Case 65: Allegations.
In the eyes of many, Kisaragi Moeka might appear as a strange woman. Fundamentally pragmatic, with reasonable morals and ordinary values, yet contradictory at times. If she were to share her worries with the world, countless would express bewilderment.
After all, Moeka was unusually firm in her stances and hardly affected by others' sentiments about her—a true strong-headed woman. Though at the same time, she deathly feared the scrutiny of aspects of herself which she deemed shameful. This tendency of imperfect stubbornness was, in a sense, quite human, which added a layer of complexity to her character, drawing others in.
Initially skeptical about her Omega status, Moeka had now completely accepted it. From the way she walked, the way she talked, and the way her tendency affected every other facet of her personality, even how it made her especially vulnerable to an Alpha's scent, Moeka was proud enough not to be ashamed of being an Omega.
Which meant that when Moeka found out how her, or rather Magical Osbeckia's, orientation had been exposed, her reaction was rather lukewarm.
To begin with, neither she nor HQ put much effort into concealing the fact, knowing that her inevitable exposure to the public would give it away eventually. At most, HQ only told those who knew about it to refrain from spreading rumors, which naturally had its limits. And now, one of those who was present during Magical Osbeckia's re-evaluation test had anonymously announced the truth online, following her somewhat controversial debut.
''What should we do now?'' Himeko, who was monitoring the situation beside Moeka, pondered.
After contemplating for a moment, Moeka shrugged, ''HQ told me they had the announcement prepared a while ago. If this gets big, they might release a statement or two, but that's about it.''
''Mhm... well, it does seem like they anticipated this.''
''Yeah. It's best not to dwell on it too much.''
Just then, Yuzuki, carrying a tray of drinks, set it down in front of the girls, ''Does it affect you a lot?'' She asked with a hint of worry, ''You wouldn't face discrimination or something, right...?''
As Moeka's mother, Yuzuki naturally knew the people around her daughter well. And at least regarding Magical Osbeckia's colleagues, they did treat her appropriately. What she meant was the larger public and the malicious opponents within it.
''...I'm not sure.'' Moeka eventually sighed, ''Miss Casey said I would probably need to join a conference or two to properly introduce myself. We'll have to see the reception there.''
Although Moeka appeared bothered, Yuzuki still smiled, ''We don't have to worry, then. My girl is the most special and lovable magical girl in the world, after all!''
Those were the exact words she would use whenever Magical Osbeckia returned home with a sour mood, though such occurrences had rarely repeated themselves as her daughter matured.
So, Moeka was understandably quite flustered, ''S-Stop it, mom...''
''Why? It's the truth.''
''I agree!'' Himeko, who keenly listened to the conversation, raised her hand confidently, ''Magical Osbeckia is number one!''
''Oh, my. We're on the same boat.'' Yuzuki giggled, ''Would you like to hear more about Moeka when she was young?''
''With honor, mother!''
Despite Moeka glaring at the two fiercely, she could not stop her mother from spreading gossip about her old self, 'Thank god I don't have a dark past...' She sighed inwardly.
Moeka had heard about magical girls whose embarrassing past deeds were exposed by their acquaintances. Those girls were never the same afterward.
In any case, Moeka went to school as usual while closely monitoring the netizens' reactions.
As the population of magical girls was dominated by Alphas, so much so that only a few cases of an Omega awakening were ever reported across the world, which themselves were happening under extremely unlikely circumstances, the existence of a pristine one, if true, would cause an upset.
Nearly half of the replies under the viral comment did not believe the poster's claim, calling it baseless. Even after the original account provided a censored certificate of their work ID, they were still accused of using AI to fabricate it. In reality, Omega magical girls were just that rare, both statistically and bio-magically.
Others, eager to trust a more exciting interpretation, tagged the commenter relentlessly, demanding more details. The topic had even spread to various forums, piggybacking on the love triangle drama from just a day prior.
And, the forum that saw the most explosive growth and activity was, naturally, Magical Osbeckia's BananaBoard. Not only was it an appropriate place for discussion, but the abundance of Osbeckia content present was a treasure trove for internet detectives.
In a matter of hours, countless posts analyzing Osbeckia's past and current showing were submitted, enough to make the already small moderator team sweat bullets. Through the two consecutive incidents, n/MagicalOsbeckia had, from just over ten thousand members, soared to fifty thousand.
Of course, Osbeckia's activities were scarce since the Omegaverse-tification, so whether she was an Omega or not remained difficult to determine. Moeka was simply amused at how dedicated some of these netizens were to uncovering her orientation. The scene was reminiscent of many other internet affairs, which she greatly enjoyed watching over.
By the afternoon, the two of Moeka and Himeko leisurely walked back home when both of their alarms sounded, prompting them to jolt to action in an instant.
It was a terrorist attack occurring close to where they were.
Without hesitation, they found a safe corner, transformed, then hurried to the designated location. Though it had only been some time since Osbeckia's last fight, thanks to the top magical girls' presence in City O, she felt as though she had just come out of a year-long retirement.
Thankfully, by the time she and Marigold arrived at the scene, it was apparent that this was but a routine disturbance by The Legion's crooks. Still dangerous, though not at all a hurdle for seasoned magical girls like themselves.
''Let me take care of them.'' Osbeckia, eager to test her improved outputs, turned to Marigold.
The junior, eager to pamper her crush, nodded, ''Alright. I'll be on the lookout.''
Osbeckia, sensing her magical power swelling, plunged at the few clueless villains wreaking havoc on the streets. She first targeted the man presumed to be their leader—the one who was destroying cars and street lamps while leading the rest.
''Hahahah! Tis' the good stuff—''
With a flick of her hand, a pink magic missile slammed against his head. The man, double the size of an ordinary man, with bulging muscles rivalling a cartoon villain, was crudely thrown against a building by the missile's momentum.
''Oops...'' Osbeckia unknowingly seethed.
'He isn't dead, is he...?'
One simply did not expect a small, basic magical missile to deal this much damage to a magically enhanced body, especially to nearly snap the guy's neck, which was as thick as Osbeckia's own waist, in one swoop like this.
Fortunately, Osbeckia still sensed the villain's life force, though...
''...''
Even after waiting in the dead silent street for some minutes, he showed no sign of getting up. Osbeckia, with indescribable feelings, turned to the other crooks.
''W-We surrender!''
''Please spare us!''
The previously unfazed gang, seeing their leader knocked cold, immediately knelt and turned themselves in. Osbeckia was helpless and speechless at the same time. She did not even have a chance to warm up!
Still, it was a successful operation. Holding back a sigh, detained the villains and began cleaning up the scene with Marigold, as well as looking for potential victims in need.
''You were dazzling earlier, Becky!'' Marigold gave a thumbs-up, smiling radiantly.
''What's with that nickname...?''
''Hey, you call me 'Gold,' too!''
''Fine, fine...''
Afterward, it was common for some fearless, hyena-like reporters to pop up from unknown corners to interview them. However, this time, they looked a little... crowded?
Dozens of people surrounded the two girls, shouting questions—
''Miss Osbeckia, is it true that you are an Omega?!''