Chapter 23: A Day Off and a Dangerous Secret

Aoyama Ren had taken sick leave.

I was currently observing Hayato’s class during their physical education lesson.

‘Me?’ I mused. ‘Of course, it’s me.’

The best friend of Watanabe Hayato, the campus’s supreme ‘normie’.

However, due to my hair inexplicably growing longer, I had concealed the truth from my teacher.

Normally, a teacher would call my parents for confirmation.

Yet, it was Watanabe who had helped me request leave.

As the top student in our grade and a pupil trusted by our teachers, Hayato’s good news had arrived on my phone.

At present, my hair cascaded to my shoulder blades, adorned with a natural curl.

If I could, I would find a barber shop right away and have a stylist cut it.

However, it was too early for school, and most shops remained closed.

I resolved to check the mall later at noon.

That morning, while Aunt Chinatsu and Uncle Watanabe were still asleep, I had prepared my bento at breakneck speed and eaten my own breakfast.

I had sternly warned Hayato to keep my secret.

This included Aunt Chinatsu.

Although I felt no physical discomfort, such a bizarre transformation happening to a child would undoubtedly cause immense worry.

I hid in my room, waiting for Uncle Watanabe, the last to leave, to depart the house before transforming in my bedroom.

My Magical Girl form was far more convenient for travel than taking the train.

Upon reaching the school, I scaled the wall and reverted from my transformation.

Being spotted as a Magical Girl would likely attract far too much attention.

Aoyama Ren, after all, was merely a second-year student at Shinonome High School.

Just in case, I had still changed into my school uniform before leaving.

Before the full-length mirror, I scrutinized my appearance for the day.

If only my clothes were a girl’s uniform, perhaps no one would notice anything amiss.

The only option available at home was Aunt Chinatsu’s school uniform from over a decade ago.

I had once seen a photo of my mother and Aunt Chinatsu during their student days.

The sailor uniform style from that school, it was said, hadn’t changed even now.

“…”

Gazes fixed on the long-haired girl in the mirror, in a sense, I possessed quite a talent for this.

As long as I remained silent and swapped out my glasses, I was absolutely confident I wouldn’t be exposed.

If I were to take a selfie in the mirror, post it on SNS, and add the caption ‘male,’ it would surely go viral.

This was the intuition of an otaku.

However, I would never do such a thing.

Not having to attend school and not actually being sick presented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay home.

Moreover, this was the very first time in my life I had told such a lie.

The old me would have undoubtedly chosen to lounge at home all day.

Playing games, watching anime.

If hunger struck, the refrigerator and pantry were stocked with plenty of snacks.

Everyone else was busily attending school or working, while I had nothing to do.

Such a life was utterly enchanting.

Yet, this deliberate choice to skip class also stirred a slight sense of guilt within me.

After all, a student’s duty was to attend school; in society, everyone had their own role.

At sixteen, I naturally held the identity of a student.

But unlike other boys, I also played the role of a Magical Girl.

It sounded strange, but it was an undeniable fact.

All in all, I was once again striving to protect Hayato today.

Stare—

Standing beneath the shade of the trees, I secretly observed the activity on the sports field.

Class 2-1 was running, while several other classes were engaged in warm-up exercises.

This very spot was a small area that had been damaged by a ‘monster’ or ‘strange person,’ often a villain in superhero the morning before.

In this corner, it was unlikely anyone would notice me.

At the very front of the line were Shiraishi-san and Hayato, both campus celebrities.

The weather today wasn’t particularly hot, yet exercising under the clear blue sky was not something I excelled at.

Without my transformation, I would merely be a panting straggler at the very end of the line.

Little Black Cat Lingling sat beside me, meticulously grooming its fur with its hind paws.

With such natural movements, likely no one would ever suspect it was actually a fairy.

Lingling had explained that fairies had diversified due to coming into contact with too many life forms.

They could transform into all sorts of animals, but kittens were best suited for living in human-populated environments.

Hence, Lingling had chosen to manifest as a little black cat.

‘Could it be that Lingling also possesses a human form?’

As I spoke, my gaze remained fixed on the distant field.

The distance was too great; I couldn’t discern anything clearly.

Even with my glasses on, it was still impossible.

I wondered why, after transforming, my physical abilities were enhanced, yet my eyesight only returned to normal levels.

Now, I could only vaguely make out Hayato when he ran to the closest point in a straight line from me.

Observing Hayato’s life from such a vantage point felt like a first.

Since no one would discover me at this moment, I didn’t need to avoid anyone.

‘Do I perhaps enjoy hiding in the shadows, peeping at Hayato?’

I resolved to correct such an unhealthy habit next time.

This one time, however, I had a legitimate reason; it was something I had to do.

For some unknown reason, the ‘monster’ or ‘strange person,’ often a villain in superhero fiction had developed a vague impression of “Watanabe Hayato” and was now searching for his whereabouts.

They likely aimed to use this to unearth the Magical Girl’s identity.

Their subsequent intentions, however, remained unknown.

What was certain was that it wouldn’t be anything good.

“Yes, I do.”

A childlike voice answered my question.

I lowered my head, looking at the little black cat standing on the dirt.

Its round head turned, meeting my gaze.

“Then why don’t you use it?”

I was curious to see what Lingling would look like as a human.

“Because it’s very inconvenient to move around,”

the little black cat said.

“Walking on the street, I might suddenly be stopped by the police, asking why I’m not in school.”

“I also can’t go out at night, or I’ll encounter many strange humans trying to talk to me.”

Ah, upon closer thought, that was indeed true.

No one would feel surprised to see a kitten anywhere, at any time.

But if it were a human, people would wonder about their identity and what they were doing.

If it were a child alone, some might even harbor ill intentions.

That would be far too dangerous.

So far, I hadn’t seen Lingling exhibit any combat abilities.

In that case, it would have to rely on its contracted Magical Girl for protection.

“Next time, could you transform and show me?”

I meant its human form.

“If it’s you, Aoyama-kun, then there’s no problem,”

it said.

Why would Lingling add, “If it’s you, Aoyama-kun?”

Could it be that if Lingling’s human form were seen by certain people, something bad would happen?

Since Lingling had already agreed, I would look forward to seeing it when the opportunity arose.

A sense of anticipation stirred within me.

However, my primary mission right now was to find clues and dismantle the monster plan.

Every organization would have a leader.

If I could locate and eliminate the monster responsible for this plan, it would likely prevent the impression of Hayato from spreading further within their group.

So far, I had no leads.

But since their target was Hayato, I simply needed to protect him every step of the way.

With no anomalies around, I pulled out my phone from my pocket.

[Aoyama-kun, are you sick?]

It was a message from Shiraishi-san, sent before the first Japanese literature class that morning.

Hayato must have told her.

Unsure how to explain to Shiraishi-san, I simply replied vaguely that ‘something had come up.’

I looked into the distance; Class 2-1 had already begun their free activity time.

The PE teacher walked towards the sports equipment storage room next door.

The boys gathered around Hayato, discussing something.

The girls, meanwhile, immediately sought refuge under the trees, seemingly afraid of getting tanned.

Little Black Cat Lingling left my hiding spot and darted towards the cool, shaded area where the girls were active.

Shiraishi-san, dressed in her gym uniform, was chatting with her female classmates.

After a moment, as if remembering something, she waved goodbye to a few girls and ran off the field.

Judging by her direction, Shiraishi-san was likely heading to the classroom to retrieve something.

The PE teacher returned to the field, pushing a cart filled with various balls.

The theme of this class seemed to be three-point shots, and the PE teacher asked Hayato to demonstrate.

Upon hearing this, the boys immediately erupted into a clamor.

I naturally understood the reason.

Yesterday, that guy had sunk an ultra-long three-pointer at the last second of the basketball club’s practice match, winning the game.

He was so cool it made me jealous.

Now, Hayato received the basketball the teacher tossed him, standing beyond the three-point line.

I watched Hayato, who, after bouncing the ball a few times, assumed a standard shooting posture.

Unfortunately, that shot yesterday must have exhausted Hayato’s luck.

With a ‘thump,’ the basketball hit the rim, failing to drop into the net.

“Go, Watanabe-kun—”

The girls on the other side cheered loudly.

‘Hey!’

‘Even without a score, there’s still encouragement!’

Peeking out, I gripped the tree bark with both hands.

It was quite cool here, with an occasional breeze sweeping through.

Compared to the fiery passion of youth, this was where I truly belonged.

“Aoyama-kun.”

Suddenly, I heard Shiraishi-san’s voice; turning around, I saw her holding a bag.

And the little black cat that had just left.

So it had gone to tip off Shiraishi-san.

Speaking with Shiraishi-san in such a secluded spot felt incredibly awkward.

For a moment, I was at a loss for what to say to her.

“Your hair…”

Shiraishi-san’s gaze fell upon me.

“It looks awful, doesn’t it? It just turned out like this when I woke up.”

I explained, feeling a touch of embarrassment.

As a boy, this appearance was indeed utterly inappropriate.

At noon, I absolutely had to go to a barber shop, or I wouldn’t be able to attend school tomorrow.

Taking two days off during the first week of school would make it even harder to integrate into the class.

Missing the prime time for making friends at the start of the semester would only make things more difficult later.

In my first year of high school, I had still managed to find one or two classmates I could talk to.

Now in my second year, I had to do even better than I did in my first.

On the first day, my relationship with Shiraishi-san had deepened through the catalyst of the Magical Girl.

Yesterday, I had even exchanged contact information with Hasegawa Yui.

My ‘normie’ plan was progressing remarkably smoothly.

I didn’t want to leave Hayato, but human connection was the very proof of one’s existence.

Just as, living in this world, I would never forget my departed mother.

“You look very, very cute, Aoyama-kun!”

Shiraishi-san exclaimed with excitement.

Her words startled me; did she truly believe that?

At the very least, I could tell Shiraishi-san was genuinely happy right now.

“I-is that so?”

I took a step back.

Shiraishi-san’s sense of personal space with me was also a bit peculiar.

She had been similarly insistent on the first day in the manga club.

Was this kind of overly friendly trait a prerequisite for being a normie?

But my goodwill towards Shiraishi-san was so high that I simply couldn’t bring myself to dislike her.

“That’s an objective assessment.”

Shiraishi-san extended a finger.

Utterly girlish.

Truly befitting Magical Girl Sakura Tsui.

However, there was a clear distinction between boys and girls.

To avoid touching Shiraishi-san, I continuously retreated until my back pressed against the tree trunk.

“So, Aoyama-kun,” Shiraishi-san began, “after Lingling told me about your situation, something suddenly occurred to me!”

From her bag, Shiraishi-san produced a girl’s school uniform.

I had never seen this style before; it wasn’t Shinonome High’s, nor did it resemble any nearby high school’s uniform.

A bad premonition settled over me.

“This outfit was kept in the manga club as a reference costume.”

“It’s super cute, right? Kobayashi bought it, but realized the size wasn’t right and originally planned to return it.”

“However, after seeing the photos Kobayashi sent, I thought it would suit you perfectly, so I bought it.”

“Since it’s for manga reference, Aoyama-kun, you’ll definitely be able to wear this outfit!”

Leaving aside why Shiraishi-san was so absolutely certain I could wear this school uniform.

The more pressing question was, why on earth would I wear it?!

My bewilderment must have conveyed itself to Shiraishi-san.

She adopted a thoughtful pose, but after a moment, her eyes lit up, and she said to me:

“Because, this is a test of Watanabe-kun and Aoyama-kun’s friendship.”

‘…?’

Before I could even react, Shiraishi-san reached out and plucked my glasses from my face.

‘Hey, hey!’

‘Shiraishi-san!’

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