Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

No, I don't understand.

Seruno's heart has evolved into something as unfathomable as a needle at the bottom of the sea. How does she want me to see her?

I scratched my head.

"Alright, then you change your clothes first, we're getting ready to go out."

"Hey, are we going out today?"

Serino's otaku habits resurfaced; she collapsed onto the sofa at the mere mention of going out.

"You're the one who said you wanted to cultivate, right? You should buy some women's clothes for yourself, especially underwear. Are you planning to wear the freebies from your battle armor for the rest of your life?"

"Even so, it's still inconvenient for me to go out. Look... my hair is very recognizable, isn't it? Even with a mask and sunglasses on, I was basically recognized on the way back. If it weren't for the confidentiality law, I'd probably be exposed all over the internet by now."

These days, randomly doxxing or exposing the identity of a magical girl can land you in jail. Not only does the association have relevant laws, but various countries with phase wormholes within their borders also have heavily biased protection policies for magical girls. Ordinary people have no chance of winning against magical girls in any way... After all, magical girls are the guardians of humanity. Losing a magical girl means facing the threat of invaders from outside the world, and no one dares to offend their protective umbrella.

As Miluno, I have neat and traditional black hair, which gives me a unique advantage when it comes to disguise. I have never been recognized when I go out in my private clothes.

But Seruno is different. It's hard for her not to be recognized in this form. Even if no one takes pictures and spreads them, if someone sees me acting with a new magical girl, my position will become... delicate.

I sighed, "If only there were a way to dye your pink hair black."

"I can't exactly go to the barbershop, can I? Then I'll recover for the next battle... Wait, maybe there really is a way to do it!"

Seruno slapped her forehead, stood up, and ran into my bedroom without explaining anything.

"I'll go try it, Yezi, wait a moment."

As she said this, she turned around and closed the door.

She took over my room and bathroom, so I could only "wait a while" in the living room.

As a result, they waited for more than half an hour, which made them quite "feminine" in terms of their sense of time.

I don't like waiting. If I could become Miluno, I would have skipped this part using accelerated time.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! It took me some time to adjust it to a satisfactory effect."

When Seruno came out of the bedroom, her long hair was not only dyed black, but it had also been straightened in some way, and even her temperament had changed.

"How did you do that? I don't have hair dye or a perm!"

He gave his habitual, goofy smile.

"Hehe! Leaf, let me ask you, is the color we see with our naked eyes the true color of an object?"

I only thought about it for a moment and then I understood the principle behind her hair dyeing.

"You created a magic membrane around yourself, and then absorbed all the light reflected from your hair?"

"As expected of Ye Zi, she didn't even give me a chance to reveal the answer."

She ran to my side with a grin, turning slightly to let her long hair fall in front of my eyes. I picked up a lock of hair and examined it closely, but I couldn't see any trace of a membrane; it was just shiny black hair.

Seruno's magic can even be used to perm and dye hair. Apart from lacking combat power, her magic is quite versatile in its applications.

"It's not just about color! It also counteracts hair curl. Just apply this film and your hair will stay straight. Isn't that convenient!"

Chapter Eighteen: Like a Date

(Sun Yao)

It wasn't Sun Yao, nor the magical girl Seruno, but an ordinary girl who was dragged out shopping by my friend Ye Zi.

"It's so hot, and I still have to go out in this heat... Hey?! Why did you hit me?!"

The moment the complaint left his mouth, he was met with a sharp rebuke from Ye Zi.

"Hey, you were the one who said you were going to 'train in feminine strength,' so why are you complaining the moment you step out the door?"

Ye Zi seemed helpless towards me.

He was wearing a plain white cotton t-shirt with a light-colored short-sleeved shirt over it, and his signature sports wristband on his wrist. He looked quite clean and refreshing.

Although he spends all his time with me, he hasn't picked up any of the typical shut-in habits, and his personality is quite sunny and cheerful.

Perhaps this is the impression score that good looks bring?

If I were as handsome as Ye Zi, I definitely wouldn't be a shut-in.

"But it's so hot! It must be 40 degrees Celsius today, right? I'm sweating all over... Leaf, it's so easy to sweat here, and there's a smell of sweat..."

I pointed to the cleavage between my breasts and said that, but Ye Zi rolled her eyes at me in return.

"Huh? Why are you telling me all this?"

"Hey, I thought you wanted to know. Aren't you interested in this topic?"

"...I do wish I could be a little more self-loving."

"Hehe~"

He's just shy.

Because of the heat, I tugged at my skirt again, trying to create a breeze from the swaying fabric, but it had little effect.

"Cough cough." Ye Zi coughed twice more.

When I came to my senses, I realized that my rather unseemly behavior seemed to have attracted the attention of quite a few passersby.

Realizing this, I awkwardly lowered my skirt and pressed it down.

I don't mind teasing Ye Zi, but I don't want to be treated like an ice cream cone.

"A bunch of perverts, am I that eye-catching? But girls are more afraid of the heat than boys... Oh, thank you."

Sweat began to bead on his forehead and back, and Ye Zi handed him a bottle of water, even unscrewing the cap.

"Stop complaining, the shopping street is just a few more steps away."

"But I was covered in sweat, and I smelled terrible!"

"Hmm? Does it smell bad?"

As soon as I said that, he suddenly leaned in and sniffed the top of my head.

"It's okay, you smell quite nice, not smelly at all."

"Holy crap!"

I froze for a second before shoving him away and taking three steps back in disgust.

"What are you saying! How could you just do something so perverted without even realizing it?"

I was genuinely frightened by his behavior; my heart even raced.

Ye Zi shrugged indifferently.

"And you're not wearing any makeup, so you don't have to worry about it smudging, and it's okay if you sweat a little, right? Or have you become more feminine in this aspect?"

This statement seemed reasonable at first glance, but I quickly realized what it meant.

"Wait, no! Even men hate smelling bad! That can't be proof of femininity! And Yezi, you wouldn't wear clothes that smell sour from sweat, would you? When I was Ayao, you wouldn't come up and smell me, would you? Sophistry!"

Even though I had clearly seen through her, Ye Zi looked at me with amusement.

"Has your brain gotten better? You can't be fooled anymore."

"I hate you!"

Being teased like this, I couldn't help but raise my hand to punch his arm, just like a real little girl.

Considering the magical girl superhero's physical strength, I had to carefully control my strength to avoid breaking his bones with my little fists. Even so, he still exaggeratedly shouted, "Ouch, ouch, ouch! I'll treat you to ice cream, okay? Stop hitting me!"

"okay!"

When food is mentioned, the mouth agrees before the brain can process it.

After thinking for a moment, she changed her mind: "Uh, no, Yezi, you don't need to pay. Don't forget I made a lot of money yesterday!"

After defeating the horned tiger monster named "Thunder God," the association transferred a large sum of bounty to my account. Magical girls really don't need to worry about money. As long as a magical girl is active, she is basically in a state of having enough to eat and drink. Even if no monsters appear for a period of time, the association will still provide a living allowance for magical girls every month, so there is no problem with food and clothing.

Of course, there are also magical girls with a particularly strong desire for money. The bounty from the association is not enough for them, so they will take on commercial activities such as advertisements and endorsements... That is also very common. At least I don't have any thoughts about that yet.

Even a magical girl can't stand the high temperature. Beads of sweat slid down my back and down my abdomen, making my sensitive skin feel itchy.

Fortunately, the shopping street wasn't far from the apartment building; the bright red archway was already in sight. I could grit my teeth and endure the short distance.

“Serno, I have a question.”

The leaf walking in front suddenly turned around.

I had been hiding in his shadow, and this sudden stop caused me to bump into his equally wet back...

As a result, I smelled his scent again, which I couldn't help but find unpleasant.

I raised my hand to wipe away the sweat, trying to hide my embarrassed expression.

"W-What problem?"

"Can your magic membrane insulate against temperature?"

"...You mean, using bubble wrap for insulation?"

Ye Zi nodded in affirmation, and I stroked my chin in thought.

"Insulation is fine, but if I do that, my body heat won't dissipate either, which would be a bad situation, wouldn't it?"

"Can't you just let it all go out and not come in?"

"One-way? No way, my bubbles aren't that easy to use."

The leaves don't understand my magic enough.

I can prevent heat radiation from "passing through" the bubble, but that includes both "out" and "in." For the human body, which needs to continuously dissipate heat to maintain a constant temperature, wrapping myself in insulation to cool down is obviously a bad idea, unless I cover myself with a layer of insulation bubble when I leave the apartment.

Although this plan was not feasible, I still joked, "But Yezi, why are you thinking about my magic all day long? You used to say you weren't interested in magical girls."

He did say that.

Every time I recommend my favorite magical girl, especially Milno, he would show an impatient and disgusted expression. But after I became a magical girl, he became more interested than I was.

"Idiot, I really have no interest in magical girls."

He turned around and put his hand on my shoulder.