Magical Girl? I Got Scammed into It!

Volume One: How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl: Magical Girl Factions

The magical beam blasted through the restroom wall and shot straight into the sky, forming a pillar of red light that gleamed beneath the dim heavens.

Once the magic completely dissipated into the air, Ando Meiko, feeling as though her body had been hollowed out, crouched halfway to the ground and leaned on her wand for support as she panted heavily.

"Honestly, Master, you should at least pay attention to how much magic you're gathering."

"Huh? How was I supposed to pay attention? It was my first time actually casting magic. I think I did pretty great already."

Refuting Ruby's words, she raised her head and finally saw that the only thing left of the entire restroom was the doorframe. Everything inside, including the walls on all four sides, had been blasted to pieces by the torrent of magic.

She admitted that Ruby was right—she had gone overboard. But the problem was, she had no idea how to control the amount of magic she released.

She had merely felt it filling up, filling to the point where she could no longer control it, and then released it all at once.

"But what on earth did Master think of to unleash a beam that powerful?"

"Don't worry about it. As long as it worked, that's all that matters."

"That's true, but Master should give that skill a name. A named skill can leave behind an impression, making it much easier to cast next time."

"I'll just call it Silver Impact."

"But that light wasn't even white?"

"Why do you care?"

Now that she had finally dealt with that Void Beast, her mood gradually settled down.

"Master, remember to find somewhere nobody is when you go back out. Otherwise..."

Meiko more or less understood what Ruby meant. The Material World and the Void had identical layouts, so whether she returned from the Void to the Material World or entered the Void from the Material World, she should appear in the same location.

If she opened the door and stepped out in front of a crowd, everyone would see her.

Her daily life was already chaotic enough. If she added fuel to the fire, she figured she might start thinking, Maybe I should just move to another planet.

Although that thought had crossed her mind countless times since she became a girl, she never held back when it came time to complain.

Since the school was holding events everywhere today and she had no idea where people might be, she simply chose to walk home through the Void World.

After all, the buildings in the real world and the Void World were basically arranged the same way.

"Come to think of it, it's really deserted here. I've been walking through the Void World, but I haven't even seen a single Void Beast."

"The Void Beasts in this city have probably all been hunted by other Magical Girls. After all, they need to gather enough Aether to seek an audience with the Great Will. Because of the Magical Girls' hunts, the weaker Void Beasts have probably all gone into hiding too."

"That happens? Then why was there one near the school?"

"Then Master should be extra careful. You're quite the delicacy right now."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Magical Girls are tangible Ether Bodies, so they're also the best nourishment for Void Beasts. The hunter and prey constantly switch places, and compared to other Magical Girls, Master's body still retains some human traits."

She had been forcibly dragged into the Void World because her body had become partly an Ether Body, and now she was considered such a delicacy for the same reason.

She wondered when exactly she would become a complete Ether Body and finally escape all these troublesome things.

Seeing Ando Meiko fall silent, Ruby continued, "It's like needing to replenish sugar. Would you choose an IV drip of glucose, or would you choose to eat a meal?"

Now that Ruby had put it that way, she understood. To Void Beasts, her current body was basically rice mixed with sauce. No wonder even that tiny Void Beast had stopped hiding and come out for a meal.

But was this really okay? I'm walking through the Void World right now. Home isn't far, but there's no guarantee a Void Beast won't ambush me along the way, right?

"Oh, right, Ruby."

"Hm? What is it, Master? Want to get naughty here? That'd be great. There's nobody around, so even in broad daylight..."

This trashy wand was getting completely out of hand. Meiko had only just started thinking slightly better of her, and she immediately spouted this kind of pointless nonsense again.

Ando Meiko clicked her tongue, then threw the wand in her hand to the ground before Ruby could react and stomped on it again and again.

"Eek! Don't, Master, so suddenly! Aahhh!" Only after venting a little did she allow Ruby to transform from a wand back into human form.

However, Ruby's human form, with its bruised and battered face, looked rather comical at the moment.

"Whatever Master wants to ask, just ask..." Seeing Ruby restrain herself a little, Meiko nodded in satisfaction.

That was more like it. If someone was itching for a beating, all they needed was one.

"You said Sunstone-type Magical Girls fight through imagination. Does that mean Magical Girls have other factions too?"

"Hm? Has Master finally decided to become an outstanding Magical Girl?"

"I'm just curious."

"Tch." Ruby pouted unhappily. "Yes, Magical Girls are divided into three factions."

"Besides Sunstone-type Magical Girls, there are also Starry Magical Girls and Azure Magical Girls. They correspond to the earth, sky, and sea."

According to Ruby, Starry Magical Girls wielded the Starry Deck. Every Magical Girl had a different deck of cards, and their magic took the form of exclusive cards that could be scanned and cast whenever needed.

Azure Magical Girls, on the other hand, possessed entirely support-type magic, and they alone could apply support magic to others.

Although they were not especially strong in combat themselves, they possessed special abilities that other Magical Girls did not, making up for that weakness.

That ability was the Demon-Binding Contract.

A Demon-Binding Contract could establish a special master-servant relationship with Aether creatures, turning them into familiars. Support magic cast on familiars bound by a Demon-Binding Contract could produce twice, or even three times, the effect.

Controlling familiars and strengthening familiars—those were the main combat methods of Azure Magical Girls.

Compared with Magical Girls from the other two factions, Sunstone-type Magical Girls were the most unusual.

Their magic had to be formed from the impressions in their minds, corresponding to the malleability of gemstones. Because of that, Sunstone-type Magical Girls were the only ones who could alter the battlefield through improvisation and bring about miracles.

That was what Ruby said, but...

Ando Meiko could not feel happy about it at all. It sounded like the strongest type, but if one's imagination was lacking, then it was the weakest.

That was right. She herself was the best example.

Besides, she had no intention of doing anything in the first place. Maintaining the status quo was fine. She had never planned to step into this deep and murky world.

She just had not expected some small fry to drag her into the Void World so easily and force her into battle.

Setting aside the jumble of thoughts in her mind, she continued walking home.

Other than the absence of people, this world was no different from her usual route home after school. As she chatted with Ruby about meaningless things, she had already returned to her room.

"Open, Gate to the Mortal World."

Volume One: How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl: But I Mind!

Passing through the door opened from the Void, Ando Meiko returned to the real world and canceled her transformation as she looked around her familiar room.

A sudden wave of stench hit her, making her instinctively cover her nose.

"That Void Beast's saliva actually dissolved my clothes. It must be horribly corrosive or something, and it reeks too. But... where's Nanako? Why isn't Nanako in the room?"

"Oh no, could it be..."

She casually tossed Ruby onto the bed and ran toward the living room. The moment she opened the door, a person, a young evil god, and a cat all looked at her at once.

"Huh? When did Meizi get back? There wasn't even any sound outside."

Nanako was watching a variety show with Fuko, while Yue lay obediently beside them. Seeing such a warm scene, Meiko finally let go of the worry in her heart.

As long as Nanako was fine and had not revealed her true form in front of Fuko, then there was no big problem.

"Maybe the TV was just too loud."

"I guess so."

"Anyway, I'm going to take a shower first."

"Okay~"

The stench of Void Beast saliva covered her body, and her patience had already reached its limit. She hurried into the bathroom, stripped, and began washing herself.

"It stinks so badly. Why won't it wash off? Don't tell me Void Beast saliva comes in oil-based and water-based types too?"

Not long after, the bathroom stall door suddenly opened. Then a voice pretending to be seductive drifted through the entire bathroom.

"Master, I'm coming in."

"Wait, I'm not done washing yet!"

Ruby ignored her protesting tone and directly opened the bathroom door instead.

"Hey, hey, hey! Why are you coming in without permission!?"

"I came to scrub Master's back."

"No need. I can handle it myself!"

"Come on, we're both girls now. Besides, I don't mind, so what is Master afraid of?"

"But I mind!"

The clothes on Ruby's body instantly turned into magic and vanished. She barged in without giving Meiko any say, walked behind her, grabbed another stool, and sat down, completely unconcerned with whether she resisted.

Ando Meiko was pushed into the seat in front of her. Ruby showered her body with water, then picked up the body wash.

"Let me fulfill my duties as a wand once in a while and serve Master properly."

"Hmph. As long as you stop causing me trouble, we can talk."

Though she was still unwilling, Ruby had already prepared everything, so she decided to let her have her way once or twice.

"Oops, my hand slipped."

Hearing that affected cry, Ando Meiko was about to turn around and look, but the pressure that followed interrupted her movement.

"Master, your skin is so nice. Fair and firm—I'm jealous just looking at it."

Th-this... that damned Ruby was causing trouble again?

No, I have to get out of here...

Who knew whether Ruby would push her luck and pull some other stunt next?

To her now, the bathroom was hell, and Ruby was the demon tossing her into a vat of boiling oil.

She pushed Ruby's hands away, stood up, and prepared to grab a towel and flee the bathroom. There should not have been any problem, but that damned soap appeared again!

Not only did she slip, but she also dragged Ruby off the stool with her. They both fell in the same direction, and she did not dare imagine what would happen next.

My first kiss... was gone...

While she was still immersed in the sorrow of losing something important, Ruby's next action pulled her back to reality.

No, wait... why are you putting that thing in here!?

"Mmph... st..."

At that moment, Ando Meiko could not even pronounce the simplest words clearly.

This should have been something every boy pursued, so why... why did I feel so humiliated? Had my heart stopped being the pure heart I once had?

After who knew how long, Ruby finally pulled away. Ando Meiko raised her head and met her eyes, tears of humiliation streaming from the corners of her eyes.

It was gone... the first kiss I had always wanted to save for Rei was gone.

Ruby looked at Ando Meiko, whose tears would not stop falling, and a hint of apology appeared on her face.

"I'm sorry, Master. I just thought... why not keep going and let me see what kissing feels like? Besides, Master became a girl, didn't you...? I don't mind, so why would someone who used to be a boy be scared...?"

Ruby's words were not comforting in the slightest, but Meiko caught the key point.

She had become a girl, which meant she had two first kisses. One belonged to female Meizi, and the other belonged to male Koichi.

That meant I still have one first kiss left! That's great!

She did not know whether that counted as self-consolation, but it did make her feel much better.

"Hey, Master, vacation starts next! What are you doing tomorrow?"

As Ruby helped her get dressed, she considered the question.

Tomorrow was the holiday before the school festival. She had already planned to turn off her alarm and sleep properly, washing away the exhaustion from that battle.

But where she should go to relax after waking up tomorrow was something she had not considered at all.