Staying the Night

(Bai Ziye)

Although it might sound narcissistic to say it myself, I do have very handsome facial features.

In my self-analysis, this handsomeness came from the sharp and distinct lines of my face, but now this sharpness has become somewhat effeminate, like a sissy male celebrity.

Yin Wei stared at my face for a while, then reached out and pressed and pinched my chest... She acted like a pervert.

I blushed slightly, offering a token gesture of resistance, and said, "Don't touch me. Apart from my face, beard, body hair, and skin, there's nothing unusual about the rest of my body... and everything down there is normal."

If this trend continues, there is a high probability that it will completely transform (a biological term).

"Do you think this femininity is caused by a magic potion?"

"Yes, these symptoms definitely appeared after using the potion."

Yin Wei nodded knowingly.

As the Association's liaison, she was constantly bombarded with all sorts of unreasonable requests, so even at home she dressed very formally in a shirt and trousers.

"Let me ask Barbara for you."

She quickly typed a message on her phone, speculating, "Perhaps the potion contained estrogen, or some other nourishing and blood-tonifying ingredient? Male magical girls are rare, and such cases are clearly outside Barbara's considerations. For example, if chocolate was added during the concoction, it wouldn't be suitable for a magical girl transformed from a dog."

Are magical girls who transform from men rare?

There are two in Skyreach City alone... and if you Seluno's father, that makes three.

"Why would estrogen be added to a potion that speeds up metabolism? Is potion making really that casual?"

"This is just my guess. We'll have to wait for Barbara to examine you to find out the truth. But she's probably already asleep at this hour, so I might have to wait until tomorrow to give you an answer."

It's already midnight.

"Are you going to take me to see her?"

"We'll have to wait for a reply on that... There's a small bed in the study; you can borrow it tonight. You can also use the bathroom freely."

"Yes, thank you."

"But before that, you have to become a magical girl first. I don't cater to men who don't come home at night."

"..."

I pursed my lips and activated the Star Crystal within my body, transforming myself back into Miluno.

Yin Wei retorted, "Honestly, if you had just come clean with Ceruno earlier, you wouldn't have needed to worry about this messy issue of identity all the time, right?"

"... Then I'll just keep agonizing over it."

Admittedly, A-Yao is a completely different person after becoming Ceruno.

Therefore, I had the thought for a while that "it's okay to reveal the secret," until she gave me that "Miluno fan support outfit," and I realized that this secret should be buried forever...

"Oh, right."

After a busy day, I was getting ready to take a shower and go to bed when Yin Wei, who was still working in the living room, called me back.

Although she didn't even lift her head.

"The branch is going to launch an Unmanned Counterattack Operation tomorrow. Would you like to come and watch?"

"What do you mean by... Unmanned Counterattack Operation?"

It was all so disjointed and I couldn't understand it. I hadn't heard of anything like this on Sirius.

"Today's attack has angered the higher-ups somewhat. Doing nothing would be unacceptable to the victims' families, so the Army has provided the Association with one of the most advanced military drones, intending to send it over Past to teach the other side a lesson."

I cautioned, "Ordinary weapons can't hurt Monster."

"No, as long as you have the magical power of a magical girl, you can create weapons that can kill Monster, it's just unknown to what extent..."

Will Ceruno participate?

"Of course, she is the key to the plan. Without her, the military drones would become scrap metal as soon as they entered the wormhole. You could say that she and her magic advanced humanity's counterattack by at least thirty years. Without her, we would have needed a much longer development period to open a wormhole that everyone could pass through."

This is probably why Ceruno is seen as a thorn in the Other Side, right?

"I understand, I 'Past take a look tomorrow."

An unfamiliar room, an unfamiliar pillow, an unfamiliar bed, and an unfamiliar smell.

For all these reasons, I'm having trouble sleeping.

"Has it gotten to the point where you can't sleep without Ceruno by your side?"

These symptoms are so strange.

It was still barely dawn, around five or six in the morning.

Good morning, Miluno.

After quickly washing up with a disposable toothbrush and towel taken from the Crystal, I left the study.

Yin Wei had already prepared breakfast and was sitting at the dining table in the living room waiting for me. She was dressed the same as last night, and even her seat was the same as last night, as if she hadn't moved at all all night.

It was the same in Hawaii; I never saw her sleep.

"... You're up really early."

I'm usually the first one to wake up at home.

"I've been trained for high-quality sleep, so four hours of sleep a day is enough. That's only half an hour earlier than you. Hurry up and eat breakfast; we have to take a detour before we get to the branch."

Although I had just woken up, my mind was already clear.

"Could it be that Miss Barbara is going to examine me?"

"Um."

"... Have you already told her my identity?"

Are you going to hide your illness from your doctor?

Of course I'm dissatisfied.

"Hey, what happened to keeping it a secret?"

Yin Wei did promise me that.

"Don't worry, she only talked about gender, and she would never, and could never, reveal your secret, not to mention that she herself is a wild magical girl."

"Out of office?"

"It's a magical girl that hasn't been registered before. Oh, and when you go downstairs later, please help me carry the box down too... If there are any side effects, I'll return all of these."

No wonder they sell drugs to treatment facilities; it turns out they're just in a cooperative relationship.

"Well, since that's the case, shouldn't you also tell me about that doctor?"

"It's hard to say. I can only tell you that Barbara is not human."

"Huh? An animal-type magical girl?"

"... You'll find out when you Past with me."

In the end, they still kept us in suspense.

She hastily finished her breakfast, then the laborer carried four large boxes of potions into the elevator, down to the underground parking garage, and finally tossed them into the back seat of her mini convertible.

As they drove out of the underground parking garage and onto the main road, Yin Wei suddenly said:

"The atmosphere of the city has changed."

The streets are as quiet as ever at six o'clock.

But today was more lifeless than ever before.

"There's nothing we can do, right? So many people have died."

Yesterday's attack has created widespread panic. Without warning through wormholes, those Special Monsters are like bombs that could explode at any moment, making everyone who has lived through war feel extremely uneasy.

Looking at the road ahead, Yin Wei shook her head.

"Not only that, but sightings of humans turning into Monster have also been witnessed. Although the Association implemented information control measures immediately, it is realistically impossible to stop the spread of this information... This is further exacerbating the distrust between people."

"... It seems that things are indeed about to change."

The Other Side has gained the upper hand in this confrontation, and we hope today's battle will go smoothly.