Chapter 46
"Well, today! As you may have already heard~ We have a special teacher visiting us!"
"That's right, I'm Aia. I don't think there's a student here who doesn't know me, but if there is, please take this opportunity to get acquainted."
"Now, please give a round of applause for the special teacher joining us today~"
-Clap clap clap clap
Despite being brought in as guests without even a special script, both of them were displaying such practiced hosting skills that it was clear they weren't professional magical girls for nothing.
In fact, this was originally the sort of program where the content was decided by whatever Miss Alice wanted to teach that day, without a script—in other words, it was called a broadcast, but mostly involved filming a lecture. Even so, matching pace with a last-minute guest wouldn't be easy unless both sides had a certain level of experience, yet everything was going smoothly, which meant...
'As expected of the first generation...'
It was common knowledge among those in the know that the first-generation magical girls had been chosen from among those with magical-girl potential because they were the brightest of the bunch, meaning their talents were far beyond those of ordinary magical girls.
Not only was combat prowess important, but so was attracting people's attention and earning popularity as a magical girl. Considering their overflowing talent and the fact that they had been active for ten long years, it would be fair to call them professionals as broadcasters too.
My big sister also focused mainly on running the company nowadays, but before it grew as large as it was now, she had often appeared on television to raise its profile.
Neither Miss Aia nor Miss Alice appeared on television often, perhaps because of their schedules... But since they carried out all their activities as magical girls while maintaining their distinctive concepts, it would be fair to say they were acting practically every moment.
"It's sudden, but you all received word through Miss Sapphire, right? Students who have questions for Miss Aia were told to prepare them. Are there any?"
"Anything is welcome. My manufacture date is a secret, I currently have no boyfriend, and my three measurements, from the top down..."
"Then Alice will ask the first question. What magic is Miss Aia most confident in?"
Alice was preemptively cutting off a remark that might have made things a little awkward. It wouldn't have been a problem if Miss Aia had chosen to reveal it, but it wasn't exactly suitable material for a class.
...But considering Miss Aia's personality, she might have already revealed it somewhere else. She was the sort of person whose secrets wouldn't be surprising to find with a quick search.
"I was going to use Aia's three measurements as a pretext to ask for Alice's three measurements. How sad."
"Oh dear, Alice doesn't concern herself with numbers like that. Now, I'll ask again. What magic is Miss Aia most confident in?"
"Handling machines. All of Aia's magic begins with machines and ends with machines. I complete the machine's design beforehand at the spell-formula stage, then activate a summoning formula that serves as a switch. That is how I implement it in reality."
...Miss Alice's three measurements?
-Stare
I'm sorry to say this about Miss Alice, but even looking from top to bottom, Miss Alice's figure was... slender.
If her measurements were taken, the numbers would probably be quite small... Miss Aia wasn't on the same level as Miss Mia or Miss Nana, but she still had proper feminine curves, so compared to Miss Alice, everyone would probably be larger than her.
The two of them were almost the same height, though.
'...But seriously, how is her body so slender?'
My big sister and I both tended to put on weight easily, so we'd always had trouble finding clothes. That was probably why I had a tendency to envy slender people.
Still, it was fortunate that I had almost no excess fat... Miss Alice barely had any fat anywhere on her body. She disliked physical contact so much that it would be difficult, but if I grabbed her arm, I would probably feel bone immediately.
Whether it was something she was born with or the result of careful management...
I knew from experience that if I told people like that I envied them, they immediately radiated hostility, so I didn't say it carelessly... But from my perspective, it really was an enviable figure.
Clothes aside... Her shoulders would hurt less... She could sleep in all sorts of positions...
"Miss Sapphire, could you make one jewel for us?"
"Ah, yes. Certainly."
I nearly missed it because I was momentarily distracted by my own thoughts.
And they were thoughts Miss Alice might have found rather rude if she had heard them.
"What kind of jewel would you like?"
"Anything... is fine, but it would probably be easier if I gave you a proper specification. Could you make a simple beginner's Magic Missile?"
"Understood."
[Create Jewel-Magic Missile]
-Sparkle
Magic gathered, and a blue jewel appeared in my hand. I handed it to Miss Alice.
"Hmm. It's a beautiful jewel, as lovely as ever. If it could be used as a decoration, I would have turned it into a piece of art."
"Unfortunately, it disperses if it isn't periodically supplied with magic power."
"So how is Miss Aia's magic different from this magic?"
"I admit that materializing a physical object in reality is similar up to that point, but most of the rest is different. This jewel with a spell sealed inside it is an object that stores a spell formula in jewel form, whereas Aia's machines are machines designed with spell formulas that appear in reality and operate. I'm sorry, Miss Sapphire, but the scale is different from the outset."
"Hmm... That's true. To design a machine that functions properly, it would have to be designed to actually operate, even with magic involved. That's an entirely different matter from condensing a single spell formula and storing it in the form of a jewel."
"Now, as you can see, Miss Aia's magic places a great deal of emphasis on summoning and materialization. Since Alice doesn't handle that sort of magic very well, there's only so much I can teach you, but if you have any questions, I strongly recommend asking Miss Aia for advice while you have the chance."
"Magical girls who like machines are always welcome. However, magical girls who use water magic should maintain a safe distance of 100 meters from Aia."
-Slink slink...
"You really don't have to change seats. Miss Aia is probably joking too."
"If Miss Alice tells Aia that she loves her, Aia will call it a joke."
"Oh my, for the sake of my juniors, Alice has no choice but to say something. I love you, Miss Aia."
"Mm. Aia, my durability has recovered. As expected, Miss Alice is a capable healer."
"Alice can't use healing magic, but if Miss Aia is happy, Alice is happy too."
...It was a parade of perfectly maintained concepts, with not even the slightest opening on either side.
* * *
It was currently break time in the middle of filming.
"Miss Alice. Here's some chocolate milk."
"Thank you as always, Miss Sapphire. It must not be easy to prepare this."
"It's no trouble. It's nothing much."
I accepted the tumbler filled with chocolate milk from Miss Sapphire, but I was sighing inwardly.
Since my concept was already ruined anyway, should I just ask her for actual water? Even if not water, plain milk would probably do.
"Ah, Miss Aia also requested something to drink. I've prepared it here."
"Thank you, Miss Sapphire. That's a beverage befitting Aia."
...Come to think of it, what does that woman drink again?
She wouldn't drink gasoline or lubricant just because her concept was machines, would she?
[PoXri Sxut]
"..."
"Hmm. Alice is looking at Aia with passionate eyes. Are you interested in Aia? I'm sorry, but Aia prefers men for now."
"...No. It's nothing."
-Stare
...Why am I drinking something like this?
...I like that too. Something not too sweet, moderately sweet, and refreshing.
"Miss Alice...? Is something wrong?"
"...It's nothing."
-Gulp gulp
'Uuugh...'
The chocolate milk tasted bitter today.
It had to be sweet because it was packed with sugar, but the thick, cloying sweetness rising from my tongue all the way to my brain was especially hard to bear today.
-Pah
'...They say you shouldn't eat things like this carelessly as you get older.'
A magical girl's body was sturdy. Not only did we rarely have to worry about physical injuries, but nutritional problems like this generally weren't a concern either.
Even at twenty-seven, I could go without exercising and eat whatever I wanted without any particular problems. My body got plenty of exercise from working as a magical girl, anyway.
'...I must really be tired lately. I keep having pointless thoughts like this.'
It wasn't anything else. There had simply been too many activities to carry out as Alice lately, and too much information to take in.
The original Alice's activities had mostly consisted of magical-girl deployments, with the occasional brief television appearance every few months. But now?
Although my recent achievements had reduced the frequency of my deployments, I was meeting all sorts of magical girls for filming, and there were far too many stories being created through my involvement with them as well.
No wonder my brain was complaining of fatigue. Even if I had been acting for eight years, I had rarely had so many problems thrown at me all at once in such a short period.
'...I really want to quit and go on vacation somewhere.'
Even though I hated going outside, I was so exhausted lately that I wanted to go on vacation.
I felt like I needed to recharge, but it wasn't as though that was easy. I wasn't a battery, and plugging myself into an outlet wouldn't charge me, would it?
Being a magical girl didn't mean I couldn't take a vacation. Magical girls were people too, and if we decided we needed time off to manage our condition, we could negotiate with our mascot and receive a period of rest.
...And while the fourth-ranked S-rank magical girl shirked her duties, other places would have to bear the fallout.
'...Ah, I could really use a cigarette.'
I didn't bring cigarettes on days when I came to work for filming. No matter how stressed I was, if I smoked, the other magical girls might smell it.
"All right, we'll resume filming. Everyone, let's get back in."
Today, after filming ended, I would cancel my transformation and go to a convenience store or something... Ah, I needed treatment from Mia too.
For some reason, I felt much more tired than usual today.