Magical Girl? I Got Scammed Into It!

"Meizi, you're here." Kajieliena had already begun training before Ando Meiko arrived.

Judging by how skillfully she worked out by herself, she probably trained here for a while every day.

"Yeah. Didn't we agree to train? Since I promised, of course I couldn't break my word."

"Good. Then let's make a training plan first."

"What kind of plan?"

"One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, then a ten-kilometer run every day."

"Huh?"

"You have to keep at it every day. Even if your arms and legs hurt so badly you can't move, you must continue training. Train with the determination to risk going bald."

"No, no, no, no!" She decisively rejected Kajieliena's so-called daily training plan.

With her current condition, if she completed that entire plan without cutting anything out, she would definitely die. She absolutely would not even last a day.

"Could you consider my physical condition before making plans like that?"

"It's fine. Although you're still weak, with your current physical makeup, even doubling that exercise load wouldn't be a problem."

"No way!"

Even if Kajieliena said that, Ando Meiko would not agree. She did want the ability to protect herself, but she did not want to become a muscle girl who fought with her fists.

"Then we'll put aside the squats and push-ups for now and focus on stamina training through running."

"I can accept that. Let's do it." She did not know whether she could endure ten kilometers, but she had to try first and see just how much potential this body supposedly fused with Aether possessed.

"Start with some stretches and warm up a little."

She was extremely familiar with stretching. After all, they always did warm-up exercises before running in gym class.

"Let me help you stretch." Kajieliena walked behind her and stretched the ligaments and muscles throughout her body.

After stretching, even large movements no longer felt burdensome. She immediately felt as though her entire body had been opened up, leaving her incomparably refreshed.

"Warm-up complete. Meizi, keep up." Kajieliena patted Ando Meiko on the shoulder, then, having already warmed up herself, sprinted off first.

At the beginning, they were both jogging, and there was little difference between Ando Meiko and Kajieliena's speed.

But as they continued, her stamina visibly began to decline, and the gap between her and Kajieliena, who maintained a steady pace, grew wider and wider.

Noticing the change, Kajieliena slowed her steps slightly. "Meizi, don't stop just because you're tired. Hang in there a little longer."

She was already out of strength after only a few kilometers? No... she had only run a few hundred meters!

Even though her strides had become much smaller, her feet did not pause in the slightest.

Listening to the girl beside her urge her on in a way that hardly sounded encouraging, Ando Meiko replied between ragged breaths, "I... huff... huff... I... know... huff..."

Volume One: How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl — Chapter Fifty-Six: It Feels Like I'm Going to Be Sold

Her vision began to blur. The scenery, reduced to streaks of light and shadow, swept past Ando Meiko's increasingly darkened field of vision. Her brain seemed to have been deprived of so much oxygen that it could no longer reliably process visual information.

Heaven and earth blended together, everything flowed. She had long forgotten how long she had been running back and forth. Her stamina had already run dry, yet she had no idea what force was supporting her, making these legs as heavy as stone keep moving.

With her blurred vision leaving her without any point of reference, she could only focus on Kajieliena ahead of her, but a strange buzzing sounded in her ears.

"Mei... zi... still... speed... up..."

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Ando Meiko jolted. It was as though she had entered a final burst of vitality; every sensation rose to a new height in that instant. Her vision became incomparably clear, her feet were no longer heavy, and her speed even increased.

At that moment, she felt as though she possessed inexhaustible strength.

"I've never experienced such a wonderful feeling before, Kajieliena. I feel like I have endless strength now! Has the Aether in my body finally started working?"

"Your brain is probably secreting more endorphins, creating the illusion that you've broken through your limits. But this is good. There are only two kilometers left. Keep it up and you'll be done."

Two kilometers? Forget two kilometers—even if she ran another ten kilometers, she felt there would be no problem at all. Though she had no idea what that endorphin Kajieliena mentioned was supposed to mean, she felt like she could take off from the spot.

"Then I'll go wait for you up ahead."

"Meizi... runner's high isn't as fun as you think."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Nothing."

"Don't make me wait too long! Hahahaha!"

It felt so good. So pushing herself beyond her limits felt this good! Exercise, give me more! Right, I'll start with Kajieliena's training plan. As long as I seriously complete it every day, I'll become stronger, right? That's how it works, right?

Just after finishing the last stretch of road, before she had even run more than a few meters past the finish line, she was so excited that she kicked an inconspicuous little stone.

With a dull thud, Ando Meiko's body pitched forward and she fell. Her body, already at its limit, finally caused her exhausted brain to lose connection.

"Huh? Eek! I... I passed out again?"

"Yes. That's why I told you runner's high isn't anything fun... It's your brain's protective mechanism telling you that your body has reached its limit."

"I see." In any case, she had managed to finish the ten-kilometer run. Today's training plan could be considered successfully completed.

"Tomorrow, you'll be suffering like hell."

"Hm?"

"The school gates close at eight. To work out and get to school at the same time, if we plan the route starting from your home, it should be..."

Kajieliena, how do you already know where I live? Does that mean I need to guard against you firing some kind of concentrated cannon at my house anytime in the future?

She had no idea how she had managed to exercise for an entire morning. After finishing the ten-kilometer run, she followed Kajieliena's guidance and performed many massages to ease her muscles.

According to Kajieliena, running as a warm-up on the first day was enough. She should not do too many other movements and needed to give her body time to adjust to high-intensity training.

When Ando Meiko returned home at noon, her entire body felt limp. After hurriedly eating lunch to replenish her energy, she went back to her room to rest her utterly drained body.

There was nothing much to do on a weekend afternoon. She had planned to continue reading the books she had borrowed from the library, but her wandering gaze fell upon a wrinkled yellow slip of paper.

"Ah! I forgot about this." This was what Three Purities had given her before leaving yesterday: an account ID for a social app that started with the letter D.

She turned on the computer, which had been gathering dust for days, and opened the app. Her mouse moved over the login button, but the hand resting on the left mouse button did not click for a long time.

The current account belonged to Ando Koichi. Logging in with it would probably cause considerable trouble if someone saw it. Thinking that, Ando Meiko registered a new account for work use.

Creating an account was quick enough, but she got stuck at the final step: the username.

"Master! I know this one, let me do it." Whenever something like this came up, Ruby became especially energetic. She transformed into a magic wand and floated beside her.

"Go ahead. I'll consider whether to use it after I hear it."

"Keep it simple. Call it Ruby, then use a picture of a ruby?"

"Who are you trying to expose your identity to?" Ando Meiko shot Ruby an irritated glance. Was that supposed to be hiding your ears while stealing a bell? Or the equivalent of announcing there was no silver buried here?

"Active-duty high school girl Ruby?"

"Why does that name make it feel like I'm going to be sold... If I actually used it, some creepy old men with weird fetishes might bombard my inbox."

"Rejected. Forget it, stop thinking."

I'll have to handle it myself. The name, of course, would be this.

"Huh? Magician's Red? Red... Red Magician?"

As for the profile picture, she found an image of the Ace of Diamonds online and used it, both to represent her signature color and to express her beautiful wish of becoming an ace.

"Mm, Master is still the better one."

"Enough nonsense." After registering the account, she entered the ID on the yellow slip into the account search field, and the displayed account quickly appeared.

"Shangling Three Purities, with a Tai Chi symbol for a profile picture. Pretty simple... Though it suits that combat outfit of hers that looks like a Daoist robe."

However, this magical girl called Three Purities was as straightforward as Ruby. She clearly had no intention of hiding anything on her social account.

Shaking her head helplessly, Ando Meiko pressed the friend request button. To her surprise, the other side replied instantly. "Hi! Are you the red one from yesterday?"

It was a somewhat cautious greeting, probably because she was afraid of being discovered by someone unfamiliar. But Ando Meiko knew exactly what she meant, so there was no need to beat around the bush. "Hello, I'm Ruby. We met in there yesterday."

"Looks like I got the right person, haha. Sorry I didn't properly thank you yesterday. My comrades also want to thank you in person."

"I appreciate the thought. If we have another chance to meet, I wouldn't necessarily refuse."

It was not just Three Purities. Judging from those magical girls' faces, they had to be exceptionally beautiful girls as well. Having beautiful girls thank her sounded like it would feel pretty nice.

"By the way, Ruby, I want to ask you something."

"What is it, Master?"

"Why are all magical girls beautiful girls?"

Whether it was Xiphias, Kajieliena, Three Purities, or her comrades, every one of them was a beautiful girl. It could not possibly be such a coincidence, could it?

"Probably the Great Will's twisted sense of humor."

Fine, it looked like Ruby did not know either. But wasn't that a good thing?

If everyone in the Witch Organization, their enemies, were beautiful girls, it would be hard to fight them. But if all her allies were beautiful girls, just looking at them was pleasing to the eye.

"Are you free this afternoon? I'll treat you to a cup of coffee."

"Huh? In the Reality World?"

"Where else? Should we pack it up and drink it in the void?"

Volume One: How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl — Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Contrast Is Way Too Big

Huh? We had only met once, and she was already asking to meet offline after that first meeting? What should I do? I'm completely unprepared. Should I agree?

"Ruby?"

"She doesn't seem like a bad person. Why not go take a look?"

All right, one abstention and one vote in favor. One to zero, Ando Meiko lost. She would agree and go take a look. Maybe she could even gain the protection of someone important and live more peacefully from now on.

"All right, then where should we meet?"

Ando Meiko only had an appointment with Kajieliena today, so she had plenty of free time for the entire afternoon.

Her muscles were in decent condition. After resting a little, she had mostly recovered, so going out for a bit in the afternoon would not be a problem.

"Here."

The location Three Purities sent surprised her somewhat.

Because it was a place she had visited before.

Perfect. The clothes she had washed just yesterday should be dry by now. It was great that she could use them right away. Saying that, she ran downstairs to collect her clothes.

"Meizi? Going out again?"

"Yeah, I have plans with someone."

"Will you be back for dinner tonight?"

"I'm not sure, but if I won't be coming back, I'll let you know in advance."

For some reason, it felt strange. Since when had her conversations with Fuko started feeling like conversations between a mother and son...?

She wanted to spend more time with Fuko, but Fuko also seemed to have nothing to do, even though she would be going back next week.

Still, there was nothing she could do about that. She wanted to bring Fuko along too, but she was going to meet magical girls offline. She could not have Fuko come with her.

Come to think of it, how many people would be meeting her? If it was only Three Purities, that would be fine. But if those other beautiful girls came too, she did not know whether her social anxiety would suddenly flare up.

"Master, I'll help you!"

As a girl, she naturally had to dress herself up before going out. This was not just casually stepping outside; she was meeting an online friend. Even if she was not very good at makeup yet, she still had to make the occasion feel proper.

As she focused on applying makeup, Ruby naturally transformed into human form and helped comb her hair. Saving time was a good thing, since Ruby's technique was much better than hers.

The place where she was meeting Three Purities felt as familiar to her as returning home. Whether taking the train or transferring along the way, she knew the route by heart, and choosing this location actually saved quite a bit of time.

"Where are you?" Ando Meiko asked over her phone.

"I'm at the entrance. I'm wearing a beret, and there's no one nearby, so you should spot me at a glance. Have you arrived?"

"Not yet."