[Just hold her close, Clara.]
Nyx directed the mana infusion process from within Clara’s mind.
[I will continue linking both of your magic circuits.]
Perhaps because the mana had no outlet and could only circulate within her body, Kamui’s mana reserve was astonishing despite her weak recovery rate—she was severely lopsided in her abilities.
Although she was called the “bottom of the barrel” among Magical Girls, her capacity was actually immense, which naturally made the infusion process much longer.
To maximize skin contact, the two of them stacked together on the narrow single bed.
“Sorry, Lady Kamui.” Clara apologized in a small voice.
Reluctant as she was, under Kamui’s strong insistence and Nyx’s encouragement, Clara had no choice but to press herself against the other girl to increase their contact surface.
“Oh my god! This is taking advantage of Kamui! I’m a scumbag who strikes when someone’s vulnerable!” Clara berated herself internally, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“It’s fine, it’s not like this is the first time, and… you’re doing this for me.” Kamui showed no sign of shyness whatsoever—she even hugged Clara back to comfort her, leaving Clara the only one agonizing over it.
Unlike the situation in the Computer Room when the Fourth Calamity CEO had played tricks on her, this time the roles were reversed. Clara lay on top of Kamui, feeling each other’s warmth through the thin fabric.
As for why they had to use such an ambiguous pose to transfer mana… Nyx’s explanation was that maximizing body surface contact would increase the circuit contact points, widening the mana flow channels—dozens of times faster than simply holding hands.
[It would flow even better if you weren’t wearing clothes.]
Naturally, that suggestion was shot down by Clara. Even if Clara proposed it, Kamui might not necessarily agree… right? Then again, maybe she would.
But considering how desperate she was for mana replenishment right now, she might have already given up struggling.
The little Touch Tentacle in Clara’s hair slithered out and, under Nyx’s manipulation, slipped under their clothes to quietly wrap around Kamui’s body.
The contact beyond that line made Kamui squirm uncomfortably. But once she realized that every tentacle was a mana transmission channel, she gave up resisting. It wasn’t anything ambiguous—this was just mana replenishment.
“Mmm…”
Kamui let out a soft nasal hum, a seemingly meaningless murmur, just like the sounds Clara had made when she first injected mana into her.
Soon, Kamui’s body began to warm slightly—whether it was a physiological reaction from the contact or the influx of mana was anyone’s guess…
Clara’s reaction was similar. Back when she was Squill the Squid Monster, women would avoid him at all costs; when had he ever experienced such closeness… Perhaps a young Lucia had clung to him like this once, but he had no memories from that time.
Kamui used her warm little hands to cup Clara’s soft, doughy cheeks, the latter straining to keep her head lifted to avoid sinking down and accidentally kissing Kamui again.
“Clara, after you became a Magical Girl… you really do look like me…”
Clara had momentarily forgotten about that—she wasn’t wearing her gas mask right now.
Her body stiffened, and Clara couldn’t support her upper body anymore, collapsing downward.
Kamui also overestimated her current strength and couldn’t hold Clara’s little face up, leaving her small head to fall.
Fortunately, it landed on the soft bed beside her, burying deep into it, while her chin brushed against Kamui’s shoulder and her little face buried itself in her own hair.
Clara’s entire posture looked like a child clinging to her mother after not seeing her for a long time—except this “mother” had exactly the same build as her.
And so they stayed, head to head, without a word.
The little loli buried in the bed like an ostrich inadvertently exuded a scent of powder; the shampoo fragrance in Kamui’s hair, still carrying a hint of warmth, drifted straight into her ears.
Kamui felt her face grow hot, sensing something slightly improper, yet instinctively reached out and gently patted Clara’s back.
“After all… this form… came from you.” Clara murmured softly.
Even though their heads were touching, even though she could feel the breath from Clara’s mouth tickling her ear, Kamui still couldn’t quite make out what Clara had said…
Clara’s power as a Magical Girl originated from Kamui’s data. That said, both her Mana Emission range and mana recovery rate were perfectly normal—completely different from Kamui’s…
[Nyx optimizes her Combat Body, so such obvious defects are naturally repaired.] Nyx explained.
Clara then silently asked: “Can you adjust Kamui too? Magical Girl bodies are very similar to Combat Bodies, right?”
[No, I cannot.]
That was fast—a rejection without even thinking.
[Though similar, they are fundamentally different things. Moreover, Nyx is a ‘Magic Gem’ that belongs only to you. I bear responsibility for no one else but you.]
Huh?! For some reason, Nyx’s words made Clara a little touched.
[Mana injected at fifty percent, but it only filled one-third of Kamui’s reserve. Let’s rest for a bit.]
It wasn’t that Clara’s mana capacity was lower than Kamui’s—rather, since last night, Clara’s own mana hadn’t fully recovered yet.
When Nyx said this, Clara’s little tentacle withdrew from Kamui’s clothes. She pushed herself up from the bed and quickly rolled away from Kamui.
Kamui sat up and looked at Clara, who was sitting in a seiza position, fidgeting awkwardly. “Is it over?”
“I- I don’t have that much mana myself either. Give me a few days to recover, and I’ll come replenish you again…”
“Thank you~” Kamui pounced on Clara, gently pulling her into an embrace.
Clara never thought she’d one day use the word “gentle” to describe Kamui.
“It’s not fully recovered, but I’m already much better than when I woke up this morning.” Kamui stirred the mana in her body.
Though it was input from Clara, it flowed quite smoothly through her circuits. There was no rejection reaction whatsoever—in fact… Clara was almost like another version of herself.
“Good girl~” Kamui checked the time on her phone; it had just passed noon. “Come on, big sister will take you out for a meal~”
“Big sister?”
“What’s wrong? Don’t want to call me big sister?”
Having Clara call her mother… Kamui just couldn’t bring herself to say those words. The two of them didn’t look that far apart in age, so calling each other sisters seemed more appropriate—after all, sisters shared similar genes~
Sisters? Clara estimated that Kamui was around thirteen or fourteen. Having to call Kamui “big sister” was a bit unwilling for her inner thirty-five-year-old self, but she had already resolved not to let Kamui discover her true identity.
“B- Big sister.” So when it was time to play along, she had to play along.
“Hmm, very good!” Kamui was overjoyed, rubbing Clara’s belly as she laughed. “From now on… you’re my little sister!”
The Underground Garden of the “Dream Witch.”
Lucia, who was fiddling with a “head” together with Fran, suddenly sneezed: “Ah-choo—”
“Caught a cold?” Fran asked.
“No, I feel like something’s been stolen.” Lucia replied.
Nah, youve just gained a new big sister.