Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

Page 69

"Young Miss, Miss Miluno."

The long-lost voice of Miss Melissa came through my headphones.

"Oh, there's a result so quickly?"

"Information regarding the UI-31..."

Melissa stammered, and Sirius asked directly, "What? It's fake?"

"No, that's true, but he's someone who disappeared twelve years ago. If everything is true, he's been taken away to the 'other side' for twelve years."

"Were they people who were arrested at the start of the war?"

"Yes, but he said he was only detained for a few months, which doesn't match up."

Sirius thought for a moment and said, "Melissa, send his file information to my terminal. I'm going to face him in a bit. Maybe for him, twelve years hasn't been that long."

I asked, "...Do you think time flows slower over there than it does here?"

"The reaction was very quick? We can't rule out that possibility."

It certainly cannot be ruled out.

After all, my magic can prove that time is not a constant line.

"If this theory holds true, then perhaps not so much time has passed for the person who disappeared seven years ago?"

"...A witch?"

I continued with my reasoning.

"I have a hypothesis that the flow of time on the other side is much slower than ours. Even if they keep dropping them, we'll only see one weirdo per day."

Sirius shook his head: "No, the frequency of appearances was higher twelve years ago than it is now. Besides, there is more than one strange person appearing every day around the world."

“Miss Melissa, I would like to ask you to investigate the eight witches who have been captured, focusing on the intervals between their intrusions.”

"Understood, please wait a moment."

Melissa was working on the computer, but Sirius, unusually, frowned.

“I can’t understand it, I can’t understand it… … ”

"Well, I'm afraid that witches are only transformed and released one by one. Not all the magical girls on the first expedition have been transformed into witches yet."

Sirius stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

"...If that's the case, perhaps I can still save them."

I know.

She began to take a liking to Spica's plan.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Concern

(Sun Yao)

Although I can't swim, I still mustered up the courage to go into the sea.

I made myself a swimming ring out of bubbles. Since I didn't have to worry about drowning, I suppressed my fear and soon tried to paddle in the seawater.

You could say you're self-taught...

Okay, I learned it from the Golden Cruises ship, and since seawater is relatively dense, my chest can provide some buoyancy, so it's simpler than I thought.

When I came ashore after swimming to my heart's content, Yezi and Miss Antarctic Star had already completed a sizable sandcastle. The windows and cone-shaped roof were decorated with the seashells I had collected, and it looked quite impressive.

However, the atmosphere between Milno and Sirius seemed somewhat oppressive.

"Miss Miluno, what's wrong?"

I went up to ask her, but she shook her head.

"Nothing much, you swam pretty well."

"Dog paddle, very slowly."

"We should still acknowledge what deserves recognition; being able to swim is a form of progress."

Miss Miluno will surely become an excellent mother in the future.

She smoothed my wet hair and asked, "Cerunno, putting aside all other factors, from your personal perspective, would you be willing to participate in Spica's project?"

"A second counter-offensive?"

"Ah."

I was genuinely surprised that she brought this up on her own initiative; I had assumed that Miss Miluno and Spica didn't get along.

"That depends on what my father thinks..."

"I said, I don't care about any of that, I just want to know your own thoughts."

If we could completely eliminate the invaders from outside the world, wouldn't that be the best outcome for humanity? But I do remember the failure of the first expedition. All of humanity was immersed in grief, and the witch I recently encountered made me understand the fate of those thirty expeditionary soldiers.

"I'm willing to participate, but I'm also afraid of failure..."

"Would you be willing to take a completely foolproof strategy?"

"Yeah, I'm a magical girl, after all! I'm a hero!"

But surely nothing like that will ever happen?

If Miss Spica had any reliable battle plan, she would have come up with it long ago; there would be no need for her to look so worried all the time.

Let's not talk about that now.

Interrupting the conversation, Sirius's face returned to its usual smile.

"Serno-chan, come with me to the dance studio for a walk!"

"Huh? I've already exercised enough for today!"

Volleyball and swimming—I felt like all the energy from the barbecue I ate for lunch was used up during the activities. And then Miss Sirius even tried to drag me to dance.

"You have to stick to physical training every day, otherwise you won't see results. Your soft muscles have a lot of potential for plasticity... Smile! If you smile, everything will be alright!"

I can only smile when I get better.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Miss Sirius is simply a devil in the appearance of an angel.

No, even the devil would run away if he saw her.

"I'm so tired, I'm all worn out."

"Don't complain. Magical girls are much stronger than ordinary people. This level is completely within your own limits."

Sweat soaked the floor once again, and Ye Zi clapped along.

"As a reward for Seruno-chan's hard work, what would you like to eat tonight? I'll have the maid make it for you."

"I'm too tired, so I have no appetite..."

hum-

The familiar, almost irritating, sound of the wormhole.

"No way? Not again?"

Sirius, wearing a walkie-talkie, said, "It's the branch of the joint research station. They're taking Antarctic Star back. She said she didn't have time to say goodbye, so she asked me to pass on her message and invite you to visit her another day."

It's not usually Antarctica, right?

That's a place farther than the universe... But with wormhole technology, distance doesn't matter. Theoretically, we could go directly to the moon.

"Can't you have dinner before you leave?"

"After all, she's the only magical girl in the Antarctic Circle. It's really not appropriate for her to be away for too long, although it's rare for monsters to appear in the Antarctic Circle."

I wonder how many monsters Miss Antarctic Star has fought over the years.

"Get up."

Miss Miluno reached out her hand to me and pulled me up from the ground.

She still seemed preoccupied, definitely not as carefree as she claimed. She even specifically asked for my opinion on Miss Spica's plan. Could it be…

Is she also seriously considering participating in that program?

If that were the case, I should be the one encouraging her, but even after returning to the mansion and having a sumptuous dinner, I couldn't find an opportunity to speak.

Since Sirius and Spica disagreed, it wasn't appropriate to bring up the matter in front of her, so he simply followed Ye Zi back to his room.

"leaf."

"Ow?"

Miss Spica warned me that the existence of the witch and the plan for a second counterattack were classified information, and I couldn't discuss them with her.

"It's alright, with your hoarse voice, you should just drink some pear juice, wash up, and go to sleep."

Yezi tilted her head, unaware of what I was thinking.

knock --

knocking.

"Please come in, the door is unlocked."

It's Miss Miluno.

After a full day of sunshine, she had turned almost as black as the leaves.

"Miss Miluno? Is there something you need?"

"No, I didn't come here to see you."

"Huh?"

I paused for a moment, then turned to look at Ye Zi.

"Then... what does Miss Miluno want with Ye Zi?"