For the sake of her dinner, Ando Meiko helplessly let all the water out of the Pacific Ocean.
"Yay! See? Hmph, I finally managed to beat you for once."
"You really did. That was amazing, Fuko."
She was so happy just from winning once after such obvious mercy. She truly did not know why her former self had been so heartless.
If she had put a little thought into it back then, maybe Fuko would have become her girlfriend long ago.
All she could say was that she had failed to appreciate her childhood friend while young, treating games like treasure instead.
Volume One: How I Got Tricked Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter 48: Running Into Someone Familiar
"That's enough. I've already won once, so I have no regrets now."
"Want to go to the mall?" The mall not far from here was the largest nearby. Even on weekdays, it saw plenty of visitors, let alone during a holiday.
"Mm, of course. There's quite a lot we need to prepare today."
"There's all that?"
Fuko counted the things they needed to bring home on her fingers. "Yep. We need to restock the household supplies and ingredients, and buy some cat food, canned cat food, and stuff like that."
"Huh? You've already run out?"
"Yeah, Yue probably ate it all. One bowl per meal isn't even enough for her."
"Don't feed her too much! If you spoil her like that, she'll turn into a fat cat!"
Cat food was the last thing Ando Meiko expected to need restocking. Before Fuko arrived, she had prepared enough for over a month. Yet it had only been a few days, and it was already gone.
"It's fine. Besides, aren't cats cuter when they're a little chubby?"
"A little chubby is cute, sure... but don't raise her like a pig." Ando Meiko was somewhat speechless. Just in case, she decided to weigh Yue after they got home. Chubby cats looked nice, but being too fat would affect their health.
"Nanako, make sure you stay close to us, okay?"
"Got it, Meizi."
The crowd was not overly dense yet, but some popular stores already had long lines. If Nanako walked around on her own, she might get lost. Ando Meiko did not dare let the little Evil God leave her sight.
They did not make any particular plans while shopping. Whenever they saw a store that looked interesting, they went in to take a look.
"This place is all accessories? They're so cheap." After wandering around, Ando Meiko and the others entered a jewelry store.
Perhaps because it targeted students, the store sold only affordable accessories and handmade toys.
Ando Meiko had little use for these accessories and had not planned to buy any. After all, she already had a pink hair clip for teleportation from Ruby.
Still, they seemed like decent gifts. Since they were here anyway, buying the others some small presents would be nice.
After they split up to shop, Ando Meiko and Nanako waited outside for Fuko to come out.
"Meizi, you came out so quickly? Did you find something you wanted?"
"Of course."
"Perfect. I bought one too."
They took out the accessories they had bought at the same time. Both little items were hair clips, and although the styles differed slightly, each one clearly suited the other's style.
"I was planning to give this to you."
"Me too."
They personally put their chosen gifts in each other's hair, making Nanako pout beside them with a jealous look that was rather amusing.
"Of course we got something for Nanako too."
"Exactly. How could we leave Nanako out?"
The gifts they had bought for Nanako were also hair clips, and the two clips were exactly the same.
They truly were childhood friends. They could not exactly guess each other's thoughts, but their feelings of consideration for one another were the same.
"Thank you, Fuko. Thank you, Meizi. Hehe." The child excitedly shook her head over and over in front of the mirror outside the store, admiring the gifts from her two older sisters.
If Fuko and I had a child, maybe she would be like Nanako?
Ando Meiko shook her head and flung the thought from her mind.
No, why was she having such an unrealistic thought? That was ridiculous.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Honestly. Where are you? Got it, I'll be right there."
Fuko and Nanako were having a great time in front of the mirror when Ando Meiko heard a familiar voice behind her.
She turned around in confusion, and a familiar figure entered her sight—Sawamura Rin.
Why was Rin here on her day off? If she had known, she should have invited her yesterday too.
"Hey, Rin."
The sounds around them drowned out Ando Meiko's call. Rin, who was walking straight in one direction, soon merged into the crowd and disappeared from view.
Her intuition told her something was unusual, but she had promised to go shopping with Fuko, so she did not chase after Rin.
They were in the same mall anyway. If fate allowed it, they would naturally run into each other.
"Meizi, who were you calling just now?"
"Oh, Rin. I saw her walking behind me by herself just now, but it was too noisy around here, so she didn't hear me calling her."
"That's really a shame. It would have been nice if she could come with us too. More people would make it livelier."
Ando Meiko shrugged and glanced at the crowd over there.
There was no point searching for her. Besides, Rin might not even want to shop with them. They could just say hello if they ran into her later.
For a better shopping experience, Ando Meiko had no intention of going somewhere crowded. After leaving that store, the girls headed up to the third floor.
"Isn't this where they sell clothes? Weren't we supposed to buy household supplies?"
"Let's buy you some clothes first. Meizi is so cute, but my clothes look a little plain. They don't really suit you."
Fuko's taste in clothes was trustworthy. As a girl, she never slacked off when it came to coordinating outfits. The clothes she gave Ando Meiko had also been specially matched, and both the colors and styles suited her very well.
"Not at all. I think they all look pretty good."
"Anyway, come on, come on. We have plenty of time, and we need to buy some for Nanako too." Fuko's adorable, coaxing expression left Ando Meiko unable to find a reason to refuse.
"Look, doesn't she look great? Meizi is just too cute in a short skirt."
In the clothing store, Fuko forcibly put Ando Meiko in a white off-the-shoulder camisole-style casual top.
She paired it with a black pleated miniskirt. The deliberately visible thick-strapped undershirt kept her upper body from looking too bare and gave the outfit a more composed feel.
From her hair to her clothes to her skirt, the black-white-black combination separated the colors without making them feel too rigid. Paired with her original white stockings, it elevated the whole look even further.
They were only a few cheap pieces of clothing, but Fuko had considered not just the styles, but even the colors.
"Meizi is so cute! Meizi, you're way too cute!"
The moment Ando Meiko came out of the changing room, Fuko pulled her tightly into her arms and vigorously rubbed her head. Even the hairstyle she painstakingly fixed every day became a complete mess.
"Next outfit. Nanako, bring that over."
"Okay."
"Huh? There's more?"
"How could a girl have only one outfit?"
Was that really how it worked? It felt more like Fuko was just making excuses... No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
Volume One: How I Got Tricked Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter 49: The Lord-Class Codename
Having become a living dress-up doll, Ando Meiko changed into one outfit after another under Fuko's manipulation. Each had a different style, but the taste remained reliably good.
"Meizi looks as pretty as an idol. Anything you wear suits you perfectly. Why don't you become an idol, Meizi? You might gain hundreds of thousands of fans."
"I'll pass on being an idol." In the end, she bought the outfits that had suited her best during the fitting.
"We bought so much. What are we going to do later?"
"Still..." Fuko frowned and pointed behind her. "It doesn't seem that heavy."
Following the direction she pointed, Ando Meiko saw that Nanako had picked up everything they had just bought. Bags of all sizes hung from her body, yet she seemed not to feel a thing, her expression still completely relaxed.
Even this elementary-school-looking little girl could carry so much, so it was no wonder Fuko felt that none of it was heavy.
She was an Evil God... Ando Meiko had emphasized that to herself countless times already, but it was still frustrating that she could not say it out loud.
"Meizi, it's really light. I can carry it."
"That still won't do. How can we let Nanako carry everything by herself?" Ando Meiko hurriedly took all the things from Nanako's hands.
Even if it really was light, she could not let Nanako carry it all alone. Otherwise, people would think the two of them were abusing a child.
Ando Meiko did not really understand why girls liked shopping so much, but time passed quickly while they wandered around.
They had come out early in the morning, bought clothes, and eaten a meal. Before they knew it, it was already noon.
As afternoon approached, they did not go back to the mall. Instead, they searched nearby for various snack shops.
After all, it was rare for her to travel this far from home. Since they had satisfied Fuko's desire to shop, they might as well satisfy Nanako's appetite too.
"This is tasty! I want it." Ever since eating a crepe, Nanako had remembered its special flavor. The moment she saw one, she immediately asked for it.
"What about you, Fuko? Do you want one?"
"I want strawberry flavor."
"Then two strawberry ones." Just after Ando Meiko paid, she suddenly felt something strange. She raised her head and glanced toward a corner at the end of the street.
She spotted a familiar petite figure—Rin. She was there, looking frantic, talking to another girl beside her as they headed toward a corner, though Ando Meiko had no idea what they intended to do.
"She was in such a hurry when I saw her in the mall too. Did something happen? Maybe I should go check." Ando Meiko muttered worriedly.
"Fuko, I just remembered there's something else I need to buy. I'm going back for a moment, so please stay here with Nanako first. I'll be back soon."
"Okay, I understand. We'll stay here until you come back."
Fuko did not ask Ando Meiko why. She casually found a place to sit with Nanako and quietly watched her departing back.
Following the direction in which the girl had disappeared from memory, Ando Meiko reached the corner. Once she spotted Rin's back through the crowd, she slowly followed her.
Rin seemed to be looking for something.
"Is she waiting for someone?"
Ando Meiko followed behind her for a while. But after following her into an alley, she discovered that the girl she had been tracking had disappeared.
"Huh? Did I lose her?"
She had clearly seen Rin turn in here, and this alley was a dead end. She could not understand how Rin had vanished right before her eyes.
Forget it. Since she had lost her, then...
Just as she considered turning back, a mysterious person covered Ando Meiko's mouth. Before she could struggle, she was dragged into the alley.
Before Ando Meiko could call for help from the people outside the alley, her kidnapper turned her around. When she saw the mysterious person's face clearly, she frowned in confusion.
"Kajieliena? Why are you here too? Don't tell me you were following me?"
"No." Kajieliena turned her face away.
And you say you weren't! If you weren't, why won't you look at me? Did she only dare make a move because I separated from Fuko and the others?
Kajieliena's awkward attempt to hide it lasted only a moment. She quickly adjusted her expression, looked at Ando Meiko again, and said gravely, "I advise you not to go in."
"Go in? Go in where..." This alley was a dead end... Wait, could Kajieliena mean—
A terrifying thought rose in Ando Meiko's heart. "Are you talking about the Void World? What happened inside the Void World?"
Kajieliena tilted her head, somewhat puzzled. "You were heading this way, so I thought you already knew. Was it just a coincidence?"
"It really was a coincidence." There was no way she could say she had come to this awful place because she was following a friend.
"So what exactly happened inside?"
"There's a Ghost Grade Void Beast nearby."
"Ghost Grade? What's that supposed to be?"
Before you continue