Magical Girl? I Got Tricked into It!

Did... did she see through something?

Even if this kid didn't look particularly bright, she was still an evil god, so she was sensitive to certain things.

"Don't worry, Nanako. I'm fine."

Ando Meiko actually hadn't been hurt. She had collapsed because Xiphias had planted her magic inside her body and used her magic to carve magical patterns, ultimately exhausting all her mana.

"Cough, cough..."

"You've been asleep for so long. You must be thirsty, right? Wait here, I'll go buy you something to drink."

"Nanako wants to go too."

"Sorry, I'll lie down for a bit longer. I'll go back to class later..."

"Rin has already spoken to your homeroom teacher about that, so once you've recovered, we can just go home directly."

"Then Rin really did go to a lot of trouble. I'll definitely thank her in person when we get back."

"You definitely should thank her. When you fainted, Rin was the one who carried you back."

Fuko left the infirmary, holding Nanako's hand. The cramped space fell silent.

Ando Meiko had forgotten how long it had been since she had enjoyed such peace and quiet.

As expected, peace was the best.

With the sound of the door opening, the infirmary door was suddenly pushed open. Instantly on guard, Ando Meiko grabbed the ruby necklace around her neck.

Fuko and Nanako had left less than a minute ago. The nearest vending machine was by the sports field, and even running there would take a while. How could they possibly be back so soon?

Could it be the school nurse returning?

But Ando Meiko quickly realized her guess was wrong.

The person who entered was neither Fuko nor the school nurse, but a silver-haired girl with a single ponytail.

The silver-haired girl had no expression whatsoever. With her eyes lowered, she gave the impression that she was indifferent to everything.

Compared to the somewhat delinquent air of having her school jacket tied around her waist, Ando Meiko was more interested in her appearance.

After all, everyone loved beauty.

Coming to the infirmary after school probably wasn't about slacking off. Ando Meiko figured this student had likely come to get medicine for a scrape or something.

As a breeze drifted in through the window, the girl's silver hair fluttered in the wind. Every crystal-clear strand seemed to reflect sunlight, visible in perfect detail.

Her silver hair is so beautiful... Ando Meiko thought.

Her skin was as white as milk, making her look like a porcelain doll that inspired affection. As far as Ando Meiko knew, people born with silver hair, assuming it wasn't caused by an illness, were probably more common in Russia.

Yet Ando Meiko had never seen this girl before. If she really was a student here, then with an appearance like an angel descended to earth, there was no way word of her wouldn't have spread.

The girl slightly raised her head. Her inexplicably red eyes locked onto Ando Meiko, and she began walking toward her.

As the girl drew closer, Ando Meiko instinctively leaned back, only to remember that she was lying on a bed.

But she couldn't exactly get out of bed and leave right away. Besides, acting terrified of someone she had just met would be too rude.

I should at least say hello first... Maybe she just thinks it's strange that someone's lying in the infirmary at this hour.

"Hello... Can I help you?"

"I can see your true nature."

"Huh?" The girl's words completely threw Ando Meiko off.

My true nature? What true nature could I possibly have? Don't tell me... she figured out I used to be a guy?

"Wh-what do you mean?"

The girl standing beside Ando Meiko bent down and brought her face closer.

Too close, too close. This is way too close.

In anime, at a distance like this, people either started fighting or started kissing.

Of course, Ando Meiko wasn't dumb enough to think someone she had just met would kiss her.

Staring at each other from such close range made Ando Meiko notice the girl's unusual eyes. They were somewhat eerie, yet strangely captivating.

"The girl beside the outcast still retains half a human scent... A Half-Aether Body? Interesting."

"Wha... You, you are..." She instinctively pressed a hand to the necklace on her chest again.

[Ruby? Ruby! Where the hell did you go? Get out here already! If you don't come out, I'm finished!]

[Hey, weren't you so good at acting tough? Why are you nowhere to be found when it matters? Where are you? Hey, are you there?]

Ever since earlier, Ruby had seemed as though someone had cut her connection. No matter how Ando Meiko called out through their telepathic link, Ruby gave no response at all.

Did my mana depletion affect the telepathic connection between Ruby and me?

The silver-haired girl had recognized Ando Meiko as the red magical girl who had stood behind Xiphias and taken advantage of the chaos to leave the Void World.

And Ando Meiko recalled the silver-haired, red-eyed witch who had ambushed her and Xiphias with a clustered cannon.

"Orbital..."

"Let me formally introduce myself." The silver-haired girl took a step back. "My name is Kajieliena. I am a stellar magical girl with the Space-Based Weapon System theme, and the strategic-class witch you call God's Staff—Orbital."

"Magical girl Ruby. My name is Ando Meiko." Since she had already been exposed, she saw no reason to keep hiding it.

And if Kajieliena could see through her identity at a glance, then it would probably be just as easy for the Witch Organization to find her.

"I'll be staying here for a while, so let's get along... amicably."

The red glow in Kajieliena's eyes gradually faded, returning them to a normal pair of green eyes. At that moment, the only thing distinguishing her from an ordinary person was her beautiful silver hair.

"What's your purpose?" The only answer Ando Meiko received was the sound of the infirmary's sliding door closing.

The infirmary door had barely shut before someone pulled it open again.

Can't I get any rest at all... Oh, it's Fuko. Never mind, then.

"Meiko, the person who just left the infirmary was so pretty. She looked like a doll. Are there really people born with silver hair?"

"Thanks." She took the drink Fuko handed her, quickly opened it, and took several gulps to soothe her parched throat.

"Come to think of it, you two must have met in here just now, right? What was she here for?"

"Looking for the school nurse, probably. Who knows?" She shrugged, avoiding the subject.

One week later

The school festival had long passed, and Ando Meiko had enjoyed a stretch of peaceful days since then.

Despite being closed off for so long, there was still no news that Fuko's school would be reopening.

That made her worry whether the school would still be safe even after the lockdown was lifted and she could return.

As for Kajieliena, the witch who had suddenly entered the infirmary that day and exposed both Ando Meiko's identity as a Half-Aether Body and a magical girl, there had been no further sign of her, as if she had never appeared at all.

That was what worried Ando Meiko the most. Kajieliena was an Orbital Weapon, after all. Now that her true identity had been exposed, who knew whether she might get blasted from an enormous distance by a clustered cannon and be reduced to nothing but ashes?

There was another thing Ando Meiko found strange: when she saw Kajieliena, her communication with Ruby had been cut off.

At first, she had thought it was due to insufficient mana, but when she asked Ruby afterward, Ruby said that wasn't the case.

Her telepathic connection with Ruby had been established through their contract, and it didn't require mana to sustain.

According to Ruby, Kajieliena seemed to have some kind of unusual magnetic field around her that interfered with their communication.

But all of that was a side matter that barely even counted as an interlude.

If there had been any major change lately, it was that studying materials in the library until curfew had become Ando Meiko's daily after-school routine.

Worth mentioning was that after seriously studying more books on physics and chemistry, Ando Meiko's range of knowledge had expanded considerably.

Whether it would be useful was still unclear... After all, having no chance for actual combat was what mattered most to her.

This morning, as usual, after saying goodbye to Rin at the school gate, Ando Meiko returned to her classroom.

"Morning, Meiko."

"Morning~" Ando Meiko casually responded to the girls' friendly greetings.

After all, she had been a substitute student for some time now. She had completely gotten used to both the things she should and shouldn't have gotten used to.

She didn't mind becoming friends with the girls, but she still deliberately kept some distance so she wouldn't get too close to them.

At the end of the day, Ando Meiko was only a stand-in. If she formed feelings deeper than friendship, saying goodbye later would be painful.

Of course, Rei and Rin, whom she couldn't avoid, didn't count.

"Morning, Meiko!"

Among the boys, the only one who still tirelessly greeted her was Yuya, that shameless bastard.

And from Yuya's undisguised gaze, Ando Meiko could tell that he didn't just want to be friends with her. This guy had genuinely fallen for her.

He was the son of a major company president, reasonably handsome, and despite being rich, he had no airs about him. He often got along well with his classmates.

Hirata Yuya, who stood above others in both status and position, could take his pick of whatever girls he wanted in the future. Yet he had fallen for the one person he absolutely shouldn't have.

How utterly ironic.

Even now, Ando Meiko wanted to shout at him: "Please, act normal! I'm your brother! Stop looking at me like that—I seriously can't take it anymore!"

After casually replying to Yuya a couple of times, the bell for morning class rang. Teacher Chihaya Ji entered from outside, but... today was different from usual, because she had brought someone else in with her.

When Ando Meiko saw who was following behind the teacher, her eyes widened, and she nearly cried out.

"Everyone, let me introduce a transfer student from Russia. Kajieliena, please introduce yourself."

"Understood." Yes, this so-called transfer student was Kajieliena, the witch Orbital.

Naturally, the boys in the class erupted again. Their reaction was even more intense than when Ando Meiko had first stepped into this classroom.

It couldn't be helped. She had naturally silver hair. Standing by the podium, she looked like an exquisitely cute foreign girl who had stepped straight out of an anime or game.

She radiated the dazzling aura of a protagonist.

Especially since Kajieliena had tied her school jacket around her waist, the contrast made people imagine that this seemingly pure, well-behaved girl might have an unexpectedly rebellious side.

After taking the chalk Teacher Ji handed her, Kajieliena wrote her name on the blackboard.

After she finished writing her name and added katakana pronunciation guides above it, the class could finally more or less pronounce it.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Kajieliena. I look forward to getting along with you."

Her calm introduction showed no trace of nervousness. With her expressionless demeanor, it felt like she was merely going through the motions, creating a stark contrast with Ando Meiko's first day.

Isn't her Japanese a little too fluent? Is she really a foreigner, or did she grow up here?

"Kajieliena, you'll sit..."

Ever since entering the classroom, Kajieliena's gaze had remained fixed on Ando Meiko alone. So after finishing her introduction, she walked directly toward Ando Meiko without waiting for Teacher Ji's arrangement.

Her movements were completely decisive, without the slightest hesitation or wasted motion, leaving even the usually stern Teacher Ji stunned.

Kajieliena stood before Ando Meiko and looked at her, while Ando Meiko stared right back without backing down.

"What's going on? It feels like something happened between Ando and the new beautiful girl!"

"The atmosphere feels really explosive."

"Looking at how she dresses, she's probably a delinquent, right? Can Ando beat her?"

"Go, Ando!"

Hey, hey! Boys! Can you stop treating this like a show? And girls, don't encourage them! What explosive atmosphere? Kajieliena and I are just looking at each other, that's all!

Ando Meiko grumbled inwardly, but before she could speak, Teacher Ji's slightly irritated voice reached her. "Kajieliena?"

Hey! Silver-haired beauty over there, Teacher Ji's tone is getting pretty dangerous, you know! If you want something, just say it! No matter how long you stare at me, I'm not transforming here!

Kajieliena didn't speak to Ando Meiko. Instead, she turned toward Hirata Yuya beside her. "Could you move? I want to sit here."

"No!" Yuya refused without the slightest hesitation.