Magical Girl? I Got Scammed Into This!

"Meizi, you're here." Kajieliena had already started by the time Ando Meiko arrived.

Judging by how skillfully she trained by herself, she probably spent some time practicing here every day.

"Yeah, didn't we agree to train? Since I promised, of course I can'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 much you can't move them, you still have to keep training. You need the kind of desperate spirit that wouldn't care even if it made you go bald."

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

In her current condition, if she completed that plan without missing a single exercise, she would definitely die. She absolutely wouldn't even last a day.

"When you make plans like this, could you consider my physical strength first?"

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

"No way!"

Even if Kajieliena said that, Ando Meiko still wouldn't agree. She did want the ability to protect herself, but she didn't want to become some muscle girl who fought with her fists.

"Then let's put aside the squats and push-ups for now and focus on endurance training through running."

"That, I can accept. Let's do that." She didn't know whether she could last ten kilometers, but she had to try first to find out just how much potential this body supposedly fused with Aether had hidden within it.

"First, do some stretches and warm up a little."

She was more than familiar with stretching. After all, they always warmed up before running in PE class.

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

After stretching, large movements no longer felt burdensome, and she immediately felt as though her body had been completely opened up, leaving her wonderfully refreshed.

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

At first, they were both jogging, and there was no real difference in speed between Ando Meiko and Kajieliena.

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

Noticing the change in her, Kajieliena slowed her pace 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 shorter, her feet never stopped moving.

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

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Scammed Into Becoming a Magical Girl — Chapter 56: It Feels Like I'm About to Sell Myself

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

Heaven and earth blended together, everything flowed past. She had long forgotten how long she had been running. Her stamina had already been exhausted, yet she had no idea what force was supporting her, making her move those legs that felt as heavy as stone.

With her blurred vision leaving her without any landmarks, she could only focus on Kajieliena ahead of her, when a strange buzzing suddenly filled her ears.

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

"Huh?"

With a sudden jolt, Ando Meiko seemed to enter a final burst of vitality. Every sensation rose to a new level in that instant. Her vision became incomparably clear, her feet no longer felt heavy, and her speed even increased.

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

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

"It's probably because your brain is secreting more endorphins, making you feel as though you've broken through your limits. Still, that's fine. There are only two kilometers left. Keep going and you'll be done."

Two kilometers? Forget two kilometers—even if she ran another ten, she felt there wouldn't be any problem at all. Though she had no idea what those endorphins Kajieliena mentioned were, she felt like she could take off into the sky right where she stood.

"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! Ahahaha!"

This felt so good. So pushing past her limits could feel this good! Exercise and all that—give her more! Right, she would start with Kajieliena's training plan. As long as she seriously completed it and stuck to it every day, she could become stronger, right? That was how it worked, wasn't it?

Having just finished the final stretch, she had barely run a few meters past the finish line when, overwhelmed by excitement, she kicked an inconspicuous little stone.

With a dull thud, Ando Meiko pitched forward and fell. Her body, already at its limit, finally caused her tortured brain to disconnect.

"Huh? Eek! I... I fainted again?"

"Yeah. 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 feel like dying."

"Hm?"

"The school gates close at eight. To train while also making it to school, if we start the route from your house, it should be..."

Kajieliena, how did you already find out where I live? Does that mean I'll have to guard against you firing some kind of concentrated cannon blast at my house at any moment from now on?

She had no idea how she managed to exercise for an entire morning. After finishing the ten-kilometer run, she followed Kajieliena's instructions and gave her muscles plenty of massages to ease the strain.

According to Kajieliena, it was enough to use running as a warm-up on the first day. She shouldn't do too many other exercises and needed to give her body time to adapt to high-intensity training.

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

There was nothing to do on a weekend afternoon. She had intended to continue reading the books she had borrowed from the library, but her wandering gaze landed on a crumpled 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 starting with the letter D.

She turned on the computer, which had been unused for days, and opened the app. Her mouse moved over the login button, but the hand resting on the left mouse button hesitated for a long time without clicking.

This account belonged to Ando Koichi. If she logged in with it, it would probably cause a lot of trouble if someone saw it. With that thought, Ando Meiko applied for a new work account.

Registering the account was fairly quick, but she got stuck on the final step: the username.

"Master! I know this stuff, let me do it." Whenever it came to something like this, Ruby became unusually enthusiastic, transforming into her magical-wand form and floating 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 as the profile image?"

"Who are you trying to expose your identity to?" Ando Meiko shot Ruby an annoyed look. Was that supposed to be self-deception? Or practically putting up a sign that said there was no silver buried here?

"How about Active JK Ruby?"

"Why does that name feel like it's about to sell... something? If I really used it, some creepy old men with weird fetishes might bombard my inbox."

"Rejected. Forget it, stop thinking."

I'll have to do this myself. As for the name, of course it should be this.

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

As for the profile picture, she found an image of the Ace of Diamonds online and used that. It represented her signature color while also symbolizing her beautiful wish to become an ace.

"Mm, Master really is better at this."

"Cut the nonsense." After registering the account, she entered the ID from the yellow slip into the account search bar, and the displayed account soon appeared.

"Supreme Spirit Three Purities, with a Taiji diagram as the profile picture. Pretty plain... though it does suit that combat outfit of hers that looks like a Daoist robe."

Still, this magical girl named Three Purities was as straightforward as Ruby. She 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 she didn't know. But Ando Meiko understood her meaning perfectly, so there was no need to beat around the bush. "Hello, I'm Ruby. We met in there yesterday."

"Looks like I didn't get it wrong, haha. Sorry I didn't properly thank you yesterday. My comrades also want to thank you in person."

"I appreciate the thought. If we get a chance to meet again, I wouldn't refuse."

Not only Three Purities—the face shapes of those other magical girls suggested they were all top-tier beauties too. It wouldn't feel bad to have beautiful girls like that thank her.

"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, all of them were beautiful girls. It couldn't possibly be that much of a coincidence, could it?

"Probably the Great Will's bad taste."

Fine, it looked like Ruby didn't know either. Still, wasn't that a good thing?

If the Witch Organization, as enemies, were all beautiful girls, it would be hard to fight them. But if all her teammates were beautiful girls, they were pleasing to look at just by being there.

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

"Huh? In the real world?"

"Where else? Are we supposed to pack it up and drink it in the void?"

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Scammed Into Becoming a Magical Girl — Chapter 57: The Contrast Is Way Too Big

Huh? We had only met once, and she was already asking to meet offline after our first meeting? What should I do? I wasn't prepared at all. Should I agree?

"Ruby?"

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

Alright, 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 receive some help from an expert and make the days ahead a little more peaceful.

"Okay, then where should we meet?"

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

Her muscles were in decent shape. After resting for a while, she had almost recovered. Going out for a bit that afternoon shouldn't be a problem.

"Here."

The location Three Purities sent over surprised her a little.

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. With that, she ran downstairs to collect her laundry.

"Meizi? Going out again?"

"Yeah, I'm meeting someone."

"Will you be back for dinner tonight?"

"I'm not sure, but if I'm not coming back, I'll let you know beforehand."

For some reason, there was always a strange feeling. When had the conversations between her and Fuko started to feel like conversations between a mother and daughter...?

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

But there was nothing she could do about that. She wanted to bring Fuko along too, but she was going to meet magical girls offline, so she couldn't have Fuko come with her.

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

"Master, I'll help you!"

As a girl, she naturally had to dress up before going out. After all, this wasn't just casually heading outside; she was meeting an online friend. Even if she still wasn't very good at makeup, she had to put in the effort for the occasion.

While she focused on applying makeup, Ruby naturally took human form and helped her do her hair. Saving time was a good thing, and Ruby's technique was far 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 already knew the route like the back of her hand. Choosing this location actually saved quite a bit of time.

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

"At the entrance. I'm wearing a beret. There's no one nearby, so you should spot me as soon as you look. Are you here yet?"

"Not yet."