02x03 - Haven't Seen Delusion Like This in Ages

[bunniefuu]

More mutation?! But how?!

Hey! Control Department!

Magic power control
in Lab Nine is messed up!

I've been dispatched here.

You can't help but consider
what might happen to your daughter, right?

Is that your attempt at negotiating?

That sneaky,
scrawny little four-eyed freak.

His plan to throw the fight
was all part of this scheme, eh?

AST is here...

Magical Girls from other companies,
please vacate the premises now.

Gimme a break.

Haven't seen delusion like this in ages.

"Delusion"? Don't accuse me
of an illogical falsehood.

Take that back.

I ain't talking to you.

I was talking about something else.

Biased creeps that manipulate people
without giving 'em a fair chance.

EPISODE 3
HAVEN'T SEEN DELUSION LIKE THIS IN AGES

Get your a*s back here!

Dang vermin! Where'd it go?

There you are!

Hope you're ready!

You little stinker!

Ms. Magical Girl,
you don't have to chase it that far.

It's just a tiny Kaii.

Do you want this thing
buggin' your customers?

Well, no...

Gotta squash this booger before it grows!

Let me whoop your a*s!

What on earth was that?

Get back here!

Just give up already!

Compress!

No, your performance
was certainly fabulous.

But you should be a little more...
- I get it. Sorry, okay?

I'll be careful next time.

Please do.

I can't afford any accidents.

Yeah, yeah.

Good afternoon, Ms. Hitomi Koshigaya.

Huh?

Heading out to exterminate a Kaii
in an elementary school storm drain?

Do I know you from somewhere?

No, this is our first time
speaking face-to-face.

Then kindly buzz off, would you?

I certainly will.

In the meantime, I'll be waiting
over there during today's lunch hour.

Huh?

Wait, what?

Be careful now.

MAGILUMIERE PRESIDENT & CEO
KOUJI SHIGEMOTO

So, what's this about?

You spotted me in that cheap Booze Alley
and now you wanna chat?

Yes, exactly.

I saw your ability to maneuver
narrow spaces without hitting anyone

and strong determination to stop the Kaii.

Our company values that.

Your ability to correctly switch gears
and assess the situation

truly impressed us.

I impressed you,
so now you're trying to headhunt me?

As expected, you catch on quick!

So, what do you say?

Not a chance.

Now scram.

We're still only a start-up, but...
- Nothin' personal.

It ain't a matter of
conditions and policies.

I turn down every single offer like this.

I suppose you like your current job?

Good question.

I don't have an answer to that.

That's unfortunate.

Still, I had an inkling
she would turn us down.

Distrust, perhaps?

I sensed an aura of despair from her.

You did, huh?

What is it?

Koshigaya.

There's a Power Agency executive
with the same name.

Could she be...

No.

I've never heard the director
talk about his family.

Boss, please let me handle this.

I'll keep working on her.

I sound like a broken record here,
but could you please be a little more...

I get the message. Sorry, okay?

I'll be careful next time.

You said that before...
- I really mean it this time.

Please, go on ahead.

Okay, right...

Quit creepin' on me, would ya?

You and that other guy
with the wacky getup.

I take it you're not interested
in changing jobs, then?

Nope.

Our company is a great place, you know.

No higher-ups holding you back.

Every company is the same.

Coincidentally, one of my acquaintances
is a former classmate of yours.

Becoming a Magical Girl
was your childhood dream, wasn't it?

Seven, eight, nine, ten!

Ta-da! Transform!

Show me the Kaii!

And yet, from my perspective,
you seem somewhat troubled right now.

How much did you dig up on me?

Nothing.

I just have connections.

If you're already that deep,
you must know about my pops, huh?

He might try to hide it,
but it's a secret everyone knows.

Your father?

Now you're just playin' dumb.

My pops kicked me out when I told him
I wanted to be a Magical Girl.

But I don't care.

He never supported me anyhow.

But everyone else is different.

They tiptoe around me
like I'm a pimple ready to pop.

With every little scrape I get.

They freak out about it.
- I can't afford you getting hurt again!

You're an executive candidate, you know.

Cherish that connection to your father.

But there's no getting around it.
That's just how companies operate.

I'd rather rebel and form a g*ng
than get strung like a dang puppet.

Are you sure about that?

Some job opportunities in this society
don't care about your background.

At the very least, our company
doesn't have time for decorative puppets.

We're purely interested in your talent.

What do you say?

Even if you think it's a scam,
why not test the waters at our company?

You might like it.

Stop, Kaii!

Well?

MAGILUMIERE MAGICAL GIRLS INC.

What's with this building?

Looks like a dump.

Where do our BROOMs take off from?

Out the window? Hell no.

It's the roof.

I pay the manager 5,000 yen each month
for permission to use it.

Who's gonna be wearing all these?

Oh, those dresses
all belong to our president.

Magical Girl outfits
are still in the works.

Get your priorities straight, man.

What a mess...

The president only wears dresses,
and the building's falling apart.

On top of that, I'm the only Magical Girl.

Is that unappealing?

Are you kidding?

I've never seen a place
so easy to work at.

I'm all in.

Okay.

Boss Man! When are you gonna finish
that capture spell I asked for?

Already got it.

Send it over.
Gimme three seconds to corner it.

All righty.

Starting the timer. Ready, and...

One!

Two!

Three!

You guys make me do some reckless stuff.

Good thing I'm a genius.

Yep, good thing you're a genius.

You're such a yes-man.

That's what makes our boss so great!

I get it already.
You don't gotta say it hundreds of times.

Well, Ms. Koshigaya,

isn't he the reason
you almost didn't join us?

Can you blame me?

After seeing this weirdo guy,
I'd be crazy to say yes on the spot.

But just by touching this magic,
I can tell Magilumiere means business.

I get spells made-to-order
in the blink of an eye.

After learning a system like this,
there ain't nothin' better.

I appreciate that.

But we still have ample issues to fix.

Ample issues?

Finding magic
that's effective in practice.

Crafting an environment for transmission.

Reasonable speeds
to generate Magic Circles.

Selecting Magic Circles
to compile in our library.

To settle practical issues like this,
we need a real Magical Girl's experience.

So, Koshigaya,

you can be a little reckless if you want.

Order whatever you need from us.

We support Magical Girls like you
who push the envelope.

That's why we started this company.

Never thought I'd find
someone willing to tell me that.

I'm glad I became a Magical Girl.

That's the kind of management
we're aiming for.

Just how I like it.

You see, we got
our own way of doing stuff.

We can't have you getting in our way.

As long as you don't hinder
my company's work here, I'll make do.

Is that the latest N522 BROOM model?!

Incredibly unique dress fabric, too...

Wow, there's so much to look at!

Looks like AST brought
state-of-the-art devices.

They're certainly not messing around.

Professor Tsutsumi,

I didn't come here to negotiate.

And I'm not interested in
observing a ridiculous farce, either.

I came to make a fair judgment.

I thoroughly despise collusion
between upper management and the field.

The lack of strings attached
is exactly what I like about this job.

As long as I work in this industry...

I decided when I started this job...

I have no daughter.

I don't got a father.

Not anymore!
- Not anymore!

EMPLOYEE ID
MEI TSUCHIBA, MAGICAL GIRL DEPT.

My, what a stubborn man.

But magic power levels
are already rising in the lab.

As a result, the Kaii will strengthen,
which could lead to secondary mutation.

AST is the only company
capable of exterminating this!

I'm borrowing your emergency line.

Uh, okay...

There's no data suggesting that
AST will do a perfect job.

My objective here
is to give an unbiased assessment.

This is Koshigaya, Power Agency director.
Connect me to AST.

Yes. Understood.

As of now, my order has been canceled.

I'll be leaving now.

It seems they wish to observe your company
as originally scheduled.

By the way, Little Miss Sunshine,

we happen to be short on help today.

While you're here,
wanna help us fight this?

Ms. Koshigaya?

Didn't you say this before?

If a Magical Girl's at risk
while dealing with a Kaii,

other companies can exercise
the right to intervene, right?

Boss,

are you okay with this?

It's clearly stated in Article 19,
Section One of the Magical Girl Act.

Right. Not to mention,
it's a chance to test "that" out.

You want me to help your company?

Don't overthink it.
We're short on help, is all.

I decline.

My company wasn't called here
for a cooperative mission.

And helping you
doesn't particularly benefit us.

Certain extermination methods
may breach confidentiality, too.

Why ya gotta be so stubborn?

We're all Magical Girls,
so let's get along--

More importantly, our past interactions
dissuade me from trusting your intuition.

Heh?

Emotional and instinctual actions

are presumably unsuitable
for on-site work requiring calm judgment.

You little...!
I was tryin' to extend an olive branch!

Ms. Koshigaya!

Quit it, Kana! Let go of me!

Case in point.

Wait a minute!

You can't say for sure
that this case won't benefit AST.

Class C is a new breed of Kaii.

Won't your company benefit
by collecting data from hands-on combat?

That daughter of yours
isn't very persuasive, is she?

I have no daughter.

True.

I suppose it's worth considering.

Nice, Kana!

I played along with her proposal for now,
but what's Ms. Koshigaya trying to do?

Okay, that settles it.

Welcome aboard, Grumpy-Face.

Cut the formalities.

Just give me orders.

You're not cute at all, you know that?

Cuteness won't aid extermination.

It's growing even larger.

I didn't expect to tackle this mission
with more than three Magical Girls.

Ms. Tsuchiba's help gives us an edge,
but this team was assembled last-minute.

If the EXPO incident repeats itself,

and excessive magic output
overexerts the system...

You know we do things
a little differently, right?

We work closely with the operator.

You can enter this code to call in.

Try saying something.

Um, Ms. Koshigaya...

Chill out, Kana.

This is nothing to fret over.

Check, audio sounds good.

This is Magilumiere's president
and provisional operator, Kouji Shigemoto.

Bo...

Boss?

Shigemoto's gonna operate himself?!

To lessen the burden on our operator,
I'm taking over with emergency measures.

This is an irregular case,
but I'm a former engineer.

You can trust me.

Who knew he had
his very own operator PC on hand...

We learned our lesson
when Makino came to train with us.

I'm glad we made it.

That operator's got mad skills.
He's my partner in crime.

Ask for whatever the heck you want.

Vice Chief Akasaka.

Um, yes?

This abnormal case
exceeds your anticipated workload,

but I'll do everything in my power
to support you.

I don't mind! Not even a little!

It's an absolute honor
to work with the famous Mr. Shigemoto!

Um, I mean, thank you.
I look forward to working with you.

I've heard the boss was a famous engineer,
but I don't know the extent of his talent.

Ms. Mei Tsuchiba.

Thanks for taking on this sudden request.

This extermination will be unconventional,
but I'd appreciate your help.

There are no written rules
for conventionalism.

If your orders are legal, I'll obey.

However,

if your company's magic causes
any concerning circumstances,

I'll switch to methods
my company deems optimal.

Deal.

The seal magic!

Yup, it's about ready to blow.

I've sent the revised strategy.

Upon confirming,
take your respective positions.

Position confirmed.

Copy that.

Ready to go.

Sweet, let's get it on!

Us two are front line commanders.

Kana and Vice Chief, watch our backs.

Roger!
- Roger!

All connections checked.

We're all clear!

Good.

Communication stable.

Magic Circle generation system
operating normally.

RIMT Special Lab code input.

Requesting temporary connection and path.

Code from Magilumiere confirmed.

Execution permission granted.

APPROVED

RIMT spell files 5-2M and 5-5M.

Access granted to Special Lab Nine!

Ms. Koshigaya.

Hell yeah!

Alice System, initiated!

NEXT TIME: EPISODE 4
HOW EXCEPTIONAL HIS MAGICAL GIRLS ARE