Qiluo took the keychain and spun it around her fingertip.
Rei stuffed the keychain into Qiluo's hand.
Her figure immediately vanished behind a row of shelves hung with acrylic standees, leaving only her lingering voice behind.
Standing there holding her bubble tea, Qiluo found her shoulders being bumped by shopping bags from different directions.
She silently took a step to the side, then another, until her back pressed against a relatively quiet supporting pillar in the corner before she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That girl Rei, the moment she stepped into the venue, she became like a runaway horse, with eyes only for those glittering pieces of merch.
She had rushed toward the sales area, muttering words like “limited edition” and “out of print,” and was instantly swallowed up by the crowd.
Watching her act like such a fanatical fan, Qiluo couldn't help but find it a little amusing.
Well, since Rei had already “abandoned” her, Qiluo was happy to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Leaning against the pillar, she took a sip of her bubble tea, her gaze sweeping across the densely packed shelves of merch in front of her.
Badges she didn't recognize, glow sticks she didn't recognize, postcards of Lightweaver—
Wait! Postcards of Lightweaver?
Her gaze suddenly snapped back, landing on the bottommost row of postcard sets.
Printed on the cover was a profile of a figure with white hair and red highlights.
In the bottom right corner, it was labeled “Mysterious Magical Girl · Lightweaver Themed Postcards (Set of 5),” with a promotional sticker next to it that read, “New Arrival! Rapidly rising in popularity!”
She stared at her own image printed on the postcards, the straw pausing at her lips for a long time.
Qiluo almost choked on her taro paste boba, turning her head to cough slightly.
The Lightweaver on the cover was tilting her head at the exact same angle as her, as if saying, “Yes, that's you. Don't pretend you don't know me.”
She squatted down, placed her bubble tea by her feet, and pulled the set of postcards from the shelf.
She flipped through the postcards one by one, as if looking through a photo album that didn't belong to her.
An extremely complex emotion welled up in a corner of her heart.
Things like this must absolutely never be seen by anyone!
She silently stuffed the set back into the very bottom of the shelf, even piling a stack of Meruru folders next to it on top to ensure no one would easily dig it out.
Standing up, she brushed off the non-existent dust from her knees and decided to find somewhere else to hang out.
This pillar was no longer safe.
She walked slowly along the edge of the venue, her straw making a gurgling sound in the bubble tea cup.
The taro paste had settled at the bottom, making the last few sips exceptionally sweet.
Qiluo relied on her special ability: always being able to find a place to slack off even during complex events.
Circling around to the lounge area at the back of the venue, there were finally fewer people.
A few audience members carrying large bags of merch leaned against the wall to drink water, and there was a vending machine in the corner with a few plastic chairs set up beside it.
She was about to walk over to buy a second cup of bubble tea when her peripheral vision caught someone standing in the corner next to the vending machine.
A face mask covered most of her face.
She stood beside the vending machine, holding an unopened can of black coffee, her gaze fixed on the Seisou standee not far away.
Even with her face covered, Qiluo recognized her mana fluctuation at a single glance: Yuzuki Asakura.
She probably wanted to quietly check out the venue before the performance, which was why she had specially chosen casual clothes, avoided the crowds around the main stage, and hid in the corner to quietly watch her younger sister's debut.
But what did that have to do with Qiluo Tian Gong?
Qiluo Tian Gong didn't even know her yet.
Qiluo originally wanted to turn around and walk away.
The vending machine swallowed Yuzuki's coins, emitting a clattering, malfunctioning sound.
She saw Yuzuki squat down and helplessly pat the metal flap of the dispenser slot.
The coffee can just wouldn't drop, yet she refused to pat it with any real force.
Haha, how silly.
This sight was simply too funny, and a little pitiful.
Well, she was free right now anyway, so she might as well give her a hand.
Her sister is my contractor, so rounding it up, we basically have a connection.
Qiluo threw her empty bubble tea cup into a nearby trash can, walked over, bent down, and struck a precise spot just below the dispenser slot.
The coffee can rolled down in response. She picked it up and handed it to Yuzuki.
As a convenience store clerk, dealing with this kind of vending machine was a piece of cake.
“...Thank you,” Yuzuki said as she took the coffee can, her voice a bit muffled through her mask.
She glanced at Qiluo by the light from the side of the vending machine. A brief flash of confusion flickered in her eyes before she quickly regained her composure.
“Are you here to watch the performance too?”
It was the polite social tone used between strangers, but Qiluo could feel her scanning her.
“My friend dragged me along.”
Qiluo took half a step back, leaning against the wall next to the vending machine, and pointed toward the sales area. “She's over there snatching up limited-edition merch, so she told me to just wander around on my own.”
Hearing Qiluo's words, the confusion in Yuzuki's heart deepened.
“You're not interested in idol Magical Girls?”
If she wasn't interested... yet she still let herself be dragged along by her friend...
That meant the person helping her in front of her was someone who treated her friends very well.
“I'm okay with them, but I don't really know much about them.”
Aside from knowing Meruru herself, contracting two Magical Girls, knowing Mingyue and the Wings of Freedom, and being a Magical Girl herself...
Indeed, she didn't really know “much.”
Yuzuki seemed to chuckle, the edge of her mask curving slightly.
“Then why did you come here? Just because your friend dragged you?”
“...Because I wanted to see what a real Magical Girl is like?”
Qiluo leaned against the wall beside the vending machine, and Yuzuki didn't leave immediately either.
She leaned against the other side of the vending machine, keeping a safe and polite distance from Qiluo.
Yuzuki's gaze fell upon the keychain in Qiluo's hand that she hadn't had time to put away yet.
It was a chibi version of Meruru's face.
Following her gaze, Qiluo looked down, only to realize she was still holding the keychain she had picked up from the merch booth earlier.
Rei had stuffed it into her hands, and she hadn't had a chance to put it in her pocket yet.
Yuzuki looked at the keychain, then at Qiluo.
The confusion in her eyes quickly melted away, replaced by a look of... realization?
“Are you a fan of Meruru?”
There was a subtle hint of amusement in her voice, as if she was holding back a laugh.
“No, this is my friend's—”
“I understand.”
Yuzuki tilted her head to look at her, her angle exactly the same as the way Kizuna tilted her head to look at Star-trail.
“No, really, my friend forced this on me—” Qiluo stopped mid-sentence when she noticed that the look in Yuzuki's eyes had shifted from “I understand” to “Let's see how you keep making things up.”
Yuzuki watched Qiluo's reaction.
This kind of reaction was exactly like those fans who were too embarrassed to admit it. Thus, Yuzuki didn't believe her explanation and instead found it rather cute.
Qiluo shut her mouth, stuffed the keychain into her pocket, and decided to give up the struggle.
She felt her face heating up at an unpleasant speed.
Being looked at by Yuzuki with that kind of gaze, as if saying: “Just tell the truth, I won't make fun of you.”
She was absolutely convinced that Qiluo was just a shy fan who didn't dare to admit it.
I am not your fan!
Stop looking at me with those eyes!
How could I possibly have a fan-girl attitude toward you!
This keychain...
I'll find a chance to secretly stuff it back to Rei later. I absolutely cannot let it keep dangling in my hands. It's too embarrassing.
“...Think whatever you want,” she mumbled, turning her face away to stare at the poster of Seisou on the wall, pretending to study the setlist.
Yuzuki didn't tease her further. Her gaze followed Qiluo's to rest on Seisou's poster. “What do you think of Seisou?”
Only after asking did she realize her own nervousness.
In front of a truly objective passerby, any evaluation of her younger sister would be the most genuine feedback.
If she said she looked pretty good, Yuzuki would be very relieved.
If she said she didn't feel much of anything, Yuzuki would completely understand. After all, today was her sister's debut on stage, so it was only normal for passersby to be unfamiliar with her.
But what if she said she didn't think highly of her? Yuzuki wasn't sure if she could handle that kind of comment with a calm mind.
...
Rate on N.U.
