Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Homework, Everyone!
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"Don't get too fixated on the basics. The basics are just that—basics. You need to establish them firmly to move forward, but if you cling only to them, you won't progress. Take math: if you can't even add or subtract, you obviously can't advance, but if all you know is addition and subtraction, you can't solve problems either. That's the idea."
Today's lesson focused mainly on Magical Girls' weapons.
"The fact that you've contracted and are sitting here means you at least know what your basics are. Don't doubt your roots. What you grasped upon awakening, what helped you defeat enemies on your first mission—that's your foundation. Your root. Yes, you there, the pink student raising her hand."
"I-I'm not doubting you at all, Teacher! I'm just purely curious... I've heard that some senior Magical Girls changed the type of weapon they used from their initial one. What was the reason...?"
"Good question. There are as many juniors in the world as there are stars, each with their own tendencies. For example... some use weapons that don't quite suit them purely for personal taste or to fit their Magical Girl image. But even if it's not that case, when they change weapons for good reasons, it means the weapon's type wasn't the important part from the start."
Having to explain this stuff bit by bit was already annoying.
Even without paying for this lecture, they could find decent talks on overflowing XTube videos. And here I was, an S-Rank #4, giving intensive lessons to these greenhorns who hadn't even tasted blood yet. What a tragedy.
"We call them 'weapons,' but a Magical Girl's weapon isn't really used to strike down enemies directly. It's a tool that helps manifest the Magical Girl's power to repel Abyss Beings. Alice is... not a great example since she actually swings her staff around... Um... Sapphire, Mia, could you each manifest your weapons?"
"Yes, understood."
"Sure!"
I didn't actually know what their weapons were, but I figured they weren't the type to swing a staff like Alice, so I had them do it.
Mia's was a staff about her height, similar to Alice's, while Sapphire's was a bracelet embedded with a blue gem.
In this case, Sapphire's made for a better example.
"Look at Sapphire's weapon—it's a bracelet, right? Sapphire, do you fight Abyss Beings by directly attacking them with this bracelet?"
"No."
"So what do you use the bracelet for?"
"It mostly assists with casting magic. It helps circulate mana, reduces computation time, and boosts mana efficiency, letting me cast more powerful spells with less mana."
"Now, last question. If it weren't a bracelet but some other form—like a ring or necklace—would that cause problems with its function?"
"If I switched suddenly, there might be a bit of an adjustment period... but no real issues."
Perfect. Exactly the example I needed to make it clear.
"You all heard Sapphire, right? This is how it is: a Magical Girl's weapon isn't for fighting with directly—it's a tool that maximally supports the Magical Girl's combat. As you grow and gain new insights, or your fighting style changes, it's natural that the tools you use would adapt to that."
"Ahh..."
"But then you'd wonder: earlier you said not to doubt your roots, but now weapons can change? That's where a lot of juniors get confused. The 'weapon' that appears first is indeed the one that suits you best at that moment. But your true weapon—the source of your power against Abyss Beings, the root from which your magic springs—is a separate concept, even if it's closely tied to that initial weapon. Make sure you understand that. That's it for today's class. Next time, we'll look at how to study and explore the roots of your individual powers. For homework, list at least five spells you can use, and find the common elements among them."
The class wasn't particularly hard.
It's not like a college student would struggle teaching kindergarteners math problems.
The only tricky part was having to dredge up things I'd passed long ago—stuff so basic now it felt off if I didn't consciously pull it out. But thanks to the questionnaire via Sapphire, I'd gauged the students' level and prepped accordingly.
Still, I couldn't shake the thought: "They need this explained to even get it?"
"Alright, see you all next time~ If you don't do the homework, Alice will get mad!"
[Stellar Shift]
"Good work on today's shoot. Viewer reactions should be great this time."
...Great? Why? I spent the whole day just explaining Magical Girl weapons.
"If lots of people tune in to see Alice, then Alice is happy, that's all."
*Bang!!*
"Senior!!! Good work today too... Gah!"
"If it were a private setting, I wouldn't care, but please refrain from glomping Alice-nim in official ones."
"But I can't meet you in private! These days, just breathing the same air as you during filming is my life's joy!"
"I see. Well, I have Alice-nim's number. As her manager."
"What?!"
...Meanwhile, when did those two get so chummy?
They must've met up separately while I wasn't around.
Alice bolts right after filming, so if they went for drinks after work, it wouldn't be weird for them to bond that visibly.
In the real world, one round of drinks often does the trick.
Sure, they bicker a bit, but Magical Girls grow up fighting.
That's pretty close, I'd say.
I hear plenty from the first generation actually threw punches.
Alice? Alice wouldn't have... probably.
Especially the first generation... I don't really know the first two years of Alice's official activity period, when the real Alice was active.
I wasn't Alice back then, and after that incident, I desperately role-played Alice by compiling info from the shorty she'd hung with since then, internet scraps, and what I knew of Alice to mimic "the Alice people remember" as closely as possible.
So I could calculate and act like "Alice" would in a given situation without extra info, but if a Magical Girl who'd actually fought alongside the real Alice back then said, "Remember when...?" I'd have nothing.
Even the shorty's memory has limits. Expecting her—a girl who can't recall last night's dinner—to remember events from up to ten years ago between Alice and someone? Unlikely it'd surface, and even if it did, I'd doubt its accuracy first.
(For the record, dinner the night before last was 2+1 cup ramen from the convenience store.)
'Shorty. Aren't these junior Magical Girls in rough shape lately?'
[No helping it. There are only so many humans with Magical Girl talent left.]
Fans have all heard it: "Modern Magical Girls aren't a patch on the old ones."
Classic boomer talk, unpopular, but true.
Today's Magical Girls... compared to the old ones, especially the first generation, their talent is starkly lower. Straight up.
Simple reason.
The first-generation Magical Girls were the most talented humans the Mascots could contract with back in those early days.
When Abyss Beings first appeared, few Mascots were dispatched to Earth, so they cherry-picked the best candidates. But as Mascot and Magical Girl numbers grew, the super-talented pool dried up.
And Alice was the most legendary of that first generation—the strongest Magical Girl ever.
People might think I've role-played Alice well for eight years, slain Abyss Beings handily, and heroically drawn solo aggro from the S-Rank Leviathan to enable victory, making me an amazing Magical Girl.
But real Alice was more.
To explain her absurd strength simply:
She's the only one worldwide to solo an S-Rank Abyss Being. Unofficially.
Even I—scavenging scraps of her power, using but a fraction—rank S-Rank #4. If she'd been the real Alice...
*Prod!*
"Alice-nim. Here, have some. Chocolate milk."
"Th-thank you, Sapphire."
Whoa. Was lost in thought.
"..."
Ugh, don't wanna drink it.
I like sweets, but chugging chocolate milk from a tumbler felt heavy.
Just wanna down some plain water.
*Gulp gulp*
'Ugh...'
No matter how sweet, forcing down something unappealing isn't fun.
But I couldn't grimace either.
Alice wouldn't.
"Haa... Good work everyone on today's shoot. Alice will head out now."
"Rest well, Senior!!!"
"Have a great weekend."
"Ahaha... We'll be editing over the weekend too, but have a good one, everyone."
*Flash!*
Before shifting, I set down the chocolate milk, Stellar Shifted to the corner where a water bottle lay discarded, grabbed it, and teleported away.
The whole thing took less than a second—fractions thereof.
Camera was passively blocked, eyes still facing my pre-shift spot. Perfect crime, no chance of capture.
*Gulp gulp*
"Hoo. Now I can breathe."
Eight years role-playing Alice.
Some things are routine now, others not, but fundamentally, living as someone else isn't great.
When the act slips, life ends with high odds. So the role-play irks, but quitting's impossible—stress builds in that bind, deepens without release, layering more atop till that's all you do: watch it pile.
'Alice...'
*Crunch*
Since that incident eight years ago, it's the name others call me—and even before, it was.
No matter the era,
I'd never liked hearing it.