Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: If It's No, Then Know It's No!
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"Even if you offered me billions, you couldn't monopolize Alice."
"The more you act all high and mighty like that, the more fired up I get, you know? How can someone with such a cute face refuse even a simple hug? Keep this up, and you won't know what your big sis might do."
"Alice is the starlight for all."
"Hoo. Man, your concept really is rock-solid. Fine. I give up. I won't try to hug you anymore, so let's just chat for old times' sake."
Emerald raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, looking fed up as she pulled over a chair and sat down beside me.
From her tone, it seemed like she and Alice were close, but that was just how this woman's personality was.
She loved cute things and had a reputation for hugging any adorable magical girl she fancied during outings—Alice was no exception.
Not that I'd ever allowed it.
The first time we met, she'd lunged at me out of nowhere, and it was a close call, but I dodged. After that, I'd always been on guard whenever we met, so in the end, she'd never even held Alice's hand.
Sure, from the outside, she was stylish and pretty, so you might wonder why I wouldn't want to be hugged by her, but you had to remember my real gender was male.
I was on the slimmer side for a guy, so with flashy outfits, I could pass as a girl pretty well, but a man's body and a woman's body were inevitably different.
If I let her hug me freely and she crossed a line, groping around and discovering I was a guy, my life would be over.
Even without groping, if she had good instincts, a simple hug might give it away. That was why Alice had long been famous for never even shaking fans' hands.
Her excuse, as you'd seen, was covered by the concept.
Fan service was something you did if you wanted to, and skipped if you didn't, so no one could complain about Alice sticking so firmly to her gimmick.
"There's this program I'm planning lately. A veteran magical girl with experience mentors promising rookies who are still green but full of potential, like the ones you see over there..."
"I'll pass."
"Come on, what kind of magical girl hates TV appearances this much? You okay on the fame management front? What does your mascot say?"
"Alice is already perfect."
"You know that's just your concept, right? Don't you remember how it cracked during the Leviathan incident? The juniors thought you were just giving tough love for their sake, but I was right there watching you flip out, drop the act, and start trash-talking."
...What a pain.
You think I do this concept thing because I want to?
Even she acted different on camera versus off.
"I swear your face twitched just now."
"No idea what you're talking about. Alice is here to do commentary for today's match. If I don't head back soon, the fans who came to see her will get tired of waiting and collapse."
"Okay, then one other favor. I'll double the pay you were scheduled for today, so after the finals, do just one exhibition match."
"...Alice has other places she needs to protect."
"Not little by little—in one lump sum. Five times the amount. Doesn't matter how quick it ends. Even if you finish in ten seconds, I'll pay up full."
...Tsk. That's a big one.
Alice might not have high name recognition, but her rank commanded a base appearance fee way above other magical girls.
With such high fees but low visibility, offers didn't come often anyway, and she screened them strictly, so it was no wonder she rarely showed up on TV.
She didn't lack for living expenses, so she wasn't greedy for money... but that didn't mean she'd turn away perfectly good cash.
If an Abyss Being attacked out of the blue and wrecked her home, she'd have to burn through a chunk of savings overnight. You couldn't just slack off because things were fine for now—disaster struck in an instant.
'Hah. But if her fame blows up too much, that'll be trouble.'
This program was pretty popular right now, from what I knew.
As someone who didn't enjoy the public eye, even doing commentary for the finals wasn't exactly welcome, but I'd accepted because the planner was an acquaintance... the pay was decent per time invested... and there didn't seem to be other gigs coming up anytime soon, so I'd gritted my teeth and showed.
And Alice... had reasons she couldn't get too famous.
Not just discomfort with attention—something more.
"That must be tough. I'm grateful for the love, but you can't buy Alice with money."
Don't get greedy. This appearance was plenty already.
"You say that after agonizing over it... Man, your concept really is unique. The girl who used to do everything—dramas, soundtracks—now dodging cameras like this. What, puberty hitting late?"
"Even unseen, Alice always loves everyone..."
"Yeah, yeah, my bad. If you change your mind, let me know. You know why I'm asking, right? Think it over a bit more."
Emerald might look like your typical producer chasing a hit, but she genuinely loved magical girls.
The program's purpose was for rookies to spar with each other, understand other magical girls better, improve teamwork for smoother future collaborations, and gain combat experience in a safe setting to use against real Abyss Beings.
She especially supported the ones with potential to help them spread their wings.
She wasn't just some sleaze opening a gladiator ring with magical girls to rake in cash.
So why ask me of all people?
Obviously, because Alice was strong, had a good personality, tons of experience, and advice overflowing for juniors... or so she thought.
Even stripping away the concept, Alice's strength and experience were undeniable facts, and no other comparable magical girls could even be approached for appearances.
Most high-rankers were insanely busy.
Who'd believe an S-Rank magical girl freelanced solo with no manager, agency, or staff?
Right here!
"Then Alice will head back to watch the juniors."
"Sure. Oh, and yeah, I did want to see you, but when I asked those two who they wanted to invite to the finals as a special guest, both wrote Alice. They're your juniors and die-hard fans, so take good care of them."
"Alice loves everyone equally."
"No surprise. What can you expect from someone who won't even do a fan sign event?"
Sorry, but I didn't count Alice's fans as my own.
Alice was Alice, and I was me.
Had to keep them separate. People who liked Alice liked the 'Alice' I was performing—not the real me inside. They had zero interest in that, and didn't even want to know.
Strictly business.
I had reasons to live as Alice, and they wanted to stan a pure, powerful magical girl. We kept boundaries and did our jobs.
No point getting chummy with fan service and shattering their illusions that Alice was the perfect magical girl they imagined. They wouldn't want that either.
"Oh, Alice-nim, you're back. The match right now..."
"I heard it all. Berta's Elemental Burst activated safely. Black Rose countered with Dance of the Black Tide, shooting down most attacks aimed at her, but not all—some hit. Then, through the rising smoke, an attack struck Black Rose, and a mana shot slipped through to hit the off-guard Berta. Both sides used up their mode ultimates as a result. Black Rose took damage to her left leg, Berta to her right shoulder. Berta has a slight edge, but Black Rose has the basic matchup advantage, so it's about even. The key will be how Berta breaks through Black Rose's bullet hell."
"You grasped the whole match situation from that distance—just from sounds and senses! Even parts I didn't mention...! As expected of an S-Rank...!"
The magical girl MC, chatting with Emerald, sounded awestruck that I'd analyzed the match purely from audio and vibes.
What was so impressive?
When fighting Abyss Beings, you had to detect and rescue trapped civilians in the chaos—this was basic.
"Black Rose's standard tactic is dismantling enemy attacks with her fast attack speed. But Elemental Burst lives up to its ultimate name, firing dozens of attribute crystals packed with Berta's mana. Normal mana shots would've reached her before shattering, no matter how many. Black Rose knew that, so she countered with Dance of the Black Tide to boost her attack speed, movement speed, and shot power. She halved the Elemental Burst's power with her enhanced shots but couldn't block it all. Hmm... It was a great exchange. They both used their best moves to force the opponent to burn resources. Still, a few bits of advice..."
No matter what I thought deep down,
Ever since that contract eight years ago, I'd faithfully played the role of Alice.
No one could argue that.