Chapter 5: Practical Training

A practical training exercise at Magical Girl Training Middle School.

The exercise involved fighting trained Magical Beasts released into the mountains.

Under the supervision of middle school teachers and senior Magical Girls, the students honed their practical skills in real combat.

["Grrrrrrr..."]

A beast's growl echoed through the rugged mountain path overgrown with vegetation.

Before Kanata, who held her sword, stood a wolf Magical Beast. The gigantic wolf, covered in black and gray fur, had sharp fangs protruding from its mouth, from which sticky saliva dripped, and its blood-red eyes glared intently at the three girls.

"Haaaaaah!"

The staring contest lasted only a moment.

Before the wolf Magical Beast could move, Kanata kicked off the ground and advanced forward in one swift motion.

["Grrraaaah!"]

In response, the wolf Magical Beast also moved forward.

The wolf roared, opening its mouth, and charged towards the distance, intending to bite and kill the small creature in front of it in one bite.

"Hyaaa!"

Having carefully observed its movement, Kanata dodged it with a single movement, and as she turned around, swung the sword she was holding.

["Gaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"]

The sword split the wolf beast's body in two.

["GAAAAAA!?"]

Even with its lower body gone, the wolf beast still tried to stand, placing its front paws on the ground and slowly lifting its head.

"Just die quietly."

But that only made it easier for Kanata to cut its neck.

With a single stroke, the wolf Magical Beast's head fell off.

"Hey, that was quick!"

The battle ended in an instant.

It was a finish that left no room for Shizuka and Airi, who were behind her, to intervene.

"If Kanata-chan goes all out, we won't be able to do anything!"

"That's right! We can't even become Magical Girls yet!"

There are stages to becoming a Magical Girl.

First, there's the stage where you make a "contract," obtain a magic core, and gain magical power.

Then, there's the stage where you can only use that magical power to cast spells. This is where Shizuka and Airi are at.

Essentially, the Magical Girl Training Middle School was an educational institution that gathered girls who possessed magical powers, educated them to use magic, and then provided them with another step to advance to the next stage.

Magical Girl Transformation.

This is the fundamental magic of a Magical Girl, where one imbues their body with magical power and transforms themselves. It's a highly difficult magic to activate, often the first hurdle the girls encounter after learning to use magic.

Only after mastering this can one be considered a full-fledged Magical Girl.

In other words, since Kanata could already transform into a Magical Girl, by the country's standards, she was already a full-fledged Magical Girl, and there was actually little need for her to learn it in this middle school.

"Hmm, it's okay for today, isn't it? We need to earn points quickly."

If Kanata, at that stage, fought at full strength, it was inevitable that Shizuka and Airi wouldn't have a chance.

"That's true, but... or rather, isn't it Kanata's fault for being late in the first place!"

In this practical training exercise, points were awarded for each Magical Beast defeated.

Defeating a Fifth-Grade Magical Beast earned two points. Defeating a Sixth-Grade Magical Beast earned one point.

"That's right! So, I have to work hard to make up for the time I've missed!"

Those points directly impacted their grades.

Because of Kanata's lateness, Shizuka and Airi had to start their practical training exercises later than the other groups.

As a result, they couldn't earn as many points as the others. Kanata was desperate to make up for lost time.

"You don't have to try so hard, you know? There's no need to feel guilty about being late."

"Airi, it's useless. Kanata's just using being late as an excuse to vent her desire to fight."

"...Haha... ha..."

Kanata subtly averted her gaze at Shizuka's words.

"Well... that's fine. It would be boring to always have you fight at our level, wouldn't it? Since you usually adjust to our level, this time, let's adjust to yours today."

"That's true."

"What!? Really!?"

"However! Make sure you get the top score, okay? We'll do everything we can to help you."

"Of course!"

Kanata nodded emphatically at Shizuka's words and walked off confidently.

But...

"....."

"... Kanata?"

Shizuka tilted her head in confusion when Kanata stopped walking almost immediately after starting.

"…There's a bad smell."

Kanata rubbed her nose with her hand, then drew her sword again, which she had previously sheathed.

["GYAAAAA?"]

The next moment, a loud scream echoed in all their ears.

"Why, why… WHYYYYY!?"

Amidst the rustling sound of grass and bushes, a girl wearing the same uniform as them leaped out.

Her face was plagued with terror, and cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

"W-why is a Fourth-Grade Magical Beast here?!"

The sound of grass and bushes being rustled could be heard again.

However, this sound was even louder than the previous one.