Yin Wei's "Gift"

(Bai Ziye)

"Yezi?! What's going on?"

Since becoming a Magical Girl, I might never have faced a situation worse than this! Even if Ceruno really was an idiot, seeing the identical wound on my back would make her connect the dots and suspect my identity...

I never expected to expose a flaw like this. Was my life as a Magical Girl about to end?

Just as my thoughts churned like a raging sea, music began to play.

--I won't forget the promise we made to each other--

--Close my eyes and confirm it once more--

...It was A-Yao's phone ringtone.

The theme song from some Magical Girl anime.

"Yezi, uh, I need to take this call first."

She gave me a complicated look, then politely answered the phone.

"Hello, may I ask who this is... Huh? Ms. Miluno?!"

I froze for a moment, then immediately understood who had done what.

"Ah? How did you get this number... Oh, Luer gave it to you?"

A-Yao's original number had been bombarded with threatening calls around the clock, so she naturally could no longer use it. Ceruno's current number had been a free gift when she registered with the Association. Fewer than five people definitely knew it. Unless something unexpected had happened, the caller was Yin Wei, the person I had been forced to cooperate with that evening.

Was this the gift she'd been talking about?

She had guided Ceruno into becoming a Magical Girl and registering with the Association, so it was hardly surprising that she had Ceruno's number.

I had no idea how she learned about my situation, but I really owed her a huge favor. Thanks to that timely call, Ceruno's suspicions would be greatly reduced. Afterward, I only needed an excuse for the blood on my back.

Uh... could I get away with saying back acne had bled?

Thrilled beyond measure, Ceruno continued, "So you called because... you want to go unwind tomorrow? You have something to discuss with me?"

...What was Yin Wei planning?

She was actually dumping trouble on me at a time like this.

"Okay! I'm free tomorrow... Mm! Got it! I'll sneak over by myself!"

Ceruno tossed me aside. She did not even eat the noodles she had cooked, instead clutching her phone and jogging off to the balcony.

It was only natural that she was so excited about being invited to dinner by an idol she had admired for so long... Still, Miluno was apparently more important than Bai Ziye. They were both me, but it still stung a little.

I would have to find time to have a proper talk with Yin Wei later. For now, I needed to check my injuries.

Standing before the bathroom mirror cabinet, I turned around and examined my back.

Blood had indeed seeped through my cotton T-shirt. Red spots against a white background—painfully conspicuous.

My wounds had almost healed when I was Miluno. Why had they split open again now? Was it because I had carried Ceruno's paper bags upstairs?

To speed up the healing, it would be better to remain in Miluno's form whenever I was alone.

"Yezi?"

Ceruno, who had finished her call, poked her head in through the bathroom doorway.

"The wounds on your back, what exactly are they..."

"They aren't wounds. My skin got scraped from gua sha."

"Gua sha?"

Ceruno blinked.

"Yeah, I went to the bathhouse this afternoon. But the gua sha therapist was a newbie and used too much force, scraping my skin raw. Don't worry~ It'll heal in a few days."

It was a far-fetched excuse, but still somewhat plausible.

"Really? You secretly went off to bathe and get a massage by yourself?"

"I had all afternoon. Was I not allowed to relax a little?"

Though she still looked suspicious, she could not find anything to question, so she changed the subject. "Um, Ms. Miluno invited me out tomorrow to unwind."

"...Then go. Do you need me to come with you?"

"No, she said I should go alone. We're just going to look around the Longmoon Lake scenic area in E2 District."

Longmoon Lake.

I knew that scenic area. Half a mountain wrapped around half a lake. In this heavily developed city, it was a rare natural landscape... But going on an outing in this blazing heat? What was Yin Wei thinking?

"So why did she ask you to go?"

"Uh, she said we're going boating in the middle of the lake."

"...Huh?"

Fun fact.

The middle of a lake was hotter than the shore in summer.

Because the lake evaporated more intensely than the ground, huge amounts of water vapor gathered above the surface, increasing the humidity. Combined with the unobstructed sunlight, it felt unbearably stuffy, like sitting in a sauna.

I wanted to refuse, but as Bai Ziye, I could not persuade Ceruno at all.

"...I suggest you two carefully reconsider that plan tomorrow. Going boating in the middle of the lake in this weather cannot be called unwinding."

"Then what would you call it?"

"Cooking."

"Cook..."

Ceruno scratched her head and smiled wryly. "I don't think it'll be that exaggerated."

Because it was "Miluno's" suggestion, she did not want to reject it even though she knew it was unreasonable.

She was completely an irrational fangirl!

"Yezi, which outfit do you think I should wear to meet Miluno tomorrow?"

I walked over to the bedroom wardrobe and answered, "...Why not just wear your Battle Dress?"

"It's a secret meeting, of course I can't wear my Battle Dress!"

"Please, how would I know what kind of clothes that Miluno likes? Just dress casually."

"How could I do that? I don't want to leave a bad impression on Miluno! Use your experience wearing women's clothes to help me put together an outfit?"

Heh, why did she have to bring up that sore subject again?

I pursed my lips and began recalling the outfits she had tried on for me during the day.

"How about that off-the-shoulder camisole, with the pink cape-style cropped jacket? You can take the jacket off directly if it gets too hot while boating, so it'll be a little cooler... though it probably won't help much."

Taking a clean set of clothes, I returned to the bathroom.

Ceruno rolled her eyes as she thought it over.

"That makes sense! What about the bottom?"

"...Hot pants?"

"Ooh! That'll take some courage! But you just want to see me wear them, don't you, Yezi?"

She narrowed her eyes and gave me a silly, mischievous grin.

"No, I just think Miluno would like that."

"Oh? Why?"

"Intuition... I'm taking a shower. Get out."

Still giggling, she tried to come in and said, "Hehehe, need this beautiful girl to scrub your back for you?"

I slammed the door shut and locked it.

Ceruno still had no awareness of herself as a woman, yet at times she could be strangely delicate.

"How could I let you wash me again, idiot!"

"So you don't see me as one of the bros anymore!"

I ignored her unreasonable fussing.

Crossing my hands to grab the hem of my shirt, I raised my arms and pulled off the bloodstained T-shirt. Through the mirror, I could see that the wounds streaking my back were still horrifying. If Ceruno saw them, there would be no way to brush them off as gua sha. They had to heal as quickly as possible...

With that in mind, I removed my wristband and placed it on the sink, then absorbed the Star Crystal into my body.

A dark golden glow flashed, and I became Miluno.

The pain throughout my body became almost negligible, and I even felt an indescribable sense of relief.

Then I accelerated the flow of time around myself, making everything around me slow down.

"Ha..."

Afraid that idiot might hear me, I even sighed quietly.

Why did you invite Ceruno out in my name?

I sent Yin Wei a text demanding an explanation.