Since my Useless Working Sister and Other Troublemakers Became Magical Girls, I have no Choice but to Support Them. - Chapter 1-6: Trembling Weak Girl

Chapter 1-6: Trembling Weak Girl

In the aftermath, someone’s broken umbrella lay abandoned on the ground.

“Did we win?”

“Yes! This is our victory! We won, we won!”

Rafio, back to his original size, was sitting on my head, celebrating.

So, did we really win? It was a battle I didn’t fully understand, but we won, huh?

“You did it, sis. That was amazing.”

“Yuuma!”

“……”

Shiny Saber, my sister, hugged me tightly.

A girl shorter than me, who fought and defeated a monster, was trembling.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Yuuma! When you went to save that girl, I was so worried…”

The one hugging me was a weak girl who wouldn’t have needed to fight as a magical girl if I hadn’t gone to save a stranger.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, since it were you, I know you’d definitely do it. And if I had noticed first, I probably would have moved to do the same…”

“Be confident when you say that.”

“Hehe, we’ll never know for sure, right? But I’m glad. I actually won, didn’t I?”

“Yeah. The monster is gone.”

“I see… I see…”

Saber loosened her grip on me and slumped to the floor.

“Hey, sis?”

“I was scared.”

“What?”

“I was scared! That monster! It made weird noises, had a terrifying face, and kept hitting me with an umbrella! I was so scared! Waaah, Yuuma!”

The fragile semblance of authority my sister had been barely maintaining shattered along with the tension. She clung to me and began to cry.

For a moment, I thought Aina was cool. 

No, she is a sister I should respect.

“Yuuma! I’m tired! Please carry me!”

“That’s too much. Let’s go home. Hey Rafio, tell me how to change her clothes back. And once we get home, I want to hear everything properly.”

“Uwaaah! I never want to fight again! Never ever!”

“Okay, okay. Stop crying.”

“Sniff… Sob… I can’t! I can’t stop!”

Eventually, people would come back here. If they saw an adult woman in a strange costume clinging to a high schooler and crying, they’d definitely be suspicious. We needed to leave quickly.

—

When we got home, I immediately started preparing dinner.

I opened a pack of shirataki noodles, drained them in a colander, then placed them on the rice I had cooked earlier that morning, and poured some men-tsuyu sauce over it.

Shirataki donburi was ready. That was dinner for tonight.

“Here, eat up.”

“Um, Yuuma? I worked really hard today, you know? At work, and as a magical girl, even though I don’t really get it. I want to eat something better. Like steak.”

“I don’t have the skills to cook that.”

“I know… Ugh. Itadakimasu. The men-tsuyu is delicious…”

Men-tsuyu is a miracle condiment that makes most dishes tasty.

“Is there anything else?”

“There’s pudding in the fridge.”

“Yay! I love pudding! A hundred times more than your food, Yuuma!”

“That’s quite harsh.”

“No, I think she really means it. This is just barely edible.”

Watching my sister prance to the kitchen, even Rafio had something rude to say.

I admit the meal wasn’t fancy.

“Can I have some pudding too? I know about food, but I’ve never eaten pudding. I’m curious.”

“Sure, but you have to tell me everything about yourself.”

“Of course. As comrades who fought and will fight together, I need to share my knowledge with you.”

“I don’t really want to fight with you.”

It’s Aina who does the actual fighting anyway.

“Alright, I’ll explain. But first, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What should I call you?”

The four-legged creature on the table had a somewhat apologetic expression.

He’d been around for a while but hadn’t properly introduced himself.

“I can’t keep calling you ‘boy,’ can I?”

“I feel like you’ve been calling me that for a while. I’m Yuuma Souri. My sister’s name is Aina.”

“I see. Nice to meet you. I’m Rafio. I come from a different world.”

“A different world, huh? What’s it called?”

“Worlds are worlds. They don’t have names. But if you call your land and planet Earth, ours was called Edeloode.”

Both the land and planet are called Earth in English. I get what Rafio means.

“Rafio, are you a human from that Edeloode world?”

“That’s right. Think of me as part of the dominant species there.”

That’s a roundabout way of putting it.

“This form is my true self. Changing size or taking on human form is a kind of a magic spell. I can’t take any other forms though.”

So, a world of intelligent four-legged creatures.

“It’s a good world. Not as scientifically advanced as Earth, and with a much smaller population. But it’s peaceful and quiet. We use magic to observe other worlds for entertainment.”

A world where peeping is a common hobby is unique. But now I understand why Rafio, an alien, knows Earth languages and culture.

“Here, Rafio, this is for you.”

“I’ll try it. This is the famous…”

Aina returned from the kitchen, perfectly timing her arrival with three cheap, plastic-packaged puddings. Despite knowing about pudding, Rafio had never tasted it.

“Oh. Oh…”

Rafio held a spoon, which looked like a spear compared to his small body, and poked at the pudding. Even the texture seemed to impress him. Really, was it that much?

Finally, he took a bite.

“I can’t believe something this delicious delicacy exists…”

He said with shining eyes. It’s just pudding, but alright.

Seeing Rafio like that, Aina and I shared a smile.

“Yuuma. You can buy pudding every day now if you want.”

Rafio’s comment brought me back to reality.