V5: Chapter 57: Ideals, Reality, and the Space in Between... But!

Chapter 57: Ideals, Reality, and the Space in Between... But!

The Magical Girl form is convenient.

The Magical Girl costume is quite conspicuous in the city, but if you take it off... and wear normal clothes, you're just a slightly flashy, pretty girl.

That way, thanks to the cognitive alienation effect of the Magical Girl form, you can meet up without anyone knowing who you are in your normal form.

And for people like us, there are quite a few restaurants in Tokyo with private rooms that are suitable for people of our age.

"It's quite unusual for someone like you to consult me ​​about something like this... Satellite."

"In a way... it's something I can only ask you for."

"You think so highly of me."

A Chinese restaurant a little distance from the Magic Association, this is one such restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, a girl with red hair closes the menu and writes her order on a piece of paper.

"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly, Flamma. Of course, I'll treat you here..."

"What? A single autograph would be enough, you know?"

She put down her pen and grinned.

She was so cool, I almost fell for her. That's the kind of presence you expect from someone older.

"So... what did you want to ask me?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, it's about the New Star's leader... Bell-chan."

"Hey, hey, you know her a lot more than I do, don't you? Why now..."

It's true, we've traveled together and I've been to her house.

But what I want to ask this time is something I can't possibly know right now.

"Bell-chan, towards me... well, you know? It's like she worship me, or rather, she revere me..."

"Ah, well... now that you mention it, that's certainly true."

"I was wondering what she's like normally."

It makes me so happy when she praise me, respect me, and express her love for me.

But while it might be fine now, looking ahead 5 or 10 years... will my presence remain something she admires forever?

People are creatures of habit, when having me by her side becomes commonplace, will she get bored of me?

I couldn't imagine what kind of expression she would have...

That's right, I know far too little about the magical girl known as Tinkerbell... about the girl known as Yugiri Amane.

"She's usually like that... you know. Her work is excellent... or rather, too excellent. She's only around elementary school age, right? Yet, she manages the organization almost perfectly."

That's true. Less than a few weeks after I disappeared, she managed to establish an organization of that size, the New Star Magical Girl Association.

She's more than just excellent; in terms of organizational management instincts, she might even surpass Squire.

Well, in Squire's case, she also has magic and memory abilities, so that's a different story.

"When she's not giving her orders... well, she mostly talks about you. She says even the time she spends apart is a spice that nurtures her love..."

"Wow... she really loves me, doesn't she?"

"Well, of course, there's no room for doubt."

It's not that I doubt her, but it's certainly more than I imagined.

But, does she... actually like Satellite... or does she like Hoshino Shizuku?

That's something I could only know if I asked her.

"I don't know about school or her private life... but I've seen her teaching our girls... she's a genius. She's already finished studying up to middle school, maybe even high school level material."

Indeed, her parents are doctors... and she displayed medical knowledge that would put a doctor to shame.

Well, it was a bit biased towards the erotic side, though.

She's certainly a genius, or at least exceptionally talented.

"And... let's see. I don't see that much, but I often see her using online message boards."

"Ah, those..."

She engages in online arguments, and there are people who seem to be her fans to have dedicated thread for her...

She's also spending her private time engaging in fierce exchanges of replies with my haters, a situation that makes me worry about the future.

It's somewhat disjointed, but I think I'm starting to understand.

I can fill in the remaining gaps little by little by talking to her.

"Thanks for today, I enjoyed hearing your interesting stories. As promised, let me handle the bill here..."

"Ah, that's fine..."

Just as the conversation ended, the shrimp chili and fried rice I ordered arrived.

After that, we'd eat, chat a bit, and then part ways...

That's what I thought, but it seems I was the only one...

"...Aren't you going to give me an autograph?"

"Were you serious about that first thing?"

"Serious? Of course. I'm not as much of a fan as her, but I'm quite a fan of yours, you know?"

Now that I think about it, that's right. I heard that the reason she defected from the current Magical Girl Association was because she was dissatisfied with how Squire handled my disappearance.

In other words, she's a pretty hardcore fan of mine. I'd completely forgotten about that.

"...Would you like a Polaroid photo too, if you don't mind?"

"Oh, really...!? This is like a dream!"

Seeing Flamma-chan make a cute fist pump, I realized that even someone who seems like a reliable, big-sister type has a cute side.

Though I know it's probably rude to say that to someone who's tentatively older than me.

After this... I took a ton of pictures.

★

It happened when I had a meal with Flamma and we were heading out into the town.

"Ah?! What?! Are you cheating on me, Satellite-sama?!" (Bell)

"You can say that after you were dating, Association President." (Flamma)

"What?! Satellite-sama and I have pledged our future to each other!" (Bell)

Bell-chan appeared just as we were leaving the Chinese restaurant.

Unfortunate timing... or perhaps just right?

She appeared at that exact moment, her eyes wide with surprise at our sight.

"Even so, this is quite an inconvenient timing to run into you..."

"Hey, Flamma? Can you explain what you're up to, so Bell can understand?"

"Nothing in particular."

"You're lying!? Bell knows! What you said as 'nothing' is never really a nothing!"

It's true that when she says "nothing in particular," there's usually something there...

This time, there really is nothing, but her way of saying it wasn't very good.

"Why are you here, Bell-chan?" 

"I was walking... and I felt like I sensed Satellite-sama's presence nearby!"

"Oh, I see..."

She seems to have sensed me through something I don't really understand, like a presence or atmosphere... That's a little scary, you know.

Well, there were some things I wanted to ask, so this is perfect... I guess.

"Do you like me, Bell-chan?"

"Yes! I love you!"

That's kind of the move of a troublesome woman, or rather, that's exactly what it is.

I do have a lot of troublesome woman-like worries, after all.

"What would it take for you to hate me, Bell-chan?"

"Death..."

I was about to say that I wouldn't do anything to hurt Bell-chan now, but...

"I wouldn't do something like that..."

"Even if death separates us! I won't let anyone sway my love for Satellite-sama!"

"I see..."

It was as if all my worries about getting used to each other, or what would happen in 5 or 10 years, seemed ridiculous now, given how full of love she was.

Even if her attitude calms down... this fiery love will surely continue to burn within her.

For some reason, it seemed incredibly dazzling.

"Um... don't you get tired?"

"I get tired because I'm giving it my all! But the recovery outweighs the fatigue!"

She's dazzling, too dazzling.

The questions I ask her are slowly getting closer to the certainty I've been wondering about...

Yes, what I was really wondering about was...

"Bell-chan... do you like me as Satellite? Or do you like me as Hoshino Shizuku?"

"Well..."

It seems our encounter was during the Okutama invasion...

On the way to the First Demon King, I happened to save a girl who turned out to be her, Amane-chan... that's all.

"Satellite-sama is... my oshi, my idol... but..."

After that, we met for the first time without her disguise at a bookstore.

"Shizuku-nee-san is also an older sister I admire..."

"Hey, Bell-chan..."

"It's fine, I don't care about name right now!"

She must be thinking really hard.

That's why she seemed to have forgotten that Franma-chan was around.

"I admire both of you... I like both of you."

"Yeah."

"So, so..."

Her eyes were wavering with anxiety.

No matter how talented or mature she is... she's still in elementary school.

I know perfectly well that she shouldn't be trying to answer something like this at that age.

"I want to love both of you. I want to love everything about the person I love, without holding anything back!"

"Hmm... so dazzling..."

She might be more experienced than me, who seems to have only recently learned what it means to love someone...

"So... Uhh, is that answer alright?"

"Hmm..."

Her eyes and words were so straightforward... I had no words to reply.

Now that I think about it... to be so concerned about her feelings like this.

I was acting exactly like a girl in love...

"Come here for a moment?"

"Eh, yes! I'm coming... huh?!"

I gently covered Bell's lips with mine as she toddled over.

I hugged her tightly, her eyes rolling back, then turning bright red.

"Ah... huh...?!" (Bell)

"Should I leave now?" (Flamma)

"It's fine, I won't do anything more... at least, right now." (Satellite)

Now that I think about it, this might be the first time I've been on the offensive...

I'm sure I'll lose by nightfall anyway.

...Is this what they call seducing? The fact that I'm even thinking about such pointless things... I must be pretty nervous too.

"Let me talk with your mom and dad about it next time."

"Y-yes...!"

With her ears bright red, Bell-chan opened and closed her mouth and whispered this one sentence.

"E-Everyone said that the first kiss tastes like lemon..."

"Now it tasted like almond tofu... sorry?"

But when it comes to romance, I don't think everyone on the internet is that helpful.