Ch.235IF Side Story: From the Beginning (3)

# Enhanced Translation

## Speaking more about combat, when I first heard about it, I wondered if there were other trainees besides me.

But that doesn’t seem to be what Rose meant.

“Everyone uses magic differently.”

Rose said, looking at me sprawled on the floor as usual.

Iris hasn’t officially joined as a Magical Girl yet, but she openly uses a gun. Unlike other Magical Girls whose weapons manifest from cherished objects, her gun is a tool she researched and created herself to project mana most efficiently.

Dalia and Delphinium also use ranged magic.

Dalia at least seems to fight while waving her wand, but Delphinium literally fights by chanting for a long time from a distance to complete and project her spells.

So there’s no real reason for them to engage in close combat with Rose.

“…”

Wait a minute.

I frowned as I sat up.

“Then do I really need to learn this either?”

Rose stared at me blankly at those words.

“Huh?”

“I don’t even have a wand yet. I don’t know how I’ll fight. So is there any reason I need to do this training now?”

“…”

Rose blinked.

Her expression suggested not that she was trying to deceive me, but rather that she hadn’t expected me to say something like that.

“Um… do you not want to do it?”

Rose asked.

No, I naturally thought this was training everyone received.

And I thought there were many more Magical Girl candidates besides me and Hayun. I assumed they had all dropped out because of Rose’s training.

“Well, obviously—”

I don’t want to.

I was about to say that, but stopped when I saw Rose’s expression.

Among the Magical Girls, Rose has the most confident attitude. That makes sense. Before Hayun fully became a Magical Girl, Rose was the one acting as the leader.

That relationship hadn’t run completely smoothly. They fought almost daily before Hayun came, and even after Hayun joined, there was still subtle tension between them.

Hayun wasn’t the type to command everyone with charisma; she just got along with everyone without any rough edges and somehow became the group’s center. At least, that’s how it was in the comic.

Maybe it was because of Rose’s personality? Anyone would feel bad after being beaten up almost one-sidedly.

Though I was gradually improving and starting to match up with Rose a bit.

“…Can I ask you something? Did you do this kind of training with Hayun?”

“Oh, yes.”

Rose answered.

“But her weapon is a sword.”

“…”

Well, um.

That’s true, but…

Not knowing how to respond, I stared blankly for a moment, then sighed deeply.

“…Alright. I’ll come tomorrow too.”

“Really?!”

Rose beamed at my words.

Come on, how could I refuse when you were just making that sad puppy face?

And I know she’s not training me with bad intentions.

Rose genuinely enjoyed seeing my skills improve. And I could feel my own growth too. Though Hayun was a bit heartbroken about it, but well.

…A character who wasn’t even the protagonist has become a Magical Girl candidate.

One reason I want to beat Hayun is that I want to stand on equal footing with her. Of course I should give it my all.

Rose extended her hand to me.

I looked at it for a moment, then took it. My exhausted body was pulled upward.

Standing face to face with Rose, our eyes met.

…Seeing this expression, maybe she’s not such a bad person after all.

Well, she is a Magical Girl, after all.

*

And so, my training continued for several weeks.

“Haah!”

Today too, I fought while dripping with sweat, running until my legs trembled.

With all my strength, I threw my final punch—

WHACK!

Rose blocked it with her guard, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. As if feeling a sting in her arm, Rose lowered her guard and smiled at me.

I flopped back down on the floor.

“Ah, I can’t do any more today. I surrender, surrender.”

As I raised my hand and waved it, Rose burst out laughing and sat down near me.

My fighting skills were improving, but the most important thing was that my ability to handle mana was increasing dramatically through these practical combat sessions.

What had been quite clumsy at first was now becoming more natural. I still didn’t understand the exact principles behind some of the details, but like riding a bicycle without training wheels—once you start, you rarely fall on your own—magic was like that too.

“Still, you’re doing great. You’ve managed to land a few hits on me.”

“Great? What’s so great about it? You blocked everything.”

“Even when blocked, hits still hurt. My arms have feeling too, you know?”

“You’re smiling while saying it hurts?”

I turned my head to look up at Rose incredulously, and she just shrugged.

“Well, the pain isn’t what matters.”

“…If pain doesn’t matter? Is winning what matters?”

“I don’t think that’s particularly important either. I mean, winning feels good, but you’re not even an official Magical Girl yet.”

Saying it like that just hurts my pride.

“Then why are you trying so hard?”

“Hmm, I wonder.”

Rose exhaled softly and looked up at the training room ceiling.

“Why am I working so hard? Honestly, I’m not sure myself.”

“…You don’t know?”

“You know I use gauntlets, right?”

“Of course. Probably nobody in our country doesn’t know that.”

Magical Girls are that famous. Defeating enemies, fighting for justice—truly the stuff of fairy tales.

Well, people aren’t without their suspicions. After all, they’re affiliated with the Galactic Federation and connected to the government. Their opponents were even major corporations in this country.

Strictly speaking, isn’t this illegal? It wouldn’t be strange for people to ask that.

“Those gauntlets are created by magic. They’re projections of images deep in my mind.”

That’s right.

With special exceptions, wands are originally like that. Precious objects or concepts deep in one’s mind.

“What do you think I used to do?”

“…Hmm.”

I thought for a moment before answering.

“Martial arts?”

“Well, I figured you’d think that. You’re right. I used to box.”

That’s… somewhat unexpected. She’s only a year older than me.

Well, I guess you can start combat sports from a young age. After all, famous athletes all started training hard from childhood.

“I wasn’t a professional fighter. But it wasn’t just a hobby either. I liked those times. Isn’t it refreshing? You don’t need to worry about anything else. Just focus on how to effectively hit your opponent and how to dodge their punches.”

“…”

“It actually felt honest because of that. That’s how I felt.”

Rose paused in thought, then shrugged again.

“I’m not sure why I’m telling you this when we haven’t known each other that long. Well, my parents didn’t like it much. They have rather ‘prestigious’ jobs. Related to the Federation.”

That’s a plausible story.

They might be okay with learning it as a hobby, but would likely oppose becoming a serious competitor.

Though it’s also possible some parents might be more supportive.

“So, well. I ended up here as a compromise, but honestly, I wasn’t that satisfied. A match and a real fight are different, right?”

Just before, Rose said she liked the feeling of being honest with each other.

But fighting with Combatants isn’t like that. There’s no such thing as a fair fight. They’re opponents who must defeat each other at all costs.

“…Wait a minute.”

As the mood was turning gloomy, I suddenly remembered something really strange.

“Those gauntlets, you said they’re projections of your dream?”

“That’s right?”

“Not boxing gloves?”

“Well, gloves make it difficult to inflict damage in a real fight.”

Isn’t that too extreme?

…But then again, Hayun pulled a beam sword made of mana from a bouquet of flowers. I realized that gauntlets might actually be relatively non-lethal weapons.

“…Still, that seems too violent.”

Even so, shouldn’t gauntlets be compared to at least brass knuckles? They’re actually much stronger than brass knuckles.

“Well, don’t take it too seriously. We still don’t fully understand how mana works.”

“…”

I couldn’t deny Rose’s statement.

True, it does defy the laws of physics. Actually, scientists are still debating whether it truly defies them or not.

“Still, thanks to you, I’ve been having quite a bit of fun lately.”

Rose said honestly.

“You should stick with being a Magical Girl for a long time.”

“…I’m not getting beaten up like this just to quit soon, you know?”

Hearing my grumbling, Rose let out a big laugh.