About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 15

In her Exile Form, Efnir's height was rather unfortunate. She tilted her head up and met Yukina's gaze.

She suddenly broke into a radiant smile, the corners of her eyes curving like crescents.

"Are you... Little Yukina?"

"Y-yes... I'm Shiomi Yukina... I'm your fan! I really like you... and... it's... it's an honor to meet you!"

With all her attention fixed on the cake plate, Yukina blurted out every greeting she could remember in one breath and nearly bit her tongue.

There had been so, so many more lines, but she could not remember them at all. Her mind was a complete mess.

As if she had been babbling nonsense, Efnir seemed a little surprised as well.

"Um... yes... nice to meet you."

She doesn't hate me, does she?

She looked anxiously at the idol, who was a head shorter than her, and felt wave after wave of dizziness wash over her.

Yukina's entire body was tense. Though the room had been cool, she was drenched in sweat. Efnir merely tilted her head thoughtfully, and starlight shimmered in her eyes again.

"Well... Little Yukina, you really are as cute as your name suggests."

Yukina choked up, with absolutely no idea how to respond.

If someone called her cute normally, she could probably accept it, but standing beside Efnir, she immediately lost the courage to accept such praise calmly.

She had never been very good at handling compliments from others. Now, her mind was filled with embarrassment, robbing her of the strength to speak.

Always looking so flustered by kindness was rude too, wasn't it?

Yukina suddenly felt that becoming the person in charge had been a mistake.

However, Efnir did not seem to mind. She smiled beautifully, her cute little fang faintly visible.

"Thank you for your letter, and for the konohana cake last time. Did you make it yourself?"

"Huh, huh? That was... how did you know I made it myself...?"

When she had given Efnir the prayer slip last time, Yukina had included a konohana cake she had made herself. It was common for fans to occasionally give their idols small gifts. Yukina had simply learned how to make konohana cake in her school home economics class and wanted to make one for Efnir herself.

But Yukina had never imagined that Efnir would actually receive it and eat it.

"Because you used corn flour instead of mochi flour, right? It tasted different from the ones sold outside, so I guessed you might have run out of ingredients at the end..."

Efnir said.

Actually, while Yukina had been busy in the kitchen making the konohana cake, "Yanase Naoto" had been watching from the side. How could he not have known?

"But I still thought it was quite delicious."

Efnir gave an elegantly timed smile, which looked like dazzling starlight in Yukina's eyes.

"Th-thank you for the compliment..."

Yukina nodded repeatedly, overwhelmed by the favor.

If Efnir had to open and inspect every gift sent by her fans and write a reply to every letter, there was no way she could manage it. So the fact that Efnir had tasted the konohana cake Yukina gave her and remembered her name undoubtedly meant one thing in disguise: Yukina was special.

She was both an idol and an agent, so whether it was letters or gifts sent to Efnir, wasn't it normal for them to disappear without a trace?

But... she had never heard of anything like this. Could Efnir actually remember her all along?

Yukina could not help thinking that way.

Ever since their first meeting, Yukina had been unable to forget everything about Efnir from that time. She had thought it was all one-sided and had never allowed herself any fantasies, but now that Efnir had given her an unexpected response, her heart suddenly leaped with joy like a girl receiving a letter back from her lover.

For Yukina, this was the happiest moment imaginable.

"Is this your first time here, Little Yukina?"

"Y-yes... it's my first time here..."

"How does it feel? The venue was really hot this morning, wasn't it?"

"It really was... hot... but! Everyone was very happy too! Very happy!"

Her words were flat, and she had run out of things to say completely. For the first time, Yukina felt that perhaps it would have been better if she had said nothing at all.

Efnir covered her mouth and laughed softly.

"You're so cute, Little Yukina."

"Mm..."

"Come to think of it, are you still a student, Yukina?"

"Actually... I'm a student at Youcheng Girls' Academy..."

"Huh? Youcheng? That incredibly prestigious school? Two of my juniors are students there too! You might know them."

Like an older sister naturally taking her younger sister's hands, Efnir grabbed Yukina's hands. The familiar gesture startled Yukina, and she instinctively pulled away.

Her palms were covered in sweat.

"S-sorry..."

She guiltily raised her eyes, and unfortunately met Efnir's gaze.

"You don't need to be so nervous, Little Yukina. Just relax a little."

"I-I'm sorry..."

"You don't have to apologize for that."

With a smile, Efnir rose onto her tiptoes, raised a hand, and gently rubbed Yukina's hair as if soothing a small animal.

Yukina silently lowered her head.

Efnir's palm was so soft and cool. For some reason, Yukina suddenly thought of her older brother. When she was little, he would often pat her head like this too. Efnir also always wore such a lovely smile.

"Th-thank you... I feel much better now..."

"Don't keep standing. Let's go sit over there."

Efnir was far more enthusiastic than Yukina had imagined. Yukina was led to the side, where they sat down by the window.

They sat side by side, Yukina on the left and Efnir on the right. Efnir held a plate of fruit, and whenever she reached out, her arm brushed against Yukina's.

Yukina shrank back tightly, but the soft sensation kept brushing against her arm.

Sitting so close to her idol felt unreal to Yukina. She cautiously glanced sideways.

Efnir's profile was right in front of her.

There was no denying that Efnir was truly beautiful.

In person, she had a far more overwhelming presence than in her online close-up photos. She was small, sitting there looking even shorter than Yukina. Her skin was white—a captivating white. Her faintly vermilion lips looked moist, clear, and soft. Bright sunlight spilled down, making her moonlight-like silver hair sparkle. Her curled white eyelashes lightly carried the snowy hues of summer, while twilight swayed in her eyes as though a galaxy flowed within them.

A gentle floral fragrance lingered in the air.

Yukina was confident in her own appearance, but even so, she seemed dull and colorless before Efnir.

"What is it? Is there something on my face?"

By the time she realized it, Yukina had met Efnir's eyes.

"I-I'm terribly sorry... It's just... you're very beautiful, and I accidentally got lost staring..."

"Pfft... I heard Nami mention you before. Now that I've finally met you, you really are just as cute as she said."

Efnir suddenly laughed, radiant as a flower in bloom. Yukina blushed, feeling as though she had messed up again.

"Oh, right. Did Nami tell you about this afternoon?"

"She already explained it to me in detail..."

"Then is there anything I can help with? Being the person in charge isn't easy. If you need anything, don't hold back—just tell me."

"N-no, it's nothing like that..."

As if deliberately keeping the conversation going, Efnir asked Yukina about many things. Efnir asked, and Yukina answered. Most of it had little to do with work; it was simply Efnir using public business for private purposes.

For example...

"It must take a long time to get here from your home, right?"

"Actually, it wasn't too bad... I took the train, and the trip passed by while listening to music and chatting..."

"Huh? Is that so... Who did you come with today?"

"With... friends from the group..."

Yukina answered honestly.

"Huh? You didn't come with your boyfriend?"

Efnir pretended to be surprised as she asked the question she cared about most.

"Huh? B-boyfriend?"

The topic suddenly became suggestive, entering the sort of girl talk Yukina was worst at dealing with. She immediately stiffened in shock, and her cheeks flushed bright red.

Yukina shook her head like a rattle drum.

"N-no! Absolutely not! A boyfriend... I haven't even had my first love yet..."

Good.

Hearing Yukina say it herself, Efnir finally smiled in satisfaction.

Actually, there were many other things Efnir wanted to ask, yet could not ask openly. For example, things about "herself"—about Yanase Naoto.

If she used the convenience of her identity as "Efnir" to ask, Yukina would probably say things she normally would not admit so frankly, right?

But Efnir ultimately did not ask.

"Well then, how old are you this year?"

"I'm fifteen this year..."

"Fifteen."

Efnir nodded thoughtfully. In truth, she was only asking something she already knew.

"Come to think of it, one of my juniors is actually about your age."

"Huh?"

"Her codename is Fifina—Gong Tianzuo · Feifina. Have you heard of her?"

"Yes! Fifina often fights alongside you. She looks incredibly, incredibly cool!"

"Is that so?"

Efnir said nothing more. She merely looked out the window and smiled. The faint light in her eyes revealed no true feelings, leaving Yukina at a loss.

The news that Fengling Shiyin had been gravely injured had not been announced, so naturally Yukina did not know.

Just then.

The door was violently pushed open. Shinomiyami Nami strode in quickly with a grave expression. Yukina jumped in fright, while Efnir frowned slightly.

A bad feeling began to grow in her heart.

Efnir briefly reassured Yukina and looked toward Shinomiyami Nami.

"Efnir! Emergency!"

"Go on."

"The 'Beacon'... has been stolen... and..."

Before Shinomiyami Nami could finish, blazing red light ignited in the sky outside the window. Shadows suddenly swallowed the sunlight whole.

All three of them looked toward the sky at once.

At the edge of the horizon, an enormous Floating Island stretching beyond sight slowly moved through the air, blotting out the sky and sun. Alongside it floated countless dense black dots.

The black dots rapidly descended. Then flames erupted, shrill alarms and explosions rising one after another. The building itself began to tremble as though it might collapse. Without any warning, Corruption had already invaded the skies above the venue.

It was as though it had... appeared out of thin air.

It was exactly the same as when it had appeared at headquarters last time.

The piercing alarm filled her ears. Efnir knew this was a "call" for her.