episode_0030

Despite my pleading for Blanc to stop, he continued to touch me.

“Blanc…! Please stop while we’re eating…! Why are you holding onto me so tightly while enhancing with magic?”

Blanc’s hands were on my knees, one holding my tail and the other touching me, causing me distress.

“Blanc… Please! What’s the problem…! Tell me! Stop touching me…!”

I tried to move my tail to break free, but Blanc’s strength made it impossible…

“Ugh. What do you want? I told you to stop!”

“Why, are you upset that I’m finally getting revenge for always being on the receiving end of this? Is that it?”

“No, you easily escaped from being caught here before! What does that have to do with the current situation…! Ugh?! Stop it!”

“I don’t want to. It’s subtly warm and fun to see your reactions.”

“Ugh…!”

“And, there’s another reason… It’s a secret.”

“Ugh… I’ll let you touch it later, so please stop now… Let’s eat!”

“Alright, fine. Go on.”

Finally, Blanc let go of my tail.

Now that I had regained the freedom of my tail, I hid it away.

There might be some additional magic consumption.

It might make me more tired.

But it’s better than being treated like a toy.

Just attaching and detaching it.

But, honestly, it’s a hassle.

So in Eden, I lived with it attached like a real clone.

And the memory of going into battle and realizing I forgot it and panicking…

Well, it’s just a habit from the past.

Well, for another reason…

If I detach it and sleep, who knows what might happen.

There might be someone here who will take it away secretly.

I don’t even want to think about what they might do with it.

They might have some ulterior motive in messing with my tail.

Once it’s fully connected to my nervous system, any strange device inside could cause immense pain or even make me lose my mind.

Hmm, wait a minute.

Why are those magical girls blushing and staring at me?

“What’s wrong? Let’s finish our meal first. Sorry for making a weird noise.”

Although they tried to focus on eating after hearing me, I still felt like they were watching me.

“…Did I do something wrong? Why are you all staring at me like that…?”

The one who answered was the red-haired girl in front of me.

“Th-that… the sound you made when Yoonseul unnie touched your tail earlier…”

“…Ah.”

Ah, I see.

Another embarrassing moment.

If I keep showing this side of me, my image will completely crumble.

I need to change the subject quickly, even if it means changing the conversation, to alleviate this embarrassing situation…!

“Oh, by the way, Arin. Could you share your thoughts on today’s performance? It’s been a few years since I moved my body, so the movements might have been off. Blanc, could you also provide some feedback?”

Arin, who was blushing in front of me, answered the question first.

“Oh, yes! Seeing it in person was definitely different. I thought I knew everything about Vina unnie, but… on the battlefield, she’s not someone I want to meet…”

“Oh, I see. Arin really doesn’t want to meet me on the battlefield.”

“Yes, I didn’t see any chance of winning. Vina unnie…”

As Arin left her feedback on the performance, she asked me a question.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Um, will I still be alive tomorrow…? I was happy to meet Vina unnie… Haha…”

“Why are you like this, Arin? Haven’t I always said that I would never do anything to hurt you? Don’t worry.”

“Well, the mannequin turned into a pile of ashes, didn’t it…? It was a really strong mannequin that I had to put all my strength into cutting, and it only got halfway cut… like that…”

“Oh, I see. Don’t worry. Sparring is about setting rules, isn’t it? It’s not like it’s an actual battle.”

“Yes…”

“Don’t be discouraged. Gather your strength and finish the test tomorrow with confidence, think of it as a way to relieve stress.”

“Yes, unnie…”

Oh, right.

There’s one more person I need to ask besides Arin.

Someone who analyzed my battles more diligently than anyone else.

Someone who knows me better than anyone else.

Wouldn’t they be able to see how I’ve changed more easily?

“Then, Blanc. Please share your thoughts.”

“Huh? It was very V-like.”

…?

What does that mean?

“Yes? What do you mean?”

“It was V-like. Really.”

“No, what are you talking about?”

“It was just a V-like movement. Assessing the enemy’s condition and comparing it to oneself. If you think you’re weaker, you move boldly and efficiently.”

“Well, I moved more slowly than usual.”

“The magic output was about 47% of your usual. That’s why the color came out of your tail. You had to extract maximum efficiency in your movements. That’s how the destructive power of the laser that was outputted was 53% of the usual. Since it didn’t output more than you thought, you poured more magic into the attack, which ultimately revealed it.”

“… Hmm, you analyzed it well. But I used another weapon this time.”

“Oh, the bullet spread was 2.1 times wider than usual?”

“… Is that accurate? That figure?”

“Yes, it should be.”

“Then, what about the evaluation of the melee weapon?”

“The speed at which you drew the melee weapon was about 20% slower than usual. The swinging speed was 17% slower.”

“I see. Ah. I’ve really gotten a lot weaker.”

Arin, who was surprised to hear our conversation, asked us.

“Oh, no… How does Yoonseul unnie know so much, and how does Vinnie unnie accept that…?”

Huh?

Is there something strange about that?

“Isn’t it obvious? Asking my greatest enemy, who knows me best, how I’ve changed.”

“Oh, no. Don’t you usually not ask your enemies…?”

Arin, who had more doubts, asked again.

Right, usually you don’t ask your enemies about your changes.

But, since Blanc and I were in a different kind of relationship, we knew each other too well to hide such things from each other.

“Well, Arin might not understand, but Blanc and I have a somewhat special relationship.”

“A special… relationship?”

“Yes. We’ve known each other for over a dozen years. We know things we don’t want to know. Like, for example, the underwear Vinnie wore in the Eden era…”

“Blanc! What are you telling Arin right now! Why are you telling her things like that!”

“Why, I was just trying to show how much I know.”

“Ugh, why…”

Ugh, this is really strange.

Why does Blanc keep saying embarrassing things about me lately.

Why do I have to be teased and live as a magical girl.

Even if she is the defeated enemy.

Ugh, whatever. I can only think of it as the fate of defeat.

But still, I can ask why she’s doing this.

“Anyway, we know each other better than Arin thinks. We can see through each other’s lies. Do you understand?”

“Um, yes. I think I have a rough idea. But, why aren’t the unnis surprised by this…?”

In response to Arin’s another question, the red-haired girl next to her immediately provided the reason.

“Yeah, there’s practically no secrets between those two. Do you know how many times Yoonseul unni replayed the battle footage when she came into the dorm? She kept replaying it in the living room even after waking up. What about Bine?”

“That’s right. After it was over, I analyzed it so much… Ugh. This darn magical girl keeps growing stronger day by day. I had to gather information by any means necessary, even if it meant disguising myself.”

“Ah… So does Bine unni feel the same way about Yoonseul unni…”

“Yes. Right now, she’s looking at me with eyes that seem like she’s about to cover me up in case I reveal my flaws to Arin.”

“…!”

“Well, even if I say it’s Bline’s flaw… Huh?! Ugh!”

“Hey, hey. Bine? Now that we’ve all eaten, should Arin talk about tomorrow’s training?”

“Ugh! Ugh!!”

“Hey, yes?”

Ugh… After revealing all my embarrassing points, she tried to pry out my flaws so forcefully.

It’s really annoying, but I had no choice but to nod my head to escape from Blang’s restraint.

After that, it was just a normal story of Arin’s training.

From when to when.

Before training, about the duel between Blang and me to show Arin.

And, Arin went into my room to study for the last time before the test, and I started washing dishes and cleaning up again.

And then, pretending not to know, I told Blang to go upstairs and sleep, but she still hadn’t forgotten those words.

“I want to hold your tail and sleep, Bine.”

“Do you think I would allow that? Touching is allowed to keep the promise we made earlier, but holding and sleeping is prohibited.”

“Ugh.”

Huh?

Is Blang sulking right now?