About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 30

United Hospital, Inpatient Department, Special Care Unit—

Ding-dong.

The elevator doors slowly slid apart. Bright lights flooded her vision as Yukina stepped out with an uneasy heart, lightly twitching her nose.

The sharp smell of disinfectant washed over her, and the scent permeating the air made her uncomfortable.

This was the Special Care Unit, a dedicated area jointly operated by United Hospital, the military, and the city government. After the major disaster five days ago, it had become the medical division of the Orderkeepers. Security here was strict; without the access card Canary had given her, she would never have been able to come here.

There were not many people in sight. Compared to the noisy lobby downstairs, Yukina's first impression of this place was that it was quiet and deserted.

Nurses and doctors hurried past, speaking softly among themselves. They carried clipboards and medicine, and from time to time, someone glanced her way.

Yukina hunched her shoulders.

To be honest, Yukina was not used to the atmosphere of hospitals. That oppressive feeling was hard for her to bear.

"Why did Miss Efnir ask me to come here...?"

Yukina muttered to herself, unable to shake the worry in her heart.

If Efnir had brought her here to fulfill her previous promise, did that mean her brother was somewhere in one of the rooms here?

But... why here...?

It had been the same before. Why had her brother entered the staff corridor? Who was that girl beside him? What exactly had this brother of hers, who always came home injured, been hiding from her...?

More than resentment, Yukina now just wanted to see her brother.

She only hoped he was all right.

Yukina did not dare let her thoughts run wild any longer and quickly walked up to the nurses' station.

She clutched her phone with its shattered screen and glanced around.

For some reason, there were not even any windows in this area. The air was circulated by the ventilation system, and all she could see around her were snowy white walls and tiles, carrying the hospital's characteristic chill.

Yukina pressed her lips together and hesitantly searched for the signs.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Shiomi?"

A nurse suddenly appeared before her and asked.

"Huh? Y-yes..."

Yukina carefully lowered her voice, only to receive a gentle smile in return.

"Miss Efnir sent you here, didn't she?"

"Um... y-yes...!"

"Then please follow me."

The woman's friendly, gentle attitude made Yukina unexpectedly nervous.

The nurse walked ahead, straight toward the end of the corridor, and led Yukina to a hospital room.

She raised her eyes and saw the neatly written name on the door plaque: "Fengling Shiyin."

It was not her brother's name...

Rather shamefully, Yukina felt a trace of relief rise in her heart, only for it to be immediately swallowed by uncertainty—was this name Efnir's real name? Had Miss Efnir been injured?

"Miss Efnir is waiting for you. Go on in."

"Thank you for showing me the way..."

With that, the nurse smiled faintly and left.

Yukina stood hesitantly before the room, her emotions rising and falling. The smell of disinfectant made it hard for her to breathe.

Watching the nurse disappear around the corner, Yukina secretly pinched the hem of her clothes and rubbed at several stains. Then she hurriedly tidied herself from her hair to her collar to the cuffs of her pants before pulling up her sleeve and sniffing it.

It smelled faintly of sweat.

Yukina's expression immediately turned miserable, and she became even more hesitant.

If only she had brought some perfume with her.

Yukina slumped her shoulders dejectedly. She pressed her lips together, hesitated for a long while, and finally raised her hand.

Knock, knock—

"E-excuse me... is Miss Efnir here?"

A Choice

"Is that Yukina? Come in."

A soft, pleasant voice came from inside. Yukina paused, then gently pushed open the door.

It was a single room. Unlike the sealed, oppressive environment outside, one side of the room faced a huge floor-to-ceiling panoramic window. A patch of sunlight fell in from outside, and from here, she could see Xijing City's bustling downtown. The white room carried a faint chill, while the air was filled with the light scent of medicine and unfamiliar flowers.

From Yukina's angle, she could just see one corner of the white hospital bed, as well as unfamiliar white flowers placed in the corner.

Yukina looked away and saw the girl sitting beside the bed—Efnir.

Efnir had her back to Yukina, seemingly watching the person on the bed. Her silver-white hair draped over her shoulders like moonlight, like a waterfall, capturing Yukina's gaze.

They had only suddenly grown closer today.

That was all.

Yet just looking at her like this made it feel as though Yukina's heartbeat was being drawn along by her, cheering with joy.

She wanted so badly to run over and hug her.

The sudden urge made Yukina's cheeks burn.

"Don't be so nervous. Come over here."

"S-sorry to disturb you..."

Coming back to herself, Yukina hurriedly looked away, closed the door behind her, and carefully walked through the entrance.

The full view of the room came into sight.

The panoramic window occupied half the room. The hospital bed was positioned toward the center in the back, with various unfamiliar machines on either side. Several bouquets sat on a table nearby, some already beginning to wilt. Yukina also noticed a violin case half-hidden behind a flower basket.

The owner of this room was probably a violin enthusiast. She must have had quite a few friends as well; the number and freshness of the flowers made that clear.

Yukina shifted her gaze and saw the person lying on the bed. She was a delicate, quiet-looking girl.

But...

It was completely different from what she had imagined. The girl on the bed had her eyes tightly closed, and her right sleeve hung empty. She... had lost her right hand. Like a doll wrapped in stark white bandages, she slept in silence.

Yukina stared at the girl, covering her mouth, thoroughly startled.

"Miss Efnir, she..."

Yukina's eyes flickered. She did not even know what that sudden flood of unease in her heart was.

"Her name is Fengling Shiyin."

Efnir's voice was soft, like fallen leaves in autumn landing in Yukina's heart.

Fengling Shiyin. The name on the door was beautiful, matching the girl's appearance.

Yukina studied Fengling Shiyin, but Efnir's next words left her stunned.

"Well, you might not know her by that name, but you should recognize her codename. She's Fifina... In the battle five days ago, she was seriously wounded. In the end, she went into shock from excessive blood loss. There are still no signs of her waking up. The doctors said she might never wake up again in this lifetime..."

"Huh? She's... Miss Fifina?"

Yukina was completely unprepared for this sudden revelation. Her eyes widened as she froze.

Of course Yukina knew about the massive Erosion Disaster five days ago. It had been all over the internet, but no concrete information had ever been released. She never would have imagined that this girl named Fengling Shiyin was Fifina.

Yukina stood there blankly, her lips moving, but suddenly unable to say anything.

She was Fifina, Efnir's partner.

When had things... become like this...?

No wonder...

No wonder Efnir had looked at her that way back then.

It suddenly felt as though something had gripped her heart tightly. Yukina looked at the sleeping girl on the bed and instinctively averted her gaze.

Yukina suddenly felt that perhaps she should not have come here.

"You don't need to make that sad face. As long as there's fighting, there will be casualties. That's only natural..."

Efnir lowered her gaze and spoke softly. Yet her calm words made the air feel oppressive and heavy.

"Perhaps Shiyin had already prepared herself for this day long ago. Her efforts saved thousands of lives. I think she must have fought to the very end for that moment. Now, as Fifina, she has reached her end. I wondered whether I should take this chance to let her rest... If we Agents go too long without Resonance with a Beacon, we gradually lose ourselves. Our memories and this power will both slowly return to zero. Maybe when she wakes up, all of this will become a dream..."

A Butterfly Hairpin rested silently in Efnir's palm. As though she were hiding from something, Yukina could not make out her expression through the silver hair hanging down around her face.

"But in the end... I'm the one who can't let it go. Shiyin lost her parents long ago. I only found that out recently. For her, perhaps there is no longer any place she can return to or rely on. She used to have a wish—to keep playing the violin. She practiced with every bit of free time she had each day, won awards at school, and worked incredibly hard. And yet..."

Efnir spoke in a tone so calm that Yukina could not understand it at all, her head lowered quietly.

"Miss Efnir..."

Seeing Efnir like this, Yukina did not know what to do. The hand she had raised fell back down.

Efnir... looked so lonely... It felt as though someone were squeezing Yukina's heart tightly.

But if she suddenly hugged her now, Efnir would probably find it unpleasant... Their relationship likely was not close enough for Yukina to overstep like that.

In the end, the restless feelings in her heart settled down.

"Um... Miss Efnir... are you all right?"

"I'm fine. And... just call me Efnir. We don't need to be so formal with each other."

"Um... all right..."

Yukina's hands had nowhere to go as she looked uneasily at the girl on the bed.

On television and online, she sometimes heard about Agents being injured or dying in the line of duty. Those reports were always broadcast alongside disaster updates. Back then, those casualties had merely been numbers that passed through her heart... This was the first time Yukina had encountered it at such close range.

She pressed her lips together and could not help wondering.

Would the person lying here someday become Efnir...?

The thought swirled in her chest, clogging her throat like cotton and making Yukina feel suffocated.

"Does this... happen often?"

"Perhaps. That's probably just what it means to be an Agent."

Efnir took a deep breath and slowly spoke.

"The average service period for Agents is only one year and eight months. This figure comes from statistics on the service lengths of all retired or fallen Agents in the Human Alliance. Of those whose service ended, forty-nine percent died in the line of duty, thirty-three percent went missing, and the rest were forced into retirement after suffering severe mental or physical trauma."

Yukina's eyes widened, but she said nothing.

She did not know whether she should speak at a time like this, or what she should say if she did. If an outsider like her brought up such subjects, it would only make things feel far too heavy.

In the end, why was Efnir suddenly telling her these things? No matter how slow Yukina might be, she had more or less realized that Efnir was revealing confidential information. No matter which part of it, none of it was something that could be casually told to others.

Yukina did not think of herself as anyone special.

Was it because of that hug?

Or perhaps...

That hairpin.

What exactly did Efnir want to tell her?

Questions lingered in her heart and would not fade. Neither of them spoke, and the air sank into silence.

The monotonous, indifferent beeping of the monitor echoed through the room. An IV bottle was connected to a long tube, its needle inserted into Fengling Shiyin's left arm.