About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 31

"Actually... whenever I looked at Shiyin like this, I sometimes wondered, 'What exactly are we agents fighting for?' Things like that. At first, my only reason for becoming an agent was the simple wish to survive. Later, I realized that such a thought was a selfish and arrogant sin, so I never mentioned it to anyone again."

As her words fell, the air fell silent once more.

Yukina remained silent.

"By the way, you probably noticed it too, didn't you? What happened back then."

Efnir suddenly rose to her feet and walked over to Yukina.

A hairpin lay in her hand.

"This is something called a 'Beacon.' We can only become 'agents' by relying on it, and it only responds to 'qualified candidates' capable of using it. But... qualified candidates are one in ten thousand. Do you know what that means?"

Yukina lifted her gaze and met Efnir's crimson eyes.

"It means... agents are unique. They are 'chosen' by fate. Becoming an agent is their 'destiny.' They are the only ones with power, so no matter the reason, they must fight for humanity's future. Between 'dying as an unknown ordinary person when this world reaches its end' and 'becoming an agent, gaining the power to resist everything, and dying as the last flame burns out,' this world seems to offer them two choices. But in this cruel reality, they actually have no room to choose at all... Yukina, if you faced such a choice, and were given the right to choose now, how would you answer?"

Yukina fell silent.

After a long while, she spoke softly.

"Miss Efnir... after saying all that, surely, back then I also..."

Yukina did not have the courage to continue. Efnir looked at her and finished the thought.

"Yes. You possessed the potential to become an 'agent.' Back then... you were already Fifina."

With that, everything could be explained.

Everything that had happened back then... and why Efnir had suddenly acted that way.

To Efnir, the version of herself who had taken Fifina away must have been utterly hateful.

Yukina silently lowered her head.

For some reason, she was not very surprised. Instead, she was simply lost.

"But... something like 'aptitude'... isn't it decided at birth...? Why only now...?"

By last year, aptitude screenings had already been completed. Everyone had received a test report, and Yukina clearly remembered that she had not possessed the aptitude to become an "agent."

Had something been overlooked...?

"Do you want to know the answer?"

Efnir looked at Yukina, her eyes flickering. Her overwhelming presence made it impossible for Yukina to look away.

Under Yukina's gaze, she slowly raised her hand.

Silver light flashed. The silver-haired girl vanished, replaced by a black-haired young woman.

Yukina looked at the girl before her and unconsciously held her breath.

Efnir and Yanase Naoto

Yukina carefully studied the girl's face.

Her features were gentle and dignified, serene and quiet. A faint gleam reflected in her shimmering eyes. Her eyelashes were long and slightly curled, lightly catching the thin sunlight.

She was incredibly eye-catching, beautiful enough to make one afraid to look directly at her.

This was probably Efnir's original appearance. Though she was only a little taller than Yukina, she gave off an instinctive sense of reliability. Just as Canary had said, someone who could create such pressure was undoubtedly older than Yukina.

As Yukina looked at the girl before her, aside from being amazed by Efnir's beauty, she also inexplicably felt a strange sense of familiarity.

"Do I look familiar to you?"

Yukina nodded reflexively.

Looking into the girl's eyes, Yukina somehow felt as though she had seen her somewhere before.

After all, someone as beautiful as this girl would leave an impression after only one meeting. Perhaps Yukina had met Efnir in this form at some point, so naturally she would find her familiar.

But that was clearly not what Efnir meant.

"Then, let me just..."

The girl removed her earrings, deftly tied up her hair, then covered the ends of it with her hand, deliberately leaving only her features and a lock of bangs exposed.

Her pitch-black eyes stared straight at Yukina.

"Yukina, how about this? Can you recognize me now?"

As the girl called to her, her voice abruptly changed from clear and bright to low and deep.

A face she knew beyond doubt, and a voice she would never forget—the girl before her became a boy.

"Big... brother?"

Yukina froze for an instant, then immediately snapped back to herself.

"No, that's not it... I'm terribly sorry! Sorry! Miss Efnir looked a little like my brother just now, so I somehow mistook you for him... Um, well... I didn't mean that... I just..."

Her sudden panic made her unable even to speak properly.

The girl before her was Efnir. That was clearly the case. But why had such an illusion suddenly arisen?

For that brief moment, it had truly felt as though she were seeing her brother.

"Well... you didn't mistake me."

There it was again—that voice.

Yukina stared blankly as Efnir spoke with deliberate seriousness, one word at a time.

"I am Yanase Naoto, your 'brother.'"

Yukina stood frozen for a long moment, then took a big step back, staring at the girl before her in panic.

"Huh—?? B-Brother? That can't possibly..."

This had to be a lie, right?

The person before her had a delicate face touched with a hint of allure, a face beautiful enough to stir the heart. Yet this was unmistakably the appearance of the brother she had always missed.

That person, that voice—there was no way she could mistake them.

But her brother... and Efnir...

"There's absolutely no way you could be my brother, right? Y-Your figure is obviously different too..."

"Is that so...? All it takes is changing clothes and binding them with a chest wrap. Only height can't be changed, right?"

"B-But..."

"If you want confirmation, I can provide any proof you need."

With things said to this extent, Yukina had no way to keep arguing. She had been completely unprepared for what was happening before her. Her mind seemed to short-circuit, her thoughts tangling into a mess as she stood there blankly.

"What I told you before... this is what I meant."

As though she had expected Yukina's reaction, Efnir showed no particular expression. It was as if she were discussing something entirely unrelated to herself.

Her eyes lowered as she looked away. The hand holding up her hair loosened, and black hair like raven feathers cascaded down over her shoulders. If Yukina had met this girl under different circumstances, she might have praised her inwardly as a "young lady."

But now, she was completely overwhelmed by shock and unable to say a word.

"You're surprised, right...? But this is what I had to confess to you. The reason your aptitude test report did not match reality is the same."

"You brought me here... could it have been because of this...?"

"Yes."

Efnir lowered her eyes.

"I had to apologize to you. It was my fault for hiding it from you for so long..."

That was an admission.

Yukina's eyes widened. She looked at the girl before her in disbelief, nearly forgetting to breathe.

The air carried a faint smell of disinfectant, an unknown floral fragrance, and an enduring scent of mangoes, along with an unfamiliar chill. No matter how she tried, Yukina could not connect this "young lady"-like girl with her brother.

"I've always ignored your feelings and selfishly done terrible things. Even now, I don't intend to ask for your forgiveness, nor do I intend to gain your sympathy... Anyway... I'm sorry... But seeing you as Fifina today—your struggle and your tears—made me pick up something I lost a long time ago... Yukina, I really can't avoid facing all of this anymore. I still hope to receive your understanding. Though it's my first time being an older sister, I still hope we can continue getting along as sisters."

That was not it.

Yukina lowered her head and bit her lip.

Suddenly, it seemed as though countless things had all connected.

Why her brother had appeared at the venue, why his phone had been in that room, why Efnir had worn that expression then, why she had been able to say without hesitation, "Your brother is fine."

What Efnir had said to her back then had sounded vague and incomprehensible. Looking back on it now, it suddenly became crystal clear.

So Efnir had been saying those things to her.

Her brother had always vanished without a word.

He would come home injured from time to time. Though he hid it well, the faint smell of medicine could not be concealed, just like the scent in this hospital room now.

Her brother had also never accompanied her to Efnir's performances.

When she had been terrified, her brother had not been by her side. Efnir had appeared in his place.

Before she realized it, Yukina had thought Efnir had taken her brother's place.

But that was not the truth.

Her brother and Efnir had always been watching over her from places she could not see.

"Yukina..."

It was clearly her brother's face, yet an unfamiliar girl's voice came from it.

Her heart was a mess. Yukina lowered her head and reflexively looked away, toward the hospital bed.

At this point, she completely—could no longer meet the girl's gaze.

She wanted to laugh it off with a joke and treat it as a cruel prank, but she could not do it after all.

"Perhaps this isn't easy for you to accept... I hadn't intended to bring this up so seriously in the beginning. I wanted to tell you in an ordinary way, but when I saw you, my thoughts became a mess... In the end, all my mental preparation turned to bubbles."

Efnir spoke softly, then suddenly smiled.

"But after saying it, it feels like I put something down. It's easier than I imagined..."

Yukina stared blankly at her.

This was the first time since coming here that Yukina had seen Efnir smile. That smile carried bitterness and relief, along with a faint sorrow that seemed almost unreal.

Perhaps...

Efnir could not face all of this completely calmly either.

Yukina's heart wavered. Maybe they had actually been the same all along.

She had been wrong this entire time.

Yukina looked at the spotless white floor, raised her hand, and pushed the girl away as she stepped back.

"Um... can you... give me some time...?"

Efnir paused slightly, then smiled bitterly.

"It's all right. If you need time... I was too abrupt, after all. And regarding this hairpin, please think it over and give me an answer afterward. No matter what you choose, please do not force yourself. Until then, I'll keep waiting for you..."

Lap Pillow

Outside the nurses' station, Yukina sat blankly in a lounge chair with her eyes lowered, holding her phone in both hands.

The phone screen had already shattered, cracks spreading upward like a spiderweb. As her fingertips brushed across the screen, she could faintly feel its sharp edges. Though the display could still light up normally, the area covered by cracks no longer recognized touch at all.

It had been her brother's thirteenth birthday gift to her. She had used it for two years without replacing it, and now it was probably nearly outdated.

After suffering damage like this, it would probably have to be repaired, or it would be retired for good.