Chapter 37

After my younger sister left, I was left alone in the house, lying flat on the living room floor.

It’s clearly nothing serious, but for some reason, it feels like a storm has passed through, leaving me exhausted.

It’s not like my body is particularly sluggish, but I just want to sleep.

“Ah~……”

“The robot vacuum doesn’t know what to do!”

“…Sigh, guess I should get up…”

Ugh… Fine, I’ll sit on the sofa and crack open a beer.

…Huh, it doesn’t really taste good.

Seems like I’m really tired.

Well, I’ve already opened it, so I’ll finish it and maybe go to bed early today…

“…Oh, right. How’s the situation with the superhumans?”

“Huh? Umm~… No major issues so far! There are still people using their powers to commit crimes, but the mascots and magical girls are handling the arrests properly!”

“What about those so-called heroes?”

“There aren’t many in the country, but overseas, they’re actively taking down criminals!”

“What about those superhuman organizations, like hero groups?”

“As long as they don’t cause trouble, we’re leaving them alone!”

“Is that so… Then I guess there’s nothing for me to worry about.”

It doesn’t seem like I need to step in for the superhumans… I should go wash up.

There don’t seem to be any urgent dispatches, and since the sun’s setting, the chances of demons or monsters showing up here are low.

“Phew~…”

A cool shower feels great…

…Every time I shower, I habitually touch myself… but it still feels just as uncomfortable as it did from the start…

Sigh, I thought I’d get used to it over time, but nope, not at all.

Honestly, I’m curious, but this isn’t helping me satisfy that curiosity at all…

“……”

Well, whatever, becoming a beautiful girl is basically life on easy mode.

Plus, I’m rich, so it’s super easy mode.

Except for the whole fighting as a magical girl thing.

“Rampage-san~!”

“What now?”

“Rampage-san! Breaking news just came in!!”

“…What is it? Bad news?”

“Yes… umm… please take a look at this.”

“……Magical girls… turning into monsters…?”

“Yep! It hasn’t happened domestically yet, but some magical girls overseas have *voluntarily* turned into monsters!”

“What…?”

I… I should finish my shower and head straight to the Fairy Queen.

This has never happened before, so why is something as bizarre as monster transformation suddenly popping up?

More importantly, if it’s a *voluntary* transformation… does that mean I’ll have to kill them?

“Finish your shower and head straight to the Fairy Queen. Contact her immediately and prepare the [Gate].”

“Got it!”

I don’t know how strong these monster transformations are, nor how strong the magical girls who transformed were originally.

So, it’s clear that I’ll need to step in at some point.

Sigh, what the hell are these guys doing… Making more work for me.

“Everything’s ready!”

“Alright, let’s go.”

After finishing my shower and drying my hair, I transformed into a magical girl and stepped through the [Gate].

I’m still a bit tired, but since I showered with my eyes closed, I feel a little better than before.

I’m in good enough shape to fight immediately, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

“I’m here.”

“Oh, welcome~.”

“So, there are girls who’ve turned into monsters, huh?”

“…That’s correct.”

I’m not in the mood to take it slow, so as soon as I met the Fairy Queen, I got straight to the point.

I’m tired, so I don’t want to stay long.

But I do want to hear the details before I go to sleep.

“You seem really tired, so I’ll keep it brief.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“You’ve probably already heard, but some magical girls have voluntarily turned into monsters. Fortunately, they weren’t particularly strong magical girls, so the veteran magical girls handled it quickly… but there’s something a bit concerning.”

“What is it?”

“…It’s the medal you brought back.”

“The medal…? What about it?”

Why is the medal suddenly being brought up?

Is it connected to the monster transformations?

“When you broke the medal, something strange came out, right?”

“Yeah.”

“If someone accepts that without resisting… they’ll turn into a monster.”

“Wait, really…?”

“Yes. Normally, it’s weak enough to be destroyed just by emitting magical girl energy, so unless it’s intentional, it’s impossible to accept.”

“I see…”

So, magical girls turning into monsters… Well, if the veterans are handling it, it’s not a problem for now.

But why would they willingly turn into monsters? Why?

Wait… I’ve heard that overseas, competition is still rampant, and magical girls who fall behind are filled with inferiority.

Could it be…?

“Inferiority complex, huh…?”

“Pretty much, Rampage-san. According to the mascots of the transformed magical girls, most of them were lagging behind in the competition and were consumed by feelings of inferiority. Some did it out of curiosity, though.”

“Tch…”

This is a bigger deal than I thought.

As long as demons or monsters keep bringing these transformation medals, it’ll be hard to stop those consumed by inferiority from picking them up and transforming.

So, the only solution is to kill them as soon as they transform and engrave in their minds that transforming equals death?

Sigh… This is going to be such a hassle…

“Inferiority complexes aren’t easy to resolve. No matter how much you care for them, they’ll end up stuck in their own thoughts.”

“True. No matter how hard the mascots try, it won’t help.”

“So, for now… we’ll have to take a more forceful approach.”

“Like, ‘if you transform, you’ll die, so don’t do it’ kind of thing?”

“…Something like that. Until we find another solution, you’ll have to work hard, Rampage-san. Whether you subdue them or kill them… that’s up to your judgment.”

“Why does it feel like my workload keeps increasing…?”

“That’s the responsibility of being the number one magical girl.”

“I didn’t ask to be number one…”

I never cared about rankings in the first place!

It just happened to turn out this way, so why does everything keep getting dumped on me…?

…But if it means the others can live comfortably and without problems, then I guess it’s fine.

“Still, for now, the other magical girls are handling the extermination. Some of the more unstable transformed magical girls have been subdued and sent to the lab, so we should have results within a few months.”

“Really? …Well, I guess I don’t have much to do for now.”

“…Are you sure about that?”

“Huh?”

“There are quite a few magical girls who are jealous of you. One in particular… we’ve received intel that she’s searching for the medal.”

“……”

“When you face her, show no mercy. Magical girls transformed by the medal are mostly consumed by the demon’s personality within the medal, becoming monsters themselves.”

“…Got it.”

Every time something happens, I’m always busy…

And now someone’s jealous of me? That’s ridiculous.

What’s there to be jealous about?

Sigh… They’re probably just hung up on something trivial.

There are surprisingly a lot of people like that.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“Ah, before you leave…”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“I’ll lift the restrictions on your common magic.”

“…Huh?”

“I was planning to do it sooner, but… well, there might come a time when you’ll have to act alone without Meriol.”

“Wait… are you saying I’ll have to invade the Demon Realm?”

“…No comment for now.”

“Guess I’m right.”

“Tsk.”

So, that means I’ll be able to use recovery magic or open [Gates] on my own…

…Huh? Wait, sooner…? Does that mean… the reason you sentenced Meriol to death so quickly was… to use that as an excuse to lift my common magic restrictions?

“You seem to have realized something.”

“Of course. So, what’s the excuse this time for lifting the restrictions?”

“…Magical girls who transform into monsters have extremely high intelligence. If a powerful magical girl transforms… they’ll likely become a Grand Duke-class or higher. In that case, they’ll target the mascots who can provide support like recovery magic or [Gates] first. They’re easier to deal with.”

“I see… They take over the magical girl’s body and infuse it with their own power. So their intelligence would naturally be on par with humans.”

Then, from now on, I won’t have to rely on Chubby to open [Gates] for me. That’s not bad.

And if my skills reach the level of the Fairy Queen, I’ll be able to close large [Gates] and even open [Gates] to other worlds, right?

It makes sense why they restricted common magic in the first place.

So, calling it ‘common magic’ was just a way to hide the fact that it’s actually fairy magic…

“Come, this way.”

“Is there some special ceremony for lifting the restrictions?”

“Of course. To be precise, before lifting the restrictions, we must perform a ceremony to officially accept you as a true member of the fairy race. It’s the most important ceremony of all.”

“Wow…”

So there’s a ceremony like that…

Ah, are we going over there?

“Whoa, whoa…”

As I followed the Fairy Queen to lift the restrictions, we arrived at an incredibly beautiful, fantastical garden.

A large number of mascots were already gathered there, and Chubby quickly slipped away to the side.

Since I’m the main character, he probably sensed the atmosphere and decided to stay out of it.

“It’s pretty…”

“…Magical Girl, Magical Rampage.”

In the center of the garden, we arrived at a ceremonial structure adorned with many decorations and open on all sides. The Fairy Queen called out my magical girl name.

It seems the ceremony is about to begin.

“Your numerous achievements and unwavering goals have set an example not just for magical girls, but for fairies as well.”

…Wait, did they time this whole thing just for me to arrive at this moment?

No way they had this prepared in advance…

“…What are you looking at?”

“Ah, sorry.”

“Ahem… For 15 years, you’ve upheld your convictions without faltering, showing the best of what it means to be a magical girl. And even now, that remains unchanged. As a human, and as a warrior of the fairy realm, a magical girl… you’ve shown a more righteous side than anyone else. Therefore, through the council of the fairy realm, you have been granted the qualification to become a true member of the fairy race.”

The statue in the center with some kind of orb is glowing.

…Whoa, wait, why is it coming toward me?!

Ah, could it be…?

“Thus, as of today, Magical Rampage has become a true member of the fairy race. The restrictions on your magic have been lifted, and you are now qualified to wield the limitless magic of the fairies.”

“Whoa, whoa…”

“…Magical Rampage.”

“Ah, yes.”

“You are now a true member of the fairy race. Congratulations.”

Umm… Should I be happy here?

Well, I *am* happy, but I’m not sure how to react.

…I guess just smiling will do.

“How was it?”

“Ah… it was fine. A bit short, though.”

“We’ve received a lot of feedback that the ceremony was too long, so we shortened it significantly. While the ceremony is ongoing, many things are put on hold.”

“Really?”

No wonder it felt oddly short for such an important ceremony…

But is it okay to cut it down so much?

And the dialogue felt a bit sloppy… Are you not good at improvising lines?

“……Hehe…”

“What’s so funny?”

“From today, Rampage-san, you’re a fairy magical girl. Congratulations on earning the qualification to become the Fairy Queen.”

“…Huh?”

“Surprised?”

“W-wait…? Qualification to become the… Fairy Queen…?”

“You heard correctly.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yes, seriously. I don’t lie.”

Uh… umm… A fairy magical girl is a magical girl who has become a true member of the fairy race, right?

And the condition to become the Fairy Queen is to become a fairy magical girl.

So that means… the Fairy Queen was… once a magical girl too?!