Magical Girl? I Got Tricked Into It!

Petting cats and doting on little girls always lifted one's spirits. Comforted by those two adorable creatures, Ando Meiko's heart calmed somewhat.

"Only Nanako and Yueshi getting to do this is way too unfair. I want in too!"

After washing the dishes, Fuko turned around and saw the scene. Puffing out her cheeks with a hint of jealousy, she sat on Ando Meiko's other side, though she did not dare lean against her so easily.

"Alright, alright, Fuko too." Withdrawing the hand that had been stroking Yue, Ando Meiko also patted Fuko's head as she leaned closer.

Like a family of three with a cat, this peaceful and stable daily life was what Ando Meiko should have wanted most.

But becoming a magical girl was already an irreversible fact.

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. She did not care about that sort of thing. She did not think she could become a cog that drove the world forward, nor did she think her actions could change the entire world.

Since she wanted an ordinary life, then that would be her goal. Protect her family, protect her friends, protect the life she wanted. What she wanted was really that simple.

She did not want to become some hero remembered for generations, so saving the world could be left to people who wanted to be heroes.

After all, there were far too many magical girls stronger than her.

[Ruby... I've thought it through.]

[Master? What are you suddenly talking about?]

[I'm going to fight. I'm going to protect the things I want to protect.]

[Master... you...]

In her consciousness, Ruby's slightly trembling voice seemed to carry a sob.

[That's wonderful, Master. That's truly wonderful. You've finally decided to fight.]

The more she refused to fight, the more dangerous her situation would become. All she could do was continuously grow stronger—strong enough to protect everything around her.

Rather than letting danger find her while she was unprepared and being forced into battle in a panic, she would be better off making full preparations and cutting off its source before danger arrived.

She opened the phone that had chimed with a notification. On the social media app, Ruby's work account, "Red Magician," had received a friend request.

Not long after she accepted it, she was pulled into a group called "God's Shield Tokyo Branch."

"Magical Girl Ruby, welcome to the group."

Volume One: How I Got Tricked Into Becoming a Magical Girl: Final Chapter

"Xiphias, I finally found you. Come back with me."

"Since I left, don't expect me to return. Steel Ball... get her!"

Magic light that enhanced both speed and magical power shot into Steel Ball's body. As his helmet enclosed him, his body became an afterimage as he swung his blade at the girl before him.

A black shadow attacked from behind the girl. It collided with Steel Ball's sword, and man and blade slashed through the air ten times in rapid succession. Yet every strike was blocked by that shadow. Until he swung another heavy blow, he was knocked back while the shadow landed once more on the girl's shoulder.

"After all this time, your Gray Shadow is still as strong as ever."

To think that the black shadow that had collided with Steel Ball's full-force strike and sent him flying was actually a completely gray owl perched on the girl's shoulder.

"Your little brother isn't bad either. He could probably defeat a somewhat weaker King-Tier Void Beast on his own."

"What are you doing here? I don't remember telling you I was here."

"I was originally planning to take over the work from Orbital, who came here to investigate. I didn't expect to run into you. I can only say fate wants to bring us together."

"I'm not interested in you." Xiphias glared fiercely at the girl standing not far away.

"That look, Xiphias. Every time I see that look of yours, like you're staring at garbage, I can't help rewarding myself. Ah, even after all this time, I still can't get enough of it."

"Iris! You lunatic, stop exposing those disgusting thoughts in front of me."

"Ah~ ah~ sorry. Just put up with it. I can't help it. I really can't!"

"Tch." Xiphias clicked her tongue and cast three enhancement spells on Steel Ball. "Steel Ball, go. Cut this perverted woman into pieces."

Kajieliena walked over to the garbage incinerator and took out a sheet of white paper from the front pocket of her school uniform. After reading its contents, she frowned and casually tossed it into the incinerator.

After soaking in the bath and returning to her room, Sawamura Rin changed into pajamas and took out her phone. Once she confirmed there was nothing important on it, she tossed it aside.

She sat on the bed and pulled back the curtains. In the house opposite her room, through the window that led from the outer yard into the living room, she happened to see Ando Meiko walking past.

But the next moment, Ando Meiko seemed to notice something and looked in Rin's direction, waving at her.

"What's wrong, Meiko?" Her phone suddenly chimed with a message. She picked it up and glanced at it. It was from someone saved as Ruby.

"Huh? Fuko is going home?"

The message said that Sakura Fuko would be going home tonight, so before she returned from shopping, Ando Meiko planned to give her a surprise. She had invited Rin as well.

They had exchanged contact information during the school festival, so they could be considered friends now. Since a friend was going home, it seemed wrong not to go say goodbye.

"Got it. I'll be right there."

"Yes, yes, put it right there. Nanako, nice work." Seeing Nanako correctly follow her instructions, Ando Meiko gave her a thumbs-up.

"She's here." The doorbell rang outside. After tidying things up, Meiko responded and hurried toward the door.

"Customer, here is your order. The total comes to..." After sending the delivery person away, Sawamura Rin, who had received her message, arrived just before the door closed.

"Meiko, what's this?"

"It's a cake. Fuko has taken care of me for so long and watched the house for me all this time. Since she's leaving, I should show my appreciation somehow."

"Watched your house?" Sawamura Rin lowered her head in thought.

"Yeah, Fuko watched the house whenever I wasn't around. Alright, don't stand outside. Come in and help."

"Okay."

Using a key that had begun to rust, Nakajima Rei opened the entryway door. She casually tossed it aside, kicked off her shoes, and returned to her room with a weary expression.

The room was piled with clutter, and the air carried the smell of mold and rot. Only the bed, desk, and wardrobe were clean.

She stepped across one of the few places where she could set her feet, walked to the desk, and picked up the only thing on it—a photo frame. "I'm home, Sis."

In stark contrast to her dull, lifeless eyes was the faint smile at the corner of her lips, one that still retained a trace of warmth.

When Sakura Fuko returned to Ando Koichi's home and saw that not even the lights in the living room were on, she felt somewhat puzzled.

"I'm home." No one answered her. Even as she took off her shoes and socks and placed them neatly aside, nobody responded. "Huh? Why is the house so quiet? Did Meiko go out?"

Pop, pop, pop...

The instant she opened the door and stepped into the living room, three party poppers burst in front of her. Festive streamers and confetti fluttered down through the air and landed on her.

"Huh!? What's going on? It isn't my birthday today. Did I come at a bad time?"

"No, Fuko. You came at exactly the right time. You're going home tonight, so thank you for taking care of us for so long."

"Huh? You don't need to do this. With the relationship between Meiko and me, this is only natural."

"Alright, alright. I even bought your favorite matcha cake especially for you. Take a seat."

After the farewell gathering ended, Fuko was escorted to the train station by Ando Meiko and boarded the train alone.

"I really can't bear to leave Koichi. I never expected that guy to be so cute after becoming a girl. Mm, but why can't he notice my feelings?" Fuko smiled faintly, an imperceptible blush flashing across her pretty face.

"Sakura Fuko..."

Walking beneath the streetlights and yawning, Sakura Fuko heard someone call her name. Looking up, she found something standing on the wall beside her.

Because it stood right in the streetlight's blind spot, she could only barely make out its vaguely catlike shape in the darkness.

"Were you calling me?"

"Your childhood friend, Ando Koichi, is risking her life in battle as a magical girl. Are you just going to stand by and watch?"

"Huh? What... what do you mean? I've never heard of anything like that..."

A talking cat was already impossible enough, let alone a cat revealing something even more unbelievable to her.

She had wanted to turn around and leave, but when she heard it mention her childhood friend, she stayed.

"Today's news, as well as the explosion at your school, were all consequences of battles between monsters from the Void World and magical girls. Since you humans cannot perceive them, those events are classified as accidents."

In the darkness, the cat waved a paw at Sakura Fuko. Images visible only to her appeared before her eyes: Ando Meiko transforming, and Ruby's arm being pierced by spider legs.

Only then did Sakura Fuko recall the day Ando Meiko had been in such pain that she could not move. At first, Fuko had merely thought she had overexerted herself.

"So that's how it is... Why didn't Koichi tell me anything? Am I not worth trusting...? Even if I can't help... at least I could welcome her home properly..."

"Do you want to walk beside her?"

"W-what do you mean?" Her pupils contracted slightly in shock. Looking up at the creature hidden in the darkness, Sakura Fuko's eyes held anticipation.

"Sakura Fuko, you have the potential. The potential to become a magical girl."

"This..." Sakura Fuko did not know why this catlike creature would say such a thing, but magical girls sounded far too fantastical.

But if magical girls really existed in this world, then it could explain why Ando Koichi had suddenly become a girl.

And the things it had shown her did not look fake. Besides Ando Meiko, she had also seen Sawamura Rin transforming nearby.

"Even Rin...?"

"Yes. They nearly lost their lives in the last battle."

The words "nearly lost their lives" lingered in Sakura Fuko's mind. She could even see Ando Koichi dying before her, while she herself could do absolutely nothing...

"Make a contract with me and become a magical girl, Sakura Fuko."

At that moment, she understood everything. Ando Meiko had hidden these things from her because she had been afraid Fuko would worry.

But if her future self might regret not making this choice today, then the answer was already clear.

"Okay." Faced with the opportunity before her, she agreed without the slightest hesitation.

"You have a heart that wishes to protect, and someone you wish to protect. Go home and sleep well, Sakura Fuko. When the time comes, your life will undergo earth-shaking changes because of your choice."

The strange creature walked past Sakura Fuko. Under the streetlight, she finally clearly saw what the catlike creature she had been speaking to truly was.

Though it was small and cute like a cat, its head did not belong to any animal she knew.

Its drooping ears resembled those of a lop rabbit. Two glassy eyeballs hung on its catlike round face. Its tail was soft like a fox's, and a pair of tiny wings that did not suit its body at all grew from its back.

"Y-you... what exactly are you?"

"Me?"

The creature looked up at Sakura Fuko. Its upturned mouth seemed to be trying to form a smile, yet it gave her an unsettling feeling the more she thought about it.

"I am... the Great Will."

Turning away, the creature was completely swallowed by darkness, leaving Sakura Fuko alone beneath the light to ponder and process what she had just learned.

"A magical girl...?"

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Chapter One: Just Bring It Along

Dawn had barely broken when the phone cheerfully rang with an untimely notification.

She reached over her head, grabbed her phone, and opened it, only to find that the message had been sent by someone with the ID Yōichi.

"What the hell? Magical girls aren't some militarized organization, are they? Don't tell me I have to get up early for military drills?" Ando Meiko mumbled a complaint as she opened the message.

"Ruby, please come to the base. There is an urgent matter I would like to discuss with you."

Still half-asleep, Ando Meiko was about to put down her phone and pretend she had not seen it when the notification for a second message immediately sounded.

This one was from Sawamura Rin. "Meiko, the commander said we need to gather. Meet at our door in ten minutes."

She could choose to ignore the commander's message, but she could not ignore Rin's, because the words "meet in ten minutes" had already cut off her escape route.