Chapter 15

Two weeks have passed since I transferred to the Magical Girl Training Academy.

Just as I was finally getting used to school life, the once-a-month authorized day off was fast approaching.

As a general rule, magical girls are not permitted to leave the grounds of the Magical Girl Training Academy for any reason other than patrols or monster-fighting missions.

This is a rule meant to ensure the safety of the magical girls, as well as to avoid creating friction between them and the general public.

Consequently, most magical girls have very little knowledge of the outside world and eagerly await their monthly authorized day off.

I, too, was getting sick of a life spent just going back and forth between the dorms and the school building since my transfer, so I was looking forward to this day off.

As for the monsters, by the way, I haven’t encountered any since Gotees, the one I ran into during the patrol with Saionji.

Monsters are fundamentally like natural disasters and don’t appear all that frequently, so you could say things have just returned to how they were before.

But I couldn’t tell if this was a sign of a peaceful time to come, or simply the calm before the storm.

“Now then, where should I go?”

With the authorized day off finally upon me tomorrow, I started thinking about how I would spend the day.

Just wandering the city aimlessly would be a waste of time.

The day off is a precious, once-a-month opportunity, so I figured I should make a plan and enjoy it to the fullest.

Where to go, what to do.

Just as I was turning these thoughts over in my head, an invitation came from Saionji Koharu, the Student Council President.

“Are you free on the authorized day off tomorrow?”

“…Um.”

What’s the right way to answer this? If I say I’m free, will she just push some work onto me?

With that in mind, I tried to pretend that I already had plans.

“…”

“…”

But I caved to the silent pressure from Saionji and, for some reason, Takanashi, who was standing right behind her like an escort, and confessed the truth.

“I don’t have any plans…”

“You are! You really are!!”

Saionji said, her voice full of joy.

It’s over. I’m definitely going to get stuck with some annoying task. Goodbye, my precious day off.

While I was reaching that state of resignation, Saionji spoke hesitantly.

“In that case… would you be willing to accompany me on my shopping trip that day?”

“Huh? Shopping?”

I had been so sure she was going to assign me some chores that I couldn’t help but repeat her words back to her.

Saionji blushed and nodded shyly.

“That’s right… I plan on buying quite a lot of things, so I was hoping you could carry my bags… Would that be a problem?”

“Shopping… to carry her bags…”

I couldn’t help but think it wasn’t a bad deal.

It was far better than being stuck at school doing chores, at least.

If we’re shopping, does that mean we’re going to a shopping mall or somewhere like that? I figured I could enjoy myself a fair bit, too, so it seemed like a good idea.

“Alright. I’ll go with you.”

“Oh…!”

Saionji’s eyes lit up.

Then she turned around and high-fived Takanashi.

“It worked, Takanashi. Thank you.”

“That’s great, President!”

“You were right! Asking him to be my bag-carrier was the correct move!”

“Heh heh heh. It’s all from my manga research, so leave it to me!”

…?

I didn’t really get what was going on, but at the very least, it seemed I had avoided the worst-case scenario of spending my day off stuck at school buried in chores, and I felt a sense of relief.

And so, the authorized day off arrived.

For the first time in two weeks, I stepped outside the grounds of the Magical Girl Training Academy and made my way to the fountain plaza in front of the station.

This was the place where I had once met Kisaragi and Usami and defeated the monster Venom.

I remember that a lot of the buildings and structures were destroyed back then because of the battle between the magical girls and the monster, but time flies, and almost all the damage had already been repaired.

People were coming and going from right to left as if nothing had ever happened.

I checked the watch on my wrist, waiting for the time I had promised to meet Saionji.

“Why are we meeting up like this, anyway…?”

Since we live at the same school, I couldn’t imagine why we’d need to go through the hassle of arranging a meeting spot, but for some reason, Saionji had designated this place.

I had changed into my casual clothes and come to the meeting spot with just the bare essentials.

It was almost time.

Knowing the diligent Saionji, it was unlikely she’d be very late.

“Hey, look at that.”

“Whoa, amazing.”

“So pretty~”

“Her figure is way too good~”

“Isn’t she a celebrity?”

“Probably a pin-up model or something.”

“Is there some kind of photoshoot happening?”

“Maybe she’s waiting for her boyfriend.”

“A guy who could be that girl’s boyfriend must be the luckiest man alive.”

“I bet he’s incredibly handsome.”

Suddenly, the area around me started to get noisy.

People in the crowd were stopping to take pictures with their phones.

Drawn in by their actions, I followed their line of sight.

“Wait, that’s Saionji, right…?”

For a second, I didn’t recognize the person standing there as Saionji.

That’s how much her clothes and her entire vibe were a world away from her usual self.

To put it simply, Saionji was dressed up.

Her outfit was so trendy it was hard to imagine it on the Saionji who always wore her Magical Girl Training Academy uniform so primly, and it showed a lot of skin.

Her long, black hair was tied up, giving her a refreshing look.

Her long, white legs accentuated her amazing figure, and people in the crowd, mistaking her for a model or something, were snapping pictures of her.

click, click

“Ah…!”

Saionji noticed me.

After a moment’s hesitation, she approached, looking a little embarrassed.

“Toujou. You were already here.”

“S-Saionji…? What’s with the outfit?”

“I-It doesn’t look weird, does it? I ended up like this because of someone’s advice…”

Saionji glanced at me with an expectant look in her eyes.

I told her my honest impression of her outfit.

“No, it’s not weird. I think it looks amazing on you.”

“R-Really…!?”

Saionji’s expression lit up with joy before she let out a sigh of relief.

“But, why are you dressed like that?”

“W-Well… I’m not really sure myself. But I was told it would be better to dress up. To achieve my objective.”

“Objective?”

I didn’t really get it, but apparently, Saionji needed to be dressed up today.

Still, it really does suit her.

I started to feel bad for showing up in such casual clothes.

“Well then, shall we go, Toujou?”

“Ah, yeah, let’s.”

I started walking alongside Saionji.

Our destination was the biggest shopping mall in the area, about a ten-minute walk from here.

“Ugh… you’re kidding me.”

“They’re a total mismatch.”

“The guy looks awful.”

“That can’t be her boyfriend, right? Maybe her brother?”

“Even so, that’s rough.”

The people around us, who seemed to have mistaken us for a couple, kept sending glances our way and muttering things like “That guy is with her?”, which made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

◆

“Okay, okay, this is getting fun.”

A shadow was observing Toujou and Saionji from a short distance as they met at the fountain plaza.

It was Yuki Takanashi, a member of the Student Council.

Takanashi, the very person who had advised Saionji on where to meet and what to wear, saw Saionji’s smile, confirmed her plan had succeeded, and smirked.

“President, from the look on her face, she definitely got a compliment! It’s written all over her that she’s happy. That’s great. Gwehehe. Now then, the two of them are headed to the shopping mall.”

Seeing the pair start to walk off together, Takanashi began to tail them.

From the moment she had advised Saionji to go on a date with Toujou, she had already decided to follow them.

There was no way Takanashi, a romance fanatic, would miss the chance to see someone else’s love story unfold up close.

For a long time, she had yearned for a real-life romance between a boy and a girl.

It was a fairytale that had been out of reach for her, attending an all-girls’ school.

But the situation changed when the boy named Toujou came to the Magical Girl Training Academy.

In Takanashi’s estimation, Saionji Koharu was, without a doubt, beginning to feel romantic affection for Toujou Reiya.

It seems she hasn’t realized it herself yet, but sooner or later, she’ll become aware of the feelings she holds for Toujou.

Takanashi intended to fully observe and enjoy the clumsy and innocent romance of the normally serious and disciplined Saionji Koharu, no matter what anyone said.

“I’m going to watch the President’s love story unfold from up close…! I’m expecting a heart-pounding, heart-squeezing development, just like in a manga!”

Her heart fluttering with excitement, Takanashi carefully tailed the two of them, making sure not to be seen.