Magical Sister’s Legacy

February, on the southeast coast, in a private room of a top-tier hospital.

A thin, frail young woman half-reclined against the headboard, gazing out at the clear blue sky. The sliding window was wide open, and a breeze stirred her withered long hair.

“You all go out. Xiao Ning, stay.”

The roomful of people quickly filed out. Only the siblings remained.

“What’s this? Acting like you’re about to die.” Beside her stood a young man who shared a fifty to sixty percent resemblance to her. He had his hands in his pockets, looking nonchalant, and sneered, “If you die, it’s just one less troublemaker.”

His sister turned to look at him and asked weakly, “Can you come closer?”

“Can’t even speak anymore?”

Gu Ning’s words were harsh, but his lips were pressed tight. He wrinkled his nose and bent down to get closer.

The next second, she slapped him on the back of the head and hooked her arm around his neck, all trace of her earlier frailty gone. She cursed, “Your mother! You want me dead, don’t you?!”

“You’re such a fake! I always say a nuisance lives a thousand years!” Gu Ning struggled and shouted, “Your mother is my mother too, okay!”

Even though his sister was twenty-six, married, and had a daughter, the siblings still bickered and scuffled like always.

After a round of roughhousing, his sister was panting and collapsed weakly back onto the bed.

“Tch, you went easy on me. Getting weak?”

Gu Ning was tough-skinned and used to her beatings.

His sister glared at him. “Let’s get to business.”

“What business could you have?”

“After I die, pack up my notebooks and throw them… burn them!” She took out her phone and sent Gu Ning a password. “Also, format my computer and phone. Don’t let Mom, Dad, or your brother-in-law see them. And you’re not allowed to look either!”

“I wouldn’t bother reading your BL stuff.” Gu Ning rolled his eyes. “Brother-in-law doesn’t even know you’re a fujoshi? You’ve hidden it well.”

“Your sister is a perfect goddess in public, okay?”

“Yeah right, a moron. Talking like you’re gonna die…”

His sister couldn’t be bothered to argue and continued, “And my cosplay costumes. You can take them if you want. They’re pretty, and they fit you. I stopped cosplaying long ago.”

“Those are women’s clothes, okay!”

“Don’t you wear them often? Hey, are you still in touch with your high school class monitor? I ship you two…”

“Get lost! You always force me to wear them. If I don’t, you hit me.” Gu Ning sat down crossly and crossed his legs. “Stop shipping crap. I beg you, ship some artificial sweetener instead.”

Looking at his sister’s pale face, Gu Ning swallowed the harsher words. He looked out the window with displeasure but kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

‘It really seems like a will, arranging final affairs… Not like crazy rambling.’

“There’s one more thing I want to entrust to you.”

“You don’t trust me? I’ll definitely mess it up.”

“Actually, your big sister here is a magical girl.”

‘I actually took her seriously? I really thought this was a will? I’m an idiot!’

“Have you been watching too many magical girl anime?”

Gu Ning had heard of magical girls ever since he was a child. Some adults said they were guardians who protected the city and fought evil familiars. Others said they were lawless criminals who used their superpowers to run amok, doing whatever they pleased.

But he’d heard these stories his whole life, yet no official media had ever confirmed them, and he’d never seen a magical girl in real life. All he saw were endless movies, anime, novels, and fan works, to the point of aesthetic fatigue.

“It’s true. Why would I lie to you?”

“Playing tricks on an idiot is fun.”

Gu Ning said casually, but then his sister suddenly emitted a soft light that instantly filled the entire room. Everything turned pink.

He froze, dazed, waiting for the light to fade. Seeing his sister, who had been in a hospital gown, now wearing a beautiful, gorgeous princess dress, with golden hair and sharp, delicate elf ears… Her face was as beautiful as a fairy, flawless like a work of art, but still bearing a resemblance to his sister.

He looked confused, instinctively bent down to check under the bed, then straightened up and stared at the beautiful girl lying on the bed.

“Magic trick? A living person transformation?”

“I’m your sister!”

A familiar slap hit the back of his head. Gu Ning suddenly understood. “You’re sick in the hospital and still doing cosplay? So dedicated? Who did your makeup? Makeup really is witchcraft!”

“I told you, your big sister is a magical girl.” After transforming, her complexion was visibly rosier. She placed a hand over her chest, and a pink gem materialized. She handed it to Gu Ning. “Take it.”

“I don’t want it…”

Before he could finish, the gem floated from her palm and merged into Gu Ning’s chest.

The absurdity left him speechless. He touched his chest in confusion, then pulled open his collar to look. In the center of his collarbone, the gem’s pattern was embedded like a tattoo.

‘Seems like I have to believe it?’

“You’re the next magical girl. Eliminate the familiars, protect the city!” His sister patted Gu Ning’s head. “Go for it!”

“…”

“Don’t worry! There are many perks to being a magical girl. Haven’t you noticed how much prettier I’ve become in the last two years?”

“No.”

‘As a brother, he really couldn’t appreciate the beauty of a tyrannosaurus rex.’

“Uh… The sense of achievement from saving others is strong! You’ll feel like a savior!”

“Not interested.”

“Well… Actually, the familiars have lots of weird, squishy slime monsters, super huge! Guaranteed to be fun! I know a magical girl who keeps one as a giant waterbed on purpose!”

“???”

“Anyway, it’s up to you from now on! Just shout ‘Transform!’ and you’ll become a magical girl!”

Gu Ning finally snapped out of it. He jumped up with a start and frantically retorted, “No way! You beat me when I was a kid and forced me to wear girls’ clothes. That’s fine. But I’m twenty-two now, about to graduate from college! And you still want me to wear women’s clothes? Have a heart!”

“It’s magical girl!”

“Same thing! What’s the difference? Can’t you find someone else?”

“What if someone else becomes a magical girl and runs amok?”

“I’m not a good person either!”

His sister smiled at him, but her expression grew more serious.

This quickly calmed Gu Ning. He sat back down on the bed, still reluctant. “I really don’t want to be a magical girl. Can’t you at least find a woman?”

“Take care of Mom and Dad, your brother-in-law, and your niece for me.”

Gu Ning lowered his head to hide his expression, fiddling with his nails. “Can’t you do it yourself?”

“In a while, those monsters called familiars will awaken and cause trouble again. You need to protect everyone too.”

“Then I’ll just pack up the family and run…” Gu Ning muttered. “Stop pretending to be self-sacrificing, some savior. We’re just ordinary people.”

He suddenly realized something and looked down at his sister.

“Your illness…”

“I got hurt, but don’t worry, I’ll recover.”

“Don’t lie to me again, always talking nonsense. Just now you asked me to handle your computer and phone.”

“I was just scaring you. Of course not.”

His sister’s smile was gentler than ever before.

“Then at least wait until I graduate and come back. I’ll take over for a year. You get better soon, or I’ll wash my hands of it too.”

“Don’t worry.”