Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

Hearing me say that, Seruno immediately became interested. She hopped over to me like a curious little deer and walked backwards on the mountain path with her hands behind her back.

"Miss Miluno is so strong, your ex must have been very powerful too, right?"

"No, I don't know her at all, I don't even know her name."

"...Eh! Were the Star Crystal inserted into your body without your knowledge?"

"Ah."

Who exactly entrusted me with this Star Crystal?

Who is the person she needs me to protect?

Even now I still don't understand...

But as long as I continue my magical girl activities, the answer will eventually be revealed.

I have a feeling about this.

Seruno climbed up to the platform halfway up the mountain and looked down at me from the top of the steps.

"Miss Miluno, aren't you a staunch advocate of secrecy? Why are you willing to tell me all this?"

That's when I realized I was all too familiar with Serino's behavior.

Although I know her very well, she doesn't know me well.

Does this need a reason?

"After all, including this time, we've only met twice. You don't even register with the association, so why would you... Of course, I'm very happy! Really, I'm so glad that Miss Miluno was willing to tell me this!"

“Serno, although I dislike the Association, I don’t hate you and the other magical girls. I have my own friends and my own circle of friends in life. I’m not completely out of touch with society or someone who doesn’t live like a fairy.”

In Seruno's mind, Milno is basically an extraordinary, idealized idol and hero.

Although it's cruel to shatter illusions, I need to correct this misconception, after all, I'm not such a perfect person.

Chapter Thirty-Four: A Yao's Past

(Albinocotyledon)

I climbed the steps and stood at the same height as her.

Seruno blinked and asked, "Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"After this direct contact, you should understand that I am not the ideal magical girl you imagine. Before becoming Milno, I was just an ordinary person who happened to have a Star Crystal that was more suitable for other magical girls."

I am not some lofty hero.

"Yes, I know that Miss Spica said something similar."

Seruno nodded, a bitter and helpless smile on her face, without any regret for her shattered dream.

"Everyone was an ordinary person before becoming a magical girl, and there were even people like me who were particularly useless among ordinary people... I'm not an irrational fangirl; I understood that before I became a magical girl myself."

Although she knew this, she always harbored an idealized image of a magical girl.

"Even so, you still like... like magical girls?"

I meant to say "I like Miluno", but I changed my mind before I could say it.

She gave a simple, honest laugh.

"Hehe~ After all, a magical girl once saved my life, although I don't know who that magical girl is."

I know why Ayao is so obsessed with magical girls.

It's still about that matter...

This is also the root cause of the breakdown of Ayao's family.

Ten years ago, before the Magical Girl Association was established and before wormhole detection and alarm systems were widespread, every invasion by monsters would cause casualties, unlike now where there are almost always zero casualties.

Seruno continued, "Before, I lived in the capital of Esperia for work. I was only five or six years old when my family and I were invaded by monsters. But I got separated from my mother while we were taking refuge."

"Everyone's fleeing, no one can take care of you, right?"

Her downcast eyebrows indicated that her emotions had also sunk to a low point.

"Yes, my mother was caught in the crossfire of the monster's attack while she was looking for me... She's still lying in a hospital bed and shows no signs of waking up... It's been ten years."

Although his life was saved, a person in a vegetative state for ten years has virtually no chance of recovery.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen Ayao visit her yet; perhaps he doesn't even know which hospital his mother is in right now.

I asked, "And what about you?"

"As mentioned before, I was saved by a magical girl."

"My mother was unconscious, but I was rescued. This disparity left a knot in my heart."

"Yes, if I hadn't gotten separated from my mother, none of this would have happened. It's all my fault."

Do you know which senior saved you?

Seruno shook her head.

"I don't know. Back then, magical girls always operated in teams, so there were no battle videos. My memories from when I was five or six years old are also very vague, so I don't know who she is. I only remember that her figure was very tall, and when she stood in front of me, I felt an indescribable sense of security."

To five- or six-year-old Ayao, everyone seemed very tall.

"Didn't you investigate the other party's identity?"

"No, my father sent me back to China after the accident."

At this point, she smiled again.

"Then, during those aimless days, I met the best friend of my life."

That idiot...

She couldn't even recognize me standing right in front of her, let alone call me her best friend. Actually, it wasn't difficult to investigate the magical girl's identity. When Ayao was five or six years old, which was ten years ago, the number of magical girls was still very small. Just by looking up the magical girl teams in Eastern Europe, you could basically narrow down the target to a fairly large range.

"Even the magical girl who saved you probably has her own selfish desires. No one is perfect, and there is no such thing as a flawless idol."

"Of course I know, but even so, she is still my hero..."

There's a wooden arched bridge spanning a stream on the mountain path halfway up the mountain. Standing on the bridge, you can feel the coolness brought by the clear stream water. Seruno and I were reluctant to leave the bridge.

I leaned against the waist-high bridge railing, with my back to Seruno, looking down at the flowing stream below.

"So, you've projected your own image of a hero onto me, but I'm not what you imagine me to be."

“Miss Miluno is too modest. My conversation with you today has made me even more certain that I did not misjudge you.”

"I don't like being flattered."

But this is the truth!

She followed my example and leaned over the bridge railing.

However, because of his short stature, this pose accentuates certain parts of his body.

What's worse, in order to attract my attention, she even stood on tiptoe and pressed her body against the bridge railing.

“Miss Milno, you are undoubtedly the most outstanding magical girl. Not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of your philosophy of life and code of conduct, which are close to my ideal.”

"Your words only make me feel more embarrassed."

She then changed her tune, saying, "However, Miss Miluno also has some differences from what I remembered."

"What is it?"

"Hehe, she's easier to get along with than I imagined, quite different from the 'ice queen' everyone talks about."

Compared to when we first met today, Serino has become much more relaxed, and her smile is more natural... and more youthful.

"I never thought of myself as that kind of person."

"It's because Miss Miluno doesn't smile much usually, and her expression doesn't change much from beginning to end in every battle. There are also rumors that you are actually an artificial magical girl researched by the association, a combat android."

What absurd guesses those are, just because my expression doesn't change much?

"Let's go, let's go to the top of the mountain and take a look."

"Hmm... how is Miss Miluno's wound?"

"It's healed already, and I took off the bandages when I got home yesterday."

As I walked, I lifted the back of my shirt to let Seruno behind me see the completely scabbed wound on my lower back.

The potion Yin Wei gave me worked very quickly. At this rate of recovery, the scars would probably be gone and the wounds would be completely healed before I went to bed tonight. Although it was just a superficial injury, it was still surprising that it could heal in two days.

She reached out and touched the scar, feeling an itchy sensation on her lower back.

"It looks a bit scary, but the recovery is going well, unlike Miss Kagerou who had to stay in bed for a month..."

"She was indeed more seriously injured than me. She had internal injuries and fractures all over her body. She was smashed to pieces by the 'Lava'. Moreover, there is indeed a difference in physical strength between magical girls. Magical girls like me who need to fight in close combat are generally more robust."

Magical girls like Kagerou and Seruno, who rely on powerful magic in battle, are less physically capable.

To borrow a metaphor from the game style that Seruno likes, although we are both called magical girls, my class is a melee warrior, while the two of them are mages... Oh, Seruno is a shield-wielding healer, but she is also a magic-based class.

"I'm sorry, Miss Miluno had never lost before she met me..."

Seruno's gaze made me itch. I put down my clothes and turned to look at her.

"Saving you was my own decision, don't feel guilty about it, besides, I'm not seriously injured."

Turning around, I met a pair of determined eyes.

"Miss Miluno, in the next battle... I will win by my own strength."

I remember that look.

Whenever Ayao makes a decision, he shows this look in his eyes... even though he only showed it when playing games before.

But perhaps she's made some new discovery regarding the application of magic?

[Wormhole Alert: A phased wormhole has been detected in area E2. It is expected to open within five minutes. Tourists in the area are requested to evacuate in an orderly manner as soon as possible. To reiterate...]

Holographic markers indicating the location of the wormhole appeared above our heads.

This is truly bizarre.