About Becoming a Magical Girl

An Encounter at the Venue

Efnir put on the baseball cap she had prepared, skillfully slipped around the crowd, and headed toward the staff passage.

Not far ahead, she spotted a familiar figure.

—Shinomiyami Nami.

She wore a high-waisted ochre skirt and a puff-sleeved blouse, her chestnut hair loosely gathered up. Her lips beneath her sunglasses were just the right shade of red. Simply standing there, she drew plenty of nearby gazes, sweet and eye-catching.

That outfit reminded Efnir of her brief college days.

Though this was merely a disguise Shinomiyami Nami used to conceal her identity, vastly different from her usual uniformed appearance, people unfamiliar with her might not even recognize them as the same person. Still, just looking at her like this, Shinomiyami Nami's appearance was highly deceptive.

In truth, Shinomiyami Nami had been transferred from the Special Operations Unit. She was no ordinary active special forces operative to be underestimated. Her conduct and the impression her appearance gave people lay at opposite extremes. In a sense, she truly was a rather "awful" person.

In short, Shinomiyami Nami had absolutely nothing to do with "sweet."

At that moment, Shinomiyami Nami noticed Efnir as well. She waved, smiled at her, then trotted over in small steps.

"You finally came. You're late, you know. Late."

"Mm... traffic was bad..."

Efnir answered noncommittally.

In fact, there was still plenty of time. It was just that, as Efnir with her identity hidden, arriving early had become a habit. Compared to usual, she had somehow been a little late today because she had been worrying about Yukina.

"Well, it doesn't really matter... Anyway, let's get going! We can talk while we walk."

As she spoke, she naturally hooked her arm through Efnir's, drawing quite a few jealous or envious looks from those around them.

"Hey..."

Efnir tried to pull her arm free, but failed. She could only obediently lower the brim of her cap.

"I finally managed to erase my presence, and you ruined it all at once... You know I don't want to attract attention..."

"What does it matter? You're dressed like this, so no one will recognize you."

"That may be true, but there's no harm in being careful."

Efnir glanced around.

At an event where "Magical Girl Avenil" would appear, her younger sister Yukina would definitely be extremely interested. She might have already arrived at the venue.

Probably...?

She wanted to say with certainty that Yukina would definitely come, but when she thought about how Yukina might be going on a date with someone else today, Efnir suddenly lost her confidence.

Between the "Avenil" she played and that boy she had never met... which would Yukina choose?

A sourness spread across her tongue...

For some reason, Efnir sincerely hoped for the first time that her sister would come to watch her performance.

"...Something on your mind?"

"Huh?"

Efnir looked up and met Shinomiyami Nami's suspicious gaze.

"What could be on my mind?"

"You seem distracted... Did you go and make your sister mad again without knowing any better?"

"It's nothing..."

Efnir did not say more. Shinomiyami Nami pursed her lips, but had no intention of pressing further.

"Must be hard, big brother."

"Don't say things that could be misunderstood. More importantly, isn't it getting late? Do you really have time to stand around chatting here?"

Watching Efnir awkwardly avert her gaze, Shinomiyami Nami smiled teasingly. Completely unconcerned, she instead put on a mysterious smile.

"Oh, right. There's a surprise today."

"I'm not looking forward to it."

"What? I'm seriously talking to you here!"

"Then... go ahead?"

"Hmph."

Shinomiyami Nami solemnly raised a finger.

"I told you before that the fan club's person in charge changed, right? Did you know this newcomer is a really, really cute and dependable junior? I heard she admires you greatly and has always treated you as her goal in life."

There were occasionally people in the fan club who styled themselves that way. The ones who actively supported her on social media did too. That description instead made Efnir think of Fengling Shiyin.

If wishes could come true, Efnir would probably wish for Fengling Shiyin to get better as soon as possible.

"Mm... you told me about that before. I remember. So?"

Efnir simply could not muster much interest in what Shinomiyami Nami was saying.

To be honest, Shinomiyami Nami had always handled matters concerning the fan club. Most of the time, Efnir only needed to make a brief appearance to remind people she existed, so it was difficult for her to care much about this side of things.

After all, Efnir's main work was not here.

"You're so perfunctory."

Shinomiyami Nami grinned. She did not mind Efnir's attitude and continued.

"More importantly, she's very pretty. I think she's your type. So? Are you a little interested now?"

"This is the important matter you mentioned?"

"It's your own fan club... I worked hard to manage it for you. Why can't it count as important?"

"..."

Efnir sighed.

"Anyway, I don't know anything about this stuff. Even if you tell me, I won't really understand, so you can decide everything. Just let me know whenever you need me to show up."

"Oh? Really?"

Shinomiyami Nami smiled meaningfully.

"I'm telling you in advance: there's still handover work to do, and you're scheduled to meet the new person in charge today. If you don't prepare anything, you'll definitely regret it."

"Fine, fine. Can you just lead the way already...?"

Shinomiyami Nami gave a crafty smile, said no more, and led Efnir off to the side with her arm linked through hers.

Meanwhile, amid the crowd not far away...

Shiomi Yukina stared blankly at Shinomiyami Nami and Efnir as they left the crowd—

"Brother...?"

She was somewhat stunned.

Three minutes earlier.

The venue had a separate area reserved for the fan club's temporary use, and Shiomi Yukina had been waiting there early.

"I'm going to the restroom. I'll leave things here to you for now, senpai!"

"Oh! No problem, Yukina! Just leave it to me!"

Yukina smiled at the girl in front of her, who wore a support outfit, then turned and left.

She passed through the noisy crowd, walking slowly.

She was not actually going to the restroom. There were simply too many people around, and it was too noisy. Unaccustomed to such an environment, she only wanted some fresh air. The event had not begun yet, so she did not have much to do.

For Shiomi Yukina, today was especially significant, because she had come here as the fan club's new person in charge.

Though it was likely only "temporary," this opportunity was exceedingly precious to Yukina. By now, the fan club had grown from an obscure online group of like-minded fans into a semi-official fan organization. Because of this, it occasionally had contact with manager Shinomiyami Nami and even Magical Girl Avenil herself.

Yukina was undoubtedly lucky. Just three days after taking over, she had received an invitation from Shinomiyami Nami, her idol's manager.

It was not anything especially important or irreplaceable. For a fan club representative, it was merely an ordinary, common activity. But for Yukina, she had finally gained the chance to cross paths with her idol, Avenil. It was an opportunity she had always dreamed of.

In short, she was in a pretty good mood today.

Probably?

She should have been in a very good mood... Yet for some reason, Yukina did not feel particularly happy.

Her wish had finally almost reached its end, but rather than swelling satisfaction, disappointment and loneliness filled her chest first.

It felt as though she had forgotten something important. This feeling... Yukina knew it well. It was exactly the same as when she stood on the awards stage and searched for her brother in the crowd. It should have been a happy moment, yet that happiness had been flawed because it was incomplete.

Precisely because she was happy, the cracks in her heart became magnified.

The area around her was full of noisy crowds. Yukina wandered slowly and aimlessly, gazing across the vast hall. In the distance, staff from the Orderkeepers Organization and the Special Disaster Division, the city's two major administrative agencies, had already arrived.

There were so many people... Yet only a few, like her, had come alone.

Because it was meant to be a time for happiness and unrestrained laughter, people always liked sharing it with someone else. But Yukina could only slowly savor her joy by herself.

Yukina sighed.

She thought of her brother again...

She was not angry at him, but without question, an enormous sense of distance had formed between them. At first, Yukina had tried inviting him to attend events with her, but later she gradually realized that her brother was one of the rare boys who had no interest in "Avenil." No matter how indirectly Yukina brought her up, he remained unmoved.

So Yukina had not had the chance to mention this event, and naturally had not invited her brother either. Even if she had, her brother definitely would not have accompanied Yukina to a Magical Girl Avenil performance.

More than a year had passed quickly, and Yukina had somewhat grown used to not having her brother by her side.

Whenever she needed her brother's company, he was always absent. Whether it was parent-teacher meetings, Corruption attacks, or the frighteningly quiet room where she was alone.

Of course she resented him.

Because she expected too much, because she had always been treated that way, she naturally felt disappointed whenever her wishes fell through.

She could only blame herself for relying too heavily on her brother. In the end, she simply was not mature enough.

But she still could not accept it.

Because she was his little sister, shouldn't she be a little "special"? Because she had placed her brother in a "special" position, because he called her "special," she also hoped to receive "special" treatment from him...

Yet after getting carried away by herself, she realized reality was far from what she wished for.

In the end, she was the only one being sentimental.

So of course she felt disappointed.

That hollow feeling... slowly accumulated like falling snow, then froze into ice.

She had always harbored grievances, but never enough to become hatred. She could never hate her brother. It was just that... there were many things she had no way to say.

"If only we could spend a little more time together..."

Yukina's gaze drifted.

She told herself this every time, and she had indeed taken steps toward it. But without exception, her brother seemed to be deliberately avoiding her, choking what little courage she had tightly in her throat.

After dropping out of college and returning home, her brother had become unfamiliar once more, and the distance between them had become even harder to cross.

She had tried many things, but matters always went against her expectations.

In the end, things had become like this.

Day after day, through tedious and trivial routines, Yukina had more or less grown used to life without her brother's company.

Just then, a familiar figure passed before the crowd. Though it was only a casual glance, it caught Shiomi Yukina's attention.

Her brother, Yanase Naoto.

He was dressed as casually as ever, but wore an additional black baseball cap. As though pondering something, he frowned and glanced around. Shiomi Yukina instinctively took a step back and hid among the crowd.

Yanase Naoto did not notice her.

Like a thief, Shiomi Yukina cautiously poked her head out.