Magical Girl Raising Project, Vol. 1

by Asari Endou

  As the years went on, more and more of her classmates began to consider magical girls childish, but even in high school Koyuki stubbornly stuck to her beliefs. To her, they weren’t just fiction—they had become an irreplaceable part of her being. But she knew people would only mock her wish to become one and help people if she ever voiced it, and so she kept it to herself. But she just couldn’t bring herself to abandon her dream.

  It was in middle school that Koyuki first came across Magical Girl Raising Project. It was inevitable that a girl who’d wished all her life to become a magical do-gooder would learn of a game rumored to grant that wish. Still, she didn’t start the game convinced it would actually happen. Her reasoning was something like, “It’s just a rumor that people actually transform, right? Yeah, they’re just rumors. But it’s okay to just wish that they’re true, right? I still like magical girl–themed games, anyway. Besides, it’s free!” Twenty-eight days after starting the game, Koyuki Himekawa became Snow White.

  When she looked in the mirror, she could see the figure she’d dreamed of since she was a child. She hadn’t just dreamed, but had drawn it out on paper. She’d based the outfit on the school uniform from the most popular manga at the time and, as the name “Snow White” indicated, made her outfit entirely white and decorated it with white flowers. While Koyuki had rarely been called lovely, let alone beautiful, the girl in the mirror was truly beautiful. Her skin was a translucent white, her eyelashes long. Snow White was an entirely different person from Koyuki, but it didn’t seem odd that they were one and the same.

  She didn’t think she was dreaming, either. The experience was surreal, for sure, but also overwhelmingly authentic. She jumped and squealed with joy, smacking her head on the ceiling and then falling on her butt. Her mother, surprised by the noise, came to her room to investigate. Fortunately, Koyuki managed to change back in the nick of time and convince her mother she had simply tripped. As a normal human once more, she started to think that maybe it all had been a dream, but then she transformed again.

  And there stood the magical girl Snow White.

  “Yes… Yes… Yesss!”

  “Congratulations, pon.”

  “Yes! Yes! Yesss! Thank you, Fav! I’m so excited to start!”

  She spent the rest of that day smiling so widely her mother began to worry she’d hit her head. That night she snuck out to school, careful not to get caught by her parents. Late at night in the empty school yard, she hopped, leaped, kicked, punched, flipped, and somersaulted, slowly unleashing more and more of the power welling within her, discovering new moves she could never have done before. She had really become the heroine from her imagination. When the realization finally hit her, joy and excitement overwhelmed her without giving her a moment to breathe.

  She did a somersault again, and her skirt flipped up. Perhaps she should have made it a little longer—compared to her school uniform, it was extremely short. She made a mental note to keep her actions more restrained in front of others.

  “Oh, can I use any magic?”

  “You should check the personal data on your magical phone for that, pon.”

  She turned on her new gadget and consulted the page listing various details on Snow White.

  “Hey, Fav.”

  “Yes, pon?”

  “Under personality it says ‘clumsy’ and ‘strong sense of justice,’ which is fine, but what’s this ‘tendency to daydream’?”

  “Humans find it difficult to view themselves objectively, pon.”

  “Really…?”

  Under “Magic” was written, “Can hear the thoughts of those in need,” the perfect ability for Koyuki’s ideal, the champion of the people. She was so grateful to the ones who made this possible. Thank you, Magical Kingdom. Thank you for giving me this wonderful power.

  That day marked Snow White’s debut. Every night she’d sneak out her window to look for people to help: a middle schooler who’d lost her house key, a university student who’d had their car stolen, and a businessman under pressure for money, to name a few. There were also many troubles she couldn’t do anything about, like concealing adultery, a boy unsure of whether or not to confess to the girl he had a crush on, or a retiree desperate for their pension.

  Hearing the thoughts of those in need was the only special ability she possessed, so the only way she could help was to roll up her sleeves and join the fray with her magically enhanced arms, legs, eyes, and ears. However, the problems that could be solved this way were endless, and so work was never in short supply. Only two days after her first transformation, she was earning magical candies left and right, and the candy warehouse in her phone was filled with bottles—and she hadn’t even met her mentor yet.

  At her first chat session, the girls welcomed her with open arms. There was Top Speed, her avatar dressed like a witch; Sister Nana, clad like a nun; Weiss Winterprison, dressed in a long scarf; Nemurin, wearing pajamas; Musician of the Forest, Cranberry, draped in flowers; and La Pucelle in knight’s armor. Top Speed shared her experiences, cracking jokes the whole time, while every now and again Sister Nana would interject with her own. Nemurin hardly spoke, saying she preferred to listen to what others had done. The silent Winterprison simply stood at Sister Nana’s side as Cranberry played music from her chair in the corner.

  Just as the meeting was about to adjourn, La Pucelle approached Snow White. As it turned out, she was in charge of the area just next to Snow White’s and had volunteered to be her mentor. They agreed to meet at midnight the next day at the tallest steel tower by the Kubegahama beach.

  Koyuki had never met another magical girl in real life before, and the excitement caused her to space out even more during class. She received three warnings from her teacher that day, and even her friends worried something was wrong. Becoming a magical girl hadn’t changed Koyuki’s passion for them in the slightest, and now she was going to meet and talk to one face-to-face. And not as a fan and celebrity, but as fellow heroes. It was impossible to calm her racing heart.

  That night, she made sure not to be late by arriving fifteen minutes early, but when she climbed the steel tower she found La Pucelle already there. Magical girls possessed great night vision, so even on that moonless night, she could see clear as day the lone knight standing at the top of the tower. Her armor consisted of wrist guards, a breast guard, and shin guards, with a giant sword more than a foot wide and a yard long slung across her back. An image of a fiercely roaring dragon decorated the sheath. Hornlike hair decorations and a tail accessory extending from her waist completed the dragon imagery.

  Her magical girliness—her femininity—however, was still quite apparent even under all that armor. Where some might cover up, she left her cleavage and thighs clearly visible. Her hair was done up just so, barely touching her shoulders, with a few strands dangling from each side of her head. La Pucelle heard Snow White arrive and shifted her gaze from the ocean to Snow White. Her expression was regal, but she also seemed uncomfortable. Snow White panicked, thinking she’d shown up late.

  “U-um, it’s nice to meet you… Well, we’ve talked before, via chat, so it’s nice to meet you in person? Is that okay? Anyway, it’s nice to meet you!”

  It wasn’t a very good greeting. In fact, it was fair to call it terrible. And Snow White, head bowed deeply, knew that more than anyone.

  She glanced at La Pucelle. Arms crossed, the other girl gave three deep nods. “I knew it,” she said with a husky voice. “Koyuki?”

  Question marks flickered in Snow White’s mind at hearing her name from this person she’d never met.

  “H-how do you know my real name?”

  “I knew it was you. It’s me, Souta.”

  “Huh?”

  “Souta Kishibe. We went to the same school until two years ago. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me.”

  “Wh-wh-whaaaaaaaaat?!”

  The reason Souta Kishibe had realized Snow White’s true identity was simple—she closely resembled the drawing of a
magical girl Koyuki had labeled her “grown-up self.” Souta, her childhood friend, had seen her draw it—even memorized it. The first time he saw Snow White’s avatar, he had suspected it might be her. Meeting her in person just confirmed it.

  The reason Koyuki Himekawa hadn’t realized La Pucelle’s real identity was equally simple. She never could have imagined that tan, energetic, soccer-loving boy as a regal female knight. Even knowing the transformation could change one’s body, clothes, age, and physical prowess, she had never guessed it could also change one’s gender. The two of them sat next to each other on the steel tower and chatted until the sun was nearly risen, rekindling their old friendship.

  “So was it Magical Girl Raising Project for you, too, Koyuki?”

  “Yeah. One day Fav just started talking to me. I thought it was some sort of event, and the next thing I knew I was a magical girl. How long have you had powers, Sou?”

  “About a month, I think. Man, I’m so surprised you ended up one.”

  “Hey, I’ve always loved them! I’m more surprised at you.”

  “I’ve always loved them, too, you know. I just didn’t tell anyone,” Souta said. There was a world of difference between boys and girls liking this sort of thing. In middle school, a girl would be considered odd, while a boy would be considered a pervert. He’d had to walk a town over to get his fix at the DVD rental shop where no one knew him and conceal his manga and light novels inside his school desk, hiding like a Christian in the Edo period.

  “Sou, I thought you forgot all about magical girls and went for soccer instead.”

  They’d been forced to go to different middle schools because they lived in different districts, but Koyuki had seen Souta running during early-morning practice many times.

  “Soccer’s fun, but it can’t scratch the same itch.”

  “I wonder if there are any other boy magical girls.”

  “According to Fav, I’m the only one in the area, and even globally it’s pretty rare.”

  “Are you really a girl now?”

  “When I transform, I’m completely female. Yeah, no doubt about that.”

  For some reason, La Pucelle’s cheeks reddened slightly with embarrassment.

  They made two rules: to work together, and to always stay in character, even when they were alone. And so the Snow White–La Pucelle duo was formed. Voices from those in trouble reached Snow White’s ears, no matter how big or small the problem. Using her magic, she roamed the city searching for people to help. La Pucelle became her partner, but her magic was not as peaceful as Snow White’s. It was much more violent. La Pucelle appointed herself the role of bodyguard, insisting she would protect Snow White if something ever happened. Not that anything could threaten a magical girl.

  CHAT #1

  The goal of Magical Girl Raising Project’s chat function was to allow the players to communicate through their avatars. Thus, the weekly chats also made use of this function. The chat room, modeled after a conference room, opened its doors, and one after another, the little characters made their way inside.

  Cranberry has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Magicaloid 44 has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Swim Swim has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Top Speed has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Magicaloid 44: Greetings

  Top Speed: Sup

  Cranberry:

  Snow White has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Tama has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Nemurin has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Snow White: Good evening! Nice to see you all!

  Swim Swim: Yo

  Tama: Arf!

  Ripple has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Top Speed: Wow, look who finally decided to show!

  La Pucelle has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Nemurin: Hi

  Magicaloid 44: Greetings, rare character

  Ruler has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  La Pucelle: Good evening, ladies

  Calamity Mary has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Ruler: Evening.

  Sister Nana has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Winterprison has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Sister Nana: Good evening, everyone. Blessings to you all.

  Winterprison: Hey

  Minael has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Yunael has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  Calamity Mary: This message cannot be displayed due to bad language.

  Yunael: Hiya!

  Minael: Yay!

  Fav has entered the Magical Kingdom.

  The chat room was crammed with avatars.

  Musician of the Forest, Cranberry flopped back onto the bed she’d been sitting on, magical phone in hand, and rolled over the old sheets onto her stomach. Her hair, fixed with a flower-shaped clip, flipped up softly and brushed against her waist.

  If the top of a tall building was the perfect resting spot for magical girls, then an abandoned cabin in the middle of the mountains was the perfect residence for them. Someone like Cranberry, who had no life in the human world, needed only solitude and a roof over her head. The resort hotel near the peak of Mount Takanami, abandoned halfway through construction, had fit her needs for over half a year. No one knew she was there.

  Thanks to Fav’s insistence that there would be an important announcement, no one had attempted to skip out on that week’s chat. Some, like Ripple, were clearly there against their will and remained sullenly silent without even an attempt at a greeting, but still, every magical girl active in N City was accounted for. This had never happened once since the weekly chats had begun, and the small room was packed like a can of sardines.

  Top Speed: Hey, weren’t we getting a new girl?

  Fav: Oh, that’s next week, pon

  Fav: Although, this conversation does involve her…

  In total, there were fifteen magical girls active in N City, which meant adding a new one the following week would bring the total to sixteen. That was too much, even for a metropolis like N City. The mana that powered their magic depended on the land and was, consequently, a limited resource. The addition of another would drain mana from the land even faster and deplete it in no time.

  After summing up the current situation, Fav eagerly made his big announcement.

  Fav: And so, we’ll be cutting down on the number of magical girls, pon. Half—eight—is our goal, pon

  The room was silent as the girls processed what Fav had just said. A moment later, a storm of criticism, a tide of complaints, and an endless stream of questions and concerns followed. The size of a rock is most understandable from the splash it makes. Speech bubbles from the avatars covered the screen, filled with everything from all caps to colored text, and it became nearly impossible to see anything in the already tiny chat room. Fav bowed and apologized over and over. He even seemed to be shedding fewer scales than normal.

  Exactly what method would they use to cut down the numbers?

  Fav: This magical girl chat is held once every week, pon

  Fav: so once a week we will announce who has been cut here

  Fav: for eight weeks until eight of you have been let go, pon

  Fav: The one with the fewest magical candies

  Fav: will be the one to go, pon

  Cranberry was well aware that nobody was about to say, “Who do you think you are, pretending like nothing’s wrong when we’re in this thanks to your incompetence? If that’s how it is, I quit!” They had all joyously accepted their new status as magical girls. Tasting such great power and then losing it would upset anyone. The higher they rose, the harder they fell, and the deeper they despaired.

  Fav: To repeat:

  Fav: Once a week, the girl with the fewest magical candies will be cut, pon

  Fav: So please work your hardest to gather lots of candies, pon

  Fav: Fav is very, very sorry for the inconvenience, pon

  Fav: Oh, and

  Fav:
there has been an update to your phones, so please be sure to check that out, pon

  Fav: That’s all, pon

  Fav: See you here in one week

  Cranberry logged out from the chat, turned off her device, and threw it at her pillow.

  In the week after the chat, magical-girl sightings spread like wildfire. The Internet was blowing up.

  A princess chased away a scary dog.

  Twin angels flew through the sky to recover a lost balloon.

  A girl in a white school uniform helped push a car out of a ditch.

  The farther they spread their activities, the more chances there were for them to be seen. They were desperate to gather as much magical candy as possible to increase their chances of ending up in the final eight, which drove up reckless exposure, traffic for news sites, and public awareness.

  “Whatcha lookin’ at, Ripple?”

  Ripple, sitting on the roof of an office building, heard a voice from above. She continued to stare at her magical phone, neither answering nor turning toward the sound.

  “Oh, is that the news? Everyone’s working so hard now, huh?”

  Top Speed alighted next to her, and Ripple finally turned her head.

  “Snow White’s really working her butt off. Geez, save some for the rest of us, right?”

  Sightings of the white magical girl were leaps and bounds ahead of sightings of the others. She wasn’t even doing anything spectacular. Her assistance came in small, everyday actions like picking up dropped change, ferrying forgotten lunches, and reminding people to zip up their flies. Was helping with mundane difficulties a magical girl’s true purpose? Or was she simply not capable of undertaking greater issues? According to the Internet, at least, it appeared to be the former.