Magical Girl? I Was Tricked Into It!

Petting cats and petting cute girls always lifted one's spirits. Comforted by these two adorable creatures, Ando Meiko's heart calmed somewhat.

"Having Yueshi all to yourselves is 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 too casually.

"All right, all right, Fuko can come too." Pulling back the hand that had been stroking Yueshi, Ando Meiko patted Fuko's offered head as well.

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 undeniable fact.

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility—she did not care for that sort of thing. She did not think she could become a gear that kept the world turning, nor did she think her actions could change the entire world.

Since all she wanted was an ordinary life, then that could simply be her goal: protect her family, protect her friends, protect the life she wanted. What she wanted was really that simple.

She had no desire to become some hero remembered for generations, so saving the world could be left to those who wanted to be heroes.

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

Ruby... I've made up my mind.

Master? What are you suddenly talking about?

I want to fight. I want to protect the things I want to protect.

Master... you...

Within her consciousness, Ruby's faintly trembling voice seemed to carry a sob.

That's wonderful, Master. It's truly wonderful. You've finally made up your mind to fight.

The less she wanted to fight, the more dangerous her situation would become. All she could do was keep growing stronger—strong enough to protect everything around her.

Rather than be found by danger while unprepared and be thrown into battle in a panic, it would be better to cut off the source before danger arrived, fully prepared.

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

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

"Magical girl Ruby, welcome aboard."

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 a blur as he swung his blade at the girl before him.

A black shadow attacked from behind the girl. It collided with Steel Ball's blade, and man and sword carved ten consecutive strikes through the air. Yet every attack was blocked by that shadow. Only when he swung another heavy blow was he 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."

Who could have imagined that the black shadow capable of clashing with Steel Ball's full-force strike and knocking him straight back was actually a completely gray owl perched on the girl's shoulder?

"Your little brother isn't bad either. He could probably defeat a slightly weaker King-Tier Void Beast all by himself."

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

"I came to investigate the orbital handover work here, but I never expected to run into you. I suppose fate wants to bring the two of us together."

"I'm not interested in you." Xiphias shot the girl standing not far away a vicious glare.

"That look, Xiphias. Every time I see you looking at me like I'm trash, 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 simply can't help it!"

"Tch." Xiphias clicked her tongue as three more enhancement spells settled onto Steel Ball. "Steel Ball, go chop this perverted woman into pieces."

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

After soaking in the bath and returning to her room, Sawamura Rin changed into pajamas and took out her phone. After confirming there were no important messages, she tossed it aside.

She sat on her bed and pulled back the curtains. Through the window leading from the outer courtyard to the living room of the house opposite hers, she happened to see Ando Meiko walking past.

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

"What's wrong, Meizi?" Her phone suddenly chimed with a message. She picked it up and saw that it was from someone saved as Ruby.

"Huh? Is Fuko going back?"

The message said that Sakura Fuko would be leaving tonight. Before she returned from shopping, Ando Meiko planned to give her a surprise and had invited Rin over as well.

They had exchanged contact information during the school festival, so they could be considered friends now, right? Since a friend was going home, it would not be good if she did not go see her off.

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

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

"Coming." The doorbell rang outside. After tidying up, Meizi answered and hurried toward the door.

"Your order, ma'am. That'll be..." After sending the delivery person away, Sawamura Rin, who had received her message, arrived just before Meizi closed the door.

"Meizi, what is this?"

"A cake. Fuko has taken care of me for so long and watched the house for me for so long. Since she's leaving, I ought to show my appreciation somehow."

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

"Yeah. Whenever I'm not around, Fuko watches the house. All right, don't just stand outside. Come in and help."

"Okay."

Using a somewhat rusty key to open the entrance door, Nakajima Rei casually tossed it aside. After kicking off her shoes, she returned to her room, exhausted.

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

Stepping across one of the few spots where she could place her feet, she walked to the desk and picked up its only item—a photo frame. "I'm home, Sis."

In stark contrast to the lifeless, dull look in her eyes was the faint smile at the corner of her lips, still carrying a trace of warmth.

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

"I'm back." No one answered her. Even as Sakura Fuko took off her shoes and socks and neatly set them aside, there was still no response. "Huh? Why is the house so quiet? Did Meizi go out?"

Pop, pop, pop...

The instant she opened the door and entered the living room, three bursts of colorful confetti exploded before her. Celebration streamers and paper drifted down through the air, landing on her.

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

"No, Fuko, you came at exactly the right time. You're heading back tonight, so thank you for taking care of us all this time."

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

"All right, all right. I even bought you your favorite matcha cake. Come 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 thought he'd be so cute after becoming a girl. Mm, but why can't he notice how I feel about him?" 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 realized that something was standing atop the nearby wall.

Since that spot lay in the streetlight's blind spot, she could only barely make out a vaguely catlike shape in the darkness.

"Were you calling me?"

"Your childhood friend, Ando Koichi, is risking her life as a magical girl. Do you only intend to stand by and watch?"

"Huh? What... what do you mean? I've never heard about this..."

A talking cat was already impossible enough, yet this cat had revealed something even more unbelievable.

She had wanted to turn around and leave, but after hearing something about her childhood friend, she stayed.

"Today's news, as well as the explosion at your school, were all repercussions of battles between monsters from the Void World and magical girls. Since you humans cannot perceive them, you classify such incidents 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 through by a spider leg.

Only then did Sakura Fuko suddenly recall the day when Ando Meiko had been in too much pain to move. At first, she had merely assumed it was from overexertion.

"So that's how it was... Why didn't Koichi tell me anything? Does he not trust me...? Even if I couldn't be of much help... at least I could welcome him home properly..."

"Do you want to walk beside her?"

"Wh-what do you mean?" Her pupils shrank 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 were far too fantastical, weren't they?

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

Besides, what it had shown her did not seem fake. Not only had she seen Ando Meiko, she had also seen Sawamura Rin transforming beside her.

"Even Rin...?"

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

The words "nearly lost their lives" would not leave Sakura Fuko's mind. She could already see Ando Koichi dying before her, while she herself could do nothing at all...

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

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

But if her future self might regret not making a choice today, then the answer had already been decided.

"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 the choice you made."

The strange creature walked past Sakura Fuko, and beneath the streetlight, she finally saw what the catlike being she had been speaking with actually was.

Though it was small and delicate like a cat, its head did not resemble the head of any animal she knew.

Its drooping ears resembled those of a lop rabbit, two glass-marble-like eyes hung on its round feline face, its tail was soft like a fox's, and a pair of tiny wings completely unsuited to its body grew from its back.

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

"Me?"

The creature looked up at Sakura Fuko. The upward curve of its lips seemed intended to make it look like it was smiling, yet it gave her an eerie feeling that grew more terrifying the more she thought about it.

"I am... the Great Will."

Turning away, the creature was completely swallowed by the darkness. Sakura Fuko alone remained beneath the light, thinking over and processing everything she had just learned.

"A magical girl...?"

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

Dawn had barely broken when her phone happily rang with an ill-timed notification.

She reached above her head, grabbed her phone, and opened it, only to discover 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 we have to get up early for military training too?" Ando Meiko muttered groggily as she opened the message.

"Ruby, please come to the base. There's an urgent matter I'd like to discuss with you."

Sleepy-eyed, Ando Meiko was just about to put down her phone and pretend she had not seen it when the notification for a second message immediately rang out.

This one was from Sawamura Rin. "Meizi, the commander says we need to assemble. Let's meet outside our homes in ten minutes."

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