“I want to be a tentacle.”

Listening to Aile’s request, I wrapped my eyelids in disbelief and fell into thought.

What did I just hear?

I desperately tried to block the words that were about to escape my mouth and cautiously asked, “Um… so you mean you want to have tentacles?”

“No, I want to become a tentacle.”

“Aha— So you don’t want to have tentacles but want to be one…”

Is that really possible?

However, I didn’t immediately reject her. She was just a teenage girl, after all. Most of them have their heads in a flower garden. The girl in front of me seemed to be in a Venus flytrap field instead, but still…

Besides, who knows what kind of wild request might come next if I flat-out rejected the tentacle thing? It was better to talk things through before something more serious happened.

“Why do you specifically want to become a tentacle?”

“…Because I thought it would be the most memorable.”

“Memorable?”

“Yeah. In the memories of magical girls… their memories.”

“Hmm— memorable, huh.”

Fortunately, this was something that could be solved with a proper conversation.

I recalled the books I had read about magical girls since coming to this world and began to speak.

“Magical girls fight against the enemies that came from a different world, right?”

“Yes? Yes… that’s right.”

“And those enemies from that world don’t look like anything from this realm but more like tentacle monsters.”

“That’s true, too.”

“If Aile becomes a tentacle, wouldn’t she just be thought of as one of those enemies? Rather than being remembered by magical girls, she might just be seen as another familiar face.”

“Ugh—.”

My comment seemed to hit the nail on the head, as Aile let out a weak grunt. Judging by her serious expression, it looked like she agreed with me. Good. I could now guide this in a direction where I could create something manageable.

“But if Aile really wants to be a tentacle, I’ll do my best. However, if you want to be remembered by magical girls… shouldn’t it be more important to become something that has never existed before?”

“Become a being that never existed…?”

“Yeah. For example, an evil magical girl.”

“Ah, an evil magical girl…!”

In various magical girl anime I’d seen on Earth, this kind of character often appeared, but surprisingly, there had been no such existence in this world. Well, to be fair, it was also a world that couldn’t physically manifest.

Magical girls are powered by beings like spirits, and those spirits were born as a countermeasure against enemies from other worlds, so there was no reason they would give power to someone who could become humanity’s enemy.

Fighting the enemies from another world and then turning evil? That was impossible. As mentioned earlier, the enemies from that other realm resembled monsters straight out of the Cthulhu mythos more than anything sentient. If a magical girl died while fighting, it was unlikely she’d awaken to become a villain.

And the idea of becoming an evil magical girl seemed to excite Aile immensely.

“Scien—scientist! I, I want to become… an evil magical girl!”

“Um. Okay. Do you have a design in mind?”

“I, I do!”

With that, Aile dashed off somewhere. A moment later, she returned holding a notebook.

“H-here…”

Seemingly embarrassed to show someone her personal notes, she stuttered and blushed as she presented it. But it was still better than asking for tentacles, so I took the notebook and checked its contents.

And I was convinced.

‘…Has she always wanted to become a magical girl?’

Inside the notebook was a sketch of a self-designed dress adorned with black lace and intricate embellishments, something a chuunibyou girl might scribble down. I couldn’t tell if it was aesthetic or self-deprecating.

As I quietly admired the notebook, Aile wiggled her hands and slowly opened her mouth.

“Wh-what do you think…?”

“─Looks good. It’s beautiful. I’ll make it like this.”

“Y-yes…! Thank you…! …B-but. Is it okay for someone like me to wear something like this? Magical girls are all supposed to be pretty and cute. But I’m not pretty or cute at all…”

“Aile, you’re plenty cute. I can vouch for that.”

“Y-yes, huh!? Me, cute…?”

Seemingly flustered by the compliment, Aile turned beet red and hurriedly bolted out of the lab. Watching her go, I sighed and turned my attention back to the notebook.

“What are these kids thinking these days…?”

Wanting to become a tentacle and insisting on being remembered by magical girls—wasn’t that something for the mental hospital rather than a villain organization?

Well, I’m sure the boss would take care of it. I just needed to figure out how to bring that dress to life.

The real problem was starting from the design.

‘Should I ask a designer for this…?’

*

This world, unlike Earth, had psychic abilities. There were heroes who utilized those abilities, and, of course, villains as well. Not just that, but there were beastmen who resembled animals, magical girls and their counterparts, enemies from another world, and all manner of otaku-like beings…

So it meant that beings like the one in front of me could exist too.

“Ohoho— You called for me. You seem to know a thing or two.”

“Ah, yes…”

When I said I needed a clothing designer for the boss, a Scissors Human showed up the next day. Not a scissors-handed being, but a Scissors Human. A bizarre creature that walked on two legs with enormous scissors.

I puzzled over how such a being could exist and how it could walk around for quite a while. Eventually, I realized that overthinking it was a waste of time.

“I’m Eight. What’s your name?”

“Scissors-Jesus. Now, what is it that you want me to make?”

“It’s this… but it might be a bit rough.”

Carefully, I handed over the notebook, and the Scissors’ body sparkled. I had no idea how it could see, but after glancing at my notebook, it let out a hoot of laughter.

“What an interesting design! You want me to take this on?”

“…Oh, is it too difficult?”

“Difficult? No! There’s no clothing I can’t make! What I’m wondering is if you really called me for something like this.”

The scissors glinted again. I could sense a sharp aura. My mouth felt dry as I cleared my throat a few times and began explaining what this design entailed.

“This is a magical girl outfit for one of our organization members.”

“…A magical girl?”

“Yes. We’re experimenting to see if we can recreate a magical girl using our technology… though the design was what the experimenter requested. If that’s a problem, I can change it.”

“—No way, teacher. You can’t just give up like that.”

“Huh?”

It seemed like the middle school-like design was too terrible to make that Scissors understood it as a reason to cut me off. Placing its cold scissor hand on mine, it exclaimed:

“Ohoho, good! If it’s not just some clothing but a special outfit with powers, then this Scissors-Jesus! I’m more than happy to lend my hand!”

“Thank you. Oh, please use this material.”

I handed over the thread I had prepared in advance. In this world, psychic abilities existed. Among those abilities was one that allowed a person to store their power. The battery that Regalia treasured and that Wind-up Robot R… whatever was packed with that capacity.

This thread had the same ability. I found an ability user to infuse power into the thread itself. The outfits made with this thread would contain energy, and we would attach devices to utilize that energy, imitating a magical girl.

Well, of course, that means the outfit needs to be made first…

“It won’t take long. Please call the organization member who will wear this dress!”

“Oh, okay.”

True to his nature as a Scissors Human, he swiftly began stitching the thread. With speed surpassing that of an ordinary sewing machine, it seemed he was incredibly efficient.

Evidently, Regalia hadn’t called for nothing, as the dress started to take shape at an impressive pace. At this rate, it would be finished within a few hours. While I was tinkering with the accessories for the dress, I decided to go find Aile.

“This… this is…”

“Ohoho— Miss, are you the owner of this dress? It’s almost time to try it on! If anything doesn’t fit, we need to adjust it!”

Before long, Aile appeared, gasping in awe at the finished dress. It’s not surprising she’d be stunned by something that had only existed in her imagination moments ago.

With Scissors’ help, she tried on the dress. Scissors assessed her appearance, quickly identifying any areas in need of adjustment and making final tweaks.

The final result was truly befitting of the name “evil magical girl.”

“Scien—scientist…! H-how is it?”

“It’s wonderful.”

“Ugh— compliments aren’t supposed to be like that! It’s lovely and cute. Miss.”

“Y-yes…!”

Even with the Scissors Human mumbling things in the background, I didn’t pay much attention. I had no time to spare for that.

My gaze was fully focused on Aile.

‘She likes it that much…’

Aile, twirling in the magical girl outfit while raising the hem of her dress, struck poses as if wielding a black magic wand.

Seeing her so happy made me realize that if I told her it was impossible to become an evil magical girl now, it would be a tremendous disappointment. She might just burst into tears and run to the boss, demanding my head.

…I can make it, right?

I prayed that I could successfully complete the magical girl outfit.

Somehow, in this world, I felt like machine spirits really might exist.