About Becoming a Magical Girl

"Naoto, did you miss your mom?"

A voice full of laughter came from the other end.

Efnir sighed.

But missing her was one thing; she still could not get used to her mother's blunt questioning. Her mother asked this every single time.

"Mom, did you call me just to ask that...?"

"Hehe, of course not."

The other party was still savoring Efnir's reaction, her laughter never fading. She showed none of the urgency one would expect from using such an exorbitantly expensive long-distance communication line.

Signals could not penetrate areas affected by White Hole Erosion, so long-distance communication could only be carried out through primitive means. As a result, there were very few long-distance lines left, and their prices were daunting. Yet the Yanase couple seemed able to afford them.

"Actually, I called to tell you a surprise."

"A surprise?"

Her mother's voice suddenly turned serious. Efnir tilted her head in confusion, only to hear the laughter on the other end break out again, no longer able to hold back.

"Your dad and I are back in Xijing!"

"Back... in Xijing!?"

Efnir was stunned.

She had just been about to rejoice when she suddenly realized a problem.

Was she Yanase Naoto, or was she Efnir? She could hide her identity from everyone else, but what was she supposed to do about her parents?

Meanwhile, Yukina still did not know that her uncle and aunt were coming to Xijing City.

Yukina had remained silent, as though she had something to say but did not know how to begin.

Nishizaki Yuki lit another cigarette. Glancing at the slightly uneasy Yukina, she got up and rummaged through a drawer before finally pulling out a bottle of fruit juice.

"Here. Your sister brought this to me once when I went to watch her perform. She said you liked it."

"Huh? Th-thank you..."

Yukina hurriedly accepted the drink with both hands.

"You don't need to be so nervous."

Nishizaki Yuki sat down beside Yukina, stubbed out her cigarette, and smiled.

"Do you want to become an Agent?"

Yukina did not know why Nishizaki Yuki had suddenly asked that. She simply answered honestly.

"I do."

Nishizaki Yuki suddenly teased her.

"Do you really? You're actually doing it for your sister, aren't you?"

Having her thoughts exposed at once, Yukina gave an embarrassed smile.

"Well... ever since I was little, I wanted to stand beside my sister and be with her, but... I never knew how to do that... And my sister seems very unwilling too."

"She doesn't want you to get hurt, so she doesn't want you joining such a dangerous profession."

"I-I understand... My sister is just that kind of person..."

Seeing the disappointment on Yukina's face, Nishizaki Yuki did not comfort her. Instead, she changed the subject.

"Actually, just as your sister said, becoming an Agent is not something that happens overnight. Beyond your body's compatibility with Order Force, carefully considering and understanding your own resolve is also an extremely important part of being an Agent. If you want to walk the same path as your sister, then her advice will be your signpost."

She glanced at Yukina and continued.

"But since you have chosen to move forward, trusting your own judgment and choices will also be a road you must take. When you feel lost, take a look at where you stand. I think that, compared to what you want to do, not regretting what you do is just as important."

With that, Nishizaki Yuki smiled faintly and returned to her office chair.

Yukina did not say anything immediately, and Nishizaki Yuki did not mind.

For those two sisters, she might have been meddling, but this was also what Nishizaki Yuki wanted to say to Efnir and herself.

At that moment, Yukina's voice suddenly rang out.

"Um... Miss Nishizaki, there's something I've been wondering about."

"Hmm?"

Nishizaki Yuki looked at Yukina.

"What is it? If I know the answer, I'll tell you."

"It's about my sister."

Yukina hesitantly pressed her lips together, as if struggling with herself.

She asked.

"You said earlier that my sister was exceptionally chosen as 'Ephnel.' Does that mean the original 'Ephnel' wasn't actually my sister?"

Because it concerned Efnir's past, Yukina showed great interest. She opened her eyes wide with curiosity, afraid of missing even a single word.

Nishizaki Yuki froze for a moment.

"Your sister never told you?"

"No..."

Yukina shook her head, a trace of sadness on her face.

"She doesn't really tell me about herself..."

"I see..."

Nishizaki Yuki knew Efnir's personality as well, so she did not ask further.

"That's right."

Nishizaki Yuki paused, looking away thoughtfully as she spoke.

"As far as I know, before your sister was chosen in the end, there was indeed someone else intended to be 'Ephnel.'"

Nishizaki Yuki glanced at the tightly shut door, hesitated for a moment, then continued.

"Though neither your sister nor the organization has disclosed this information, if I'm not mistaken, the original compatible candidate should have been... you."

"Me?"

Yukina blanked out.

"Sorry... Your sister probably hasn't told you about this yet. But you would probably have learned about it sooner or later. I imagine that declaration your sister issued carried that implication as well... She isn't a rash person."

Seeing Yukina's expression turn complicated, Nishizaki Yuki smiled.

"Of course, it's only my guess. I'd say it's only ninety percent reliable. But at this point, anyone who thinks it over a little can probably figure it out. It isn't something worth hiding. Back then, it was probably a secret known to very few people."

Nishizaki Yuki spoke pointedly.

It was precisely because Efnir had issued that letter of confession that, combined with the information she already knew, the identity of that mysterious former "Ephnel" became easy to guess.

But there were still many things she did not understand. For instance, why had the organization yielded to Efnir? Merely being a "compatible candidate with exceptionally high compatibility" was absolutely not enough to make the organization keep quiet, unless something else had been hidden...

But Nishizaki Yuki trusted Efnir. If Efnir did not want to say anything about it, she would not ask.

"Then... what exactly was it that injured my sister back then?"

Yukina asked softly.

Compatible Candidate

"Then... what exactly was it that injured my sister back then?"

Yukina asked softly.

"That... I don't know either. By the time I was transferred to Xijing City, your sister was already a qualified Agent. She wasn't as formidable then as she is now."

Seeing that Efnir had yet to return, Nishizaki Yuki was happy to chat with Yukina. She brushed aside her thoughts and sank into her memories.

"The first impression your sister made on me was actually because of her looks. You know, she's the kind of person people can't take their eyes off."

Nishizaki Yuki said this without changing expression, but Yukina froze, her little face turning faintly red.

"Then I learned of her, and I would consciously or unconsciously pay attention to her during work. That was when I discovered that your sister's compatibility as 'Ephnel' was shockingly high—the highest compatibility of any Agent I have ever seen. And as far as I know, she was seriously injured at the time. If she had been in normal condition, she probably could have done even better."

Nishizaki Yuki spoke with admiration.

Efnir's rise from a stumbling Agent novice to the leading Agent capable of standing on her own in less than two years was inseparable from her extraordinarily high compatibility.

"Ah, sorry, I've gone off on a tangent. I just suddenly remembered the past..."

Nishizaki Yuki shook her head, but Yukina did not look displeased. Instead, she seemed delighted.

"N-no, it's fine. I actually really want to know what my sister was like before too..."

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Yukina covered her mouth like a startled little rabbit.

Efnir walked in from behind the door. Unlike when she had left, Efnir now looked utterly dejected.

"Yukina, we might have to make a trip to United Airport. Your uncle and aunt are back..."

Kanade Kotone arrived at the elevator supported by Yukina, while Efnir spoke with Nishizaki Yuki by the corridor.

The numbers on the LCD panel began ticking upward from one as the elevator slowly ascended.

Yukina glanced around, and from the corner came the voices of Efnir and Nishizaki Yuki talking.

"...As for the assessment of Yukina's condition... the conclusion derived solely from the data differs greatly from the facts we have observed, and it is too arbitrary. To reach a convincing conclusion, we still need more experimental and theoretical support. The help I can provide this time is very limited."

"No, thank you very much for this, Yuki."

"I didn't help much. Oh, here, this is for you."

Yukina curiously poked her head out and saw Nishizaki Yuki handing a document to Efnir.

Nishizaki Yuki was nearly twenty centimeters taller than Efnir. Her white lab coat made her look even more slender, and standing beside her, Efnir—whose height was somewhat worrying—looked like an immature middle school child.

Though neither of them cared, the sight felt rather subtle to Yukina.

Watching the medical staff and researchers occasionally pass through her field of vision, a strange image suddenly flashed through Yukina's mind.

—Efnir wore a pink-and-white nurse uniform, delicate and lovely, with a beauty like a fairy. The slit along the side of her thigh ran straight up almost to her waist, exposing snowy skin and that slender tie which, with the slightest tug, would make the tender flower bud completely lose its defenses.

Yukina's face heated slightly, and she quickly pulled her head back.

Meanwhile, Efnir had no idea what image she held in Yukina's mind. She was discussing Yukina with Nishizaki Yuki.

"These are Yukina's examination reports. I need to give these to you before you leave, and then... please listen to me."

Efnir reached out and took them, silently pursing her lips as her brow furrowed.

Nishizaki Yuki skillfully pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"I accessed the database and checked the test records you left behind at the time, then made a preliminary comparison with Yukina's. The result was—highly consistent."

After a pause, she continued.

"Clearly, this was not due to blood relations or coincidence. It was because you are both compatible candidates with sufficiently high compatibility. But the difference is that you, Efnir, are compatible only with 'Ephnel,' while Yukina has remarkably high compatibility with every kind of Beacon. Of course, her compatibility is not completely identical with every Beacon; there are differences. Her highest compatibility is not inferior to yours in the slightest. On that basis, I retrieved other records from the archives for comparison, and the final result was no different."

In other words, Yukina's compatibility also differed from one Beacon to another.

Efnir casually flipped through the documents in her hand, many of which bore annotations written by Nishizaki Yuki.

"My original understanding of an Absolute Compatible Candidate was that it referred to a special case with significantly elevated compatibility."

Like an ideal universal key, one key that could open every lock.

"The organization's researchers thought the same at first."