About Becoming a Magical Girl

Yukina murmured.

"Dying... it sounds so cruel... If someone died in battle like that, their friends and family would be sad, wouldn't they...? Aren't you afraid, Miss Canary?"

"Of course I'm afraid... At first, I was terrified. But there was nothing I could do about it, right? Because this is our fate... That's why I've worked so hard all this time, so I wouldn't die so easily. But after becoming an agent, I gradually came to understand that fate is something you're supposed to hold in your own hands. Only after becoming an agent did I gain the power to resist fate. That feeling of controlling my own life fascinates me... Even if I might die in battle, if I were given another chance to choose, I'd still choose this path without hesitation."

Canary smiled and spread open her palm.

"Besides... whether it's me or the people these hands can save... if I work just a little harder, maybe no one will have to feel sad. No matter what, I won't just let myself die so easily. I've always worked toward that goal, after all. I haven't even had a boyfriend yet, you know? I don't want my adorable youth to end so simply."

"Miss Canary... You sound amazing, and you seem really young too..."

"Oh my... I accidentally gave myself away."

Canary covered her mouth with a giggle and waved her hand.

"They say I'm one of the more talented ones. I can't compare to your idol, Efnir, but! But! I'm younger than my seniors, and that's a huge advantage! I'm a little older than little Yukina, but there's no way I'm as old as Senior Efnir, ehehe~ But I can't tell you my exact age. That's a girl's—se, cret,~"

"Miss Efnir really is older than us..."

"That's right, and not by just a little!"

"Um..."

Remembering what Shinomiyami Nami had said, Yukina hesitantly spoke up.

"If that's the case... Miss Efnir is so mature, could she perhaps already be... married?"

"Huh? Married?"

Canary froze at the question. The image of Efnir walking arm in arm with an unfamiliar man surfaced in her mind, and only after a while did she burst into giggles.

"It's hard to imagine what a wedding for someone like Senior would look like..."

Yukina unconsciously imagined Efnir standing before her in a wedding dress as white as snow.

Her cheeks heated up despite herself.

"Well, Senior Efnir is older than me, but she's nowhere near old enough to become an old maid if she doesn't get married. If anything, she's always seemed like the 'absolutely never falls in love' type... I remember she had only just started university last year. I'd only just entered high school back then too, but more than a year has passed, and Senior Efnir is still the same. She turned down every one of her many admirers."

"Eep?"

Yukina covered her mouth in surprise.

If that was the case, wasn't Efnir about the same age as her brother?

Thinking about it that way, she suddenly felt much closer to her.

"Well, there are quite a few colleagues younger than me too. They're probably all cute juniors around your age... Sigh... Forget it, let's not talk about that."

Canary took a deep breath, leaned against the car door, and looked up at the sky.

Seeing that Canary did not seem inclined to continue, Yukina let out a slight sigh of relief and quietly stayed by her side.

Then Canary suddenly raised a hand to her earpiece.

"Is that Senior Efnir? This is Canary. Are you all right, Senior?"

Hearing the name she cared about, Yukina instinctively raised her head and looked at Canary.

Canary appeared to be communicating with Efnir. An inexplicable tension made Yukina hold her breath.

"Yes... There's no problem here. Mm, the Special Disaster Division has personnel stationed with me. Then I'll relay the follow-up work for you, so please go support Ayse, Senior!"

After saying that, Canary cut off the communication. She turned to Yukina, her expression sobering into seriousness.

"Looks like the Apostle has already been subdued. Little Yukina, this disaster will probably come to an end very soon. Until then, we can't let down our guard."

"Miss Efnir is all right!?"

"She's fine. She's very strong, you know."

Yukina finally relaxed.

"Anyway, let's wait a little. Senior will come over here once the battle is over."

After the Apostle girl was defeated by Efnir, Efnir supported Ayse and wiped out Crow and Whale in one stroke.

"So it's finally over. In the end, Whale was so huge, yet it was taken care of even more easily than Crow. Well, it was still exhausting, though..."

Since the Whale-type Erosion Entity did not possess aggression proportionate to its size, the cleanup battle had not been difficult.

"This time, it was all thanks to you, Ayse. Because of your efforts, we had more room to redeploy our forces. The casualties this time were lighter than before, and that is inseparable from your contribution."

Efnir said.

"Th-That's only because you and Canary are so amazing, Senior. I couldn't have done it..."

Ayse bashfully waved her hands.

"Get some proper rest after we return."

Efnir looked at Ayse's arm. The bloodstains had already dried; it was the injury she had suffered when the Apostle ambushed her.

"I will~"

Ayse tilted her head and smiled. Letting out a long breath, she bent down and sat on the steel framework of the venue roof, watching the stardust scattering above her.

After Whale disappeared, the scorching sunlight poured down once more.

"Come to think of it... looking at it this way, this city is actually quite beautiful. It would be nice if it could always stay like this. A world without Erosion Entities, without the need to fight... The world before Corruption descended must have been far more wonderful than it is now..."

"Yes, it was probably enchanting..."

Beside her, Efnir crouched down and sat. The spear in her hand slowly dispersed into starlight.

"If none of this existed... or rather, if everything came to an end, what would you want to do, Ayse?"

"What would I want to do?"

Ayse turned her face toward Efnir.

A breeze brushed across her cheeks, bringing the distinctive warmth of an afternoon wind.

Efnir gazed toward somewhere in the distance. Her silver hair was dyed a lovely orange by the sunlight, and the warm midday breeze lifted its strands.

Stardust danced, clouds shimmered in color, and Efnir looked like a tranquil fairy from a painting. For no reason at all, Ayse's heart stirred, and she awkwardly looked away.

"Um... What do you mean, Senior?"

"Dreams, perhaps?"

"I'd still go back to school, I guess...?"

"Do you like school that much, Ayse?"

"Not really... I'm happy that I get to see my classmates every day, but the teachers are always nagging, and there's endless homework... Well, it's not like school has ever demanded anything of me, though..."

Ayse put on a thoughtful expression, then sighed as if giving up.

"Anyway, Senior, you asked me, but I've never really thought about something like this. I just think that if we didn't have to face death and parting... a world like that would be so dazzling... In a world like that, even a somewhat boring life would surely be wonderful..."

She turned back, cautiously looked at Efnir, and asked hesitantly.

"Then... if it were you, Senior, what would you do?"

Hospital

"I don't know either..."

Efnir lowered her gaze thoughtfully.

"I used to think it would be nice if I could learn pastry-making and become a pâtissier. Later, I thought it would be nice to find an easy job. It would be even better if I had endless money, at least enough to buy endless desserts."

"Eep? It's all for desserts?"

"Without desserts, I'd turn into a withered, rotten branch."

Ayse blinked awkwardly.

Efnir liked sweets. Shinomiyami Nami had told Ayse that little "secret," but Ayse had never had the chance to verify it. Nor had she expected Efnir's devotion to desserts to run so deep.

Now, it seemed her sweet tooth was a serious condition.

And besides...

"Senior Efnir, won't you continue being an idol?"

"I won't. Well... I'm not really good at handling that sort of thing."

Efnir smiled brightly and shook her head.

"Ayse, tell me... If someone you deeply respected and admired suddenly turned out one day to not be as wonderful as you imagined, how would you react?"

"Of course I'd be very disappointed."

"Is that so..."

"But maybe it wouldn't really change anything."

"Why?"

Ayse thought for a moment.

"The reason is simple. What was it, in the end, that made me admire her?—That's what I should care about. If I was drawn to her aura, then perhaps I'd overlook other aspects of her, like poor grades or her actually being a delinquent girl..."

"A delinquent girl..."

"N-No, no, no! Of course, of course! It doesn't necessarily have to be a girl! I-I was just giving an example!"

Ayse frantically waved her hands.

"Anyway, everyone sees things from a different perspective, so we can't just casually jump to conclusions. If you don't actually try, there's no way to know!"

"Is that so?"

Efnir raised her hand, shielding the sunlight as she spread her fingers.

A burning sensation spread across her palm. Light filtered through the gaps between her fingers, and after the sun vanished from view, her vision was filled by pure white clouds and a deep blue sky.

Such scenery could only be seen within the Inner Boundary.

"Ayse, after this, I'll leave it to you and Canary to return and report to headquarters."

"Eep? Senior, aren't you coming back? Is it because of the handover work?"

"Something like that."

Below the venue, the vehicles and personnel of the Special Disaster Division had already arrived.

The Apostle girl had handed over her Sacred Relic and disarmed herself, but they still could not let down their guard. Unless a scan confirmed otherwise, they could not rule out the possibility that she carried other lethal weapons. Therefore, when Efnir took over the battle to eliminate the Whale-type Erosion Entity, she had left the girl under the watch of the other two agents.

Afterward, under headquarters' orders, Efnir would hand the Apostle girl over to the Special Disaster Division. She would be detained as a valuable lead and source of intelligence for the investigation into the unknown force she belonged to, awaiting investigation and interrogation.

"But there's still something important I have to do."

Efnir stood up, took a deep breath, and cast her gaze toward the distant horizon.

For Ayse, the battle here was over.

But for Efnir, many things were only just beginning.

If everything the Apostle girl said was true, then now was not the time for Efnir to stop and rest.

If the secret she had protected all this time was going to be exposed, if Yukina was going to learn everything.

Then Efnir wanted to be the one to tell her herself.

Perhaps Yukina would be disappointed and at a loss, but no matter what, Efnir would accept everything about her.

Only her hand—Efnir would never let it go.

"I see... Then please rest assured, Senior. Leave the battle report to headquarters to me and Canary!"

"Then thank you both."