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Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: Teased by a Cat, Seriously!

Outside the Hospital

"Pure White, Pure White. That girl you just went to see has incredible, truly incredible potential as a magical girl."

Not long after Mana and Uika parted ways, and once she confirmed no one else was around, an extremely cute white little creature suddenly appeared out of thin air beside Mana.

On the surface, Sumita Mana was the five time consecutive champion of the national music competition, and the lead vocalist of Sumimi, the currently most popular idol duo in the country.

But she also carried a second identity from "another world."

A magical girl.

Just like in anime, this world was not peaceful. Mysterious little familiars would help girls with the right aptitude transform into magical girls, fighting monster generals and monsters to protect world peace.

That white little creature was her partner.

Its name was Pela. Monster generals and the monsters they created liked to call it a magical girl's pet, but Sumita Mana believed she and Pela were equals, true companions.

After all, magical girls and familiars were bound one to one. It was not like in anime, where one familiar could contract with multiple magical girls.

"She is that Inori-chan you mentioned before, right? She is amazing, really amazing. If she signed a contract with a familiar, she would definitely become an even greater magical girl than you!"

The magical familiar Pela could not hide its excitement. As it spoke, it grabbed Mana's hands. "Pure White, let's make your friend a magical girl too. That way you would have another partner!"

Tempted by the familiar's words, Sumita Mana wavered slightly, but she quickly shook her head.

"No."

"Eh?"

"Pela, you saw it too. Inori's body is very weak. She has been sickly since she was little. Even going outside easily makes her ill. Even if she could become a magical girl, she probably would not be able to endure intense battles."

"But…"

"No means no. Do not bring this up again. Familiar magic cannot change someone's constitution, right? Inori living peacefully and healthily is already enough. I do not want to put her in danger."

Mana's reaction to the idea of Kiyono Inori becoming a magical girl was fierce. Monster generals always caused trouble at night, and magical girls often had to be active late into the night as well.

If Inori became a magical girl, even if she grew very strong, neither magical girl magic nor familiar magic could change her natural constitution.

She would suffer terribly.

That was Mana's judgment.

"But that child is really incredible…" Pela still tried one last time.

"No." Mana crossed her arms in a clear no gesture. "Saving the city can be left to healthy girls. You are not allowed to contact your familiar friends to approach Inori. I really, really will get angry."

"Ah… okay then."

The magical familiar disappeared dejectedly.

Mana let out a sigh of relief. Magical girls and familiars were equals. If Pela insisted on finding another familiar to contract with Inori, she would not be able to stop it.

Unless she stayed by Inori's side twenty four hours a day.

Being able to persuade Pela was truly a relief.

She did not notice, however, the chilling, eerie smile that flashed across Pela's face just before it vanished.

Hospital, Private Room

"What is this supposed to mean, 'My dear Elysia, the music party is already over and you are late again,' meow. I worked so hard trying to sleep, okay. But without a body pillow I just kept tossing and turning. This is all your fault, Inori-chan!"

The moment Elysia Cat woke up, she started rolling around on the girl's blanket. Once the girl caught her, she continued rolling around in the girl's arms.

"I have not even said anything yet. What is this supposed to be!"

Kiyono Inori lifted Elysia Cat up, holding her at eye level, staring straight into those watery eyes. The unreasonable cat immediately settled down.

"Pre. Dic. Ted. Dia. Logue."

Elysia Cat meowed smugly. "Well? Pretty accurate, right? Inori-chan was totally going to say something like that. Let me tell you a secret, I prepared ten different ways to act unreasonable."

Inori sighed.

Honestly, purely in terms of noise, this Elysia Cat was probably louder than Uika and Mana combined, like two little suns added together.

"You win, Elysia. I go to bed at eleven sharp. I have four hours right now. Since you prepared ten ways to be unreasonable, you must also have ten date plans, right?"

"D… date? That is embarrassing, Inori-chan. Why are you so bold today, meow?" Elysia Cat covered her face with her paws, acting shy, though it looked a bit strange for a cat.

"Wait, wait. Inori-chan, did you get corrupted by holding a music party with other girls? Wow, so bad. Next time bring me along. I need to personally evaluate how bad you all are!"

Elysia Cat chattered noisily. Magical cat language was incredibly convenient. Just a few meows could express a very long sentence.

"Stop meowing, stop meowing." Inori pinched the cat's mouth gently. "I wanted to complain for a while now. What even is a music party? How did you make it sound so weird!"

"Mm… I do not know, meow. Inori-chan, if you do this I cannot talk properly."

"Then say something serious."

Inori released her grip.

"Alright, alright. Inori-chan, I want to ask first. Can you summon Dr. Mobius as a cat?"

"Ah… honestly, I do not know."

Inori froze for a moment and answered truthfully.

The Honkai Impact 3rd gacha definitely included Mobius, but the situation was complicated. The Mobius on Elysia's side had not yet become a MANTIS, still a big snake.

If she drew Infinite Ouroboros, she did not know whether it would be a Mobius from another hypothetical timeline, or the snake she already knew.

"So that means, from another timeline, we might not summon the Mobius I know, but instead summon a different Mobius who knows Elysia, meow?" The pink pig-cat tilted her head.

"No. For you, it should be future Mobius. But honestly, I am not completely sure either. After all, I have only summoned you so far, right?"

"That is true."

"My dear Elysia, speaking of which, do you want a new magical cat companion?" Inori asked cautiously.

Even though it was not the same thing at all, she somehow felt like parents in a melodrama asking their child, "Do you want a little brother or sister?"

"What is that!"

"Oh, you can already summon a new cat?"

Elysia Cat looked shocked.

"Yeah." Inori rubbed her head. "But I was worried you might get upset, so I never summoned another magical cat. I wanted to find a chance to talk it through with you, but I never found the timing."

The real reason was simpler.

Elysia Cat was way too cute. And when she meowed, her voice sometimes turned into Elysia's. She even smelled nice. Inori always got lost in petting her and forgot to bring it up.

"Yay. I am really happy, meow. Inori-chan secretly kept me in her heart, right? Hehe. I also keep Inori-chan in my heart!"

"Stop saying weird things!"

"Alright, alright. Do not be shy. Honest girls are cuter, you know?" Elysia Cat rubbed her head against Inori's cheek, making Inori feel awkward.

So in the end…

She got teased by a cat.

1 chapter per day. For more chapters/fics, goto ErbiumTL on Patreon.

Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.

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