In the end, Mahiru simply couldn’t withstand his sister’s relentless badgering and had to temporarily agree to her request.
“Fine, fine, stop clinging to my leg. I’ll help you, okay!”
Upon hearing Mahiru’s answer, Scarlet Moon’s face immediately lit up with an expression of sheer joy.
“Really? That’s great! I knew you wouldn’t refuse my request, Brother!”
“Wait a moment, Xiaoye, don’t get excited too early. Although I promised to help you, it won’t be for free. If you want my help, you have to give something in return! Otherwise, Brother won’t be in the mood to do anything for you!”
“Eh? Give something in return? What do you want me to do, Brother?”
After she asked this crucial question, Mahiru thought for a moment.
Then, as if he had come up with a brilliant idea, he began to leisurely pace around Scarlet Moon, eyeing her outfit from top to bottom.
‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t looked closely at Xiaoye’s form as a Magical Girl until now. She really is incredibly cute!’
Looking at the fabric, the fluffy bows, the flowing pink hair, and the lace lining of the skirt…
Just as Mahiru was about to lift the hem of Scarlet Moon’s skirt to get a good look at the internal structure, she suddenly broke free from his clutches with a look of terror.
She clutched her skirt tightly and glared back at him, her face filled with both fright and confusion.
“Brother, calm down! We are siblings! No matter how much you like me, you can’t do that kind of thing to me!”
Faced with Scarlet Moon’s misunderstanding, Mahiru only shot her a look of disdain.
“Just what are you thinking? I’m not so repressed that I’d lay a hand on my own sister! I just figured that since you finally turned into such a cute Magical Girl, I should get a proper look!”
“You’ve been against me becoming a Magical Girl this whole time, so why are you starting to appreciate it now?”
“Uh… I was only against you wandering around dangerous places alone without saying a word. Becoming a Magical Girl or whatever doesn’t really matter. If you could protect yourself, would I need to worry so much?”
“So, Brother, what exactly do you want me to do?”
“Heh heh, it’s very simple. In your current form, you just need to become my personal maid and serve me well. We won’t make it too long; two hours will be enough. During these two hours, no matter what I ask you to do, you must obey without objection. As long as you make me comfortable, I’ll do whatever you want next. How about it? Is my condition fair?”
“Make me… your maid?”
Hearing the condition Mahiru proposed, Scarlet Moon’s face immediately contorted with difficulty.
It seemed this matter was even more humiliating to her than being saved by a Witch.
“I didn’t expect you to have this kind of hobby, Brother! Can’t we change it to something else? Being my brother’s maid is a bit too…”
“Oh? Xiaoye can’t even handle a small thing like this? If you can’t, it’ll be very difficult for me to help you.”
“…” Scarlet Moon fell into a brief silence.
She had to admit that if she wanted to quickly level up to S-rank, she needed the help of her brother, who had turned into a Witch, no matter what.
For the sake of her bright future, she could only grit her teeth and go through with it.
After hesitating over and over, Scarlet Moon finally steeled her heart and agreed.
“Fine, fine, I promise! But you have to be a man of your word, Brother. After I serve you for two hours, you have to help me grind for experience points. You aren’t allowed to back out!”
“Don’t worry, Xiaoye. When has Brother ever lied to you? I can swear on the Luoshui!”
“You should swear on something else instead!”
While Mahiru and Scarlet Moon were chatting and laughing, a shout suddenly erupted from not far away.
“Who’s there?”
Mahiru and Scarlet Moon turned their heads and saw two security guards from the housing complex shining their flashlights toward the rooftop.
After all, with so much lightning crashing down on this building earlier, it was impossible not to be noticed.
Seeing this, Scarlet Moon quickly pulled Mahiru behind her to hide him.
The halo unique to a Witch above Mahiru’s head was quite conspicuous, and for the sake of her leveling plans, she couldn’t let anyone discover his existence yet.
When the guards’ lights hit Scarlet Moon, they couldn’t help but look shocked.
“Eh? A Magical Girl! Why is a Magical Girl here? Was the commotion on this building earlier caused by a Witch?”
“Don’t panic. It wasn’t a Witch. It was just a small kitten that was accidentally infected and mutated by magic. I’ve already successfully dealt with it. Look, that’s it over there.”
Scarlet Moon pointed to the motionless Hajimi lying on the ground in the distance.
It was unclear if it still had any breath left or if it could still hiss.
“Is that so? Thank you so much, Miss Magical Girl! With Magical Girls around, our city is definitely much safer! So, the reason for the widespread power outage in this complex was that the substation here was attacked, right?”
“Oh, I almost forgot about that.”
Prompted by the security guard, Scarlet Moon realized she still had cleanup work to do.
She quickly waved her Magic Wand.
Under the control of her magic, the wires that had been bitten through by the giant Hajimi miraculously reconnected.
After a brief moment of silence, the entire housing complex was once again brightly lit.
“There, the lines are reconnected. The electricity sucked out by that guy won’t come back, but that’s okay. Electricity is something we have plenty of, anyway!”
“Thank you for your help, Miss Magical Girl!”
“No need to thank me for such a small thing! Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going back! You two should be careful while on patrol too!”
After a brief farewell to the two guards, Scarlet Moon flashed an awkward smile and began backing away toward the stairwell one step at a time, as if trying to hide something.
However, the two guards didn’t suspect anything; they just found it odd…
“Eh? Do Magical Girls take the stairs too?”
***
Under Scarlet Moon’s desperate attempts to hide him, she managed to bring her very distinct Witch brother home.
After closing the front door, Scarlet Moon transformed back into Xiaoye and leaned against the door, letting out a soft sigh.
“We’re finally back. It’s really hard to avoid being noticed! It’s all your fault, Brother. If your halo wasn’t so shiny, I wouldn’t have had to dodge surveillance cameras like a thief the whole way home!”
“No, you can’t blame that entirely on me. Your outfit as a Magical Girl is pretty flashy too, isn’t it? It’s hard not to be noticed regardless! If other people found out that a Magical Girl was living right next door to them, how would you live your life after that?”