The sound of rain.
It was another rainy winter night in Tokyo. A thin layer of water covered the ground, reflecting the sparse lights of the residential buildings and streetlamps. Luo Yuanqing suddenly stopped, lowered his head, and stared at his reflection in the puddle.
“Is it really that similar?” he muttered, tracing the contours of his face. “Looking exactly like a popular idol…”
The idol who shared his face was named Mine Mizuho. This face was supposed to appear on massive billboards on office buildings, not be hunched over in a rented apartment looking for new job opportunities.
He had been working hard at applying for jobs, but in every interview, the only response he ever got was “You look so much like Mine Mizuho,” and today was no different.
“Man, it’s hard to find a job in Japan. This face is a real hassle sometimes; it just invites gossip,” he continued walking, stepping through the puddles and sending out soft ripples. “I even forgot to bring an umbrella today…”
Fortunately, although it was cheap, his nightly dinner was still one of his few comforts. Tonight’s meal consisted of two rice balls, heated up at the convenience store.
He picked up one of them and was just about to shove it into his mouth when a loud *boom* thundered, startling him so much that the rice ball slipped from his hand and landed in the rainy mud.
“(Expletive in his native tongue!)”
He blurted it out, his voice a mix of sorrow and anger.
Turning around, he saw a massive Bat Monster hanging over the city under the flickering lights. Half of Yuanqing’s body was engulfed in its shadow. The noise from earlier had been the sound of it climbing onto the building.
*Roar!* It bellowed, and Yuanqing felt a vibration in his waist that reached deep into his internal organs.
These so-called monsters had suddenly appeared over the last few decades. As for their origin, no one understood it; they were simply terrifying and harmful.
However, Yuanqing did not panic and flee in a frenzy. A monster like this certainly wouldn’t exist for long.
This was because of the existence of Magical Girls.
They appeared alongside the monsters, born to defeat them and protect the peace of the world. They were the world’s benefactors.
Even if they chose to stop being Magical Girls for various reasons, they could receive a substantial amount of welfare money from the government, paid out year-round.
The status of a former Magical Girl was also the best stepping stone. When looking for a job, almost no interviewer would turn them down. Most former Magical Girls, however, leveraged their natural popularity to become idols. It could be said that regardless of the path they chose, the future of a Magical Girl was always brilliant.
But that was someone else’s future.
‘Sigh… I’m thinking about the future again. Just keep working hard.’
Thinking this, Yuanqing, who had completely forgotten it was still raining, couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.
The Bat Monster roared again, threatening the lights of the surrounding city that had yet to go out.
“Hey! Hey!” a shrill voice pierced through from behind Yuanqing. “Don’t you want to defeat the monster and save the world?”
“?”
Yuanqing turned his head. Behind him, there was only a Raven.
“Hey! I’m talking to you!” If Yuanqing hadn’t finally developed a mental illness, then the only possibility was that this Raven was actually speaking. “Don’t you want to become a Magical Girl?”
Yuanqing fell silent.
“…Whose pet Raven got out?” Yuanqing broke the silence. “And they’re training it to say things like that?”
The Raven went silent for a moment as well. After reacting, it let out an exaggerated “Ha?” and flapped its wings to fly in front of Yuanqing, giving his shin a sharp peck.
“Ouch…” Yuanqing pulled his leg back in pain.
The Raven splashed rainwater everywhere, sounding very agitated. “Who are you calling a pet? I’m a proper familiar, okay!”
“A familiar?” Yuanqing asked, confused. “Like one of those talking, personified things that serve as a source of power for a Magical Girl?”
“Exactly!” The Raven stood as straight as a soldier, its chest puffed out with pride. “Quickly, sign a contract with me and defeat that Bat Monster! Mine Mizuho!”
Mine Mizuho. It was that familiar name again. If he didn’t like having long hair so much, Yuanqing would have cut it long ago to show his determination that ‘I am not Mine Mizuho.’
Yuanqing clutched the remaining warm rice ball. “You have the wrong person. I’m not—”
“Enough talk! You’re not what? Don’t think I’m easy to fool just because my popularity value is low right now! You look… you… what do you look like again?” The Raven flew up and squinted its eyes as it leaned in front of Yuanqing’s face. “Oh, right. Long curly hair, sanpaku eyes, several beauty marks, and that perfect world-weary look when you aren’t making an expression. Who else could you be but you! Mine Mizuho!”
‘…Huh?’
What about the bust size? The height? The voice? Was it really not going to verify any of that?
It mentioned that its popularity value was low; did it have something to do with that?
Before he could speak, the massive Bat Monster seemed to grow tired of merely intimidating the area. It opened its mouth full of fangs and unleashed a sweeping sound wave.
The glass of the shops on both sides of the street shattered instantly, shards flying along with the rain.
Yuanqing immediately covered his head and crouched down as several pieces of glass splashed into the water near him. Just as the Raven familiar had said, the situation was urgent.
Because of this, the Raven was clearly too panicked to spend any more time verifying. “Didn’t we agree on this that day? I need popularity as a source of power, but the active Magical Girls can’t maintain my high-intensity manifestation at all. Only you, as a top idol, have enough potential popularity to transform into the power to save the world!”
Yuanqing confirmed one last time. “I have to fight? Me? Fight a monster? Uh… for real?”
“For real! Listen, Mine Mizuho! I don’t know why, but don’t you want to escape this version of yourself who can only eat cheap rice balls on a rainy night? Sign a contract with me!” The Raven pecked Yuanqing again. “Become the person you’ve always dreamed of being.”
Those words made Yuanqing tremble.
Completely crushing his miserable life was exactly what he wanted. Moreover, at this moment, it seemed no one else was coming to defeat this monster besides him.
And if he could manage to get the status of a Magical Girl, the welfare benefits alone would be enough for him to live in Tokyo for a lifetime.
Defeat the monster, save the world, and make some good money. It was his duty!
A sudden sense of mission burned fiercely within him.
“…I’ll sign!”
“That’s the spirit!” The Raven hopped up excitedly.
“Before that!” Yuanqing stopped the excited Raven. “I’m going to eat this rice ball first. If I don’t eat it now, it’ll get cold…”
“…”
—
A while later, the shadow of the Bat Monster continued to circle over Tokyo.
Although it hadn’t reached the point of injuring people yet, no one dared to bet on when this peace would end.
“Why hasn’t a Magical Girl arrived yet?”
“Didn’t they say a new Magical Girl would be suppressing it?”
“Then where is she?”
Just as everyone was panicking, a pair of black wings that seemed to blot out the sky brushed through the rainy night, and raven feathers drifted down.
“I am the incarnation of justice! ‘Miss Raven’!” Yuanqing forced himself to hold back, trying not to get stage fright or burst out laughing at such lines. “Someone must step forward where others fear to tread. This is my mission!”
The Bat Monster turned around in confusion. After seeing that the opponent was a Magical Girl, it didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately began gathering another sound wave in its throat.
The Raven perched on Yuanqing’s shoulder, cheering him on. “Keep it up! While I don’t agree with your first announcement being both cringe and tacky, your mission statement at the end was really cool!”
“…Just don’t make me say it a second time.” Yuanqing was somewhat speechless.
Fortunately, this Magical Girl uniform was a black female robe, which could hide his physique and conceal his true identity. Yuanqing felt secretly relieved.
As the Bat Monster was about to unleash the sound wave, the falling raven feathers stuffed themselves into the monster’s throat, forcing the attack to backfire and explode internally.
Countless cameras were immediately aimed at Yuanqing.
“That’s her! I recognize her!”
“It’s Miss Mine! Mine Mizuho!”
“So she’s the new Magical Girl!”
In the direction Yuanqing had come from, the sound of boots clicking against the ground suddenly echoed as Mine Mizuho, wearing a black trench coat, came running out stumblingly.
She didn’t have an umbrella either, and her carefully styled curly hair was wet and plastered to her cheeks. She didn’t even notice that she had stepped on a rice ball. She stared at the figure in the air who looked exactly like her, fighting the Bat Monster.
“Wasn’t that… my scheduled contract?” she murmured to herself in confusion.