Chapter 2: I said I was right.

“You don’t know me…?”

It might sound like I’m full of myself, but there was a time when everyone knew who I was.

Even if years have passed, come on.
As a magical girl, isn’t it weird not to recognize me?

But.

“I don’t.”

The blue-haired girl shut me down flat.

“You’ve never even heard of the name Scarlet?”

It’s been a whole ten years since I ended up in the demon world.
Officially, I’m probably listed as dead, but I got lucky and came back.

I could understand if she was shocked like she’d seen a ghost, but to treat me like some suspicious weirdo…

“Are you talking about the first-generation magical girl Scarlet?”
“Probably.”
“Why are you being so vague?”
“The whole ‘generation’ thing feels unfamiliar.”

Back when I was active, it was just me and my peers as magical girls.

We thought we’d wiped out the forces of evil, and I never imagined a next generation would show up.

“You might lack common knowledge, but not knowing the basics is odd. Plus.”

The girl scanned my outfit and met my eyes.

“Even if the costume’s the same, Scarlet didn’t look like you.”

That’s when it hit me.

Why this girl didn’t recognize me.

But this wasn’t something I could fix right away.

“If we talk it out, we can clear up the misunderstanding. How about putting the sword down…?”

I tried to reason calmly, but.

“Come any closer, and I’ll have no choice but to hurt you.”

White mist rose from her ice sword, as if warning me.

Looks like her specialty is ice magic.
She’s ready to attack at any moment.

“You don’t have to go this far.”
“You could be a transforming monster. I’ve seen enemies that try to lower your guard.”

Is she the type to follow protocol to the letter?

I get it, but it stings a little.

“I saw a red light and came running. What’s going on?”

Another magical girl dashed over.

Holding a massive hammer, she stood beside the blue-haired girl.

“She says she’s Scarlet.”
“Scarlet?”

The hammer girl looked me over carefully.

“The outfit’s the same. Cosplay?”

It’s me, the real deal.

I wanted to argue, but it didn’t seem like they’d believe me.

“It’s not just cosplay. I saw her fighting a monster.”
“Huh, I didn’t hear about a sixth generation making a contract.”
“Me neither.”
A line I couldn’t ignore slipped out.

“If you saw me fighting, can’t you trust I’m on your side?”

The blue-haired girl shook her head.

“Too early to judge. It could be a setup.”
“Yeah, I agree! Monsters these days are pretty clever!”

The hammer girl chimed in.

Talk about cautious.

Each holding their weapons, they moved to either side of me, blocking my escape.

“Let’s not do this. Infighting isn’t good.”

Magical girls don’t carry IDs.
I couldn’t think of a clear way to prove I’m me.

What do I do in a situation like this?

As I stood there, stumped, the ground suddenly shook.

“An earthquake?”
“No, look over there.”

A good distance from the park.
In an area packed with buildings, a dinosaur-like monster, easily dozens of meters tall, appeared.

“Where’d that thing come from…”

The hammer girl trailed off.

I had a gut feeling.
This could be my chance.

“I’ll prove I’m an ally, so watch!”

Taking a deep breath, I activated my levitation magic.

My toes lifted off the ground, and my body floated into the air.

Slowly gaining altitude, I shot toward the monster at high speed.

“Everyone, get to safety!”

A beast this big would be too much for the juniors to handle.

It might seem like I’m showing off, but as a senior, maybe it’s good to set an example.

Reaching the monster’s head, I raised my wand.

“Scarlet Thunder!”

Boom!

A pink lightning bolt, impossible in nature, struck down.

This, too, is magic imbued with holy power.
The monster didn’t even have time to scream before it perished, turning to ash and scattering in the wind.

I paused to think.

“No need to stick around, right…?”

The two girls from earlier weren’t chasing me.

A magical girl protects peace and then vanishes quietly, so maybe it’s time to make my exit?

With a bit of self-convincing, I made up my mind.

“Time to bolt☆”

It was one of the biggest disasters in nearly a decade.

Photos and videos taken by people at the scene flooded the internet, and articles popped up in real time.

[Title: They say the one who took down the dinosaur was sixth-gen, is that real?]
What about the seniors?
Guess they need some closed-door training lol

– Any info on the other members?
– Sixth gen’s bar is high, huh.
– Combat power feels all-time great.

– No official statement yet.
– If an active magical girl said it, isn’t that official?
– In an interview, she said it might be.
– How does one magical girl not know another?

– Could be a secret weapon the government’s hiding.
– An android sounds more convincing.
– Even the U.S. couldn’t make something like that.

An unknown pink-haired magical girl took down a colossal monster in one blow.

The incident itself was shocking, but the government claimed they didn’t know her identity.

That wasn’t the only thing sparking curiosity.

Her outfit was identical to that of Scarlet, one of the first magical girls.

With speculation about her identity running wild, every community was ablaze with the topic.

– She’s actually a clone made from magical girl DNA splicing.
– I’m an active magical girl, and this is true.
– Wait, the first gen debuted over a decade ago, so she’d be like 10 years old max…?
– Pedo alert…

– So how strong was the dinosaur anyway?
– Died in one lightning strike.
– Must’ve been hyped to invade Earth, poor thing…
– Taking it out without letting it introduce itself feels unfair.

The dinosaur was a nickname for the monster that broke through a gate in broad daylight.

Some structures were damaged, but there were no casualties.
It was defeated almost immediately after appearing.

So, there wasn’t enough data to assign it a rank.

If the one who defeated it had left a comment, it might’ve provided a clue, but the mysterious magical girl teleported away without a word.

[Title: Breaking news. She claims to be Scarlet.]
Frozen Princess says she met her in person.
Tried to stop her, but she escaped.
Details in the link.

– Suspecting she might be a transformed monster… only Frozen Princess would think that.
– If she looks like a magical girl but you’ve never seen her, it makes sense.
– Saw something like that in a backroom game.
– The moment you let your guard down, tentacles in your ear and body snatch.
– Recommend me a doujin with that vibe.

– So is she Scarlet or not?
– She claims to be. Looks totally different.
– Magical girls have perception-blocking magic, don’t they?
– The original Scarlet had it too.

– Died and came back to life?
– Guess she got stronger thanks to the afterlife.
– Makes total sense.
– Afterlife buff, lol.

I was in the bathroom of a quiet PC café.

Track pants and a baseball cap.
I’d changed into clothes bought at a random store for a disguise.

Pink hair stands out, but since magical girls appeared, more people dye their hair.

Hiding my face mattered more than my hair color.

“The perception-blocking magic seems to be working…”

I studied myself in the mirror.

Soft skin, delicate features.
It feels weird to say it myself, but it’s a cute face you could stare at forever.

Magical girls don’t age.
Or rather, their appearance stays fixed while they’re magical girls.

To my eyes, I look the same as always, but to others, I must seem different from the “self-proclaimed Scarlet” making waves.

I tweaked the perception-blocking magic to make my face unrecognizable.
A high-level trick I learned in the demon world.

If I could just return to my original form, that’d be easiest, but I can’t.

Because I’m stuck in a body that can’t untransform.

“…Whatever.”

I opened the door and left the bathroom.

Back at my seat, I ordered chicken mayo rice and a drink.

A few minutes later, the part-timer set the food on my table.

“PC cafés these days are practically restaurants.”

The world had changed a lot while I was gone.

Not quite a whole era, but it’s full of surprises.
It almost feels like I’m a time traveler from the future.

Which, in a way, I kind of am.

Savoring the taste of the mundane world, I dove back into web surfing.

My search keywords were mostly about myself.

I was curious about what people were saying and how they were reacting.

[Title: A magical girl who thinks she’s Scarlet]
(Video of a monster getting hit by pink lightning)
But stronger than the original.

– Even Grandpa Scarlet couldn’t pull that off.
– Does that even make sense??
– If you wanna sue, come find me.
– At this point, you gotta give her props lol.

I spent ten years rolling around in the demon world.

I thought I’d reached my growth limit, but these reactions suggest otherwise.

More importantly, no one believes it’s really me.

I scrolled through the comments.

Most people just saw me as some cosplaying magical girl.
A side effect of the perception-blocking magic.

A human face can change drastically with the smallest tweak.

Like tuning a radio.
Or an instrument, it’s delicate magic… but I forgot the baseline.

Being able to adjust it freely is great, but it’s become my downfall.

Since I can’t recall how it used to feel, I won’t look like Scarlet to others.

“Maybe I should just retire?”

No one stays active forever.
I was planning to graduate soon anyway, but retiring like this feels… off.

Not being recognized as myself leaves a bad taste.

I switched keywords to look up recent magical girls.

Then, I found something strange.

A platform was streaming a broadcast under a magical girl’s name.

I thought it might be a movie or drama, but no.

It’s live.
Digging through a wiki, it seems a ton of magical girls are streaming.

“Selling dreams is one thing, but selling your face…?”

Old-school mode activated.