Zero seemed quite satisfied with her "new clothes" and was having a great time playing by herself, even forgetting to ask Lancer for food. On the other side, however, Olga Marie was blushing as she glanced left and right, appearing to be on guard for enemies that might appear at any moment. In reality, Lancer felt she was just incredibly embarrassed by her current outfit.
Sure enough, after being on high alert for a while and realizing no "enemies" were showing up, she cautiously leaned in toward Lancer.
"Um... how do I deactivate this 'Mystic Code'?"
Olga Marie, completely unaware that Lancer had only just gotten his hands on these things, simply assumed this was Lancer twisted sense of humor—just like that person back at the Mages' Association. She even began to suspect if all Magicians shared the same bad taste.
"You don't know? I'm not entirely sure either. The pink-haired girl who helped us earlier gave them to me."
Olga Marie really wanted to snap back with a "You just give things to people without knowing how they work?" but she managed to hold it in, mostly because Lancer followed up with a word of comfort.
"It's fine. Regardless, this thing should be powered by your magical energy. Once the energy runs out, it'll naturally deactivate..."
Right at that moment, Zero who seemed to have grown bored of playing, began to glow again. When the light faded, she had returned to her normal white dress. She then held out her palm toward Lancer, clearly demanding food.
Zero casual manner made Olga Marie feel incredibly awkward. She looked at Lancer, who was feeding the girl, and then at the girl herself, who looked like a squirrel. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to set aside her sense of shame; if she stayed like this, she probably wouldn't even be able to leave the alleyway.
"Um, Miss... Zero, how did you deactivate that 'transformation'?"
Tilting her head, Zero looked at her with a dazed expression as if seeing the woman who suddenly appeared beside her for the first time. She glanced at Lancer, and after getting his nod of approval, she temporarily set down the food in her hands.
Though she really wanted to eat, she had long been "conditioned" by Lancer to understand one thing: her food supply depended entirely on Lancer. As long as she was obedient, there would be more to eat, so it was better to be well-behaved. Thus, she gave a reluctant explanation.
"It's easy. You just take the thing inside your body and push it down like 'urgh'!"
Urgh?
Push it down?
Looking at Zero "hurry up and feed me" expression, Olga Marie felt like her head was about to double in size.
——————
8:30 AM. The city streets were filled with people coming and going. Adults were rushing to their offices, while children needed to head to school. Almost everyone was in a hurry, yet amidst the crowd, three people were incredibly "conspicuous."
Lancer, dressed in casual clothes, and Olga Marie, in a dress, walked at the front, while Rei walked between them, holding her "prize" and eating happily.
Lancer height was significantly above average, making him stand out on his own. Coupled with the clothes he wore, which did nothing to hide his physique, it was lucky he wasn't wearing a stern expression—otherwise, someone might have called the police. However, the more important reason for the lack of alarm was likely the presence of Olga Marie and Zero beside him.
As the successor of a prestigious Magus family, she had received the finest education since childhood, both in magecraft and other fields. Furthermore, after taking over the family in recent years, she essentially stood at the pinnacle of the magic world. This gave her an extraordinary aura, which, paired with her naturally beautiful face and figure, made her exceptionally eye-catching.
As for Zero, although she was expressionless, her squirrel-like eating habits undoubtedly hit the "cute" button for most people.
Beauty and cuteness are both enough to generate goodwill, so people were naturally a lot more tolerant of Lancer, who was with them.
"Mr. Lancer, where are we heading next? Are we going to find that 'Homura Akemi' girl?"
Prior to this, Lancer had roughly explained his goals to Olga Marie—essentially stopping the "Final Boss." He had even told her about the relationship between "Magical Girls" and "Witches."
"She probably hasn't appeared yet, and until she does, I don't know where to look for her. Besides, there's something more important to do first..."
"Something more important?"
Lancer words undoubtedly made Olga Marie nervous.
"That's right. Something more important: finding a house."
They were going to be staying here for at least half a year. Lancer didn't want to stay in a hotel, as it was too much of a hassle.
Because of this, he and Olga Marie split up. He handed over the money exchanged from the gold shop to her and sent her off to check out houses, while he took Zero toward some more secluded corners.
The most direct method for this "mission" would be to act alongside several characters from the original story, but what seemed simple actually presented several problems—for instance, how should he approach them?
Even though Lancer age was practically fixed thanks to the "System," he still looked like he was in his early twenties. He was a young man, any way you sliced it.
And a young man trying to hit on a group of junior high girls?
The imagery was so "beautiful" Lancer didn't dare imagine it. He could already picture himself being shoved into a police car in handcuffs.
Therefore, he needed a logical reason and method to approach them. Among them, Kyoko Sakura and Homura Akemi were ruled out in advance. One was in "another city" (Lancer wasn't sure which one), and as for Homura, who knew if she had her memories? If she did, she'd likely be as prickly as a hedgehog and wouldn't trust anyone, potentially causing unnecessary misunderstandings.
Between the remaining three—Madoka Kaname, Sayaka Miki, and Mami Tomoe—Lancer felt the easiest one to approach should be Sayaka Miki.
Why? Simple. It stemmed from some of Lancer abilities that weren't classified as "skills."
For example, the knowledge of "bone-setting" he learned from Li Shuwen and the "Druidic" knowledge taught to him by Cu Chulainn.
Lancer felt he might have a chance to pose as an "old military doctor," which should give him the opportunity to get to know Sayaka Miki.
But to apply at a hospital, one needs at least a proper identity, right?
This was why Lancer was heading toward secluded areas. As long as it was human society, a dark side would exist. So, getting some fake IDs made shouldn't be a problem, right? After all, even if his documents were fake, his skills were the real deal.