“Don’t you know who I am…?”
It might sound like I’m full of myself, but there was a time when I was so famous that everyone knew me.
Even if a lot of time has passed, still.
If you’re a magical girl, isn’t it strange not to recognize me?
But.
“I don’t know you.”
The blue-haired girl flatly denied it.
“Haven’t you at least heard the name Scarlet?”
It’s been nearly ten years since I ended up in the demon realm.
Officially, I was probably declared dead, but I was lucky enough to return.
If she was shocked like she’d seen a ghost, I might understand, but treating me like a suspicious person…
“Are you talking about the first-generation magical girl, Scarlet?”
“Probably.”
“Why are you being so vague?”
“Because the concept of generations is unfamiliar to me.”
Back when I was active, it was just me and my peers.
We believed we had eradicated evil, and we never expected a next generation to appear.
“I get that someone might lack common knowledge, but not knowing the basics is strange. Besides…”
The girl glanced over my outfit and then met my eyes.
“Even if the outfit’s the same, Scarlet didn’t look like you.”
Only then did I realize.
Why this girl couldn’t recognize me.
But, this wasn’t something I could solve immediately.
“If we talk it out, I’m sure we can clear up the misunderstanding. For now, how about lowering the sword…?”
I tried to persuade her gently,
“If you come any closer, I’ll have to hurt you.”
As a warning, white smoke rose from her ice sword.
Judging by the looks of it, this girl specializes in ice magic.
She’s ready to strike at any moment.
“Isn’t this a bit much?”
“You could be a shapeshifting monster. I’ve met enemies who try to lower our guard.”
So she’s the type to strictly follow the manual.
I understand, but it still stings a little.
“I saw red light and came running. What’s going on?”
Another magical girl appeared, running over.
Holding a large hammer, she stood next to the blue-haired girl.
“She says she’s Scarlet.”
“Scarlet?”
The hammer girl looked me over carefully.
“The outfit is the same. Is this cosplay?”
I’m the real deal.
I wanted to protest, but they didn’t seem likely to believe me.
“It’s not just cosplay. I saw her fighting a monster.”
“Huh? I didn’t hear anything about a sixth generation forming a contract.”
“Me neither.”
Then a line I couldn’t ignore came out.
“If you saw her fighting, shouldn’t that be enough to prove she’s an ally?”
The blue-haired girl shook her head.
“Too early to say. It could’ve been staged.”
“Yeah yeah, I agree! Monsters these days are smart too!”
The hammer girl chimed in.
Cautious, aren’t they?
Each of them moved to my sides, blocking my escape, weapons in hand.
“Let’s not do this. Internal conflict doesn’t help.”
Magical girls don’t have IDs.
I couldn’t think of a good way to prove who I was.
What should I do in a situation like this?
While I hesitated, the ground suddenly shook.
“An earthquake?”
“No, look over there.”
A short distance from the park.
In an area full of tall buildings, a dinosaur-shaped monster at least several dozen meters tall appeared.
“Where did that come from…”
The hammer girl trailed off.
I had a hunch.
This might be my chance.
“I’ll prove I’m an ally. Just watch!”
Taking a deep breath, I activated my flight magic.
My feet lifted from the ground and my body rose into the air.
I gradually gained altitude, then sped toward the monster.
“Everyone, get back!”
With something that size, the juniors wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Even if it sounds boastful, maybe I should lead by example as a senior.
Once I reached the top of the monster’s head, I raised my magic wand.
“Scarlet Thunder!”
BOOOOOM!
A pink lightning bolt, something that couldn’t possibly exist in nature, struck down.
This, too, is magic imbued with divine power.
The monster died without even letting out a scream, turning into ash that scattered in the wind.
I paused to think.
“Maybe I don’t have to go back…?”
The two girls from earlier didn’t follow me.
Magical girls are supposed to disappear after restoring peace, right? Maybe it’s time to exit.
After a bit of self-justification, I made a decision.
“Let’s bounce☆”
It was one of the worst disasters in the past ten years.
Photos and videos taken by bystanders at the scene spread online, and real-time articles popped up.
[Title: That dinosaur was taken down by a sixth-gen girl—seriously?]
What are the seniors gonna do now?
Time for some intense training lol
– Any info on the other members?
– Sixth gen has high standards huh
– Her power level is off the charts
– But there was no official announcement
↳ If an active magical girl said it, isn’t that official enough?
↳ In the interview, she said something like “maybe”
↳ Isn’t it weird that magical girls don’t even recognize each other?
↳It might be a secret weapon the government is hiding.
↳The “android” theory seems more convincing.
↳Even the U.S. couldn’t make something like this.
A nameless pink-haired magical girl took down a colossal monster in a single strike.
The incident itself was shocking, but the government claimed they didn’t know her identity.
That wasn’t the only thing that piqued curiosity.
The outfit she wore was identical to that of Scarlet, one of the first magical girls.
Amid rampant speculation, every online community was buzzing about this story.
↳”She’s probably a clone made by splicing magical girls’ genes.”
ᄂ”She’s an active magical girl—this is legit.”
ᄂ”Wait, the first gen debuted over a decade ago, so she’d be, at most, around 10 years old…?”
ᄂ”Pedo alert.”
↳”So how strong was that dinosaur, really?”
ᄂ”Strong enough to die to one lightning strike.”
ᄂ”Poor thing probably got its hopes up for a full-scale invasion…”
ᄂ”Not even giving it a chance to introduce itself before exterminating it feels unfair.”
“Dinosaur” was the nickname given to the monster that emerged from the gate during the day.
Some structures were damaged, but there were no casualties—it was eliminated immediately.
There wasn’t enough data to assign it a threat rating.
If the one who defeated it had left a comment, it might’ve been a clue, but the mysterious magical girl just teleported away without a word.
[Headline: Breaking news—she claims to be Scarlet.]
Frozen Princess reportedly met her in person.
Tried to detain her, but she escaped.
Details in the link.
↳”Considering the possibility it’s a shapeshifting monster… only Frozen Princess would think of that.”
↳”If she looks like a magical girl but no one’s seen her before, it makes sense.”
↳”Saw something similar in a backroom game.”
↳”The moment you let your guard down, tentacles invade your ears and possess your body.”
↳”Any doujin recs with that plot?”
↳”Is she Scarlet or not?”
↳”She claims to be. But she looks totally different.”
↳”Magical girls have perception-blocking magic, though.”
↳”Original Scarlet had it too.”
↳”So she died and came back?”
↳”Ah, must’ve been revived by SaHounen.”
↳”Makes sense.”
↳”SaHounen OP lol.”
I was in the bathroom of a quiet PC bang.
Sweatpants and a baseball cap—I’d changed into clothes bought from a random store.
Pink hair stood out, but since magical girls became a thing, more people dyed theirs.
Fooling people’s perception of my face mattered more.
“The perception-blocking magic seems to be working…………….”
I studied my reflection.
Soft skin, delicate features.
Not to sound full of myself, but it was a face so cute you could stare at it forever.
Magical girls don’t age.
Or rather, their appearance stays fixed while they’re magical girls.
To me, I looked the same as before, but to others, I probably didn’t resemble the so-called “self-proclaimed Scarlet” making headlines.
I’d tweaked the perception-blocking magic to make my face unrecognizable—an advanced technique learned in the demon realm.
If I could just revert to my original form, it’d be so much easier.
But I couldn’t.
Because I was stuck like this—unable to undo my transformation.
No idea.
I left the bathroom and returned to my seat, ordering a chicken mayo rice bowl and a drink.
Minutes later, the part-timer brought my order.
“PC bangs these days are as good as restaurants.”
The world had changed a lot while I was gone.
Not enough for mountains and rivers to shift, but still surprising.
It almost felt like I’d time-traveled to the future.
Which, in a way, I had.
After enjoying the meal, I dove back into browsing.
Most of my searches were about me—I wanted to see what people were saying.
[Title: A magical girl who thinks she’s Scarlet]
(Footage of the monster struck by pink lightning)
“But she’s stronger than the original.”
↳”Even old hag Scarlet couldn’t pull that off.”
↳”How does that even make sense?”
↳”If you wanna sue, come find me.”
↳”At this point, just admit it lololol.”
I’d spent ten years grinding in the demon realm.
I thought I’d reached a new level, but the reactions suggested otherwise.
Worse, no one believed I was the real deal.
I scrolled through the comments.
Most treated me as just another magical girl cosplayer.
A side effect of the perception-blocking magic.
Human faces change drastically with tiny adjustments—like radio frequencies or fine-tuning an instrument.
But I’d forgotten the original “settings.”
While I could tweak it freely now, that backfired.
Unless I remembered how I used to look, no one would see me as Scarlet.
“Maybe I should just retire now?”
No one stays active forever.
I’d been planning to quit soon, but not like this—unrecognized and unresolved.
I switched keywords to research recent magical girls.
Then, I found something odd.
A livestream under a magical girl’s name was airing on a platform.
Not a drama or movie—an actual live broadcast.
A wiki dive revealed many magical girls were streaming now.
“Sell dreams, not your face………………..?”
Boomer mode activated.