"Even though she's still a magical girl… something just feels… off."
Amber couldn't quite put it into words, but her expression spoke volumes—a complex mix that was hard to miss.
"Admittedly it's a bit strange, but it's easier if you think of being a magical girl here more as a profession, rather than some inherent identity," Dark Amber summed it up succinctly.
"And what about Valkyries? I know they've become more like security guards, but from the looks of things, people don't seem to trust them all that much… or rather, they don't hold them in high regard?"
"I established Schicksal in this world, but unlike the last one, I didn't enhance the 'Valkyries' to an extreme degree."
"If Valkyries from the previous world could easily kick away a car speeding toward them, here they'd struggle just to force one to a stop. I've only developed the Valkyrie armor to the level of White Comet."
Dark Amber explained, "In this state, they can't compare to the cadres of the evil organizations, but dealing with magical beasts isn't difficult."
"In other words, they serve as a kind of core force against those organizations."
"Compared to the vague, uncertain prospect of becoming a magical girl—who knows when that might happen?—the Valkyrie role aligns much better with people's understanding and expectations of ordinary human strength."
"Understanding and expectations?"
"Simply put, you could see Valkyries in this world as a career path or a specialty, much like being a music student or an athlete."
"Not only does Schicksal provide Valkyrie employment opportunities worldwide, but schools globally have also started offering 'Valkyrie' courses. While it's not yet fully widespread, even Tsukinomori has such a program."
"Huh? Wait, you're saying you can become a Valkyrie at Tsukinomori?"
"It's just pre-Valkyrie training, really. You could even treat it as a PE class, unless you specifically choose it as your major."
"Oh, kind of like that school in Love Live! Superstar!! with the music students and the regular students?"
"Exactly. It's a newly established discipline and major, but it's gained some popularity among younger people. Tsukinomori currently has about three thousand regular students, plus around nine hundred specially recruited students in the Valkyrie program."
"Eh? So now you don't have to be from a wealthy family to attend Tsukinomori?"
"That's right."
Their conversation halted as, two seconds later, a server pushed a cart into the room, carefully arranging their dishes on the table before bowing and leaving.
With their talk interrupted by the footsteps, Amber didn't plan to press further.
After all, the brief exchange had already given her a good grasp of this world's situation—enough to fill her with anticipation and a restless eagerness for the life ahead.
She wasn't one to seek out conflict, but after living over two centuries in a world of the supernatural, suddenly being told there wasn't much to do had left her feeling a bit lost.
Yet, after hearing about this world's setup, that old urge to explore it all came surging back.
Step one: join the Valkyrie program at school.
Step two: form a band with some members and debut!
With a goal now in mind, the white-haired girl's appetite roared to life, and she dove into her meal with gusto.
--+--
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
Within the solemn, grand halls of an international conference chamber, a girl with her white hair tied in braids, a youthful face, and a petite frame projected a proposal from the desk onto the massive screen behind her.
Despite looking every bit a girl of twelve or thirteen, she spoke with formidable presence.
"Therefore, otherworldly realms are not singular in existence. Currently, we know this particular otherworld was discovered seventy-eight years ago."
"By then, the existence of magical girls and contracted beings was already widely known. Over all this time, contracted beings have never been proven harmless, let alone those evil organizations hailing from the same world!"
"The existence of otherworlds must be taken seriously. A single one has already transformed this world into something utterly different from eighty years ago."
"What would happen with another? No one can predict. They might be friendly or dangerous, powerful or weak. Regardless, we need more intelligence."
Her gaze swept across everyone in the room as she finished speaking.
Finally, the representative from Shenzhou spoke first.
"Miss Apocalypse, Shenzhou understands your concerns regarding the present and the future."
"However, as you yourself noted, the dangers posed by otherworlds are unpredictable. Regarding your proposal to 'dispatch personnel to the otherworld'… do you have a more detailed plan to present?"
"The United States reserves judgment on exploring otherworlds. As the Shenzhou side mentioned, can Schicksal provide a convincing plan?" The U.S. leader added, "And how can Schicksal guarantee that the risks of exploration are lower than the risks of ignoring it?"
"Schicksal cannot provide such a guarantee."
Dark Amber(Theresa) replied bluntly, then posed a question of her own.
"Based on Schicksal's continuous monitoring this year, traces of the otherworld have consistently been artificially erased."
"This strongly suggests the other side is already aware of our existence."
"Yet, they have not attempted to communicate with us and have actively concealed themselves. What do the various parties believe is the reason for this?"
Knowing about our side, yet choosing to hide, with no intent to establish relations—why?
It was an excellent question, and within that room, opinions split along lines of stance and power.
Smaller nations naturally leaned toward the idea that the other world was hiding because it couldn't match their side's combat strength. The major powers, however, drew the opposite conclusion.
This otherworld was likely plotting something, and whatever they were planning was certainly no minor affair.
Magic users in this world were few, but those who understood it were many.
Theresa's statement—'traces of the otherworld I've been investigating keep getting erased'—was enough for them to conclude that the otherworld had been observing, perhaps even interfering with, their world's trajectory, all while quietly scheming.
Otherwise, why were traces always found? If they were doing nothing, why would there be traces? And why erase them?
A sense of sharp unease prickled across everyone present.
The feeling of being watched, likely for a long time, with the high probability that the other side had already planted seeds of trouble here, was intolerable to any leader.
The already quiet room plunged into a deep chill.
After a long silence, the Shenzhou representative spoke again. "Since Schicksal already possesses a method to reach that world, is there an exploration plan in place?"
Back to the same question. All the talk meant nothing without a concrete plan.
"Unfortunately, as I said earlier, everything about the other side is unknown. Facing the unknown, we cannot provide any specific plan."
Theresa stated frankly, "That is precisely why I stand here today."
"I need to rally the world's collective strength to draft an action plan for the upcoming exploration and deploy the first reconnaissance team with the utmost speed."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.