第一十五章 坦白身份

Revealing Identity

(Sun Yao)

I deactivated my transformation.

It took Heat Haze only one second to switch her gaze from astonishment to disdain.

"Ha? Why can someone like you become a Magical Girl? Is that Star Crystal blind?"

It was the expected verbal thrashing. If she hadn't been wrapped in bandages like a rice dumpling, she would have probably jumped up and kicked my butt with a spinning heel kick.

"Um, I'm very happy to be a Magical Girl."

I spoke very quietly, but Heat Haze's hearing was sharp.

"I didn't ask for your thoughts! And of course you're happy! An otaku becoming a Magical Girl, isn't that a toad turning into a swan?"

"Before you are discharged, I, I will take responsibility for filling the vacancy you left."

"What? You still want me to thank you?"

She was quite dissatisfied with me, stinging me with every single sentence...

But it was only a matter of course. If not to save me, she wouldn't have ended up severely injured and lying here for a whole month, unable to even move.

This grievance really ought to be borne by me.

I lowered my head.

"I'm sorry, Heat Haze. Whatever demands you have, I will satisfy them... I'm truly sorry..."

Yet other than apologizing, what else could I do?

"Ho? Any demand? Then transform first."

Heat Haze put forward her demand, so I resonated with the Star Crystal once more, transforming back into the Magical Girl Ceruno.

"Come over and let me take a close look."

She pointed at the soft chair by the bed with her only still-movable right hand.

I lowered my head and sat over, nervous and anxious inside, the palm holding my wand even sweating.

"Hmph, your face isn't bad, but the contents are a bit pathetic... As an otaku, you must have done that sort of thing in front of the mirror, right? Disgusting!"

Even though I had transformed, she was still scolding me, though I didn't have much confidence to refute her, seeing as I really had taken a bath in Yezi's bathroom...

Seeing that I didn't speak, she ordered again, "Do you have casual clothes? If so, dismiss your Battle Dress."

"...I do."

Stowing the complexly decorated pink Western-style dress back into the Star Crystal, I naturally changed into the blue dress Yezi had picked out for me.

The Star Crystal could store clothing, even outfits from when I was male, and could instantly change clothes upon dismissing the Battle Dress, making it a quite convenient feature for Magical Girls who needed to hide their identities.

"You bought women's clothes this fast? You really are a pervert!"

"No, these are my friend's..."

"An otaku like you can still know girls?"

"No, it's a male friend."

"You got a boyfriend just an afternoon after turning into a Magical Girl?! What kind of bitch are you?"

I was so tired. Talking with Heat Haze was so tiring, but I had to explain.

Sigh.

"Like I said, it's not a boyfriend, it's a male friend's women's clothing, uh... He wasn't willing either, there are helpless reasons behind it."

It was already too late when I realized I had said the wrong thing; the look of disdain in Heat Haze's eyes grew even thicker.

"What kind of reason makes a guy wear women's clothes?! As expected, a pervert's friend is also a pervert... Tell me, you guys didn't actually do that, did you?"

"That, not yet..."

"Oh, you know which one I'm talking about?"

"You didn't mean... that?"

Although I hadn't said anything, my face truly turned red and hot.

Doing that with Yezi, or something, I hadn't completely failed to think about it.

And I didn't feel particularly repulsed either. After all, Yezi was quite handsome and also my good buddy. If I hadn't been burdened with the heavy responsibility of a Magical Girl, perhaps I really would have let him take advantage...

Thinking back to those things he had said to me before, if my inner self had been a bit more feminine, I definitely would have fallen already, right?

"What are you fidgeting about all by yourself? It's gross."

I was dragged back to reality by Heat Haze's scolding once again.

"...So Heat Haze, is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Don't use that submissive way of speaking. Be a bit more normal like when you're fighting... Like this, blow a bubble for me first."

"...Huh?"

"Let me see your magic. Since I've taken on the task of instructing you, I'll see it through to the end."

I nodded, raised my wand, and created a bubble in the air.

It was the size of a soccer ball, floating midair.

Heat Haze lay in bed, looking up as she asked, "Can you determine the contents inside this bubble?"

Discussing official business, her tone wasn't quite as aggressive, but I still didn't quite dare to look up at her.

"I can, but it's not that convenient."

"Don't act like a child who made a mistake. Lift your head and look at me when you speak. You're a Magical Girl now, after all. Can you stop acting like an otaku?"

"I, I..."

I wasn't someone who stuttered when speaking; it was just that Heat Haze was too overbearing, making it somewhat hard for me to get words out.

"What I, I? Didn't you just say you would do whatever I ask?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, I have a request right now."

Heat Haze's words made me straighten my posture.

"What request? I'll listen to all of it."

"My request is simple: get rid of your shut-in otaku habits, and try to become a real girl."

I lowered my head to look at my slender arms and full chest, and asked in confusion, "Aren't I already a girl now, though?"

From a male perspective, my figure should even be better than Heat Haze's, and as a Magical "Girl," it was perhaps a bit too mature.

Consequently, Heat Haze still berated me, "My ass you are. You're just a fake female with a superficial shell right now. I want you to become a real girl—at least don't make me feel sick when I look at you. Also, I don't know if you've heard this saying: a Magical Girl's power is tied to her girlish charm."

I knew of similar sayings.

The rumor went that the cuter a Magical Girl was, the stronger she was.

That No. 1, the undying idol, the eternal Sirius, was the strongest Magical Girl who pushed cuteness to the absolute extreme.

Her appearance looked just like a blonde loli, and because Magical Girls never aged, nobody knew her exact age. However, as one of the original seven Magical Girls, she had already been fighting on the front lines for twelve years.

Yet that was merely an isolated case after all, so the notion that "the cuter the Magical Girl, the stronger she is" was basically treated as a meme and a joke. Even I didn't truly believe it. Miluno, whom I admired, wasn't the cute type, but she was still powerful.

"Doesn't that saying lack any basis whatsoever?"

Yet Heat Haze countered, "It hasn't been falsified either, so I need you to verify it. If you become stronger because you become cute, wouldn't that prove the saying is correct?"

"...Even though Heat Haze herself doesn't follow that route."

"Ha? You want me to pander to otaku? Then spare me."

Heat Haze waved her hand.

Perhaps due to being branded with the derogatory title of "Fire Turkey," Heat Haze held hostility toward Magical Girl fans, including myself.

"Heat Haze, I'll figure out a way to get everyone to stop calling you 'Fire Turkey'..."

"I couldn't care less about something like that. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"However, Heat Haze wants to be popular too, right?"

"Ha? No such thing at all! Don't talk nonsense!"

Her unnatural denial made me even more certain of my conjecture.

"I know what kind of ideal Magical Girl is in everyone's hearts. Although it definitely isn't someone like me, that doesn't prevent me from leaning toward that goal..."

I raised my head, looking straight into Heat Haze's fiery red eyes—I had finally managed to summon some momentum, but she was the one who looked away.

"I'll fulfill Heat Haze's request, so you have to keep watching me too, until you truly forgive me."

Heat Haze, who had been wearing a stinky expression all along, finally wore a rare smile after her astonishment subsided.

"Fine. If you can actually pull it off."