The Villainess Aspires to Be a Magical Girl

Author: Koto

In my second life, on my fifth birthday. As I writhed in a high fever, I remembered something utterly unbelievable.

This is the world of the Otome Game that my younger sister played in her previous life, “The Saintess and the Tiara of Light”. And I am Cecilia de Noir, the Villainess who torments the heroine and was ultimately exiled from the country.

Normally, at this point, one would panic and think, “I have to break the doom flags!”

But I didn’t have the luxury of time for that. Because I’d just discovered a far more shocking truth.

　

“…… Eh, was that magic?”

　

Right before my eyes, now that my fever had broken, the duke’s household tutor—an old man who called himself the kingdom’s foremost mage—snapped his fingers with a smug look.

There was a dry snap, and a tiny flame lit up at his fingertip.

…… a lighter? No, even giving him the benefit of the doubt, it was barely enough to start a campfire.

　

“What do you think, Lady Cecilia? This is a beginner-level fire attribute spell 【Ignition(Ignis)】. Magic involves channeling the mana in the atmosphere into this magic array, then undergoing precise calculations—”

　

The parchment that the old man showed me bore a crude geometric pattern written in brown ink.

Shapes like tangled crab legs, or broken circuit boards—in short, “not cute at all”.

At that moment, something inside me snapped.

　

(Are you kidding me with this……!!)

　

In my previous life, I was an otaku confined to a hospital bed, my soul saved by the ‘Magical Girls’ on the screen.

Magic is supposed to be more like, sparkling particles of light dancing! Pastel-colored magic arrays layering upon each other in the air! Instantly changing into frilly outfits, then blasting lasers bright enough to turn night into day while shouting love and justice!

So what is this? This dull fireplay? This ugly shape?

And the incantation is way too long—“O breath of spirits slumbering in the air, gather to my fingertips—” A magical girl should just say “Magical Shoot!” and be done with it.

　

“…Let’s try again.”

“H, huh? Lady Cecilia, what did you just say?”

“This isn’t magic! Try again! If it doesn’t exist, I’ll create it! I’ll become a real Magical Girl myself!!”

　

I snatched the parchment from the old man and tossed it on the floor.

Pride as a duke’s daughter? A Villainess’ Doom Flag? Who cares?

At that moment, I vowed to myself that I would become a Magical Girl and dedicate my second life to that end.

　

　

　

＊＊＊

　

　

　

　

For the next ten years, until I entered the academy, my life was dominated by “training”.

But this wasn’t the typical meditation or memorization of scriptures that typical mages do. My training was far more extreme, constructive, and borderline insane.

First, let’s start with the magic array’s “decoration”.

After carefully observing the existing magic arrays, I realized something.

　

“These circuits are way too messy…….”

　

The circuitry for channeling magic were unnecessarily jagged, creating too much resistance and making activation slow and inefficient.

I fused the programming knowledge I’d dabbled in during my past life with the aesthetic sensibilities of a magical girl.

　

“Curve this part into a heart shape… and round this corner like a ribbon bow, to create a mana return path. Yeah, it’s cute. This is definitely more magical!”

　

The results were astounding.

The “cute” curves I designed were actually the “perfect golden ratio” for mana flow.

The heart-shaped magic array I decorated had a magic efficiency that was over a thousand times greater than the original, clunky array…. or so it seemed.

Next, I tackled the ‘Transformation System’.

The Magical Girl flower, the transformation sequence. In order to recreate this, I created a unique magic formula that combines [Subspace Storage] and [Instantaneous Outfit Change].

1.5 seconds. This is what I have determined to be the “optimal transformation time”.

Changing outfits in fractions of a second and scattering optical camouflage particles around to make the dress appear to glow.

The calculations required for this “illusion” were a crystallization of space-time magic so complex that even this world’s greatest sage couldn’t achieve it in a lifetime. To me, however, it was nothing more than the “pursuit of an ideal”.

And finally, the “Wand”.

Most of the wands in this world are wooden, and when I channel my “Love and Justice (ultra-high density compressed mana)” through them, they shatter into pieces in three seconds.

　

“Unable to withstand my passion? What a weakling of a wand!”

　

In a fit of rage, I used the power of the duke’s family to buy up the legendary Orichalcum and hammered away at the alchemy furnace myself.

After refining it repeatedly, I compressed the orichalcum further with magic and mixed in pink dye (high-purity magic crystals).

The finished product is a cute-looking pink wand with a ribbon.

…… Inside, it was a “super heavy iron block” dense enough to shatter mountains with a single swing.

This is how people around me saw my daily life.

　

“Ma’am…… Lady Cecilia is in her room again, yelling ‘Magical Pulse!’ and doing push-ups while casting a spell that increases gravity by 100 times on herself……”

“Oh, poor Cecilia. The strain of dark magic has already taken its toll on her mind…….”

“Maids, you absolutely must not peek inside her room. Just yesterday, my prized beard vanished after merely touching the pink light leaking through a crack……”

　

Father, mother, and the maids —they’re all such rude people.

I just want to be the best Magical Girl.

My efforts to achieve that are merely bending the laws of physics a little, making those around me tremble a little.

Ten years passed, and I turned fifteen.

The entrance ceremony for the Magic Academy, the setting of the Otome Game, was approaching.

　

“Just watch. I’ll show you what real magic is.”

　

I grinned fearlessly with my Orichalcum Magic Wand (blunt weapon) in hand.

…… At that moment, I never imagined for a second that the training I had put into becoming a “Magical Girl” would not only shatter the academy’s common sense, but would also shatter the balance of power in the world.

　

　

　

＊＊＊

　

　

　

Fifteen years old. The day had finally come—the day I enrolled in the Royal Magic Academy, the main stage of the Otome Game.

If the game’s scenario played out as planned, this is where I’d have my fateful encounter (lol) with Prince Albert and start harassing the heroine, the Saintess.

But my mind isn’t full of that dreary daytime opera nonsense.

　

“The academy’s state-of-the-art measuring device should be able to accurately measure my ‘Magical Value’…!”

　

Yes, my only concern is “how cutely my magic has evolved”.

The magical aptitude test for new students. A huge magical crystal is enshrined in the large auditorium.

The surrounding students raised their hands one after another, cheering with excitement, “Oh, fire attribute!” and “water attribute”! Prince Albert, for his part, emitted a dazzling golden light and was showered with cheers of “Just as you’d expect from royalty!”

And then it’s my turn.

　

(Alright, this is my big moment—I have to show off the cutest color possible!) ）

　

I placed my hand on the crystal.

Normally, my magic would be judged as a murky, dark “Shadow”. But that’s not Magical Girl material. I revved my internal magic circuits to full throttle, compressing the dark magic essence to an extreme, ultra-high pressure.

In physics terms, it’s like compressing carbon to make a diamond. Even darkness, if its density is increased, can be converted into shining light (or so it should be).

　

“Magical Color Charge!”

　

The moment I screamed in my heart.

The crystal glowed an unheard-of, “flashy fluorescent pastel pink”.

…… Rather than glowing, it radiated light. With a brightness intense enough to burn your retinas if you look directly at it.

　

“Wh, what is this light!? My eyes, my eyes!”

“It’s ominous…… Pink? No such attribute exists!?”

　

The venue erupted in chaos. The next moment, the giant crystal crackled, then could no longer withstand the force and exploded.

A pure white blast of purification enveloped the auditorium, and before they knew it, all the “dirt” and “wrinkles” had completely vanished from the surrounding students’ clothes.

　

I struck a victory pose amidst the smoke.

　

(Yay, I did it! I dyed the crystal pink, and as a bonus, the area-cleaning magic(Magical Clean) worked too! ）

　

But Prince Albert turned pale and pointed at me.

　

“Cecilia…… what did you just…! That eerie light, and that sinister mana powerful enough to shatter crystal… you have resorted to forbidden magic, haven’t you!?”

“…… Eh, eerie? This is the glow of love, you know?”

　

I don’t get it. I made it glow so cutely.

Guess the color sense of this world’s inhabitants really is behind the times.

　

　

　

＊＊＊

　

　

　

In the end, I spent my entire three years of academy life completely ostracized.

When the heroine, the Saintess, approached me in fear, saying, “Lady Cecilia, please hide that dark aura of yours…”, he interpreted this as “Hmm, maybe my skin whitening care isn’t enough?” and doused her with powerful Whitening Magic(Magical White). Before I knew it, the rumor that I was “the witch who cursed the Saintess” had taken hold.

And then, the day finally arrived. The graduation party.

In the center of the venue, Prince Albert raised his voice.

　

“Cecilia de Noir! Your crimes are clear! We have received reports of your numerous instances of harassment against the Saintess, as well as reports of you performing suspicious rituals in the forest night after night, accompanied by eerie screams!”

　

Rituals… Ah, I guess it’s me practicing the new “Special Move Lines”.

It seems I’ve been found out—shouting things like “Shine forth, Hammer of Love! Magical Heaven’s Punish!” in the park late at night. How embarrassing.

　

“An evil woman like you is not worthy of being my fiancée! I’m breaking off the engagement! And you will be exile—”

　

The Prince’s words were interrupted by a deafening roar.

The wall of the party venue collapsed, and a huge, dark shadow crawled out from it.

The secret boss of the Otome Game, the ancient demon “Disaster End”.

In the scenario, it is a symbol of despair that can only be defeated by the combined powers of the Saintess’ prayer and the Prince’s sword.

Why did it appear now? Is it a bug in the scenario or something?

…… Well, I did a lot of things that were way off script, after all.

　

“Hii…!? Wh, what is this monster!?”

“Saintess, pray! Quickly bring forth the light of purification!”

　

The Saintess prayed desperately, but against the “true darkness” unleashed by the demon god, her light was as useless as a match flame.

Panic gripped the venue, and the Prince was left shaking in shock.

I sighed when I saw it.

　

(…Seriously. Having such an ugly monster appear at the end of the party? Terrible staging. Not befitting a Magical Girl’s stage.)

　

I took a step forward.

　

“Hey, you ugly shadow. Care to stop sullying my party?”

“Ce, Cecilia!? Run, there’s no way someone like you can win—”

　

Ignoring the Prince’s voice, I activated the “Transformation”.

My greatest masterpiece, programmed over ten years with blood, sweat, and tears.

　

“――Transform(Magical On)”

　

In that instant, time froze for the world.

To be precise, every existence other than myself was fixed in place by the [Ultra-wide time stop(Magical Freeze)] that I deployed.

　

Music starts playing. From a magic array floating in the air, the bass-heavy surround sound of ‘Magical Cecilia’s Theme’, composed by me, poured forth.

Particles of light danced around me, instantly disintegrating my dress. In its place was the “Ultimate Battle Dress” —woven with pink frills, lace, and orichalcum armor—emerged from subspace and clung to my skin.

　

1.5 seconds later.

When the time freeze was lifted, a “Magical Girl” stood there emitting a dazzling light.

　

“…… Huh?”

　

The dumbfounded voices of the Prince.

I executed a graceful turn, raising my pink-decorated orichalcum wand (total weight: three tons).

　

“Cecilia, messenger of love and justice! For naughty children, it’s magical punishment!”

(Got it……!!! )

　

I kicked off the ground.

It’s not teleportation. It is simply “supersonic movement” using leg strength.

　

BOOM!!

　

The wand slammed into the demon’s face.

In magical physics terms, it was the shock wave caused by a super-heavy object colliding at the speed of sound. Half of the demon’s head was blown away like tofu.

　

“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?!”

“It’s not over yet! I’ll finish it off with a purification beam!”

　

I raise my wand toward the sky and concentrate the mana within my body into one point.

3,000 magic arrays are deployed simultaneously, all in the shape of a heart. This is the most energy-efficient method.

　

“Magical Love Flash!!”

　

What shot from my hand was a thick, pink “super-heavy beam”.

The high-energy body, which far exceeded the surface temperature of the sun, burned and evaporated the demon, the castle wall behind it, and even the dark clouds that covered the sky.

　

…… Ah, I might have gone a bit overboard.

Even though it was night, the sky became as bright as daytime.

　

Silence.

In the ruined party hall, every single survivor stared at me, their mouths agape.

I struck my most practiced “Victory Pose.” Neck angle, good.

　

“…… Ce, Cecilia…… What the hell are you, ……?”

　

The Prince asked in a trembling voice.

I replied with the cutest smile.

　

“As you can see, I’m a Magical Girl, right?”

　

“…… No matter how you look at it, she’s a god of war!!”

　

Huh? That’s hurtful. I’m wearing this much frill.

　

After that,

The Prince came crying to me, saying, “I was wrong, please come back!”, and the Saintess started showing up at the mansion every day, begging, “Please take me as your disciple.”

But I turned them all down.

　

Right now, I have more important research to do.

　

“After all, the stage two transformation(Form change) needs a more metallic glow……”

　

My journey to become the ideal Magical Girl is far from over.

Even if this world can no longer withstand my “punishment (firepower),” I will continue to carry on with my magical power.

　

(End)

　

Thank you for reading!

If you like it, I’d be happy if you could rate it and bookmark it!