So You Want to Be a Magical Girl? - Chapter 5

Most races aligned with the Light worshipped in their own halls on Sunday.

This time, however, every student in the academy—even demons from the Dark faction—swarmed toward the grand chapel, fighting for seats near the front.

Because—

“It’s Lord Michael!”

“Aaaaaah! Lord Michael came in person?!”

“Damn it! Why did nobody tell me? You shameless seat-stealing wretches—I’ll fight every last one of you!”

The scene resembled a massive celebrity fan event, and it left me completely bewildered.

This… was not how anyone treated a second atomic bomb.

Naturally, the leader of the seraphim had not visited the academy for an ordinary Sunday service.

When the prayers ended, the breathtaking archangel spread his six wings with a smile. Amid the students’ hysterical screams, he made a motion as though sprinkling holy water.

“By God’s command, I bestow His blessing upon you. May His grace carry you through the trials ahead, and may courage and glory remain ever at your side. Hallelujah.”

Thanks to my connection with Sariel, I had secured a seat in the first row.

I could see perfectly well that no actual water left Michael’s hand. Yet when his blessing descended, I truly felt a warm current envelop me.

I looked up in surprise and met the red-haired archangel’s eyes.

He flashed me a fleeting smile. A voice like a line from an aria sounded beside my ear.

*Human student, might I speak with you afterward?*

“Afterward” turned out to mean noon.

Michael was more popular than the greatest superstar in the human world. Even students who had failed to enter the chapel lined up for autographs after the service.

In the queue that twisted around corner after corner, I even spotted the dryad who could not bear to hear Sariel’s name.

The perpetually sickly elf now glowed with vitality and loudly proclaimed Michael’s greatness.

Me: “…?”

Had his fear of death vanished?

I would never understand.

I felt no urgent need to meet an idol, and I had nothing else to do, so Sariel and I waited to one side for the autograph session to end.

Privately, I worried that seeing another angel receive such adoration might make Sariel feel even worse.

His expression was indeed strange—but not because of the vast difference in their treatment.

“Even among angels, Michael is the most dazzling and beloved.” Sariel watched the archangel surrounded by admirers, his fingers unconsciously tightening around my wrist. “You seldom join crowds like this. Do you also think he is…”

“The Archangel is wonderful, of course, but you’re my friend,” I said with unprecedented speed. “Besides, I’m not waiting for an autograph. He sent me a message during the blessing and asked to see me.”

Sariel stole a doubtful glance at me. Before he could reply, a voice accompanied by its own celestial echo and holy radiance spoke behind us.

“Miss Xie Ying. And… Sariel.”

At some point, Michael had left a double signing autographs and circled around behind us in person.

His golden eyes rested on our linked hands. A faint frown appeared.

“This is not the place to talk. Please follow me to the chapel’s second floor.”

Michael treated me differently because he knew I was the Savior.

The archangel whose name meant *Who Is Like God* stood second only to God in authority. Naturally, he knew about a matter involving the survival of the world.

Perhaps because Sariel was present, however, he spoke only in vague terms and merely asked after my life at the academy like a concerned elder.

He patted my head. “You are the academy’s first human student. We are bound to have overlooked certain needs. If you require anything, ask at any time. If you wish to contact me—”

“Michael, I am her guide,” Sariel interrupted. “If you sought her out merely to say these pointless things, we will leave. She has not eaten lunch.”

Michael’s smile froze.

Sariel possessed a naturally serene and gentle beauty. Michael, renowned in scripture for his valor in battle, had a much sterner face.

He was like an unchanging statue: hard, resolute, and so imposing that anyone he regarded without expression instinctively straightened their back.

Sariel did not retreat. One hand still held my wrist as he met Michael’s scrutinizing gaze.

“Obsessive and arrogant. Disrespectful to your elder brother. A bully to your classmates.” Michael’s eyes turned colder than even his flaming hair could soften. “God sent you here to temper your character. Is this what you have made of yourself?

“Sariel, you disappoint me.”