Chapter 34 Claw Marks
The elderly director looked to be about sixty years old, with deep features, bright eyes, a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and on her cheeks, and a stern yet amiable look.
She was wearing a dark brown woolen coat, with her white blonde hair neatly combed behind her head. She looked quite capable and was looking at Lin Yun with a smile.
Westerners? Lin Yun had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't say them out loud. Instead, he nodded calmly and said, "Hello, Director, what should I call you?"
"Just call me Moss, all my positions are just empty titles."
The woman said so in a calm tone: "Please take a seat. I believe we will have a lot in common."
Lin Yun followed her words and sat down on the chair in front of the desk. He exhaled, raised his eyes and said, "I came here today not for anything else, but to get the truth."
"The Strategy Bureau has many truths that the public does not know. Which one do you need?"
Moss waved one hand horizontally, making a gesture of invitation: "Perhaps, we can talk about your situation first?"
"Your bureau should be aware of my situation, so I won't go into too much detail."
Lin Yun nodded, appropriately making his tone sound a little nervous, and then went straight to the point: "Two years ago at the funeral, I met a young woman who told me that my wife was actually a magical girl."
"I then began to sort out my wife's belongings and found a secret diary, which did record her life as a magical girl. Moreover, according to the records in the diary, she had actually sensed some hidden dangers before her death."
This statement is three-tenths true and seven-tenths false. Only the information he learned is true, and the way he got the information was completely made up by him. In order to prevent the other party from doubting his words, Lin Yun also tried his best to make his words and actions consistent, and kept looking at Moss to confirm the truth in his words.
"I am just an ordinary person. Facing such an extraordinary being, I can't do anything. I can only treat it as a sudden disaster. Even though I know there are other reasons for her death, I am powerless to investigate. In the end, all I can do is follow her will and raise our child well."
He stared into Moss' eyes, "It's just...as you already know, I accidentally noticed that even my child became a magical girl."
"My wife died because she became a magical girl. What about my child? I can't predict her future fate. If something happens to her... I'm sorry, but just thinking about such a future makes me feel suffocated."
"So I have to ask you. I think I have the right to know who the murderer is? And, can you protect my daughter?"
After finishing these words, he took a long breath and lowered his eyes: "Sorry, I may be a little emotional."
He didn't expect to completely deceive the other party with lies, so most of these words were his true feelings. The only difference was that the real him didn't believe that the Strategy Bureau could protect his daughter, and he had already chosen to do it himself.
"…I'm sorry to bring up sad things again."
After listening to his statement, Moss closed her eyes, pondered for a moment, and then said, "As for the murderer of your wife, that is actually the reason why I want to meet you alone. Miss Ying's husband, Mr. Lin Yun."
"Why?" Lin Yun noticed the special meaning in her words.
Moss still closed her eyes, her face somewhat serious: "Because this is just my guess, it is not convenient to say it out loud outside of private occasions. To the outside world, especially those in the Yi Ce Bureau, the following remarks can be said to be very contrary to our purpose and philosophy."
"What do you mean?" Lin Yun's eyes narrowed slightly.
Moss opened her eyes and placed her hands on the table, interlacing her fingers. "...Mr. Lin Yun, do you think that all magical girls in this world represent justice and fight to protect people?"
“…Isn’t it?”
Her words startled Lin Yun, and he became a little wary: "If the magical girl hadn't stepped forward, ordinary people would never have been able to live so easily."
Although he refuted it verbally, he had another answer in his mind for Moss's question. But "Lin Yun" had no reason to know.
"I really hope so, and that's why the Bureau of Strategy was established, but it's clear that this is not the case."
Moss had no doubts and looked at Lin Yun. "Magical girls fight for protection, mainly because of the emotional bias brought about by their real social relationships, and more importantly, the management and constraints of the country. In fact, if a magical girl abandons morality and conscience and dares to fight against the country, she can use this power of harm on humans, or even their companions, which is completely feasible."
"...Unbelievable." Lin Yun agreed.
"Yeah, it's hard to believe, but it makes sense."
Moss nodded: "That's why there are rebels and even defectors among magical girls."
"There are magical girls who escape from the constraints of the magic kingdom, use this power to do evil, hurt others, seize power, and do evil without restraint."
"In recent years, there has been a group of magical girls who have gathered together, secretly fighting against the country while plotting for certain goals. Somehow they can even travel with the remaining beasts. Are they the same as the remaining beasts... No, they are even more dangerous and must be avoided."
"Based on some of their characteristics and their self-proclaimed name, this group of rebellious magical girls is called 'Claw Marks'."
This sentence made Lin Yun feel surprised.
He actually knew what Moss had said before. It was true that there were magical girls who defected from the magic kingdom, but as far as he knew, such magical girls would be marked as wanted persons by the kingdom, and most of them would be pursued and arrested by the investigation team. Few of them would succeed in defecting.
As for the fact that there were so many people that they formed an organization and even traveled with the remnant beasts, it was unheard of. "Claw marks" was a term he had never heard of. He had never known that such a group of people existed.
So he expressed his doubts appropriately and asked, "My wife's diary never mentioned this name."
Moss shook her head and said, "Because they only appeared in recent years, even I only knew about them because of some coincidences. It is normal that Miss Ying's diary in her early years did not record them."
"You mean, my wife's death is likely to be..." Lin Yun frowned.
"I think Miss Sakura's death should be related to the claw marks, because according to her contact, Miss Sakura was a very powerful magical girl who had fought for many years. Theoretically, if a remnant beast that she could not defeat appeared, then such a remnant beast would have destroyed Fangting City long ago."
Lin Yun knew exactly what Moss said.
Anya is a powerful enough magical girl. She can easily deal with ordinary beasts and often attacks alone. Otherwise, she would not have been able to guard Fangting City for more than 20 years.
And if the current strange situation in Fangting City is really caused by this group of magical girls called "Claw Marks", then there can be a corresponding explanation.
But there are still some things he doesn't understand, such as the present moment.
"So, why are you telling me this?"
Looking at Moss, Lin Yun slowly asked: "If there is really a risk in telling these things, why did you tell me, an ordinary person?"
"...I said that we would have a lot of common topics. Because when I see you, I can't help but think of my past self."
Moss still had a kind face, but there was an indescribable loneliness in her words:
"My daughter, when she was alive, was also a magical girl."
(End of this chapter)
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