Chapter 7 : Proof

What did she just say……………

“Why do you want me to treat you like an older sister?”

When I asked that, Yucia casually took a sip of her coffee.

“Because I’m older. I know it’s a bit strange to say this to someone who saved me, but I want you to respect the boundaries. Even though calling each other by a nickname is a tradition among magical girls, when we’re not transformed, we should act normally.”

I don’t know about such traditions.

And I can’t even transform.

But that’s not important right now.

“Why are you the older sister?”

I heard the 3rd generation debuted five years ago.

In reality, I must be older.

“Magical girls normally make a contract in their teens. Whether you’re from the 6th generation or not, you’d probably be in your late teens at most.”

“I’m from the 1st generation. Scarlet Lily is just a new name.”

“Scarlet is dead.”

“Right, I heard she went to the demon world.”

“It’s an interesting story, but I can’t believe it. Are you saying Spica lied?”

Oh, now that I think about it,

“I couldn’t find the body, but the public believes that she died in the final battle.”

I asked Spica to help cover it up.

At our first meeting, the Frozen Princess thought I was a transformed monster.

It seems she’s known for being meticulous and skeptical, even among fans.

People would probably trust Spica’s words more than the dead Scarlet’s.

“I didn’t want to break her innocence, so I lied.”

I decided to be honest.

We won the battle against our arch-nemesis, but I lost my comrade.

Burning with rage, I jumped into a closing gate, and spent 10 years in the demon world.

“Many people were looking for hope in us. I couldn’t say we invaded the enemy’s territory for revenge.”

I intended to defeat all monsters.

At least, I wanted to fight until the end of my life.

But ultimately, it ended in failure.

“……Is it really Scarlet?”

“Yeah, I’m Scarlet.”

Maybe my honest confession finally got through.

Or so I thought, but it was a bit different.

“Then what’s Scarlet’s favorite food?”

A quiz all of a sudden?

“Hmm………..Strawberry cake?”

When interest in magical girls was growing, a little kid who supported me once asked me the same question.

I didn’t want to say something like chicken galbi, so I mentioned something safe.

“Correct. Next question, what’s Scarlet’s least favorite food?”

“Broccoli.”

“What’s Scarlet’s hobby?”

“I think it was walking.”

“Why aren’t you sure?”

“Because hobbies change as you get older.”

“Ugh…… Correct.”

She looked somewhat frustrated.

Then, as if on purpose, she asked a more difficult question.

“Then, do you know the date when Scarlet first defeated a monster and debuted?”

Isn’t this too hard……?

“I don’t really remember.”

“You don’t know that monumental day?”

“For me, it was an unfortunate day when I was almost forced into a contract.”

“Scarlet never said that.”

Well, of course not.

I became an icon for countless little kids without even realizing it.

I had to skip over the depressing parts.

“You really know everything about me. Are all magical girls like this?”

“No, I just like Scarlet. I’m a fan.”

“H……?”

Yucia nodded her head.

“I started dreaming of becoming a magical girl after watching Scarlet. And then, a miracle happened.”

I became a magical girl under the name Frozen Princess.

I made a contract with a mascot and gained glory.

“So, my fan was still around.”

I was genuinely happy.

I had been down when I saw secondhand figures being sold at a cheap price.

“Right.”

Maybe I can prove that I’m Scarlet.

But do I really have to do this…………?

“Why?”

Yucia looked puzzled as I got lost in thought.

……

Should I just go for it?

If Yucia is truly my fan, it might be worth it.

Though I feel like dying from embarrassment, I made up my mind.

“Watch carefully.”

I stood up.

“I’ll judge you with the light of justice! Magical Girl Scarlet, here I come!”

I shouted in a dynamic pose.

This was a classic line, or what’s called an entrance line in old anime.

It’s similar to what magical girl streamers say as an opening line.

Yucia was left with her mouth agape.

I want to die.

The other customers on the same floor were staring at me.

I would love to crawl into a mouse hole right now.

I wish she would at least say something.

“It’s a line that Stella and Spica and I came up with when we were brainstorming what would be good.”

At the time, I was physically and mentally still a teenager.

It was so cringe-worthy back then that I immediately discarded it, so only true fans would know about it.

“I’ve finally………… met you.”

Tears were falling steadily.

Yucia was crying.

“Why? It’s okay!?”

Flustered and unsure what to do, Yucia wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

“You’re exactly the same as before. You really………… were Scarlet…”

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cry, okay?”

“I’m sorry for doubting you all this time. I’m so sorry……….

• Hwaaaaah!”

She began to cry loudly.

It was an unexpected sight of the Frozen Princess, a word that usually suits her cold and rational demeanor.

Is it best to just leave her be in times like this?

After a few minutes, she finally calmed down.

“I’ll believe you.”

Her first words were these.

“Do you mean that you believe I’m Scarlett?”

“Yes. No matter what others say, I’ll believe you. I’ll also help you reveal the truth!”

Yucia said she was my devoted fan.

So, aside from saving her life, she seemed to want to give a sharp word to the fake.

“I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“Why?”

“Now that it’s come to this, I just want to quietly retire.”

“Retire…?

Scarlett died 10 years ago.

The fun of reincarnation depends on who the target is… but I didn’t think I was particularly suited for it.

“I think the juniors are doing well, and I wonder if it might be fine to just leave things as they are.”

The era of desperate battles was over.

Compared to when I was active, things had become much more peaceful.

There were a few disturbances, but things were slowly stabilizing.

The day I step down from the stage will probably be when stability is fully restored.

Before that…

“I have one favor to ask.”

We were on the rooftop of a tall building.

“Armo will be coming here.”

The blue-haired magical girl.

Yucia, who had transformed into Frozen Princess, spoke with a tense expression.

“Didn’t we agree that we wouldn’t use honorifics among colleagues?”

“Ah, I ended up using it because I’m with the respected Scarlett.”

“Respected? That kind of expression is strange between colleagues.”

“But why are you looking for Armo?”

I had asked the Frozen Princess to call the mascot.

For some reason, the usual contact methods weren’t working.

“I have a few things I want to ask.”

It felt a bit like I was asking for permission, but I thought it would be good to let the mascot know if I was retiring.

A moment later, a creature that looked like a white cat flew down from the sky.

“Did you call for me?”

A unique way of speaking ending in “mo.”

It was the Armo I knew, but something about the appearance seemed different…

“Who are you?”

I repeated the words I had heard from the Frozen Princess on my first day back on Earth.

“I am Armo, mo.”

“You look different from how I remember.”

“Maybe you met the first or second generation of Armo, mo?”

“What?”

“The previous Armos returned to the Heavenly Realm, mo. Now I, the third generation, am in charge of this area, mo.”

Apparently, the mascot also has generations.

“Can’t you call the one who went back to the Heavenly Realm?”

“That means they’re dead.”

The Frozen Princess added from the side.

“Dead…?”

“There was a fallen magical girl in the second generation. She had a deep grudge against the mascot and took cruel revenge.”

An unfair contract and harsh treatment.

A poor girl who couldn’t bear it and caused trouble, it seems.

She must have received divine punishment.

Even though she cursed, I feel a little sorry for her now that she’s dead…

“By the way, the second generation Armo was sent back to the Heavenly Realm by the fourth generation magical girl, mo. Even-numbered generations always have problems, so I’m afraid to make a contract with the sixth generation, mo…”

Armo shuddered.

It’s pitiful, but considering what has been done until now, it seems like just recompense.

“Tell me what you know about me.”

“I want to tell you, but I don’t know anything, mo. I actually have a lot of questions myself, mo.”

“What kind of questions?”

“I’ve never heard of anyone awakening, mo. How did you make a contract, mo?”

Did she not even get the basic transfer of knowledge?

Well, considering she was killed, there probably wasn’t any time for that.

“Tell me, because I really dislike mascots.”

“If you tell me where you are, I’ll think about it.”

Spica, the only survivor among my peers.

I wanted to let her know that I was still alive.

But the landlord’s number and address had changed.

“I don’t know, mo… Spica disappeared shortly after making a contract with the second generation.”

At that time, the mascot was the second generation Armo.

So, this one in front of me knows nothing.

What a useless help.

“Well, I don’t have anything more to say. Take care, and let’s never see each other again.”

I stopped mid-sentence.

Ten years is no short amount of time.

Countless catchphrases have been born and disappeared.

The nicknames for cats also changed in various ways, and “ttekkelluk” was one of the older ones.

Although many things followed…

“I’ll continue to act in my own way, so keep that in mind.”

I thought about playing a mischievous prank, but I decided against it.

It’s better for a magical girl to use beautiful and refined language.