A question.
When Mami Tomoe discovered that Makoto Tsukimi, someone who had suddenly appeared in her life, was capable of discussing matters related to magical girls, she had already reacted with such overwhelming enthusiasm.
So what kind of attitude would she have toward Kyubey?
Toward this creature that had accompanied her ever since she became a magical girl?
Toward the one being she could communicate with throughout the roughly three years she had spent living alone, from her first to her third year of middle school?
The affection and excitement Mami displayed upon seeing Kyubey had already explained everything.
And after combining that observation with the information he had previously gathered about Mami, Makoto began developing another idea.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Every magical girl gets to have one wish granted before becoming a magical girl, right?”
“Mami-senpai, would you mind telling me what you wished for?”
Mami Tomoe: “Me?”
Mami’s eyes widened slightly, apparently not expecting Makoto Tsukimi to ask such a direct question about her wish.
However, after a brief pause, a somewhat pleased expression appeared on her face.
After all, wasn’t sharing secrets an important step toward developing a closer relationship?
Mami Tomoe: “Well, in my case, I was saved by this little one.”
She raised Kyubey slightly in her arms, speaking with a mixture of wistfulness and helplessness.
Three years ago, when her parents were involved in a fatal traffic accident, Mami herself had also been on the verge of death.
It was the little creature named Kyubey, now resting in her arms, that had appeared before her and offered her the opportunity to become a magical girl, thereby saving her life.
Makoto Tsukimi: “…”
At that moment, Makoto finally understood completely why Homura Akemi had said Mami would likely suffer a mental breakdown if she learned the truth about magical girls.
Mami Tomoe regarded a devil as both her closest confidant and her lifesaving benefactor.
It was rather like an elderly person treating an insurance salesperson as a beloved family member.
What could possibly be said about such a situation, other than that she was being deceived so thoroughly that there would be nothing left of her?
Yet as a complete stranger, Makoto was in no position to explain any of this to Mami.
After all, when it came to trust, how could a younger student she had only just met possibly compare to Kyubey?
Kyubey had accompanied her through the most vulnerable three years of her life.
It was even the creature she believed had saved her life.
Forget about trying to persuade her.
If Mami discovered that Homura Akemi had been hunting and eliminating Kyubeys, their relationship might turn hostile in an instant.
Furthermore, their earlier conversation had already revealed that Mami had only agreed to meet Makoto after obtaining Kyubey’s approval.
When young children wanted to make friends with strangers, they naturally sought their parents’ permission first.
And the position Kyubey occupied in Mami’s heart was probably no different from that of a family member.
Mami Tomoe: “Is there something on your mind, Tsukimi?”
Perhaps noticing that Makoto had been staring at her for an unusually long time, Mami addressed him in a slightly teasing tone.
Mami Tomoe: “A romantic relationship is out of the question, you know. After all, I’m a magical girl now. You and I aren’t quite the same.”
With her beautiful appearance, elegant temperament, and mature presence, Mami regularly received love letters from boys in her class.
Consequently, when Makoto continued staring at her, she naturally developed a slight misunderstanding.
Or perhaps, somewhere in her subconscious, she actually wanted to interpret his attention that way.
Unable to enjoy an ordinary after-school life like other girls her age, Mami naturally longed for the experiences her peers took for granted.
And among those experiences was, of course, romance.
What girl her age had never entertained such expectations?
However, if someone actually expected Mami to take the initiative, she would find herself unable to abandon her dignified image as a senior.
She wouldn’t even permit herself to seriously entertain such thoughts.
Makoto Tsukimi: “…”
Makoto Tsukimi: “Actually, I already have someone I like, so you don’t need to worry about anything like that, Mami-senpai.”
A polite smile appeared on his face as he responded.
He had simply found himself a convenient excuse to maintain some distance between them.
Strictly speaking, although Mami was doing her best to present herself as a mature and dependable upperclassman, her acting was riddled with obvious flaws in the eyes of an experienced transmigrator like Makoto.
Shifting his gaze away from Mami, Makoto looked directly at Kyubey, who was still resting in her arms.
Beneath the creature’s elongated, feline appearance, its red, glasslike eyes reflected Makoto’s figure.
It continued wearing that same unchanging smile.
At first, Kyubey’s expression had seemed somewhat adorable.
However, after observing it for so long and realizing that its smile hadn’t changed in the slightest, Makoto began experiencing an unsettling sensation resembling the uncanny valley effect.
Even when their eyes met again, Kyubey’s expression remained completely unchanged.
At that moment, Makoto even began suspecting that he might be a tool deliberately selected by the white creature to drive Mami Tomoe into despair.
He recalled the information Homura Akemi had provided about Kyubey.
Kyubey was a creation of an extraterrestrial civilization completely devoid of emotions.
To prevent the universe’s entropy from continually increasing and ultimately bringing about heat death, that civilization had developed technology capable of converting emotions into energy.
However, the species belonging to that civilization possessed no emotions of its own.
Consequently, they turned their attention toward human girls, whose emotions were exceptionally rich.
By exploiting the hopeful hearts of these girls, they could harvest the enormous amount of energy released when those hearts transformed from hope into despair.
In other words, the energy generated when a magical girl fell into despair and became a witch.
Of course, there was no way to verify whether all this information was true.
After all, according to Homura, she had originally obtained it from Kyubey during her repeated time loops.
Whether the information Kyubey had deliberately revealed to her was accurate remained highly questionable.
Nevertheless, there was at least one thing Makoto could confirm.
Kyubey intentionally guided girls into becoming magical girls and subsequently falling into despair.
The creature was undoubtedly obtaining something from this process. This story is hosted at g.com.
As for the possibility that Homura was lying, that she was actually the villain while Kyubey was the good one…
Makoto didn’t think his judgment had deteriorated to the point where he couldn’t distinguish something that obvious.
If he couldn’t even make that assessment correctly, then he would have no one to blame but himself if he ended up being manipulated.
Shifting his gaze once again, Makoto looked toward Mami, who was still watching him with considerable enthusiasm.
The elegant young lady seemed completely immersed in her current happiness.
But what would happen when she finally fell from that happiness?
How devastating would the consequences be?
Makoto’s imagination instinctively began drifting in that direction.
Under the influence of his Sensory Manipulation ability, the scene before his eyes unconsciously changed to match his thoughts.
He could see an illusion of Mami lying on the ground, crying out in anguish.
The sounds of despair seemed to echo beside his ears.
However, the elegant young lady, currently absorbed in her own thoughts, clearly failed to notice Makoto’s unusual state.
After hearing his earlier response, the first thought that appeared in her mind was something entirely different.
Mami Tomoe: “Tsukimi, is the person you like that magical girl whose name you refuse to reveal?”
Her clear voice, carrying a peculiar excitement, was so vivid that it immediately shattered the illusion before Makoto’s eyes.
The gentle girl seemed to have become genuinely interested in the subject after hearing his answer.
And the reason was obvious, wasn’t it?
If a magical girl was capable of entering a romantic relationship with an ordinary human, then surely she couldn’t be someone who completely disregarded the lives of others.
In that case, perhaps Mami could become friends with her.
And if that magical girl was actually concealing her darker side from the younger student standing before Mami…
Perhaps the blonde girl hadn’t consciously entertained such thoughts.
Nevertheless, her subsequent actions might still reflect those hidden, darker impulses.
After all, she was a middle school student who had spent three years living alone following the deaths of her parents.
She was also a middle school student who regularly found herself competing and potentially fighting against other girls her own age.
If her true inner world were as pure and spotless as freshly fallen snow, then it would be the world itself that was unnatural.
When it came to a friend she had chosen, someone she genuinely wanted to keep close, Mami, who possessed so little in her life, was capable of devoting herself wholeheartedly.
At the very least, shouldn’t she ensure that the person she wanted as a friend was safe?
Mami Tomoe: I’m not doing anything wrong by thinking this way, am I, Kyubey?
Apparently uncertain about what she intended to do next, the outwardly elegant young lady questioned Kyubey through the telepathic connection shared by magical girls.
Kyubey: I don’t really understand human concepts of right and wrong.
But if that’s the choice you’ve made, Mami, then following through with your decision should be perfectly reasonable.
Its glasslike eyes showed absolutely no change.
Resting in Mami’s arms, Kyubey continued looking at Makoto as though nothing whatsoever had happened.