Encounter with a Stranger I Never Knew
While returning home with Yoshiko and Smiley’s group, Smiley was once again scrolling through the chat site.
“You’re looking at that again?” Yoshiko asked first.
“Yeah. The information is constantly updating.”
Smiley answered that way, and Yoshiko immediately replied.
“There’s no way there are magical girls like that.
Smiley is dreaming too much.”
“I just thought it’d be fun if there was one.
Don’t you think so, Koyuki?”
“Yeah…”
Yoshiko told Koyuki and Smiley.
“Hey, aren’t you hungry?”
“That’s right. Should we grab a burger and go?”
“I’m good. Honestly… I don’t have an appetite.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Sorry. Let’s do this next time…”
With those words, Koyuki left.
After transforming into a magical girl, Snow White spent her time helping a kid who was struggling on a tree branch, lifting a car whose wheels had fallen into a ditch, and carrying an elderly woman who couldn’t walk properly.
Just as the evening approached, she noticed a girl who had lost her house key.
The sixteenth magical girl candidate.
And the girl who had become Snow White—the origin of her existence, Hardgore Alice.
She was not yet a magical girl.
Just as she was about to approach with the kindest smile possible, a boy appeared.
He stood there hesitantly, holding the key, lost in thought.
An unfamiliar scene.
She had no memory of ever seeing a boy like that before.
And at that moment, a voice in her heart rang out.
“What should I do… I have to give it to her…
But if I give it to her, she might think I’m the thief of the key…”
“Are you hesitating because you want to return the key?”
The boy looked at her with a puzzled expression, then lifted his gaze to her face as if something strange had caught his eye.
Clearly, this was an irregular situation that did not exist in the memories of Himekawa Koyuki—or Snow White.
“Yes… Actually, I picked it up where it fell, but I couldn’t give it to her…”
The strange feeling prompted her to listen more closely to the boy’s inner voice.
But Snow White’s current magic only allowed her to hear the inner voices of those in trouble.
Reading and moving hearts freely was impossible right now.
She asked the girl’s name out of curiosity.
“I’ll deliver it for you… Could I ask for your name?”
“Why do you ask…?”
“I thought you might know her.”
“……No. We’ve never met before.”
The boy with dark navy hair looked unexpectedly sad.
And his bloodshot eyes, as if he had been crying until just moments ago…
“Is there something troubling you?”
“There’s nothing like that…”
Even if she told her, she probably couldn’t solve it.
Having searched for the reason why her family was dead until this late hour, such words were only to be expected.
“……I see. I’ll definitely deliver the key.”
“Fuwa…”
“What?”
“You asked for the name earlier… It’s Fuwa Kurei.”
An familiar name.
Though it felt like she had heard it somewhere, she could not remember.
She simply smiled, greeted him again, and left to return the key.
From that moment onward.
Whether it was because of that meeting or because she had regressed, she could not say.
But the boy would become entangled with the events ahead and ultimately be drawn into all of this. At present, Himekawa Koyuki did not yet know this fact.
Recently, stories had begun circulating that Himekawa Koyuki’s personality, which had been rich in emotion, had grown quite blunt.
Her classmates asked if something was wrong with her, and some even wondered if it was a broken heart.
Of course, her answer was simple: “I don’t have a boyfriend, so there’s no way that’s the case.”
“A boyfriend…?”
Suddenly, the face of her childhood friend, Kishibe Souta, floated to mind.
Anyway, that was that evening.
On the Magical Phone, Fav floated in 3D above the screen and spoke.
“It’s been only a week since becoming a magical girl, yet you’ve already achieved feats that seem unbelievable-pong.”
Snow White did not like Fav.
To be precise, she missed the previous partner, Fal, far more. That mascot character was dangerous precisely because he had schemes.
“Did Fav say something to upset you-pong?
Every time I talk about him, your expression stays displeased-pong.”
“It’s just your mood.”
“Really-pong? Well, if you say so, that must be it-pong.”
Fortunately, Fav was not equipped with the function to check her vital signs like Fal. For that reason, at least for now, he had not exposed her weakness.
“Besides that, Snow White, it’s about time you start interacting with other magical girls-pong. I’ll prepare a seat-pong.”
“Okay… Thank you.”
“The Magical Phone can be used for communication among magical girls-pong. The gathering place is the chat room-pong.”
Inside the Magical Phone were several deformed characters. And just like in a game chat, she could send and receive messages.
Nemuring: Hello~
Top Speed: Oh, finally here!
Sister Nana: It’s a new student, I hear.
The chat room was a strange place where you could greet each other directly or express emotions.
All were familiar faces of magical girls.
But it was better to act as if she had never seen them before.
Emulating her immature self from the past.
Snow White: Hello. Please take care of me!
She deliberately moved the deformed characters stiffly and clumsily. A witch-clad magical girl wearing a pointed hat and carrot hair, holding a broom. Next to her was a ninja-dressed magical girl.
……Ripple. How was the Ripple from her future?
Top Speed: You don’t have to be so stiff, you know~
Nemuring: It’s Nemuring~
Snow White slowly turned her gaze toward Nemuring. Nemuring… was the first victim of this selection exam. She wanted to save her.
But considering what lay ahead, she was also a variable she could not touch.
Choices must always be made with coldness.
Even if it meant the story of someone’s death.
Soon, other magical girls greeted her.
Sister Nana: I’m Sister Nana.
Ves Winterprison: I’m Ves Winterprison.
La Pucelle: I’m La Pucelle! Nice to meet you.
She stared fixedly at La Pucelle for a while.
The dragon-knight magical girl, with eyes and tail like a reptile.
That La Pucelle.
The emotion welling up was covered with a fake smile, and she wrote it in the chat room.
Cranberry: I’m the Forest’s Musician Cranberry.
Sister Nana: There were more people until just now, but it seems like you’ve arrived just as they were changing shifts.
La Pucelle: Everyone was talking about you!
Nemuring: Snow White is amazing~
Top Speed: I heard a new magical girl joined, and it’s only been a week.
Sister Nana: Because this week’s top scores are yours.
Top Speed: It’s not a joke~
Snow White: Scores…?
Cranberry explained.
Cranberry: You can check the score rankings on the Magical Phone.
Sister Nana: There’s a lot I don’t know yet, but you’ll learn many things from your seniors.
La Pucelle: Since I’m your education supervisor, please leave it to me. Take care!
Snow White: Please take care of me…
It was nearing midnight.
Snow White: Good night, sleep well.
Ves Winterprison: Sweet dreams.
Top Speed: Work hard.
La Pucelle: Have sweet dreams.
Nemuring: See you again~
She locked the Magical Phone with her hand, and the Logout text appeared.
And shortly after, an alarm rang.
Tomorrow night at 10:00.
I will be waiting on the tallest iron tower near Kubega Station.
“Souta…”
Snow White jumped and leaped onto the iron tower.
The back of La Pucelle appeared.
The La Pucelle she had thought she would never see again.
“……”
On the iron tower, under the moonlight, La Pucelle sat awkwardly, turning her head.
The magical girl with horns, reptile-like eyes, and tail. …It was Souta.
But unlike before, her emotions were not rich.
“Sorry for calling you out.
Since I voluntarily took on the role as your education supervisor, it’s better to start quickly.
I’m La Pucelle.”
She stared blankly.
“The other magical girls each have their own assigned districts, so we probably won’t meet that often.”
“……Did I do something wrong? …Excuse me.”
La Pucelle carefully wiped Snow White’s eyes. Warm tears were falling from them.
……I thought I would never see her again after dying, but she is alive.
But if she told La Pucelle that she had regressed, La Pucelle would again get involved in helping her and fall into danger.
“……I’m sorry. For showing such a face…”
The formal speech was awkward.
“Is that all…? Well, anyway, I’m right next to your district, so the situation is good… That’s why.”
“Then… shall we go?”
The two moved their location a little to avoid interfering with the assigned districts of other magical girls.
Snow White imitated her past self and asked.
“This is another magical girl’s assigned district, right?”
“As long as you don’t interfere, it’s fine. But Calamity Mary, who handles the Joun district, is a violent outlaw who pretends to be a western gunfighter, so it’s better not to get too close.”
“I’ll be careful…”
But unlike before, she could not display an excited expression in front of La Pucelle. The actions of her past self began to flash back.
“An outlaw… But magical girls are supposed to be clean, pure, and beautiful.”
La Pucelle gave a slight smile.
“Did I say something strange?”
“No, it’s nothing.
Whether something is right or wrong is up to the person themselves.
Magical girls are not bound by the laws of human society.”
La Pucelle pointed toward the mountains.
“Around Monzenmachi, five are operating as a team.
The leader, Ruler, has a rather troublesome personality, so be careful.”
“You’re operating as a team?”
“That’s right. Among them is a combo.”
At that moment, accompanied by a strong wind, Top Speed and Ripple descended from the sky.
“Oh! You’re doing it~”
La Pucelle: “Hey, Top Speed, Ripple.”
Snow White greeted her in surprise.
“Good night…”
“How is it~ The new student education~?”
“We’re just starting now. What about you?”
“Highway patrol~ Right?”
Ripple said nothing.
“Ah, don’t worry. That kid’s tsundere.”
“Tsk! Hurry up and go. It’ll get light soon.”
Top Speed left, saying they would see her next time.
“So those two are also a combo…”
“Top Speed was Ripple’s education supervisor.
That became the trigger, and we became a combo.”
“Tired?”
“No… Not at all…!”
“Why?”
Among our fifteen, you are probably the most magical girl-like.
At that time, the me spoke with childlike excitement.
“R-Really…? Since I was a child, I’ve admired magical girls…
The dream has finally come true…!
So… I want to become the ideal magical girl!”
Ah…
It still echoed in her memory.
At that time, La Pucelle’s face had turned bright red.
After that, La Pucelle suggested becoming a combo.
“Will you become my combo?”
“Me?”
“Yes! Since the moment I first saw you, I thought so.”
“Eh…”
“Because it matched the drawing I drew back then, I immediately knew.
You’re Koyuki, right?”
She did not know how much she had been surprised then.
The only childhood friend who talked about magical girls.
Kishibe Souta, who said he would become a magician because he was a boy.
That was a small memory that only she remembered.
But the current Snow White responded almost with nothing, and instead asked if he was Kishibe Souta.
“……Souta… It’s you, right?”
“How did you know… I was actually trying to tell you first…”
“For some reason… it felt that way…”