What?! The Magical Girls from My Favorite Yuri Are Into Me?!

Noah woke up to the sound of his phone ringing.

At first he didn’t understand what was happening. He opened his eyes slowly, stared at the ceiling of his room, and took a few seconds to recognize the sound.

It wasn’t an alarm. It was a call.

He reached out toward the nightstand and picked up the phone clumsily. The screen glowed in front of his still-tired eyes.

[Yume Hoshino.]

Noah sat up immediately.

‘Yume? At this hour?’

He answered without thinking too much about it.

“Yume, did something happen?”

On the other end he heard heavy breathing, and then Yume’s voice replied, much quieter than usual.

“Noah…”

Noah frowned, noticing that her voice sounded congested.

“Are you okay?”

“I think I caught a cold.”

“You caught a cold?”

“Yeah, my throat hurts, my nose is stuffed up, and my head feels heavy.”

Noah sat on the edge of the bed.

“Do you have a fever?”

“A little, I think. My sister said I shouldn’t go out.”

“Your sister’s right. Don’t go to school.”

“Yeah, that’s why I called.”

Noah checked the time. It was still early.

“You called just to tell me you’re not coming?”

There was a brief pause.

“Yeah.”

“Why did you call me about that?”

Yume took a few seconds to answer, and when she did, her voice was even softer.

“I wanted to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.”

Noah fell silent.

He didn’t know why that answer made him feel something strange. It wasn’t an intense declaration or a complicated scene. It was just Yume telling him she had thought of him when she woke up sick.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Were you worried?”

“When I heard you like this, yeah.”

A small sound came from the other side that might have been a laugh, though the congestion distorted it.

“Then I did the right thing by calling.”

“Don’t use your sickness to score points.”

“I’m not scoring points. I’m sick.”

“That doesn’t make you immune.”

“It should.”

Noah let out a short laugh.

“Rest up, drink water, and don’t do any physical exertion.”

“Not even a little?”

“No.”

“Not even to make a tiny sphere?”

“Yume.”

“Fine, no exertion of any kind.”

“Promise me.”

“I promise.”

Noah was a little suspicious.

“Yume.”

“I really promise.”

“Good. Rest.”

“Yeah…”

There was silence.

“Noah.”

“Yeah?”

“Have a good day.”

Noah stared at the screen without really seeing it.

“You too. Get better.”

“I will.”

The call ended. Noah set the phone down on the bed and stayed seated for a few seconds.

‘She’s happy even when she’s sick.’

That seemed very much like Yume.

After that he got up, got ready, and went downstairs for breakfast. On the way to school he checked his phone a couple of times in case Yume sent anything else, but he didn’t receive any new messages.

That was good. She was probably resting.

When he arrived at the university, the day felt a little calmer than usual, but Noah immediately noticed Yume’s absence.

She didn’t appear in the hallway, she didn’t send him any messages during the first class, and she didn’t peek through the classroom door with some weird excuse.

It was a small change, but it was noticeable.

During lunch break, Noah went to the cafeteria intending to eat quickly and review some notes, so he looked for an empty table, set down his tray, and sat down.

He had barely taken two bites when a familiar voice spoke beside him.

“Is this seat taken?”

Noah looked up and saw Luna standing in front of him with a tray in her hands.

“No, you can sit.”

Luna sat down across from him.

“Thanks.”

Noah glanced at her tray. Luna had chosen a simple meal and a bottle of water, nothing too flashy.

“Yume didn’t come today.”

“I know.”

“Did she tell you?”

“Yeah, she called me this morning.”

Luna looked up.

“She called you?”

Noah didn’t immediately notice the slight change in her tone.

“Yeah, she has a cold, so she let me know she wasn’t coming.”

“I see.”

Luna opened her bottle of water.

‘Yume called him in the morning… so that’s how you want to play, huh?’

Noah started eating.

“She sounded pretty congested, so I hope she rests.”

“Yume doesn’t seem like someone who rests easily.”

“No, she probably doesn’t want to stay still in bed.”

“That would be irresponsible of her.”

“Yeah.”

Luna thought for a few seconds.

“It would also be expected.”

Noah looked at her.

“That was very precise.”

“Thanks.”

“Was that a joke?”

Luna drank some water.

“No… I think…”

Noah set his utensils down for a moment.

“What do you mean ‘I think’?”

“I didn’t plan it as a joke. I just said something true.”

“But it sounded funny.”

“Then maybe it ended up being a joke.”

Noah watched her attentively while Luna continued eating with complete seriousness.

‘I have no idea what just happened.’

Noah picked up his utensils again.

“We should send her a message later to see how she’s doing.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe after class.”

Luna looked at him.

“What are you doing after class?”

Noah answered without thinking much.

“I’m going home.”

“Straight home?”

“Yeah. Since there won’t be training because Yume’s sick, I don’t have much to do.”

“I see.”

Luna kept eating.

Noah thought the conversation had ended, but a few seconds later she spoke again.

“Then you’ll be available.”

Noah blinked.

“Available for what?”

“For doing nothing.”

“...”

“...”

“I guess.”

Luna nodded, as if she had received important information, but Noah didn’t know whether to ask more.

‘Was that an indirect invitation? No, it’s Luna. I don’t think she does that kind of thing.’

Lunch continued with a strange calm. Luna didn’t talk much, but she didn’t seem uncomfortable either. Noah discovered that when Yume wasn’t around, the silence with Luna didn’t feel as tense as he had expected.

It was different.

With Yume there was almost always energy, questions, quick comments, or some gesture that forced a reaction.

With Luna the pauses were long, but not always heavy.

When the break ended, both of them stood up.

“See you later.”

Noah said.

“Yeah.”

Luna looked away.

“After class.”

Noah didn’t fully understand, but he nodded.

“Sure.”

The afternoon classes passed without too much trouble. Noah checked his phone twice, but Yume had only sent one short message.

[I’m resting. I didn’t push myself, so don’t scold me.]

Noah replied.

[Good. Keep it that way.]

When the last class ended, Noah packed his things calmly and left the classroom.

He was thinking of going home, stopping by a store to buy something simple, and maybe sending Yume another message later. But as soon as he reached the main courtyard, he heard footsteps behind him.

“Noah.”

He turned around and saw Luna walking toward him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No…”

She stopped in front of him.

“I wanted… to ask you something…”

“Go ahead.”

Luna kept her serious expression.

“There’s a park nearby… I was thinking of taking a walk for a while… and you can come if you want.”

Noah stayed silent for a second. It wasn’t exactly a formal invitation, but it didn’t sound casual either. It was very Luna: direct, clear, and without embellishments.

“To the park?”

“Yes.”

Noah hesitated.

His first reaction was to wonder if he should accept. After all, Yume was sick. But Luna might just want company, and rejecting her without reason could give the impression that he didn’t want to interact with her, and that wasn’t what he wanted.

Besides, after everything that had happened, Luna was also part of his life now, not just as a magical girl but as a person.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Luna looked at him.

“You accept?”

“Yeah.”

“Good.”

She turned around and started walking while Noah followed.

‘Was she expecting me to say no?’

It was too late to regret it now.