kscans

Chapter 488 - Isekai Reincarnation Magical Girl

...It seems you're okay. All subjects have met the target score."

After school, at the Mont Blanc clan's cafe style base, Wilnel announced this after checking Parfait's answer sheets.

Parfait, who had been watching nervously, silently stood up and raised her arms in a victory pose.

Until now, for the tests before AFO events, Natsu and Chris had tutored her, and she just had to work hard enough to avoid failing grades. But since Wilnel started tutoring her, she now had to score above a certain threshold set by Wilnel.

It was known as the Wilnel Line. She knew that falling below it would have dire consequences. In the first place, if the next head of a Foundation said there would be "dire consequences," then Parfait was pretty sure there would be dire consequences, and she was a little scared.

She wanted to ask why she had to do all this, but the requirements weren't that high. She was terrified that the Wilnel Line was higher than last time, but since she was receiving tutoring, she wasn't in a position to complain.

Besides, it was a fact that her grades were improving, and her total score for all subjects was the best it had ever been. Last time, her father, Hayato, had prepared an elaborate parfait for Natsu, Chris, and Wilnel as a thank you. For some reason, her mother, Esha, had joined them in eating it.

"You can do it if you try, Parfait-san, so as long as you put in the effort, you'll be fine. So why did you try to play AFO or go to the Azuma-ryu sword style dojo during the study period for the test?"

"Studying all the time is tough... Moving your body is the best way to relieve stress, you know."

"That may be so, but if you had told me beforehand, I would have made sure to schedule time for that... In any case, congratulations on reaching your goal..."

"Why do you sound so disappointed?"

Wilnel only smiled in response to the question. That's why Parfait was afraid of what would happen if she didn't cross the Wilnel Line.

"Well then, since my purpose here is fulfilled, I shall be logging out for the day."

"You really just came to check my test scores? Is that really something worth sneaking out of the Council for?"

"What are you saying. Your test results are more important than Foundation matters, Parfait-san!"

"Oh, um. Thanks...?"

A Council meeting involving all the Foundations was a global level discussion, not just a national one. But apparently, Parfait's test results were more important. While she thought Wilnel's priorities were bugged, Parfait also felt a little happy, thinking that maybe this was just her way of being a good friend.

"Besides, I heard you invited someone you met before the tests to your base today."

"Yeah, that's right. Her name is Kazatoki-san, and she's coming with someone named Lion-san."

"I hear she makes a living through video streaming. I was told that not many people are gathering today, so the introductions will be on another day. I look forward to it. Well then, excuse me, I'm keeping Aunt Ronios waiting."

"Okay, say hi to Ronios-san for me. Oh, right, my dad said my grades improved thanks to you, Wilnel-chan, so he wants to thank Ronios-san too. He said he'll treat her to parfait and coffee, so he wants her to come to the cafe again. It seems the condition is that Ney-san and Jolth-san have to come too."

There was no way it was okay to treat people who, it was no exaggeration to say, ruled the world in such a manner. However, Parfait figured that to her father, Hayato, their positions didn't matter, and he probably just saw them as friends he met in a virtual reality. Thinking that made her proud of her father.

Upon hearing Parfait's words, Wilnel froze as if time had stopped.

"Wilnel-chan? You're not moving, are you okay?"

"...The Council meeting might be canceled. We might even go tonight..."

"The Council is held at Central on Earth, right? Isn't it a bit impossible to come now?"

"Aunt Ronios has a private shuttle. Since it's during the Council, Ney-sama and Jolth-sama are nearby, so I don't think it's impossible if we leave now."

"...Could you wait until after the Council is over to tell them?"

If the head of a Foundation were to move, it would involve a large scale mobilization of people for security and other purposes. She had experienced that last time. She couldn't have them spend an unknown amount of money for a single trip just for free coffee and parfait.

"Y, you're right. If I told them right away, the Council might be interrupted for an unprecedented reason. For now, I understand. We will visit legally after going through the various procedures. Well then, thank you for the wonderful suggestion!"

With that, Wilnel logged out with a smile.

Parfait wondered what it meant to visit legally, but she convinced herself that there were probably a lot of procedures involved when the head of a Foundation made a move.

Alright, I should get ready to entertain Kazatoki-san and the others.

Parfait stood up from her chair and started to prepare food for the day. It wasn't food that provided buffs in the game, but original dishes she had been able to make since the last event.

For now, preparing a lot would probably make Kazatoki-san happy. I'll try making dishes from various genres.

After the real time stream ended, Kazatoki had thanked Parfait profusely, and it was then that she heard about her various circumstances.

Kazatoki's family ran a karate dojo, but they had few students. As a result, the quality of their meals was sometimes remarkably low. To solve this food situation, Kazatoki started playing AFO, where her stomach wouldn't be filled, but at least the flavors were abundant.

Her diet was an eco-friendly one where she would eat a large amount of flavorful food in AFO, and then eat a large amount of bean sprouts in reality. After continuing this lifestyle and starting to like bean sprouts, she heard that she could earn real money through video streaming.

There were no part time jobs for high school students in her residential colony, and thinking it might be a way to advertise the dojo, she managed to join the combat video streaming clan, Fight☆Club.

However, it was not easy to get noticed among the many video streamers. It had only been about six months since she started streaming, but her viewer and video playback counts had not increased much.

That was the situation, but the combat video with Parfait had smashed all of Kazatoki's previous records for viewer and playback counts.

Though her popularity had been waning recently, Parfait was still a popular figure. The only video of her was from the ranking match when she first logged in. Since her fight with Kazatoki was her first appearance in a while, the three viewers who had been watching from the start recognized Parfait and spread the word without even bothering to say hello. That was the result.

Kazatoki had said she wanted to thank her, but immediately after that, Parfait had entered her test period. So Kazatoki had asked if she could thank her after the tests were over.

And today, when she told her she had logged in, she received a reply saying she was on her way.

But why did Lion-san say she wanted to thank me too?

Lion was someone she only knew by name from her conversation with Kazatoki. It seemed she had a cold at the time, but was now fully recovered, and was coming along with Kazatoki to thank her.

I'm not sure what to prepare, but when you think of girls, you think of sweets, right? Well, I want to eat them too, though!

Parfait retorted to herself as she prepared a large amount of food and sweets.

About thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the base's door.

"It's Kazatoki. Is Parfait-san here?"

"Coming! It's open, so come on in!"

"Excuse me..."

For some reason, Kazatoki opened the door quietly and peeked inside. Then she smiled when she saw Parfait.

"Welcome, Kazatoki-san. Is Lion-san with you? Don't be shy, come on in."

As Parfait ushered her in, Kazatoki entered with a smile. Following her, another woman came in, saying, "Excuse me."

Parfait's first thought upon seeing the woman was magical girl.

Her pink hair was tied in low twin tails, and she wore a frilly white and pink dress. She held a staff with a heart shaped jewel and something like angel wings at the tip. From any angle, she looked like a magical girl.

In a virtual reality, there was no problem with dressing like that. There was even a nice middle aged man who ran around in a T-rex costume, Parfait thought. As she was about to introduce herself, the woman moved first.

The magical girl, presumably Lion, stuck out her tongue and winked, making a so called tehepero face. She brought a peace sign held sideways up to her eye. Then, she bent her right knee, lifted her leg, brandished her staff, and struck a cute pose.

"A magical kiss for your heart! I'm the isekai reincarnation magical girl, Lion-chan! If you don't cheer for me, I'll blow you up!"

She said this and blew a kiss at Parfait.

So this is what it feels like when time stops. Parfait, unable to comprehend what had just happened for a moment, froze with her mouth open.

After about ten seconds of silence, the smile on Lion's face vanished. She turned her back, staggered to the wall, and began to slide down, leaning against it until she was sitting on the floor.

Lion sat on the floor with her back to them, hugging her knees and leaning against the wall.

"...Kill... me..."

"L, Lion-chan! It's okay! You're okay! You're cute! Don't say lines you only hear in horror movies in real life!"

Kazatoki rushed over to Lion in a panic and started rubbing her back.

Parfait wasn't quite sure what had happened, but she first urged them to sit down. Kazatoki helped Lion to a chair, supporting her by the shoulder.

Not knowing what kind of drink to serve, Parfait prepared hot cocoa for the two of them.

After drinking it, Kazatoki and Lion seemed to have calmed down and were finally able to talk.

"Um, well, I'm Parfait. You're Lion-san, right...?"

"Yes, I'm Lion. I'm sorry for startling you so suddenly. My agency, or rather, my clan, requested that I create a character with that kind of setting... It's really against my will, but... I wanted to introduce myself as this kind of person from the start... to minimize the damage... I thought... but..."

Her voice trailed off, and she looked as if she had already sustained a fatal wound. She looked to be about the same age as Parfait, and she seemed embarrassed by her magical girl outfit, perhaps feeling uncomfortable with it. Or rather, she exuded an air of sorrow.

"Um, you can change into normal clothes if you want... It's okay..."

"No, this is the only equipment I have. It's legendary grade equipment on loan from the clan, and as a video streamer, I have to be ready for anyone to see me at any time."

She's a pro, Parfait thought, but it seemed like she was really pushing herself. As she worried about whether she was really okay, Kazatoki, sensing her concern, spoke up.

"She's fine. Lion-chan is popular as 'the video streamer who is being forced by her clan to be a magical girl'."

"It feels like she's the only one who isn't fine, but she's popular for that? And people know she's being forced into it...?"

"During her first real time stream, she forgot to turn off the stream, and the real Lion-chan was broadcast as is. From there, the image of a streamer who reluctantly plays a magical girl at the request of her clan spread."

"Oh, so that's how it is..."

"Now she's seen as a brave and pitiful girl who works as a magical girl to pay for her school fees. It's not a setting, it's just Lion-chan's actual situation."

"...That sounds tough."

Parfait gave her a sympathetic look, but Lion shook her head.

"If I think of it as a part time job where I earn money by chipping away at my soul... but sometimes, it's rough..."

"Ah, um! I've prepared a lot of food and sweets! Never mind the equipment, you can be yourself here, it's okay!"

Working under the assumption that good food could solve anything, Parfait served the two of them the dishes she had made.