Chapter 96

“The floor… it’s warm…”

After a walk that ended with hundreds of hairs lost in an instant, somehow Gravity managed to contact her parents and get permission. Now, she’s sprawled out on the living room floor, wriggling around.

The floor, warmed by the boiler, seems to be to her liking. The cozy warmth is making her sleepy, which is understandable.

“…What’s with this kid?”

“Ah, you’re back. This is Magical Gravity. She came to visit.”

“Hmph, carefree brat.”

Just then, Hatred returned and started spouting nonsense again. But then she sat next to Gravity and started patting her head. That kid, always talking tough, but she’s actually really good with the younger ones. If a kid asks to be held, she’ll frown but still pick them up and play with them… Seeing her lips twitch into a slight smile is hilarious.

“Nom nom… Huh? Everyone’s back.”

“…Snacks.”

“Huh? Why are you here?”

“She came to visit again. Anyway, give her some snacks too.”

“Ah, okay… Gravity, unnie. What would you like?”

“…This.”

By the way, Gravity, that kid, eats so much but doesn’t spill a single crumb on the rabbit doll she’s holding. …Could it be that unconsciously, her power is preventing the crumbs from falling? Nah, no way… She’s not fully fused like me or Hatred, and she’s not even transformed… Wait, what? She’s still transformed?!

Thinking about it, back then too, that was her transformed form, right?!

“…Hey, Gravity. Are you still transformed?”

“…? Yeah. It’s… comfortable…”

“Is that so…”

So, she’s been living most of her life in her transformed state? This kid’s gone off the deep end in a different way.

“Then when are you not transformed?”

“…Don’t undo it. Perception distortion… yeah, removed.”

“You, you…”

“But… this is more… comfortable…”

“…Well, as long as it doesn’t inconvenience your daily life.”

“…Yeah.”

……Huh? Now that I think about it, since when has she been living 24/7 transformed? No way… she’s been like that since her first transformation, right?

“By the way, since when have you been like this?”

“…From the beginning.”

“…Really?”

I thought it was impossible, but it seems that’s the case. Now I kinda get why Gravity’s growth is stunted. She’s been in that transformed state all this time, so her body hasn’t grown, just her age. And she doesn’t seem to care about her height or anything… So she hasn’t even gone to the Fairy Realm for a check-up. But this is still just speculation. I’ll have to ask Chubby.

“Chubby.”

“Yes!”

“If a kid stays transformed for years, does that happen?”

“Huh? Hmm… There’s no precedent for that, so I can’t say for sure, but when transformed, growth does stop! If you maintain that for a long time… your original body would inevitably be affected! But we’d need a proper examination to know for sure!”

“I see… Then should we take Gravity for a check-up? Amelia. Want to get checked?”

“Ugh… Lazy…”

“…You’ll find out why you’re stunted. Let’s go quickly. I’ll buy you tonkatsu if you get checked.”

“…Tonkatsu?”

“It’s like a cutlet.”

“…I’ll go.”

As expected, she’s easily swayed by food. Gluttons are so easy to handle, it’s convenient. Though anyone who’s not well-off would go broke.

Anyway, I lured Gravity with tonkatsu and took her to the Fairy Realm. We immediately put her in a capsule and started the examination. It was a test to see how much staying transformed for a long time affects the original body. The research mascots’ eyes lit up, so it seems this is an unprecedented case that’s piqued their curiosity. In this state, they’ll probably thoroughly examine her and give us the results without me even needing to ask.

“The results are in.”

“Yeah? What’s the verdict?”

“It seems that because her transformation time is tens, if not hundreds, of times longer than her actual experience, her body’s form has been fixed while only her age has increased. Normally, transformation time is less than an hour a day, so side effects like this have never been reported before.”

“So, her growth has stopped?”

“For now, yes. Fortunately, fusion with the Crystal Stone hasn’t occurred, so she can still live as a human. However, as a side effect, the concept of lifespan has disappeared.”

“…Huh? Lifespan? Why?”

“Staying transformed for too long has affected her genes in various ways. While she can’t use magic in her untransformed state, she won’t die of old age, so that’s something to celebrate.”

“Hoh… What about diseases or illnesses?”

“She can still get sick normally, but since she’ll stay transformed, or even if she lives untransformed, just transforming briefly will heal her, so there’s no need to worry.”

“So, if all magical girls lived transformed, would this happen…”

“There aren’t enough samples to say for sure, but it’s unlikely. This is a unique case where she’s been transformed for 7 years straight, so even if other magical girls tried the same, the chances of this happening are quite low.”

“I see…”

So that’s why Gravity, despite being 17, looks and acts like that… Wait, it’s her own body, so why is she dozing off?! Hey, it’s your body, your body! Shouldn’t you be listening and remembering this?!

“…Huh? My tonkatsu…”

“Were you dreaming about eating tonkatsu while sleeping…”

“…? Rampage. Me, tonkatsu…”

“Yeah, yeah. You heard the results, so let’s go eat tonkatsu.”

Sigh… She doesn’t even care about her own body, so I’ll just feed her tonkatsu and call it a day. So, where should we go for tonkatsu? Japanese-style or Western-style? …Western-style is probably better. Order a bunch and eat a bunch—that’s more her style. Japanese-style places tend to put unnecessary toppings and serve miso soup, making it harder to eat a lot.

“Ooh! Unnie! Unnie~!”

“…Huh? What, Daeun?”

“Where are you going, unnie? And who’s this cute kid?!”

“This is Gravity. Her name’s Amelia. She’s 4 years older than you, so call her unnie.”

“…Huh? Really? So she’s a high schooler?!”

“…Hi.”

“Ah, hello! I’m Daeun! …My magical girl name is Typhoon.”

“…Me, Amelia. Amelia White.”

Running into Typhoon here of all places… Earlier, I met Pretty Heart. Is today some kind of special day? Well, coincidences like this happen when you live long enough.

“By the way, where are you guys going?”

“To eat tonkatsu.”

“Ah, can I come too? I haven’t had lunch yet, so I’m hungry…”

“Sure. I’ll treat you.”

“Yay~! Then let’s go to my favorite tonkatsu place!”

Is getting treated to tonkatsu really that exciting? As a magical girl, she must earn enough that tonkatsu isn’t a big deal… Well, free food is always nice, no matter how much money you have.

“Can we order just tonkatsu for refills here?”

“Huh? Just tonkatsu for refills? …Yes, it’s possible. But since ours is handmade, it’ll take a while. Is that okay?”

“Then… Gravity. The tonkatsu here is this big. How many are you planning to eat?”

“…12. It’s still early for dinner… I’ll eat lightly.”

“That’s what she said.”

“Th-that much…?”

“First, fry 3, then fry 11 more in a row.”

“O-okay… Sure…”

We went to the tonkatsu place Typhoon recommended and placed our order. But when we customized Gravity’s order, the owner was quite flustered. Still, being a pro, he nodded and started frying, even though he looked dazed.

“…By the way, Amelia unnie, can you really eat 12 with that small body?”

“…Yeah.”

“Really?! Ah, but if Nari eats that much… Could she have the same constitution…?”

“She eats about the same. Probably the same constitution.”

“Whoa… The food bill must be insane…”

At least Gravity comes from a wealthy family, so it’s not a problem. Ah, by the way, this tonkatsu is delicious. The meat is quite thick, and the breading feels like a mix between Western and Japanese styles. The sauce isn’t too strong, so it doesn’t get soggy. Well, as long as it’s tasty. But since we ate a lot during the walk earlier, I’m not sure if I can finish this.

“…Delicious.”

“Right?”

“…Yeah.”

Watching them eat, their styles are different. Gravity cuts everything up and eats one piece at a time with a fork, while Typhoon cuts a strip and skewers it with her fork. How does she eat like that without spilling sauce on her clothes? She’s really good at it…

“*Cough*”

“Done eating?”

“…Yeah.”

If you’re done, let’s head back. If we keep wandering around, she’ll start wanting to eat this and that, and it’ll never end.

“Daeun, are you heading straight home?”

“Nope? I’m supposed to go to karaoke with friends, but the time got pushed back, so I’m just wandering around.”

“Really?”

“Then I’ll be going now~!”

Kids these days still go to karaoke and have fun… I hate singing, so I don’t know how they can enjoy it without feeling embarrassed. Not that I can’t sing, I can keep the rhythm, but my pitch is a bit…

“Let’s go back, Amelia.”

“Dessert…?”

“…There’s not much time until dinner, so just one.”

“…Okay.”

…She looked so pitifully disappointed about no dessert that I bought her a snack. It was that waffle with half cream and half syrup we had earlier. Seriously… Looking so heartbroken over no dessert, what am I supposed to do…

“We’re back.”

“Welcome back! Ah, Rampage! We got a message from the Fairy Realm!”

“What is it?”

“They said the investigation of the Mariana Trench is complete! They’ll give you the details tomorrow!”

“Really? So we’re heading to the trench tomorrow?”

“That’s right!”

I don’t know what they investigated, but they must’ve done a thorough job. But they managed to investigate without getting caught? Usually, these things get discovered and attacked, right? …Well, the experts handled it, so they probably weren’t easily found out.

“Meow.”

“Kitty…”

“…Meow.”

“Kitty…”

“……Meow.”

By the way, there’s about an hour left until dinner. I’ll let Gravity spend time with Max, and I’ll… play some games? But what game should I play? Maybe I’ll ask Diamond Dust for a recommendation.

“Hey, Ayun…”

“Eek…?!”

“……”

“……”

“…Sorry for not knocking.”

“……”

Ah… I forgot to knock, so I caused an accident. I didn’t expect Ayun to be… you know…