Grafting

(Ceruno)

Back at the City School, I took Xiaojie to Miss Antarctic Star's class.

Now that we've figured out the child's magic, it's about time she went to school; otherwise, it'll be hard to explain to Achernar's mother...

Cough cough.

Peeking out from the back door of the classroom, Antarctic Star noticed us too.

"Now, let's have a brainstorming session. Each student has ten minutes to come up with new ways to use magic for their deskmate. We'll discuss them later."

Compared to thinking for yourself, having others think for you might bring more unexpected surprises, especially with another magical girl, who will likely integrate your own magical application methods with it, thus allowing the magic to manifest in different forms.

And isn't this the wisdom of the Antarctic Star?

The penguin-like girl, dressed in a school uniform with a cape and still wearing a yellow scarf around her neck, walked through the classroom toward us.

"Since you brought this child here, you must have figured out her magic?"

"Hmm, I think it's okay for her to come to class now."

"What kind of magic is it?"

"That's... magic that can settle disputes."

"Oh?"

My explanation was a bit vague, so I clarified:

"Xiaojie's magic can relieve pain and calm people down; you can think of it as a highly effective painkiller and sedative."

Antarctic Star twirled a strand of white hair from his forehead.

"This is support magic, isn't it? You should take her to Miss Bai Ze's place."

"She can't heal, nor can she provide protection, so calling it support magic is a bit of a stretch..."

"Wow?!"

A gasp rippled through the classroom. We immediately turned to look at the source of the sound, only to see a magical girl lying scattered on the floor, her head and body severed, her limbs also dismembered...

Oh, it's Xiaoling?

That's alright then.

Antarctic Star sighed and asked, "Decomposer, what new prank have you come up with this time?"

Xiaoling's scattered body was snatched and divided among the other magical girls. Among them, the head that was held up said, "Ha~ I just wanted to try and see if I could graft my own organs."

"Grafting?"

The head was handed to me.

"Ceruno, can you hate me for once?"

Even if you say that...

"As long as it's hostile, it'll work."

"I can't do it~ After all, I have no reason to hate you, right?"

This child has been taking care of Miluno and me lately. Although it was her own idea to do so, I can't help but feel indebted to her, and I really can't dislike her.

As a result, she shook her head in my hand and said very proudly:

"Sister Ceruno, actually... I took a bath with Sister Miluno last night! I'm not lying, it's true!"

"Real?"

"It was an accident, wasn't it? There was a TV program I wanted to watch, so I left my head in the living room and followed my body along the wall to the bathroom. I didn't expect that Sister Miluno was already taking a shower! Although my head wasn't there and I couldn't interact, we did shower together."

"Um."

Are you angry?

No.

"She even helped me scrub my back and apply shower gel."

"I won't get angry over something like this~"

Plenty of people have bathed with Miluno. Jealous of this little girl? That's underestimating me, Sai!

Besides, with so many magical girls watching, I have to behave in a manner befitting a magical girl idol; I can't afford to get angry easily.

"You should cooperate a little! We can't do the experiment like this!"

Xiaoling can dismantle those who are hostile to her; it's quite powerful magic, but I don't dislike her, so she can't use it on me.

She buried her head in my chest and nuzzled against me playfully. Did she think I'd get angry if she took advantage of me?

"Ah!"

But to my surprise, she actually opened her mouth and took a bite.

My momentary loss of control over my emotions gave Xiaoling the opportunity. By the time I came to my senses, my head had already slipped off my neck.

Antarctic Star caught my head, and the feeling of being out of sync with my body was quite uncomfortable. Although Xiaoling was already used to it, I still felt lost.

"Hehe, I did it!"

She was quite pleased with herself.

But her head is still in my hands.

"Sister Ceruno, now, please put my head on your neck."

So this is what grafting means?

"Hurry up! Everything will be back to normal, I promise!"

Will I lose control of my body?

"I don't know, but theoretically, the brain is the organ that gives commands to the body, right?"

"Not only is my blood type different from yours, but my body will also suffer serious consequences from rejection. At that time, whose Vega Crystal will it be?"

That's what I'm saying.

Antarctic Star glanced at the plan written by Xiaoling's deskmate but did not stop it.

"Hehe, it's not a head transplant you're thinking of! You should try it first; a magical girl's body isn't that fragile~"

It's very unsettling. Having other people's heads on my body and being controlled by Miss Sirius is terrifying.

But after Xiaoling's repeated urging, I did as she said.

"Hmm... Ha!"

The Xiaoling made a sound that was difficult to decipher.

Then, I lost control of my body.

"Wait! I only have one head left?!"

"There's no physical plundering involved. My magic seems to make the limbs attached to my head move according to my will, but your body is still yours, and the blood supply to your head is still this heart... Hmm, Ceruno is really big."

She pointed to her heart, but her index finger poked her chest instead.

I did feel the touch, but I couldn't control it. It was much better than losing consciousness when Miss Sirius was dominating me.

"Besides, you can use my body!"

The magical girls pieced Xiaoling's body back together.

Then, Antarctic Star put my head on it.

And so it happened: the touch was still that of my original body, yet I was controlling Xiaoling's body movements.

"The grafting experiment was a success! Is this a new application of my magic?"

Excited Xiaoling hugged me tightly with her own body and suggested:

"Hey, how about we use this trick to surprise Sister Miluno?!"

What kind of surprise is she planning?

Compared to this...

This special magic still has room for further development. I first tried to mobilize the magic power within Xiaoling's body but failed, so I asked:

"Xiaoling, can you use my body to cast magic?"

She shook her head.

"No... Vega Crystal is only at your command; my thoughts cannot manipulate your magic."

The key power of magical girls is still this miracle called magic, which can only manipulate the body, and the conditions for activation are so demanding, making its application even more limited.

At least it's useless in combat...

No, wait.

I grabbed my own hand.

"Xiaoling, can your magic be completely transplanted?"

"What's the meaning?"

I explained, "It's not like assembling building blocks; it's about completely connecting two limbs from different sources."

Miss Antarctic Star, who had been listening in the background, issued a warning.

"Wait a minute, Ceruno, don't even think about conducting any human experiments. There are ethical red lines that even magical girls shouldn't Past."

Being reminded of these things by a penguin as a human... makes me feel like I've failed as a human being.

I nodded, then asked in return:

"What if the subject of the experiment is Monster?"