CH 5

5 - Starlight

After Keisuke speaks and turns away, her face red, Reines stares straight at her and says,

“Huh?”

It seems that she doesn’t understand at all.

“No, I don’t want to say it twice,” Keisuke said, still looking away from Reines and embarrassed about calling herself a magical girl.

“What’s the difference between that and a magician?” Reines asked, bluntly demanding an explanation.

“What’s the difference? It’s totally different!” Keisuke said. “What a witch is, is someone who wears a black hood and stirs mysterious liquids in a cauldron, right?”

“Huh?” Reines asked.

“A Magical Girl is a female version of a HERO![sic] with love and courage who protects everyone from bad guys!” Keisuke cried with all her heart. “But don’t you know that already?”

“I don’t get you at all!” Reines yelled. “Are you some kind of idiot?!”

However, the attempt didn’t seem to reach Reines at all, and the air became tense.

“Anyway! I’m not a witch, just… please, believe me,” Keisuke said, her passionate voice slowly becoming weak and feeble.

“You use magic I’ve never heard of and restrained me so easily, if you’re not a witch, then what the hell are you?!” Reines yelled. “Do you know how unusual this situation is right now?!”

“No, I don’t know, so that’s why I’m asking, right?” Keisuke said.

“The First of the Order of the Holy Emperor is being restrained by a witch and suffering such humiliation as this, if this isn’t a time to despair, then what even is despair!!?” Reines screamed. “I have fought my whole life to kill you witches! And yet, you do this… don’t insult me anymore, if you’re going to kill me, then hurry up and kill me!!!!!”

Tears started spilling in Reines eyes now.

“No, I won’t kill you,” Keisuke said.

“If so, what is your purpose?” Reines said.

“I want you to listen to me!” Keisuke yelled.

Keisuke takes a breather from the numerous failed attempts at a dialog with Reines then spoke again:

“I’m not a witch”

Keisuke looks Reines in her eyes, clearly denying her being a witch, straightforwardly and honestly.

Whether she thinks she’s a villain or not, you can tell just by looking at her, that Keisuke is showing Reines the eyes of a person telling the truth.

Looking straight and unflinchingly into someone’s eyes, you can’t lie, at least not like those who were villains, if you can’t see the evil in them, then who is this woman? What if a woman who uses magic is not a witch?

Reines was beginning to get curious about who this stranger was. “If that’s the case, then you’re–”

GOOOOOOOOO!!!

She was suddenly caught off by a roaring sound as something flew into the city.

“What the hell?!” Reines yelled.

Falling from the sky, was an eye-popping sight of a steel mechanical doll.

Yes, a giant robot! It was the very thing that Keisuke had longed and dreamed of–

It was a Magical Mobile Knight!

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Keisuke screams in excitement, looking up at the robot and its powerful aura with envy.

The giant robot slowly descends from above Keisuke and Reines’s heads.

Bang…!!! As it lands and shakes the ground, the robot speaks:

“You there, woman!!! You did a good job a while ago!!!”

“I think he’s calling you,” Keiuske said, turning to the still-restrained Reines.

“Not, not me! It’s you!” the robot cuts in.

“Me?” Keisuke asked.

“Who else could it be other than you?!!” the robot’s pilot said.

“Huh? No, what are you talking about?” Keisuke asked.

The pilot angrily climbs out of the robot’s cockpit and shouts, “No!! You told us earlier, didn’t you? ‘We’ll remember this!’, get it now?!”

Keisuke thinks back and after a few seconds, she gets it.

It seems that the stock villains earlier came to get their revenge on a giant robot but it took a while to get that because they made so little of an impression on her.

“Oh, sorry, you’re the small fry I just chased away?” Keisuke asked.

“That’s right!” the pilot said. “We’re the small fry! And you’re just a little girl! You may be a master of magic, but I’ll bring you to your knees with you using this Magic Machine!”

“Magic Machine?” Keisuke asked.

As the villainous giant robot pilot makes threats, he does a cheesy bad guy pose on top of his machine.

“Aah, I don’t really get it…” Keisuke said, disappointed that the villains don’t understand the appeal of giant robots in the slightest.

“Prepare yourselves!” the pilot said.

“Goodness, this is wasted on you!!” Keisuke yelled. “You all get to ride on such a cool robot?! You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

Her anger is bared against the people who do not understand the passion and charm of giant robots at all.

Keisuke is disappointed, but Reines calls out to her, “Hey, why are you making trouble with the witch kindred?”

“Because I saved a girl who was surrounded by them, and they got tangled up with me, and I got pissed off, so I used magic to get rid of them…” Keisuke grumbles.

“Aren’t witch kindred like family to you?” Reines asked.

“What do you mean, ‘witch kindred’?” Keisuke asked.

“Are you serious?” Reines asked.

“Do you think I’d joke about that?” Keisuke snapped back.

Reines is overwhelmed by the unexpected response, Keisuke’s question was so far beyond the common sense of the world.

“Don’t lie to me!” Reines snapped.

“I don’t even know what I’d be lying about!” Keisuke said.

“Hey! Don’t talk like you’ve got time to spare!!” the pilot yelled.

“SHUT UP!!!” both of them yell before they go back to arguing.

As the pilot realizes these two don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation, they decide to take forceful measures.

“Don’t you ignore meeeeeee…!!!!!” the pilot yelled.

DAGAAAAAAHHHH….!

A giant fist thrust right next to them. The impact was tremendous that everything in front of it was blown away or scooped out, and a building exploded into debris.

“How about that?!” the pilot sneered. “Are you surprised? Are you scared? Do you want me to forgive you? Then bow your head and beg for forgiveness! Hyahahahahahahaha!

“Reperia.”

Completely ignoring the cheap taunt, Keisuke immediately repairs both the buildings and the ground destroyed by the magic machine.

“Huh? What is that magic?” the pilot asked.

While the thugs were taken aback by magic they’d never seen before, Keisuke approached the giant robot and observed it.

“Amazing, it really is moving… what’s powering it? Is the engine for this magic machine a magicist?” Keisuke asked.

The image of a young girl drooling over a magic machine is a bit strange.

“You’re a witch, yet you don’t know what a magical machine is?” Reines asked.

“A magic machine? Is this what a magic machine is?” Keisuke asked. “So coooll, I’m so impressed… also, I’m a magical girl, not a witch.”

The behavior and attitude that is too unlike a witch, and even though she learned that the magic machine was made by witches, her reaction was as if she were seeing it for the first time.

Reines doubts the existence of this mysterious “magical girl” but she doesn’t know what else to call her.

Is she acting to catch a Holy Knight off-guard?

Or does she really not know?

“You, what’s your name?” the pilot asks.

“Huh? Me?” Keisuke asked.

“Yes, you, what’s your name?” the pilot continues.

“Ummm, Yoko–” Keisuke starts before she wonders if she should introduce herself as “Yokoi Keisuke.”

“Hey! Are you listening to me!?” the pilot cried as Keisuke suddenly shut up.

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However, Keisuke continues to think it over.

Does she really want to keep being Yokoi Keisuke?

The reason for her being reincarnated into this world, the reason for her becoming Lulurun, the reason for something like a mobile magic knight in front of her, the reason for Yokoi Keisuke’s death, and the reason for being able to use magic again.

If all of them have reasons, what is the name she should give herself now? Keisuke looks at her hands and decides:

“DON’T YOU IGNORE US!”

“… Lulurun,” Lulurun said.

“Aah?” the pilot went.

“My name is Lulurun, the Magical Girl Lulurun!”

Without a trace of shame, Keisuke is not afraid to call herself her reborn name, Lulurun, clearly and looking straight ahead, Yokoi Keisuke is now the Magical Girl Lulurun.

“Lulurun?” Reines asked.

“Don’t say something so STUPID!!!” the pilot screams.

“I can solve anything!” Lulurun said. “I’m the Magical Girl Lulurun!!!”

The magic machine’s fist swung down, it impacted with a massive crash and a shockwave, striking Lulurun directly.

“Absorti.”

Lulurun catches the blow with one hand and absorbs the impact with her magic as if it didn’t even hit.

“IMPOSSIBLE….!” the pilot yelled.

“Iberai.”

Shortly after the chant, DON!! The impact that Lulurun absorbed was released and sent the gigantic magic machine flying back.

“WHAAAAAATTTT?!” the pilot yelled, confused. “WHAAAT THE HEEELLLL?!!! HEY!! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DOOOO!!!??”

Lulurun asked him, “Tell me one thing.”

“Huh?” the pilot goes.

“Why must the witches use their power to abuse people who can’t use magic?” Lulurun asked. “Isn’t magic supposed to be an important power for protecting people?”

“Huh?” the pilot asked, offended. “What are you going on about? Magic is everything in this world! Nothing wrong with humans who can use magic dominating the inferior races!” the villains said. “We, the witch kindred blessed by the witches, rule this world!”

The magic machine regains its footing in midair and deploys the ax stored in its waist.

“I’ll blow you away with all the magical power the witch gave me!” the pilot said. “DISAPPEAR, LITTLE GIRL!!!”

“Don’t fuck with me…” Lulurun growled.

“RUN AWAY, MAGICAL GIRL!!!!” Reines screamed.

Lulurun heard her, but—

“I’M NOT GOING TO RUN AWAY!!!!!”

Lulurun stomps the earth, and a gigantic magical circle forms around her.

“What the? What is this?” Reines whispered, shocked at the spell she’d never seen before.

“Magic is for people, for the world, for dreams, not for looking down on others!!!!” Lulurun screamed.

“Diiiiiieeeeeeee! HIIIIIYAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” the pilot screams.

“Chant omitted, Desmond,” Lulurun said, sticking her fist out toward the ax coming down on her.

It’s obviously an unwinnable situation, that little girl’s first couldn’t match against a gigantic magic machine ax.

Or so everyone thought—

However! That common sense was drowned out by the magical light coming from Lulurun.

The moment when the ax of the demon machine and the fingertips of Lulurun touch.

When the magic circle expands dramatically from the tip of the ax and wraps around the entire machine, they glow bright and instantly become dust.

The powdered remains shine and twinkle like stars.

“Just who the hell are you?” Reines whispered, entranced by the girl surrounded by starlight.

“I’m Lulurun, the Magical Girl Lulurun,” Lulurun replied.

Lulurun, reborn in this world, has taken the first step of her new life here.