Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Look-Alike Senior and Junior
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Generally, magical girls' battles weren't open to the public.
That made sense, since they mostly took place in spaces created by a special magic called Boundary Inversion.
Aside from the rare exceptions where a magical girl herself carried a camera or drone into the inversion space to film it, most citizens didn't even know how magical girls fought.
Quaaang—!
Right now, the sight of a certain magical girl—Seriel—crashing into the ground at tremendous speed amid a deafening roar being captured on camera was truly an extraordinary situation.
'Damn it... If I'd known it'd turn out like this, I should've rushed in alone first...'
With that, Seriel swung her massive sword vigorously to scatter the surrounding dust...
...and quickly scanned the area, her pair of blue eyes darting around.
Drip...!
At the same time, along with a single clear bead of sweat trickling down her forehead... fresh blood flowing from beneath the sleeve of her always pristine uniform stained the white glove on her hand red.
"Hoo..."
Seriel glanced sideways at her junior magical girl, Yu-na, who was standing frozen in the distance, clutching the civilian she'd just rescued and staring only at her.
Click.
She draped her blue cape over her deeply gashed right arm to hide it, then gripped her silver greatsword—nearly as tall as she was—with both hands once more.
Blink, blink.
Then, the lights on the Crisis Alert Device lying in the corner of the ruined plaza flashed a vivid orange at regular intervals.
"...Well, that's a perfect penalty."
She flashed a grin at the enemy before her—a red puppet—poised with its sword aimed right at her.
Tap...!
It started with a light footstep, soft as a feather landing.
Screee—!
Seriel lowered her body in an instant, shooting forward and leaving a blue afterimage as she charged. The enemy, its red blades chained like a skirt, swung at her, but she leaped right over its head... and brought her greatsword down in a mighty arc.
Kaaang—!
But perhaps it was no stranger to swordplay itself. The red puppet crossed its four blades to block Seriel's greatsword.
Clatter...!
The very next moment, the segmented blades detached and extended like a whip, lashing out.
"Hup...!"
Seriel twisted her waist midair to dodge the follow-up attack.
Kagak!
She wrapped her greatsword around the gaps between the oncoming four blades that seemed ready to tear her apart from all sides and slammed it into the ground.
"...!"
It had no face, so no expression was visible, and it made no sound... but it was definitely flustered. Seriel's blue eyes sparkled at the red puppet's brief hesitation as it tried to step back.
Kiiiing...!
Then, a blue glow matching her eyes enveloped her right arm and both legs... tracing a simple circular pattern.
Slash.
In the momentary hush that followed, a chilling slicing sound rang out. Amid the rising dust, the red puppet began to split in half and collapse.
"Ha... What the hell do I even do about this now...?"
With that, Seriel relaxed and lowered her greatsword. Only then did she press her left hand to her stinging right shoulder wound and sigh.
Rumble...!
The already shattered building debris crumbled even further, too pathetic to put into words.
"...Ah, whatever. It'll work itself out somehow."
"Senior—!"
Seriel shoved her worries about the aftermath to a corner of her mind. She turned to her junior calling out to her belatedly as she descended to the ground and gave her a bright smile.
"At least it wasn't your turn yet. That's good enough."
That evening.
"Kyaaah—!"
A girl's furious scream echoed across the rooftop of a rundown company building.
"Ah— You—!"
Yu-na, who had only recently become a magical girl and was the source of the scream, leaned against the rooftop railing in her casual clothes after releasing her transformation. She fumed with an expression of utter injustice.
"Is this! Is this even remotely fair!? Right!?"
"...I get the gist, so calm down a bit. We'll get complaints."
"No way, Boss! Would you stay calm if it happened to you!?"
Kim Ji-seong, who was waving his hands awkwardly beside Yu-na, could only sigh inwardly at her snorting like she was about to charge at him.
"Senior worked so hard! But instead of thanking her, they're calling her useless, saying why didn't she come sooner! That's too much!"
The reason was that nearby citizens were blaming Seriel and Ha-yul for the disaster caused by today's incident—the sudden appearance of an Amber-level demonic beast.
'No wonder. I was wondering why Yu-na was the only one left here today... He ran off, that guy.'
Eight years. No, even longer. Ji-seong, who had often looked after Ha-yul since he was a kid... could picture the scene at the demonic beast's appearance without even being there. He just scratched his head awkwardly, unable to say anything to the fuming Yu-na in front of him.
"And Senior! What was that, just bowing her head silently like an idiot without saying a word!?"
To Yu-na, now on the verge of tears as she shouted...
"Don't give Ha-yul too much grief. You think he likes it that way? It's just the quietest, quickest way to move past it."
"......"
"If we're assigning blame, it's all on me. That's why our company's here—to handle the cleanup so you girls don't get flak."
"But... Boss, you didn't do anything wrong..."
"Yeah. I didn't. And neither did you."
Ji-seong reached into his pocket with a bitter feeling to grab a cigarette... but remembered Yu-na was still a student. He slowly withdrew his hand and let it hang limply, standing carefully beside her as he spoke.
"Yu-na."
"...Yes."
"What did you wish for to become a magical girl?"
All magical girls were born from contracts. In other words, they became magical girls in exchange for fulfilling a wish. Of course, whether that wish truly came true was something only they knew.
"You don't have to say if it's uncomfortable."
At Ji-seong's sudden question... she recalled her partner Mia's voice from when it had once asked her the same.
"...I just wished that magical girls wouldn't have it so hard. That's what I prayed for."
Yu-na finally calmed down, answering in a subdued voice.
"There are still so few magical girls, but incidents keep piling up on the internet and news. I thought it'd be great if I could lend a hand. That's all I hoped for."
And that's when she met her senior, Ha-yul.
"Senior's amazing. She always drills into my head that magical girls only move for Amber-level threats or higher, but she herself is busy every day regardless."
She always called herself weak, but Ha-yul—Seriel—shone brighter than any magical girl Yu-na had ever seen.
"I want to be like Senior. But today, not only did I not help—I just held her back."
She knew. If Ha-yul hadn't matched her pace, she would've arrived before the incident even blew up.
She knew. If she'd snapped out of it and cast Boundary Inversion even a little sooner, there wouldn't have been any secondary casualties.
Ha-yul had said using Boundary Inversion with civilians nearby might be riskier. But she knew it was all a lie to spare her feelings.
"...I've decided. I'll get strong enough that Senior thinks it's okay to share her burdens with me."
That's why the girl vowed. She'd grow stronger fast and stand by the side of the senior she admired.
"......"
Perhaps because Yu-na's determination was touching and so pure. Ji-seong chuckled, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he spoke.
"To me, you two are complete look-alikes."
They really were the same. The one who became a magical girl to protect them, and the one who became one to be their strength.
"Huh?"
"Nothing. More importantly, it's already 6 PM. Even on a school holiday, you should head home early."
"Wait, hold on... Boss! What did you just say? I didn't hear that! Right!?"
Dodging Yu-na as she clung to him demanding he repeat it. Ji-seong paused as if remembering something, quietly meeting her eyes one last time.
"Take good care of Ha-yul from now on, our rookie magical girl."
Because they were look-alikes. Because they both became magical girls prioritizing others over themselves. If they looked out for each other, that'd be the ideal situation, right? He just smiled and said that much.
"...Yes! Leave Senior to me! Heehee!"
Ha-yul had looked more exhausted than usual lately, but with such a bright junior by his side, there was no need to worry too much.