Chapter 48

A moderately peaceful day, hanging out with Pretty Heart at the training ground since morning.

It’s not about skill development or feedback, just simple martial arts training.

Hand-to-hand combat and spear techniques… but her athleticism is quite good, and she has a decent sense, so she’s growing pretty fast.

“Alright, break time!”

“Phew~…”

But maybe I pushed her too hard, as Pretty Heart plopped down right after finishing.

Still, she asked for it, so it’s not my fault.

“Older Sister, why are you so strong…?”

“I train every morning. Mostly martial arts.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

By the way, can you not hug me with those trembling hands?

No matter what, I don’t have a hobby of being hugged by kids.

“I want to go on a date after training.”

“…Suddenly?”

“You help other magical girls with their training too! So I want something special with just you!”

“Ah, I see…”

This kid… wants to make sure she has something special with me, huh?

What exactly does she think of me…?

Well, since she’s my favorite junior, I can go on a date with her.

“Before that, you have to train hard. Right?”

“…Yes!”

Alright, let’s start training again.

I can observe various movements and habits while training the juniors, so it’s quite helpful.

Though they’re still inexperienced, so it’s not a huge help yet.

“…Ah, right.”

“Yes?”

“Try infusing your Energy Blade with the power of 「Purification of Annihilation」.”

“「Purification of Annihilation」…?”

Energy Blades are surprisingly versatile for enhancements, as long as the ability isn’t limited to physical objects.

So if Pretty Heart channels her power, it should get a significant boost.

Still, Energy Blades are just supplementary attack methods; the main focus is wide-range and compressed attacks using purification power.

Unless you can directly interfere with energy like I can, it’s hard to use this as a main weapon.

Channeling power and amplifying it through interference are different things.

So the most noticeable improvement would be the activation speed.

You treat the Energy Blade itself as ambient magical energy.

It’s very stable, so it’s easy to handle.

Plus, you can slash or stab with it.

“Eat!”

“Hmm, nice.”

“Ah, it’s stronger than before!”

“Always fight like that from now on. Using your abilities through the Energy Blade will make them faster.”

“Yes~!”

“Then let’s train while using your abilities, so try applying it right away.”

Oh, she’s firing [Quartus Ray] right away.

It’s definitely much stronger than before, and the speed from preparation to firing is incredibly fast.

The Energy Blade, infused with power, must be in a very stable state, directly affecting the power.

With improved control, she can compress it even more.

But… is that all her techniques?

Thinking about it, her existing beam attacks are just inferior versions of [Quartus Ray], and the technique she’s using now is an enhanced version of [Shining Rain]…

Ah, could it be… it’s just the power that’s increasing?

Not increasing the variety, but just focusing the purification power on destructive force…

Well, her First Ability is recovery-focused, so for purification power, its destructive force was quite low.

So now that her Second Ability has bloomed, is she specializing in attack and recovery separately?

“Haah, haah…”

“……”

When tired, focus on recovery with the First Ability… then fire attack techniques with the Second Ability.

It seems handling both simultaneously is still difficult.

This is something she’ll just have to improve through continuous practice.

“Instead of using the First and Second Abilities separately, try handling them simultaneously. Purification barriers, recovery, and attacks… if you can handle all at once, you’ll have a big advantage in battle.”

“Simultaneously… simultaneously…”

“But don’t overthink it. Just maintain focus minimally, and pay most attention to the opponent’s actions and your own attacks.”

“Yes~.”

Pretty Heart will probably master it in a few days.

There aren’t many kids with this much talent worldwide.

So I kind of want her to be a magical girl forever… but that’s not my decision.

I wish we had more forces for the demon realm invasion, but it’s not easy…

“Pretty Heart, do you want to be a magical girl forever?”

“Huh? Hmm~… I’m not sure. I like being a magical girl now, but I don’t know how I’ll feel when I grow up.”

“I see.”

“But… if I can stay with you, I definitely want to!”

“……Alright.”

Why does she cling to me so much…?

Well, I guess it’s possible.

But at the same time, I think it might be better to go on the attack alone.

The demon realm is still an unknown place, and I don’t know what might happen if I take her there.

Sigh~… I really don’t know what to do…

“Alright, training ends here today!”

“Ugh~…”

“Tired?”

“Yes~…”

“Then let’s rest a bit before going.”

“Date!”

“…Got it, so rest properly.”

Well, since we’re lying down, should I give her a lap pillow?

…She’s probably going to make some crazy expression.

“Rampage~!”

“What?”

“Can you see the Fairy Queen for a moment?”

“Possible… but why?”

“She wants to talk about something related to monsterization!”

“Got it. Pretty Heart, rest there for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes~.”

Monsterization-related… I wonder what it’s about.

I should hurry.

“Hello~.”

“What’s up?”

“It’s not urgent enough to get straight to the point~.”

“Really?”

When I went to where the Fairy Queen was, she was in full lazy queen mode…

Don’t wear such shabby clothes.

“First~ let’s eat this prototype ice cream while we talk~.”

“Sure.”

Oh, this is pretty good too.

It’s chocolate-based ice cream, so I automatically like it.

“So? Why did you call me?”

“…Did you know that the power of magical girls and demons have many similarities?”

“Yeah, roughly.”

“A Special Crystal Stone inspired by that has just been made. Long story short, it can completely revert a magical girl who has just started monsterizing.”

“That’s possible?!”

“Possible. Of course, if it’s progressed too far, it’s impossible… but within 2 hours, it can be done.”

“…Then, what about Diamond Dust, whom I brought before?”

“Unfortunately, by the time it was completed, it was already irreversible.”

“…I see.”

So Diamond Dust is already too late…

Then all we can do is hope the medication succeeds in removing the monster personality.

“This Special Crystal Stone… I’ll give you plenty, so if you find a magical girl who’s monsterizing or has just started, treat her immediately.”

“Got it. You’re distributing it to others too, right?”

“I’ve already given it to many magical girls. It’s better to have skilled fighters spread worldwide to subdue monsterized magical girls.”

This is really good stuff.

But since there’s no mention of ordinary people or superhumans, does that mean they can’t be reverted no matter what?

Then we’ll just have to exterminate them.

No point dwelling on what can’t be helped.

“Is that all?”

“Yes~ that’s it~. I said it’d be quick~.”

“Then I’m heading back. Ah, can I give this ice cream to Pretty Heart too?”

“That’s fine~.”

Then I’ll take two.

It’s a bit too much to give her right away, but it’ll be good as dessert after dinner.

“Did you rest properly?”

“Yes! Let’s go on a date right away!”

“…Let’s go.”

“Yes~.”

How much did she want to go on a date with me to be this pushy?

No matter how many times I say it, I don’t think I’m that attractive.

…Well, she must have her reasons.

It’s not cool to ask.

“Hehehe~.”

“That happy?”

“Super happy!”

Anyway, Pretty Heart and I went back home for a bit before heading out on our date.

Pretty Heart especially dressed up.

Not overly done, but you can tell she put a lot of care into it.

Because she looks a bit different from usual.

“These days, even street vendors sell proper breaded shrimp tempura.”

“Shrimp tempura? Let’s eat while walking!”

“Shall we?”

Usually, street vendors just dip tempura in batter, but this one uses breadcrumbs, which is a first.

Still, it’s a street vendor, so I don’t expect high quality.

As long as it’s not bad, it’s fine.

“Do you go to karaoke, Older Sister?”

“Karaoke? No. I’m tone-deaf, so I hate singing.”

“Ah…”

“…Should I just listen?”

“…! Then listen to me sing!”

This… is definitely karaoke.

No, she looked so disappointed, I couldn’t help it…

“♪~…”

“Oh…”

So we ended up at karaoke… but she’s surprisingly good.

She’s really enjoying herself.

I’ll just… give appropriate reactions when she finishes.

“Phew~… Singing so much made me hungry.”

“Then let’s go eat.”

“What will you have, Older Sister?”

“Hmm… anything with meat and tasty is good, but let’s check out some good places around first.”

“Then how about pizza? I found a nice pizza place on the way here!”

“Pizza? …Sure, let’s go.”

Usually, pizza isn’t a typical date food…?

Well, I guess she’s not into superficial stuff.

Pretty Heart is a middle schooler after all, so being honest about her appetite is normal.

“Here it is!”

“First time seeing this pizza place.”

“Small franchise pizza places are the best! Big franchises are all low quality and expensive, and local pizza places are too hit or miss!”

Ah~ now that I think about it, I’ve heard that before.

They charge ridiculous prices and survive by constantly giving out discount coupons, right?

Chicken places have lost their pricing conscience too, but at least their quality hasn’t dropped… pizza places are even worse.

“Wow… so much cheese.”

“Places with this much cheese and still have a proper tomato sauce flavor are rare, this is a jackpot!”

“Definitely… I’ve never had pizza this good in my life.”

But seeing her this excited and eating dakgalbi, it seems her family lets her have delivery food despite raising her as a lady.

Not as strict a household as I thought?

Took me this long to realize, my people-watching skills are still lacking.

“After we finish this, let’s have ice cream for dessert. I got a prototype from the Fairy Queen.”

“Really?!”

“I tried it, and it’s really good. It’s chocolate flavor.”

“Wow~…”

Her reaction to chocolate is so cute.

That aside, the pizza is big and has a lot of cheese, so after just two slices, I’m full…

“Ah, by the way, Older Sister.”

“What?”

“Can we go on a date after training next time too?”

“…I don’t mind, but not every time, okay?”

“Yay~!”

Sigh, what can I do…?

I’ll do my best for my cute junior.