Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

88 – Second School Days (1)

There was a lot of talk about school trauma, and whatnot, but when you break down this magical girl’s tendencies, it’s like this:

An I, in MBTI terms.

An extreme introvert.

To put it simply, she suffers from anthropophobia. She fears conversing with others.

If that’s the case, the solution is simple.

Make her accustomed to talking with people. If we do that, she should naturally be able to overcome the fear she feels when meeting people.

In other words, create a real, second school life for her.

Without delay, I immediately put the plan into action.

Assigning roles, securing a location, and so on.

However, if there was anything unexpected in this process, it was that Squid wasn’t helping us.

“The girl is thinking of cleaning that inferior magical girl’s magical locker, I say.”

More precisely, she was going to approach it differently. But, even then, it wasn’t direct help.

“No, why? Just leave it.”

“Isn’t it obvious she’s suffering from magical depression, I say? Those inferior types don’t even do magical cleaning, I say. Starting with cleaning is the right thing to do, I say.”

I didn’t think it was really necessary, but who could break Squid’s stubbornness?

In the end, we had no choice but to give up on Squid’s help.

Of course, it wasn’t all bad news.

There was some good news, too.

Unexpectedly, we were able to receive a lot of support.

“Oh, excellent. Ms. Siyool. This can be used for magical advanced military camp publicity.”

I don’t know how she found out, but the purple magical girl took an interest and contacted us.

Thanks to her, we were able to set up a more substantial arrangement for a proper gathering.

And, finally, on the day all the preparations were complete,

I invited the magical girl to the location.

Now, this should completely resolve the magical girl’s fear.

“Hey.”

However, the magical girl’s face immediately crumpled.

“Why?”

“What is this?”

“A way to overcome your fears.”

I answered with a bright smile.

The magical girl grabbed my collar, tight.

“How in the hell is *this* overcoming fear!”

The magical girl pointed to a sign, adorned with gaudy decorations.

A sign custom-made for this very day.

【Magenta Eagle’s Magical Gathering for Chats】

Beneath the sign, a multitude of magical girls huddled together.

Looking at them, I gave Sora my thanks.

“Sora, thank you. You worked hard. Gathering people couldn’t have been easy.”

“It wasn’t particularly difficult. I just broadcasted a magical announcement throughout the entire unit, over and over.”

She made it sound simple, but it couldn’t have been.

To ask for something like that, you’d need to have pretty extensive connections. At the very least, you’d have to be friendly with a magical girl who could arrange broadcasts.

As someone who doesn’t generally get along with magical girls, it’s a method I couldn’t use.

I definitely did well to leave it to Sora. More magical girls gathered than I’d ever imagined.

This many should be enough, right?

“I don’t need this! Just send them all back, now!!!”

But the magical girl, the very protagonist of today, vehemently shook her head, flying into a rage.

It was too much. To so thoroughly dismiss the good intentions of the people who gathered for her sake.

She truly was a deeply agoraphobic lunatic.

“Anyway, I’m leaving.”

She was even resorting to sheer stubbornness now.

If I left her alone, the magical girl would surely leave, abandoning these grateful people.

If that’s the case, I have no choice but to act quickly.

I quickly pushed the magical girl into the gathering, wearing a bright smile.

“Well then, thank you all for coming!!!”

“Yo, you crazy b*stard! What are you trying to do!”

“From now on, we’ll each take turns introducing ourselves!!!!!!”

It was a sudden proposition, but perhaps because Sora had gathered those of an outgoing nature, everyone quickly adapted and began to introduce themselves.

Thanks to that, an atmosphere developed where abruptly excusing oneself became difficult. If it was like this, the magical girl wouldn’t try to escape any further.

“You…!”

The magical girl glared at me, as if to kill.

Sora, noticing this, cast a worried glance my way.

“Senpai, are you sure you’re alright? That person’s ‘magical aftereffects’ can be pretty severe; they might cause trouble later.”

She seemed genuinely worried that the magical girl might commit some extreme act.

“It’s fine.”

But it didn’t matter.

I even felt a little sorry for her reaction.

Wasn’t her spirit a bit fractured from a trauma back in her school days, so much so that this was the only way she could express her emotions?

I could understand it all.

“Besides, eventually, she’ll be crying and thanking me.”

“Is that… so…?”

Meanwhile, as everyone introduced themselves, it had become the magical girl’s turn.

This would be a good opportunity to remind her once more.

“Alright! Everyone, pay attention!!! It’s time for the main! character! of today’s gathering, the magical girl Magenta Eagle, to introduce herself!!! Let’s all welcome her with applause!!!”

Along with thunderous applause, everyone’s eyes began to focus on the magical girl alone.

“Hrk…!”

The magical girl bit her lip.

To think her face would turn so crimson. As expected, the magical girl name, Magenta Eagle, suited her perfectly.

“So, please introduce yourself!!!”

“…”

But, in truth, even though I had gathered attention for her, the magical girl didn’t say a word.

“Go on! Magenta Eagle!”

“…”

She simply kept her mouth tightly shut.

Because of that, a problem that sometimes happened when extroverts gathered was beginning to occur once again.

Yes.

The sort where they started having small talk amongst themselves.

The atmosphere turned quite disorderly, a situation nobody anticipated. I urgently addressed the magical girl, trying to seize control of the flow.

“Magical Girl Magenta Eagle!!! It’s your turn for introductions! Hurry up!!!”

“Ah, no…!”

“Are you usually this quiet? Why are you so silent today!!!!!!”

“Hey, goddamn it, I mean…!”

At that moment, Whitedog swiftly lent me his support.

“Everyone, simmer down a bit!!!!!! Magical Girl Magenta Eagle has something to say!!!!!!”

With his immense volume, Whitedog instantly captured the chaotic atmosphere, once again focusing everyone’s attention on the magical girl.

“Hey, don’t…”

“Magical Girl Magenta Eagle! It’s hard to hear what you’re saying! So, a little louder, please!”

Adding to that, I kept encouraging the magical girl to speak clearly.

“Alright! I brought a foothold to climb on, so get up here! That way, everyone can look at you!”

“D-don’t do it…! Please…!”

And that wasn’t all. Just in case anyone far away couldn’t see the magical girl, he even thoughtfully prepared a platform.

That’s Whitedog for you. To set the stage so perfectly, so people can mingle well.

It was truly dogshit.

Sincerely.

Meanwhile, despite her resistance, was this something she secretly wanted? The magical girl, though embarrassed, slowly climbed onto the platform.

“H-hello… My name is… Magenta Eagle.”

As the magical girl finished her introduction with those few words, the other magical girls watching began to voice their impressions.

“Hey, but who is she anyway? I don’t know her. Does anyone know?”

“Isn’t that the one who’s always scribbling something in her Magical Diary, chuckling to herself? She recently took on the Magical Delivery role.”

“For someone in Magical Delivery, she’s always quiet and skulking around, this is the first time I’ve heard her voice.”

“What’s with her voice.”

Of course, not all of the reactions were particularly positive.

It seemed that the image of her being quiet and gloomy was deeply ingrained.

But that ends today.

Because I’m going to carry her.

Without delay, I immediately opened my mouth.

“Magical Girl Magenta Eagle!!! Let’s have an image change right here, right now!!!”

The magical girl glared at me, a fierce intensity in her eyes.

How? The meaning swelled, a tangible presence within her gaze.

In that moment, Whitedog swiftly offered a solution.

“Sing us a tune to liven the atmosphere!”

He thrust a glass bottle, a single spoon stuck inside, directly into the magical girl’s hands.

Her face, even paler than before, she shook her head frantically.

“Wait, just a moment! I… I can’t sing…!”

“You can do it! You have the power!”

Regardless of her protests, Whitedog forced the glass bottle into the magical girl’s grip.

Perhaps galvanized by this touching scene, the other magical girls beamed, each offering a word of encouragement.

“Hurry up. Don’t ruin the vibe.”

“Just do it, alright? Nobody’s twisting your arm.”

“Hey, hey. Just close your eyes once and get it over with.”

“No, no! That’s…!”

Unable to wait any longer, the magical girls began to chant in unison.

– Sing!

“No, no! Wait! Just a moment!”

The magical girl shook her head even more violently.

The collective voice rose in volume.

– Sing!!!

“I really can’t sing!”

The magical girl denied it with a desperate expression, but it was already in vain.

– One beat rest!

Didn’t everyone know?

A group swept up in the current is not easily stopped.

– Two beats rest!!!

There was only one way to halt those who, riding the momentum, urged her on with ever greater volume.

– Three beats rest!!!!!

For the magical girl to sing.

– One! Two!! Three!!! Four!!!!

In the end, the magical girl began to sing.

A slight dampness crept into her voice, as if she was truly moved that we had so kindly arranged this occasion for her.

Why did I think that?

It was obvious, truly.

Between the hesitant verses, she was sending me ardent gazes.

“Sora, I’m right, aren’t I? She’ll be thanking us later, in tears.”

“…Sunbae, that looks more like a murderous glare to me.”

“She always had that kind of face. Don’t misunderstand too much.”

This wasn’t something to just let slide. I should take this opportunity to record everything with the camcorder I’d borrowed.

Later, whenever life got too hard and I wanted to end it all, showing myself this would surely give me the strength to keep going.

Meanwhile, how long had the magical girl sung, her voice cracking and strained?

Finally, she finished the song, her face tearful, gasping for breath.

“T-that’s enough now…”

But, we all knew, didn’t we?

– Encore! Encore!!! Encore!!!!!

A song usually doesn’t end with just one performance.

Eventually, the magical girl, wearing a bizarre expression, began to sing again amongst the other magical girls, her voice even more choked with emotion than before.

It must be that she was so overwhelmed by everyone giving her so much attention.

Truly a heartwarming moment, wouldn’t you agree?

She was probably experiencing something like this for the first time in her life.

At this rate, she’d definitely be able to interact with people without fear, and get along well with everyone.

But, I didn’t intend to stop there.

“Alright! Next up, let’s have a talent show from the star! of! the! show! Magical Girl Magenta Eagle!!!”

The gathering had only just begun.