Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

As Ye Zi spoke, she yawned and lay back down.

"Since strange people have already appeared during the day, they won't appear tonight. You can get some sleep now—"

[Good evening, citizens! Sorry to disturb your sleep! The airship has detected a phase wormhole that is opening. It is expected to be fully deployed in eight minutes. Residents of areas C3 and D3, please evacuate in an orderly manner. To reiterate...]

The announcer is different during the day, but the nature of the content is still the same.

"Ye... Ye! I..."

I never expected the actual combat to come so quickly. Although I subconsciously changed into my battle gear, the thought of using such a powerless bubble to fight the monster made me uneasy.

Ye Zi, who had just lain down, sat up with a pained expression.

"Really? Two weirdos come in one day? You idiot, you still have to go, right? Be careful. Miluno's activity time is at night. You just need to hold off the weirdos. I'm going to take refuge first."

"Ok!"

Ye Zi entered the private elevator leading to the shelter.

The residential buildings all have underground refuge facilities. Even if people don't evacuate from the d3 area, as long as they stay away from the phase wormhole blockade, it's still possible. This is the choice of most people.

Thanks to the efforts of the association and the magical girls, the chances of the invaders from outside the world breaking through the blockade are less than 10%. Even if they do manage to break through, magical girls from other areas will come to their aid. The frequent casualties of the past are now history, and the magical girls are the ones who suffer the most casualties.

I left the apartment building, looked up to find the holographic marker left by the detection airship, and looked down at the distance displayed on the road.

"1600... 1.6 kilometers? Looks like I'll have to start running!"

It's close to the northern C3 region, which is a bit far.

But it's not too far.

Even the weakest magical girl possesses physical abilities that humans cannot match. I can now run at a speed of 17 m/s, which was the result of my physical fitness test this afternoon. But that's not considered fast. If it were Miss Milno, she could probably run several times that speed.

In about two minutes, I had crossed the police cordon and arrived at the location of the holographic marker, the top floor of a thirteen-story building. The blue ring of the wormhole shone with a deep light in the night sky, making it particularly conspicuous.

I was standing above the outdoor unit of the building's central air conditioning system when a six-rotor drone flew up in front of me. Its front panel, composed of multiple different cameras, was pointing directly at me, while the robotic arm below the drone held a headset-style walkie-talkie.

Judging from the shape, it should be the left ear.

I took it and put it in my ear. The front of the earphone had a structure like an expansion screw, which firmly fixed it in my ear canal.

It's not very comfortable, but it's a necessary safety net to prevent loss during combat.

"Hey, Seruno, can you hear me?"

A familiar yet slightly different voice came through the headphones.

"Um, Sister Wei?"

"Um, no, my name is Yin Lu. The person who greeted you during the day is my sister. If you don't mind, you can call me Lu'er."

The sisters' voices are so alike.

But Ms. Yin Wei, as the younger sister, is more mature.

"Could it be that Sister Lu'er is my tactical officer?"

To improve the combat efficiency of magical girls, they are usually paired with one or more tactical advisors during battles. These advisors use their knowledge, experience, and information that cannot be accessed on-site to provide tactical suggestions for defeating monsters.

As a magical girl enthusiast, if working for the association is my ideal, then becoming a tactician is my lifelong dream...

However, I have already surpassed the limits of imagination and become a magical girl myself.

Among these tactical officers are former magical girls who have stopped their magical girl activities, who are now my seniors.

But Sister Lu'er denied my guess.

"No, I'm just a liaison officer. Your current operations advisor isn't a tactical officer of the association, but rather Ms. Kagerou, who can't get out of bed due to an accident!"

"Huh? Is Miss Kagerou graduating?!"

The cessation of magical girl activities is referred to as graduation among fans.

If Kagerou really graduates because of what happened this afternoon, then I'll never have to change back to my original form again.

"No, no, no, it's just that she couldn't get out of bed for a month and couldn't do strenuous activities for three months. She wanted to find something to do, and when she heard that a new person was coming to fill her vacancy, she volunteered to be your mentor."

"...The operations advisor lying in a hospital bed?"

"Okay, don't worry about your injury. As long as your head is okay, I'm going to transfer the call to her now. But just so you know... we haven't told her your real identity yet."

"..."

In other words, Ms. Kagerou was serving as my mentor without her knowledge. If she knew that I was the "fat otaku" who caused her to be hospitalized, how would she view me? Would she still be willing to continue serving as my advisor?

"As for whether to tell her, when to tell her, and how to tell her, the association believes that you should decide that yourself."

"……I see."

hum-

The wormhole has opened.

Chapter Ten: First Battle

(Sun Yao)

The big one is really coming.

The blue beam of light connecting the wormhole shone even brighter under the night sky, and the ten-minute unfolding time meant that the invading enemy would be even larger.

boom!

A heavy object fell through the wormhole, causing the top floor slab to shatter with a mournful sound, leaving a noticeable crack.

After the dust settled, a strange tiger-like figure with bull horns appeared.

It was strong and powerful, with fierce eyes, and its back was covered in sharp, long steel quills like a porcupine. Its savage appearance resembled a mythical beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas... However, its tail looked fluffy and seemed very soft to touch.

What's most troublesome is that it's a whole size bigger than the stone man from the afternoon, with an astonishing presence. It's something I, at 1.56 meters tall, have to look up at.

"Wait a minute! Isn't this too much for a beginner like me?"

"Miss Seruno, this is Yangyan. You should know my identity, so I won't go into unnecessary self-introduction. I've read your file from the association and learned about your magic. Do you have any attack methods in mind?"

A greeting from Ms. Kagerou came through the earphones.

Very calm and organized, surprisingly not as irritable.

Was that fiery attitude in the afternoon only directed at me at that moment?

"...Not yet. Is it feasible to throw the strange man off the roof?"

"The opponent looks very strong, but it might not be useful. Let's give it a try."

"Okay, then I... Ugh!"

The tiger monster launched the first attack, raising its paw to strike this way. I jumped back and barely dodged, but the air conditioner unit I had just been standing on was smashed into a shriveled, broken piece of scrap metal by this slap.

Wow, what terrifying strength! Those hairy muscles are definitely not just for show.

"what!"

The raised magic wand pointed at the tiger monster.

The ruby ​​glowed slightly, and a thicker magical membrane appeared on its surface.

"Roar--!"

The deafening roar of the tiger couldn't shake off the thickened coating I'd applied to it.

Then, the magic membrane expanded into a huge sphere. The tiger monster lost its gravity inside and couldn't find any support. It could only dog-paddle aimlessly in the center of the bubble, but soon it turned its head and opened its mouth towards me.

Ok?

"careful!"

Upon hearing Ms. Yangyan's reminder, I instinctively lunged to the side, relying on the intuition I had developed from playing the game. Golden lightning that could illuminate the night sky shot out from the monster, directly piercing through my thickened bubble and exploding into a shattered fire on another building. The violent energy even pierced through several floors.

Is this power for real?

You could feel the gust of wind blowing through my long hair from a great distance.

I feel a little uneasy. What would have happened to me if I hadn't dodged that move?

"Don't worry too much, Seruno. This type of monster lacks stamina. He is also a living being. Even if he had a second chance, he wouldn't have the same power."

With Ms. Kagerou's comfort, I also felt a protective layer on myself.

According to Ye Zi's analysis, external forces cannot interfere with the interior of the bubble unless the bubble itself cannot withstand the attack and breaks.

In that case, as long as this membrane is still there, I won't get hurt; it's equivalent to the shield value commonly found in games.

The bubble was quite resilient. When we tested the magic effect in the afternoon, the magical girl from the association had to put in some effort to pop it, which shows that it does have a certain defensive effect against conventional attacks.

"Is this what they call 'newly discovered applications in combat'?"

Ye Zi was right.

Ms. Kagerou also said, "It might just be a layer of plastic wrap to this weirdo, but it's still somewhat useful... Be careful."

The tiger-like monster, panting heavily, bent down. Miss Yangyan's experience was correct; that last attack was its ultimate move, and it had consumed a great deal of energy.

As is typically the case, the moment when the opponent is weakened is the perfect time for me to launch a counterattack.

but……

"Um, does this mean I have no choice but to go in and fight hand-to-hand?"

"No, your strength doesn't support you in close combat, and the power you exert inside the bubble will probably be absorbed by that membrane. So if you want to injure the monster with your fists, you have to break your own membrane first."

Let's lock it up for now.

The tiger-like monster already knew the effects of my magic; seeing me wave my wand, it also tried to dodge...

But my magic has no trace; as long as it remains within my sight, it cannot escape the fate of being enveloped by bubbles.

It's a magic that's powerful in every way except for its lack of offensive power.

"...Let's just throw it off the building."

I lifted the hem of my dress and rushed forward, then kicked the bubble with my boot. Perhaps my strength couldn't be transmitted, but the collision between the membrane and the bubble still sent the tiger monster's bubble off the rooftop, where it floated in the night sky.

Goodbye, Mr. Tiger!

Snapped--