Lancer originally only intended to gather intelligence, but he hadn't expected to get a chance to see a "Soul Gem." After all, both Lancer and the Magical Girls were well aware of the Soul Gem's importance.
The only difference was that the Magical Girls only knew through Kyubey warnings that if a Soul Gem were lost, an extremely dangerous situation would likely occur. Lancer, however, knew why it was dangerous.
Maybe the key to cracking the Grief Seeds lies within the Soul Gems. But precisely because of their importance, trying to research one is going to be a huge pain...
According to the world-building, there were definitely more than double digits of Magical Girls in this world. However, the only ones Lancer actually knew were the "main cast." Furthermore, having already realized he was in a "real world," he couldn't just go around attacking others at random, as that would be fundamentally no different from attacking Mami and the others.
Moreover, Mami was currently like a canary locked in a cage. If Lancer contacted her prematurely, it would be the same as handing his intel over to Kyubey.
But that other Magical Girl, Kyoko Sakura...
Recalling their unpleasant first meeting and the things he had done under the influence of the "Grief Seed," the difficulty level seemed a bit high.
Whatever, I'll give it a shot first and see.
Flapping his wings, he made a turn in mid-air and flew toward the rented villa.
——————
Because Mami had to go to school, she headed straight there after making breakfast for Kyoko. Consequently, Kyoko Sakura simply went for a stroll around Mitakihara Town on her own. It wasn't just to look for "Witches" hiding somewhere; more importantly, she planned to find that weird bird from yesterday.
She actually felt it was strange herself. Though she looked like a typical delinquent girl to the average person, she actually wasn't. If one had to evaluate her, it was likely that because she stood higher than others, she looked down on everyone. Naturally, she didn't care about her own words or actions, and the result of that reckless behavior was what she was now.
So, in reality, she wouldn't hate someone for no reason. Even if she really didn't like the look of someone, it was because she had noticed something through observation. Having closed off her heart, she was actually a cold person, so she didn't believe she would feel angry at a bird for no reason. There had to be a reason!
She had no proof, but she believed it firmly. After all, her intuition had saved her countless times in battle.
Wandering aimlessly through the city like this, she gradually approached a certain place—Mitakihara Municipal Hospital.
According to Kyubey, this was where the man named "Lancer" usually hung out. Kyoko Sakura really wanted to go in and get her revenge, but she still understood the basic rules of being a Magical Girl. When she was alone, she couldn't proactively attack him due to external factors. By the time there were fewer people around, Mami would be out of school, and with her following along, Kyoko probably wouldn't be able to do much.
Tch, what a pain.
With her hands shoved in her hoodie pockets, she prepared to turn and leave with a look of utter annoyance. But just then, a shadow blocked her path.
"Out of the way..."
Because of her height, the thing Kyoko hated most was people looking down on her. Consequently, her tone was a bit vicious, but the other party didn't seem to react? When she looked up, she was stunned for a moment, because she hadn't expected to run into that man here.
"You bastard..."
Before Kyoko could finish her sentence, she saw a middle-aged man with thinning hair step out from behind Lancer.
"Dr. Lancer, what's wrong?"
Because of Lancer height, Kyoko was completely blocked from view. The man had to walk around the side. When he saw Kyoko, he also froze for a second. After all, this wasn't exactly a time when kids should be wandering around freely.
"Are you lost? Where are your parents?"
Without a doubt, the man took Kyoko Sakura for a little girl who had come with her family to visit a patient. Little did he know that his friendly expression made Kyoko even more annoyed!
By age, she was a junior high student!
Not only is that man a jerk himself, but the people around him are each more irritating than the last!
Clearly, Kyoko had once again remembered Olga Marie sitting in the car that night.
However, before she could snap back, Lancer pressed a hand onto her head first. This sudden move caused her to grab Lancer wrist by reflex, but she discovered she seemingly couldn't throw Lancer off?
"Sorry, Director. This kid is from a neighboring family back in my hometown. Maybe she came to Mitakihara for some reason? Can I take her away for a bit?"
Japan is undoubtedly a country with high work pressure, where people often work mechanically like wound-up robots. However, Lancer didn't have many patients under his care, his personal efficiency and results were good, and most importantly, his employment cost was cheap...
"An hour shouldn't be a problem. But Dr. Lancer, you'd better keep your phone on. After all, we never know when we might need your help."
"No problem."
After saying that, he pressed down on Kyoko head and led her toward the inpatient department.
The moment the two turned a corner, Kyoko gripped Lancer wrist with both hands and shoved his hand away.
"Hey! There's no one here! How long are you gonna keep grabbing me?"
As usual, I see.
Unfortunately, her vicious expression looked like nothing more than a wild cat swatting its claws to Lancer. However, it was clear that the reason Lancer had been holding her head was out of fear that she would do something weird in a public place. Looking at her now, it seemed he had overthought it.
But still—this is really awkward!
Even though he hadn't intended to do anything weird last night, many things in this world are judged by the "result." In terms of results, Lancer indeed appeared by her window while she was bathing. Although he had successfully escaped afterward, he hadn't exactly left without leaving suspicious clues—for instance, the sound he made because he was too nervous.
Come to think of it, the "goo" sound isn't exclusive to pigeons, right?
For a moment, Lancer expression became extremely colorful.
On the other side, however, Kyoko Sakura didn't care about what Lancer was thinking. She just glared at him, considering the matter she had been thinking about earlier.
She had always wanted to wash away her previous humiliation. Although she had been "ambushed (in her own mind)" because she underestimated her opponent, she had reflected on it afterward.
The failure couldn't be denied, but she was going to wash away that shame!
Looking at the look in Kyoko eyes, which seemed to be burning, Lancer face remained serious, but his gaze was incredibly shifty.
Could I have been found out?