Chapter 205: Chapter 11: Lost Interest (Bonus Chapter for 250 Power Stones)
Outside the adult shop, the owner stood with her arms folded, one foot braced against the doorframe to block the entrance.
Seeing her still daring to act so brazen, Yimi pointed at her indignantly. "Let me in, or I’ll have auntie teach you a lesson."
"Auntie?" Madoka pointed at herself, confused.
The owner’s expression twisted slightly. She jabbed a finger at the sign above her head. "One little kid brings two slightly bigger kids to barge into my store—can you not read the first two characters on my sign? Or are you spies sent by my competitors to land me in a police station?"
"Come to think of it, those uniforms are from Mitakihara Middle School, aren’t they? Don’t make me go find your homeroom teacher!"
Armed with experience from her last attempt at the bookstore, the little cat was unmoved. "You obviously sell Soul Gems. You’re looking down on me."
But this time her Golden Rule hadn’t activated. Kitty’s luck had failed!
"I have pocket money." Madoka fished out the allowance she’d just received.
"This isn’t about money! Let’s just go—this is so humiliating." That was Sayaka, face flushed red.
She’d noticed something off the moment Yimi started leading them this way, but never imagined their final destination would actually be here.
Madoka looked at her, puzzled. "But Sayaka, weren’t you the most excited just a minute ago?"
"What do you mean excited? I can’t even lift my head because of you two!" Sayaka grabbed Yimi under the arms and physically hauled her away. "Come on, Madoka! If anyone we know sees us here, I’m transferring schools on the spot!"
Madoka didn’t understand, but she followed them away from the scene of the crime.
"Aaaaagh!"
Once they’d put enough distance between themselves and the shop, Sayaka couldn’t hold it in anymore. She crouched down, covered her face, and screamed.
Thinking it over carefully—the Soul Gem that Mami-senpai had displayed openly on the table last night was just a decorated version of... No wonder she kept emphasizing how great Magical Girls’ "sacrifice" was. That sacrifice really was huge. Just imagining it gave her a dull phantom ache in her rear.
"Was it because we didn’t give the right password? Or do you actually have to be an adult first to become a Magical Girl?" Madoka’s face was a portrait of innocent confusion. She patted the puffed-up little cat to calm her down.
"But Mami-senpai is only in third year of middle school, right?"
"Whether that clueless look is an act or the real deal, it’s killing me being the only one embarrassed here." Sayaka rapped her knuckles on Madoka’s head. "Anyway, don’t even think about becoming a Magical Girl, Madoka. It’s way too early for you."
Madoka rubbed the spot where she’d been knocked. "But I’m already a girl right now, aren’t I?"
"You... forget it. Madoka, stay just the way you are." Sayaka looked down at Yimi. "What about that dark-haired transfer student? Is her Soul Gem like that too?"
"Mm." Yimi nodded. "I asked to see her Soul Gem, and then she grabbed me by the scruff."
"..."
Of course she’d get angry! Under normal circumstances, who would show that thing to other people as casually as Mami-senpai did?
Sayaka recalled Homura Akemi’s behavior today. She couldn’t help but nod, developing a sliver of sympathy and understanding. If that was the case, wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for her to get angry when Yimi asked to see her Soul Gem?
No, no, no—that woman was still a pervert, plain and simple. Sure, anyone would be furious if someone demanded to see theirs, but pulling a gun and roughing up a cat over a simple disagreement was still completely unjustifiable.
She bent down and tapped Yimi’s forehead. "And you—no more researching that stuff. Got it?"
Kitty couldn’t hear. Kitty’s quest still needed Magical Girls.
"Did something happen?"
As if drawn together by some invisible magnetism, during a lunch break when half the students never even left the building, they happened to run right into Mami Tomoe on her way out.
"Mami-senpai? What are you doing here?"
"I’m looking for Kyubey." Mami’s face was lined with worry. "It’s been two days since I’ve seen him. I’m worried something might have happened... Oh, you’re the child from that night?"
She noticed Yimi’s presence and set her worries aside for the moment, crouching down to greet her. "Hello there."
"Yellow Person." Yimi raised a hand to wave.
Sayaka clapped her palm over Yimi’s mouth and flashed Mami an apologetic grin. "This child, honestly—no respect for her elders."
Who would be that blunt about it? And wait—so you DO know what it means!
Mami waved it off. "So she’s a child you two know? She was at the supermarket by herself the other night buying a recipe book."
"By the way, have you seen Kyubey?"
Mami vaguely recalled that Kyubey had mentioned wanting to contract this child... and then vanished right after.
"Haven’t seen it." Yimi slid her gaze off to the side.
"I see..." Mami looked disappointed but didn’t suspect anything. "It does wander off sometimes, but going two whole days without contacting me is unusual."
It was simply focusing its attention on Madoka and Yimi—after all, Kyubey was nearly impossible to exterminate for good.
"Does your contract partner like to run off too, Mami-senpai?" Madoka glanced down at her own runaway Yimi, who’d trekked all the way to school.
"It mostly lives at my place. Since it seems to have the ability to split itself, it can sometimes keep other Magical Girls company too? I don’t really know the details. Other girls don’t seem to be as close with Kyubey as I am."
"Other Magical Girls—there are really that many?" Sayaka was startled.
"Not just many. It seems like every city has at least one Magical Girl." Mami looked off in a certain direction. "Though right now Mitakihara only has me... no, it’s two now."
Plus the mysterious Homura Akemi, whose origins even Kyubey couldn’t explain.
Yimi counted on her fingers. "In the world, how many cities are there?"
"Definitely more than you could count on your fingers and toes combined." Mami patted her head. "And from now on, no more calling me ’Yellow Person,’ okay? Call me Mami-nee."
So many Magical Girls! The little cat wouldn’t even need to bother manufacturing them!
"Have you met other Magical Girls before, Mami-senpai?"
"I have, actually. There was even a kouhai I fought alongside for a while. Unfortunately, we parted ways over differences in philosophy." Mami didn’t seem eager to discuss this topic. She lowered her gaze to Yimi.
"This child... she wouldn’t happen to be the same little cat from yesterday, would she? The voice and way of speaking are so similar."
And the same obsession with food.
"That’s exactly right." Sayaka nodded. "She’s been trying to figure out how Magical Girl contracts work, but..."
"I see." Mami nodded.
She’d been worried that she’d given her kouhai unnecessary hope, but since Kyubey had independently wanted to contract this child, they clearly weren’t the same kind of being.
Sayaka rubbed her chin. "But if there are that many Magical Girls, does that mean I could also...?"
No, no, no—she definitely did NOT want to become that kind of Magical Girl! Although getting one wish granted would be pretty great.
"If you’re feeling uncertain, would you like to come watch me fight tonight? I’m confident I can keep you safe."
Sayaka took Madoka’s hand and let her eyes drift sideways. "Um, we have to visit a friend at the hospital tonight, so we might not have time."
Mami-senpai was a very kind person, sure, but Sayaka truly had zero interest in becoming a Magical Girl! And she didn’t want her best friend becoming one either!
Come to think of it, that transfer student had warned them too—staying as they were without becoming Magical Girls meant staying happy, right? At the end of the day, nobody even knew how Magical Girls actually gained their power. She’d once overheard boys in class talking about a darker kind of Magical Girl who had to recharge their magic through methods that were extremely not safe for children...
She would protect Madoka from becoming a Magical Girl!
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