READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 172
Ayle returned home and flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling while deep in thought. Each memory from today that flicked through her mind wrapped her in a wave of embarrassment so intense it almost made her want to hide her head in a pillow.
Stomping her feet like she might break the bed, Ayle took a moment to breathe and gained some clarity about her feelings.
‘Wow, so I like the Scientist, huh…’
She’d kind of sensed it all along. Being near the Scientist made her heart race for no reason, and sometimes it felt so comfortable beside him, while other times her heart raced painfully fast.
But this was a feeling she’d never felt before, a feeling she’d never received or even sensed from anyone else, so it took her a while to realize it was true love.
If Snowa hadn’t pointed it out, she would’ve probably never realized it on her own.
‘Wait, what have I done?’
As she mulled over the events of the day, Ayle recalled the fact that she’d just increased her competition—and even worse, had established a non-aggression pact with that very rival.
Of course, that non-aggression pact? She could break it anytime. It didn’t hold any real power; it was just a promise made with words, a promise with no legal binding that could easily be dismissed.
But… it was precisely because of that that Ayle realized she couldn’t break that promise.
‘Snowa did this for me…’
What if Snowa had thrown caution to the wind and gone after Eight without caring about Ayle? Then Ayle would never have realized her feelings and they’d be together right away. Snowa was gorgeous, even by magical girl standards, and only the best of the best were given that prestigious title…
However, Snowa didn’t sheepishly leave Ayle behind to pursue Eight. She woke Ayle to her feelings and even promised to fight fairly. She even set up a weekend to help Ayle with her weak fashion sense and makeup!
To suddenly declare defeat now would be utterly shameless. Even as a Villain, Ayle had her pride as a Magical Girl, and she simply couldn’t choose that path.
‘Yeah, I’m still gonna win.’
With that determination, Ayle began searching for someone who might know Eight well. Someone who had watched him closely, who knew what he liked and what he did.
Just then, a name popped into her head.
***
“Eight? Isn’t he like, totally gay or something?”
“W-What!?”
The next day, Ayle was shocked as she visited Vira with this jaw-dropping news.
She never thought those words would come out of her mouth—gay or anything like that.
“W-Why do you say that…?”
“Well, Rebithan and I did some experiments a few times. Even when we went to the beach, it was like we were hitting on him, but he didn’t even look our way!”
“U-Um, maybe it’s just because Vira’s um, you know, not that well-endowed…?”
“What did you just say!?”
“S-Sorry! Rebithan had a great figure!”
While staring wide-eyed at the fuming Vira, Ayle immediately apologized. Though Vira didn’t seem too thrilled with the apology, at least there was that.
Hearing Vira’s words led Ayle into a dilemma she had never even considered. Yeah, what if Eight wasn’t heterosexual?
‘Wait a minute… has the Scientist ever shown interest in women?’
When he looked at her, or Vira, or Rebithan, or any of the other Magical Girls, even the Saintess, who captivated everyone—even her, he always looked at them with a disinterested glare. The only time he showed any spark was when he was discovering some new scientific breakthrough outside his realm.
‘N-No way…’
Could it be true? Ayle bit her lip, feeling a swirl of anxiety. Ayle was lost in thought when Vira broke the silence.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“Oh, nothing!”
“Hmm… so, if you want, I could ask Eight for you?”
“N-No, it’s fine…”
Ayle was torn between her curiosity to know the truth and her fear of what that truth might mean. The latter won. Giving a slight nod, she left the building.
As she headed towards the department store for her appointment with Snowa, her steps felt unbearably heavy. It was not just because of the weight she had gained recently.
***
Upon arriving at the department store, Ayle spotted Snowa waiting for her and managed a shy smile.
“S-Snowa…”
“Ayle. You’re early!”
“I arrived after you though…”
“Hehe, but I got here before you! Now, shall we go?”
Snowa naturally linked her arm with Ayle’s as they made their way in, drawing gasps of admiration from onlookers as these two stunning women created a picture-perfect scene.
If they had just enough beauty, maybe they could try hunting for something, but both of them were beyond the reach of mere mortals. Snowa, renowned among magical girls for her beauty, and Ayle, whose stunning physique couldn’t hide behind her gloomy facade.
Thus, they entered the department store without any hindrances, and as they headed towards the floor filled with women’s clothing, Snowa subtly began asking about Eight.
“Did you find out anything? Like what the Professor likes?”
“Uh, um, well…”
When Snowa extended an invitation to form an alliance against Eight, Ayle thought it was heavily one-sided against Snowa… but it surprisingly wasn’t.
Because she could easily gather information about the enigmatic Eight through Ayle. Knowing your enemy is half the battle, right? That much was crucial.
Totally oblivious to Snowa’s ulterior motives, Ayle carefully shared things she thought Eight might enjoy.
“First off, he likes solving problems. Whenever there’s a tough one, his eyes just light up…”
“I see. Does he enjoy teaching too?”
“Um, well, he seemed to enjoy teaching me when he did…”
As Ayle spoke, Snowa struggled to suppress the questions she wanted to blurt out. What was their relationship? He even tutored Ayle, a Villainous Magical Girl?
Considering the fact that Ayle was part of the Evil Organization, it was easy to guess Eight’s identity. If you want to hide, at least do it properly… seeing Ayle’s clumsiness only made Snowa want to chuckle.
However, instead of pointing this out, Snowa opted to squeeze out even more information.
“That’s great! You get to ask him the things you don’t know, and you can support him like a secretary!”
“S-Snowa?”
“Oh, why? What’s up?”
“N-No, it’s just—what if, you know, what if the Professor isn’t heterosexual…?”
Snowa paused for a moment, her expression faltering as she ran her fingers over her lips. Wait, Ayle’s not trying to push her away from the Professor with this lie, is she?
But apparently not. It started to feel like Ayle genuinely believed this. So, did she hear this from someone?
“Did the Professor say something? That he doesn’t like women?”
“Ah! No! He never said anything like that! I just—he seems uninterested in women…”
“Tsk, tsk—you don’t know anything, Ayle. Typically, guys act uninterested to draw attention from women. I wouldn’t have believed the Professor would be that way, though.”
“Is that how it works…?”
Ayle thought that didn’t sound right…
But still, as Ayle mulled this over, she followed Snowa’s logic.
As far as she knew, Snowa was probably a virgin just like her, but the certainty in Snowa’s voice made it seem like she knew more than Ayle did.
Thus, the suspicion that Eight was gay evaporated into thin air, and Ayle was pulled along by Snowa into the store.
“First off—let’s toss that bizarre dress away.”
“B-But it’s c-cute…”
“Nope—you can’t charm the Professor in that. I’ll make sure you look stunning from head to toe.”
As Snowa said this, she started grabbing garments from around the store. One, two, three… before anyone knew it, Ayle’s arms were piled up with a double-digit number of outfits and her smile started to fade.
“Try them on.”
“A-All of these…?”
“Yup. One at a time. We’re gonna shop till we drop today.”
“Ugh, ugh…”
Ayle just wanted to go home.
But thinking this, she still followed Snowa’s instructions and stepped into the fitting room.
Hoping this would win Eight’s heart.