But festival stalls were not primarily meant to make money. The things they sold were only priced slightly above the cost of the ingredients, enough to break even.
In other words, the money that usually bought one serving could now buy three, or even four or five!
She had all the right timing, place, and circumstances to herself. If she did not eat now, then when would she?
Volume One: How I Got Scammed Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter 33: Wail
"Nanako, while I can still afford it, eat as much as you want!"
"Yay!" This little Evil God who loved to eat naturally did not stand on ceremony with Ando Meiko. Especially after receiving permission, her eating speed doubled again.
Good grief, this little girl had actually been holding back? How could Ando Meiko possibly admit defeat early? Of course, she decisively kept up with her!
And so, they became the most eye-catching people in the whole venue...
Five distinctive girls traveled together. Three chatted while two cleared the field, and the key point was that the girl and the little girl's eating manners were not elegant in the slightest.
That contrast alone was incredibly pleasing to watch.
"Alright, Meizi, have you eaten enough? Everyone else is watching you two make fools of yourselves."
Fuko's reminder brought Ando Meiko back from her brutal battle with the snacks. When she looked up and realized she had attracted quite a few stares, her face flushed red with embarrassment.
"I'm so jealous. You can eat so much, so why did it all grow in the right places?!"
In front of everyone, Rei showed no restraint at all. She walked directly behind Ando Meiko and, while both of her hands were occupied, launched a sneak attack on her impressive breasts.
"It tickles... It tickles so much! Rei, st-stop it!"
So many people were watching... This kind of public execution was way too embarrassing!
Ando Meiko's heart spasmed. Without noticing the strength in her hands, she accidentally crushed the carton of yogurt.
Thick white yogurt splashed through the air, spilling all over her and Rei. Quite a few mischievous drops even slid down into her clothes.
The icy sensation made her shiver instinctively.
"Whoa, you sprayed yogurt everywhere. Meizi, you were way too careless."
"Now you're blaming the victim? This was obviously your fault! You actually did something like that to me in public! At least..."
At least wait until no one was around before doing that...
Of course, saying the second half aloud in public seemed rather inappropriate, so Ando Meiko swallowed the words after only saying the first few.
But Rei leaned closer then and gently blew into Ando Meiko's ear. "So does that mean we can secretly do it when no one's around...?"
"Enough! You two are still stuck together. Separate already!" Fuko and Rin appeared at just the right moment, each pulling one of them apart.
"So sticky. Gross." Ando Meiko grabbed a handful of her hair, where plenty of yogurt still remained.
If it stayed there too long, cleaning it up would become especially troublesome.
After straightening her clothes, Rei suggested, "Can't be helped. How about we go wash up a little?"
"Where?"
"Of course there's a way!" She winked at Ando Meiko and the others, signaling for them to follow her.
Only after they got there did they learn that her solution was to sneak into the school pool area while no one was around and use the showers in the changing rooms.
"Um, I don't think I have any clean clothes to change into..."
"It's fine, I do. I'll go back and bring some for you. Meizi, just wait here for me a little while." Rin volunteered and headed toward the school building first.
"Then Nanako and I will wait outside for you."
Inside the shower room, Rei was beside Ando Meiko, separated from her by nothing more than a sheet of frosted glass.
The thing was so thin that when Ando Meiko turned her head, she could vaguely make out through the glass Rei's slender but exceptionally well-proportioned body.
She hurriedly turned on the shower, relying on the cold water pouring over her body to barely suppress the burning sensation.
Just one look had already left her like this. If she looked again, she might really explode.
Not long after, Rei called out from next door, "Meizi, are you not done yet?"
Before Rei asked, Ando Meiko had actually already finished washing. She had only wanted to wait for Rei to leave and get dressed first, then casually walk out herself.
Otherwise, in front of the girl she liked, she did not know how far her self-control would hold.
"Almost... Whoa~!" She had barely answered Rei when she felt pressure against her chest, followed by a delicate, smooth sensation taking over her back.
"Eek! Rei, wh-what are you doing? Why are you pressing against me?"
The cold water from before had made Ando Meiko even more sensitive to thirty-seven degrees Celsius. What looked like a simple hug from behind nearly caused all her reason to evaporate.
"Hehe, even if you scream your throat raw, no one will come save you. Take this, Meizi!"
"D-don't do this..." She had never imagined she would have a day like this.
This felt completely different from Fuko and Ruby. Being toyed with by someone she liked brought not only physical pleasure, but emotional pleasure as well.
One plus one had become greater than two.
Her last shred of reason roared, and Ando Meiko regained a trace of clarity from it. She quickly pried Rei's hands off herself.
With puffed cheeks, she said irritably, "Honestly, if you keep this up, I'm going to get mad."
But the blush on her face and the frequent breaths mixed into her words made that verbal attack completely unconvincing.
Seeing Ando Meiko puffed up in anger, Rei giggled. "Alright, alright, I was wrong. Is that enough?"
Of course, she was only saying it. She had no intention of reflecting on it at all.
"Honestly, you're still laughing."
Ando Meiko turned to leave the shower room, but in a moment of carelessness, she stepped on the towel that had fallen to the floor when she pushed Rei away.
As her body pitched forward uncontrollably, she fell and knocked Rei, who was standing in front of her, to the ground.
Their bodies pressed even more tightly together, and the dangerous thing hidden within her body nearly erupted in an unbelievable way.
"Sorry... I-I'll get up right... Mmph..."
Before Ando Meiko could get up, Rei had already wrapped an arm around her head.
Then Rei leaned her whole head forward, making Ando Meiko's eyes widen in disbelief.
After Ruby's attack in the shower, she was ambushed in a shower again. This time, it was by the person she had always liked...
Something she had once desperately wanted but could never obtain was now being offered to her by its owner.
Two lines of tears slid from the corners of Ando Meiko's eyes, though she knew clearly that they were not tears of happiness.
She only felt as though something inside her was collapsing... The defenses she had always protected were being eroded and shattered bit by bit.
This was the wail of her original self, the wail of Ando Koichi.
Although she had not been a girl for very long, when she came back to herself, she suddenly realized that everything she had, everything she had tried to obtain, was being gradually taken away by the identity of Ando Meiko.
If it really came to that, would she still have the courage to face life after changing back from Ando Meiko into Ando Koichi? Would she still be able to accept Rei's cold expression?
It was like someone who had grown accustomed to darkness suddenly seeing the light by chance and enjoying it. If he were given the choice, could he still return to the darkness?
Rei, Rin... Perhaps I can't go back anymore...
[Master, what's wrong? Your body has fallen into a state of disorder, Master?! Don't overthink things! Calm down quickly!]
Ruby's call restored a little clarity to her Chaos-filled eyes.
She gently pushed Rei away from herself. It was as though she had entered a sage-like state, without a single ripple of emotion.
Volume One: How I Got Scammed Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter 34: Changing Locations
"Meizi... I-I'm sorry... I-I went too far. I shouldn't have done that without your consent..."
Facing Rei's self-reproach, Ando Meiko shook her head.
She did not blame Rei. She blamed her own pathetic self. She was usually timid enough already, yet she had only started thinking about life at a crucial moment.
There was only one thing that bothered her greatly... Compared to that time with Ruby, this time felt uniquely sweet.
"Meizi, I'm back... What's wrong? Did you two have a fight?"
By the time Rin came in, Ando Meiko and Rei had already separated. Having missed what had just happened, she only felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.
"No, Rin, you're overthinking it."
She changed into the clothes Rin had brought, but halfway through putting them on, she discovered a problem... These were not a school uniform, nor were they anything someone could wear in everyday life.
This was a maid outfit!
"Rin! What did you bring me? Oh my god, a maid outfit? You want me to wear this outside? How am I supposed to face anyone?"
"Huh? What does it matter? It's the school festival, so there are plenty of people wearing weird clothes."
"That still doesn't mean I should wear a maid outfit, does it?" Ando Meiko complained, but she still pulled the maid outfit onto herself.
She had no choice but to wear it, since her uniform had already been washed. Right now, this was the only change of clothes Rin had brought.
"It fits perfectly, Rin. This isn't yours, is it?"
"Of course not. Our class originally planned to open a café, but we decided at the last minute to change it into a stage play, so we had extra costumes."
"Then hurry up and get dressed. Fuko and Nanako are waiting outside too."
Rin left, and Ando Meiko turned back to look at Rei, who still seemed at a loss. "Alright, I really don't blame you. I just don't know what expression I should make."
"Really? That's great. Hehe." Hearing Ando Meiko's explanation, Rei regained her energy.
"If you're changed, let's go. Don't make them wait too long."
"Okay~ Meizi really is the best." Rei gently hugged Ando Meiko from behind.
But she let go quickly and did not make any more strange moves.
Perhaps that was a small change too. Still, it would not really matter if there were a little more of that kind of intimacy.
"I knew it! How could this possibly be normal?"
After leaving the pool changing room and returning to the field, Ando Meiko became the center of attention again. Almost everyone who caught sight of her from the corner of their eye would turn to look at her.
"Don't say that, Meizi. You look really cute in a maid outfit."
"Even Fuko is saying that. Honestly, what am I supposed to do in the future?"
"Don't worry. Meizi is so cute that someone might take a liking to you and drag you off to become an idol."
"Anything but that. I'll never become an idol in this lifetime."
What nonsense was that? Asking a shut-in to become an idol? She would probably be so scared her legs went weak just standing onstage. Besides, where would she find the time to become an idol?
What if she got dragged into the Void while singing and dancing? Not only would she vanish in front of everyone, but if she came back as a magical girl, the news would explode the next day.
Under Ando Meiko's strong protest, their battleground was finally moved from the field into the school building.
She still attracted attention, but not much. At least it was within what she could accept, unlike the field just now, where simply walking by made her the focus.
"What fun places are there here?" Fuko asked curiously.
Having once been a student here, returning to this familiar yet unfamiliar place stirred some emotions within her.
"There's an entire classroom-sized space to work with, so the results of the renovations naturally can't compare to those mobile stalls on the field. There are tons of fun places, like cafés, musical plays, and even a haunted house."
Fuko smiled and secretly glanced at Ando Meiko. "A haunted house! That sounds great. I really want to try it."
At the amusement park, they had also planned to visit a haunted house, but the appearance of the Void King Serpent had disrupted all her plans, forcing them to return home early.
"The haunted house you mentioned should be the first-year one, right?" Rei recalled. She had looked through the proposals submitted by the other classes, and the only haunted house was run by the first-years.
"Yeah."
"Come to think of it, why don't the upperclassmen make things like that?" Ando Meiko asked curiously.
"Because complicated classroom renovations need to be prepared and submitted in advance. Only lowerclassmen who don't have to worry about exams have the time. Those of us who are studying for exams while participating at the last minute are lucky if we can produce anything at all," Rei explained.
"Exactly." Rin nodded and took over the topic. "We started preparing two weeks ago to open a maid café. The maid outfit Meizi is wearing was made back then too, but because of a last-minute conflict among the staff, we altered the unfinished costumes and changed the event from a café to a stage play."
"It's a good thing you changed it." Rei shrugged. "Our class is doing a maid cake shop."
Without enough information, conflicts like that really could happen. If there were several maid cafés at once, no one would know which one to visit.
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