About Becoming a Magical Girl Chapter 39

Efnir left. Masaki Hina sent a message to her secretary, then sat alone at her desk.

Her gaze drifted into the distance as her fingertips tapped rhythmically against the desktop.

On the desk before her lay a document from the Union.

It was her transfer order.

Though it was called a "transfer," it was really nothing more than a dismissal.

Because of three consecutive major failures, the Union had decided to remove her from her position as Commander-in-Chief of the Xijing City Orderkeepers and send someone to replace her.

The successor would arrive in Xijing alongside the Union's supporting forces, complete the handover with Masaki Hina, and then Masaki Hina's career as Commander-in-Chief of the Xijing Orderkeepers Organization would come to an end.

"A vacation..."

Masaki Hina wore a lonely expression that would never normally appear on her face.

"Looks like... I'll be taking a break too. What a shame."

But there was nothing she could do about it.

A brief notification sound drew her gaze to the computer screen.

Her secretary was highly efficient. The notice regarding Efnir's suspension had already arrived. She skimmed through it, applied her electronic seal, and authorized it for release. The clattering of keyboards faded away, and silence returned to the air. Masaki Hina rubbed her cheeks irritably.

Efnir's words before leaving lingered in her mind.

"Efnir..."

She sighed and buried her face in the crook of her arms.

"Efnir has been suspended by order of the Commander. Her reinstatement date is yet to be determined."

—Within only ten minutes, news like that had spread throughout the Orderkeepers Organization, causing an uproar among the staff.

"Hey, hey! Is the Commander serious? Why suspend you? Efnir, what exactly happened between you and the Commander?"

Shinomiyami Nami pressed her for answers, looking at Efnir with deep concern.

When Efnir left the Commander's office, she immediately ran into Shinomiyami Nami and Yukina. The three of them returned upstairs together. During that time, the notice of Efnir's suspension was released, and Shinomiyami Nami had been like this ever since.

"We just had a small argument. Don't worry about it."

Efnir answered listlessly, tugging at the corner of her mouth.

She had a headache. There was no way to explain this clearly to Shinomiyami Nami. Though Efnir herself was willing to believe Shinomiyami Nami was not the person who had been planted there, no matter what, allowing emotions to interfere with operations was a basic violation of the rules.

But Shinomiyami Nami's concern for Efnir gave Efnir a headache.

"How can I not worry?! You've been suspended! Suspended! Can't you take this a little more seriously?!"

"Okay."

Efnir remained as indifferent as ever.

Seeing Efnir's utterly unconcerned, dead-fish expression, Shinomiyami Nami drew a deep breath and rubbed her forehead in frustration, looking like she hated that Efnir was refusing to rise to the occasion.

"Everyone in the organization is talking about this now! It's so, so unexpected that you'd get suspended... You've always been the one working the hardest. Damn it, what is the Commander even thinking... I seriously can't understand her... Is her brain full of cement?!"

Ignoring Shinomiyami Nami's complaints, Efnir looked toward Yukina. By coincidence, Yukina was looking at her too.

"Sorry, Yukina. I said I'd show you around here, but it looks like it'll have to wait until next time..."

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong, so why should you apologize?"

Yukina looked away and turned her head aside.

"Besides, there's nothing worth seeing here anyway."

Her tone was as cold as usual, but this time, Yukina took the initiative to hook her finger around Efnir's.

Her slender fingers were cool, soft, and trembling ever so slightly.

"I'm tired. I want to go home."

Yukina lowered her head, leaving Efnir stunned.

How long had it been since they had held hands and said they were going home?

That time felt so distant that Efnir could no longer remember it.

Efnir carefully hooked her finger around Yukina's. Her palms had begun to sweat, while an unfamiliar flutter stirred within her heart.

"Then... let's go home."

The soft patter of water came from the bathroom. Since it was Sunday and Yukina would have to get up early for school on Monday, Efnir had told her to bathe first.

Meanwhile, Efnir carried the dirty clothes out to the balcony.

Outside the window, the night was dim beneath hazy moonlight, and a gentle, cool evening breeze drifted through the air.

Efnir turned on the balcony light, crouched down, and opened the washer door.

"A vacation... huh... I said it in the heat of the moment, but I really have no idea what I'm supposed to do..."

To be honest, Efnir herself did not know what one was supposed to do on vacation, or what one even could do. She had not had many breaks.

When she was injured, she rested. Once healed, she returned to work. Even when Qinglan and the others were still around, when the organization had not been so short-handed, Efnir had always lived that way.

That was why others called her a workaholic.

With a sigh, Efnir absentmindedly put the dirty clothes into the washing machine and added detergent.

Her mind was filled with tangled thoughts.

Honestly, Efnir still had not figured out how she should word the decision to reveal her and Yukina's identities on social media.

It would be best if she could take all the responsibility herself and avoid involving Yukina. Efnir was not very good at writing such things, but if she handed it to the organization's copywriting secretary, it would inevitably feel insincere.

Efnir wanted to confess it in her own words.

Besides, she was still suspended. It was better not to get too involved with the organization right now.

She should probably lie in bed later and think it through carefully.

Efnir lowered her gaze, her fingers resting on the washing machine's electronic control panel.

Rumble—at that moment, the sound of the balcony's sliding glass door opening came from behind Efnir, followed by a pleasant voice.

"Sis, are you doing laundry?"

It was Yukina.

Ever since Efnir and Yukina had cleared up the matter between them, Yukina's attitude toward Efnir had softened considerably. It felt as though the distance between them had suddenly shortened, and they gradually began talking more often, giving Efnir the illusion that they had returned to the past.

"Yeah, I'm doing laundry."

Things had finally begun to improve between her and her younger sister, making Efnir happy. Even her voice unconsciously carried a gentle smile.

"I didn't have anything else to do, so I thought I'd wash the clothes. Did you need something...?"

Efnir wore a perfect smile as she turned around and met Yukina's eyes, but the next second, she froze.

At some point, Yukina had already come out of the bathroom. Fresh from her bath, warmth surrounded her. Damp strands of dripping hair clung to her flushed cheeks, making her originally soft and adorable face suddenly look alluring and captivating. She wore only a thin smoky-purple slip nightdress, exposing her milk-white neck and thighs like tender scallions. The hazy contours of her body were outlined inch by inch by the light behind her, revealing her lovely figure in full.

For the first time.

It was the first time Efnir had ever seen Yukina like this in front of her.

After all, Yanase Naoto, the "older brother," was male. During the days when he and Yukina had lived together, Yukina had always dressed properly and conservatively, and the two had maintained just the right amount of distance. Because of that, Efnir had never felt awkward about their shared life.

But now...

Palpitations

Because Efnir had always regarded Yukina completely and utterly as her younger sister, she had overlooked another side of Yukina: that of an exceptionally beautiful teenage girl.

So when she saw Yukina now, wholly and completely a girl, Efnir's mind immediately crashed.

The little sister from her memories was gone. Standing before her now was an entirely different young girl, defenselessly dressed in thin, translucent clothing that was little more than a layer of fabric. Even from two meters away, Efnir could smell the faint, fresh fragrance of body wash drifting from Yukina.

The slender straps on her delicate shoulders looked as though they would slip off with the slightest tug.

Half of her snow-white thighs were exposed, while a hint of cotton-white fabric swayed beneath her skirt in the evening breeze.

That barely concealed springtime allure caught the bright moonlight—and Efnir's heart along with it.

—Did Yukina truly not care, or was she doing this on purpose? Even Efnir, a veteran who had fought through countless battles, was flustered in that moment.

A second before her rationality snapped, Efnir hurriedly looked away.

"Sis, I have another piece of clothing that needs washing..."

Yukina looked at Efnir's stiff expression, blinked meaningfully, and spoke.

Efnir cautiously glanced back. Only then did she notice that Yukina was holding a light-blue garment.

It was the short dress she had worn today. It had gotten filthy during the Erosion Disaster, with several scraped marks and even a hole in the hem, so Efnir had set it aside instead of bringing it to wash.

"Th-that can't be worn anymore, right...? I was planning to throw it away..."

"No. That would be too wasteful."

Yukina walked over on her own, crouched before the washing machine, and tilted her head to look inside.

"It's a light color... Then I'll just put it in."

"Mm..."

Yukina's scent in the air became increasingly intoxicating. Efnir lightly twitched her nose, and ripples spread through her heart.

A subtle atmosphere arose between them.

After hesitating for a moment, Efnir suddenly spoke.

"Um... I'm going to take a bath."

"Oh... then... all right. In that case, I'll go back to my room first."

Yukina looked as though she wanted to say something, but Efnir could no longer worry about that. She fled to the bathroom as if running for her life.

She took out a change of clothes and placed them on the shelf, filled the bathtub with water, hurriedly removed her clothes, and plunged straight to the bottom. Only when she could no longer hold her breath did Efnir emerge from the water, blowing bubbles and gasping for air.

Her hair was completely soaked, and her face was unnaturally flushed from holding her breath.

She pinched the flesh of her thigh hard enough to hurt.

To be shaken by her own younger sister—she was an absolutely terrible older sister.

Yukina watched Efnir's panicked retreating figure.

"What was that... So she still sees me as a girl after all."

She muttered softly.

Well, that made sense. They had maintained that subtle sense of distance all the way until now. Suddenly removing that distance would leave even Efnir at a loss.

But Yukina was thinking of something else.

Yukina softly inhaled the air still carrying Efnir's scent, gently pressed her lips together, and lightly touched the corner of her mouth with a finger.

"A girl..."

She loved Efnir, but after learning Efnir's identity, that love left Yukina feeling lost.

But no matter what, those feelings had not disappeared.

The night was quiet and cold.