Magical Girl? I Got Tricked Into It!

It wasn't until after that battle that she learned that, for Qi Ershan l.ing Si Jiu Qi II&?

By imagining the weapons she wanted and casting the magic she wanted, she could change her fighting style anytime, anywhere to handle all kinds of risks in battle. It sounded mysterious, but that was precisely why it worked.

If Ando Meiko had not decided at the last minute to join this Ghost Grade Void Beast extermination operation, Rin and the others alone probably would not even have been enough to fill the Void Spider's teeth.

"By the way, what's going on with your body? Why do you have so much blood? Don't Magical Girls leak that stuff called Aether when they're injured?"

"My constitution is different from other Magical Girls." Ando Meiko had nothing to say about that, since she did not understand what was going on with her own body either.

Yōichi could tell that she did not want to continue that topic, so he casually changed the subject. "Ruby, I think Three Purities must have mentioned it to you before. Are you planning to join us in saving the world?"

"Joining you people... what benefits are there?" Ando Meiko's tone was far less vague and dismissive than before.

If she had not been there today, the Magical Girls who went to exterminate the Void Spider would have been completely wiped out.

And after witnessing Rin's suicidal fighting style, Ando Meiko really did feel that she needed to consider this matter.

She could directly refuse Yōichi's invitation, but after learning the truth, how could she just let Rin keep fighting like that?

What if one day... Rin suddenly disappeared? What would she do then?

Thinking of such ominous possibilities and consequences, Ando Meiko could not help but feel afraid.

"Of course, we won't have you risk your lives for nothing. The S.H.I.E.L.D. General Bureau will pay you a salary. And if you want to retire in the future, we can give you the chance to enter a prestigious school without having to study."

Seeing that Ando Meiko's expression had not softened, Yōichi continued, "Also, if you're willing, we can arrange room and board for you. We'll do our best to provide whatever you want."

The benefits sounded pretty good, but Ando Meiko could still tell that Yōichi was playing a clever word game.

Why would they have the chance to enter a prestigious school without studying? Because whenever and wherever a Void Beast appeared, they would have to fight it, even if they were in class at the time.

Other than that, all that remained was a salary and room and board, right? Those were the most basic things imaginable. But then again, since they could not enter the Void to fight themselves, perhaps those were the only things they could offer.

"Unfortunately, the existence of Magical Girls is also a secret to this world, so we cannot let you enjoy the rights of soldiers or award you medals."

There was no helping that. Even if they remained unknown, Magical Girls were still the gears that maintained peace between the real world and the Void World.

Just like this Ghost Grade Void Beast extermination operation, even those Azure Magical Girls without familiars, no matter how weak they were, still stepped forward when they were needed.

Others fought with their lives on the line. One mistake could lead to total annihilation, leaving no bodies behind. Yet after becoming a Magical Girl, Ando Meiko had spent every day thinking only of avoiding battle and living an ordinary life.

Was that really something that could be forgiven?

She had no reason to fight before, but now her friend, Sawamura Rin, might become that reason.

At the very least, Ando Meiko hoped that after every battle, she could bring Rin safely home with her.

"I'll join you. But if the day comes when I want to quit, please don't stop me."

"Don't worry. We're a nationally recognized Magical Girl combat organization, not some utterly evil group. Besides, I'm also the regional commander assigned by my superiors. I know better than you what needs to be done."

"That's good."

"After we get back, I'll have someone contact you."

"Mm."

Ando Meiko did not return to the base with them. She had Yōichi drop her off near her home, then hurriedly said goodbye and went home.

During the short time she spent in the car, her wounds had already healed almost completely.

The Ether Body really did have its advantages. Once tonight passed, she would be full of energy again and ready for school tomorrow.

Now that she and Rin both knew each other's secret, Rin probably would not avoid her anymore. In any case, Ando Meiko could only take things one step at a time.

Early the next morning.

"Ah... Fu, Fuko..."

"Huh? Meizi? W-where are you? Ah!" Feeling someone grab her foot, Fuko jumped in fright and stepped back several paces. Looking down, she realized that her childhood friend was sprawled limply on the floor like a worm.

"Huh? Huh? Huh??? What's wrong, Meizi?"

"Eek! Ah!"

Fuko hurriedly crouched down to help Ando Meiko up, but when merely touching her body made her scream, Fuko immediately became afraid to move.

"A-are you okay?"

"I... I can't take it anymore... ugh..."

"Meizi! Hang in there! Meizi! You can't leave me like this!"

The physical strain from yesterday morning's exercise, combined with last night's battle and injuries, all hit Ando Meiko at once today, finally achieving an effect greater than one plus one.

Aside from her head, her entire body felt as if it had been sealed inside an iron maiden. Soreness covered her from head to toe, and the spot on her arm where she had been injured yesterday even throbbed with sharp pain.

To get downstairs and call for help that morning, she had even crawled inch by inch out of her room. Luckily, Fuko had just happened to come out and see her in this state.

Forget completing Kajieliena's training plan—she could barely even walk to school. Every little movement made her feel as though her body wanted her dead.

"Why don't I call and ask for leave for you?"

"Attendance... my attendance..."

"Don't worry, sick leave won't lower your attendance rate. Um... I remember the principal's number is... good, it's still here." Seeing Fuko take out her phone and prepare to call, Ando Meiko finally relaxed.

"Hello, Principal? Yes, yes, I'm a family member of Ando Meiko. She isn't feeling well and is sick, so she'd like to take a day off. Yes, all right. Sorry to trouble you." After hanging up, Fuko waved the phone at her, seemingly indicating that everything had been taken care of.

"You should rest well at home today." Fuko helped Ando Meiko into the living room and laid her flat on the sofa.

"Huh? Meizi? What happened to Meizi? Aren't you going to school today?"

"Nanako, you're up so early." Usually when they left home, Nanako was still sleeping like the dead. Unexpectedly, she had gotten up early today.

"Here, say ah~"

"Ah."

Since she could not move, Fuko came over to feed her breakfast. Rather than saying this kind of life was wonderful, it was better to say that having a childhood friend like this was wonderful.

"If Meizi isn't going to school, let's play together!"

"Forget playing. I'm in so much pain right now. If I can't recover today, I don't even know what I'll do tomorrow."

"Honestly, Meizi, it's not that I want to lecture you, but even exercise has its limits. You pushed yourself past your body's limits from the start, so of course this happened." Moving the coffee table aside, Fuko sat down beside her and began massaging her aching muscles.

"Oh! That feels good!" Under the massage of the beautiful girl's soft hands, the pain in Ando Meiko's muscles seemed to ease considerably.

"Mm, Meizi can't play. How boring." After finishing breakfast, Nanako sat on the other sofa. Familiar with the routine, she grabbed the remote from the coffee table, turned on the television, and switched to a news channel.

"Huh? Nanako watches the news too?"

"Yeah, this child loves it."

"I wonder what Nanako does while I'm at school every day?"

"Mm, watches TV all day? Sometimes she helps me with chores, and sometimes she goes outside to play by herself. She really has a lot of energy."

Well, she was an evil god, so having plenty of energy was not really a problem. But it was still outrageous that someone so playful spent an entire day playing alone at home.

"Recently, there have been many earthquake-like incidents in this city. Numerous buildings have inexplicably suffered destructive damage. Our reporter has arrived in the downtown area of District X. Let's take a look at the on-site interview."

The report drifting from the television made Ando Meiko turn her head and stare fixedly at the reporter on the screen.

This book had finally been safely contracted and put on sale after all this time.

I did not have much expectation for this in the first place. Whether it was because my skill was simply at this level or because luck had not been on my side, in any case, after receiving this news, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As for some of the questions people have been holding onto, I can briefly explain them here without spoilers.

First, the matter everyone is probably concerned about: Edogawa Marugang being a boy in girl's clothing. The reason I wrote that was because someone in the group really likes that kind of character, so I used their ID for a little joke. There will not be any more similar plotlines later.

Second, to be honest, this book was initially inspired by an anime called Magical Girl Erena, and I also liked tokusatsu at the time, so I impulsively jumped right into writing it.

However, as I wrote further, I also worked hard to flesh out the setting of this book.

Third, as for references, there will probably be quite a lot of references to Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and JoJo.

Fourth, regarding Ando Meiko's fighting style: while she achieves imagined results by releasing magical power, that imagination is not something where she can simply conjure up anything she wants. The conditions are fairly strict.

For an object, she needs to be specific about its composition, shape, appearance, and hardness. If she cannot completely imagine those aspects, it will only become the most similar object she has come into contact with before.

If I had to put it bluntly, it is probably a bit like setting filters and doing fuzzy searches.

Fifth, quite a lot of related characters appear in the first volume. Things will slow down temporarily afterward, and I will consider giving each major character an important volume of their own.

Sixth, regarding whether the protagonist will turn back later: I think that is what everyone most wants to know. What I can reveal for now is that she will not. The purpose of this book has always been very clear.

Also, the author account level is too low, so I cannot reply to private messages. If you want to ask directly, you can join the QQ group listed in the description. There are lots of cars there, and everyone is a hero in their own field. Whether you want to flirt, talk about snakes, or ask questions, it's all fine.

Any thoughts or questions can be posted in the comments. As long as they do not involve spoilers, I will do my best to answer them.

Although I have not written very well, I still want to thank everyone for your support and companionship along the way. Even though the results have not been great, I will finish writing it seriously and give this book, which has many regrets for me, a perfect ending.

Please support me, everyone. Thank you again. bows

"Hello, this is the on-site reporter. Through the camera, we can clearly see that most of the surrounding billboards have detached from their buildings and fallen to the ground. Many doors and windows in this downtown area have been damaged to varying degrees. Next, let's interview a witness who saw the entire incident."

The reporter handed the microphone to a member of the public waiting nearby, who had clearly prepared a speech in advance, and asked him to explain what had happened just yesterday.

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. All the glass products around here shattered on their own. I was passing by at the time and almost got hit. It scared me to death."

"Yesterday, people in military uniforms even drove armored vehicles over and sealed off the scene. A terrorist attack! This has to be a terrorist attack!"

An out-of-place person ran over and interrupted. The embarrassed reporter hurriedly moved the microphone away. After the camera caught the television station staff stopping the person who had rushed over, it turned back to the reporter.

"It is said that the damage near the shopping mall was even worse. Since it happened over the weekend, the area was crowded. According to statistics, this unknown disaster has caused at least three hundred minor injuries, eighty-nine serious injuries, and three people are still receiving emergency treatment in the hospital."

There was no need to say it—the place where the reporter was standing was where Ando Meiko had fought yesterday. But because she had left while injured, she had not carefully observed the surroundings.

Looking at it now, the destruction there really was severe.

And it was not just economic losses. People had been affected by the damage to the buildings as well.

Fortunately, before the operation began, the military had already evacuated people in advance under the pretense of a military exercise, so no one had died.

It was good that no one had died... Thinking that, Ando Meiko let out a soft sigh.

[Master, don't blame yourself. With their combat strength, they could never have defeated that spider. If not for you, this place would have suffered even greater destruction.]

Ruby's consolation made her gently clench the necklace in her hand as she sighed deeply in her heart.

[Ruby, I only wanted to live an ordinary, normal life. Why do I get dragged into these things every time?]

Running into a Void Wolf at school and encountering a Void Dog while out with her crush were one thing, but even a park she decided to visit on a whim and a simple shopping trip could bring her into contact with these damn things. Her luck could not possibly be that bad, could it?

[Master, Magical Girls are like gears meshed between two worlds. The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. Whether Master wants it or not, the moment you became a Magical Girl, it was as though you embedded yourself into fate.]

[Magical Girls attract other Magical Girls, and Magical Girls and Void Beasts attract one another. This is fate's interference.]

"Fate's interference..." Ando Meiko shook her head bitterly.

In other words, a sudden thought, a last-minute decision, or simply going about her normal routine could all become an opportunity to encounter a Void Beast.

What the hell was this? Was she filming Final Destination? Did the world really have to toy with her like this? There were countless Magical Girls in the world. It was not like she was the only one...

Not long ago, she definitely would have fiercely berated Ruby, blaming her for choosing someone who loved peace, tricking her into making a contract, and forcing her to live a daily life where she could lose her life at any moment.

But after all she had experienced during this time, she could no longer say such things.

Especially after learning that Rin was also a Magical Girl, she sometimes even had the terrifying thought, Thank goodness I became a Magical Girl.

Xiphias, Kajieliena, Sawamura Rin—this was fate, and that was fate. If everything was connected to fate, then was meeting Ruby also a kind of fate?

No matter how much she shouted that her fate was in her own hands and not Heaven's, the turning gear called fate bore the weight of two worlds.

How could an ordinary person possibly contend with such weight?

Still unable to find peace of mind, Ando Meiko leaned back onto the sofa.

"What's wrong, Meizi? You seem unhappy." Nanako turned toward Ando Meiko and asked worriedly.

The little white cat, Yue, leaped up as well and rubbed herself against Ando Meiko's thigh, seemingly showing concern for her owner.

"It's nothing. I was just thinking about some troubling things." She smiled and shook her head, reaching out to gently stroke Yue and Nanako's heads.