### Chapter 6
I want to become tentacles.
When I heard Ayle’s request, I pressed my temples and sank into thought.
What on earth did I just hear?
I tried hard to suppress the thoughts threatening to spill out of my mouth and cautiously asked,
“Um… so you want to have tentacles?”
“No. I want to become tentacles.”
“Ah, I see—so you don’t just want to have them, you want to actually become… tentacles…”
Is that even possible?
However, I didn’t flat-out reject the idea. After all, she was just a teenager. Most teenagers’ heads are in the clouds. The girl in front of me seemed to have a brain more like a Venus flytrap than a flower garden, but whatever…
Anyway, what if I outright refused her request for tentacles and something worse came flying next? A chat was necessary before rejecting her outright, so I proceeded with caution.
“Why do you want to become tentacles of all things?”
“…Because I thought it would be the most memorable.”
“Memorable?”
“Yeah. In the memories of magical girls… in their minds.”
“Hmm… memorable, huh.”
Fortunately, I felt like I could navigate this with a decent conversation.
I recalled the books about magical girls I had read since arriving in this world and opened my mouth.
“I heard that magical girls battle against enemies from another world, right?”
“Huh? Oh… yes, that’s right.”
“And those enemies from that world don’t look like anything here; they look more like tentacle monsters.”
“That’s true, too.”
“If you become tentacles, wouldn’t the magical girls just think you are one of those enemies from another world? Instead of leaving a lasting impression, they might just think, ‘Oh, there’s that thing we see every day.’”
“Ugh—”
Ayle let out a weak groan, as if my words struck a nerve. Looking at her serious expression, it seemed she could relate to what I was saying. Good. It looked like I could lead her into something easier for me to create.
“Still, if you really want to become tentacles, I’ll give it my best shot. But if your goal is to be memorable to magical girls… wouldn’t it be more important to become something that has never been seen before?”
“Become something that has never existed…?”
“Yeah. For example, an Evil Magical Girl.”
“An… Evil Magical Girl…!”
Though it was a common trope in many magical girl anime from Earth, it was surprisingly non-existent in this world. After all, it was probably a world where such a concept could not physically appear.
Magical girls are beings empowered by spirits or something like that, and those spirits are born to counter enemies from another world, so there’s no reason they would grant power to someone who would become humanity’s foe.
Could a magical girl fall into evil while fighting enemies from another world? That’s impossible. As I mentioned earlier, those enemies from another world are not intelligent beings but closer to monsters from the Cthulhu mythos. If a magical girl died fighting them, she wouldn’t magically awaken as an evil version of herself.
And the notion that Ayle could become an evil magical girl seemed to pique her interest immensely.
“S-Scientist! I want…! To become an Evil Magical Girl!!”
“Hmm. That sounds good. Do you have a particular design in mind?”
“I-I do!”
With that, Ayle suddenly dashed off somewhere. Moments later, she returned with a notebook in hand.
“H-Hey…”
Clearly embarrassed to show someone her personal notebook, she stammered and blushed while offering it, but hey, it was a step up from her original request to become tentacles, so I accepted the notebook and flipped through it.
And I became convinced.
‘… Has she always wanted to be a magical girl?’
Inside the notebook were drawings of a self-designed dress adorned with dark lace, the kind a middle schooler might doodle while suffering from protagonist syndrome. The dress was either aesthetically intriguing or painfully self-indulgent; I couldn’t decide.
As I quietly admired the notebook, Ayle began fidgeting nervously and asked carefully,
“W-Well, what do you think…?”
“─You’ve done well. It’s gorgeous! I’ll make it just like this.”
“Y-Yes…! Thank you…! …B-But. Should someone like me really wear something like this? All of the magical girls are so pretty and cute. I… I’m neither pretty nor cute…”
“Ayle, you’re plenty cute. I’ll vouch for it.”
“Y-Yes…!? You think I’m cute…?”
Not used to receiving compliments, Ayle blushed furiously, fidgeted around, and dashed out of the lab. Watching her retreat, I let out a sigh and turned my gaze back to the notebook.
“I just don’t know what kids these days are thinking…”
Wanting to become tentacles and leave a mark in the memories of magical girls—
Wasn’t that the kind of behavior that indicated she might need to visit a psychiatric hospital, rather than associate with a villain organization?
Well, that would be the boss’s problem. I just had to figure out how to bring the dress in the notebook to life.
First off, simply replicating this design exactly was going to be a major challenge.
‘Should I hire a designer instead…’
*
This world has superpowers that don’t exist on Earth. There are heroes utilizing these powers and, of course, villains as well. But that’s not all. There are beast-men who follow animal traits, magical girls, and their enemies from another world, plus, well, all sorts of bizarre existence like an otaku’s wildest dreams…
So, this means that something like what’s in front of me could actually exist.
“Oh-ho-ho— You called for me; you must know a thing or two.”
“Ah, yes…”
When I said I needed a designer to make some clothes, a Scissors Person showed up the next day. Not scissors hands, but a whole Scissors Person—a bizarre being resembling a giant pair of scissors walking on two legs.
I took a moment to wonder how something like that could exist and how it could even walk before realizing that overthinking it was just asking for trouble.
“I’m Eight. What’s your name?”
“I am Scissors-Jijo. So, what masterpiece would you like me to create?”
“It’s this one… but it’s a bit rough around the edges.”
As I cautiously handed over the notebook, Jijo’s body sparkled while examining the artwork. I had no clue how it could see, but after looking at the notebook, Jijo chuckled.
“What an interesting design. You want me to take this project on?”
“… Oh, is it too difficult?”
“Difficult?— There’s no outfit I can’t make! But really, is this the reason you summoned me?”
The scissors sparkled again. I felt a prickly sensation in the air. My mouth went dry, and after clearing my throat a few times, I explained what the design was about.
“This is the magical girl costume for one of the executives in our organization.”
“… A magical girl?”
“Yes. We’re conducting an experiment to see if we can reproduce a magical girl with our technology… This is the design requested by the test subject. If that’s a problem, I can change it.”
“─No, no! You can’t just give up that easily, good scientist.”
“Huh?”
What I meant was that if the design was too pathetic to make, I would be happy to consider another option. But it seemed Jijo comprehended that I was proposing to abandon the design entirely. With that, they placed their cold scissor-hand on mine and spoke up.
“Oh-ho-ho, that’s wonderful! If it’s not just a simple garment but a costume with special powers, I, Scissors-Jijo, will happily lend my hand!”
“Thank you. Ah, and please use this material.”
I handed over a thread I had prepared in advance. This world possesses superpowers; among them are abilities that allow people to store their strength. Even Regalia’s cherished robot, R… whatever, had a core that could store such powers.
This thread was no different. I found a power-wielder who could infuse their ability into the thread itself. Clothing made from this thread would contain inherent energy, and various devices would be attached to mimic the capabilities of a magical girl.
Of course, first, the outfit needed to be made…
“It won’t take long. Now please call the executive who will wear this outfit!”
“Ah, yes.”
True to the nature of a Scissors Person, with scissors and knives for limbs, Jijo began sewing the thread at an astonishing speed. Honestly, at that pace, they seemed faster than your average sewing machine.
It was clear that Regalia hadn’t called on Jijo for nothing. The dress was genuinely starting to come together at a visible rate. In a matter of hours, it would be complete. While I busied myself with researching the accessories to embellish the dress, I noticed that its completion was drawing near, and I set off to find Ayle.
“T-This is…”
“Oh-ho-ho— Young lady, is this dress for you? It’s almost finished, so why not try it on? If anything feels off, we can fix it.”
Moments later, Ayle emerged, gasping in awe at the completed dress. It was no surprise she was amazed; something that had only existed in her head now appeared before her.
With Jijo’s aid, Ayle slipped into the dress. Jijo quickly identified the necessary adjustments just by looking at her and swiftly made the final tweaks.
The finished dress truly embodied the essence of an Evil Magical Girl.
“S-Scientist…? H-How do I look?”
“You look stunning.”
“Hmm— That’s not quite how a compliment is given, is it? You should say she looks lovely and adorable, my lady.”
“Y-Yes…”
Even though the Scissors Person was muttering something nearby, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I had no room to focus on anything but Ayle.
‘Who knew she’d love it this much…’
Dressed as a magical girl, Ayle twirled around, lifting the hem of her dress and striking poses as if she was wielding a magic wand.
Seeing her delight, saying that becoming an Evil Magical Girl was impossible now would deeply disappoint her. She might burst into tears and rush to the boss to demand that I be fired.
…Well, I guess that means I have to pull this off, right?
I silently prayed for success in finishing the magical girl outfit.
Perhaps the Machine Spirit, which likely existed in this world, would hear my plea.
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