Chapter 171 | This Magical Girl Is a Bit Strange

The side door of the gymnasium was cracked open, and two figures wearing baseball caps and masks squeezed inside. The one in front moved lightheartedly, a few strands of light flaxen hair peeking out from under her visor.

The one behind walked with steady steps, her lowered cap obscuring most of her face.

The two of them made their way along the wall to the back row of the spectator stands. Kizuna plopped down in a seat and pulled her mask down slightly, revealing a face flushed with excitement.

“Sis, the view is great from here. You can see everything perfectly right from the center,” she whispered, nudging the person next to her with her elbow.

Yuzuki pulled her cap down even further, her mask hiding the helpless smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Watching her younger sister squirm in her seat and roll up the program sheet to use as a makeshift telescope, she reached into her bag, pulled out a thermos, and handed it over.

“How many times have I told you? You need to stay hydrated in the morning. You almost got low blood sugar last time.”

Kizuna took the thermos, obediently drank a few sips, screwed the lid back on, and handed it back, her eyes never leaving the stage.

“Look over there—isn't that Lightweaver?” Kizuna pointed her rolled-up program sheet like a telescope to the side, nearly jumping out of her seat.

Yuzuki looked in the direction she was pointing.

Near the aisle, Lightweaver was sitting next to a woman in a wheelchair, whispering something to her.

She wasn't wearing her iconic transformation outfit, but was dressed in casual clothes instead.

“It is Lightweaver! What is she doing here? Who's that next to her? What are they talking about? Should we go over and say hi?” Before Kizuna could finish her barrage of questions, her body had already stood up in compliance.

Yuzuki reached out, grabbed her sister's sleeve, and pulled her back down into her seat.

“What's the rush? She's talking to someone right now. Running over to interrupt them like that would be so rude.”

“But—” Kizuna pointed to her own nose and whispered, “I'm Seina! We literally fought together yesterday. Isn't it totally normal to say hi when we run into each other today?”

“You don't look anything like Seina dressed like that,” Yuzuki said, pointing at the baseball cap on Kizuna's head and the mask printed with a little star pattern on her face.

Kizuna looked down at herself, then pulled her mask up a bit higher, leaving only her sparkling eyes exposed.

She stopped insisting on going over to say hi, but her body still leaned forward toward the front rows, her eyes locked onto the two people in the third row without blinking.

Seeing her sister like this, Yuzuki suddenly spoke up, “If you really want to go, just go. It's the school festival today anyway, and everyone's here to have fun. Just don't run too fast, and watch your step.”

Yuzuki slipped the crumpled program sheet out of her hand and nodded toward the front rows.

Kizuna immediately sprang from her seat and jogged down the steps.

Lightweaver was just withdrawing her hand from the armrest of Misa Tachibana's wheelchair when she caught a glimpse of a light flaxen-haired figure jogging down the steps in her peripheral vision.

“Lightweaver!”

Lightweaver looked up to see Kizuna running over to her in a few quick strides, plopping down in a seat one space away, and pulling her mask down.

“Your sister came too?” Lightweaver looked in the direction Kizuna had come from. In the back row near the aisle, a figure wearing a baseball cap gave a slight nod in their direction.

“Yeah! Let me tell you a little secret... My sister is performing in the final slot!” Kizuna pulled her mask all the way down, her eyes shining under the gymnasium lights as her gaze jumped from Lightweaver to Misa Tachibana.

Leaning in close to Lightweaver, she lowered her voice, her tone carrying an air of unconcealed curiosity. “Who is this next to you?”

“This is Misa Tachibana, the 'mom' of those three from the Wings of Freedom!” Lightweaver leaned to the side to clear the line of sight between them, introducing Kizuna to Misa Tachibana. “And this kid is Seina.”

Misa Tachibana, who had been studying Kizuna, turned to Lightweaver upon hearing this. Seeing Lightweaver's deadpan, matter-of-fact expression, she shifted the iron box on her lap.

“What do you mean 'mom'? Don't talk nonsense.”

“If you're not their mom, then what are you? You give them pocket money, manage their daily schedules, and you even lecture Amamiya for being a picky eater who won't eat her vegetables,” Lightweaver said, leaning back in her seat and counting off on her fingers.

Misa Tachibana fell silent for a moment before reaching out to flick Lightweaver's forehead.

“You talk too much.”

Kizuna watched the banter between the two of them and finally couldn't help but burst into a giggle.

Misa Tachibana turned to Kizuna, carefully studying her face.

“You... are Meruru's younger sister?”

Kizuna was a little surprised, not expecting the woman to recognize her. She instinctively shrank back half an inch, but feeling too embarrassed to let Lightweaver see her acting cowardly, she braced herself and nodded.

Misa Tachibana seeing Kizuna's hesitant, want-to-get-closer-but-afraid attitude, took the initiative to reach out and shake her hand. “I've known about your sister since the year she debuted. She carried the expectations of the entire agency all by herself, fighting while performing. It couldn't have been easy. Now that you're standing on the stage with her, I'm sure she's very happy.”

Kizuna looked down at Misa Tachibana's hand. The fingers were slender but well-defined, her nails trimmed very short, and there was a faded, pale white scar on the back of her hand.

“Thank you... Where are the other three?”

Kizuna pulled the program sheet out of her pocket and unfolded it, her finger sliding down the schedule line by line. “Wings of Freedom... Ah, here—original song, second to last. What about you, Lightweaver? Are you going on stage with them? You didn't even show up on the battlefield yesterday. If you don't perform today either, your fans will be heartbroken.”

“No way!” Lightweaver's tone was entirely flat. “My only job is to watch from the audience. I don't care if the fans are heartbroken or not. Either way, I'm absolutely not singing and dancing on stage.”

Misa Tachibana chuckled softly beside her, offering no rebuttal.

Kizuna edged a little closer to Lightweaver.

Probably feeling that Kizuna was getting too close, Lightweaver shifted half an inch to the side.

Kizuna immediately followed her by another half inch.

Resting her chin in her hands, Kizuna stared intently at Lightweaver, the brim of her baseball cap nearly poking Lightweaver's shoulder.

“Actually, I'm really looking forward to the day I see you standing on stage. You'd look absolutely perfect under the spotlight!”

Lightweaver shifted to the side again, dodging the offensive of the cap's brim.

“I can't sing, and I can't dance. If I went on stage, I'd just stand there and space out. Better leave those kinds of performances to professionals like you.”

“But! But!”

Kizuna tried to argue that singing and dancing weren't necessary to go on stage, eagerly cutting in.

“Alright, regardless of what you say, I'm not going on stage. It looks like your sister has something to tell you.”

Lightweaver cut off Kizuna's passionate invitation, pointing to Yuzuki behind her.

“Oh, okay...” Kizuna stood up, dejectedly pulling her baseball cap back on and lowering the brim so that only her chin was visible. “I'll head back to my sister then. Good luck with the performance—wait, no, I wish you a pleasant viewing instead.”

Yuzuki felt her seat vibrate slightly. Turning her head, she saw her sister huddling inside her coat, hands shoved in her pockets, mindlessly kicking the bottom of the seat in front of her.

“Back so soon? I thought you'd cling to her side until lunch.” Yuzuki turned off her phone screen, slipped it into her pocket, and glanced sideways at her sister.

“She said she can't sing and she can't dance, and that she'd just stand there and space out on stage.”

Kizuna counted on her fingers, repeating Lightweaver's exact words one by one. “I told her she just needs to stand up there and make an appearance, but she said no. I said she could just show off her light thread techniques, but she said no. I said she could just do it to support the Wings of Freedom, but she still said no. No matter what I said, she just refused!”