The Request

(Sun Yao)

I undid my transformation.

Miss Yang Yan’s gaze shifted from surprise to utter disdain in just a second.

“Hah? How did a guy like you become a magical girl? Was that Star Crystal blind?”

As expected, she started cursing. If she weren’t wrapped up like a mummy in bandages, she’d probably have jumped out of bed and kicked my ass.

“Um… I’m just glad I could become a magical girl,” I said very quietly.

Miss Yang Yan’s hearing was sharp, though. “I didn’t ask for your opinion! And of course you’re happy! A fat otaku becoming a magical girl—that’s like a toad turning into a swan!”

“Before you’re discharged, I… I’ll cover your sector for you.”

“What? You want me to thank you?”

She was clearly miserable, taking every possible chance to snap at me… But it was only natural. If she hadn’t saved me, she wouldn’t be lying here seriously injured, unable to move for a month. This resentment was a burden I had to bear.

I lowered my head. “I’m sorry, Miss Yang Yan. Whatever you ask of me, I’ll do it… I’m truly sorry…”

But besides apologizing, what else could I even do?

“Oh? Anything? Then transform first.”

Miss Yang Yan made her demand, so I resonated with the Star Crystal again and transformed back into the magical girl Sailuno.

“Come here and let me take a good look.” With her only movable hand—her right one—she pointed at the soft chair by the bed.

I sat down with my head lowered, nervous and uneasy, my palms sweating against my magic wand.

“Hmph. Your face isn’t bad, but your insides are rotten… I bet you’ve already done that kind of thing in front of the mirror, haven’t you? Disgusting!”

Even after I transformed, she didn’t stop the insults. I had no ground to argue—after all, I had spent a long time exploring my new body in Ziye’s bathroom…

Seeing me silent, she commanded again, “Do you have casual clothes? If so, dismiss your battle gear.”

“…Yes.”

I returned the elaborate pink dress to the Star Crystal and instantly changed into the water-blue slip dress Ziye had picked for me. The Star Crystal could store clothes—even my male ones—and swap them instantly when releasing the battle gear. it was an incredibly convenient function for a magical girl needing to hide her identity.

“You bought women’s clothes that fast? You really are a pervert!”

“No, these belong to my friend…”

“A fat otaku like you actually knows a girl?”

“No… a male friend.”

“You’ve only been a magical girl for an afternoon and you already have a boyfriend? What kind of slut are you?”

So tiring… Talking to Miss Yang Yan was exhausting, but I had to explain.

“He’s not a boyfriend. They’re a male friend’s clothes. Well… he didn’t wear them voluntarily; there were unavoidable reasons.”

I realized I’d said too much too late. The disdain in Miss Yang Yan’s eyes deepened.

“What possible reason could make a man wear women’s clothes? Perverts really do hang out with perverts… Say, you two haven’t ‘done it’ yet, have you?”

“That hasn’t happened yet!”

“Oh, so you know what I’m talking about?”

“You don’t mean… that, do you?”

Even though nothing explicit was said, my face felt like it was on fire. The thought of doing “that” with Ziye… wasn’t completely absent from my mind. And I didn’t really hate the idea. Ziye was handsome and my best friend. If not for the heavy responsibility of being a magical girl, maybe I’d have already given in… Thinking back to what he’d said earlier, if my heart were just a bit more feminine, I’d have definitely fallen for him by now.

“What are you fidgeting about? So gross.”

I was snapped back to reality by her scolding.

“…Then, Miss Yang Yan, is there anything else you want me to do?”

“Don’t talk to me with that groveling tone. You were normal during the battle… Here, first, blow me a bubble.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s see your magic. Since I’ve taken on the task of guiding you, I’ll see it through.”

I nodded, raised my wand, and created a bubble in the air. It was about the size of a soccer ball, floating midair.

Miss Yang Yan lay on the bed, looking up at it. “Can you decide exactly what goes inside that bubble?”

When discussing serious matters, her tone became less harsh, but I still didn’t dare look her in the eye.

“Yes, but it’s difficult to control.”

“Don’t act like a child who’s made a mistake. Look up when you talk to me. You’re a magical girl now; can’t you stop acting like a fat otaku?”

“I… I…” I wasn’t a stutterer, but Miss Yang Yan was too overbearing. The words just wouldn’t come out.

“What ‘I’ what? You said you’d do anything I asked, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. Then I have a request.”

I straightened my back. “What request? I’ll do it.”

“My request is simple: get rid of those otaku habits of yours and try to become a real girl.”

I looked down at my slender arms and full chest, confused. “But… I’m already a girl now?”

From a male perspective, my figure was even better than Miss Yang Yan’s—maybe even too mature for a magical “girl.”

But Miss Yang Yan just scoffed. “You’re nothing. Right now, you’re just a man in a costume. I want you to become a true girl, at least so I don’t feel sick looking at you. And there’s a saying—I don’t know if you’ve heard it—but a magical girl’s power is tied to her ‘Maiden Power.'”

I knew that saying. Rumors claimed that the cuter a magical girl was, the stronger she became. The No. 1 ranked magical girl, the “Undying Idol” and “Eternal Sirius,” was the strongest of them all, and she took cuteness to the absolute extreme.

She looked like a blonde loli. Since magical girls didn’t age, no one knew her exact age, but as one of the original Seven Stars, she had been fighting on the front lines for twelve years.

But that was just one example. The saying “the cuter you are, the stronger you are” was basically a meme. Even I didn’t really believe it. Miluno, whom I admired, wasn’t the “cute” type, but she was undeniably strong.

“Isn’t that saying baseless?”

“It hasn’t been disproven either,” Miss Yang Yan countered. “So I need you to verify it. If you become stronger by becoming cuter, wouldn’t that prove it’s right?”

“…But Miss Yang Yan herself doesn’t follow that path.”

“Hah? You want me to play the ‘cute idol’ for an otaku? Spare me.” She waved her hand dismissively.

Perhaps because she bore the derogatory nickname “Turkey,” Miss Yang Yan held a lot of hostility toward magical girl fans, myself included.

“Miss Yang Yan… I’ll find a way to make everyone stop calling you ‘Turkey’…”

“I don’t care about that. Why bring it up?”

“But Miss Yang Yan also wants to be popular, right?”

“Hah? No such thing! Don’t talk nonsense!” Her overly aggressive denial confirmed my suspicion.

“I know what kind of magical girl everyone dreams of. It’s certainly not someone like me, but that doesn’t stop me from moving toward that goal…” I lifted my head and met Miss Yang Yan’s fiery red eyes. I had barely mustered the courage, and she was the one to look away first.

“I’ll do as you ask, so you have to keep watching me… until you truly forgive me.”

Miss Yang Yan, who had been scowling the entire time, finally showed a rare, surprised smile.

“Alright. Let’s see if you can actually do it.”