NOVEL NEXT Chapter 0
Chapter 0: Prologue - Bed Ending
I never liked bad endings.
An ending where the protagonist I had been with shattered and fell apart? That kind of story didn’t suit my taste—I preferred happy endings.
That’s why.
"I'm thinking of quitting soon."
When I heard those words from the girl, I finally felt relief. It was the sense of relief that came from knowing I had finally succeeded.
Memories of my time with her flashed through my mind. How much effort had I put in to ensure she reached the ending safely?
A praiseworthy girl.
I wanted to run to her and congratulate her right away. If she wanted, I was even willing to give her the head pats she liked so much.
"But… what does that have to do with this?"
If only she hadn't tied me up.
I was bound tightly to a chair, abandoned in a corner of an old construction site.
My hands and feet were completely restrained, and even my neck was firmly secured, as if to prevent me from turning my head.
I had already attempted to break free from the ropes several times, but every effort had ended in failure. No, even if I did manage to break them, she wouldn’t just stand by and let it happen.
I lifted my head to look at the girl.
Her hair, the color of cherry blossoms, fluttered gently. Her smile was beautiful, almost enchanting. She looked like a lone shooting star that had fallen into a dark world.
One of the magical girls who fought against evil. The great hero who personally sealed away the Demon King.
Magical Girl Iris.
Or, by another name—
"Noa, I don’t know what’s going on, but… can we talk this out?"
A normal high school girl, Nanoa.
Noa looked at me and spoke.
"I need your help with something, Onii-san."
Her smile was different from usual—somehow ominous. Her eyes, filled with determination, sent a shiver down my spine.
I swallowed hard at the unfamiliar sense of unease.
"Help with what?"
"Well, Onii-san always helped me a lot, didn’t you? I was wondering if you could help me with this too."
What was she asking for? What could possibly be so important that she had to go as far as kidnapping me?
"I told you, I’m retiring..."
Noa trailed off at the end of her sentence. Her lips curled into an eerie smile before she suddenly spoke again.
"Onii-san, let’s play a little quiz."
"A quiz? Out of nowhere?"
"Can you guess the reason I applied for retirement~?"
"...How am I supposed to know that?"
Noa stared at me in silence for a long time. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer.
"I have no idea..."
"Really? Then, just this once, I’ll tell you the correct answer."
After staying quiet for a moment, she finally opened her mouth.
"Pregnancy retirement."
"...Pregnancy retirement?"
My mind went blank.
What? Pregnancy retirement?
Did she… get into trouble?
Who the hell was the father?
I had a lot to say, but the shock left me speechless. As I stared blankly at her, Noa's cheeks flushed red.
"Don't get any weird ideas. I've never even had a boyfriend before."
"R-Right. Then what exactly are you talking about?"
"The higher-ups kept clinging to me. Telling me not to retire."
"...Hah."
"So I just told them I was pregnant. They couldn't say anything after that, you know?"
It was a bit ridiculous, but I could understand her reasoning. Even though the Demon King had been sealed away, monsters and aberrations still remained.
If their greatest combat force wanted to quit, of course they’d try to stop her. Noa must have lied to shake them off.
After all, no one would dare order a pregnant woman to fight. And if it became public that they tried to force her, it would be a huge loss for them as well.
She handled it pretty well.
That much, I could acknowledge. She was getting the hang of things.
...That much, I could praise her for.
"But what does that have to do with me?"
"They want me to go in for an exam. To confirm if there's really a baby or not."
"So what you're saying is—"
"Ah~ I wonder if there's anyone who could help me~?"
"Hey, you—hold on a second."
A chill ran down my spine.
A terrible thought crossed my mind.
No way. She couldn't be thinking—
"...You're not seriously... No, right? I’m just overthinking things, right?"
"...Hehe."
"I'm the one who's messed up, right? Yeah?!"
"Nope, Onii-san guessed correctly."
This crazy girl.
"Onii-san."
"W-What?"
"Hug me."
Bling!
The signature sound of a magical girl’s transformation rang out.
Noa’s outfit changed. The frilly dress she usually wore transformed into a tight-fitting white outfit.
A dazzling outfit of a material she normally wouldn't wear. It clung snugly to her body, making her look somewhat stiff and unfamiliar.
But still—
Noa was beautiful.
I had to admit it.
She really was stunning.
A revealing outfit that exposed her shoulders and thighs. Long, flowing hair that cascaded down to her waist. Eyes that gleamed like pink diamonds.
Even the moonlight itself seemed to act as a spotlight, illuminating her in all her unfiltered glory.
A hundred out of a hundred men would lower their guard before such beauty.
But to me, she looked like nothing more than a bewitching spirit.
One that was ready to devour me whole. Or rather, to take me...
Either way—
"Calm down, Noa."
"You’ll help me retire, won’t you, Onii-san?"
"Choice... Don’t I get a choice in this?!"
"A choice? Hmm..."
At my words, Noa put on a thoughtful expression.
Then—
"Hehe."
She gave a mischievous smile.
"Only the strong get to have choices, my dear husband."
"...Hah."
I never even considered the possibility. Even if I had told my past self, I would’ve laughed it off as nonsense.
A man who reincarnated into Reaper’s Present, a magical girl game filled with bad endings.
He became a villain to help the girl avoid a bad ending—
Only to end up with a bed ending instead.
'How the hell...'
Did things end up like this?