Yukiiwa Mari seemed to be writing something. In a panic, she covered the paper with a book.

Yukieda pretended not to look, but caught a glimpse of the uncovered corner beneath it.

It looked like some kind of article. Was Mari writing a novel of her own?

Mari clearly didn’t want her to see it. Yukieda decided it was best not to pry.

She continued, “Um, Yukiiwa-san, do you know why Mitsumasu-san hasn’t been coming to class?”

Mari looked almost flattered that Yukieda had spoken to her.

“Mitsumasu-san? She’s incredibly popular at this school. People confess to her all the time.” Mari’s eyes filled with something like admiration.

Then she asked warily, “What’s your relationship with Mitsumasu-san, Oriuchi-san?”

I’m her father.

“We’re relatives. I may look like this, but I’m actually her older sister.”

“Huh?” Mari’s eyes widened.

It was as if she were seeing Yukieda for the first time. She looked her up and down.

“But you’re a foreigner, aren’t you? Mitsumasu-san is Japanese.”

“Well, there are various reasons for that. My mother actually remarried. You understand, right?” Yukieda lied without batting an eye.

“Oh, I get it.”

Mari looked at Mitsumasu with a trace of pity. Yukieda had no idea what sort of story she had imagined.

“Come to think of it, Oriuchi-san doesn’t have any reason to lie to me. About Mitsumasu-san, she…”

“Whoosh!”

The classroom door was yanked open roughly.

Several high school girls entered in twos and threes, their uniforms in disarray. Mari immediately shut her mouth and lowered her head deeply.

She gave Yukieda a pleading look, silently telling her to leave.

Yukieda rose naturally and returned to her seat. Her waist-length silver hair danced in the breeze flowing through the window, smooth as satin.

I’ll ask her after school. Mari definitely knows something.

She glanced at Mari and the three high school girls with some curiosity.

Ding-ding-ding!

The hurried school bell rang.

“Stand!”

Class dragged on worse than a day at work.

That’s just how people are. When they’re young, they fantasize about growing up. Once they’re grown, they wonder what it would be like to return to the past.

High school let out early.

Aside from a few students staying behind for classroom duty, most had either gone home or joined their clubs.

Yukieda hadn’t been assigned any duties yet, and she had no plans to join a club for the time being.

By the time she came to herself, Mari was already gone.

Seriously? She vanished in that short amount of time?

But school had only just let out. She couldn’t have gone far.

“Excuse me. Did you see Mari?”

Yukieda asked a boy who had stayed behind for classroom duty. He’d been sneaking glances at her from the very beginning.

Boys around this age… How should she put it?

They were just like that. Their minds wandered everywhere.

“Eh~ Mari?” The tall, skinny boy touched his face awkwardly. Soon, his expression turned strange. “Mari should be on the rooftop right now.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks!”

Yukieda gave him a slight smile, then vanished as swiftly as a snowstorm.

The boy was left standing there with both hands on his mop.

He blankly recalled her smile.

She was practically an elf!

All right, I’ve decided. Tonight, I’m going to fantasize about Oriuchi-san.

The rooftop?

Usually, school rooftops were locked. Yet Yukieda quickly climbed the stairs.

Just before she reached the top, her keen senses picked up the sound of insults behind the rooftop door.

“You fat pig. Do you have any self-awareness at all?”

“An ugly freak is still an ugly freak. Don’t tell me you think you can be friends with the transfer student? Just look at yourself. We’re your only friends, got it?”

“By the way, can you lend me some money today?”

“What are you holding against your chest? Let me see.”

“Hahahaha!”

“A novel? That’s hilarious.”

Yukieda hurried forward and pushed the door open with a frown.

Just as she’d guessed, three girls were bullying Mari. Manuscript pages lay scattered across the ground.

At the sound of the rooftop door opening, everyone turned to look.

Mari saw Yukieda in her uniform and clenched her fists. Her expression was hidden.

“What are you doing?” Yukieda asked, her voice edged with anger.

In the past, Yukieda might have stood by and watched. Interfering would only drag her into trouble.

But things were different now.

Her powerful physical abilities meant she had nothing to fear.

More importantly, she often put herself in Shizuku’s place.

What if Shizuku ever encountered something like this?

Yukieda couldn’t allow it.

What was the leader’s name again?

She didn’t know. This was only her second day of class. It was impossible to remember everyone’s names already.

“Oriuchi-san, you’d better not interfere. We’re educating her.” The tallest girl led the group. She had tied her uniform around her waist, and her face clearly said, Don’t meddle. “We’re teaching Mari how to adapt to society. Isn’t that right, Mari?”

“Yes, Oriuchi-san. They weren’t bullying me. You… you misunderstood.”

Mari raised her head. Snot and tears ran together on her face as she sobbed.

“Tch. You’re disgusting.”

“Ew, don’t touch me! Your hands are covered in grease, you fat pig!”

To be honest, Mari wasn’t even that fat.

She simply looked a little awkward. If she put some effort into it, she’d probably become quite attractive after losing weight.

That was a man’s intuition.

A father’s intuition.

“Mari isn’t a fat pig. You should apologize to her!”

Yukieda faced the trio.

The tallest girl spat on the ground and sneered.

“What did you say, Oriuchi-san? You want me to apologize to a fat pig? Hey, Kocha, Kogi, did you hear that? The transfer student wants me to apologize to the pig!”

“Hahahaha!”

The other two high school girls immediately joined in.

“Hey, transfer student. You’d better know your place and get lost. I’m already being generous because you’re a foreigner. But my patience has limits.”

Mari raised her head and spoke through her sobs.

“Oriuchi-san, I’m fine. You should go back first. I-I’ll talk with everyone a little longer.”

“Hey, who told you that you could speak, you fat pig?”

“I’m sorry, Takeuchi-san!”

“If saying sorry was enough, then what would we need the police for?”

Takeuchi clenched her fist.

It looked like she intended to pour all the anger she’d received from Yukieda into Mari’s face.

Mari shrank back in fear and squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt the wind of the incoming punch.

But she felt no pain.

When she raised her head, Oriuchi-san was standing in front of her.

One hand had locked around Takeuchi’s fist.

Yukieda’s hair had come loose and fallen across her eyes, hiding her expression completely.

“What?”

Takeuchi stared in shock.

I didn’t see how she got here at all.

Takeuchi tried to pull her fist free, but her arm felt as if it had been clamped in a vise.

It wouldn’t move.

“Hey, you! Don’t think I really won’t hit you!”

Enraged and humiliated, Takeuchi swung with her other hand at Yukieda’s soft abdomen.

The attack was extremely sharp. She must have used that move countless times.

If it landed cleanly, even a boy would probably collapse to his knees.

“Oriuchi-san!” Mari cried.

Of course, Yukieda wasn’t about to let it hit her.

She gave Takeuchi a mocking look.

The punch never landed.

By the time Takeuchi came back to her senses, she was already floating in midair.

“Huh?”

Why am I flying?

Takeuchi saw her two lackeys slowly turn their heads. They stared at her in disbelief.

Yukieda stood in front of Mari with one leg raised. The wind on the rooftop lifted her skirt, revealing translucent black stockings and the pure white underwear beneath them.

From Mari’s perspective, Takeuchi was kicked flying by Oriuchi-san.

She crashed directly into the wall of the rooftop shed, then fell to her knees and began vomiting while clutching her stomach.

“What are you two waiting for?” Takeuchi said in agony. “She’s only one person! Take her down!”

As soon as she finished, Takeuchi vomited again.

That kick had felt as if it had shifted every organ in her body.

Yukieda looked at Kocha and Kogi.

Kogi tried to grab her hair. Kocha aimed for her face.

For some reason, Yukieda felt that they were moving so slowly.

This was simply the difference in physical reaction speed.

I’m a cat, while the enemies in front of me are snakes.

It was like watching a hundred-year-old grandma run at you from a hundred meters away, leaning on a cane as she tried to punch you.

You could warm up calmly on the spot, even play with your terminal for a while, then trip her without the slightest hurry.

Is this the difference between a Magical Girl and an ordinary person?

And I haven’t even transformed yet.

Putting gender aside, this body was absurdly powerful.

If she ever had the chance to turn back, Yukieda would refuse without hesitation.

Yukieda sighed again.

I can’t go back anymore.

Takeuchi saw Yukieda move with incredible speed and lightly drive her elbow into Kogi.

Yet that seemingly powerless strike made Kogi put on an absurdly exaggerated performance, like an actor who’d been paid to ham it up.

Yukieda then turned calmly, like a ballerina, and effortlessly dodged Kocha’s slap.

She caught Kocha’s arm before it could retract.

“What are you trying to do?”

A trace of fear appeared in Kocha’s eyes.

Yukieda planted her feet firmly, then threw her with all her strength.

The shoulder throw slammed Kocha into the ground.

The school was still noisy below.

The rooftop was no different.

Kogi and Kocha lay on the ground, groaning in pain.

That was the result of Yukieda holding back. Otherwise, both of them would have been unconscious by now.

Takeuchi leaned against the wall and stared at Yukieda in terror.

“What are you to that ugly girl?”

“Nothing. I just think bullying is wrong.”

Yukieda brushed back her hair and tied the disheveled strands together again.

“You’ll regret this! Just you wait!”

The three girls supported one another as they left.

Yukieda only watched them go. She made no move to stop them.

“Thank goodness Shizuku isn’t a delinquent like them. Otherwise, how would I explain this to my wife?”

Yukieda muttered under her breath.

“What did you say, Oriuchi-san?” Mari crouched on the ground and asked gratefully.

“Nothing. Mari, can you continue telling me about what happened at lunch?”

As she spoke, Yukieda bent down and pulled a packet of tissues from her pocket.

She handed them to Mari.

The rooftop wind stirred Yukieda’s white hair and skirt.

The gentle smile on her delicate face shone brighter than the sunlight.