Magical Girl? I Got Tricked Into It!

"What do I do, what do I do, what do I do..."

Ando Koichi, who possessed both the skill and confidence to clear every kind of raising sim and could perfectly analyze every option, was now completely at a loss.

"If everything from my dream in the bathtub was real, then I have to face a fact I really don't want to face: I need to prepare for the possibility that I might never turn back..."

"Oh God! I don't want this!"

Yes, he did want to become the protagonist, but the protagonist he wanted to be was the male lead of a harem rom-com.

Not the female lead in some NTR world!

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Tricked Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Two: Magical Girls and Trashy Magic Wands

When she woke up, Ando Koichi felt much better.

Even though she had spent the entire previous night unable to sleep, agonizing over what to do about suddenly becoming a girl...

Everything, naturally, had not returned to normal. Her body was still feminized.

Before falling asleep, she had deliberately clung to the faint hope that this was all a dream. But when she saw that she still had that petite body, she let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

"So it really didn't work, ahhhhh!"

Fortunately, her parents' rooms were both on the first floor. Otherwise, they might have burst through the door after hearing that scream.

"What am I supposed to do now? Forget my little brother being gone—what the hell is this turning into a girl thing? Who the hell did this?"

As she prepared to get out of bed, the hand she casually stretched to the side touched something soft.

As for what it was... she couldn't tell at first, so she gave it a few more squeezes.

It was warm, smooth, soft, and felt especially nice. It felt like... a tiny meat bun?

"A ghost!"

She sucked in a sharp breath and, like a cat that had turned around to see a cucumber, instinctively launched herself off the bed. Then, using the bedframe as a shield, she cautiously looked toward her blanket.

Just as she hesitated over whether to lift the blanket and investigate, a hand suddenly stretched out from underneath it.

"Eek!!!"

The feminized version of Ando Koichi let out the cute cry of a startled girl. In that cramped space, she kept backing away until she slammed her head into the wardrobe and finally came back to her senses.

What followed was neither a horror movie chase nor a jump scare. Only steady breathing came from beneath the blanket.

"Wait, could it be...?"

She remembered the dream she had had in the bathtub last night. That dream was why she had become like this.

"What contract, what magical girl? Whether you're human or ghost, let me see your true face for myself."

Though she said that, she slowed her movements to the absolute minimum, afraid that the indescribable thing beneath the blanket would notice any sound.

There might be a girl in there, a feminine boy, or perhaps a monster with human hands. Like Schrödinger's cat, you would never know what state the cat inside was in until you observed it... No, there might not even be a cat inside.

"Whatever, I'm going for it!"

The cat in the microwave finally revealed its true form. The first thing that entered her sight was a snowy-white, completely uncovered body, like that of a newborn baby.

The second was that infuriatingly familiar pretty face. If there had been a notebook beside her that could kill someone just by writing their name in it, Ando Koichi felt she would have drawn a portrait of her in it.

"Liar! You damn liar!"

She no longer cared about physical contact. Burning with embarrassment and anger, Ando Koichi sat on top of the twin-tailed loli and shook her hard as if she were hand-brewing coffee.

"Liar, get up! Hurry up! Turn me back!"

"Don't—ugh, stop shaking me. I'm dizzy, I'm going to throw up..."

The twin-tailed loli opened her sleepy eyes. Her pupils were incredibly covered by the spirals used in manga to indicate dizziness.

What was wrong with this person?

Speechless, Ando Koichi stopped shaking the loli and climbed off her, puffing out her cheeks to show her displeasure.

"Oh, it's Master. Stop acting crazy here if nothing's wrong. I'm going back to sleep..."

She had no idea why this loli called her Master the moment she saw her, but this damn liar had actually gone back to sleep on her pillow. How could she tolerate that?

Ando Koichi grabbed the loli's shoulders again, intending to shake her awake, but before she could, the loli raised her hands in surrender.

"Mercy, Master! I'll get up, I'll get up, okay?"

Her apology seemed sincere enough... but Ando Koichi couldn't just let this go! How was she supposed to face anyone looking like this? How was she supposed to live?

"Who are you?"

"Me..."

Noticing the girl's somewhat perfunctory tone, Ando Koichi made her gaze even fiercer. After reading her expression, the girl gave an awkward laugh.

"My name is Ruby. I'm your magic wand, Master."

"What you are has nothing to do with me! Why did you trick me? What is this contract? And what is a magical girl?"

"Um... why are you being so fierce, Master? Have you forgotten that unforgettable night we shared last night...?"

"Answer me properly! Or else..." She held up her fist at the girl.

However, after becoming a girl, her fist looked utterly feeble. Even when she did that, it carried no intimidation at all and only made her look cute.

"Fine, fine. How did I end up with such an unromantic Master?"

"An! Swer! Me!"

"Because this world needs Master to save it!"

Hearing that her Master was getting irritated, Ruby, the self-proclaimed magic wand, decided not to continue courting death.

She rubbed her shoulders, picked up the half-empty bottle of mineral water beside the bed, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Since Master wants to understand everything, I'll explain it properly."

There was a world composed entirely of magic connected to this one. The two worlds existed as two sides of the same whole, and that world was called the Void World.

Any major change in the Reality World, or any change within the Void World, would create rippling effects in the other.

During a magical girl war ten years ago, the world barrier of the Void World was breached. After the war ended, several of the strongest magical girls repaired it with magic through special means.

However, the magic covering the hole was like a bandage trying to plug a water outlet. As the repair magic gradually weakened over time, it could no longer completely seal the opening.

Some relatively small impurities seeped into the Void World through that hole like viruses, wantonly devouring vast amounts of magic within it.

And whenever the magic in the Void World was disturbed, the effects would manifest in the Reality World through natural phenomena such as earthquakes and typhoons, as well as unnatural phenomena such as explosions and collapsing walls.

Until another person capable of patching the breach in the Void World could be found, the Void Beasts that had seeped through could only be handled personally by magical girls in various places.

She understood the situation now.

But... even if she transformed into a magical girl, couldn't they at least have kept her pre-transformation body the same?

And why did saving the world require tricking her into signing some incomprehensible contract whose terms she didn't even know?

It would have been one thing if she had been given a choice. Being chosen for no reason just made her feel like an easily fooled disposable pawn.

"Then why did I turn into a girl?"

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Tricked Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Three: There Are Others? Then I Can Just Slack Off!

This question was of utmost importance to Ando Koichi. If she knew the reason, she might be able to find a solution.

Otherwise, living in this body would be even more unbearable than death. She would have to face not only her family, but also her classmates and the friends she got along with quite well.

"Master, I'm also rather puzzled about that."

"Perhaps there was a tiny misalignment when your body accepted the magic and transformed into an Ether Body."

"Hey, that tiny misalignment reversed my gender."

"What does it matter? After all, Master should be the first male in history to accept a magical girl contract. It's normal for things to be a little unusual."

Forget it. She no longer had the energy to complain.

Since even Ruby didn't know what had happened to Ando Koichi, she couldn't think of any option other than resigning herself to it.

"What exactly is this Ether Body?"

Having her body accept magic and turn into an Ether Body... didn't that mean she was no longer human?

"Aether is the source of magic. It fuses with the magical fluctuations unique to magical girls and transforms. The resulting adaptive Ether Body becomes the source of a magical girl's power."

"However, both Aether conversion and magical fusion take time. I don't know exactly how long, but since Master used to be male, you'll probably turn back after the fusion is complete."

As long as she could turn back, that was good...

Although Ruby seemed to have said something unnecessary and left out something important, after hearing her explanation, Ando Koichi became like a pickled radish. The intimidating presence she had barely managed to muster collapsed at that moment.

"Don't be so sad, Master. Aren't you very cute like this?"

While she was dejected, Ruby rolled over and pinned her down. The caress along her cheek felt ticklish yet wonderfully comfortable, a sensation she had never experienced before.

She closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed the process. It felt as though she had become a cat being petted, but who cared...

A sudden itch came from nowhere. That pair of lumps that felt somewhat unnecessary to Ando Koichi changed shape like Slime in Ruby's grasp.

She felt as though she had been inflicted with a weakening debuff. Even though she wanted to resist, she could not muster the slightest strength, because her body was far more honest than she was.

"What are you doing... get off me!"

"Hehehe, Master, Master, you're just too cute like this..." Ignoring the completely nonthreatening scolding, Ruby wore a smug grin, as if she were mocking her.

"Saying something like that in such a cute voice is practically an impatient invitation."

However, the result of getting carried away like that was being kicked off the bed by Ando Koichi.

"You're just a magic wand, so stop pushing your luck!"

"You're the one who turned me into a girl. Now I don't even know what excuse I can use to get through however long this lasts at school and at home, so could you please stop causing me more trouble?"

"Um... I wasn't..."

"Answer me!"

"I know, I know. Honestly, Master, I only made a little joke. Why are you being so serious?"

"So, explain exactly what's going on first."

"Okay~"

A red light flashed, and Ruby directly conjured a set of clothes made from magic onto herself. Then she sat properly in front of Ando Koichi and stared at her with a serious expression.

"It's actually very simple. What Master needs to deal with are Void Creatures that can cause the world to collapse."

But hearing that she needed to deal with some kind of creature left her unable to make heads or tails of it.

"Just asking, I'm not the only magical girl in this world, right?"

"Mm, there are factions, at least. But the enemies aren't just the Void either. There are also Rogue Witches..."

That was great.

Since she wasn't the only magical girl in the world, then there was no problem. She could just slack off completely. She had no grudges against those creatures in the first place, so why should she fight them?

Ruby stuck out her tongue. Seeing the ever-changing expression on Ando Koichi's face, she quickly guessed what she was thinking.

"I know Master doesn't have much motivation to fight, but as long as you collect enough Aether, you can use the Great Will to grant a wish."

"A wish..."

"Any wish! Money, women, status, everything."

Huh? Any wish could be granted... Then as long as I collected enough Aether... No, I can't be tempted so easily.

"Forget it."

"Huh? You still don't want to fight even if any wish can be granted?"

"Wishes are something you strive for yourself, not something others give you... Besides, these battles could endanger my life, right?"

As a veteran otaku, she had watched more anime than she had eaten meals. She did not believe magical girls were all beautiful fairy tales.

"Uh... yes. After transforming into an Ether Body, if you overuse magic or die, your soul will become Aether drifting through the Void, and your body will also turn into Aether and merge with the world."

"In other words, you'll disappear completely without even a single hair left behind."