Chapter 22: You’re sharp.

It was an unusually bad year for wildfires, but thanks to the magical girls, they were quickly extinguished.

[Title: Aqua Putting Out Wildfire.jpg]
(Photo of Aqua flying over a mountain, casting water magic)
She was dousing flames despite the smoke.
Did an interview before leaving, too.

– Using magic like that, huh?
– Living up to her name.
– A magical girl from the capital went all the way there?
– On a firefighting mission?
– That’s commendable.

– Hard to believe a fifth-gen has the magic capacity for wildfires.
└ Scarlet Lily recharged her.
└ Wouldn’t it be faster if Lily did it herself?
└ Not sure, she had her reasons.

Those in the know are aware, but fifth-gen magical girls’ names are less familiar to the public.

With more members than previous generations, it’s even harder to stand out.

└ She’s doing well for a fifth-gen.
└ Heard she’s great at flying and shooting water.
└ Cute. Probably a high schooler, bet she’s popular with boys.

– Kids these days might have a magical girl among their friends. Didn’t have that in my school days.
└ Old-timer…
└ How old are you?

As Aqua’s recognition ticked up slightly, Scarlet Lily’s name inevitably came up.

– She was fighting monsters in Seoul that morning. Flew there?
└ That distance?
└ Even if fast, wouldn’t it take hours?

– Aqua said it was under an hour one way.
└ No way that makes sense.
└ Rode the KTX and pretended to fly?

– Even if Lily can, Aqua can’t fly like that.
└ Lily carried her.
└ So Lily could go even faster alone?
└ LOL, unbelievable.
└ Probably slowed down for Aqua when she could go supersonic.

Just when people thought they’d seen it all, the surprises kept coming.

The online community was buzzing as always.

[You’re known for water magic, Aqua. Have you put out fires like this before?]
[Well… earlier today, lizards set a house on fire, so I put it out…]
[Oh, you mean salamanders?]
[Yes… yes! Lily said my magic could handle a wildfire…]

A few days ago, a clip from Aqua’s wildfire interview played on a smartphone screen.

“Kyaha! Why’s Aqua stuttering? Her voice is shaking!”

Aurora Lora slapped her thigh, roaring with laughter, as the other fifth-gens giggled.

The girl herself blushed, embarrassed.

“It was my first solo interview…”
“Wasn’t Lily with you?”
“She bailed, said she’s bad with these things.”
“What? The star can’t just ditch!”

Lora’s comment drew everyone’s eyes to me.

“Aqua’s the star. I was just the plane.”

Aqua did the actual firefighting.

I had nothing to say in an interview.

“You powered her up, so not just any plane.”
“Refueling jet?”
“Yeah, that!”

Beta and Gamma snickered.

“People think magical girls just fight monsters, but helping others is our real job. Aqua did great,” Frozen Princess said, praising her.

The special power from a contract isn’t for yourself—it’s for others.

Classic Frozen Princess, the model magical girl.

“Aqua’s over the moon!”

Parfait Alpha teased.

Frozen Princess was her role model, so the praise clearly thrilled her.

“I’ll keep working hard…!”

The warm vibe continued.

We were at a fancy restaurant, celebrating resolving the multi-gate crisis.

A wealthy senior set aside personal plans to treat the hardworking juniors, renting out the entire place.

So we could freely use our magical girl names.

“You two got close after making up,” Beta smirked, seeing me and Aqua side by side.

It just happened we ended up seated together.

“Was there drama before?” Lora took the bait.

“You wouldn’t know, but they used to clash. Aqua was out for blood,” Beta said.

“Don’t bring that up…!” Aqua protested.

“It’s fine, you made up.”

Only possible because the conflict was resolved.

“There were tears and snot, but we called it even!” Parfait Alpha chimed in as Aqua squirmed.

“Aqua cried?”
“She got slapped by me. Like, five times.”
“Why’re you bragging about that…? Why’d you hit her?”
“Kids grow through fights!”
“Where’d you hear that nonsense?”

Parfait Alpha shot me a sly wink.

Was she covering for me?

Guess I should look out for my juniors too.

“Since we’re all here, say something,” I said to Reaper Mors across from me.

She’d been quiet, probably feeling out of place.

“Nothing to say.”
“Just laugh and chat.”
“…Not my style.”

She sipped her nearly empty juice, looking awkward.

Forcing her to join might just make her miserable.

“It’s Princess’s treat today, so order whatever!”
“Woo!”

Lora’s cheer got the juniors hyped.

Frozen Princess ate elegantly, unfazed.

A true princess.
Filthy rich.

Minors left after the first round.
The second was for adults and Sonya.

“Speaking of, Frozen Princess cried once too.”
“L-Lily, don’t, it’s embarrassing…!”

Mentioning it made Yusia panic.

“Sia cried? I’ve never seen that!”
“NTR’d, huh, senior?”
“Nooo! Isn’t yuri just a gimmick?”

Haeun wailed as Sonya reveled.

I never leaned into any gimmicks.
People just assumed.

Explaining the misunderstanding seemed pointless—they wouldn’t listen.

“Lily’s underage, can you drink?” Yena asked, puzzled.

“Oh… it’s fine since we rented the place. Keep it hush,” Yusia quickly covered.

Everyone but Yena gave me subtle looks.

She’s the only one here clueless about my identity.
Awkward group, now that I think about it.

“You donated on Lily’s stream, right? Heard Sia outdid you!” Haeun changed the topic.

“I wasn’t trying to compete!”
“But you got smoked.”
“Spending a million on nothing is insane!”
“Sia’s a princess. That’s why her name’s got ‘Princess’ in it.”

Drunk Haeun laughed, tossing out jokes.

Not new, but Reaper Mors—Yena—wasn’t big on these scenes.

I dragged her here when she tried to bail.

She barely spoke in the first round, so maybe it was a mistake.
But she seems to click with Haeun, so that’s good.

“Who made the Dark Magical Gem?” Yusia got serious.

“Mascot or magical girl.”
“It came by mail. Can’t we trace the sender?”
“Support team’s looking into it. No news, so probably a dead end.”

No contact came to Yena since.

She had no intent to commit evil.
They likely deemed her unfit as an ally.

“What’s the plan now?” Haeun asked, eyes on me again.

“Wring clues out of Armo. He’d know best.”
“Lily’s ruthless! Mascots taste best abused!”
“Not what I meant.”

Even if mascots are a magical girl’s nemesis, killing or abusing them is another matter.

“Play along!”
“Ugh, booze breath.”

As I pushed off a clingy, tipsy Haeun, Yena stared.

“Lily feels older somehow.”

Her offhand comment froze everyone.

“W-What? Why’s everyone like that…?”

Yena looked confused.

Like a horror movie scene.
I’d always sensed her sharp intuition.

“Maybe it’s time to spill.”

Yusia, Haeun, and Sonya hesitated to speak.

Keeping her in the dark was getting tricky, and I’d bonded with Yena enough to visit her home.

Maybe it’s time.

“Oh, group chat’s getting a new member?”
“Group chat?”
“Hehe, something like that.”

Haeun was giddy with anticipation.
Yusia and Sonya stayed quiet but felt the same.

No reason to hold back, then.

“Listen up. I live as Scarlet Lily now, but I’m—”

*

A woman stared intently at a monitor.

“No matter how I look, it’s Scarlet.”

She replayed the video, studying closely.

This Scarlet Lily.
Her features, expressions, speech—eerily like Scarlet.

Even her flying habits and aversion to the spotlight.

To someone who knew the original Scarlet well, she seemed like the real deal.

“No way she’s a clone…”

Rumors had swirled: gene-engineered, an android trained on first-gen data.

She was absurdly strong.
Even knowing it was nonsense, people grasped for explanations.

The woman wasn’t foolish enough to buy it, but the evidence was too clear to dismiss.

“Scarlet’s hiding her identity.”

That theory tied everything together.

“Why she’s doing it, I’ll find out when we meet.”

Meeting a magical girl personally is tough.

No rush—opportunity would come.

The screen showed a photo of Scarlet Beam in action.
The woman stared a moment before closing the browser.