Chapter 14: Encounter at the venue

Ephnel put on the baseball cap she had prepared, skillfully navigated around the crowd, and headed for the staff entrance.

Not far off, she saw a familiar figure.

—Yonomikenami.

A crimson high-waisted skirt, a lantern-sleeve top, her chestnut-brown hair loosely tied up, and lips under her sunglasses that were just the right shade of red.

Just by standing there, she attracted a lot of attention from those nearby, looking sweet and eye-catching.

This kind of attire reminded Ephnel of her own brief time in university.

Although this was just a disguise Yonomikenami used to conceal her identity, it was a far cry from her usual uniformed appearance.

Someone unfamiliar with her wouldn’t even recognize her as the same person.

But it had to be said, just looking at her, Yonomikenami’s appearance was very deceptive.

In fact, Yonomikenami had been transferred from the special operations unit.

She was an active special forces member who couldn’t be underestimated.

Her style of action and the impression her appearance gave were two opposite extremes.

To some extent, she was indeed a person with a rather “nasty” personality.

In short, Yonomikenami was definitely not “sweet.”

At that moment, Yonomikenami also spotted Ephnel.

Waving her hand, she smiled at her and then trotted over.

“You’re finally here. You’re late, you know, late.”

“Yeah… there was traffic on the way…”

Ephnel replied noncommittally.

In fact, there was still plenty of time.

It was just that, as Ephnel in disguise, arriving here early had become a habit.

By comparison, today, she was a little late because she was preoccupied with Yukina.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter… Anyway, let’s go! We can talk on the way.”

She said, naturally linking her arm with Ephnel’s, drawing quite a few envious or admiring glances from the surroundings.

“Hey…”

Ephnel tried to pull her hand away but failed, so she had to obediently lower the brim of her cap.

“I went through all that trouble to erase my presence, and you ruined it all in one go… You know I don’t want to attract attention…”

“What does it matter? You’re dressed like this, no one will recognize you.”

“That may be so, but it’s always better to be careful.”

Ephnel glanced around.

At an event where “Magical Girl Ephnel” would appear, if it were her sister Yukina, she would definitely be very interested and probably would have arrived at the venue long ago.

Probably…?

Although she really wanted to say with certainty, “Yukina will definitely be here,” the thought that Yukina might be out on a date with someone else today suddenly made her lose confidence.

Between the “Ephnel” she portrayed and that boy she had never met… what choice would Yukina make?

A sour taste spread across her tongue…

For some reason, for the first time, Ephnel genuinely hoped that her sister would come to her performance.

“…Something on your mind?”

“Huh?”

Ephnel looked up and met Yonomikenami’s suspicious gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“You seem distracted… Did you go and make your sister angry again?”

“It’s nothing…”

Ephnel didn’t elaborate.

Yonomikenami pouted but didn’t press the matter further.

“It must be tough, being an older brother.”

“Don’t say things that could be misunderstood. More importantly, it’s getting late, isn’t it? Do we really have time to chat here?”

Yonomikenami looked at Ephnel’s unnaturally averted gaze and smirked, not taking it seriously at all.

Instead, she smiled mysteriously.

“Oh, right. There’s a surprise for you today.”

“I’m not looking forward to it.”

“What’s with that? I’m being serious with you!”

“Fine… go on?”

“Hmph.”

Yonomikenami raised a finger in a prim manner.

“I told you before, the head of the fan club has changed, right? You know, this new person is a really, really cute and reliable junior. I heard she admires you a lot and has always looked up to you as her life’s goal.”

There were occasionally people like that in the fan club, people who actively supported her on SNS.

This kind of talk reminded Ephnel of Fuurin Shion.

‘If wishes could come true, Ephnel would probably wish for Fuurin Shion to get well soon.’

“Yeah… you’ve told me about this before. I remember. So?”

Ephnel couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for what Yonomikenami was saying.

To be honest, Yonomikenami had always handled the fan club’s affairs.

Ephnel usually just had to show up and make an appearance.

So, it was hard for her to be too invested in it.

After all, Ephnel’s main job wasn’t this.

“You’re so perfunctory.”

Yonomikenami grinned, not minding Ephnel’s attitude.

She continued:

“More importantly, she’s very pretty. I think she’s your type. What do you think, a little more interested now?”

“Is this the ‘important matter’ you were talking about?”

“It’s your own fan club… I’ve worked hard to manage it for you, so how is it not an important matter?”

“…”

Ephnel sighed.

“Anyway, I don’t know the first thing about this stuff. Even if you tell me, I won’t really get it. So, I’ll leave it all to you. Just let me know whenever you need me to show up.”

“Oh? Really?”

Yonomikenami smiled ambiguously.

“I’m telling you now, because there’s still handover work to be done, we have a meeting scheduled with the new person in charge today. If you don’t prepare anything, you’ll definitely regret it.”

“Alright, alright, can you just lead the way already…”

Yonomikenami smiled slyly and said no more, linking her arm with Ephnel’s and leading her away.

At the same time, in the crowd not far away…

Shiomi Yukina stared blankly at Yonomikenami and Ephnel leaving the crowd—

“Onii-chan…?”

She was a little stunned.

Three minutes earlier.

The venue had a designated area for the fan club’s temporary use.

Shiomi Yukina had been waiting here for a while.

“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll leave things here to you for now, Senpai!”

“Oh! No problem, you can count on me, little Yukina!”

Yukina smiled at the girl in the fan club uniform in front of her and walked away.

She skirted the noisy crowd, walking slowly.

She wasn’t actually going to the restroom.

There were just too many people, and it was too noisy.

Unaccustomed to it, she just wanted to get some fresh air.

The event hadn’t started yet, so she didn’t have much to do.

For Shiomi Yukina, today was a particularly special day because she was here as the new head of the fan club.

Although it was probably just “temporary,” this opportunity was invaluable to Yukina.

The fan club had grown from an obscure online hobby group into a semi-official fan organization.

Because of this, they would occasionally have contact with the manager, Yonomikenami, and even Magical Girl Ephnel herself.

Yukina was undoubtedly lucky.

Just three days after taking over, she received an invitation from the idol’s manager, Yonomikenami.

It wasn’t anything critically important or exclusive.

For the head of a fan club, it was a very ordinary and common activity.

But for Yukina, finally getting the chance to interact with her idol, Ephnel, was an opportunity she had always dreamed of.

In short, she was in a very good mood today.

Probably?

She should have been in a very good mood… but for some reason, Yukina didn’t feel that happy.

Her wish was so close to being fulfilled, but instead of a swelling sense of satisfaction, a feeling of loss and loneliness filled her chest first.

It was as if she had forgotten something important.

This feeling… Yukina was very familiar with it.

It was the same feeling she had when she stood on the awards stage, searching for her brother’s figure.

It should have been a happy moment, but because this joy was incomplete, it was flawed.

Precisely because she was happy, the crack in her heart was magnified.

Surrounded by a noisy crowd, Yukina strolled slowly and aimlessly, looking at the huge stadium.

In the distance, staff from the two major city management agencies, the Order Organization and the Special Disaster Section, had already arrived.

‘So many people… but only a few, like me, came here alone.’

Because it was a time to be happy and laugh freely, people always liked to share it with someone else.

But Yukina could only savor her joy by herself.

Yukina sighed.

She thought of her brother again…

Although she wasn’t angry with him, there was undoubtedly a huge distance between them.

At first, Yukina would try to invite her brother to come to the events with her, but she gradually discovered that her brother was one of the rare guys who wasn’t interested in “Ephnel.”

No matter how Yukina tried to bring it up, he remained unmoved.

So, Yukina hadn’t had a chance to mention this event and, of course, hadn’t invited her brother.

Even if she had, her brother would never have accompanied her to a “Magical Girl Ephnel” performance.

More than a year had passed quickly.

Yukina had more or less gotten used to not having her brother around.

Whenever she needed her brother’s company, he was always absent.

Whether it was a parent-teacher conference, an “Erosion” attack, or a terrifyingly quiet, lonely room.

Of course, she felt resentment.

Because she had expected too much, because she had always been treated that way, it was only natural to feel let down when her wishes didn’t come true.

If she had to blame someone, it would be herself for being too dependent on her brother.

In the end, it was her own immaturity.

But she still felt unwilling to accept it.

‘Because I’m his little sister, I should be a little “special,” right? Because I put my brother in a “special” place, because I was called “special” by my brother, I also hoped to be treated “specially” by him…’

But after indulging in her own fantasy, she found that reality was far from her wishes.

In the end, she was the one being overly sentimental.

So, of course, she felt disappointed.

That empty feeling… like falling snowflakes, slowly piling up and then turning to ice.

The resentment was always there, but it wasn’t enough to make her hate him.

She could never hate her brother.

It was just… there were many things she couldn’t bring herself to say.

“If only we could spend a little more time together…”

Yukina’s gaze wandered.

She told herself this every time, and she did take steps to make it happen, but without exception, her brother seemed to be intentionally avoiding her, firmly blocking the little courage she had in her throat.

After dropping out of university and coming home, her brother became even more of a stranger.

The distance between them became even more insurmountable.

She had tried many things, but things always went against her expectations.

And this was the result.

Day after day, the tedious and mundane routine, without her brother’s company—Yukina had pretty much gotten used to it.

Just then, a familiar figure passed by the crowd.

Although it was just a casual glance, it caught Shiomi Yukina’s attention.

Her brother, Yanase Naoto.

He was dressed as casually as ever, but with the addition of a black baseball cap.

He seemed to be deep in thought, frowning and looking around.

Shiomi Yukina subconsciously took a step back, hiding in the crowd.

Yanase Naoto didn’t notice her.

Like a thief, Shiomi Yukina carefully peeked out.

By now, a beautifully dressed girl had joined her brother’s side.

Yukina’s heart tightened for no reason.

“Onii…”

She opened her mouth to call out to them, but just as the word was about to leave her lips, she suddenly realized how out of place and superfluous she was at that moment.

She didn’t even know how to begin.

The words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.

Her brother, who wouldn’t come to the event no matter how many times she invited him, was actually here?

Was it because of that girl?

Who was she?

His girlfriend?

A number of guesses popped into her head at once.

The two of them said something, and then the girl took the initiative to link her arm with her brother’s, pulling him away.

Using the crowd as cover, Yukina quietly watched them leave.

‘Sure enough, it was wise not to suddenly jump out and announce my presence. This isn’t the right time for me to be here.’

‘That older sister… she’s really pretty. And she looks vaguely familiar.’

‘She’s probably his girlfriend… Their intimate actions leave no room for misunderstanding.’

‘My brother is undoubtedly an outstanding person. It’s not surprising that he has a girlfriend. But it’s for that very reason… that this predictable sense of loneliness has come.’

After confirming it with her own eyes, the reality pressed down on Yukina’s heart like a block of ice.

Without thinking, she subconsciously followed them, but the path ahead was a staff-only entrance.

Yukina didn’t have a pass, so naturally, she lost them.

Yukina stopped, only then realizing how far she had walked.

“Admission time is approaching. Please have your tickets ready…”

The crowd suddenly began to stir.

Yukina knew it was almost time to enter.