Chapter 4: Being Late

"Hmm..."

In a room where the morning sun streamed in through a tiny gap in the curtains, a girl slowly woke up from her slumber.

"What time is it now...?"

With her thoughts still hazy, the girl swung her arms around on the bed.

After banging on an empty shelf a few times, she grabbed the remote control for the light.

"... It's so bright."

With a single button on the remote, the girl turned on the room light and first let her eyes adjust to the brightness.

Once she could open her eyes a little, she finally looked at the clock on the wall.

"...Ah."

The time the clock showed indicated she was late. Very late.

"Oh no."

Without even washing her face, the girl hurriedly changed into her school uniform and grabbed her bag.

Then she headed for the front door.

"This is bad."

Today wasn't a normal school day.

It was her day to be deployed as a Magical Girl.

"I'm going!"

There was no reply. Leaving the empty house behind, the girl began to run.

★

If it were her usual middle school, she could get there in less than ten minutes by running from her house.

But today, the place she was going to wasn't the middle school building, but a mountain owned by the school, a distance far away from her house.

"Sorry!"

"Come on! You're late!"

The girl who arrived at the mountain, the school's meeting place for today, about ten minutes late, was greeted by two girls wearing the same middle school uniform as her.

"I can't believe you're late on such an important day!"

"Ugh... sorry."

The girl scolding the latecomer is named Shizuka. The petite Iino Shizuka confronts the latecomer.

"Now, now, Shizuka-chan. Don't be so angry."

The other girl tried to calm Shizuka down. Her name was Makino Airi. She was tall and gentle.

"Sorry, both of you!"

"Hmph!"

"I'm so glad Kanata-chan made it here safely."

The girl who was late was named Amamiya Kanata.

She was a cute girl with soft black hair and big, bright black eyes with double eyelids.

"Well, well... we're late, but let's go to class!"

"Said the one who made us late in the first place!"

"S-sorryyyy!"

At the foot of the mountain.

Only Shizuka and Airi were waiting for Kanata there. The two girls and Kanata entered the mountain.

Then, they soon saw the gate leading into the mountain.

"Ah, you've come."

A school teacher was standing at the gate, watching over those entering the mountain.

"Kanata... I know your circumstances to some extent, so I won't be too harsh, but even so, being late today is unacceptable."

"Yes..."

"The other students are already in the mountains. You three should go in right away."

""Yes, ma'am!!""

The three nodded at their teacher's words and slowly entered the mountain through the opening gate.

"Okay. Now, [Henshin]!!"

With those words, a faint pink light emanated from Kanata's body.

Her uniform transformed into faint particles of light, and the clothes covering her body vanished in an instant.

In their place appeared a magical girl outfit, predominantly white.

A softly flowing skirt.

A large ribbon adorned her chest.

Pale pink decorations were placed throughout the white outfit.

A swirling pink light enveloped her.

Kyururiririn~~

Her black hair slowly began to change color.

From the roots to a pale pink. And as she moved towards the ends, the color became a more vibrant pink.

Finally, Kanata's eyes opened. Her once black eyes had turned a vibrant blue.

A tiny, star-like light flickered in the depths of her eyes.

"Ta-da! Magical Girl Alagna! Here I am!"

Having finished her transformation, Kanata spun around in a circle.

Her pink hair fluttered softly.

"How's that?"

"Don't 'How's that?' me! Don't just transform out of nowhere!"

"Hehe~"

"What are you laughing at?! Think about managing yourself better from now on...!"

"Now, now, Shizuka-chan. Even so, it's really nice that Kanata-chan can transform already."

"You two will be able to transform soon too. You can use magic already, after all."

".... I hope so, I guess?"

"Fufu, let's do our best!"

The situation surrounding Magical Girls is constantly changing.

Various system modifications are made to suit the times, creating an environment where Magical Girls can fight safely.

At first, they simply supported Magical Girls in battle.

Later, training became necessary, and they were paired with senior Magical Girls as a part of Partners System.

But even that wasn't enough.

After meticulous preparation, Japan had opened a school to train Magical Girls.

This school included girls who had only learned to use magic a little, and who couldn't even transform yet. It was an institution that educated even those who couldn't yet be called Magical Girls.

"Well then, let's go!"

That was the Magical Girl Training Middle School that Kanata and her friends attended.

Today was the day for practical training at that middle school.