Magical Girl? I Got Tricked into It!

"You're only telling me something this important now...? Cancel it! Right, cancel the contract for me! Now! Immediately! This instant!"

"No, once a contract is signed, it can't be canceled unless... Master..."

"Unless I disappear or make a wish?"

Ruby's expression gave her a rough idea of the answer, so she could only let out a helpless sigh.

Even if she had entertained some unrealistic thoughts in the bathroom just now, they had only been self-indulgent fantasies. Compared to life-threatening battles, Ando Koichi much preferred an ordinary daily life.

At this point, nothing could surprise her anymore. Rather than struggle against some vague, intangible reality, she wanted to find a way to keep living here in this body.

"I'm sorry, Master..."

Ruby lowered her head in apology. Her expression and tone were extremely aggrieved. Whether it was an act or not, Ando Koichi could not bring herself to say anything else.

After washing up, she sat down to a breakfast for one. Even though it was her favorite French toast soaked in cream and honey, it tasted like wax now.

She sighed as she ate, her mind filled with what to do next. She rehearsed countless times in her head how to safely get through her first day of school, but Ando Koichi rejected every plan herself.

"I can only take it one step at a time."

"I'm heading out."

After closing the front door, she hung her head dejectedly. Who knew how long this state would last? If she did not want to take leave and ruin her attendance record, all she could do was grit her teeth and walk outside.

Come to think of it, after living here for so many years, this was probably the first time she had felt that the road from home to school... was so short.

Magical Girls Go to School Under New Identities

"First of all, I need to give myself a name and an identity. I can't exactly meet people using my own name, can I?"

Before leaving home, Ando Koichi's mind raced, and before long, he had arranged a new identity for himself.

"Meizi. Yeah, from now on, I'm Ando Meiko, Ando Koichi's cousin? His younger cousin? Whatever, I'm his little sister."

If she ignored all the indescribable nonsense involving magical girls, living as a different gender under a new identity was not entirely bad.

In short, he... no, she was now Ando Meiko. For the time being, she would live as Ando Koichi's younger sister.

"Ah!"

A familiar yet unfamiliar cry pulled Ando Meiko out of her fantasies. When she turned around, she saw a girl standing behind her.

"Um, excuse me, who are you?"

Although she had blurted that out, the girl being questioned quickly realized that what she had done was somewhat inappropriate. After thinking for a second, she promptly introduced herself.

"I'm Ando's neighbor. My name is Sawamura Rin. Why did you come out of Koichi's house? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Sawamura Rin was a cute girl with her hair tied into a side ponytail by a yellow ribbon. Though she wore the same sailor uniform as Ando Meiko, she was as petite as a middle schooler.

She was someone Ando Koichi knew—the only daughter of the neighboring family, Sawamura Rin.

She should still count as an acquaintance, right? After all, Rin had grown increasingly distant toward her former self, and in the blink of an eye, they had not seen each other for over half a year.

Meeting again at a time like this really was perfect "timing."

Still, hearing her call her Koichi really warmed her heart. If Ando Meiko still had her old identity, she might have gathered the courage to go over and kiss her, hug her, and lift her up... of course, only in her fantasies.

"Oh, you're Sawamura. Koichi mentioned you before. Right, I'm Koichi's cousin, Ando Meiko."

They clearly knew each other, yet she had to pretend to be surprised. The situation left Ando Meiko feeling somewhat at a loss.

And the moment she gave her introduction, she realized something was not quite right.

What kind of name was Meiko? Picking such a generic, overused name was way too careless!

"So you're Koichi's cousin. I thought you were..."

"I was?"

"N-Nothing. Your uniform is the same as mine, so you go to our school. Since we're heading the same way, want to walk together?"

"Sure."

They were going the same way anyway, so there was no reason to refuse. Besides, it had been a long time since she had walked to school with Rin. The feeling was somewhat nostalgic.

"Sawamura... can I call you by your first name?"

"Of course. In that case, I'll just call you Meiko too."

Rin readily agreed to Ando Meiko's suggestion, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

They had called each other by their first names when they used to play together so often. Suddenly having to use surnames felt strange and unfamiliar.

The breeze brushed through the leaves with a soft rustling sound, while the clear footsteps of two girls joined the quiet road that few people ever used.

They both seemed to enjoy the feeling. Though they had only just "met," neither of them broke the unique silence.

It reminded Ando Meiko of the past, of when Sawamura Rin had first arrived in town.

Their parents would occasionally run into each other while taking walks, and after both families gradually became acquainted, Rin's parents often had to travel for work.

Whenever that happened, Rin's mother would bring her over and ask the Ando family to look after her. Back then, it was usually Ando Koichi who played with her.

That was why they had remained close since middle school. She just did not know why they had gradually drifted apart after entering high school.

"Meiko, you said Koichi mentioned me. What does he think of me?"

"Huh?"

Caught off guard by the question, Ando Meiko was speechless. She had only said it casually and had never thought about what the answer should be.

"He... he said the neighbor's kid is cute, kind, gentle, and things like that?"

Only after saying it did she realize she had ended with a questioning tone. She did not know whether Rin had noticed, because before she even finished speaking, Rin had already turned her head away.

There were not many friends to talk to on the way to school, and with someone beside her now, she temporarily forgot the troubles of becoming a girl. As they neared the school gate, Ando Meiko suddenly wanted to tease this little girl who had always been so innocent.

"Rin, what do you think of my brother—Koichi, I mean?"

"Huh? Why bring that up all of a sudden? What kind of opinion could I have about him?"

"I think he seems to care about you a lot."

"Huh... he... cares about me a lot...?"

Rin suddenly stopped walking after hearing that. She covered her mouth, disbelief written across her face, while an enchanting blush spread over her cute cheeks.

Rin, making that expression should be a crime. If you keep looking like that, I'm going to start wondering whether you actually like me.

Of course, even Ando Meiko herself did not really want to believe such wishful thinking and fantasies.

"Koichi is a very good person. When I first moved here, I didn't know anyone, and my parents were busy traveling around for work. Whenever that happened, Koichi would come take care of me and play with me. When other people bullied me, he would step forward to save me like a prince."

After receiving a good guy card and a whole string of compliments, the person in question awkwardly rubbed her cheek.

Too bad the prince you're talking about has completely fallen into the depths of being a shut-in otaku. I wonder if you'd be disappointed...

"See you later, Meiko."

"Yeah, see you."

After saying goodbye to Rin, it was time for Ando Meiko to speak on Ando Koichi's behalf.

It was still early, and there were not many people at the school gate yet. Besides, even if there were, they could not possibly know someone named Ando Meiko, right?

The fact that she had not drawn any suspicious looks was thanks to the girls' school uniform that her childhood friend had not thrown away after transferring schools, but had instead entrusted to her for safekeeping.

Thinking it would be a waste and bringing it home like a treasure had been absolutely the right choice. Ando Meiko really wanted to give her past self a huge thumbs-up.

Entering the school building, Ando Meiko headed straight for the principal's office. She had to find a way for the current Ando Meiko to attend school without affecting Ando Koichi's perfect attendance.

"Hello, Principal. Sorry to bother you."

Before opening the door, she had assumed the principal would not have arrived this early. Yet he was already sitting at his desk.

What's going on? Why is the principal here so early? Ah... right, I remember now. The teacher for our class's morning lesson today seems to be the principal.

"Hm? Who are you, young lady? I don't think I've seen you before."

The principal, who had been about to make some morning tea and begin his day, stopped what he was doing and looked at Ando Meiko in confusion.

His subtle expression made it clear that he was trying hard to remember whether he had ever met her.

"Principal, I'm Ando Koichi's cousin, Ando Meiko."

"Ando's cousin, huh? What can I do for you?"

"It's like this. Koichi has some health problems and can't come to school. He doesn't want his attendance rate to plummet, so he wants me to attend classes for him, take notes, and bring them back to him..."

"This..."

When she saw the principal's body trembling, Ando Meiko grew frightened. She admitted there were holes all over her story, but in her rush, she simply could not think of a suitable excuse.

The next moment, the trembling principal actually shed tears of emotion.

"W-What a strong child. Even when he's sick, he still wants to maintain his attendance rate. Approved. You're Ando Meiko, right? Sign this document, and I'll go explain things to the teachers immediately."

She was even more shocked, because she had never expected the principal to accept such a casually fabricated setup so directly.

While she filled out what looked like a freshman enrollment questionnaire, the principal had already left the office.

Fortunately, this school evaluated students based on attendance. If students did not want to come to school, they basically did not even need to request leave—they could simply stay home. After all, anyone whose attendance rate failed to meet the standard would not be allowed to graduate.

Because of that, Ando Meiko did not need to worry about the principal calling her family to ask about the situation.

She had once wondered why such a strange and irresponsible school even existed, but now she could only feel grateful for it.

"Come with me."

By the time the principal returned, Ando Meiko had finished filling out the questionnaire in her hands. When he turned and left, she quickly followed after him.

"Everyone, quiet down."

The principal was this class's English teacher. As usual, before he had even reached the blackboard after entering the classroom, he was already clapping his hands to quiet his students.

"Today, I'd like to introduce a... transfer... exchange... substitute? A substitute student."

Since Ando Koichi had been following behind him, she only entered the classroom just as the principal finished speaking.

At the principal's signal, Ando Meiko picked up a piece of chalk from the desk and wrote her name on the blackboard in the best handwriting she could manage, then turned around.

"Um, h-hello, everyone. I'm Ando Meiko, temporarily attending in place of my brother, Ando Koichi. Please take care of me during this time."

Introducing herself in this familiar classroom with a new identity, a new gender, and a new name gave her an indescribably strange feeling.

"Ooohhh! She's actually a beautiful girl!"

"I get to experience something that only happens in anime?"

"Claiming her! Claiming her! I'm definitely making this girl my girlfriend!"

"Ooh, Meiko! Meiko is so cute! It's not just her face—the important thing is her chest, her chest, and her chest is huge too!"

"Wait, do boys only look at that place? That's disgusting!"

Her mental defenses instantly shattered. If she could, Ando Meiko just wanted to cover her face and bury her head in the ground like an ostrich.

Why had she never noticed that the boys in her class were this awful? There were quite a few pretty girls in class too, so why did she never see them chatting those girls up? Did transfer students get some kind of bonus buff or debuff?

But she did not care about that at all, because the only person she cared about in this class was her best friend, Hirata Yuya.

When she saw the principal slam his hand on the desk and look ready to start scolding people, the chatter abruptly stopped. For a moment, the room was so quiet that they could clearly hear a fly buzzing past.

"Quiet down. Stop making noise."

The principal's intimidation was as formidable as ever.

"Now then, Ando, your seat..."

"I'll just sit in my brother's seat."

Ando Koichi's seat was right next to Yuya's. Even with her eyes closed, she was confident she could walk over there without bumping into anything.

Of course, as she headed toward her seat, nearly everyone in the class watched her. Some shameless boys even lowered their heads to stare at her long legs wrapped in white thigh-high socks—legs that made even Ando Meiko herself drool with envy.

Endure. I have to endure. When will that damned magical power fusion finally be complete?

Beneath those scorching gazes, she finally sat down in her familiar seat just before her mind could collapse. But before she could calm down, she noticed Yuya looking at her.

Hey, buddy, don't look at me like I'm some blond heroine from an adult manga, okay? I'm your bro, Ando Koichi.

Though she felt completely thrown off inside, she still looked at Yuya calmly. "Morning, Yuya."