When Sophia opened the door and entered, the figure of a woman lying on the bed in a deep sleep came into view.
"......."
She would normally still be awake; for some reason, she seemed to have fallen asleep early today.
Unable to forcefully wake someone like that, Sophia dragged over a nearby chair and sat on the edge of it beside the bed.
"…What should I say?"
Saying that she was back to a sleeping person didn't seem to carry much meaning. Yet if she put off greeting her, it would be no different from running away.
'If possible, I wanted to look her properly in the eyes and speak.'
Sophia smiled bitterly and gently stroked her mother's hair.
The mother of the Magical Girl Sapphire; her name was Sonya.
She was a former Magical Girl who had protected Earth for several years from the villains who appeared suddenly.
She had passed down the knowledge of Magical Girls to her daughter, raising Sophia splendidly, and thanks to that, the world was drawing closer to peace than ever, but—
"She was so cool in the past. Why did she have to fall ill with such a disease?"
That was from before Sophia had even enrolled in Jewelry Academia.
Her mother had contracted an incurable disease that modern technology couldn't treat, and began showing abnormal symptoms in her mind.
No renowned doctor could cure Sonya's illness.
It was possible to slow the disease's progression with medication, yet there hadn't been the slightest prospect for a complete cure, which was what truly mattered.
In the end, Sophia's father had set out on a journey traversing the entire world to find a cure, but even years later, all he had to show for it was endless anxiety.
'Why did it have to be her?'
At the sight of her mother, who now had difficulty even recognizing her, Sophia had despaired countless times and avoided facing her.
The degeneration of memory. That was the disease's greatest symptom.
Only a few days ago, Sonya had treated Sophia like a child and restricted her from staying out late at night.
She had worried about her daughter's well-being, calling her constantly.
But a few days ago, Sonya had finally begun to forget her own daughter.
Perhaps she had been aware of it herself; she had resisted desperately, writing Sophia's name over and over in a notebook at home, but…
"It was a futile effort. In the end, she forgot like this."
The attending physician had judged that within less than two years, she would experience memory regression to an infantile level.
At this rate, she would forget not only her own child but even the existence of the one with whom she had sworn a lifetime of love.
Sophia's father had hired butlers and maids as a temporary measure to look after Sonya, but that choice had only added to her stress and pushed her mind further to the brink.
There was no more time now. For it would be too late by the time something happened.
She hadn't run away. Because through the parent-teacher conference today, she had been able to steel her resolve in her own way.
First, to calmly talk with her again and make her recognize that she was her child, and for all three family members to gather and properly discuss the future. That was the resolution Sophia had come up with on her own.
"Goodnight, Mother."
She planted a small kiss on Sonya's forehead and, shaking off all lingering attachment, rose from the chair.
Just as she turned her back to leave a message for her father, who had left on his journey, to return home—
"…Sophia?"
From behind, she heard her mother's voice affectionately calling her name.
***
"It's already been about a week; what happened after that?"
"She seems to be gradually improving. There don't appear to be any particular side effects either."
"That's a relief."
A research laboratory located at the Silver Order's headquarters.
I was talking with Citrine, one of the executives, about Sophia's mother.
"To think that you, Citrine, could cure that condition…"
"I was lucky. It just so happened to be a symptom I knew well."
She alternated between the black tea and dessert I had offered, waving her hand to say it wasn't something worth exaggerating.
But curing an incurable disease that doctors around the world had given up on was truly something praiseworthy.
'That aside.'
First, I should explain the circumstances of how a key member of the Silver Order ended up treating a Magical Girl's mother.
A few days ago, Ruby had dumped two requests on me.
The first was, as I already knew, for me to act as Sophia's guardian at the parent-teacher conference.
She had asked the girl's father directly and obtained permission, and as a result, I had been able to participate in the conference without issue.
And the second was a request to introduce Citrine, an executive of the Silver Order. This one had apparently been the main issue.
I had wondered why that person suddenly appeared out of nowhere, but after hearing the whole story, I learned a truly shocking fact.
"I'd never heard that before. That you used to be a doctor, Citrine."
"It's not exactly something worth broadcasting. I especially didn't tell Amber, who has a loose tongue."
"She certainly would have spread it all over town."
Citrine was a former doctor, and at that, a renowned neurosurgeon who mainly dealt with the human brain, or so I heard.
According to Lapis, she had retired from medicine roughly three years ago to cover for a subordinate's mistake, or something like that.
Contrary to appearances, it seemed this lady had lived quite a spectacular life.
'She must be receiving such good treatment in the Silver Order now because her intelligence was recognized.'
Moreover, she seemed to be a magic cripple who didn't possess magic power in her body, just like me, so my liking for her had grown.
Anyway, Ruby had requested treatment for Sonya from her on the condition that Ruby would grant any one of Citrine's commands, no matter what it was.
It so happened that Sonya was suffering from a brain-related disease, so thanks to Citrine's dedication, she had been able to cure it, but…
"The problem is why Magical Girl Ruby knew that I was a neurosurgeon."
Citrine's doubt was natural. This proved that Ruby knew the structure of the Silver Order's organization, and even the past of its executives, inside and out.
'Just how much does she know?'
It had reached the point where this situation felt natural rather than surprising. Ruby had even known Citrine's upbringing as if it were nothing.
"She probably already knows the location of this hideout. Though it's a mystery why she hasn't raided it until now."
"Well… she's still constantly causing us trouble."
Ruby was still mercilessly punishing the evil deeds committed by the Silver Order's underlings.
She occasionally came to the café and exchanged friendly chatter, but behind the scenes, she was brazenly tearing the Silver Order apart.
"That's not all. During the surgery too, she followed my orders and fixed that lady precisely, didn't she?"
No matter how excellent Citrine was, since she didn't have magic power, she needed another pair of hands.
Ruby hadn't exactly seemed to possess a wealth of medical knowledge, but since she had confidently asked to be entrusted with the task, there had been no choice but to agree.
…To cut to the chase, thanks to that girl, the surgery had been a great success.
"In a situation where missing by even one centimeter would have been dangerous, she moved with such composure. Just what kind of person is she?"
Magical Girl Ruby's image was that of someone who merely wielded her innate massive magical power.
If pressed, I had guessed that Sophia was superior when it came to delicate manipulation of magic power, but this incident made me rethink that notion.
"Her movements were familiar, as if she had done it countless times before. Is she a former doctor at that age?"
"I get that it's absurd, but try to breathe while you talk. Having her owe us a debt is a good thing anyway, however it happened."
At my words, Citrine brought the cup of black tea to her mouth to moisten her dry throat.
"Gulp… Phew. Another cup."
"Yeah."
Perhaps her throat was quite parched from continuing the conversation; the moment I poured tea from the pot, she emptied the cup.
Since she was drinking it with apparent enjoyment, as the one who brewed it, I was nothing but pleased.
'More importantly, Ruby is the problem now.'
There were many other suspicious points. If I had to pick one among them, it would be that she knew I had come from another world.
'If she used high-level magic, such a feat might be possible.'
The possibility that Ruby, like the boss Lapis, had scoured my destiny through her innate magic.
But it was a bit odd to call it "information." Because observing that girl's words and actions, she didn't give the impression that she was predicting anything.
For one, she hadn't even seemed to know until recently that I would be taking charge of Ruby's parent-teacher conference, and she apparently couldn't grasp real-world events that changed in the blink of an eye.
If so, the theory that some kind of power was at work to obtain information about our side would fade.
'The sense of discomfort that arises whenever I talk with Ruby. That's probably the hint.'
She addressed me with familiar and kind words, as if she were meeting an old friend.
We had only known each other for a few months, yet her conduct was almost like that of a lover.
No matter how much I thought about it, it was a bizarre feeling, but if she didn't know the future, there was only one possibility left.
"…She already knew."
I muttered in a small voice so that Citrine wouldn't hear.