Facing Mami Tomoe's questioning gaze, Lancer made a gesture telling her it didn't matter.
"I'm over at Dr. Lancer place."
"Eh?! Mami-san, did you take the day off to go to Dr. Lancer? Are you feeling unwell? Oh! I forgot. Mami-san, Kyubey has something to tell you."
As the voice on the other end paused, Kyubey familiar voice soon came through.
"Mami, the reason I left this time was because I sensed a powerful witch approaching Mitakihara City. After investigating, I found that I wasn't mistaken."
Kyubey didn't seem surprised that Mami was at Lancer place. However, because of what he said, Mami didn't overthink it. Only one thought occupied her mind—a powerful witch? Such a coincidence?
Lancer, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all by Kyubey reaction. After all, the only places in Mitakihara City that could block his detection were Lancer residence and the hospital. He had set up thaumaturgical barriers in both locations, and his home had already been turned into a miniature Mage's Workshop.
So, as long as Kyubey had half a brain, he would be able to guess she was with Lancer the moment he couldn't sense Mami presence. After all, if you're looking for a canary on a white sheet and one spot is covered by a black cloth, the canary's location becomes obvious.
Kyubey didn't pay any mind to Mami and Lancer reactions and simply continued.
"Mami, the enemy this time is something even you can't handle. If Kyoko is with you, tell her to come along. Oh, and Dr. Lancer and the others too. This enemy will likely require everyone's combined efforts to defeat. As for the specifics, let's talk when we meet."
With Madoka saying, "We'll wait for you after school at that cake shop Mami-san recommended last time," the call ended. Mami turned her face toward Lancer.
To her, Lancer was now essentially her pillar of support. After being hit with so many shocks and having an instinctive repulsion toward Kyubey, she didn't even know how to react after hearing his words. However, when she saw Lancer serious expression, her heart sank.
'Is it that serious?'
Lancer expression was serious because he had guessed a few things, and that was exactly why he looked that way.
'Kyubey must be talking about Walpurgisnacht, right? After all, it saw me fight, so it can probably guess that an average witch wouldn't pose a threat to me. But the timing seems wrong?'
In Lancer memory, the arrival of "Walpurgisnacht" should have been nearly a month after Mami sacrifice.
Following Mami death, Kyubey went directly to get Kyoko Sakura to come to Mitakihara to fill the gap. By the time Kyoko arrived, Sayaka Miki had already become a magical girl. After many more events, both Kyoko and Sayaka were taken out of the picture. The time in between wasn't short—at least half a month.
But according to what Kyubey just said————could Walpurgisnacht be arriving early?
Lancer mission duration this time was a full six months, but in reality, he had only been in this world for a month so far.
'Looks like I'll have to handle things properly if I want to survive this.'
If he could have used the timing of the transfer to cheat his way out before, it probably wasn't going to be possible this time.
However, before that, Lancer had one more thing to handle.
"Which one of you wants to try?"
Opening his right hand, Lancer held the "Grief Seed" out in front of Kyoko and Mami. Without a doubt, Lancer intended to let the two of them see "Nagisa Momoe's" existence with their own eyes.
Mami and Kyoko shared a look and decided that Mami would try first.
Seeing Mami take the purified Grief Seed from his hand, Lancer didn't say much and began to guide her.
"I'll guide you first. Put your hand on it, close your eyes, and silently feel its presence..."
Under Lancer guidance, Mami gradually learned how to merge her consciousness with mana. Her learning speed was actually beyond Lancer expectations, but upon reflection, it made sense. As magical girls, their "souls" were already solidified into Soul Gems, and their mana was intrinsically linked to their souls. Though they didn't realize it, they were actually much more familiar with soul-related operations than Lancer.
Holding the purified Grief Seed in both hands and leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed, Mami looked much more composed than Lancer had. Her endurance was also significantly higher. However, this time Lancer didn't focus much on the purified Grief Seed and instead stared intently at Mami chest.
As a gentleman, Lancer naturally wouldn't stare at a woman's chest for no reason. The reason he was doing this was entirely because of that large, round... Soul Gem on her chest.
Unlike Lancer, a magical girl's mana was converted through the Soul Gem, but the price was that the Soul Gem would become clouded with use. A large amount of negative emotions would pollute it. What Lancer needed to do was wake her up when her Soul Gem reached a certain limit, like————now.
Placing his index finger on the Soul Gem on Mami chest, Lancer began trying to wake her up.
Mami eyelashes fluttered before she finally opened her eyes slowly.
At this moment, her gaze was incredibly complex. There was joy, sadness, and regret, but most of all, relief.
She was happy for "Nagisa Momoe's" awakening and sad for her past experiences. she regretted having used Grief Seeds to purify her own Soul Gem, but she was mostly relieved that she finally knew some of the hidden truths.
As her mind withdrew from the purified Grief Seed, Mami gradually returned to normal. However, when the focus returned to her eyes, she saw Lancer sitting right in front of her, and————
Lowering her head slowly, she saw his finger resting on the gem on her chest.
Even though Lancer hand was still quite a distance from her actual chest, her face still flushed red.
Clearly, nothing had happened between the two of them, but the scene felt somewhat awkward. Finally, it was the "battle-hardened" Lancer who broke the strange atmosphere.
"Your Soul Gem has been somewhat polluted due to the use of mana. Do you want me to help you clean it?"
"Is that okay?"
"I haven't tried it before, but it shouldn't be much of a problem."
Hearing Lancer words, Mami simply took off the gem from her chest, reverted it to its Soul Gem state, and handed it to Lancer. But when Lancer hand gripped the Soul Gem and he began to wash it with his own mana————
"Mnn~"
A strange sound suddenly echoed in the quiet room.
Instantly, Lancer, who had been focused on his work with his head down, couldn't help but look up.