When Madoka Kugimiya heard the title of the game, her first instinct was to snap a sharp retort at Asakura.
However, her best friend, Misa Kakizaki, moved first—not to join in the mockery, but to stop Madoka in her tracks. Confused, Madoka let herself be dragged away to a secluded corner, only to be met with an answer she never expected.
"Think about it, Madoka. Isn't it about time you confessed to Axel? Even our little bookworm, Nodaka, managed to tell Negi how she feels."
"Wait—Misa! I told you, it's not like that..."
Madoka tried to pile on her usual excuses, but the words died in her throat when Misa placed a firm, grounding hand on her shoulder.
"Listen to me," Misa said, her tone uncharacteristically serious. "Are you really okay with this? You were right there when Asuna and the others watched Nodaka confess, weren't you?"
"I mean... yeah, but..."
"Stop lying to yourself. My best friend isn't the type of girl who'd let herself be outdone by a shy thing like Nodaka. I won't allow it. And if you're really going to insist you aren't interested... well, maybe I'll just take Axel for myself. It might be fun to take an innocent boy like him and teach him a few... adult lessons."
"Misa! Are you serious!?"
"Exactly my point. If the idea of that bothers you, then you'd better step up and claim him yourself. So what if he's younger? In five or ten years, that age gap won't mean a thing."
Leaving Madoka with that final thought, Misa turned and strolled back toward Asakura's group. Madoka watched her go, a bitter, self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.
It was true. There was no point in denying that she was drawn to the boy known as Axel Almar.
It had started out of simple curiosity after he'd stepped in to save her from some persistent creeps. Since then, they had ended up spending more and more time together, and she had found herself falling for him, one interaction at a time. Despite being a kid, he spoke with the weight of an adult; he was naturally athletic, top of his class, and—well, he wasn't exactly a "straight-edge" student, but he had a certain charm.
Before she realized it, she had fallen in love.
In terms of raw popularity in class, Negi Springfield probably had the edge. Madoka couldn't deny that Negi was adorable, but he didn't pull at her heartstrings the way Axel did.
"...I see. I really do love him," she whispered to the empty air.
As soon as the words left her lips, the realization settled deep in her chest with a satisfying click. It was no longer a vague feeling; it was a fact. Madoka Kugimiya was in love with Axel Almar.
Images of Nodaka Miyazaki's confession earlier that day flashed through her mind. If a girl as painfully shy as Nodaka could summon the courage to speak her heart, Madoka knew she couldn't afford to be a coward. Usually, her "type" was someone older and perhaps a bit of a lovable idiot... but she supposed there was a vast difference between having a "type" and choosing a partner.
"Besides," she murmured, her resolve hardening, "it's pathetic to hide how I feel once I've finally admitted it to myself."
And so, Madoka Kugimiya accepted the reality of her feelings and decided to use this ridiculous game as a chance to make her move.
She wouldn't realize until much later that it was thanks to Misa's maneuvering that they had even been allowed to join the game, successfully sidelining Axel's closest "guardians," Ayaka Yukihiro and Chizuru Naba.
...And she would take even longer to realize that Misa herself was beginning to feel the same pull toward the boy.
Unwittingly, Madoka had just stepped onto a path that would lead her deep into the world of magic—a world where common sense held no sway. She moved forward, unaware that her feelings had just diverted the course of her life onto a road far removed from the history she was meant to live.
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