About Becoming a Magical Girl

At their core, they were people infected by Corruption who showed signs of Mutation to a certain degree. At some point, they could reach a critical threshold and completely fall into Dregs—beings stripped of human emotion and filled with an intense urge to attack. Therefore, for everyone else's safety, these people were gathered and managed during that special era, assigned numbers for quick identification, and thus came to be known as "Numbered Subjects."

In order to study the changes within their bodies and develop methods or drugs to combat Corruption, many places had conducted research projects involving Numbered Subjects. United Hospital was no exception, which was why it retained rather comprehensive observation and experimental equipment for Corruption and the power of order.

Those instruments were why Efnir had brought Yukina here.

Nishizaki Yuki took Yukina through one physical examination after another, while Efnir brought Kanade Kotone into an empty hospital room.

What Efnir and Nishizaki Yuki needed to confirm now was not suitable to tell an ordinary student.

Kanade Kotone was still somewhat dazed. She tilted her head up and blankly stared at the beautiful young woman in front of her, her mind still running wild.

Shiomi Yukina's sister was seriously impressive—

Even someone like her, who did not pay much attention to the news every day, knew what kind of place United Hospital's special care ward was. Normally, ordinary cases would never be sent here. Her injuries should have been fine with just a casual appointment.

Yet not only had this young woman entered without being stopped at all, she had also found a doctor who looked incredibly capable as though she knew the place by heart.

She said they were close friends, so did that mean they were basically besties?

That was a little enviable.

Since Miss Nishizaki was a doctor stationed here, she obviously could not be an ordinary person. And if her friend was so amazing, then Shiomi's sister had to be amazing too. You could tell as much from the car she drove.

"I just spoke with Ms. Futaba on the phone and gave her a general idea of your situation."

Efnir carefully helped Kanade Kotone lie down on the pristine white bed as she spoke.

"She's very worried about you, and she hopes you'll get better soon."

She raised the cushion at the head of the bed to make sitting up more comfortable.

Kanade Kotone's injuries were not serious enough to require a doctor like Nishizaki Yuki to personally examine her. The main reason Efnir had come here to find Nishizaki Yuki was the abnormality that had appeared in Yukina's body. Still, since they were already here, there was no problem asking Nishizaki Yuki to examine Kotone as well. Efnir trusted her friend's abilities greatly.

Nishizaki Yuki and Efnir were close, so she was the first person Efnir had thought of when it came to the abnormality in Yukina's body. She was a specially appointed doctor in the medical department of the Orderkeepers Organization. After the disaster six days ago, she had moved here with her department and had also become one of the people in charge. It would not be difficult for her to use the resources here to give Yukina a full-body examination.

"Um... how should I address you?"

After hesitating for quite a while, Kanade Kotone finally asked.

"My surname is Yanase. Yanase Naoko. You can call me Big Sis, just like Yukina does."

Efnir smiled gently and lied without so much as a flicker in her expression.

Leave

When she went to the school that afternoon, Ms. Futaba had curiously asked things like, "Where is Mr. Yanase Naoto?"

Because she had been playing the role of "Yanase Naoto," Efnir had instinctively used a disguised voice when answering the phone. When she learned that Yukina had gotten into trouble, she had rushed straight to the school without having time to change clothes.

So Efnir had made something up, naturally claiming to be Yukina's older sister.

When she picked Yukina up, the homeroom teacher saw that Yukina did not act distant toward Efnir at all and did not say much else.

Yanase Naoto and Shiomi Yukina were obviously not biological siblings. Blended families were especially common in this era, and family structures were not always obvious at a glance. Such things were not unusual to schoolteachers, so they would not deliberately ask too many questions.

"Big Sis...?"

Kanade Kotone silently repeated the name "Yanase Naoko" over and over, then unconsciously called out to her. She immediately felt something subtly strange.

"I-I think I'll still call you Miss Yanase..."

"Either is fine."

Unconcerned about how Kanade Kotone addressed her, Efnir took out her phone.

"Oh, right. I also asked Ms. Futaba for leave on your father's behalf. She agreed, so you don't need to attend the rest of today's classes. Take this chance to get some proper rest."

"Thank you..."

Kanade Kotone gave her a sincere smile.

She had originally been considering whether to ask her teacher for leave and had been hesitant about it. Yet the young woman in front of her had already arranged everything.

Ever since that accident, her father had been completely defeated and barely paid any attention to her. Asking him to take leave for her would probably not have been easy, while requesting leave herself as a student would have been troublesome too. She had no idea how this young woman, who was Shiomi Yukina's guardian, had gotten the homeroom teacher to agree so readily.

After all, she should have counted as an outsider.

Efnir walked to the window and drew open the curtains. The sight of the evening glow flooded into the room all at once.

It had to be said that institutions directly under the Orderkeepers Organization were truly wealthy. Everything here, from the decor and layout to the furnishings and displays, was beautiful. Through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see half of Xijing City, the cityscape beneath the evening glow spread out before them.

The snowy white room even had a game console and a projection television. As long as they did not disturb anyone else, they could use them freely.

It would not be an exaggeration for someone to mistake this place for a luxurious resort hotel. To help the patients staying here recover from their psychological trauma as quickly as possible, this level of expense was necessary.

"No need to thank me. Yukina was the one who hurt you. I should be the one apologizing."

Efnir smiled, and the sight was so dazzling that Kanade Kotone lowered her face.

"Come to think of it, I remember you live near the school, Kotone. Are you usually home by yourself?"

"Yes... My father is very busy, so he doesn't have much time to come home..."

"That must be hard, right?"

"It's nothing. It can't be helped..."

Kanade Kotone hurriedly said.

"Besides, I'm grown up now. Living alone hasn't really felt troublesome..."

"Is that so."

She carefully glanced at Efnir and only saw the young woman lowering her brows, as though she did not know what she was thinking.

Shiomi Yukina's sister was truly beautiful, and she was kind too. Before Kanade Kotone knew it, her gaze had become glued to her.

That could not be helped. Her mother had left her a long time ago, and from then on, her father had gradually become like a different person, ignoring her completely. Though it was difficult to admit, the concern she felt from a woman older than herself made Kanade Kotone feel deeply dependent.

In the end, she had simply been reminded of her mother.

"Shiomi is amazing at schoolwork! If she says she's second, no one can claim first place!"

Kanade Kotone's eyes shone as she spoke with an expression full of admiration.

Efnir had been asking Kanade Kotone about Yukina's life at school. Yukina had not brought classmates home in a long time, and opportunities to speak with Yukina's friends like this were rare. Efnir did not let the chance to learn about Yukina's school life from Kanade Kotone slip away.

"I remember Kotone's grades are very good too, aren't they? Ms. Futaba mentioned it."

"I can't compare to her when it comes to academics."

Kanade Kotone hurriedly denied it.

Yukina had always had excellent grades, which was something Efnir had long known. Still, hearing it from Kanade Kotone made Efnir feel comforted.

"I've known Shiomi for almost a year, but I've never surpassed her even once. When I first joined this class, I thought I'd try to get first place at least once. But no matter how hard I worked, I just couldn't get past her. So I planned to ask her for advice, and do you know what she said? She said, 'You just need to listen in class.' She almost made me furious."

At that, Kanade Kotone smiled sheepishly, remembering what had happened when she first enrolled.

Only later had she learned that Yukina really could effortlessly take first place just by studying in class. Yukina had a talent for it.

Just as she had barely done any extracurricular training yet remained unmatched in athletics, there truly were huge differences between people. But thinking about it carefully, although heaven had given them different things, it was not really unfair.

"And that's how we became friends..."

Efnir smiled too.

It was clear that although Kanade Kotone and Yukina were close friends, Kotone had always been holding her breath, wanting to compete with Yukina.

It was not that she could not accept it. People with talent always had their own pride, and Kanade Kotone clearly still wanted to prove herself. She just had not succeeded yet.

But then again, perhaps Yukina had always wanted to surpass her in athletics too.

"You two really are close."

"Of course!"

Kanade Kotone proudly raised her head.

"I'm her bestie, her very best friend!"

Looking at Kanade Kotone reminded Efnir of her own school days, of that distant time that would never return.

She had completely lost contact with her friends after the disaster more than a year ago. Once, while carrying out a combat mission, she had run into several of them, but they no longer recognized Efnir. Naturally, there had been no greeting between them.

"By the way, at school... has Yukina ever been bullied?"

Efnir asked the question she cared about most.

When Yukina had been little, she had always been quiet and withdrawn and had not gotten along well with her classmates. Once, Efnir had personally seen her being bullied.

Efnir had not been able to hold herself back that time and had stepped in. The result had been a scuffle between both sides. Children did not have a talent for fighting; whoever was fiercer won. That time, Efnir had won.

For a long time afterward, she had not heard Yukina mention school matters again. Efnir knew Yukina had been worried that she would go fight someone again, which was why she had said nothing.

But that only made Efnir worry more.

Examination

"She? No one would dare bully her... If anyone did any bullying, she'd be the one bullying others!"

Kanade Kotone's answer caught Efnir somewhat off guard.

Bullying others?

Efnir slightly raised a brow.

"Who did she bully?"

"N-No, that's not it... Miss Yanase, you misunderstood..."

Seeing Efnir's strange expression and realizing that she had clearly gotten the wrong idea, Kanade Kotone hurriedly explained.

"Actually, Yukina received a love letter before..."

"A love letter?"

"Yes, a love letter. The person who liked her was quite impressive, so naturally no one at school would dare bully Shiomi."

"I see... someone impressive..."

Efnir froze for a moment.

It would have been a lie to say she did not feel disappointed.

Although she had long prepared herself mentally, just thinking about someone coveting her little sister made Efnir feel short of breath.

And someone "quite impressive" was something she ought to qualify as too. If it was merely someone with that little bit of ability, then they truly had no right to become her little sister's boyfriend.

"But even if someone really was blind enough to provoke Shiomi, I'd protect her!"

Kanade Kotone puffed out her chest confidently.

"That love letter... who gave it to her? Yukina didn't accept it, did she?"

After hesitating for a while, Efnir asked.

No matter what, as her sister, it was not overstepping for her to vet Yukina's love life, was it?

A love letter could be delivered into a girls' academy? Was this junior who wrote it not being a little too persistent?

Simply put, Efnir was unhappy.

"Um... Miss Yanase might not believe this, but the person who wrote the love letter was an upperclassman."

Kanade Kotone did not know about the turmoil in Efnir's heart. She merely stated it with a strange expression, then casually darted a glance at her.

"An upperclassman... a senior?"

Efnir froze again.

Wasn't that... also a girl?