Chapter 8

“That’s about it for announcements~. With that, I’d like to end homeroom. The number of villain sightings has been increasing lately, so please be careful on your way home~.”

“Stand. Bow.”

Homeroom concluded with the call from the student on duty.

My easygoing homeroom teacher left the classroom, and school was officially over for the day.

“Phew… Finally…”

Having somehow survived my first day at the Magical Girl Training School, I let out a sigh of relief.

It felt like a very long day.

So much happened.

In the morning, I saved two magical girls—Mikan Kisaragi and Chiyo Usami—from a villain; at lunch, I met Yuki Takanashi on the roof; and in class, I fought the Student Council President, Saionji.

“I feel bad about what I did to Saionji…”

I recalled my mock battle with Saionji during the first class of the afternoon.

Part of it was that I was angry about her baseless accusations, but I get the feeling I went a little too far.

Saionji must have been in considerable shock after losing to me; she disappeared somewhere after that without saying a single word.

I used healing magic on her at the end, so I don’t think she was injured.

But she must have been incredibly frustrated by the loss, because her eyes were welling up with tears.

Now I’ve surely earned even more of her resentment.

I can’t help but think there must have been a better way to handle things.

Even though I was angry, I need to properly reflect on my actions.

“Time to head home…”

A lot happened, but for now, I should just go home and rest my mind and body.

I quickly finished packing my things and made to leave the classroom.

“Oh, Toujou-kun! Wait, please wait! I completely forgot to tell you something!”

“…?”

Just as I was about to leave, my teacher, who should have already left, rushed back into the classroom and came over to me.

“What is it?”

“The after-school patrol, if you please.”

“Yes…?”

“Oh, I haven’t explained it yet, have I? Students enrolled at this school have a duty to patrol the city. It’s done on a rotation.”

“Ah.”

“And of course, Toujou-kun, you’ll be participating too! So, with that said, please go today.”

“Wait, right now!?”

“Yes. I’ve heard your skills are more than satisfactory. I think it’s best to get the hang of these things early on!”

“B-But… even if you tell me that all of a sudden, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do…”

“Please don’t worry. I’ve arranged for someone to accompany you today. Please learn the patrol sector, the route, and so on from that person!”

“W-Who’s coming with me?”

“The Student Council President, Saionji-san!”

“Eh…”

I froze.

The oblivious teacher said with a cheerful grin.

“Saionji-san is very capable and reliable, so I think you can rest assured you’ll be in good hands!”

Click-clack-click-clack…

“…”

“…!”

Awkward.

Unbelievably awkward.

I walked through the evening streets, silently following the back of a fast-walking Saionji.

This after-school patrol mission, assigned by my teacher.

The person chosen to guide me on my first time out was, of all people, Saionji.

Her tear-streaked face after our mock battle was seared into my mind, and I was terrified of meeting her.

What kind of insults is she going to hurl at me?

When I steeled myself and met up with her, Saionji shot me a glare before turning and walking off briskly without a word.

I hurriedly followed her out of the school.

And that brings us to now.

Saionji still hadn’t uttered a single word, just silently walking through the city.

All I could do was follow her.

The awkward silence had been going on for nearly twenty minutes, but I still couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her.

What in the world am I supposed to say to her?

Sorry I went too far.

You were stronger than I thought.

Don’t be so down, it wasn’t a big deal.

“…”

No, that’s no good.

From her perspective, all of those would sound like I’m mocking her.

What’s the right thing to say?

“Waaaaah! It’s a magical girl onee-chan!!”

Just as I was racking my brain for what to say to Saionji, I heard the excited voice of a small child.

A little girl, about five years old, was approaching us, her face beaming.

Behind her, I could see a woman who looked to be her mother, holding shopping bags.

“Onee-san, you’re a magical girl, right!? Wow, wow! So cool!!”

The little girl ran up to Saionji and hugged her legs tightly.

She kept repeating, “Magical girl, so cool, wow, wow.”

“What’re you doin’ now~?”

“…I’m patrolling the city. Keeping an eye out for villains, you see.”

Saionji said in a gentle voice as she touched the girl’s head.

The girl looked up at Saionji with sparkling eyes full of adoration.

“Wow! Onee-san, you’re a real magical girl! Hey, can you use magic!? I wanna see magic! I wanna see magic!”

“I can’t just use magic in the middle of the city so easily. Sorry.”

“Whaaaat! I wanna see! I wanna see magic! I wanna seeeeeee it!!”

The little girl started to throw a tantrum.

The woman who seemed to be her mother rushed over from behind, still holding her shopping bags.

“I’m so sorry about my daughter. I apologize for the trouble.”

“No, it’s alright.”

“Thank you for all your hard work on the patrols. It’s thanks to you that we can live in peace. Thank you so much.”

The girl’s mother said this, bowing politely to Saionji.

The profile of Saionji’s face softened slightly.

“It’s our duty as magical girls.”

“That’s so reassuring. Come on, Eriko. You shouldn’t be a bother, right? We’re leaving now.”

“Noooo! I wanna see magic!! I wanna seeeeeee it!!”

“Hey, stop being so selfish!”

The mother tried to pull her away, but Eriko-chan wouldn’t budge.

Her eyes welled with tears, and she looked like she was about to cry.

“I’m sorry, she’s usually a much more reasonable child, but she really seems to admire magical girls.”

“Is that so…”

After hesitating for a moment, Saionji slowly raised her right arm.

“Whoa!”

Eriko-chan’s body floated just a few centimeters into the air.

“Will this do?”

“Awesome!! Eriko was flying just now! Awesome, awesome!”

Eriko-chan was ecstatic over the small bit of magic Saionji had used.

Passersby watched over Eriko-chan with wry smiles.

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry, for my daughter’s sake. To make you go this far…”

The mother bowed her head over and over in apology.

Saionji smiled brightly and said.

“I’m just glad she enjoyed it. However, we’re not really supposed to use our magic for anything other than fighting villains. So please, keep this a secret.”

“Of course. We won’t tell a soul.”

“Good. Well then, see you later, Eriko-chan.”

“Yeah! Bye-bye! Magical girl onee-chan!”

Eriko-chan waved with a huge smile.

Saionji also smiled and waved back at Eriko-chan.

The awkward atmosphere had vanished before I knew it, replaced by a somewhat warm feeling.

I watched the heartwarming exchange from a short distance away.

WEEEEEEEEEEEE-WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

“Villain Alert! Villain Alert! A villain has appeared! Please evacuate immediately! I repeat! A villain has appeared!! Residents in the vicinity, please evacuate immediately!”

The villain alert blared through the area, shattering the peaceful atmosphere.

Saionji’s smile instantly vanished, her expression tightening as she urged Eriko-chan and her mother to evacuate.

“Evacuate quickly! A villain has appeared!”

“But what about you…?”

“I’m going to fight the villain. That is the mission of a magical girl.”

“Please be careful.”

“I will. You two, as well.”

“Do your best, onee-chan!”

“Yeah, I will.”

After watching Eriko-chan and her mother run off while waving, Saionji broke into a run.

“Saionji! Wait!!”

“…!”

I called Saionji’s name, but she didn’t look back.

“A villain’s appeared!”

“Runnnnnnn!”

She ran against the flow of screaming, fleeing people, picking up even more speed.

I just focused on following Saionji’s back and rushed to the scene.

“Gwahahahaha! Flee in terror, you humans!! Tremble in fear before the great Gotees-sama! Gwahahahaha!”

And just as expected, when we arrived, a villain had already manifested and was doing its utmost to destroy the city.