To tell the truth, Mickey's reaction wasn't quite what Alice had imagined. After all, in the girl's mind, so-called villains, even when facing enemies, should make threats and say a bunch of harsh words, right? Talk about the family backing them, authorities, henchmen, even use emotional blackmail, one thing after another?

  In movies and series, gang members are so bold that even with a knife to their throat they keep talking nonsense and hitting on the pretty heroine. Since she was little, Alice thought that if those guys had that kind of courage to not fear death and such stubbornness, it was a waste for them to be mere henchmen.

  But now, looking at this supposed "gang boss" under the dim, flickering light, the "magical girl" was certain that, aside from the fact that his suit was more expensive than the one her father, Dr. Elock, usually wore, he looked more like a frustrated office worker than a crime lord.

  If it weren't for the fact that Nisha had precisely intercepted two metal alloy bullets the moment they entered, Alice would even doubt whether this "regular citizen" had the guts to pull the trigger.

  One could only say that these "movies and series" sometimes exaggerate way too much.

  "Hey, you... now go to your safe, take all the money out of it, and put it in this bag. Then... then put your hands on your head! Got it? If you try anything funny... Nisha, slice that wall... I swear you'll end up just like it!"

  As she tossed a folded bag to Mickey, Alice imitated the tone of movie robbers to give orders to the "robbed man," and to show her "power," she whispered for Nisha to cut through the concrete wall beside them as a threat.

  Alright, compared to a threat made by a cute little girl trying to sound fierce but actually sounding sweet and gentle, Nisha’s moves really were intimidating.

  After all, with two light cuts accompanied by a high-pitched hum, the wall that had only cracked earlier soon shattered into irregular pieces of stone scattered across the floor.

  "....."

  "Okay, okay, I completely submit to the young lady's will. I'll hand over all the money right away, please don't hurt me."

  Without trying any tricks or cleverness, seeing that thick wall fall apart like a magic trick on TV, Mickey frowned and, without hesitation, followed Alice’s orders and went to his safe.

  Maybe, for someone who even had some power as a gang leader, surrendering so easily to a girl who looked like a rookie was a bit humiliating.

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  But Mickey wasn't some clueless street thug. He knew very well that the city guard of Flaren, filled with corruption, would take at least two hours to respond to anything.

  And he was being held hostage here, unable even to make a phone call. If he insisted on resisting now... that mysterious-powered girl probably wouldn’t think twice about killing a crime boss, without caring about the consequences that might bring upon the city of Flaren.

  Or maybe she knew very well how serious what she was doing was, but simply didn’t care about a future manhunt by all of Nomeka’s underworld...

  “Clang, clang!”

  First came a neat pile of bills, then gold bars and sparkling jewels...

  In truth, this so-called “safe” was just one of Mickey’s “treasure cabinets.” Those bills were a full collection with special serial numbers he had recently gathered.

  The gold bars and jewels, then, were all carefully crafted art pieces made by great masters. Just thinking that his precious collection would be wasted on a little girl who clearly didn’t know how to appreciate “art” made Mickey’s heart ache.

  Of course, he didn’t dare show a hint of reluctance.

  In fact, in a way, that unlucky “gang boss” still felt lucky for having the habit of keeping his “artworks” in his office. After all... saying “I don’t have any money” to a cruel and dangerous thief could be quite risky.

  “There, that’s all I can hand over for now. If you want, I can immediately transfer everything I have in my bank account to any account you specify. I swear I have a lot of money, and if I stay alive, all of it could be yours.”

  Very carefully, he placed the money-filled bag on the floor. As he raised his hands, he saw that sack full of “artworks” float toward the girl as if pulled by something invisible. Terrified, Mickey kept talking about “more riches,” but didn’t feel even a trace of “safety” in the air.

  Because at that moment, Alice, without showing a hint of greed, merely glanced at the bills in the bag and looked up, coldly saying to the gang boss:

  “This money is already enough. Stealing from the rich to give to the poor ends here. Now, I think I have to fulfill my duty as a ‘magical girl’ and eliminate evil. Since I’m already here, I might as well help Thalita fulfill her ‘dream of justice.’”

  Calmly, she strapped the bag to her back.

  The look Alice gave Mickey now was as if she were looking at a dead man.

  It was clear that from the beginning, the determined little girl had no intention of sparing that gang leader who controlled half of the city of Flaren.

  After all, for her, some things were just “stepping stones,” especially considering that Thalia, who’d had the call cut off, was probably still waiting for news from her...

  ["Hello? Is this Apple Pie? This is... this is the Moon Fairy! Our mission was a success! I’ve already captured the big villain. Now, let’s judge him in the name of justice!"]

  Trying to recall the script she’d seen at Thalia’s house, Alice made sure to please that girl two years older, super imaginative and full of ideas.

  Even if, at the moment, the unlucky Mickey was frozen by the words of the “messenger of justice”...

  ["Alice! I mean, Moon Fairy, is that really you? Why did you hang up? I thought something had happened to you, I was so scared... But you said you already caught the evil villain? So that means our ‘first magical girl mission’ was a success?"]

  Well... maybe the tense atmosphere of that basement didn’t match the excitement coming from the other side of the line, and maybe the huge bag of jewels on Alice’s back didn’t quite look like a very “heroic” trophy, but at least... for Thalita, who didn’t know anything about what really happened, this “justice mission” had been amazing.