Mysterious Beautiful Girl?

(Baiziye)

Although I had wanted to leave, I was too worried about Heat Haze's condition, so I followed her to the treatment facility and stayed until she had finished her examination.

This was a subsidiary institution of the Magical Girl Association. The Association fully understood magical girls' desire to conceal their identities, so even unregistered magical girls were completely welcome here. As long as you were a magical girl, you could receive top-tier treatment here entirely free of charge.

It sounded wonderful, but I had never used it even once.

On one hand, I was too strong. I had never been injured so far.

On the other hand, it was hard not to suspect that these so-called free treatments had some other motive behind them...

I didn't trust the Association much. Organizations like this were often the real masterminds behind the scenes.

"You have eighteen fractures of varying severity all over your body, as well as internal bleeding, soft tissue contusions, strains, and more. The doctor said you won't be able to get out of bed for at least a month or fight for three months. Detransforming right now could even put your life at risk, so leave the Star Crystal in your body for the time being."

Unable to move, Heat Haze nodded and said softly, "Thank you, Miss Miluno."

I should have been the one thanking her. If she hadn't risked her life to save him, I would have lost my best friend.

Her battle outfit had been retracted into the Star Crystal for repairs. Dressed in the facility's patient gown and stripped of those flashy clothes, Heat Haze now looked like nothing more than a frail girl wrapped in bandages and plaster casts.

Her personality wasn't as fiery as her title suggested, either. At least, she was quite gentle in front of me.

"Don't say that. To keep my identity completely hidden, it's inconvenient for me to act during the day. You've worked hard all this time."

"Then why did you come this time? Did you perhaps see through the enemy's traits?"

Because an idiot had run into the cordoned-off area on his own...

But I couldn't say that.

"No, I didn't know the enemy's abilities either. But your final explosion wasn't entirely useless. Once that thing turned red-hot, it became fragile, which was why I could shatter it with one kick."

She gave a bitter smile.

"You don't need to comfort me, Miss Miluno. You're so strong that thing wasn't any threat to you at all, was it?"

"Was that so?"

"Definitely!"

As we spoke, a woman in a business suit entered the ward from outside.

Other than medical staff, the only people in this treatment facility were injured magical girls and Association employees, so it wasn't difficult to guess her identity.

"Looks like the Association has business with you. I'll be leaving first, Heat Haze. Get some rest."

"Mm, take care, Miss Miluno."

I was about to leave when the woman in the suit called out to me.

"Please wait! I have something I'd like to discuss with you as well!"

Being addressed so respectfully by someone older than me made me a little uncomfortable.

"What is it? If you're going to persuade me to register or something, don't bother. I believe in keeping my identity secret."

"Of course. Our Association understands your difficulties. All the rewards you have earned so far have been accumulated, and they will be given to you all at once whenever you are willing to register."

In other words, they wouldn't pay me unless I registered...

They could obviously pay me in cash. Wasn't the intention behind bringing that up now a little too obvious?

"Then what did you want to say?"

"Miss Miluno, the Association hopes you can remain active during the day whenever possible. After all, no one can currently fill the gap left by Miss Heat Haze."

"That won't be a problem."

"Also, the Association has assigned a newcomer. We hope you can be accommodating in that regard as well and spare some time to guide her."

"I don't need a partner."

It sounded troublesome, so I refused.

Saying that would probably reinforce the stereotype of me as an "ice-cold beauty," but avoiding excessive contact with others after transforming had always been my principle. The more contact I had with others, the greater the risk of exposure.

Heat Haze, who could barely move on the hospital bed, sighed.

"Sigh, how about... leaving the task of guiding the newcomer to me?"

"Heat Haze? But you're already like this. How are you supposed to guide her?"

"Miss Miluno only needs to ensure that newcomer's safety. I can communicate with and guide her remotely during normal times. You can continue to stay mysterious, and the newcomer can adapt quickly too. What do you think?"

"If I'm only acting as a bodyguard and don't need to interact with her... fine."

Heat Haze's proposal was quite constructive, so I agreed.

"Really? That's wonderful!"

The woman in the suit looked delighted, then handed over her business card.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself... My name is Yin Lu, and I'm an Association liaison. I'm usually responsible for contacting magical girls and handling various aftermath matters. If either of you needs anything, you can bring it directly to me."

"Miss Liaison?"

"If you don't mind, you can also call me Luer."

"Luer? That sounds like a magical girl's name."

Yin Lu smiled bitterly. "If I could find a compatible Star Crystal, I would love to become a magical girl. Rather than quietly assisting all of you elsewhere, training new subordinates, and teaching them how to help magical girls prepare before battles and conceal their identities."

That wasn't surprising. Being a magical girl was the most ideal profession in modern society.

Not only did they receive hefty rewards for extermination missions, but people also helped prepare all kinds of countermeasures during battle, cleaned up the battlefield afterward, and kept their identities well concealed in daily life. They didn't have to worry about being attacked while walking alone at night like idols did.

Of course, unregistered wild magical girls like me couldn't enjoy many of those services.

Unfortunately, becoming a magical girl wasn't something you could simply choose to do. Those capable of resonating with a Star Crystal were already rare, and encountering the one destined for you was even harder.

"Miss Luer, I have something to take care of, so I'll be leaving if there's nothing else!"

"Oh, all right. Miss Miluno, if you ever decide you'd like to register, you can contact me anytime!"

After leaving the medical facility, I found a corner on the street to detransform, then took the bus back to my high-rise apartment in D3 District.

Naturally, I brought both my and A-Yao's backpacks back with me along the way.

It was already evening when I got home.

I knocked on the neighboring door... A-Yao still wasn't back.

After something like that happened, and after he was taken away by the police, I wondered whether he would have to spend a few nights in detention.

I turned on the air conditioner and picked up the tablet from the sofa.

"The battle recording has already been uploaded. The Association was really efficient today."

Reviewing recordings of every one of my battles and observing myself from a third-person perspective had always been one of my tasks. It wasn't that I was reflecting on combat details; I was simply worried I might reveal something.

It was rare for me to act in broad daylight, yet unexpectedly, I hadn't become the topic of that afternoon's battle.

"Otaku sneaks into the scene to film, nearly gets magical girl killed..."

A-Yao's appearance at the scene had been captured by a drone. Heat Haze had even ended up on a stretcher, and all of it had been livestreamed across the internet.

"...We're screwed."

Only then did I realize how serious the problem was.

For a time, calls condemning A-Yao occupied the moral high ground of public opinion. Some people even called for the death penalty.

This kind of online violence was irrational, but understandable.

As humanity's only means of fighting back against invaders from beyond, magical girls' status in society was easy to imagine. Even a bomb maniac like Heat Haze, who wrecked an entire street every time she fought, had a certain number of devoted fans online.

Most of those followers were magical-girl fanatics just like A-Yao.

But now, the people who most wanted to tear A-Yao apart were those same magical-girl fanatics.

From what I knew of them, if any of the others had a chance to witness magical girls fighting in person, they might have done exactly what A-Yao did. Irrationality was their shared trait, and the long-standing absence of casualties had dulled their sense of danger.

"Sigh, A-Yao really suffered a social death."

I sighed, rubbing my forehead, when the doorbell rang.

It should be A-Yao, right?

Thinking that, I opened the door.

"They let you out so quickly... Uh, who are you looking for?"

But standing outside was an adorable pink-haired girl I had never seen before.

Whenever you come across ads asking, "Are you a True Person?" just ignore them and close them. Never scan the code or send text messages!