“O-operation Beelzebub?” Said Nao, having just been shown the recording by Saki. “I-I feel like I recognise that name…”

“Beelzebub… it’s an Abrahamic term.” Mai added, seemingly being more familiar with the name. “It means ‘lord of the flies,’ and it’s a name often attributed to Satan himself.”

“So they’re basically calling their project ‘operation Satan?’” asked Saki

“In a sense. As to what that could actually mean, though, I have no idea.”

The video seemed to raise more questions than it answered. It proved that there was definitely some large-scale movement happening between the magical girls and Akuyaku, but as to what it was, we hadn’t the slightest clue.

“Seems like Hana and her team are gonna get some heat on them too. I’ve already warned her, but that girl doesn’t know when to back down. The idea of someone laying a trap for her has probably just invigorated her even more.” Saki explained. With their numbers increasing, Hana and her crew had moved into a forested area far from central Tokyo. It gave them good cover, and they had a member who could teleport herself and others, so they would likely be safe if they kept their heads down. But, well… Hana wasn’t exactly the sort of person to back down from a challenge.

“W-what about that boy they mentioned? Shin something? M-maybe we should try to find him? It sounds like we have a common enemy.”

“Shin Nomimoto is a liar and a coward. We can’t trust him for help.” My outburst took even me by surprise. Nao and Saki had no idea I had any relation to Akuyaku’s apparent predecessor, and it seemed to take Mai a second to make the connection.

“Shin… Nomimoto… wait, wasn’t tha-?!”

“The whistleblower. And someone I knew very well. I think I have some explaining to do.”

***

“That… that’s awful.” as I finished recounting the story of my parents’ death once again, Saki seemed unable to find any other words. Nao said nothing at all, simply putting her hand over her mouth in shock.

“It was… a long time ago. There’s no point dwelling on it now.” I was, of course, lying. Thinking back on it still hurt my heart fiercely, as I’m sure Mai knew. “But that’s also where my connection to Shin Nomimoto comes in. He was a kid the same age as me, and he was the one who blew the whistle on what Inzen was doing. Or at least, that’s how the story goes. He had no such grand intentions. He was just scared because his parents weren’t around. He was taken into police custody to protect his identity, and has been on the run from the top brass of Inzen ever since. I knew him very well. And believe me when I say that nothing good would come of trying to find him.”

Yes, Shin Nomimoto was someone I was very familiar with. In fact, I probably knew him better than anyone else alive. And that’s why I knew that looking for him would be useless.

If Sora Goto was a person who surrounded herself in deceit, Shin Nomimoto was the human representation of deceit itself. A liar. And a coward.

“Sounds like you and this guy really don’t get along.” Said Mai.

“You could… certainly say that.” In truth, I loathed him.

“Then it looks like we’re at a dead end for now. We’ll have to keep searching until we find more answers. You two good to keep researching in your own ways?” asked Saki.

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“You can count on me.” Replied Mai.

“I-I’ll do my best.” added Nao.

“For now, it’s getting late. We have school tomorrow, and we have to keep up appearances, so let’s all get going to bed, yeah?” all of us in agreement, we spent the night at Saki’s, though all of our minds were still working to think of ways to get past this roadblock.

We were well and truly stuck. We needed an opportunity to present itself to us.

***

“You four. Meet us on the roof after school. Don’t be late.” To our surprise (and chagrin), we were approached during our lunch break by Aya Shiko. “We’re calling a temporary truce, so you won’t be in any danger,” she added in a whisper, before immediately leaving the room without a further word.

“The hell was that about?” asked Saki, seemingly to no one in particular.

“D-do you think we should go?” said Nao, an anxious look on her face.

“There’s a good chance it’s a trap…” I replied

“But it also might be our best opportunity to get some information.” added Mai.

It was a rock and a hard place. Willingly walk into what was most likely a trap, or pass up an opportunity to learn what these girls are up to. Neither seemed like a good option.

“What was that all about, girls?” asked a classmate that I had come to know relatively recently. “What does one of our senpai want with you guys on the roof? A romantic rendezvous?”

“Wouldn’t really be a ‘romantic rendezvous’ if all four of us were invited, would it, Kei?” replied Saki.

That girl was Kyoukei Miraa, an overly inquisitive girl who was known for being quite the gossip spreader. I didn’t dislike her at all, and she and Saki seemed to get along well, but she was the last person that could be allowed to snoop around.

“She just has some business with us, it’s nothing exciting.” I tried to end the conversation quickly before she could push further, but I should have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Really? Cos there’s rumours about you four acting weird recently. Spending time at school after the last bell, showing up as a group even though you don’t live in the same place, hanging around in weird places in Shibuya. It makes me veeeeery curious.”

“Everything makes you curious, Kei. The wind can’t blow in the wrong direction without you interrogating it.” Mai chided.

“Oh c’mon, Maichan, I’m not that bad, am I?”

“I showed up late two days in a row and you asked if it was because I was hooking up with someone from another school.”

“Okay, so maybe I’m a little bit of a gossiper. But that doesn’t change the fact that you four have been acting different lately. Could it be…” the long pause made me tense up, but I was immediately relieved at the asinine follow up, “you four are in a love square!”

Yep, she’s stupid.

“That’s the conclusion you came to? Based on what, exactly?” despite my hesitation to continue this conversation, I was amused by her complete misreading of the situation, so I prodded for more.

“Well you four are always together, but sometimes I catch you giving each other these looks that seem to tell a story. Like how Saki looks at Naochan with such concern and affection, or those little glances Naochan shoots at Sora, like she knows something she shouldn’t. You’re telling me that the four of you aren’t in a tangled web of love and heartbreak?”

“You’re so far off base that it’s impressive.” I replied.

“I don’t think you could be more wrong if you tried.” Added Saki

“T-that’s not it at all…” muttered Nao

“I have eyes for my beloved Sora and no one else.” Said Mai, wrapping me in a surprise hug that I didn’t ask for (but certainly didn’t scorn).

“Hmph. You girls are no fun at all.” Kyoukei sulked as she left our table. We continued our conversation in hushed voices, now more aware than ever that we had been drawing more attention than we had hoped.

“I think we have to meet up with them. The longer this war goes on, the more risk we’re at of having our identities exposed.” Saki urged us to take their offer, and I concurred. An open dialogue was our best chance to syphon some information.

“Wait, we should have some sort of insurance policy incase they hit us with a surprise attack.” Mai seemed on board, but cautious. It was no surprise. After all, these were the same girls who once tried to turn us into slaves.

“I-I’ll hang back behind you all. If they do attack, I can heal everyone up.”

“If we are ambushed, our objective should be escape, not victory. I’ll use 「Illusionist」 to distract them, so everyone hotfoot it out of there if things get dire.”

“I should be able to predict it with 「Clairvoyant」if they attack us, that’ll give us the edge we need to escape.”

“Then everyone’s on board?” Saki sought our assent, but it seemed we were all already in agreement. “Okay then. Ladies, let’s get our answers.”