As the other members of the Newspaper club are busy unpacking the boxes they packed at the end of the previous term, restoring the Newspaper Clubroom to its former glory, Koharu is sulking at her desk by the window, gazing out of the window.

Koharu: … Tsh. We don’t even have room for extra members.

Yosuke: We are currently one fewer member than we were last year, so maybe—

Koharu: What the hell is the Bureau even thinking? I thought secrecy was their order of business, and now they don’t care about keeping the truth about magic under wraps anymore? Then what have we been toiling for all this time?

Yosuke: I mean, have you considered that Ms. Sakurauchi is telling the truth? That the Bureau doesn’t exist anymore and that she really is just a teacher now? 

Koharu: Don’t make me laugh. Not to mention the gall of making Nagano our homeroom teacher after what she did.

Yosuke: … Well, I don’t know what’s up with this Ms. Nagano, but as for what our advisor said…  from the school’s perspective, it makes sense, right? Clubs cost money and our club costs a lot. We need computers, printing equipment and ink, paper, all that jazz. Of course the school doesn’t wanna pour money down the drain for a club of five people. All she asked is for our club to be represented at the club fair, just like any other club…

Hanako: (She arranges her plushies in a new arrangement, with several newcomers joining in the pile. She is unaware she has been humming this whole time) …We’d have to ask our club advisor, right? The two were… in league together during their time at the Bureau. …Alternatively, we could ask Yui. She did work for them, but then quit.

Koharu: Why are you so relaxed about this?

Seia: (As she finishes setting up the connection between the computer and her Braille sense machine) I’m used to my old Newspaper Club being larger… best keep me away from the publicity or I fear some boys in our class will try to join.

Hanako: I thought the point was to stop new people from joining… in any case, I guess… I don’t know why I am not as worried as I should be. Perhaps with everything that’s happened, it feels like… the Bureau feels like “old news” compared to the killer we’re after. Then again, the only thing I can think of that comes close is that eccentric American woman that Yui told us about.

Seia: Oh, her. I met her when she came to the gym. She didn’t attack me, at least. 

Koharu: An American woman? Why’re tourists visiting Mitakihara at this time?

Hanako: I’m not sure. She sparred with Yui, but then backed off before anything serious could happen. Yui said she couldn’t really keep up that well, but it didn’t seem serious.

Yosuke: Maybe she’s a soldier at that base where Shinju lives?

Koharu: But if she sparred with Arashi, she’s a Puella, right?

Seia: Yes, she said she was a Puella. I don’t know if she’s a soldier. She talked a lot of English. 

Hanako: I got the impression from how Seia and Yui described her that she was just an eccentric American woman looking to size up the training center and clinic. She said the woman “looked homeless” as well.

Yosuke: Why would an American woman be homeless in Japan?

Koharu: I… don’t know. But she’s American, so… (she produces the coin she found from her pocket) … this might’ve come from her.

Hanako: An American… quarter, I think…? Seia, didn’t you say something about this woman leaving “foreign payment”?

Koharu: It’s from 1998… Strange it’s still in circulation.

Hanako: Huh… I wonder if the date is relevant somehow? 

Seia: Oh, do coins have the date they’re made printed on them? Huh. 

Koharu: Mostly to keep track of how much money was minted every year.

Yosuke: Hmm… the Internet says banks usually replace coins when they’re around 30 years old. That’s when they’re normally too worn out to be used properly… But this one doesn’t look about ready to retire.

Koharu: Might be a keepsake.

Hanako: This woman collects coins? That might be a relatively normal hobby…

Seia: Would you go around handing out keepsakes? Or paying 50 yen equivalent for a gym? 

Koharu: Or leave them at a crime scene? This is a message.

Hanako: Ah, um… you think so? Then the woman who visited Yui… she’s our killer?

Koharu: Would be awfully convenient… But it’s the only real lead we have.

Hanako: Well, if it helps… I did get a name.