Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Dress Code
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With Frost's appearance, the trashy reporters scattered and fled.
Because they knew full well that their own actions were illegal.
They must have targeted me because I seemed like an easy mark, but Frost was a legal pro who'd unleashed official complaints over twenty times.
Especially since they knew nine out of ten lost when it came to disputes over magical girls' portrait rights, they tucked tail and ran.
Which means I could've shaken them off easily if I'd just acted tough. The problem was that I couldn't.
After driving off the reporters, we slipped into a nearby 24-hour unmanned café.
The inside was empty, but thanks to the earlier commotion, a crowd of people had trailed after us.
"Pick whatever you want to drink. Frost is buying."
"Ah, sure."
Frost glanced around before sitting down and snapping her fingers.
The ice crystals interlocked with one another, forming mirrors that instantly sealed off the view of the café's interior.
"...Wow."
"It's the Ice Mirror Room. You know it?"
Of course I did. It wasn't her signature move, but it was one of Frost's main spells.
She'd trap a monster inside and then steam it with cold beams bouncing around via reflections.
"From the outside, they can't see Frost or hear her voice. It's basically a barrier that induces hallucinations."
"That's incredible. You can even do stuff like this!"
"Thanks. So, shall we get to the point? I don't really get why you want to go to the Magic Castle, but..."
I couldn't exactly say it was to make clothes out of that beast's pelt.
"You can go to the Magic Castle later. Admin processing is the main goal anyway, and that can wait."
In truth, the admin stuff was being handled however that beast felt like.
"Then what now...?"
Frost flashed a mischievous, little-devil smile and pulled out paper and a pen from her subspace.
"We need to settle on your concept first!"
"Eek."
Decide on a concept already?
Sure, I'd come to her for help picking magic, but I wasn't mentally prepared yet.
"Sword said to decide later..."
"That's just Sword sis trying to hoard Neph for herself."
"...Hoard?"
"Yeah. She picks magic that fits the weapon. That's her specialty. How many juniors do you think she's lured in like that?"
Crazy.
I'd thought she was a kind senior, but she was just a newbie-eater trying to raise them to her own taste.
I'd trusted her enough to take the weapon she offered. Was this what it felt like to get the axe on your own foot?
"Actually, the proper way is right there in the manual. Concept first, then magic, then weapon."
"...I see."
"For example, Frost's concept is the cool ice fairy. That's why all her magic is specialized in ice and cold."
Frost extended her hand, and a small ice flower bloomed in the air.
Pa-sa-sak.
The ice flower scattered into snowflakes.
"On the flip side, Bella's big sis has hot-blooded justice as her concept. That's why she uses flame magic and gauntlets for her close-combat fighting style."
Got it. It all clicked perfectly.
Meaning you customize magic and weapons to fit the concept you're pushing for maximum synergy.
"So, shall we nail down your concept right now?"
"Huh? Right now? Don't we need any prep materials or something?"
"Nope. The most efficient way is to turn your everyday imaginings straight into a concept. Frost will help, so doodle away."
That made sense when she put it like that.
Masterpieces often sprang from spur-of-the-moment inspiration more than long preparations anyway.
Somehow, a pen had ended up in my hand.
'This is so vague.'
I let my hand move across the paper, sketching rough outlines wherever inspiration struck.
"Wow... Neph, you draw really well? You've got talent. Any interest in art?"
Well, I'd already gone to design high school... Since my personal color was white, I drew in some eyes.
And then.
"Eyes? There's Snow White for that. It overlaps a bit with Frost's concept too."
Critique came flying right away.
I'd thought hard about it, but getting shot down immediately left me deflated.
Next, I tried drawing perky cat ears on the head for a beastkin concept...
"Hm... Not bad, but I don't think it'd stand out against the furry magical girls."
"B-but those are full-body fur..."
"More fur is better than just some fur."
'Is it?'
Come to think of it, there were rumors that the Western magical girl scene was totally dominated by furries. It was so suspicious I'd wiped it from my mind.
We spent ages brainstorming concepts, but most got nixed for already existing or being too common.
Frustrated at how many magical girls there were, I rashly tried a Cthulhu concept, only for Frost to stare at me like I was an outer god, so that got rejected too.
"This is weird... Can't come up with anything good. Neph, you're only eight—don't you have anything you want to try?"
A normal eight-year-old girl would spit out ideas instantly if you asked what she'd want to do as a magical girl.
"..."
But I was just a college guy forced young. I couldn't muster any little-girl imaginings.
As I floundered, Frost looked at me with pitying eyes.
It was like she was gazing at a stray animal... Probably just my imagination.
"Let's change tack. Neph picked a sewing machine for her weapon, right?"
"...Yeah."
"Then, like Sword sis said, think of magic that fits the weapon."
A sewing machine magical girl?
If anything, that made it harder. I'd picked it precisely because no one else did.
"Or you could follow Prima's style."
"Ah... I'll give that a shot."
This seemed better.
Though I'd only seen Prima's powers in low-res old footage.
From what I knew, her magic wasn't straightforward power like Bella's explosions or Frost's freezing.
Ruined buildings rewound like time reversal to repair. Poison gas from monsters turned to scattering petals.
Even allies with fatal wounds reverted to unharmed states.
'A power that denies results and overlays the phenomenon you desire.'
It was reality-warping on a level worthy of the progenitor magical girl—a total cheat ability.
Of course, the risks were huge too.
Prima staggered with every spell, and rumors pinned her short prime on overwhelming mana drain she couldn't handle.
Plus, she couldn't take negative actions like killing, making her purely a supporter for other magical girls.
"Prima's magic stems from imagination that can do anything. Approach from 'I can do anything' instead of 'What can I do?'"
'Anything.'
I closed my eyes and pondered.
If I became a magical girl (which I already had), what magic would I want?
Flames like Bella's, ice like Frost's. Swinging a sword like Sword.
Elements like Ignis or Aqua. Summoning and commanding magical beasts like Shining.
Weather control like Aurora, earthquakes like Terra.
But pick just one?
When I could do anything?
'I want to try it all.'
[Defining who you are and immersing in that role maximizes your imagination.]
[That's why magical girls need a 'concept'.]
A concept to manifest magic.
So what would show a concept most visually and intuitively?
'Clothes.'
Why had I chosen a major with zero job prospects?
Simply because existing magical girl outfits were so lame—I wanted to dress them up in new ones with my own hands.
My weapon was a sewing machine. My major was fashion design. My essence was a magical girl otaku.
'If I make this my concept...'
The girl named Seol Ha-rin loves all magical girls so much that she imagines becoming them by wearing outfits she made herself.
'This is it.'
I closed my eyes and focused my mind.
드르르르륵!
The sewing machine whirred to life, weaving imagination fabric with mana threads.
Bella's sense of justice in red thread.
Frost's cool precision in blue thread.
312 spools of colored threads woven together and loaded into the machine. Foot down, pedal pressed, birthing a new form.
I 'wear' that form.
"Transformation."
"Huh? Neph...? Weren't you already transformed?"
A white flash draped me in the Neo Prima suit.
Immediately after, mana poured from my body, turning into multicolored threads that swirled through the café.
Countless outfit afterimages overlapped onto my reflection in the ice mirrors.
Me in an orange dress.
Me in a blue dress.
Me in a miko outfit.
Me in black armor.
And so on, forms flashing by in sequence.
Then, the countless 'me's reflected in the ice mirrors all opened their eyes at once.
A prickling sensation wrapped my fingertips—like a thread slipping neatly through a needle's eye. I seized it without letting go.
My lips moved on their own, uttering the name of a new spell.
"Dress Code."
⟨ Dress Code ⟩
As the spell's name spilled out, the color of the mana enveloping me shifted. No longer white light, but a burning orange glow.
"Type: Bella."
파아앗!
The light burst forth, dispersing the Neo Prima suit. A new outfit instantly filled the void.
An orange mini dress based on Bella's from earlier that day, resized to fit my frame.
It was one of the practice pieces I'd stashed in my closet back at my place.
At the same time, a small flame flickered to life in my palm.
Bella's exact flame of justice.
"Is that... Bella's magic?"
Instead of answering, I pressed the pedal on Druruk.
드르르르륵!
A cheerful whirring sound rang out as thread spurted from the needle tip.
화르륵! Flame thread glowing red.
"Wow."
It was fascinating.
Last time, even infusing it with mana just made sturdy thread. This time, the attribute itself had changed.
This was my magic: [Dress Code].
The ability: 'Wear an outfit of a magical girl I designed, and I can use that magical girl's magic.'
This time, I shot the flame from my palm into the air.
Pusuk~
A small ember flew and fizzled against the ice mirror.
"..."
Weak.
'Well, yeah. Figures.'
I wasn't 'becoming' a magical girl. Just 'imitating' one.
A downgraded, trial-version concept.
Naturally, it couldn't beat the originals.
But I wasn't disappointed.
I might not top any one field, but I could dabble in them all.
In terms of versatility, I wouldn't lose to the original Prima.
'So, does that mean anyone could transform if they had the clothes?'
Thanks to cramming for my grad project, my closet already held dozens of magical girl outfits.
And among them, the strongest magical girl was obviously...
'Aurora.'
The weather-manipulating magical girl. Her outfit was one I'd stayed up all night patterning.
'Alright, let's do it.'
I shouted confidently.
"Dress Code! Type: Aurora!"
But nothing happened.
"..."
"..."
My wild thoughts, my anxious eyes, and Frost's watchful gaze crossed paths—that was it.
Tsk. Didn't I have an Aurora outfit?
"...Ma, magic's not working."
Help.
Frost, flustered at first by my plea, quickly composed herself like the veteran she was and analyzed the situation.
She grasped my magic's nature in an instant and gave her diagnosis.
"Have you ever met Aurora sis in person?"
"No. Never seen her for real... Ah!"
I'd felt Bella's mana directly today.
But Aurora? Only through a screen. I'd never experienced her mana firsthand.
It wasn't enough to just mimic the look—I needed to have encountered that magical girl's mana at least once to use the magic.
She'd nailed it in one go. That's what experience looked like.
If this hypothesis held, the unlock conditions for new coords in my Dress Code ability were roughly:
1. Personally make/possess the target's outfit.
2. Meet the target in person and get face-to-face.
Something like that.
"...Wow."
The conditions were a bit strict, but whatever... I'd manage. Worst case, swinging the sewing machine around would still make me useful.
"Hehe."
A goofy grin leaked out.
Now I even had my own signature magic. One step closer to being a real magical girl...
'No, hold up.'
That wouldn't do.
I needed to power up fast and get back to my original body—getting closer to magical girl life was the opposite of the plan.
Thud.
I banged my head against the ice mirror to snap out of it.
"Y-you okay?"
"F-fine..."
It hurt.
Anyway, that cleared the primary goal of meeting Frost. Time to head home and dive into the beast raid.
But Frost stared at me with a grave expression.
'What's with her?'
Ah! My magic was too broken?
It was basically stealing other magical girls' identities.
Was she wary of it?
Makes sense. Even to a 15-year vet like Frost, my talent must seem threatening. Scary... my own talent.
I struck a triumphant Neph pose.
"Earlier, you said you weren't transformed, right Neph?"
"Yes!"
"And now you are."
I tilted my head. So what?
"Sigh... That's on Frost for not noticing. Your mana wavelength coming off your body was the same before and after..."
Strictly speaking, she wasn't wrong. I was basically in constant transformation mode now.
'Ah, that's why Bella got confused too.'
Makes sense.
But was that the important part right now?
When I'd just created awesome magic?
Neph, go—
"Everyone saw Frost and Neph together on the way here. Plenty of photos too."
"Yes!"
"So how do you plan to handle school life in that state?"
"...Ah?"
Turned out Frost had been dragging me around assuming I was transformed.
A Prima granddaughter being a magical girl was no big deal anyway.
With Bella's precedent, the public would naturally think, 'Oh, she's one too.'
The problem was I had to start school next week. In this exact form.
From the school's perspective, a normal student named Seol Ha-rin was enrolling—but her face matched the Prima granddaughter dominating real-time searches?
"..."
Unlike the granddaughter, Seol Ha-rin had to be a total civilian. Otherwise, my lineage would get exposed.
But if Seol Ha-rin got outed as a magical girl?
Bring the oil drum!
"No matter how cool the magic you learn, it means nothing if everyone knows who you are."
"Auuugh..."
But what was I supposed to do... My body was like this... Transforming didn't change it... Sob, die beast...
At that moment, Frost pulled a pair of red horn-rim glasses from her pocket and held them out to me.
"Here, take these."
"Huh?"
"Perception inhibition artifact. Custom-made back in the day to dodge stalker fans—performance is guaranteed."
As she handed me the glasses, she added an explanation.
"These have a much stronger perception inhibition spell than the standard one all magical girls get."
So wearing them meant people would see Seol Ha-rin and not think of Neph or Prima's granddaughter.
"Glasses on: civilian. Off: magical girl Neph. Lets you separate your identities. I brought them just in case... Looks like they'll help."
It felt like a gimmick I'd seen somewhere before, but hey, beggars couldn't be choosers.
My hands shook as I took the glasses, tears welling up in my eyes against my will.
"Thank you! Senior, you're my lifesaver!"
"Quit yapping and try them on."
I quickly slipped them on and checked the mirror.
'Huh? This?'
There stood a sturdy-looking little girl in glasses—no trace of the mystical aura.