Magical Girl with Demonic Time Magic-Chapter 107: Girlfriends

"..." I look at Ayane, unsure of what to say or do. The prospect of her loving me has always seemed impossible, my heart racing as I blush.

I’ve never tried to win her over, because as a girl, it seemed impossible to conquer Ayane, who obviously liked men, so it didn’t even seem like a possibility. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

I can’t look at her, so I divert my gaze to the ground. It’s strange, totally strange. Why does she notice me now? Why exactly now is she doing this to me? Why only now is she trying to get involved with me romantically?

So much time, so much time I’ve spent guarding my love and hiding it, so why exactly now is she asking me out? It seems completely absurd and illogical.

What changed? I haven’t changed much from what I was in the past, the biggest change is that I now openly protect Ayane, since we are now magical girls and fight together.

’Is that it? Was that all? Did I literally just need to show that I protected her? Or is it because we’re not siblings, the fact that we no longer have any ties makes her not deny the option...’ I don’t know.

Maybe it’s because when I was a man, we were siblings on paper, so maybe the sibling bond made it impossible for her to see me as a potential partner, and now that we have nothing but friendship, it’s possible.

I can only say that this is almost a dream come true. Ayane looks at me anxiously, waiting for an answer. The timing honestly isn’t good, she’s not thinking straight.

The right thing to do should be to deny and ask her to take some time to think about it properly. This request is a very big step and could fail, she should have some time to think before.

But even if I wanted to, I couldn’t deny it, I have a contract with Hexael and I can’t deny this kind of thing, denying Ayane’s request would count as a breach of contract.

Not that I want to deny it, though it would be the right thing to do. There’s no sentimental reason for me to deny this amazing thing, it’s just strange, especially because it seems wrong.

"Ayane, do you really want this?" I ask, looking into her eyes. She seems more excited about it, understanding that I’m not denying, but confirming if she wants it.

"Yes, I’m sure, I’ve had plenty of time to think about it and I can affirm that I want this," she says with great determination.

"But...I’m a girl...isn’t that a problem? And don’t you think you’re taking a bigger step than you should?" I question, trying to make her rethink.

"I don’t care that you’re a girl, love is something we can’t control, and it’s not like I was planning to have children in the future if we end up together forever," she says jokingly to break the serious mood.

"I just fear that you won’t like it, please don’t feel forced to accept, I know it can’t be easy for you and I’d understand if you refused," she says with a hint of sadness at the prospect of it not working out.

"Won’t you regret this?" I try to confirm with her.

"No, I won’t, in fact, I promise to protect you. I’ll be the angel who will always protect you, no matter what happens. You can always count on me."

"Whether it’s to be saved from monsters or even from yourself, I’ll never leave you behind. I’ll be your shield, I promise with all my heart and my life!" Ayane speaks with a determination that breaks my resistance.

"...I accept to be your girlfriend..." I say, and in the same instant, she hugs me, a strong and tight hug, and I also hug her back, accepting her embrace.

Her hug is as if she fears losing me. Probably, even without meaning to, I’ve become the pillar that sustains her determination, whether that’s good or not, I don’t know, just as in the past where I was her determination, now I am her determination again.

’...This is a bit strange...but it’s also pleasant’ It wasn’t really what I expected, like I never imagined starting a relationship with her, although this is good, it prevents my jealousy of seeing her with a boyfriend or something.

I just need to keep doing the same as always, protecting her, now even closer to her, which is perfect for me.

"Shizune, do you want to spend Christmas at my house? I know it’s still some time away, but...I don’t want to spend Christmas alone, so please, let’s celebrate this special date together?" She says as we separate from the hug.

"Of course I can spend Christmas at your house, I can’t wait to give you a gift you’ll love," I accept with a smile as we both stand there looking at each other.

"..."

"H-Haha, I-I don’t know what to do...it’s kind of..."

"Strange?" I complete her sentence. It really is strange because being girlfriends won’t change much of our current relationship, except that we’ll treat each other with a new type of affection.

"Yes, I mean, we’re dating now, right?" She asks as if it were a dream, her hands trembling with contagious excitement as she seems to not believe it.

"That’s right," I agree with her.

"How about we go to a diner, get something to eat, and celebrate this brand new relationship?" I say to her, and she gives me a little laugh.

"Sure...can I hold your hand?" She asks as I extend my hand to her, still with gloves on, but it’s not bad, I like her touch, it’s simply good, different from others.

"Is this not okay? Your problems...seem to have increased recently, if possible, I’ll try to heal you with normal help or healing magic," she says, holding my hand. I can feel her touch even through the glove, it’s good.

"No, it’s not bad, I don’t know why, but I like your touch, it’s a wonder, your hands are kind of miraculous," I say, and she blushes, holding my hand.

"Now I have two special memories in this place, I’m immensely happy about this, you sharing a special memory that I only shared with my parents is like a dream," she says with a smile.

’There’s something extra...’ I highly doubt what she said was the whole truth. She’s smart, but I know her like the back of my hand, I know well that she’s hiding something that motivated this decision.

’What extra factor did this? I doubt that the death of that bastard was enough, there’s something I don’t know that’s the reason...’ For now, I can let it slide, but it’s still hard to let it go if it’s a problem.

...

...

...

I hold Setsuna’s hand as she guides me to a diner, I’m so excited that she accepted. I’m still sad for failing to save those people, but I can’t let the sadness weigh me down.

But I want to cover bad memories with good ones, it’s kind of cowardly because it’s like covering up the problem and wishing it would go away on its own, but it’s my way of dealing with failure.

’She seems happy’ Setsuna also seems happy. I think it was also good for her to forget what she had to do. In the end, we both needed to cover the bad memories with something good.

’Today is a special day, November 27th, the date of the beginning of our relationship...I won’t forget this’ I think happily as we enter a diner I know well.

"You know me well, Setsuna," I say to her as we take an empty table near a window. The encounter wasn’t planned, and things still seem confusing, but it’s also nice.

"Yes, this is where they have one of your favorite burgers," she says as a waitress comes to take our order, and we quickly order burgers and milkshakes. One of the good things about being a magical girl is being able to eat these treats without worrying.

"...You know, dating doesn’t really make much difference, does it?" I say to see what she’ll say.

"Hmm, you’re right, it won’t change much unless you decide to try to deepen this relationship, which already seems perfect to me," she says as the food arrives, making me remember the kissing dreams.

’...’ It’s not the time, but I’ll definitely want to try a little kiss in the future. The dreams are quite vivid and pique my curiosity.

"This is delicious," I murmur, biting into the burger. The sauce at this place is the best. Setsuna nods in agreement as we eat together in silence, both of us seemingly doing the same thing.

Thinking about what our relationship will do to our future, though I feel sad for hiding from Setsuna that I’m going to become an angel.

’Well...I just hope nothing bad happens for now. We’re both on vacation and I’d like to enjoy December without anything bad happening’ I think about this as I bite into the burger.

"Don’t worry, Ayane, I’ll protect you no matter what," Setsuna says, noticing my apparent nervousness. This puts a small smile on my face. She’s so sweet, but in the future, I’ll protect her.

I’ll defend her from the monsters, and defend her from herself. I honestly think that one day Setsuna might become a problem for herself. She doesn’t give herself the proper value, and that’s bad. I need to put some sense into her before she does something stupid.

"Thank you, Setsuna, I’ll protect you too," I say to her with a small smile.

"Your cheek is dirty with sauce," she says as I see the phone’s light.

"Hey, no photos!" I say quickly to her.

"It’s just a memento of my girlfriend. I’ll send it to you later," she says as I get embarrassed.

"You’re mean," I murmur, biting the burger as she eats hers. The day is great for this, if not for what happened before.