past the age of twenty-six, she was long considered an ‘overage magical girl,’ utterly devoid of the youthful emotionality one might expect, possessing only a rigid, mission-first adherence to duty.

Even in silence, she naturally exuded an intimidating aura, warning others to keep their distance.

Consequently, the young lady held little affection for her—a sentiment perhaps exacerbated by the fact that Qi Teng Shen Xue’s pronouncements were invariably logical, leaving no room for rebuttal.

– Alone? Why did you not bring a team to support her? The command of the Magic Science Squad has already been entrusted to you. –

Qi Teng Shen Xue’s tone was as grave as ever.

Likely past the age of twenty-six, she was long considered an ‘overage magical girl,’ utterly devoid of the youthful emotionality one might expect, possessing only a rigid, mission-first adherence to duty.

Even in silence, she naturally exuded an intimidating aura, warning others to keep their distance.

Consequently, the young lady held little affection for her—a sentiment perhaps exacerbated by the fact that Qi Teng Shen Xue’s pronouncements were invariably logical, leaving no room for rebuttal.

She tossed her damp, brilliant golden hair.

The young lady responded with an air of nonchalance.

In stark contrast to the stern-faced older woman on the screen, she seemed to regard the current situation with utter disregard, instead casually attending to her post-bath grooming.

– I find this incomprehensible. Does a standard operational arrangement imply a lack of trust, a refusal to grant room for initiative? –

The stern woman on the screen offered no deference to the young lady.

She refuted with a cold voice, yet ultimately found herself compelled to continue the discussion.

– Never mind. It’s pointless. Whatever is said now is too late to alter what has already transpired. – She paused, then continued, – Kuonji Mashiro, you still recall the ‘failsafe,’ do you not? –

– Of course. The miniature bombs designed to execute those with egregious records, or magical girl killers, capable of remote detonation… Captain, you surely don’t imagine we’ll need to deploy such a device, do you? That would be nothing short of an insult to the Kuonji family. –

The young lady’s voice dropped, and her beautiful, jewel-like crimson eyes narrowed into a dangerous arc.

Even for her nominal captain, she harbored not a shred of reverence.

She was merely a C-rank magical girl, demoted after injury, an old hag whose prospects had clearly peaked, with no possibility of further advancement in this lifetime.

Should she be displeased, she wouldn’t hesitate to join Hane in orchestrating this diligent old woman’s premature retirement.

– No, I am merely stating a fact. The synchronizer of that device can attune with the crystals of multiple magical girls. Should Hane truly be defeated, regardless of her own will, the experimental subject could seize her crystal and wield her abilities. –

Seemingly oblivious to the veiled threat in the young lady’s words, the rigid old woman continued to spout correct yet utterly tedious nonsense.

‘Such needless worry,’ Mashiro mused inwardly.

– Every premise you’ve laid out rests upon an impossibility, Captain. You would do well to concern yourself with more practical matters. The Kuonji family is handling affairs here; there’s no need for you to trouble yourself by dividing your attention. –

Mashiro waved a dismissive hand.

Her beautiful armpit, still slightly damp from her bath, with its subtly outlined side curve, was exposed by her movement.

She, however, seemed entirely unconcerned, and the older woman on the screen would certainly never notice such trivialities.

– …Merely as a precaution. Should such a scenario genuinely unfold, you must execute Kuonji Hane to prevent the experimental subject from exceeding our anticipated control. –

– Right, right— –

With a perfunctory, offhand reply, the young lady, having no intention of prolonging the conversation, abruptly terminated the communication.

‘Always fretting over such trivialities.’

Hane was capable of effortlessly dispatching several D-rank magical girls in a single night; she was a formidable assassin whom even someone as noble as Mashiro genuinely acknowledged.

Far from struggling against mere apprentice magical girls and laughable combatants, Hane could likely even emerge entirely unscathed from a confrontation with that old woman on the call.

‘How could the scenario the old woman fantasized about possibly come to pass?’

“Honestly,” she grumbled, “they simply must spout such mood-killing nonsense to flaunt their seniority; all these old things are precisely alike… Once I assume the role of family head, I’ll have everyone over twenty tossed into Tokyo Bay to feed the sea monsters.”

The young lady snorted in displeasure, then stepped out of the bathroom.

In the lavishly adorned living room, the clock ticked softly, its hands silently indicating the hour of two-thirty.

No one, save for Hane, was authorized to enter her private suite.

Thus, naturally, no one but Hane could possibly respond to her complaints, and the echoing silence of the spacious room left her feeling a touch of boredom.

“Still,” she mused, “this is certainly taking quite some time.

I’ve already finished my bath, and she’s still not done? Am I truly expected to groom myself personally? Honestly, can she not even manage such a trivial task? I truly must give her a thorough scolding—”

From the sofa, she plucked a brand-new pair of stockings.

The young lady roughly tugged at the stocking’s opening, her rounded toes haphazardly kicking within as she forcefully pulled them onto her already sensual legs.

In mere moments, the once-pristine, high-end stockings already bore several snags and tears.

Against the young lady’s voluptuous thighs, they appeared almost stretched open by the sheer expanse of her soft, pale flesh.

Unbeknownst to her, at some point, she, a noble young lady, had grown so accustomed to having her basic daily needs attended to that she had nearly forgotten how to manage them herself.

Even this seemingly minor task now struck her as somewhat bothersome.

“Not even a communication…” she murmured. “Never mind.

It must be almost done.

She probably interrogated them for information and then dismantled their entire base.

I’ll just recline for a bit longer, wait for her to return, then continue…”

Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling—

The terminal chimed with an incoming call.

Without so much as a glance, the young lady, reclining against the sofa, casually answered the call.

– How dreadfully slow. Such a minor issue, and it had to wait until I’d finished my bath to be resolved. Hurry back. Leave the cleanup to the Magic Science Squad there— –

– Ahaha, my apologies, Young Lady. Some matters did indeed cause a slight delay, but it’s no trouble at all. I’ve already taken care of everything! –

…….?

The voice that responded was not the one she had anticipated.

The young lady tilted her head in confusion.

The voice, for some inexplicable reason, felt strangely familiar.

However, she quickly found she had no time to dwell on the voice’s familiarity.

– Your dear attendant is now in our hands, Young Lady.

If you wish to avoid her losing a few parts, gaining some scars, or having her limbs broken and shipped back to you in a box—just as you made her do—then you will come alone to the location I specify and meet me. –