Chapter 6: Why are we talking about polar bears?

The time rewinds a few hours to late evening.

In front of a hotel entrance in the capital region, Frozen Princess is talking with a man in a suit.

“Scarlet Lily is likely staying in Room 308.”
“Sorry for the trouble. You must be busy…”
“No trouble at all. Helping magical girls is my job.”
“Thank you for finding out.”

Aurora Lora had stumbled upon Scarlet’s stream.

The only clue was that it was from a hotel room.

But Frozen Princess had a reliable ally.

A supporter.
A capable government agent assisting magical girls in various ways.

She called him to ask if he could track the location, and within 30 minutes, he pinpointed the room.

“…But are you sure it’s Scarlet herself?”

There wasn’t 100% certainty.

Which is exactly why she had to meet her.

“Probably. Both Aurora Lora and I think so.”
“Actually, the police have asked for investigative cooperation. They figured a department tied to magical girls might know something.”
“The police?”
“Well… there’s a warrant out.”

In the past, defeating monsters forgave everything, but times have changed.

From the damage caused by taking down the dinosaur to other issues, they wanted to investigate.

“Please don’t tell the police or anyone else. I’m begging you.”

Frozen Princess bowed politely.

Because of her, things had escalated.
Even if Scarlet was at fault, she didn’t want her hideout exposed like this.

“No need for that. I haven’t said anything, and I won’t. Just wanted you to know.”

The supporter scratched his head awkwardly.

“…Thank you.”

Expressing gratitude again, Frozen Princess headed into the hotel.

She climbed the stairs to the third floor instead of taking the elevator.

Room 308 was at the end of the hallway.

Taking a deep breath, she pressed the bell.

Ding-dong

Ding-dong Ding-dong Ding-dong

No response, even after repeated presses.
Either deeply asleep or showing no signs of waking.

Did she come all this way just to turn back?

But Aurora Lora’s words flashed through her mind.

‘If someone obsessive catches on, they could figure out where you are.’

Normal people wouldn’t bother, but some out there defy common sense.

She’d heard of cases where someone identified a location just from objects reflected in a photo’s eyes.
This kind of streaming could be dangerous.

Especially since Scarlet was a magical girl drawing nationwide attention.

If someone realized a sleeping streamer’s identity and spread the hotel’s location, it could lead to irreversible consequences.

So, this was just to help her, not a crime.

Frozen Princess used magic to unlock the door and opened it.

“Excuse me…”

She cautiously stepped in and walked toward the bed.

A pink-haired girl, Scarlet, was asleep.

“…!”

Like a fairy from a storybook, radiating holiness.
Her chest gently rose and fell with each breath.

Even as a fellow woman, Frozen Princess couldn’t help but be captivated.

To think this delicate body defeated those massive monsters.

Hard to believe, even seeing it herself.

“Now’s not the time.”

Frozen Princess moved to the laptop on the table.

The streaming platform’s website was open.
The viewer count had passed ten.

Should she just turn it off?

Her hand hesitated over the mouse.

It felt a bit excessive.

Instead, she grabbed a towel from the bathroom and covered the webcam.

But before that.
Since her face was already shown, she decided to offer a small gesture.

Frozen Princess lightly waved at the camera.

Not intentional, but.
As a top-tier magical girl in popularity, it was like announcing she’d been here.

Watching the clip, I realized why over a thousand viewers had flooded in.

It was thanks to Frozen Princess.

She’d come into my room while I was asleep and waved.

That’s all it took.

Someone clipped the moment and posted it to a community, and the buzz spread like wildfire.

[Newbie debuts with a sleep stream lol]
[But it worked.]
[Never heard of this before.]

[Could be a staged act with Frozen Princess.]
[What’s their deal?]
[They’re close.]
[First stream and already yuri vibes?!]

[Won’t show up on Lora’s stream but collabs with Scarlet lol.]
[Has Frozen Princess ever been on a stream?]
[Never once.]
[Lora tried to get her a few times but failed.]

[Are they close?]
[Nothing on SNS.]
[They didn’t know each other until recently, so probably not.]
[Time to build that bond. Physically.]
[At this rate, polar bears are gonna go extinct!!!!]

[So is she just Scarlet? Or Scarlet Lily?]
[Seems like she changed her name to Scarlet Lily.]
[Magical girl names can’t overlap.]
[Could be a rumor that got twisted.]

The reaction was explosive.

Is connecting with an active magical girl that big a deal…?

I was asleep the whole time.

“Why are they talking about polar bears?”

Curious, I searched and found it was some kind of meme.

Frozen Princess showing her face for a few seconds sparked yuri jokes.
As someone once male, it left me with mixed feelings.

“Almost ten thousand followers…”

That’s the issue.

A stream I started with no expectations blew up.

But since it wasn’t earned through skill, it felt more like a burden.

“There’s donation money too.”

I started streaming for a simple reason.
Worried about making a living, I thought a side job might help, and it just felt right.

The sleep stream was a test run.
Just a lazy attempt to coast without real content.

In a way, I was hoping for a fluke… but pulling this much attention was scary.

I replayed the clip of Frozen Princess waving.

The angle didn’t catch her opening the door, but she likely used magic to unlock it.

I was tired, and I’m a heavy sleeper, but still.

Not noticing someone come in…

“I need to meet her.”

In the paper bag she left was a note with her contact info.

I don’t know her intentions, but I couldn’t ignore it.

Meeting her might reveal how she found my place.

*

The meeting spot was a café.

Being a weekday, it was relatively quiet.
Sitting by the second-floor window, I waited until a woman sat across from me.

“Scarlet Lily, right?”

She looked to be in her early twenties.

Dressed stylishly, giving off a college student vibe.

“Frozen Princess?”

Third-gen, so it makes sense, but she looked older than her transformed state.

Still young and pretty, though.

“Call me Yusia in this form.”
“Oh, okay.”

We faced each other across a small table.

“Why so surprised?”

Yusia tilted her head.

“I didn’t expect you to show your untransformed self.”
“You’re untransformed too. Didn’t expect you’d keep your hair pink normally.”

Easy to misunderstand if you don’t know the context.

“It’s just the magic wearing off.”
“Huh?”
“I can adjust the perception-blocking magic at will.”
“You’re staying transformed?”
“Yup.”

Not an easy story to believe.

Even I only gained this ability after years in the demon world.

“…You really don’t want to show your original form?”

She frowned slightly.

I wondered if I should say it, but hiding it now would be weird.

“It’s my unique condition. I can’t untransform, so I’m stuck like this 24/7. Didn’t Armo tell you?”

Armo’s the mascot’s name.

I thought he’d have mentioned something about me.

“Not really.”

Ugh… lazy jerk.

I had no choice but to explain from the start.

Why I went to the demon world, how I got the elixir and returned to Earth.
How I planned to retire but things got complicated and it’s on hold.

Yusia listened quietly before speaking.

“So the potion I drank had that effect… I’m sorry.”

She looked down, ashamed.

She’d been saved at the cost of my chance to return to normal.
Understandable, but I don’t regret it.

“Don’t apologize. I used it because I wanted to.”

Her expression brightened slightly, as if comforted.

“Oh, I got your gift. It was delicious.”

The paper bag she left had some desserts.

High-end ones, probably from a famous shop.

“I didn’t know what you’d like, so I picked a variety. Glad you enjoyed them.”

Yusia gave a small smile.

I thought she’d be cold, like her Frozen Princess image.
But she’s surprisingly warm.

“How’d you find where I was staying?”
“I asked a supporter to track it down.”

Her teammate, Aurora Lora, had stumbled upon my stream.

The room’s interior was enough of a clue, and with the supporter’s connections to various agencies, they pinpointed the hotel.

“I had a feeling, but they actually tracked me down…”
“Sorry for barging in. I was worried some viewer might have bad intentions.”
“If it was to protect me, I should be thanking you.”

The buzz spread because some viewers were paying close attention.

I’m like a primitive who’s been cut off from Earth for ten years.

I decided to see this as a wake-up call.

“What should I call you? What’s your name?”
“Just call me Scarlet Lily. I’ll use my real name after I retire.”

My old name doesn’t suit this girly face.

Plus, the time I’ve spent as a magical girl is almost as long as my time as a guy.

Scarlet feels more familiar now.

“Scarlet Lily…”

Yusia murmured softly.

The “Lily” part was to match colors.

Scarlet’s a red shade, but my hair’s pink.
Adding white balances it out.

It sounded nice, so I went with it.

“…Got it. I’ll call you that from now on.”

She switched from formal to casual speech.

“Sounds good, but maybe start treating me like an older sister?”

Yusia flashed a bright smile.