Bubbles, Part 1

(Bai Ziye)

The profession of "magical girl" held a sacred, inviolable place in A-Yao's heart. Because of his inferiority complex, he also placed himself very low, so after becoming a magical girl, the vast difference in status inevitably made him doubt himself.

And that feeling made even normal self-exploration fill him with guilt...

Yes, I thought it was perfectly normal to understand your own body after transforming. It was nothing more than repeating something experienced in childhood. Was knowing yourself shameful too?

Though mine had not been as severe as his, I had gone through a similar phase. A year and a half ago, I went from an ordinary middle school student to a potential magical girl—and an exceptional one at that. It took some time to adapt. Those girls' clothes had been bought back then, so calling them middle school girl outfits was not entirely wrong.

Drying the water from my hair with a towel, I walked out of the bathroom. A-Yao was sitting cross-legged on my bed, frantically working his NS. He seemed to be in a tough fight, his brows slightly furrowed. His fluffy pink hair swayed with his body, making him look utterly adorable.

He only glanced up at me when I came out before lowering his head again and continuing to get pinned down and beaten by the Monster in the game.

"Yezi, you're done washing up? Look, I made you a bed!"

Beside my original bed was a rather large air mattress, created with her magic. It even already had a blanket spread over it.

I lay down on it to test it. Not bad—at least it was more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.

"Your magic is pretty practical. I just don't know how you're supposed to fight with it."

"For now, I'm thinking of lifting Monsters up and throwing them down from high in the sky."

"That probably won't work. Those Monsters are all thick-skinned and tough. Unless you can throw them down from outside the atmosphere."

I stood beside the bed, blow-drying my hair, when A-Yao suddenly said, "Yezi... thank you for earlier... I feel much calmer now."

She thanked me again.

"Dummy, I didn't do anything that needs thanking. It's just that if you keep agonizing over being a magical girl in front of me and insist on playing some role, getting along with each other will be exhausting. Not just for you—I'll be tired too."

She used a bubble to push a can of iced cola over to me. I caught it and let it sit for a while, just in case there was some trick to it.

"It's not entirely role-playing, though. This identity has had some positive influence on me. If nothing else, I think I've become... a little more responsible?"

Even she could not quite explain exactly what had changed.

But I understood what she meant.

It was hard to explain the reason for that change, but as Miluno, I had indeed become calmer and more rational. From a combat perspective, it was a positive thing, helping me keep secrets, though it had also earned me the label of an icy beauty.

The ice queen type? I was clearly nothing like that...

A-Yao waved his NS at me.

"Alright, let's continue what we didn't finish this afternoon."

"Then you'd better keep your legs together. Otherwise, the moment I sit on the air mattress, I'll be able to see what style of Battle Dress underwear you're wearing."

She switched to sitting sideways with her legs together and grinned foolishly.

"Hehe, it's nice that you say whatever's on your mind."

She looked to be in a better mood than before. At least she was no longer speaking incoherently.

I picked up my own NS and sat down on the soft air mattress as well.

"Come to think of it, I haven't asked yet. What's your name as a magical girl? You've already registered with the Association, right?"

"My magical girl name is Ceruno. I've already registered with the Association."

Ceruno?

The corner of my mouth twitched.

"...Did you choose that name by copying Miluno's?"

A-Yao lay by the edge of the bed, sticking her head over the side as she smiled. "Hehe~ What's wrong with moving closer to my idol? Though she's not just an idol anymore—she's my role model and senior!"

Sigh. There were so many magical girls in the world, with thirteen thousand registered in the Association alone. Why was he so obsessed with Miluno...?

Obsessed with me?

Even ranked by strength, I usually hovered around seventh or eighth place in the Top 10. If he simply admired the strong, wouldn't Sirius—the one who had carried the banner of magical girls and fought continuously for twelve years—be more suitable?

"Then, Ceruno."

When I said that, A-Yao... Ceruno looked startled.

"Wah! Do you have to call me that even when we're alone?"

"Of course. You should get used to it first, so you won't fail to react when someone calls you later."

"That seems to make sense. So what is it?"

"Can you make me a cushion?"

"Oh, oh!"

She picked up her wand and gave it a casual wave. She had become quite adept at using her magic. I watched the bubble form: a tiny point appeared first, then expanded into the shape she wanted.

Then a soft air cushion drifted lightly down onto my lap.

I did not actually want a cushion. I was only observing the process of her magic taking shape.

Though she was focused on her game, I kept thinking about how her soft, fluffy magic could be used in battle.

This was clearly something she should be worrying about herself, and something she had no choice but to consider.

I asked, "Can you form that point inside a Monster, then use the force of its expansion to burst the Monster apart?"

"Not really. We tested it this afternoon. My bubbles can't force apart things that are too sturdy. In other words, the force when they expand isn't very strong... Ah! A cat!"

Most Monsters were not really living creatures, and their interiors were sturdy too. That move really would not work.

After thinking for a moment, I asked again, "If you want to wrap a person or something else inside, do you have to put the membrane over the target from the start?"

"Mm. Unless the bubble is broken or dispelled, there's no way to take anything out from inside."

As someone who had been wrapped up by her once, I felt that something was off.

"No, that's not right..."

I tapped my forehead and put down my NS.

"...Ceruno, try trapping me inside again."

She did not ask any questions about my request. She simply picked up the magic wand from the bedside table and pointed it at me. The ruby embedded at its tip flashed faintly, and an invisible layer of magical membrane coated my body again.

"Stop."

I had Ceruno stop at just the right moment.

"Hmm?"

"Like this. Keep it as a single layer of membrane for now. Don't let it expand yet."

Then I pointed at my nose and mouth.

"Look. Even though the membrane has covered my nose and mouth, I don't feel any difficulty breathing at all. Not only that, but my voice can still travel out through this layer."

"Oh! That's true!"

Ceruno seemed to have only just realized it, and she looked surprised as well.

"Breathing requires air, and air is also the medium through which sound travels. In other words, your bubbles don't isolate the air."

"Even though gravity and weight are eliminated, air can still circulate?"

"I'm not sure. It's only a hypothesis. Sometimes magical power is not as simple as it appears on the surface. If air can flow through your bubbles, then what exactly is supporting this air mattress?"

I pressed the cushion in my hands, but could not squeeze any air out of it. That made the theory of circulating air difficult to support.

"Then what's going on?"

Ceruno could not figure it out either.

Magical girls all had to explore their powers from scratch. At first, I had thought I was merely a speed-type magical girl. I never imagined I possessed such a broken ability as controlling the flow of time.

A speed-type could burst out with greater speed than others, but that was all—speed.

A time-type, on the other hand, essentially slowed down every phenomenon except myself. Within slowed time, I could think of more strategies and had more time to react.

Although the results they displayed were similar, their essence was worlds apart. Clearly, time-type abilities were more profound.

And Ceruno's magic might be the same.

If bubbles were only the surface appearance, then what was her true ability?

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