Magical Girl with Demonic Time Magic-Chapter 87: Self-Discovery and Doubts

Chapter 87: Self-Discovery and Doubts
"Hey, how’s it going with your boyfriend?" A friend asks me while we’re having coffee here at the Magical Girls base, this girl is a new friend I made recently.
Setsuna has been going on missions with a girl named Rena the past few weeks, so I had to find other partners until Setsuna became available, which is normal.
So when I was in the cafeteria, I met this really cool girl. She has bright blue eyes and long dark blue hair, plus really big boobs that she proudly displays.
We started chatting, found we had a lot in common, and became friends. She talked about her family, friends, and how boring it is to work and study in college, while I told her about myself, my boyfriend, and my friends.
She’s easy to talk to, and this friendship just happened out of the blue, showing how life can be sneaky and unpredictable.
The two of us have even gone on 3 missions together. She has metal manipulation magic, and her weapon is a big iron mace, while her magic branch is controlling the ambient heat.
Her name is Mizuhane Kōri, and she’s also pretty curious, so we like to ask each other things.
"Ah, you know, it’s alright, but... I feel like something’s missing," I say to her, sipping a bit of my coffee as she sits down in the chair next to me, briefly checking her phone to look at the time.
"What do you feel is missing?" She asks with genuine interest.
"Well... I’m not sure, even though we’re dating, it feels more like a friendship than a romance," I tell her honestly. It’s kind of confusing, and I don’t know how to deal with it.
"So you don’t love him," She states bluntly, putting her phone away and grabbing a small pastry from her bag.
"...Haaa... yes, I’ve even tried, but I don’t really feel any romantic feelings for him since I accepted the dating request," I say, a bit disappointed. It’s not like I haven’t been trying, but love isn’t something that just comes because you want it to. It just arises unexpectedly sometimes.
"Why is that? Is he boring?" She asks directly, and I quickly respond.
"No, he’s nice and kind, even though his narcissism is a bit hard to deal with, he’s a nice guy. But he’s the kind of nice guy that’s more like a friend, you know?" I say, confused about what I’m feeling and how to put it into words for her to understand.
"Oh... I see, he’s the type of guy you know would be a good friend, but you just can’t feel attracted to him," She says, as if she knows exactly what it’s like.
"I guess so," I agree. It’s the famous "friendzone" that guys usually talk about and fear.
"But what do you think is the reason?" She asks with genuine interest in my romantic life.
"...I really have no idea, I wonder about that too. If it continues like this, I’ll have to break up with him. It’s unfair to him to continue the relationship when I don’t love him," I say wholeheartedly.
It would be sad to build a relationship without true love. I don’t love him, and he knows it, even though he tries, that doesn’t change.
Ding, Ding, Ding, Ting, Ing.
Her phone rings with a really unique and repetitive sound that I recognize as being from a TV series. She looks at it and answers briefly.
"Ah, sorry honey, there’s still time, I can get there if I hurry... Be careful of accidents? Don’t worry, honey, nothing will happen to me on the way... Yes, I’m with a friend, already? Okay, bye," She talks quickly while the call ends.
"Sorry, Ayane, that was my girlfriend, so I had to answer or she’d get mad at me for being late," Mizuhane says with a sweet smile.
"Girlfriend?" I question with doubt.
"Oh, yeah, I didn’t mention her, did I?" She says, as if that’s what I asked.
"You’re dating a girl?" I ask, surprised. I didn’t know she was dating a girl, though I’ve seen her talking to someone on calls, I thought it was a boyfriend.
"Yeah, I’m a lesbian. My girlfriend is a normal girl who doesn’t know about my magical girl life. She’s a cute, jealous, but very loving one. I can introduce you to her sometime," Mizuhane says proudly.
"Oh... I... have a question, isn’t that weird? I mean, you’re both girls..." I ask uncertainly. She seems shocked, and then a huge smile appears on her face.
"Ayane, love is love, regardless of gender. She loves me, and I love her too. We’re very happy together. Did you know she introduced me to her mom? Haha, you should’ve seen her family’s reaction when she came out, some disapproved, but others accepted it without a problem," She talks as if her private life is no big deal.
"Well... is that normal? I mean, girls dating girls, it’s just that there are a lot of girls at the base," I ask with interest.
"You mean romantic relationships between magical girls? It happens a lot. You know, about 70% of magical girls romantically prefer girls. It probably happens because there are no men among us, and because of the whole thing about bad things happening when captured by monsters, most can’t really relate to normal people."
"So they prefer to be in relationships with other magical girls because they both understand and can take care of each other," She explains something I really didn’t know.
"W-Wait, so there are a lot of couples at the base!?" I question, now finally understanding why the underground has so many couple-oriented things.
"Yeah, like a ton of them!!! It’s just hard to notice because most are girls who’ve been through a lot, so they prefer to keep it discreet," Mizuhane says as if it’s the most obvious thing.
"O-Oh, I didn’t know... but it makes sense," It really does make sense, though it’s surprising. I had no idea about this.
"Hey, maybe that’s your problem?" She says, as if she’s had an epiphany.
"My problem?" I question.
"Yeah, maybe you also like girls and don’t know it? That’s why you can’t love the boyfriend you made!" She says, sounding certain.
"...C-Could it be?" That reminds me of the constant dreams I’ve been having about Setsuna, every night like a cycle, the dreams never completing the final part. I swallow hard as Mizuhane gets a sly smile.
"You’re thinking of someone, aren’t you! You’re blushing!!" She says, as if she’s seen a great scene.
"W-Well... maybe... but I don’t know, we’re just friends..." I say, as her smile grows.
"So you really do have someone who makes your heart go Doki, Doki stronger, huh!?" She insists, while I don’t confirm, but also don’t deny.
"Know this, Ayane, there’s nothing shameful about this! You should follow your heart. You’re young and have plenty of time to think. If you want my advice, observe," She says, and I look at her, confused.
"Observe?"
"Yes, observe the girl who catches your attention. Learn about her, see what she likes, how she acts, what it is about her that draws you in. Spend some time studying her, and in the end, ask yourself, ’Do I love this girl?’"
"But ask yourself with your heart, let your heart tell you if you love the person you’ve been learning about," She speaks with absolute certainty, and as someone in a relationship, she may be right.
"I-I can try, but... I don’t know..." I say uncertainly. I’ve always liked men in the past, so this sudden change is a bit scary.
"Ayane, you don’t have to force this. But know that time doesn’t wait. If you don’t move forward, you’ll be left behind, and one day, the girl you might like could end up with someone else," When she says that, my heart tightens.
’Setsuna... ending up with someone else?’ I’m not sure what to think about that. If she’s happy, I’d obviously approve and support her, but it also feels strange.
We’ve been friends for less than 3 months, and yet she’s so perfect in every way. She’s a special friend that I would never give up.
"O-Okay, I’ll try to observe her like you said... maybe... maybe I do like girls? I need to see this, and discover myself. Thank you, Mizuhane," I say with a smile.
It’s still uncertain. I don’t know if what I feel is just natural female admiration or truly love. I have to see what I really feel, but this conversation has shown me that I really need to choose.
"That’s my girl!! Be happy, I wish you the best in your relationship. Now I have to go, or my jealous sweetie will give me a pan to the head!" She says jokingly.
"I promised her I’d show up at her place for a dinner with her mom, so if I’m late, it’ll look bad for my image, you know? Her mom already doesn’t like that I’m stealing her precious daughter, I can’t make it worse. Thanks for the chat and the coffee," She says as she starts running.
"The coffee?... Hey!!!" She took my coffee and left with it, now too far away for me to say anything.
"...It wasn’t even... haa... never mind," I sigh, having lost my coffee before even finishing half of it.
"Okay! Determination, I just need to observe Setsuna more. Lately, she’s been a bit distant from me, but we’re still best friends who spend a lot of time together. I just need to observe."
"I think I’ll detail what I observe about her in my diary," I murmur with a flushed smile. My diary has now temporarily become a diary of a possible future love.
I won’t end the relationship yet. I’ll stay in it while I see if I really like girls or if I’m just going through a confusing phase in my life.