Chapter 35 | This Magical Girl Is a Bit Strange

Friday.

The lunch bell had just rung when Rei spun her chair around, holding her phone. On the screen was an interface Qiluo knew all too well—the Wings of Freedom's social media homepage. The old emblem that served as their avatar glowed quietly in the top-left corner.

“Tian Gong-san! Have you seen it?! The Wings of Freedom!” Rei thrust her phone in front of Qiluo's face, nearly poking her in the nose. “The video they posted the night before last already has over a hundred and fifty thousand views today! The comment section is full of people guessing who these Magical Girls are! They're all so pretty!”

“And there's one who didn't show her face—only her back! Some are saying she's a former Association ace, some say she's a secret trainee from an idol agency, and some even say it's Meruru guest-starring with a different hair color!”

Wait... why can't they just focus on Night Sakura and the other two? Why is someone staring at the one who didn't even show her face...

What if it turned out to be some magical old hag? ...Well, even though Magical Girls were always young and beautiful.

But what if...

And now they're bringing up Meruru. If Meruru's fans come attacking, I'll be the first to run.

“...Doesn't Meruru have pink hair?”

“Dye! Or a wig! A Magical Girl's hair color changes when she transforms anyway, so maybe she just unlocked a new form!” Rei pulled her phone back, her fingers scrolling rapidly across the screen.

“But I don't think it's Meruru. Meruru's combat style is really flashy, full of musical notes and melodies. The Magical Girl in the video fights in a much more elegant, clean, and concise way. She feels like a senior Magical Girl who's been doing this for many years.”

Qiluo picked up an octopus sausage from her bento box with her chopsticks and took a small bite. “You're quite observant.”

I didn't even know I was a senior.

“Of course! I'm a fan of the Wings of Freedom! Actually, I've always been their fan. Ever since their very first video, I've been deeply captivated by them~”

If a bystander saw this, they might actually think Rei was a die-hard fan dedicated to just one group. Unfortunately, Qiluo already knew that Rei fell in love with every single Magical Girl she laid eyes on.

Qiluo just wanted to eat her lunch in peace. When it came to things involving herself, she preferred to say as little as possible.

Rei rested her chin in her hands, placing her phone on the desk. “But I'm a bit curious. They call themselves an unregistered Magical Girl mutual aid organization. Isn't that basically going against the Association? Won't they get into trouble?”

“Probably. The fact that they're active in public means they've already prepared to handle any trouble.” She popped the other half of the octopus sausage into her mouth and chewed.

“No need to worry about them. Anyone who can survive on the battlefield isn't stupid.”

Rei tilted her head and blinked at her, looking as if she were staring at a cat that had suddenly spoken human language. “Tian Gong-san, the way you talk today makes it sound like you actually know them.”

If Rei could become a Magical Girl, her specialty would probably be prophecy. How does she manage to guess so accurately sometimes?

“They aren't the only Magical Girl organization that the Association gives trouble to. Those who can be active publicly on the internet usually have their own strategies.”

“True.” Rei's attention quickly shifted to another topic as she began sharing the Wings of Freedom's first Q&A post with her.

Qiluo finished her bento while listening, nodding occasionally to show she was paying attention. She knew that among the students gathered in small groups around the school discussing the topic, Rei wasn't the only one curious about the Wings of Freedom.

“I think the Association made it themselves! How could an unregistered organization get such high-definition combat footage so quickly?”

“But we've never seen the emblem in their video. I've checked the logos of all the Association branches, and none of them have this design.”

“Why on earth would you check all the Association branch logos?”

“...Because I've always been their fan! Ever since the Wings of Freedom's very first video, I've been deeply captivated by them~”

Qiluo hurried to finish her food, the tips of her ears flushing slightly. Fortunately, her classmates were too busy discussing the Wings of Freedom to notice a low-profile transfer student struggling to keep a straight face.

Potential fans like Rei were spontaneously spreading the hype, but the Association could still ban their platform accounts at any time under the pretext of being unregistered.

Independent platforms had looser moderation, and starting livestreams could quickly build fan loyalty. However, if the Association actually stepped in and publicly called them out, they currently had no way to counter it.

The Association likely wouldn't take such direct action, as they still needed to maintain a public-friendly image in front of the masses.

For now, they just didn't know what the Association would do. But Misa Tachibana had probably already thought of it. At the time, her expression made it clear that she had already run through the worst-case scenarios in her mind.

...

Meanwhile, in the lounge of the Stardust Melody Agency, a girl with long pink hair lay slumped over her vanity table, burying her face in her crossed arms. On the tablet propped up in front of her, the Wings of Freedom's debut combat video played on a loop.

“Meruru, the official notice from the Association is here.” Her manager pushed open the door and walked in, holding a printed email. “Tomorrow, Saturday at seven in the evening, the Association wants you to do a livestream. The theme is the daily life and duties of a Magical Girl, aimed at giving positive publicity to the newly attracted fan base.”

Meruru didn't look up. She flipped her tablet face down. “It's because the Wings of Freedom also scheduled their first stream for Saturday at seven, isn't it?”

The manager didn't deny it. Meruru finally lifted her face from her arms, flashing her most signature smile—the one fans called the “national idol smile.”

This smile was a product of muscle memory built over her three years since debut, but right now, it looked so exhausted it seemed weighed down by an invisible mountain.

“I'm not streaming.”

“Meruru—”

“I watched the Wings of Freedom's debut video. They're very good—they just seriously cleared the area and retreated. Why should I hijack their traffic? If the Association thinks they shouldn't exist, that's the Association's business.”

“I am Meruru, not the Association's public relations department.” She set the tablet on her vanity table, stood up, and walked over to the window.

“The Association doesn't target just any unregistered magic organization, right? The Wings of Freedom is just a target they've set up to warn other Magical Girls that the Association is their only home. That's why they want me to step in.”

“And even though she didn't show much, you can still tell that the white-haired Magical Girl's strength doesn't match any registered active-duty girl at all. The Association is afraid of her.”

The manager fell silent for a moment. Meruru was entirely correct. But she hadn't come here to debate right and wrong with her.

“The Association said that if you cooperate with this stream, next month's medical subsidy will arrive on time and even be increased. If you refuse, the subsidy approval process may need to be re-evaluated.”

Meruru's fingers tightened against the windowsill, her fingertips leaving five small smudges of sweat on the glass. Her younger sister had been lying in the hospital's intensive care unit for nearly two years now.

An Erosion Body attack.

During that battle, she had been surrounded by Erosion Bodies because she got too distracted. If it hadn't been for her sister, she might have died in combat.

Instead, her sister was severely injured and had yet to regain consciousness.

The hospitalization fees, the usage fees for the mana maintenance device, the rent for the intensive care unit—every single bill was an astronomical sum. Even after pouring in all her savings from three years as an idol Magical Girl, it still wasn't enough.

If the subsidy was cut, she would have to take on even more commercial activities to cover the expenses, and taking on more commercial activities meant having even less time to visit her sister...

Yet, looking at their figures in the video, she was inexplicably reminded of her sister in the hospital.

If she did this, she would never be able to forgive herself.

“Seven o'clock is a no-go.” She turned back around, the smile completely gone from her face. “I don't care how you negotiate with the Association, but seven is out of the question. That's my bottom line. If they're not happy, tell them to call me directly.”

The manager looked at her and finally nodded. “The Association figured you would say that. Seven-thirty. That's the concession the Association is willing to make. I'll go reply.”

She turned and took a few steps toward the exit, then stopped. “You aren't helping the Wings of Freedom.”

“I'm helping myself.” Meruru sat back down in front of her vanity, picked up her tablet, and pressed play.

In the video, the white-haired Magical Girl with red streaks stood in the center of a web of light threads, showing no face and saying no words.

Staring at that back, she suddenly recalled the first time she had stood on stage.

She had been so green back then. It was her sister holding a light stick in the audience, shouting how amazing her big sister was, that taught her how to curl her lips into a smile under the spotlight.