Magical Girl? I Got Tricked Into It!

She glanced at Ruby sleeping to her left and Nanako sleeping to her right, then picked up Yue, who was lying on top of her, and gently set her aside.

She had originally planned to give the bed to Nanako and sleep on the floor herself, but whenever they went to bed, all three of them ended up sleeping with her.

After this happened several times, Ando Meiko simply gave up on the idea of sleeping on the floor alone and started sleeping with the three of them.

As she struggled to crawl out of bed, her movements stirred Ruby awake ahead of time.

Ruby rubbed her eyes. After seeing what Ando Meiko was doing, she turned to look at the sky outside the window, which had yet to fully brighten, and asked in confusion, "Master, what's wrong? Do you need to use the bathroom?"

"No, the commander called me to assemble."

"Mm, I see. Then let's go." With that, Ruby yawned, turned into a crimson wisp of light, and shrank into an exquisite Ruby Necklace.

Just before leaving the room, a sudden thought made Ando Meiko shudder. Every trace of sleepiness vanished in an instant.

She turned back to look at Nanako, who was still asleep. Scratching her slightly messy hair, Ando Meiko muttered in distress, "Oh no. If we all leave, what will Nanako do?"

Whenever she had not been home before, Fuko had taken care of Nanako alone. But now, Fuko had already gone back home because she needed to attend school.

After deciding to balance her magical girl duties as well, Ando Meiko could already foresee that her free time would be drastically reduced in the future.

But because she had barely ever taken care of Nanako, she had somehow completely forgotten about her.

After joining the magical girl organization, she needed to be ready to enter combat at any moment. That meant she and Ruby could not be separated now, but who could take care of Nanako under these circumstances?

Although this little Evil God, who had lived for an unknown number of years, was very intelligent, whether she was hundreds or thousands of years old, her mind was still as innocent and pure as that of a human child.

"Why not take her to the base too, Master?"

"Take her there?" Ando Meiko had not considered that.

After all, it was an official magical girl base. The people working there had more or less dealt with Void Beasts and magical girls before.

In other words, some more radical people and things would probably be more accepting than ordinary people.

But if she suddenly brought a little girl who looked like an elementary school student there, how was she supposed to explain it? Was she supposed to introduce her in front of them by saying, "Hello, this is a little Evil God called Nyarlathotep"?

Seeing what she was thinking, Ruby suggested again, "Just say she's your familiar."

"But familiars belong to the Azure Magical Girl, don't they? I'm the Radiant Stone Magical Girl. How could I possibly have a familiar?"

"Why are you so stubborn and incapable of adapting, Master?" Ruby's tone carried a hint of exasperation. "Other than Rin, all the magical girls over there are rookies, and the human side has even less chance of coming into contact with familiars, so..."

Ando Meiko suddenly understood and picked up where Ruby left off. "So all I need to do is find Rin first, get our stories straight with her, and then slowly explain it to the people at the base."

"That's exactly it."

The problem had such a simple solution. Thinking of that, a faint smile appeared on Ando Meiko's face. Without hesitating any longer, she walked over to Nanako and pulled her out of bed.

"Meizi... Nanako still wants to sleep..."

"Get up, Nanako. Big Sister Fuko has already gone home. If you don't get up, I'll leave you home alone."

The moment she heard that she would be left behind, Nanako's eyes flew open. A misty sheen seemed to gather at the corners of her eyes. "Big Sister Meizi doesn't want Nanako anymore..."

Seeing this, Ruby's sweet laughter sounded by her ear. "You bad Master, you actually made Nanako cry!"

Ignoring the nearly mocking tone, Ando Meiko awkwardly patted Nanako's head. "No, I'm not planning to leave you behind. I have to go out, and without Big Sister Fuko here to take care of you, you'd have to stay home alone."

Hearing that she was not being abandoned, Nanako's sleepy smile returned. "Nanako wants to go outside with Big Sister Meizi."

Watching herself act as though she were coaxing a child, Ando Meiko could only shake her head helplessly.

She had not even experienced the sweetness of first love yet, and she was already playing the role of a mother.

She went downstairs with Nanako and prepared to head out. Seeing that Nanako could wash up and get dressed by herself, Ando Meiko did not worry too much. That was probably all thanks to Fuko.

She had wanted to make it to the assembly time Rin mentioned in her message, but by the time she reached the entrance and prepared to leave, she was already several minutes late.

After leaving the house, she saw Rin waiting in front of her door. Ando Meiko waved at her and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Sorry, I'm a little late."

"It's fine. Big Sister Meizi probably just got up, right?"

"I wasn't even awake when you messaged..."

Rin did not mind her lateness. After all, only giving a girl who had just woken up ten minutes to get ready was a little unreasonable.

"Hm?" Her gaze fell on the little girl timidly hiding behind Ando Meiko. Rin asked in surprise, "Big Sister Meizi, are you planning to bring Nanako along too?"

"Yeah. Fuko has already gone home, right? If I go out too, no one will be here to take care of her. I don't know how long I'll be gone, and I can't exactly leave her home alone."

"That's true."

"Besides..."

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Chapter Two: Welcome Party

"Huh?" After hearing Ando Meiko's account, Rin stared at the harmless, adorable little girl in disbelief. "Y-you're saying this child is actually the Legendary Grade Evil God, Nyarlathotep?"

On their way to the train station, Ando Meiko told Rin everything about how she had encountered Nanako, holding nothing back.

She did not do this merely because she needed to get their stories straight before bringing Nanako to the base. More importantly, she had absolute trust in Rin as a fellow magical girl.

If the person standing before her had been Xiphias or Kajieliena instead of Rin, she definitely would not have revealed this.

"Mm. So you understand why I need to keep her by my side now, right?"

Rin nodded rapidly like a pecking chick. "So that's how it is. Taking care of Nanako alone must be really hard on you."

"It's not too bad. Fuko has already done everything I wanted to do. Honestly, even if I'm not around, Nanako should be able to take care of herself."

"Alright. Since Big Sister Meizi has told me, you can rest easy. If the commander asks, I know what to say."

"Thanks." Giving Rin a grateful look, Ando Meiko lowered her head and said to the hopping Nanako, "You can stay with me thanks to Rin's help. Smart Nanako should know what to do, right?"

Nanako nodded, walked around Ando Meiko, and came to stand beside the other girl she was not unfamiliar with.

She stretched out her tender little hands and gently held Rin's hands. A sweet smile appeared on her adorable face. "Thank you, Big Sister Rin."

Rin felt as though her heart had been pierced in an instant. Looking at the innocent and adorable little girl before her, she could not help reaching out to gently stroke her head. "Nanako is just too cute."

"Right?" Hearing Nanako praised, Ando Meiko smiled with a touch of pride.

Amid their chatting and laughter, the three of them caught the first train of the morning just in time.

On the train, the restless Ando Meiko turned her head toward Rin and asked quietly, "What do you think the commander called us together for?"

"What else could it be? Nothing more than a welcome party for the newcomer."

"A welcome party... for the newcomer?" Repeating Rin's words in confusion, she rolled her eyes and subtly pointed a finger at herself.

"Stop doubting yourself. Have some confidence." Seeing Ando Meiko's comical gesture, Rin covered her mouth and laughed. "That person hasn't returned yet, so this time, Big Sister Meizi should have it much easier."

"What do you mean?" Ando Meiko was puzzled.

Was there really an easier or harder way to hold a welcome party for a newcomer? Could there be another strange magical girl who would make things difficult for her?

Thinking of Xiphias, who had tried to claim her for herself with special means, Ando Meiko shuddered all over.

In response to Ando Meiko's question, Rin merely gave her a mysterious smile and did not answer. She lowered her head and continued playing with Nanako.

Before long, the train arrived at their stop.

Holding Nanako's hand as they stepped off the train, Ando Meiko took a deep breath of the cool, slightly damp morning air. Her lingering drowsiness immediately disappeared.

Whatever awaited her, it could not possibly be worse than getting caught by Xiphias or being studied by Kajieliena.

Following Rin through the familiar route to the Catgirl Maid Café, Ando Meiko and the others opened the door hidden in the staff break room and entered the elevator.

"Ruby doesn't have a key to open the door yet, right? After some time, I'll mention it to the commander and have someone register your iris."

After entering the base, Rin switched from calling Ando Meiko by her name to using her codename.

"Okay."

After responding to Rin, Ando Meiko watched her bypass the command room and continue straight down the corridor, unable to hide her surprise.

Since this was only her second time here and she was unfamiliar with the place, she simply skipped the tedious questions and quietly followed behind Rin.

"Big Sister Meizi, this place is so big and pretty. There are so many things you can't see in the city." Nanako curiously examined everything she had never seen before, her large eyes seeming to sparkle with stars.

She could not really be blamed for being so excited. When Ando Meiko had first come here, she had been shocked too.

A hidden underground base, an immensely spacious area, technology she had never seen before—putting all those things together made it seem like the futuristic world from a movie.

When they reached the end, Rin finally stopped before the last door. She took a step forward and pressed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner beside it.

With a beep, the tightly shut mechanical door split apart down the middle. The two halves slid into the walls to either side, revealing a massive passageway.

Ando Meiko peered inside curiously. It was completely white, and she could not see anything at all. This was quite different from the welcome party Rin had said they were holding for her.

"Come in. It's inside." With that, Rin took Nanako's hand and walked directly into the empty room.

However, with her back turned to Ando Meiko, the corners of her mouth curved into a beautiful crescent. Her sly smile was unmistakable.

Completely unsuspecting, Ando Meiko followed Rin inside curiously. But the moment she entered the room, the door behind her suddenly moved and automatically shut, locking them inside.

She felt around the mechanical door, but there was no mechanism to be found. Turning around in confusion, she discovered that Rin had transformed at some point.

"Three Purities, what are you...?"

"Stop dawdling and transform already."

Ando Meiko blanked for a moment, but then she followed Rin's instructions. Gripping her necklace tightly, she silently recited her transformation spell.

"Blessing of the Ruby, gather Radiant Stone Power—Magical Girl Ruby, transform!"

A massive amount of magical power surged from the girl's body, instantly enveloping her and concealing her from outside eyes.

A moment later, the red glow faded. Ando Meiko, now in Ruby's form and transformed state, stood not far from Rin.

Rin swung the wooden longsword in her right hand. A gash appeared in the space before them as though the wooden sword had cut it open, and before long, it expanded into an oval, colorful passage large enough for a person to enter.

"Come in." Leaving those words behind, she took Nanako and entered first.

"Huh? We still need to go into the Void World to talk about this?"

She scratched her head in confusion. After seeing Rin disappear through the gate leading to the Void World, Ando Meiko hesitated for a moment before jogging into the passage herself.

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Chapter Three: Let's See Your Strength

Clap, clap, clap!

The instant Ando Meiko entered, the magical power spheres floating above her head burst like party poppers, and streams of dazzling magical light drifted down from the air onto her.

"Ruby, welcome to the Divine Shield Tokyo Branch."

Ando Meiko looked up at the adorable girls shouting the same slogan in unison, and a heartfelt smile appeared on her face.

With her somewhat socially anxious personality, she had originally worried that she might be excluded after suddenly joining this magical girl organization.

Now, it seemed she had worried for nothing.

It was not just Rin. Everyone was warmly welcoming her.

"Thank you, everyone." Ando Meiko smiled as she replied, though she was still somewhat confused.

She did not understand why this welcome party had to be held specifically in the Void World. If they did that, would the commander, Tamura Yuichi, and the other staff members not be unable to celebrate with them?

Seeming to understand what Ando Meiko was thinking, Rin explained, "Ruby, don't misunderstand. It's not that the commander doesn't want to welcome you. Before you meet him, though, there's still a little welcome ceremony."

"Hm? A welcome ceremony? Are we going to play some kind of game?"

"That's right. Just a little game." With that, Rin stepped forward.

The moment the other magical girls saw Rin move, they all jumped backward in unspoken agreement, leaving a large space for Ando Meiko and Rin to "spend time together."

"Hey, Furate, you take this child over there too."

"Huh?" The called-out Furate walked over. Still looking confused, she finally noticed Nanako holding Rin's hand. "Wow, what a cute little girl."

"Nanako, go with these big sisters for now."

Hearing that, Nanako turned to look at Ando Meiko. Only after the latter gave her a slight nod did she follow Furate, hopping toward the distance.

After things had reached this point, Ando Meiko had basically guessed what Rin wanted to do.

Rin gripped her wooden sword in one hand, crouched slightly into a fighting stance, and said to Ando Meiko, "Ruby, let's see your strength."

"Honestly, you could have just told me the welcome party was going to be like this. At least then I could have mentally prepared myself."