Chapter 12

I, Koharu Saionji, have someone I admire.

My own mother, Makiko Saionji, who was once the strongest magical girl.

I’ve never seen my mother use her magic.

By the time I was old enough to remember, my mother was already over twenty, and her powers as a magical girl had faded.

But I could always learn of my mother’s great deeds through stories, videos, and books.

My mother defeated countless monsters, protecting the lives of the people and defending our city.

Every time I thought about it, I felt so proud of her.

And I prayed to God that one day, I would become a magical girl just like my mother.

Perhaps my prayers were answered, because when I turned ten, the power of a magical girl awakened within me.

I enrolled in the Magical Girl Training Academy, the educational institution where my mother serves as Director, and devoted myself to my training as a magical girl.

Thanks to my tireless daily efforts and the talent I inherited from my mother, I quickly distinguished myself at the academy.

Three years after enrolling, I had become stronger than any other magical girl at the school and was chosen to be the Student Council President.

From then on, I balanced my magical training with my duties as Student Council President.

I worked hard to create a better environment for the magical girls to train in, one where they could all work together to face down monsters when the time came.

Everything was going perfectly.

I had earned the trust and respect of the students and established my position as the Student Council President.

My magical abilities, too, had improved to a more than satisfactory level. Or so I thought.

But that sweet fantasy was shattered by a single boy.

Reiya Toujou.

When I learned that this boy would be enrolling in the Magical Girl Training Academy, I was furious.

For a boy to enroll in our traditional Magical Girl Training Academy was simply unforgivable.

If a boy were to mix in with a school that had, until now, been composed solely of girls, it would inevitably cause conflict and disrupt the moral order.

So I requested that my mother, the Director, refuse Reiya Toujou’s admission.

But my request was not heard.

Apparently, Reiya Toujou’s admission was a decision that had already been made by people with even more authority than my mother, and it could not be changed.

But that didn’t mean I gave up.

In the first place, I doubted that Reiya Toujou, a boy, could even possess the same kind of magical powers we did.

So I decided to test him.

To test Reiya Toujou’s true ability.

I thought that if I could just expose his lack of any real magical girl ability in front of everyone, the pressure from his peers would force Reiya Toujou to leave the Magical Girl Training Academy.

For that reason, I challenged Reiya Toujou to a duel.

And I lost.

It was just a one-on-one mock battle held during a single, one-hour class period, but I fought Reiya Toujou head-on and lost completely, without being able to land a single blow.

Reiya Toujou was unbelievably strong. I couldn’t hit him with a single spell.

He even had the余裕 to be careful not to injure me, while I was attacking with everything I had.

And even then, I was thoroughly crushed.

Far from exposing Reiya Toujou’s ability, I was the one who ended up being shamed in front of all the other students.

I felt as if all my efforts up to that point had been completely invalidated, and I was unbearably furious.

I was so frustrated.

It was the most frustrated I’ve ever been in my life.

I had never experienced a defeat like that.

I was so ashamed of having disgraced myself in front of the magical girls who admired and looked up to me that I fled the scene.

But I couldn’t run from Reiya Toujou.

That very same day, I was tasked with showing him around the city as his patrol escort.

I was in no mood to see his face, but as Student Council President, I couldn’t abandon my duties, so I silently led Reiya Toujou around.

There was no conversation.

I was afraid to even make eye contact with Reiya Toujou.

What does Toujou think of me?

A stupid magical girl who picks a fight despite being weak?

At the very least, I must look utterly ridiculous in his eyes right now.

Knowing that, I was terrified to look at his face.

All I wanted was to finish the job and get away from Reiya Toujou as fast as possible.

But then, something happened.

A monster alert rang out during our patrol. A monster had appeared.

As a magical girl, I rushed to the scene.

Reiya Toujou was following behind me, but I ignored him and just ran.

When I arrived, a monster unlike any I had ever seen before was rampaging.

The creature, who called itself Gotees, was cloaked in an aura completely different from any monster so far, but I had no intention of running away.

This is my chance, I thought.

If I can defeat that monster by myself, I can prove that I’m strong.

I can make Reiya Toujou understand that I, too, have the power to protect the city.

I immediately transformed into my full-power form and challenged the monster.

And once again, I lost.

The monster Gotees was on a completely different level.

It was overwhelmingly superior to any monster I had ever fought.

Having charged in without any strategy, I was beaten in an instant and nearly died.

I was incapacitated in a single moment and was about to be killed by Gotees.

The one who saved me… was Reiya Toujou.

Reiya Toujou effortlessly defeated the same Gotees I had been powerless against and saved my life.

Once again, I was made to feel pathetic.

Once again, I had shamed myself in front of Reiya Toujou.

He must be looking down on me in his heart. I’m sure of it.

A magical girl who can’t even defeat a monster, who doesn’t have the power to protect the city… he must secretly despise me.

The thought made me so sad I started to cry.

But, as I was, Reiya Toujou comforted me.

He protected me from the man who was hurling insults at my useless self, and he gently rubbed my back.

I gave in to Toujou’s kindness and cried into his chest.

Every time Toujou would say things like, “You’re doing your best, Saionji. So it’s okay to cry a little,” my tears would only fall harder.

It felt like something I had been holding back for so long had finally burst and was pouring out of me.

Thinking back on it now, that moment is truly embarrassing.

To be saved by the very boy I tried to kick out of school, only to cry on his chest while he comforted me.

If the magical girls who admire me knew everything, they would surely be disillusioned.

But I knew that Toujou would never go around spreading stories about what happened.

The day after the fight with the monster Gotees, Toujou was suspended because he had protected me.

I somehow managed to persuade my mother that he had done nothing wrong and got his suspension reduced to a single day.

For some reason, the thought of seeing Toujou felt even more embarrassing than it had yesterday.

I had become unable to look him straight in the face.

For some reason, whenever Toujou is near, my chest tightens and my face burns.

But that tightness in my chest… I also find it strangely pleasant.

What in the world is this feeling?

Admiration.

Jealousy.

Fondness.

All of them feel close, yet none of them seem quite right.

Is this something I’ll understand if I just give it time?

After Toujou was given his one-day suspension in the Director’s office, I visited his room and invited him to join the Student Council.

For some reason, I felt that if I kept Toujou by my side, I might be able to understand the true nature of these feelings I have for him.

And, there was also the desire to learn magic from Toujou, who is so much stronger than I am.

Though I lost to Toujou and lost to a monster, I haven’t given up on my goal of becoming a strong magical girl.

I thought that if I stayed close to Toujou, I might be able to learn the secret to his strength.

That’s why I invited him to the Student Council.

Toujou accepted my invitation and decided to join.

When he nodded his head, for some reason I was so happy I could have jumped for joy.

But on the outside, I desperately hid it and acted nonchalant.

And so, starting tomorrow, Toujou will be working alongside us as a member of the Student Council.

Toujou will be joining the usual members in the Student Council room.

I’ll be able to be near him even after school.

Just thinking about it made my cheeks soften into a smile.

“Ugh, it’s not like I’m happy about it or anything… I’m just looking forward to the chance to steal his techniques…”

I muttered the excuse to no one in particular.

But it seemed I wouldn’t be able to suppress the pounding in my heart for some time.