Chapter 04 – The Long-Awaited Reunion

I didn’t know how to talk to Mizu, but I knew I had to. I slowly approached her, trying to find the right moment to speak.
When I reached them, they looked at me and asked who I was. I replied:
“Well, my name is Taiyaki Rose Muika, and I wanted to ask you something.”
I pointed at Mizu and said:
“Excuse me, are you Mizu No Ice?”
She replied, “Yes, I’m Mizu. Do you need something?”

I asked if she could come with me to talk in private, just the two of us. She nodded and agreed, but not before telling her friends:
“Don’t worry, girls. It’ll only be a few minutes. I’ll be back. She looks new here.”
They gave her the go-ahead, and she followed me. As we walked, I asked if we could talk in the bathroom. She said she didn’t mind. I was nervous, trying to stay calm for the moment when I would tell her I was Franco, though I knew she wouldn’t believe it easily.

When we arrived, I noticed the bathroom was empty. I closed the door, and knowing we were alone, I said what I had been holding back:
“Cleer, it’s me—Franco. Do you remember me? Do you remember when we were with that goddess in that garden, in the afterlife?”
She froze, a bit curious, and replied:
“I don’t believe you. You can’t be Franco. How do you know that? This can’t be real.”

I had to explain how we died, how we had lived together in our past life since childhood, and even… some private things we did in our teenage years.
After all that, she realized I was telling the truth and hugged me tightly, tears streaming down her face.
“Franco, I finally see you again. I thought I’d never find you after twelve years. How have you been all this time? And why are you a girl? I thought you’d still be a guy. Anyway, I know this is sudden, but… do you want to join my team? It’s me and those two girls over there—Akane no Fire and Mizuki no Earth.”

That’s when I learned the elements of her friends. I asked her how long they’d been magical girls.
She replied, “Six months. We still need two more members for our team, and you’re exactly what we need. What’s your rank? I’m S-rank, Akane is B-rank, and Mizuki is A-rank.”

I told her I was A-rank, so we still needed either another A-rank or an S-rank for a strong team. I asked if she knew anyone.
She said there was a magical girl who might join us—S-rank, water element—but she didn’t know where she was.
“Don’t worry, Cleer. We’ll find her,” I reassured her.
“Alright, but don’t call me Cleer. My name’s Mizu now. And same goes for you—you’re not Franco anymore. You’re Taiyaki Rose Muika, and you’re a girl now.”

Confused, I replied, “Alright, but let’s keep this a secret. Remember, even though we look like 12-year-old girls, we’re actually adults. We need to set boundaries.”
She agreed, saying neither of us should be acting like creeps. I opened the bathroom door, and we went back to her friends.

When we arrived, Mizu said to Akane and Mizuki:
“Alright girls, we have a new member for Team Mizu. Taiyaki will be joining us.”
They welcomed me, and I told them it was a pleasure to be with them. They asked where I had met Mizu, and I told them I’d seen her years ago playing in the park.
They asked Mizu about it, and she said she remembered seeing a pink-haired girl in the park with a boy.
I mentioned that boy was a childhood friend.

They nodded, and a few minutes later, we went to look for a mission. The receptionist told us we could hunt Dragon Potatoes in the forest. I asked what those were, and they explained they were low-ranked demons—perfect for beginners like me.

I thought they’d be the typical low-level monsters for grinding, but it wouldn’t be so easy. I had barely fought as a magical girl, so even as an A-rank, it wouldn’t be a simple task.

We set out for the forest to hunt those Dragon Potatoes. While walking, I asked if they had run into any demons before. They said they had, but only one, and they managed to defeat it together as a team. They warned me that while some demons were brainless brutes, others had intelligence far beyond that of the average human.

With all that in mind, I realized the fight with that ogre was only the beginning—a sort of tutorial for me—but now, the real game was starting. Mistakes could be fatal, not just for me, but for Mizu and her friends.

I had to get serious. If I wanted to kill the Demon Queen, I had to become strong enough—like them—so that together, we could defeat her.

For the moment, I knew I had to focus on those Dragon Potatoes, so I prepared myself mentally. Before I knew it, we were already in the forest. I asked if this forest had a name, and Akane replied that it did: it was called the Forest of Dragons, named for the many types of dragons that lived there. Most of them tended to cause trouble for the people who lived in or passed through the area, so they relied on Magical Girls to kill them and, in the process, sell their meat in supermarkets.

Just as we were about to go after those Dragon Potatoes, I realized there was no turning back now.