The Worst Revenge Match
The revenge match was the worst. The absolute worst. Ever since that last encounter with the eye... there hadn't been a single improvement. If anything, it had gotten worse. Memories from those dreams kept popping into my head uninvited, at the most random times. I'd try to ignore them, avert my eyes, but it was no use. It felt like my mind had turned into a movie theater, with huge screens replaying those memories in vivid detail...
And to top it off, no rifts had appeared in days, so I hadn't even run into the eye.
"Yuseong-ah, what're you doing? Class is over."
"...Huh?"
Chae-hyun's voice snapped me out of it. I looked around and realized the lecture hall was empty except for us. I'd spaced out through the entire class again.
"Did you put on perfume? Smells nice."
Huh... perfume?
"W-what perfume all of a sudden? Don't sniff me! I said don't sniff! You're such a perv!"
"What's with you? I was just asking what kind it was. Fine, whatever."
I knew exactly what smell she meant. It was the scent that had filled my apartment for days now. Not unpleasant or irritating—just this faint, persistent sweetness that lingered...
Ha, but come on. I'm not some animal in heat. How does it even make sense to just start emitting a smell like that?
For now, time to head home. The lecture content from today? Uh... not a single bit stuck in my head. Why isn't there extra credit for magical girls on midterms...
I hustled back as fast as I could and made it home in under ten minutes.
"I definitely opened the window this morning..."
Before heading to school, I'd aired out the place. So when I opened the door, there should be some cool, fresh air greeting me...!
I flung the door open.
"Keh, kehehek... *cough*, *cough*. Ugh...!"
Inside was just... thick, warm air. Stuffy. Every breath filled my lungs with this lukewarm haze...
"Why is this happening... seriously..."
I flopped onto the bed face-first and stared blankly at the ceiling.
"...Am I sexually frustrated or something?"
I'm barely past twenty. Sure, I've never had a boyfriend, but it's not like my libido would suddenly explode like this.
"Ah, damn... again, again."
Just lying there doing nothing, and my lower belly starts tingling. No... absolutely not. Yesterday I went at it for three hours straight... no. Anyway, I barely fell asleep at 2 a.m.
"I'm not an animal... not in heat... not some idiot who masturbates for three hours just because she feels horny..."
Hypnotizing myself like that was the best I could do. Lying there, trying not to do anything, trying not to think about anything.
"...What's that?"
Something caught my eye. On the dining table that had been empty when I left this morning—something was there now. Looked like a folded piece of paper... a note?
I got up and went over. Yep, a note. Pristine white paper, neatly folded.
To leave a note like this, someone must've come in through the open window. Altair?
I hurriedly unfolded it.
Spica! Came by to see you but you weren't home, so leaving a note. Remember that checkup I mentioned? Head here. Told them ahead of time, so come casually! Deneb's waiting.
— Altair
[Address scribbled below]
Not too far away... Wait, Deneb?
"D-Deneb really exists..."
If Sirius had this mysterious aura that kept her hidden from the public, Deneb was a total blank slate—no voice recordings, no photos, no feats. Some people even said she was fake, just made up. Never thought I'd meet her.
Anyway, perfect for me. This sticky feeling that's been tormenting me for days? Bye-bye. And I get to see the real Deneb as a bonus? No reason to hesitate.
"Magical girl Spica, transform—!"
About twenty minutes of flying later, I arrived at a massive standalone house all by its lonesome.
"Deneb's loaded...?"
Compared to my tiny studio, this was basically a mansion.
I landed at what looked like the front entrance and glanced around. No signs of life. There was a button that resembled a doorbell, so I pressed it firmly.
"Hello! It's Yuseong-ah... I mean, S-Spica!"
Altair said she'd let them know, so it should be fine, right?
"......"
Didn't seem broken, but no response. Just in case, I tried again.
"Um, hello...?"
The huge front door swung open.
Honestly, given Deneb's secretive image, I'd imagined someone like Sirius... cool and aloof.
But no.
"...Uh, hi. You're the new S-Spica... right?"
The first thing I noticed was the heavy shadows under her eyes. Wild, unkempt hair that looked like it hadn't seen a brush in ages. An awkward, stiff smile, like she wasn't used to people.
...Deneb was a hikikomori magical girl?
A bit unexpected, sure, but... not disappointing. Kinda cute, actually? Wait, is it okay to think that about a senior? Come to think of it, this was my first time meeting a magical girl out of transformation.
"Y-yeah, that's me."
"C-come in... The checkup w-won't take long..."
Following Deneb inside, the house was pitch dark. All lights off, curtains drawn tight in this huge space. She padded down the hallway in silence—totototok.
I wanted to say something, but then she stopped dead in her tracks.
"E-eh, e-e-e..."
Eh?
"Achooiiing—!"
A massive sneeze. We both froze for a moment, silent.
Then Deneb slowly turned her head toward me and spoke first.
"...S-sorry. My sense of smell is a bit s-sensitive... D-did you put on p-perfume...?"
Perfume. Right—this scent. This smell!
"Deneb, this fragrance you just noticed... any way to get rid of it? Ever since that dream a few days ago, I keep feeling all... h-horny out of nowhere! And this sweet smell keeps wafting off my body—it's driving me crazy!"
Maybe I got too excited having someone to vent to. Words just tumbled out.
Surprisingly, Deneb didn't seem shocked.
"I-is that so... If you're not used to dreams, that can h-happen."
She nodded calmly, then placed her hand on the doorknob of a nearby door.
"Of course, there's a w-way to fix it... too."
Ooh... she has a solution? Guess Deneb's the brains, specializing in this stuff.
"What is it...?"
"Well, we'd need to do the checkup to be precise... but usually, dreaming again fixes it."
Deneb turned the knob and opened the door. Inside was tidy, despite the darkness. Faint light from gemstones embedded in the ceiling created a starry glow... constellations?
The standout items: a weird chair like a massage recliner, and a suspicious helmet next to it.
"Your b-body reacts most to the last dream you had...?"
"Ah... yeah, that tracks with my last dream."
When the slime stuck to my chest, my boobs felt a bit bigger. After the tentacles made me swallow all that stuff, my saliva tasted weird. And now...
...did I just go overboard with masturbating, so now I feel horny?
"So this... uses the memories left in your g-gem to make you dream a fake dream."
She pointed to the big massage chair.
"The reason your body's gone weird... is 'cause it thinks the defeats from the dream were r-real. So with this, you dream the same one again... win it, come back, and the changes should fade a bit."
"...What if I lose?"
A natural worry. But Deneb tilted her head.
"Y-you won't lose... It's a fake dream, so the stars are there. Just fight exactly like you did in reality when you won... no variables."
"B-but... I didn't win on my own."
It was true. I was about to lose when Sirius saved me.
"...D-did you fight with Sirius...?"
I nodded.
"I see... then you absorbed all the fragments... so a strong dream..."
She muttered to herself, lost in thought. After a pause, she looked up at me.
"I-it'll be fine... probably. I wanted to check something anyway—perfect timing..."
Probably? Check...? Hold on, why do I suddenly feel like a lab rat?
"J-just sit here... The checkup'll finish while you dream the fake one, so don't worry... Oh, right... c-can I have your g-gem? Need the star's power to sync with your dream."
She grabbed my arm and led me to the chair.
I-is this okay? I suddenly miss Sirius...
It felt off, but I handed over the gem anyway.
"D-De... Deneb, this..."
"Y-yeah, it's fine... it'll be f-fine."
Not reassuring at all. She half-forced me into the plush chair, and a huge helmet descended over my head. From inside came a sound like the starry cascade during transformation...
I'd believed the checkup would give me answers... now I regretted coming. No—wait. Last time I lost because of my mistake. I won't repeat it. Then I can win.
But what if I lose? Honestly, no confidence I'd win for sure.
...Whatever. Don't think about losing before it even starts. Yeah.