Magical Girl.
Dantalion knew a little about magical girls.
Isn’t the whole premise of magical girls about luring naive children with sweet words, only to throw them into danger?
“These days, some countries are even using magical girls as part of their national defense.”
He wasn’t sure, but Sitri had told him about it, so it had some credibility.
Sitri was quite knowledgeable about worldly matters, making him fairly reliable in such areas.
But… why would the Archangel be looking for a magical girl?
“Are you struggling a lot?
I didn’t know your tastes had changed so much.”
“I won’t deny that things are tough.
But right now, I am completely sane.”
Can someone who drinks black tea from a plastic bottle really call themselves sane?
Micheal, who had just taken a bottle of tea from a small refrigerator, poured it into a teacup and said:
“Magical girls actually exist.”
“I see.”
“…I’m not spouting nonsense.
They really exist.”
Micheal chugged his tea as if he were trying to drown out Dantalion’s pitying gaze.
Apparently, one cup wasn’t enough.
After downing two more, he pulled a file from his desk drawer.
[Magical Girl Project]
“Read it.”
Had all the angels gone insane?
Dantalion, seriously considering this possibility, opened the file.
The first page was filled with pictures of girls with animal ears, their starry eyes sparkling…
“The document looks ridiculous because of the project leader’s preferences.
But the later pages are more serious, so hurry up and turn the page.”
“I see.”
“Bastard.”
Why was he getting upset when Dantalion was just agreeing?
Feeling mildly amused, Dantalion flipped through the pages and skimmed the contents.
Summarizing it briefly, the project followed these steps:
In a world with no means to prevent destruction, a guardian angel is sent down.
The angel selects the most morally upright girl (or sometimes a boy?) and grants them power.
If they successfully prevent the world’s destruction, the power is taken back, and they receive an ample reward.
Wow, a happy ending!
“The reason children are chosen is that they can accept an angel’s power more easily…
No, wait, why am I the one explaining this?”
With a sigh, Micheal put the file away.
Regaining his composure, he adjusted his glasses with a finger and said:
“Believe what you want, but the Magical Girl Project has a surprisingly high success rate.”
“I’ve read the document, so I understand.
But what does this have to do with me?”
“Because I’m assigning you a similar role.”
“Wait…
Are you telling me to become a magical girl?”
Dantalion recoiled in horror.
If Micheal was going to go crazy, he should do it in a more reasonable way!
This was outright tyranny!
Dealing with angels in the celestial realm was madness.
However, since the Creator was asleep, even the angels’ powers were limited.
Escaping should be—
CRACK.
“Are you mocking me right now?”
Micheal’s fury caused the lenses of his glasses to shatter.
Even the angels who had come up with the Magical Girl Project didn’t understand Micheal’s reaction.
And yet… of all people, his coworker becoming a magical girl?
If that actually happened, his blood pressure would skyrocket, and he’d probably die on the spot.
“If that’s not it, then what?”
“A mascot!
A familiar!
A talking doll!
All of those roles are listed in the document!”
Ah, so that’s what he meant.
Now understanding, Dantalion nodded.
A biological amplifier that follows the magical girl around and assists her, right?
Someone who helps with magic and occasionally steps in to solve problems directly.
“But is it really okay to give me this role?”
“If you don’t have teeth, you chew with your gums.
No matter the reason, I refuse to stand idly by while the moral fabric of the human world crumbles.”
It didn’t matter whether it was demons or angels—if they could prevent the corruption of the human world, that was all that mattered.
Micheal, now wearing a new pair of glasses, tossed something clay-like at Dantalion.
“This is an artificial body that will let you use your powers on Earth.”
“So I have to sculpt it myself?
You don’t have any pre-made bodies?”
“…If you’re into this kind of thing, you can take one.”
Micheal summoned the pre-made artificial bodies created by other angels.
Each and every one of them was an adorable, cutesy animal-like creature…
“I’ll make one myself.”
He couldn’t bring himself to say it while keeping a straight face.
Storing the artificial body in his internal storage, Dantalion asked out of curiosity:
“Why me?
There are plenty of other demons who could do this job.”
“It’s not like I want to entrust this to a high-ranking demon instead of someone else, but…”
With a displeased expression, Micheal snapped his fingers, opening a file cabinet against the wall.
Inside were hundreds of neatly organized documents.
Each and every one was a report detailing the atrocities committed by demons.
Pointing at the cabinet, Micheal asked:
“Are you seriously telling me to entrust this job to lunatics like them?”
“Ahem.”
Meanwhile, Dantalion had long maintained the position of a high judge and had never caused major trouble.
There was a reason the Creator had made a demon lord from a human soul.
Praising the Creator’s foresight, Micheal handed over another file.
“This is the Magical Girl Project manual.
Take it with you.
Since your artificial body can be damaged, you should minimize direct intervention.”
“You could’ve given me extra bodies from the start.”
“I should’ve just not given you one at all.
Now get out.”
Would Micheal get mad if he joked that his hair was already white, so at least he didn’t have to worry about going gray?
After a brief moment of consideration, Dantalion picked up the manual and left the room.
Back in Hell, the first thing Dantalion focused on was sculpting the artificial body.
With a little bit of power and imagination, he placed the artificial body on his desk and gave it a small tap.
“SKREEEEE!!!”
“Wow, it’s a Twisted Eel of the Underworld!”
“Oh, for…”
The artificial body, infused with power, had turned into something that looked like a deep-fried twisted donut dunked in sewage.
Dantalion withdrew the power from the body, reshaping it like clay, and started pondering.
How exactly was he supposed to mold this thing to make it look decent?
“Was I just as bad at art in my past life as I am now?”
Logically speaking, a lack of artistic talent shouldn’t have resulted in creating a Twisted Eel of the Underworld.
At times like this, the best thing to do was usually to check the manual…
[Prepare sugar, spice, and all things nice! Sprinkle them around the clay, imagine something adorable, and infuse it with power. Done!]
“There’s no way this was written seriously.”
Dantalion sighed internally as he read the manual.
Honestly, was Micheal getting back at him for teasing him earlier?
The fact that he had handed over this nonsense as a manual pretty much confirmed it.
“Petty bastard.”
“Why not just try it?
It won’t take that long.”
“Do you seriously think that was written with a straight face?”
“Come on, it’s obviously a joke.”
Yeah, no doubt about it.
Micheal had definitely sent him a bogus manual just to mess with him.
Dantalion took a sip of canned coffee, regaining his composure and organizing his thoughts.
“First, I’ll give up on making it look good.”
After all, only Joanna would be able to see it.
It didn’t matter whether it was cute or just plain normal.
Clearing his mind of any thoughts of adorableness, Dantalion settled on the simplest possible design.
Nothing too scary, nothing too cute, nothing too complicated…
Pop!
Pop!
Pop!
“…What are you drinking?”
“Bubble tea.
It’s hot down here after coming down from the heavens.”
The pop pop pop of the chewy pearls distracted Dantalion, making him glance over at Sitri.
There she was, savoring the little pearls like she didn’t have a care in the world…
“Slime?”
“Huh?
This isn’t slime, it’s tapioca.”
What did it matter whether it was tapioca or slime?
Inspired, Dantalion imagined a slime while infusing power into the artificial body.
The body twisted and folded over itself repeatedly, making strange noises as it slowly merged into a single mass…
“This is less of a slime and more like… a sticky glob?”
Just as she pointed out, the artificial body resembled a sticky, clinging slime rather than a typical slime creature.
Dantalion picked up the body, which looked like solidified lava, and focused his mind, attempting to link with it.
The artificial body, infused with a part of his consciousness, began to glow red, as if coming to life.
A warmth, like floating in molten lava(?), spread through it.
Confirming that the connection was successful, Dantalion concentrated further.
He shaped a head, then a torso and arms. Finally, he moved on to making legs—
‘Wait, do I really need legs?’
Deciding to skip the hassle, Dantalion focused entirely on forming the upper body.
The artificial body wriggled, gradually expanding as it took on his form.
“Wow, it’s actually kind of cute!”
“Hmm… seems like a success.”
With his vision now split between two bodies, Dantalion let his real body rest in a chair and concentrated on his artificial one.
The world seemed vast from this perspective, but not to the point where movement was difficult.
Fwoosh!
To test things out, he conjured up hellfire with his power, nodding in satisfaction.
“Looks like my abilities are working fine.”
“Wow!
Fire punch!”
Ignoring Sitri’s nonsensical comment, Dantalion walked toward a mirror.
Just then, Noir was sleeping by the window of Joanna’s room.
If he went in like this, he could meet Joanna right away.
‘…Noir’s gonna have a rough time, though.’
But it’d still be easier than getting swallowed as a scroll.
Sometimes, young people just had to suffer a bit.
“Gah!
Kaack?!”
“Hmm… Noir?
Did you get something stuck in your throat stealing snacks again?”
“Kaaaack!!”
Did she really think he was just the same old thieving crow choking on stolen food?!
Wailing in frustration, Noir gagged and choked, hacking something up.
Still half-asleep, Joanna casually stuck her fingers into Noir’s mouth, assuming he had stolen something from Mesella’s stash again.
She was probably about to pull out some half-eaten treat…
Squish.
“Huh?
Noir, what did you even eat?”
“Kyaaaak!?”
Noir flapped his wings in a panic, overcome with sheer indignation.
If he had stolen something tasty, then sure, he wouldn’t have the right to complain.
But this time, he was an actual victim!
Gripping the strange object in Noir’s mouth, Joanna yanked it out with all her strength.
Pop!!!
A satisfyingly plump sound echoed through the room.
Placing the exhausted Noir back on his perch, Joanna set the object on her desk and inspected it.
A baby slime?
But…
Do slimes even have babies?
The red-tinged mass wriggled as if alive.
If it really was a baby slime, the best thing to do would be to release it back into nature.
Slimes were beneficial creatures, after all—eating waste and enriching the soil.
And so, without a second thought, she opened the window and let it drop.
“Joanna, it’s been a while since we met in per—”
Just as Dantalion successfully took form, gravity yanked him downward.
Watching him plummet, Joanna blankly processed what had just happened.
It had come out of Noir’s mouth.
It looked and sounded just like Dantalion.
And then…
“Kyaaaaaaah?!”
Realizing she had just thrown something very important out the window, Joanna leaped after him.
As Joanna hurtled toward him, Dantalion thought to himself—
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to just use the stairs?”
That was his last thought before Joanna landed butt-first onto his artificial body.