An actress in our midst!

The entire reality froze around Max as he heard those words. Everything else disappeared. There was only Iris, the second generation Pretty Frost, leaning on his window sill, looking him in the eye with a serious expression.

“Wha-- How… what?” Max choked out.

“I want you, Max, to be the third generation Pretty Frost,” Iris reiterated, still looking straight at him.

“But I’m not even a girl!” he blurted out the first thought that came to mind.

Iris shook her head. “Maybe you’re not, but that doesn’t really matter. You’re the perfect candidate. You are kind and caring; you are young; you already know all the other magical girls; and you are a prodigy when it comes to magic.”

Max was stunned. When she put it like that, there really wasn’t anyone better than him, was there? Maybe Jessica, but… No, she still had to be the general. Max, on the other hand, was a mere replaceable minion.

“But… I’m also a demon minion. Wouldn’t that be a problem…?”

Once again, Iris shook her head. “Not a problem at all. In fact, there’s actually a precedent for this.”

“Wait, there is?” Sarah piped up.

“Yup. This is something I wanted to tell you all while we were here, actually. So this is perfect,” Iris noted. “Anyway, I’m talking about Sophia, the second generation Pretty Spark. You might remember I mentioned her being visited by a demonic spirit and being offered a place in the demon army before she even became a magical girl.”

“But you said she refused,” Erika commented with a frown.

“She lied to us,” Iris said with a frown. “I talked to her a few weeks ago again, and when I mentioned Max and Cody and them being minions… she spilled.”

“Wait, wait, wait, so she was both a minion and a magical girl?” Sarah yelled in surprise.

“Yes. She was moonlighting us.” Iris wore an annoyed frown. “She quit being a minion at about the same time she quit being a magical girl… Along with Pretty Flame and Pretty Bloom, actually.”

“They all quit at the same time?” Erika asked.

“They did… I couldn’t fathom why at the time, but now… Now I know.” Iris’ frown deepened. “Apparently, the demon lord talked to those three.”

“Huh? The demon lord did?”

“Yes. He told them… something.” Her mouth pressed into a line. “He told them the truth. And now, I know it too.” She grimaced. “You see… He–”

As Max took in the new information, something tugged at his mind, telling him something bad was about to happen. He immediately remembered what.

Infohazard.

“Stop!” he shouted, way louder and more forcefully than anyone was used to him. Iris immediately stopped and stared at him wide-eyed.

“Wha–”

“Do not tell us. Ever. Under any circumstances,” he told her, eyes boring into hers. “Do tell Jessica though. Somewhere where we can’t hear.”

“Wait, why? What’s going on?” Sarah looked between Max and Iris.

“Oh… This is what Jessica was talking about, right? Infohazard?”

Max nodded. “I think so… I think that’s the reason why you’re losing your attunement, Ms. Iris.”

Iris was speechless. She hadn’t expected that in the slightest. She was surprised… and also bitter. Not only had she found out that Sophia had been lying to them and had essentially betrayed them, but now, though unintentionally, she had also made Iris lose her attunement.

“Right…” With much effort, she bit down her anger and frustration and forced herself to refocus. “Well, that’s that I suppose.” She looked back at Max. “Anyway, as I was saying, there is a precedent for a demon minion becoming a magical girl, so it wouldn’t be a problem at all. You wouldn’t even need to quit.”

With the topic drifting back to this, Max couldn’t help but stiffen.

He wanted it. He wanted it so badly. But he felt like he couldn’t take it. Like he didn’t deserve it. Like…

“It’s okay,” Iris assured him, raising her hands in a placating manner. “You don’t need to decide right now. I’m a lot weaker, but I can still keep going for a while. Just think about it and let me know.” She smiled at him.

Max opened his mouth… but couldn’t say anything. So instead, he swallowed and gave a nod.

“I, for one, would love to have you in the team, Max,” Sarah said with a grin. “Heh, can you imagine Jessica’s face? She tried poaching one of us to be her minion, but instead, we end up poaching one of her minions to be a magical girl.” She cackled.

“Yeah, I would be happy to have you on the team, Max.” Erika smiled. “And not just because of Jessica’s reaction.”

“Me too, I like having you around,” Nicole added.

They wanted him. And they weren’t even pretending. After all, they already spent a lot of time together because of Jessica. But if he were to agree… If he were to really become Pretty Frost…

At the edge of his senses, he felt a small burst of magic in the living room before it quickly dispersed. It gave him the perfect excuse.

“I… I think they just finished speaking back there. We can go back now,” Max said, avoiding all the expectant eyes. “I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

Nobody said anything as they exited his room again. Nobody tried to pressure him. They gave him all the space he wanted to decide.

But he had already decided the moment they offered. He wanted to be the newest magical girl. There was nothing in the world he wanted more.

…

So why was it so hard to say it out loud?

BottledChaos Hey there everyone, I am the bearer of bad news. I'm running out of stockpiled chapters again, so I'm switching to a chapter every 4 days for now. Of course, you can still read ahead on my patreon just like before if you want to.