-----
-----
"Anyway, that's the truth. I was just helping purify her magic."
Blake spoke clearly, meeting their eyes without the slightest hint of guilt. When you've done nothing wrong, there's nothing to hide.
Anna Yanami clutched her chest and muttered under her breath,"Witches and magic… this is so unscientific. Poor Newton must be rolling in his grave."
"…It is pretty strange," Sagiri added, arms folded, her delicate brows knitting together.
(In the last loop, Elf was just a normal person. So how did she turn into a magical girl this time?)
(This makes no sense!)
(…Though, to be fair, neither do I.)
"Blake, how long does the purification take?" Yanami leaned forward, concern written all over her face.
Whether it made sense or not didn't really matter to her. What mattered was how long Blake had to hold hands with someone else.
They weren't dating. Just childhood friends. But watching him hold another girl's hand—and not being able to stop it—still felt awful.
"Just a few more minutes," Blake replied.
"…Big bro," Sagiri tilted her head, "does it have to be hand-holding? Couldn't she just grab your arm instead?"
Blake: "…"
Yamada Elf: "…"
Well.That was a perspective no one else had considered.
"I didn't think of that," Blake admitted honestly. "Next time, you can just hold my arm."
He paused, then added, "Also, you two need to keep the invisibility thing a secret. If word gets out, Elf might end up locked in some underground lab, subjected to all kinds of… unpleasant experiments."
"Huh?!" Sagiri gasped, covering her mouth. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone!"
Even if Yamada Elf was technically the "bad woman" trying to steal her brother, they'd actually gotten along well in the previous loop. No way she'd let anything happen to her.
"Don't worry, Blake. My lips are sealed," Yanami said seriously, though the faint blush on her cheeks still hadn't faded. "But… isn't that whole 'being dissected for research' thing just a myth? In manga, magical girls usually get treated like VIPs by the government."
"Better safe than sorry," Blake said quietly. "It's smarter to stay cautious."
"Exactly. I don't want to be exposed either," Yamada Elf chimed in. "I had a dream last night where people in lab coats captured me and started drawing my blood for experiments… I've always hated needles, and blood tests are even worse. So yeah—no way I'm letting that happen."
Blake glanced at her. "If you don't want to get caught, then don't overuse your invisibility."
"But you can't get caught while you're invisible!"
"And the side effects?"
"Ehehe~" Elf stuck out her tongue, slipping into a playful, almost coquettish tone. "That's what you're for, Blake. You'll help me purify my magic, right?"
Two sharp gazes instantly locked onto Blake's face.
"…Try taking care of yourself instead of relying on others," he said flatly.
Elf puffed her cheeks slightly. "But you've already seen—ah!"
She suddenly let out a small cry, hurriedly covering her mouth as her face flushed bright red.
"Elf? What's wrong?" Sagiri asked, concerned.
"I-I'm fine…" Elf's eyes darted away. No way she was admitting what had just happened.
Getting her palm tickled out of nowhere—of course she'd get embarrassed.
Blake quietly let out a breath and wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
That was close. If Sagiri and Yanami found out what happened last night, it'd be a serious headache.
"Blake, why do you look so nervous?" Yanami tilted her head suspiciously.
"I'm fine," he said, sitting up straight and staring ahead. "Just drank too much water. Need to use the bathroom."
"…"
Time passed quietly.
Blake occasionally checked the purification progress in his mind. Once it finished, he quickly let go of Elf's hand.
"All done. You can head home now."
"Nope. Going home alone is boring, and cooking for one is a pain." Elf plopped down on the sofa, refusing to move. "I'm staying for dinner."
Blake looked at her, speechless. "Aren't you supposed to be organizing your intel?"
"I already memorized everything. Don't underestimate me," Elf said brightly. "I woke up at 6:30 this morning and activated invisibility at the same time. It was 6:30 p.m. just now—so the maximum duration is twelve hours."
"Using it long-term will probably make the side effects worse."
"Also…" Elf raised her right hand and snapped her fingers, then looked at Sagiri and Yanami. "Can you still see me?"
"Clear as day," Yanami blinked.
"Yeah… figures." Elf crossed her arms, resting her chin on her hand. "Guess I can't turn invisible again right away. If we use game terms, my ability's on cooldown. I can feel it—I need to rest before I can use it again."
"…Makes sense," Blake nodded.
If there were no cooldown, the time limit wouldn't mean anything. She could just reactivate it immediately and basically stay invisible forever.
"I read something once—there's no such thing as being uniquely special in this world…" Yanami raised her hand, her blue eyes shimmering with curiosity. "So besides Elf, are there other magical girls?"
"Of course there are," Elf said without hesitation, hands on her hips. "There's even someone who can stop time."
"Wha—?!" Yanami's eyes went wide as she turned to Blake in disbelief. "Time stop? That can't be real, right?"
Blake hesitated for two seconds… then nodded.
"…Yeah. Someone can stop time."
Elf had already said it, so denying it now would be pointless. Still, until Mahiru gave permission, her identity had to stay secret.
"N-No way!" Yanami clutched her chest, panic all over her face.
In those "adults-only" stories, time-stop powers were always used for… questionable things.Absolutely not. She refused to be messed with like that!
Sagiri looked uneasy too. Compared to invisibility, time stop was on a whole different level.
"Blake, the person with time-stop powers… is she a girl like Elf?"
"Yeah," Blake said gently. "She's kind, and she's a good person. You don't need to worry."
"That's a relief…" Yanami sighed, relaxing slightly.
"At least she's a girl…"
But not long after, a new sense of urgency crept in.
She'd thought having the "Losing Heroine Diary" made her special.Turns out there were all kinds of girls out there with incredible abilities?
Could it be that long-haired girl who was with Blake at the café earlier today?
Damn it!
Why am I not a magical girl?!
I wanna cuddle too!
"....."