Book 2: Chapter 175: The Imitator
Vol 2 Chapter 175: The Imitator
A Magical Girl's costume, due to its high correlation with her true nature, reflects the wearer's personal preferences to some extent when formed. For most Magical Girls, their transformed magical outfits represent an image they adore or aspire to in their hearts, so they are undoubtedly satisfied with them.
Building upon this fact, there's considerable room for customization regarding how magical outfits form. If a Magical Girl has a very clear idea about her costume - whether it's a carefully prepared design sketch or a pre-existing garment she's seen - as long as the mental image of that design is strong enough, it will manifest in her transformed appearance.
So strictly speaking, if a Magical Girl's transformed appearance closely resembles a fictional character, that's entirely possible.
In such cases, one only needs to say, "I'm a fan of a certain anime, and because I loved a particular character so much, I unconsciously imitated their outfit when I became a Magical Girl."
Veronica knew both facts: that "Magical Girl Gentian was originally a fictional character from a children's anime" and that "this identity and codename were entirely the result of Emerald's personal eccentric tastes."
However, she never expected to encounter fans of that anime just while waiting for team assignments in the examination area.
Even though she used her prepared explanation to avoid suspicion about her "false identity," she couldn't escape their enthusiasm. The two Magical Girls seemed convinced she was a fellow fan and dragged her into a lengthy discussion about the anime. They even enthusiastically took selfies with Veronica before leaving satisfied.
Before departing, they tried to get Veronica's contact information, but she refused by claiming she was "using a family member's phone for the exam."
After that, occasional "original fans" still approached Veronica to chat. At first, Veronica felt somewhat uneasy, worried her identity might be exposed. But as time passed, she realized no one suspected "Gentian" was a false identity - they all simply thought she was a genuine anime fan. She gradually relaxed and became less guarded.
Moreover, through the chattering discussions of these Magical Girls, Veronica could gather some information about the original work. Combined with bits of setting details Lin Xiaolu had mentioned before, she could even pretend to participate knowledgeably in discussions, further cementing her "original fan" persona.
Thus, without realizing it, Veronica found herself surrounded by a small group. Unlike other examinees assessing each other for team formations, this gathering had completely turned into an anime fan meetup, with decidedly unserious discussions.
Of course, still no one approached Veronica to form a team.
After all, these Magical Girls gathering here merely shared a love for the same anime - it didn't mean they were slackers unconcerned about their results. Any Magical Girl serious about doing well in the practical exam would naturally hesitate about "choosing a teammate who's only 10 years old."
This situation continued until twenty minutes before team formation began.
The crowd around Veronica had stabilized into a discussion circle about Magical Girl anime, with numerous fans of the genre gathered together, sharing their experiences of being Magical Girls while watching Magical Girl anime.
New Magical Girls continuously joined the circle. Those who liked "Sweetheart Angel" naturally interacted with Veronica, while fans of other works who hadn't seen it or weren't interested could join other discussions.
During this time, a rather plain-looking Magical Girl appeared in the circle - wearing a hooded tracksuit, sweatpants, and glasses, appearing quite unfashionable.
While most surrounding Magical Girls wore their magical outfits, looking gorgeous and flashy, making her seem out of place, this wasn't unusual since the exam hadn't officially started yet, and there were no dress requirements for waiting examinees.
This inexplicably civilian-clad Magical Girl wandered through the crowd, listening to others' opinions about various anime, occasionally showing interest as if wanting to join but ultimately saying nothing.
She kept moving through the crowd until she noticed Veronica, who had separated from the main group and was sitting under a tree shade, then paused slightly.
Then she approached Veronica.
"Excuse me... is that outfit from Gentian in 'Sweetheart Angel'?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah," Veronica glanced up at her, this time without any hesitation, answering straightforwardly: "I liked it so much that I unconsciously imitated it when I transformed."
"I thought so! It looked familiar..." The girl nodded understandingly, then paused before continuing: "Um, if you don't mind, could I ask you something that might be a bit rude?"
"A rude question?"
Veronica looked at her strangely: "You can ask, but I can't promise I'll answer."
"Ah... okay, even if you don't answer."
The girl smiled awkwardly at Veronica's casual attitude: "It's just... when you transform and have to move around in that outfit in front of everyone, do you ever feel... kind of embarrassed?"
Veronica stared at her wordlessly.
Even without speaking, her refusal to answer was abundantly clear.
"Oh, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to pick a fight!"
Realizing how her words could be misinterpreted, the girl immediately apologized: "I'm really not trying to mock or provoke you, I'm just genuinely curious."
"...Why be curious about that?"
Veronica still showed no intention of answering, just scanning the other girl with a subtle expression: "And even if you're curious, you shouldn't ask people rude questions so casually."
"I'm sorry."
The girl apologized again: "I was too abrupt. It's not that I'm being nosy, I'm genuinely confused and troubled by this issue myself. Seeing you sitting here so unconcerned about others' gazes, I wanted to ask for advice..."
"Advice?" Veronica still seemed puzzled.
"Well, I mean..."
The girl pursed her lips, hesitated, then finally showed a determined expression and reached for the bracelet on her wrist.
Then, right before Veronica, she completed her transformation.
She truly was a Magical Girl. After transforming, her appearance changed dramatically from the plain, gloomy girl to a striking figure with fiery red hair, wearing an orange fringed dress, exuding a rather imposing aura.
However, this image seemed familiar to Veronica.
She was certain this wasn't any Magical Girl she'd met before, but rather an image from some more distant, abstract context.
Although Lin Yun in the past hardly ever watched children's anime, because her daughter liked them and Asou Madoka had apparently participated in similar projects as a singer, Veronica suddenly recalled the origin of this image from the crevices of her memory.
"...Color Sky Angel?"
The Magical Girl before her nodded, then showed a slightly relieved smile: "Ah, great, you recognize it."
Clearly, she was another "imitator" like "Gentian," copying a fictional character's appearance.