Anteiku
After returning, Touka continued to serve customers entering the Anteiku, seemingly as if she had just gone out to make a phone call.
However, Touka, who was constantly distracted, could not focus on her work at all; she accidentally spilled coffee all over the floor, and a cup shattered.
“Touka, take a break this afternoon.” Yoshimura noticed that Touka was not in a good state and kindly told her to rest.
“But, Manager…”
“Let’s have a chat after work.”
At night, after the last customer left the Anteiku, the work for the day was finished.
Yoshimura sought out Touka alone and personally brewed her a cup of coffee.
“Touka, can you tell me about what you experienced today?” Yoshimura sat on the sofa and looked at Touka quietly after speaking.
“Manager, this might sound very strange, but please, you must believe me.”
Touka, unable to make up her mind on her own, told Yoshimura everything Kyubey had said to her without holding anything back.
“Kyubey, Magical Girl, wish…”
Yoshimura furrowed his brows, processing this information.
Even with his decades of life experience, these claims were far too outlandish.
What did it mean that becoming a Magical Girl required making a wish?
And what did it mean that as long as one had sufficient aptitude, becoming a god was possible?
If such a Kyubey really existed in this world, shouldn’t Magical Girls be everywhere by now?
“Are there other Magical Girls?” Yoshimura asked.
“I don’t know, I didn’t ask Kyubey, but there probably are, it’s just that we don’t know about them.” Touka recalled the previous girl Kyubey had mentioned.
“You actually already want to become a Magical Girl, don’t you?
Touka!”
When Yoshimura said this, Touka retorted: “I…”
“If you didn’t want to be one, you wouldn’t be so hesitant, and you certainly wouldn’t have brought it up.
What you’re actually hesitating about is what kind of wish to make, right?”
“Touka, are you really going to give up your future for this wish?” Yoshimura knew Touka very well, and he also didn’t want her to give up her future so easily.
According to what that Kyubey said, becoming a Magical Girl meant that one’s life had already begun its countdown.
“Manager, do you think Ghouls have a future?
Can humans and Ghouls coexist peacefully?” Touka asked this first.
Yoshimura fell silent, which was his answer in itself.
He himself certainly had the idea of peaceful coexistence, but would humans?
Would those of his own kind who still enjoyed eating humans?
He could not represent everyone.
Moreover, the Ghoul, this deformed race, had already begun its countdown as human society developed.
“Even if I used a wish to resurrect my father, we would still be hunted down, and humans would not let us go.
Since that’s the case, then let’s just ensure that no more Ghouls are born from now on.”
“As long as no more Ghouls are born, after our generation of Ghouls dies out, our descendants can live openly in society, without worrying about being hunted or captured for experiments.”
Touka became more and more agitated as she spoke, thinking she had found a way to change their fate.
“Calm down, Touka.” Yoshimura was actually stunned by Touka’s suddenly heightened emotions and her wish.
“I know you yearn to live like a human, and I yearn for it too, but, Touka, Kyubey did mention that the magnitude of a wish is determined entirely by one’s aptitude, right?”
“Something like preventing Ghouls from being born is equivalent to completely severing the birth of a race in every aspect.
The feasibility of such a wish, if you’ll pardon me for saying…”
Yoshimura thought for a moment and decided to speak the truth:
“With your aptitude, Touka, it’s likely impossible.”
Yoshimura had more or less understood what this ‘aptitude’ actually was, which is why he believed Touka might not be able to achieve an equivalent exchange.
Because, other than being a Ghoul, Touka was just an ordinary student; the things she could do with that identity wouldn’t generate enough causality.
“Damn it!”
Hearing this, Touka clenched her fists in frustration.
She had finally found a chance to change the fate of her race, but it was highly likely impossible to achieve due to insufficient ability.
“Of course, you can try asking Kyubey if it’s possible; if it can be done, that would be best, but if not, you can aim for something less demanding.”
“For example, enabling other Ghouls to eat human food so they don’t have to rely on eating humans to survive—that, I imagine, should be much simpler.”
Yoshimura was thinking entirely from the perspective of an elder for Touka, which filled her with gratitude.
“I’m just offering a suggestion; the decision is in your hands, Touka.”
“There’s no need to consider it further; I’ll call Kyubey right now!” Touka would not let even a sliver of hope slip away.
“Kyubey?
Kyubey!”
…
Five minutes later, in the living room behind the Anteiku, the entirely white creature appeared before Touka.
“I haven’t introduced myself to you yet, right?
My name is Touka, but I don’t want to be a Ghoul anymore.”
“I want to become a Magical Girl!” Touka was serious and earnest, preparing her wish in her heart.
“You’ve decided so quickly?
I don’t need to repeat the cost, do I?”
Kyubey looked at Yoshimura, who was sitting next to Touka, and knew she had made her decision after talking with the person she trusted most.
“I’ve decided, Kyubey.
My wish is that from now on, no more humanoid creatures like Ghouls, who can only feed on humans, will ever be born!”
Touka stated this grand wish.
However, Kyubey shook its head: “That won’t work, Touka.
Your aptitude isn’t high enough to support a wish of this magnitude.”
Not every girl could realize wishes of such grand conceptual levels; it depended on aptitude.
The Touka before it only had decent aptitude; resurrecting someone was fine, but it was far from enough to change concepts.
“So it really won’t work?” Touka had long been mentally prepared, so she wasn’t pessimistic, and instead continued to make her wish:
“I want to possess the ability to allow Ghouls to eat human food, so that Ghouls no longer need to rely on eating humans to survive.”
“Can this be realized?”
At this point, Touka’s heart was in her throat.
“It can～”
“Before the wish is realized, I have a question.” Yoshimura, who had been watching the conversation in silence, suddenly spoke up:
“Looking at Touka, the wish should be realized very soon, right?”
“Before the wish is realized, I want to ask you, Kyubey, is it true that after Touka…
after she becomes a Magical Girl, she can only wait for death?”
Yoshimura still couldn’t bear to let Touka sacrifice herself.
“Yes, realizing miracles requires a price.” Kyubey admitted.
Unable to hear Kyubey speak, Yoshimura looked at Touka.
Seeing that she didn’t seem to care, he guessed what had been said and remained silent.
Kyubey’s ears, which were looped with rings, perked up, and a burst of intense purple light erupted.
Touka closed her eyes, breaking into a cold sweat in slight pain.
Thud!
With the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, the ritual was quickly completed.
“Alright, the wish has been realized.”
“Why has my clothing become like this???”
Her clothing had changed from a waiter’s uniform into a cute dress with white and black colors, and she wore small black leather shoes on her feet.
Most prominently, what emerged behind her was no longer a bloody Kagune, but translucent wings composed purely of magic, as holy as an angel’s, yet possessing a sense of fragility.
Touka looked at the purple soul gem on the ground, picked it up, and fiddled with it curiously: “Is this a soul gem?”
“Yes, you must protect it well.
As long as the soul gem remains, your body can recover no matter what happens to it.” Kyubey reminded Touka.
“Then, how do I use my ability?”
Touka examined herself curiously, excited and eager to try.
“Try cooking a meal.”
“Just make an ordinary home-cooked meal for humans.”
“Cooking?” This term was too unfamiliar to Touka, yet she was eager to try.
“Manager, let’s call Koma and Kaya to join us!”