Magical Girl? I Got Scammed into It!

Under the little girl's control, the tentacles that had nearly filled the entire space all vanished.

"This looks much more comfortable."

However, she did not cancel her transformation. Her original clothes had already been shredded to pieces, and if she transformed back now, her combat outfit would disappear as well.

The wand vanished from the metal shaft upward, leaving only the oval gemstone at its tip floating before her chest.

Two beams of light extended from either end of the gemstone, wrapped around Ando Meiko's neck, and connected at the nape to form a Ruby Necklace.

"Come to think of it, big sister, why could you enter this place? Are you my family?"

"Family? You still have family?"

If this little girl had family, why had she been abandoned in a place like this? Could something have happened to them?

"Yes, big sister. In my memories, I seem to be a child of a race called 'Nyarlathotep.'"

"What? What? Nya... Nyarlathotep?"

"Hm? What's wrong, big sister? You look really surprised."

"Then do you have a name?"

"No. We are all called Nyarlathotep."

"No." Ando Meiko rejected it outright.

Though she did not want to face that reality, if they were going to leave this place, she had to give this child a human name. How could she just call her by the name of a Cthulhu Outer God?

She really wanted to name her Nyaruko, but that name was already taken, so she needed something different. A different name.

"Why make it so complicated? Just call her Nako."

"Nako my ass. Could you stop causing trouble at a time like this? I'm almost done thinking of one."

She reached out and flicked the gemstone on her chest. She did not know whether Ruby could feel pain, but her own finger went numb from the impact.

"Got it. Nanako. Your name will be Nanako."

"Repeating words, so gross. Nako sounds better."

"Who asked you?"

"Okay, big sister! Nanako is a very nice name. I love it. I finally have my own name. I'm Nanako. My name is Nanako."

The newly named Nanako excitedly spun in place. Seeing how satisfied the child was with her name, Ando Meiko felt deeply gratified as well.

With the little girl's problem solved, all that remained was figuring out how to leave this place.

"Come to think of it, what exactly is this space? If anyone with magic power or an Ether Body could enter, then I couldn't possibly have been the first visitor despite only just becoming a magical girl, right?"

"This space itself is very strange. It lies in the gap between the void and the Mortal World, making it a Fault Space. That is why there is no content within it at all. Perhaps the master's body met some condition that allowed her to enter this space."

"So there really was this kind of coincidence."

"It should be related to the master's incomplete Ether Body. Still, I think someone deliberately hid her here. Otherwise, as the descendant of an Outer God, she would be fully capable of traveling through the void."

"They couldn't possibly have left her here alone, right? She looks so pitiful."

"But didn't Master say she wanted to live an ordinary life?"

"Wanting an ordinary life doesn't mean I can leave someone to die. If I hadn't suddenly entered this place, who knows how many more years she would have been trapped here? Ruby, you have a way to get us out, right?"

"Eh? How should I put this... I might have a way, and I might not..."

Clicking her tongue, Ando Meiko flicked the gemstone necklace again. The way this thing spoke in that punchable tone made it obvious she was deliberately keeping her in suspense.

"Ah, that hurt, Master! What are you doing? I saved you from dire straits, and not only are you refusing to thank me, now you're hitting me!"

So she really could feel pain. Perhaps she had simply endured the first flick.

"You know, I really want to tear you off, put you beneath my foot, and stomp on you until you shatter into pieces."

"Hahaha, so Master is an S. Too bad I'm not an M, so I can't fulfill Master's wish."

Without another word, she tore off the chain, threw the gemstone onto the floor, and stepped on it. She even ground it against the floor twice.

"Ahhh! Master, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I apologize! I won't dare do it again! I suddenly thought of a way! I know how to get out!"

Only after hearing Ruby's scream, which sounded even more sincere than an apology, did Ando Meiko satisfyingly pick up the necklace, wipe it on the hem of her skirt, and hold it in her palm as she allowed it to turn back into a wand.

"Seriously, Master is so cruel."

"What's your method?"

"Just chant an incantation. Since this is the gap between the Mortal World and the void, the gate used to return from the void to the Mortal World should work too."

"What incantation?"

"Master's pleasurable moi... Y-yes, sorry! I said the wrong thing, I said the wrong thing! I'll explain properly, I promise!" Seeing her master about to throw her onto the floor again, Ruby's unfinished words immediately turned into an apology.

"Master, I've already told you the incantation."

The incantation Ruby spoke was transmitted directly into Ando Meiko's mind through her memories.

"Seriously, couldn't you have done that earlier? Did you really have to suffer a little before your body remembered that what you did was wrong?"

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Nine: My Childhood Friend Moved In

"Big sister, are we getting ready to leave? Nanako can help! Nanako is really strong."

"No need. Nanako can just watch from the side." Ando Meiko turned back and gave her what she believed was a confident smile.

She raised her wand toward the edge of the barrier, replaying the incantation Ruby had just sent her in her mind.

"The sky grants the pure gift of stars, the earth grants the exquisite miracle of brilliant gemstones, the ocean grants the ceaseless kinship of water. Open, Gate to the Mortal World."

A red heart slowly shot out from the tip of the wand. The instant it landed on the barrier wall, its glow twisted into a swirling passage.

"Let's go, Nanako."

"Yay! I can finally leave this place. Thank you, big sister!"

Ando Meiko grabbed Nanako's hand and jumped into the swirling passage with her. After the instantaneous transfer, they appeared again, and the sudden lightness of her body sent her butt crashing hard onto the floor.

"Why is it always my butt?! Can't I land on somewhere else for once?! That hurt!"

As she complained and tried to stand up, Nanako, who appeared behind her, crashed down on top of her and pressed her newly raised upper body back to the floor.

"Ow... my poor back..."

"Big sister, I'm sorry... Are you okay? It's all my fault."

"I'm fine..."

After straightening herself up, she saw the familiar surroundings and confirmed that she had returned to her original world.

"Oh no, it's already this late!" After having Ruby turn back into a necklace, she grabbed Nanako's hand and sprinted toward her home.

"I'm home..."

"Nanako is home!"

The words slipped out almost instinctively the moment they entered, but only after speaking did she realize something was wrong. It was already too late to cover her mouth.

Yet after a long while, there was no response from inside, nor did her parents come out to check on her.

What was going on? Was nobody home?

Thinking that, Ando Meiko walked into the living room. There was still nobody there, but an envelope pinned beneath an ashtray sat in a conspicuous spot on the table.

She picked up the letter and began reading it.

It began with "To our dear son" and ended with "Love, Mom and Dad."

After reading the contents, her previously expressionless face was completely replaced by shock.

"Your father and I are going traveling for a while. Fuko said she wants to come over and stay for a while, so we cleaned up the guest room and told her to live here directly. I've put the household expenses in the drawer. Watch the house well, remember to eat on time, and take care of yourself ╮(╯▽╰)╭"

How was she even supposed to complain about this? You two old geezers were arguing so fiercely yesterday that you were practically about to fight, and now you were going traveling hand in hand.

And telling me to take care of myself is one thing, but what was with that helpless emoticon? Did they find the precious stuff I hid in the drawer and under my bed? No way, right?!

"Tch, looks like my study materials need to undergo a strategic relocation." Ando Meiko helplessly patted her forehead.

"Big sister, Nanako is hungry."

If Nanako had not mentioned it, Ando Meiko would not have thought of it. What exactly had she eaten to survive while trapped in that gap? Why was she saying she was hungry so soon after arriving in the Reality World?

"Master, in the void, she can meet her needs by absorbing the void's saturated magic power. The Mortal World does not have the void's vast amount of magic power for her to absorb, so she gets hungry."

"I see." She turned toward the refrigerator in the back kitchen and searched through it for ready-to-eat hot food or something simple to make.

"There's only cereal, but that'll do." Before making dinner, she planned to give Nanako something to fill her stomach.

There was no food that could be heated and eaten immediately. The refrigerator still had some cereal and milk, so she simply made some for Nanako and brought it over.

Nanako had clearly never tasted milk before. The moment it entered her mouth, her huge eyes practically lit up.

Watching her devour the food meant to tide her over, Ando Meiko prepared to change clothes before coming downstairs to cook.

After all, she could not stay transformed forever.

She returned to her room, drew all the curtains, and canceled her transformation. Once the combat outfit vanished, she awkwardly put on a cosplay girls' outfit she had kept hidden deep in her wardrobe.

After pulling on the skirt and fastening the buttons around her waist, she suddenly realized something. Without even fixing her clothes, she hurried downstairs, picked up the letter from the table, and read it again.

"I told her to live here directly...?!"

That meant Fuko was at our house right now?! No, no way, absolutely not. If she saw me like this, how was I supposed to explain my identity? And how was I supposed to explain Nanako's identity?

"Koichi? Is Koichi back?"

The sweet female voice and approaching footsteps from outside the door instantly plunged Ando Meiko into the depths of despair.

The living room door had just opened, and while she was still panicking, Fuko gave her a bear hug before she could react at all.

"Ugh... ah, I'm... I'm going to die... Fuko, let... let go..." Those mountains, even more magnificent than before, covered her face. The face-smothering attack crushed her until she could barely breathe.

She had thought she was already big enough after becoming a girl, but only after comparing herself to Fuko did Ando Meiko realize just how narrow her perspective had been.

"Eh? You... you're not Koichi?" Fuko let her go and realized that the person she had hugged was not her childhood friend Ando Koichi, but a girl.

Fuko, could you please look carefully at someone before hugging them next time? What if you accidentally hugged some other man? Though that was none of my business.

Also, what did it mean that you came out wearing nothing but a bath towel? You knew I would be coming home, so did you do this because you wanted me to commit a crime?

This airheaded, busty cutie was Ando Koichi's childhood friend and the owner of the school uniform she had worn that morning, Sakura Fuko.

She had truly grown up playing with him, but they had been separated for a while after she moved away two years ago. They had become the kind of friends who only contacted each other by phone from time to time.

Of course, he had given her his address so she could come over whenever she wanted. Ando Meiko just had not expected her own mother to set her up at such a crucial moment.

"No... you, you're Koichi?"

Huh? What? What are you talking about, big sister? I didn't say a single word or even make an expression. How did you know I was Koichi?

If it was because of my scent, my original scent had already turned into the faint fragrance unique to girls. Even a dog definitely should not have recognized me.

Volume One: The Story of How I Got Scammed into Becoming a Magical Girl: Chapter Ten: I Just Want to Move to Another Planet

"Um, did you mistake me for someone else?" Ando Meiko took half a step back. Her posture wavered as she clearly panicked.

"Koichi, stop pretending. How could I possibly mistake you? We grew up playing together."

"But I'm a girl."

"I have proof. Ta-da..."

Why did you pull your phone out from your chest?! So what if yours are big? Come to think of it, can they really hold a phone in place like that? Should I try it too?

Fuko's phone had a photo booth picture of her and Ando Koichi from when they were children stuck onto it. Ando Meiko did not know whether Fuko was doing it on purpose or was really that airheaded, but she was not even afraid of someone seeing it.

However, the moment Fuko held the screen out toward Ando Meiko, a wave of embarrassment surged through her. She felt that she would rather be bound by Nanako's tentacles for ten minutes than see that thing.

My cross-dressing photo! Ahhh! I'm going to die.

Ando Meiko felt as though the world was about to end because of it. At that moment, even the apocalypse seemed utterly insignificant compared to her friend—especially her childhood friend—discovering her cross-dressing.

The photo showed Ando Meiko back when she still had a male body, cosplaying a black-haired anime character. It had captured her standing by the window, lifting her hair in the wind.

How had Fuko managed to take my cross-dressing photo from that angle? Did she happen to come to my house and happen to see that scene? How could she be so terrifyingly capable?

The worst part was that she happened to be wearing the exact same outfit as in the photo, and the version of herself in it had exactly the same air as she did now.