Understanding Sailuno’s Aspirations

(Bai Ziye)

“Yang Yan… she wants you to become a real girl?”

I had trouble understanding the situation.

What exactly was that Miss Fire Chicken plotting?

“Mhm. I confessed my identity to her, and she hopes I can make her not feel disgusted.”

Yang Yan actually said A Yao was “disgusting.”

The obedient Yang Yan actually said such harsh words… Could it be that she only treats Miluno (me) differently?

I frowned and asked, “She demanded that, and you’re actually going to become a girl?”

Sailuno nodded, then shook her head.

“Even if she hadn’t brought it up, I had that intention myself… Having finally become a magical girl, I want to show the ideal magical girl in my mind. For that, I need to first learn how to be an excellent woman.”

I understood her logic and tried to paraphrase.

“…In short, you don’t really want to become a girl, just like a professional actor experiences the role they’re playing. Before you can be a good magical girl, you want to first learn the ways of women.”

“That’s right! As expected of Leaf, you catch on quickly!”

As a magical girl fanatic, A Yao has a set of scoring criteria in his heart. Now that he’s become Sailuno, of course he wants to strive for the most perfect state.

I could understand his feelings.

Even I want to leave the most perfect image on camera, so every battle I involuntarily end up… showing off.

No need to elaborate on how exactly I show off.

But the most direct effect is that my reputation has been pushed further towards “an unattainable flower.”

“Fool, there are no perfect magical girls in this world. Everyone is an ordinary person who transformed. They all have some bad habits. The idealized magical girls in your heart simply cannot exist.”

But Sailuno pouted and retorted.

“They do exist! Isn’t Miluno one? Completely indifferent to fame and fortune, taking it as her duty to eliminate monsters, and secretly protecting other magical girls… I’ll tell you a secret! Actually, during my battle last night, Miluno was watching from the sidelines!”

“Wow, really?”

Of course I knew, but I still made a formulaic surprised expression.

“I feel like Leaf isn’t surprised at all…”

Sailuno rolled her eyes cutely, then picked up the TV remote and aimlessly switched channels.

—An international news update is inserted below.—

It seemed like something major had happened, so I turned my head to look at the TV.

—Following the discovery of Star Crystals capable of resonance, East Island Prime Minister Abe Naoko announced her resignation this morning, stating that magical girls have always been her dream. From now on, she will continue to protect the lives of the people as a magical girl, a profession more noble than that of prime minister.—

“Not being prime minister just to be a magical girl?”

I commented on the news, but Sailuno wasn’t very surprised.

“It’s not that surprising. Are there people in this world who don’t want to be magical girls? That old auntie is over sixty years old. Being a magical girl can restore her youth. There’s no reason to refuse. Compared to that, what is the position of prime minister?”

In Sailuno’s mind, magical girls are above everything, but others may not think the same.

Most magical girls operate in secret. Even those registered with the association remain mysterious to the public. So it’s easy to infer that this prime minister auntie’s high-profile announcement is essentially to gain political capital.

“Even if she becomes a magical girl and leaves the political arena, she’s still a politician at heart.”

Sailuno heaved a long sigh.

“Alas, there aren’t many magical girls as pure and powerful as Miluno. I really hope the Star Crystals are more careful when selecting suitable candidates.”

Hey, why are you bringing up Miluno again?

Being praised so incessantly, even my old face couldn’t take it, so I had to reluctantly change the subject.

“Ahem, but there’s still no set rule for how the Star Crystals choose suitable candidates, right?”

“Maybe there’s no rule at all, since even I could become one.”

Sailuno smiled self-deprecatingly and continued. “As far as I know, the most outrageous magical girl is in Antarctica. The Star Crystals only descend near wormholes, but there are almost no human settlements in the Antarctic Circle, so the magical girl there is… an emperor penguin.”

I knew the one she was talking about. She’s quite famous.

“You mean South Pole Star?”

Although not among the original Seven, she was also granted a constellation name, the guardian of the Antarctic Circle.

After remote sensing satellites discovered a phase wormhole in Antarctica, personnel from the Antarctic research station went to observe near the wormhole. They witnessed a female emperor penguin, South Pole Star, fighting against extradimensional invaders to protect her mate who was incubating eggs.

Useless knowledge: Male emperor penguins incubate the eggs.

Fortunately, the relationship between local penguins and humans was good. After defeating the monster, South Pole Star did not attack the research station members. Later, under the guidance of the station personnel, she learned human common sense, etiquette, language, and combat methods.

To protect the emperor penguin colony, South Pole Star took on the mission of guarding the Antarctic Circle.

“In my opinion, South Pole Star is purer than most magical girls today. A magical girl existing solely for protection is truly shining.”

Sailuno’s tone revealed her disappointment with the “industry.”

“Alright, I understand the situation. But why are you coming to me? I’m a man. How can I give you advice on being a woman?”

“But I can’t find anyone else right now. I can’t bother Miss Yin Lu with this kind of thing, can I? Besides, Leaf, don’t you have experience cross-dressing? You must have some experience being a girl, right?”

Damn.

I forgot I had the “cross-dressing master” setting.

“I told you not to bring that up! I wore women’s clothing out of desperation. How do you think that would make me understand women’s thoughts?”

To cover up one lie, you have to tell another. I had to end this cycle, or the accumulation of lies would eventually be exposed.

“Then use your imagination. What kind of girl is ideal in Leaf’s mind?”

A hard-to-answer question, but since it was Sailuno, I could answer.

After all, it’s normal for brothers to discuss preferences. We’ve rated girls together many times…

“Fool, don’t you already know my type? It has to be big-breasted ones.”

Sailuno’s small mouth formed an O shape.

“Wow, so direct?!”

“You asked me about my preference for girls. I don’t think any man can refuse a cute big-breasted pretty girl, just like you now~”

Since I was standing and she was sitting, from my angle I could just glimpse her deep cleavage… My clothes were a bit small for her, even though as Miluno, I’m taller.

Noticing my gaze, Sailuno covered her chest and turned sideways in dissatisfaction.

“Hey, Leaf! Even though we’re good brothers, you can’t sexually harass me like that!”

Instead, I got scolded. I was treating her like a brother, so I joked without restraint.

“But weren’t you planning to seduce me last night?”

“That was because… I know my body is great… If Leaf wants to see, it’s not impossible… but don’t say it out loud, because I get shy too.”

Can’t show, but can see?

No, I don’t get it.

Sailuno’s mind had already evolved towards the unfathomable. What does she expect me to think of her?

I scratched my head.

“Anyway, change your clothes first. We’re going out.”

“Huh, are we going out today?”

Sailuno’s otaku habits resurfaced. The mention of going out made her slump on the sofa.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to train? You should also buy some of your own women’s clothes, especially underwear. Do you plan to wear the complimentary battle outfit forever?”

“Even so, it’s inconvenient for me to go out. Look… my hair is very recognizable, right? Even if I wear a mask and sunglasses, I get recognized on the way back. If not for the confidentiality law, I’d probably have been exposed online by now.”

Nowadays, casually doxxing or exposing a magical girl’s identity leads to serious jail time. Not only does the association have relevant laws, but countries with phase wormholes also have heavily skewed protective policies for magical girls. Ordinary people have no chance against magical girls in any aspect… After all, magical girls are humanity’s protectors. Losing them means facing extradimensional invaders. No one dares to offend their own shield.

As Miluno, I had neat and traditional black hair, which gave me a unique advantage in disguise. I’ve never been recognized when going out in civilian clothes.

But Sailuno was different. Her appearance would be hard for people not to recognize. Even if no one took photos and spread them, if I were seen acting together with a new magical girl, my stance would become… delicate.

I sighed. “If only we could dye your pink hair black.”

“We can’t go to a hair salon, right? Next time I’ll recover in battle… Wait, maybe there is a way!”

Sailuno slapped her forehead and stood up, then ran into my bedroom without explaining.

“I’ll try it. Leaf, wait a moment.”

With that, she turned and closed the door.

She occupied both my room and the bathroom, leaving me to “wait a moment” in the living room.

That wait turned into over half an hour. In terms of time perception, she had become quite “feminine.”

I don’t like waiting. If I couldn’t become Miluno, I would have skipped this part with time acceleration.

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I took some time to adjust to a satisfactory effect.”

When Sailuno came out of the bedroom, her long hair had not only been dyed black but also straightened by some means. Even her aura had changed.

“How did you do that? I don’t have any hair dye or an electric curler.”

He showed his habitual naive smile.

“Hehe! Leaf, let me ask you, is the color we see with our eyes the actual color of the object?”

I thought for a moment and understood the principle of her hair dye.

“You put a layer of magic membrane on yourself and completely absorbed the light reflected by your hair?”

“As expected of Leaf, you didn’t even give me a chance to reveal the answer.”

She giggled and ran over to me, slightly turning so her hair fell before my eyes. I picked up a strand to examine carefully, but I couldn’t see any trace of a membrane. It was just shiny black hair.

Sailuno’s magic can even perm and dye hair. Aside from lacking combat power, her magic has very wide applications in daily use.

“Not just color! I also canceled out the hair’s curliness. As long as this membrane is covered, the hair stays straight and smooth. Very convenient!”