Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: A Junior Far Too Good for Me
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Ah, I want to die.
Once the situation had settled and I was sitting on a bench in the nearby park, gazing up at the reddened evening sky... a thought I'd never even had in genuine life-or-death situations completely filled my mind.
What the hell had I done? At my age, in a public place... and in front of a middle school junior, no less? Pissing myself? Does that even make sense?
"Ha, haha..."
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. Right. This has to be a dream. It must be. If I just close my eyes tight and count to a hundred, surely my peaceful daily life will be waiting for me when I open them.
"Um... Senior. A-Are you... okay...?"
But as if to deny that very thought, Yu-na's voice reached me, her hand tentatively touching my shoulder with clear worry in her eyes. I had no choice but to stop denying reality and look at her quietly instead of answering.
"If it were you, would you be okay...? Hoo... No, never mind. I'm so sorry to you, I don't even have words."
I almost snapped in frustration at my own pathetic embarrassment in this situation, but I barely held it back and apologized to Yu-na instead.
"The store clerk said you were fine, right? Ahaha... Don't feel too down about it, Senior."
Right. She had said it was fine. She'd even gone so far as to assume I was about Yu-na's little sister's age and kindly said it happens to kids sometimes. Thanks to that, I really did feel like dying.
"...Haa."
As I sighed again, my eyes scanning the outfit I'd unwillingly bought during today's shopping trip... Yu-na approached me once more, pressing right up against my side and fumbling something out of her pocket. What could she want now?
"What are you doing...?"
"Oh, it's the first time Senior's ever dressed up, so I thought I'd take a picture to commemorate it!"
"......"
"Come on, come on! Loosen up that expression! Look this way, Senior!"
The first time I'd dressed up, she said... I couldn't exactly walk around in pants and underwear soaked with piss, so I'd changed into the clothes Yu-na had hurriedly handed me. But looking back now, I didn't remember buying any of this stuff.
'This girl... sneaking in her own purchases amid all that?'
I glared at the girl standing beside me, pretending nothing was wrong, while she flapped a white blouse and wide-leg skirt-pants—what people commonly call culottes—in her hands. She was obviously planning to slip them into my bags on the way home.
*Click!*
Portrait rights? Must've sold those somewhere... She pulled out her phone with a grunt, switched to selfie mode, and snapped a photo of me sullenly staring at the camera right next to her—then set it as her wallpaper in an instant.
"Yu-na."
"Yes?"
"...Doesn't it bother you?"
"What're you saying out of nowhere?"
At my sudden question, she tilted her head with the same beaming smile she'd had a month ago when she'd remembered my birthday.
"Back then, sure, I transformed into a girl, but not anymore. A woman who'd been a man."
"......"
"I'm shorter now. Weaker too. ...And I pissed myself in the store."
So, pointing at my pathetic self—which was incomparable to before—I asked once more.
"I'm this old, and now I say I want to live as a woman. Doesn't that disgust you?"
I found myself utterly pathetic and disgusting. How did I look in Yu-na's eyes, as an outsider? That's why I hadn't had the courage to ask at first. Maybe that's why I'd only asked Teacher Aruel about how to live as a woman.
"The Boss told me. While I was out cold, you worked really hard."
While I was gone, Yu-na had patrolled the city after school without anyone asking her to, willingly taking over Seriel's duties. She'd even gotten support from other Magical Girls, but she'd still taken down an Amber-level Demonic Beast that appeared in the city.
I had to admit it now. Yu-na didn't need me anymore. I'd taught her everything I could, and all that was left was for her to grow on her own.
No, worse... Sooner or later, I'd become dead weight holding her back.
"...So you don't need to clean up after me like this."
That's why I told her. Even though I'd asked her to do it, I'd originally requested it from Teacher Aruel... If it made her uncomfortable and she was just forcing herself, she didn't have to.
"Senior."
To my words, Yu-na's beaming smile from moments ago turned cold as she replied.
"You know? I liked you, Senior. Not as a friend or senior-junior... as a lover."
"...Huh?"
"I thought I'd been flirting pretty obviously, but you never noticed a thing."
"......"
"That day, I was actually going to confess before we parted... But you're so diligent and naive, I figured you'd push me away over the age gap or adult-student stuff, so I gave up."
And then, I'd been found in a coma... Did I have any idea how shocked she'd been?
"When someone you like is in a tough spot, I'm not rotten enough to feel grossed out by it. Hehe."
Yu-na spoke with a bright smile, cupping her flushed cheeks with both hands as if to hide them.
"...Sorry."
With that smile right in front of me, all I could manage was a two-word apology.
"Really... sorry."
The first sorry—for not noticing her feelings until now.
"Pfft, what're you apologizing for? It happens."
"Still, sorry."
The second—for knowing her feelings now, but being unable to respond to them.
"It's okay. If we look hard enough, there might be a way, right?"
I couldn't bring myself to look straight at Yu-na, who was still smiling as if she hadn't given up on my pathetic self. Moments later, a pair of arms wrapped around my head, pulling me into the softest, warmest embrace.
"Senior. No matter what you say, I'm not leaving you behind. To me, you're always the best Magical Girl."
Yu-na said it wasn't over yet. I could still transform, and she was a full-fledged Magical Girl too... We'd definitely find an easy way back to normal.
"And I've got about two years until I'm an adult! When that time comes, it's a done deal!"
And sure enough, next thing I knew, she was grinning slyly despite her innocent looks.
"You little brat, seriously..."
I grumbled complaints from my mouth... but for some reason, unlike before, my heart felt at ease. I quietly hugged her back with both arms and muttered.
"...Thanks, Yu-na."
"Pfft, no need for thanks between us."
Truly, she was a junior far too good for me.
Time flows like a torrent, they say. It was a clear day nearing the end of the year.
"Hoo..."
Breathing out a puff of white mist into the chilly air, a Magical Girl who hadn't been seen in Cheongha City for a while perched squat on the rooftop of a tall building, announcing her return.
Her snow-white bob with bangs swept to one side. A beautiful girl with delicate features that seemed sharp at first glance but were actually refined, and blue eyes—Magical Girl Seriel slowly rose from her spot in her usual white uniform, her blue cape fluttering in the wind.
"Senior. You could rest more."
And descending from the sky to stand beside her was another Magical Girl.
"I've got winter break now, so plenty of time."
"Quiet. Being transformed feels more comfortable at this point."
A blue ponytail reaching down to her hips. Dressed in a gothic white frilly dress adorned with blue gems—the epitome of a Magical Girl's outfit—the girl, who was still using her real name since she didn't have a Magical Girl title yet, gripped her long staff tightly in her white velvet-gloved hands as she spoke. It was Yu-na.
"Ahem. Then today, why don't you observe this junior's skills!"
She looked just like an excited puppy dying to show off, prompting Seriel to chuckle unwittingly and stretch lightly.
*Beep—Beep—!*
The small device on Seriel's waist buzzed violently with a piercing noise. What perfect timing, she grumbled inwardly... but she turned to Yu-na, who was striking a fighting pose beside her, and spoke softly.
"Don't push yourself too hard, Junior."
"Ehehe, don't worry! Senior!"
Right. This was the life for her. Perhaps thinking that, Seriel leaped into the air with an unusually sentimental expression, heading with Yu-na toward the direction where the precursor to a Demonic Beast's appearance could be felt.
'Ah, here. Gotta be careful.'
The spot they arrived at was in front of a certain bookstore—where once, while she'd jumped to deal with a Demonic Beast on the road, her footprint had caused a fuss. She landed lightly, careful to relax her body and step softly.
"It's a Magical Girl!"
And as if they'd noticed her arrival, citizens began gathering one by one. Just as she was about to gently push them back to prevent any accidents...
"Hey, you getting a good shot?"
A voice suddenly cut through the crowd. One she'd normally ignore from some random guy. But when Seriel turned her head, she forgot to control her expression and strode forward angrily.
"Hold it, you..."
Where she arrived, two sketchy-looking men held their phones up high, so engrossed they hadn't even noticed her approach. The direction their phone cameras pointed was under the skirt of her junior Magical Girl—Yu-na—who was preparing to handle the Demonic Beast about to appear ahead.
*Snap.*
By the time Seriel pushed through the startled, fleeing citizens and reached the two men, they'd finally noticed her and tried to bolt. She grabbed their arms.
"Senior! No!"
Even Yu-na's belated shout didn't register. Only after snatching the phones from their hands and hurling them away did she realize what she'd done, stepping back in panic.
"Gaaah—!"
"Ow! Magical Girls are gonna kill us!"
Amid the screams echoing around her, what entered Seriel's vision were the two men who'd been trying to upskirt Yu-na moments ago—their arms twisted at unnatural angles, broken, writhing in agony. Citizens she was supposed to protect.