Chapter 2: Day to Day

"Magical Girl... Lily!"

Reina smiled at the name of the magical girl she had been given.

A middle-aged man sitting in front of her watched her with a slightly sad gaze.

"From now on, you will be partnered with a senior Magical Girl and gain experience."

Oogai Toshio, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Magical Girls, spoke to Reina in a gentle voice.

"Yes!"

"This is the Magical Girl who will be your partner. Please come in."

At Oogai's words, the door at the back opened, and a girl entered the room.

A girl with light pink hair flowing in the wind, wearing a dress with a small jewel sparkling at the chest, stood before Reina.

"...!"

Reina gasped at the sight.

"Um, do you... remember me?!"

And then, she began to speak rapidly, even louder than before.

"Hmm?"

"You helped me before... um, you saved me from a burning building..."

"A burning building... Ah! That time. Yes, I remember."

"Really?! Um! I became a Magical Girl because I admired you!"

"Oh, really? That's an honor."

The Magical Girl smiled slightly at Reina's sparkling words.

"I'm Magical Girl Vali. Nice to meet you."

And then she introduced herself with her Magical Girl name.

"Yes! Nice to meet you too!"

And so, Reina's days as a Magical Girl began.

★★★

Magical Girl's duties.

Basically, it's hunting Magical Beasts.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Magical Girl Lily.

She has blue hair. Her long hair changes to a translucent white towards the ends, and her white-based outfit is adorned with blue ribbons and lily motifs. While she has a pure and ephemeral aura, her pink eyes, which seem to hold stars, shine with a strong brilliance.

Reina, who has transformed dramatically from her original black-haired, black-eyed form, brandishes the wand in her hand.

"Gaaaaaaa!!"

A pure flash of magical energy emanated from Reina's wand.

The silvery flash instantly pierced the chest of the dinosaur-like monster, as large as a building, that stood before her.

"..... GraaaAAAAAAA!!!"

The dinosaur-like monster, shot in the chest, somehow managed to resist falling to its side, instead opening its mouth wide and unleashing a breath attack.

This, too, was similar to Reina's attack. The breath attack, releasing the immense magical power residing within its body, was a trump card usable by high-ranking Magical Beast classified as dinosaur-type monster.

"I won't lose!"

Reina met the attack head-on.

The terrifying red flash of light emitted by the dinosaur-type monster and Reina's silvery flash of light clashed head-on, pushing against each other.

"Haaaaaaa!"

Reina prevailed.

The silvery flash of light, which had pushed back the breath attack, pierced the dinosaur-type monster's head. This time, the dinosaur-type monster's massive body lay on the ground.

"Ah! I have to go rescue people!"

Reina, who had been celebrating her victory alone with a fist pump, quickly regained her composure and headed towards saving lives.

Many buildings had collapsed due to the rampaging dinosaur-like monster.

Many civilians had evacuated from the collapsed buildings, but many were still trapped, and many were injured.

"....."

The magic that Magical Girl Lily specialized in was healing magic, like the one she was using now.

She wasn't the type to engage in direct combat.

However, as a Magical Girl, Reina possessed an enormous amount of magical power, far exceeding that of others. It was this immense magical power that allowed her to use the power of magical flashes, enabling her to fight.

It had only been a year since Reina began fighting as a Magical Girl. She already possessed top-class abilities among Magical Girls.

"So perfect."

Vali, who had been watching Reina's fighting style from a slightly elevated position, followed her towards saving lives.

Today was a test to see how strong Reina had become. It was a test to determine if she could fight on her own.

Vali witnessed today that Reina could indeed fight alone.

"....a terrifying child."

No one that day saw the complex emotions reflected in Vali's eyes as she gazed upon Reina.

★

After about an hour of running around saving lives, Reina and Vali, having completed a certain number of rescues and left the rest to the paramedics, returned to the Ministry of Magical Girls.

"How was it, Onee-sama?! Did I fight properly?!"

"Yes, it was perfect! .....Really, it was perfect. You've gotten so strong in just one year."

"Really?! Yay!"

Reina raised both hands in delight at Vali's praise.

"Don't stop there, let's go take a shower quickly. You have a test at middle school, right?"

"Huh?! That's right! ...Ugh, I hate studying."

"No. You have to study properly. You can't fight as a Magical Girl forever."

As Reina and Vali were walking through the Ministry of Magical Girls after finishing their work, a sudden, blaring alarm sound rang out.

["Sight of a Special Grade Magical Beast confirmed. Repeating. Sight of a Special Grade Magical Beast confirmed...."]

Then, the broadcast announced an emergency: a Special Grade—the highest-ranking—Magical Beast had appeared.

"...Again?"

"Oh! Let's go!"

In response to the broadcast, Vali looked dejected, while Reina raised her voice in high spirits.