Regarding the fact that my best friend is a magical girl

“We weren’t buried. There’s plenty of oxygen here, and no burial items were placed around us. It’s more like a hibernation pod you’ve been lying in than a coffin… Perhaps our bodies maintain the immortality of the gods, so Seruno and the others put us in like this… Perhaps they are hoping that we can be resurrected someday in the future.”

It sounds like a pharaoh.

"However, it seems there's no way to open it from the inside. Being buried alive is worse than being imprisoned, isn't it? Do we have to use magic to open it?"

As I muttered to myself, the coffin lid slowly opened.

"Hmm, it seems there is a surveillance system inside."

That sounds even worse.

Does that mean someone has been watching me the whole time?

I sat up inside the coffin. I was in a circular room with no walls or corners, but there were two doors connected by a passageway. The passageway was separated from the area where the "coffin" was located by a glass wall.

Michelle, wearing a white lab coat, and another tall, black-haired woman stood in the passageway.

"You're finally awake, Mom."

Michelle was calmer than expected, perhaps because of her clothes and her more mature appearance.

"How long have I been in a coma?"

"Five months... to be specific, one hundred and sixty-two days, eight hours, and sixteen minutes."

"...It's a little shorter than I expected."

After all, quite a bit of time had passed before I woke up; I really thought more than half a year had gone by.

"Sister Mukuro said that it is very lucky to be found after drifting for such a short time in this situation."

The world beyond is vast, and consciousness adrift within it is like a lone boat on a boundless ocean.

It is truly my good fortune to be discovered by Miss Mukuro.

"You must be Miss Mukuro?"

I've only been able to hear her voice lately; this is the first time we've met in person like this.

"No need to be so formal. I'll be staying here for a while. The structure of this world is quite interesting... Besides, you have more important things to do, right?"

"Um……"

I looked at Michelle.

"Phew, can you tell me about what's been going on lately?"

"It's too complicated to explain."

Michelle shook her head.

"Let's go down and take a look; seeing it with our own eyes is more direct."

"You've become much more mature."

"...Mom, I'm not a child anymore."

Saying things like this after only four months is heartbreaking; children grow up too fast.

Michelle, cut me open.

"Ok?"

"Perhaps to relieve loneliness, my consciousness cracked again outside the world."

"Auntie, Mom..."

"Although there are still some mixed elements, she's back."

Michelle hesitated for a moment, then reached out and separated me from the black rabbit.

The black rabbit stiffened for a moment next to me until Michelle pounced on it, leaving Miss Mukuro and me staring at each other awkwardly.

"I'm sorry, the situation on our side is a bit complicated."

I don't know how to explain this mess of generational distinctions to her.

Miss Mukuro simply replied, "Is it complicated? This level is alright!"

------

Michelle didn't tell Seruno about my return.

They just gave me an address in Changkong City and told me to find them myself...

Surprised?

I wonder if Seruno has felt sad for me during this time.

The new world is virtual; it is a world made up of data.

Although I knew this, I couldn't see anything fake after entering the new world. It was a realistic space that was indistinguishable to the naked eye and senses, an illusion created by the gods. How could mortals possibly see through it?

"Wow, this is amazing! It's practically reality!"

Can a perfect forgery replace the original?

As a deity, Michelle achieved a perfect balance of light and darkness within her body, and the world she governed also achieved maximum capacity.

In a sense, there is no longer a distinction between the Great Will and the Earth Crystal. The two independent systems have completely merged and together form a new system that supports the vast virtual world.

"This can no longer be called Earth, can it?"

Walking down the street, looking up, the vast starry sky remains.

Even in the virtual world, one can witness the brilliance of celestial bodies.

The city streets were bustling with activity, and the pedestrians seemed to have adapted to their new lives. Occasionally, you could see girls with animal ears peeking out curiously from the side alleys. These animal girls were gradually integrating into the city; some would be adopted, while others would remain homeless on the streets.

It is said that there is a support organization, so there is no need to worry about the survival of the animal girls.

They arrived at the apartment building that Michelle had given them.

"Hmm, it's still an apartment building? It's huge."

The huge apartment towers near the city center are so tall that you can't even see the top when you look up.

Compared to slab buildings, tower blocks are already prone to unit layout defects, and building such a huge tower block will only exacerbate these problems.

Only in virtual worlds would such enormous buildings with only a few windows per household be constructed...

After all, you can force a window to appear even if there isn't one.

However, with so much land available, building towers suggests some problems with the city's planning, doesn't it?

With a sense of unease and nervousness in my heart, I walked into the apartment.

There was a security guard in front of the apartment building. He glanced up at me, then looked down at himself in the mirror...

Then he looked up again, squinted at me.

“…Miss Miluno?!”

She rushed out of the security room shouting, and I quickly gestured for her to be quiet.

"How could you tell even though I was all wrapped up?"

To avoid being recognized, I wore a hat and a mask the whole way.

"Of course I can recognize it, that's what I do!"

She lifted the brim of her hat, looking very proud.

This security guard was wearing heavy makeup, including a princess-style hair tie and colored contact lenses.

"Please keep this a secret for me, I only recently woke up..."

"We heard that you sacrificed yourself in the battle against the darkness."

She got so close, she even sprayed perfume on.

"Well, it really counts as a sacrifice, right? It was just lucky that it was resurrected."

If we hadn't met Miss Mukuro, we would have been worse off than dead.

"It would be good if he could be resurrected. I will keep this a secret until the news is officially released."

I was escorted upstairs to the elevator by an excited security guard.

"The 23rd floor, higher than before..."

Next, it's time to go home.

Everyone else must be at home too, right?

I was somewhat uneasy, and my heart rate soared as the elevator ascended.

When the elevator doors opened, I only saw one door.

"……what?"

The door is at the end of this passage, which is less than three meters wide.

Is the house number [2300]?

Chapter 507 A Home with a Missing Piece

(Cerunno)

More than five months have passed.

The new world, starting afresh, is getting back on track, and the magical girls are working hard to recover from the effects of the disaster. Long-lost daily life is returning to people in a flawed yet novel way...

However, Miluno still did not wake up.

Her body was alive, but it was an empty shell devoid of consciousness, and no matter what method was used, she could not be awakened.

Michelle left her body in reality, waiting for the moment she would awaken.

As for me...

Entering the new world, Earth Crystal no longer needed any unified consciousness. I was freed from my duties and locked myself in my room to play games and binge-watch TV shows.

However, without Miluno, everything lacks interest, everything loses its color, and even games become boring and uninspiring.

"Serno, shouldn't you be going back to school soon?"