Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

Or is it because of UI-31?

The Star Crystal is inside my body. If Metal doesn't act, I'll be the only one left to deal with it.

"Wait a minute."

A woman's voice came from behind me.

Looking back, I saw the UI-31 with a female face running towards me.

"...What's going on? You can talk?"

I took the opportunity to hand over the work clothes I was holding.

"Have you forgotten? Sirius adjusted the structure of my throat. I didn't speak before because I didn't want to cause any trouble."

That night I went to see Sirius as Milno.

This guy... looks like he already knew who I was.

But I didn't admit it; I just asked, "So what are you planning to do?"

"Ms. Metal expended a considerable amount of magic to repair my armor. In return, I'll deal with that weirdo."

He gave himself a thumbs-up.

"It's already fixed?"

He raised his hand and touched the pseudo-factor on his chest. The werewolf armor materialized from it and quickly covered his entire body... Seruno's women's clothes were all burned. So that's why. This guy burns all his clothes when he transforms.

But why would you leave your underwear behind?

Is that a character similar to the Hulk?

"Very new!" (henshin!)

He shouted that.

"What kind of Japanese tokusatsu (special effects) film protagonist are you?"

"I mean the armor is very new."

Only an hour had passed, and the armor was being repaired faster than expected.

He patted his breastplate and then pointed to the wormhole in the sky.

"I'm going now, knight. You should return to the princess."

"...Can't you speak like a human being?"

The werewolf turned around, jumped onto the roof of the factory, and quickly left.

The number of people seeking refuge in the industrial area was less than expected.

This was also unexpected.

factory.

Especially many heavy industries.

Stopping production in five minutes is simply wishful thinking.

Similarly, hospitals, ICU patients who cannot be moved, or ongoing surgeries cannot be stopped.

However, ordinary weirdos can't handle UI-31, so it's safe to leave it to him... right?

"It's really strange of me to believe in weirdos, but Milno's presence here will definitely arouse Seruno's suspicion."

After hesitating, I decided to trust him this once.

Although he's a guy who exudes an unpleasant aura, he hasn't done anything to harm Seruno so far.

I returned to Metall's factory.

bang bang-

There were voices coming from inside the roller shutter; as I expected, none of them chose to evacuate.

There's no need to evacuate the bunker where the two magical girls are stationed.

"Ah! Yezi, here, here!"

Seruno's head popped out from the side of the factory building.

"There's a side door?"

Following her into the factory, Metal was resting on a recliner in the break room.

Upon seeing me, he greeted me, "Oh~ are you Serino's boyfriend?"

"If you're referring to male friends, then yes..."

The television was on inside, showing footage of a live broadcast that was about to begin.

"Miss Metal, what about UI-31? Aren't you two planning to deploy it?"

I asked the question knowing the answer, and Seruno replied, "Mr. Ryu went to fight in place of Miss Metal, who had run out of magic."

"How about handing over the area under your responsibility to some weirdo whose allegiance is unclear?"

Metal shrugged.

"Boyfriend, you wouldn't expect me, without magic, to wrestle with weirdos, would you?"

"My name is Bai Ziye."

Seriously, why does everyone I meet have to tease me and Serino about being "boyfriends"? We're clearly not in that kind of relationship.

"As far as I know, your strength is among the strongest of active magical girls. You could probably beat a monster down with your fists, right, Miss 'Steel Dragon'?"

Hearing me say that, she excitedly sat up in the recliner.

"What kind of magical girl relies on her fists? Besides, I'd rather be a support-type magical girl than fight, strengthening and modifying everyone's equipment, analyzing the metal composition left behind by monsters... If this werewolf monster is reliable, I'll leave him to it. I'll upgrade his armor, and he can take care of dealing with monsters for me."

Are you the type who doesn't want to fight?

So, when I first met her last year, she was just watching me fight monsters from the sidelines... even though she was incredibly strong.

Seruno added, "Miss Spica is searching for its whereabouts... but Sirius wants it to roam freely. You can decide what to do."

"Of course I'll pretend I don't know. Who's going to pay my salary if I offend Sirius?"

The logic is clear: everything is geared towards making money.

"Ah, it's starting."

The live stream from the lounge switched to the wormhole site.

It was as if a monster, a mixture of yak and rhinoceros, had fallen and crashed onto the open roof of a factory building.

But what awaited it was a piercing blow from behind.

This UI-31 guy...

They even resorted to a sneak attack?

Chapter Nineteen: Dark Heroes! Reporting for Duty!

(Albinocotyledon)

While it couldn't instantly kill, the UI-31 still demonstrated terrifying suppressive power against ordinary monsters.

Although this bull-like monster was twice as strong as him, he was easily toyed with. Although he seemed to have thick skin and flesh, he was already riddled with holes. The werewolf had scratched several shocking lacerations on his body, and he was bleeding profusely. It was only a matter of time before he died.

He didn't even need to use his trump card, Burst Mode, to completely defeat the monster.

"This guy's all battered and bruised. I thought he wasn't that strong, but it turns out he's pretty tough?"

That's what Metall said; she seemed to underestimate the UI-31.

Seruno hurriedly explained, "We were facing a witch before. Even though it was just a clone, her strength was incomparable to that of ordinary monsters, and she even brought equipment specifically designed to counter her... But, the association actually broadcast the entire battle of the werewolf live? I thought it would be cut off."

I replied, "If Spica were to judge, it would definitely cut it off, but it didn't. It must have been Sirius's requirement, right?"

"Will Miss Spica listen to Miss Sirius?"

“Your father’s intentions are still unclear, so she can’t afford to give up Sirius as an ally right now.”

bang bang.

knocking.

"Oh, it seems you're back."

Metal got up to open the door.

Wow! What's that dog...wait?

The Golden Horse ran in from outside and rubbed against my leg.

This reaction is more like a cat's than a dog's.

Is this your dog?

"Yes, it's called the Golden Ship."

As I introduced him, Serino said, "...Yezi, how come you lost Ah Huang when you went out?"

"You might not believe it, but I was facing a crisis of chastity, and Ah Huang is so smart, I knew it could get it back."

"Wang!"

"Huh? A virginity crisis?"

I put my hand on Serino's shoulder and said seriously, "I've met the good man from the urban legends."

Even though she still didn't understand after I explained it, I didn't want to explain it to her.

"But why isn't that UI-31 back yet?"

"Wang!"

The Golden Ship spat out a ore-like object from its mouth, which Seruno picked up wrapped in a tissue.

"Huh? This is a pseudo-factor."

"Was it that minotaur from earlier?"