Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Execution Division
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Magical Girl.
They always fight to protect the citizens, the city.
But... until when?
Some say that since they became Magical Girls in exchange for a wish, they just need to rack up achievements worthy of that wish. In fact, most Magical Girls transform for the first time in elementary or middle school and retire around the time they become college students.
So... what exactly is a Magical Girl's retirement? The answer is relatively clear.
—Being relieved of the duty to fight Demonic Beasts at Alert Level Amber or higher.
They don't have to give up their powers. If they want, they can step up and fight anytime. There's even an emergency contact network for that... So most adult Magical Girls retire from active duty to pursue whatever they can do with their abilities.
Magical Girls have endless uses. One person can produce more energy than a massive power plant. Just having a Magical Girl lend her power to a related industry provides the equivalent of hundreds or thousands of people... Who would turn that down?
Some use their detection abilities to help improve Crisis Alert Devices, others leverage their specialty in water magic to become firefighters. Those gifted in healing magic are rare, but there are cases like Aruel working in the medical field.
That naturally leads to one question... What if an adult retired Magical Girl wields her power for personal reasons?
"The answer is simple. We stop Magical Girls with Magical Girls. What other means could there be?"
No matter how pure and selfless the heart is as a condition for becoming a Magical Girl, that's only true in childhood. As they age, learn about the world, and become jaded adults in society... Some inevitably cause unexpected trouble.
"It's been a while. I'm Hwang Ki-ryong, head of the Villain Countermeasures Division in the Magical Girl Activity Support Department. How have you all been?"
Standing on the podium of a large lecture hall-like space... a middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes, Hwang Ki-ryong, addressed the other Magical Girls staring back at him with indifferent, world-weary expressions.
"Looks like everyone's here who was supposed to come... Shall we start the briefing?"
He smiled with an expression so shady that nine out of ten onlookers would find it suspicious.
"Today, for the peace of the world."
* *
"Come to think of it, Ha-yul."
"Yeah?"
"It just hit me, but why are you and the Captain so worked up over retired Magical Girls? How amazing can they be?"
I was sprawled on the sofa in the living room of our still-unfamiliar new place... Watching Seon-ah casually approach with a cola can and bag of potato chips hugged to her chest, as if she'd just snapped out of a daze despite it being almost time to sleep.
"It's not just because they're retired Magical Girls."
Of course, any retired Magical Girl has that much experience, so none of them are pushovers... But Bell and I weren't worried about your average veteran Magical Girls.
"Magical Girls generally don't get involved in fights with Villains. No matter how villainous, they're still human. Killing feels iffy, and most get handled by the military or police anyway."
"I see."
"But every now and then, a Villain like that shows up. Maybe by coincidence, or maybe with some groundbreaking invention. Villains who somehow match Magical Girl power levels."
Seon-ah right in front of me was one such case, but occasionally, Villains appear who can actually clash with Magical Girls. At that point, the military or police can't do much.
"When they're strong in that awkward in-between way, it's hard to hold back."
That's when the retired Magical Girl unit steps in—affectionately called the Execution Division.
"I've been asked a few times to retire and join them, but back then... I just didn't like the idea."
The Execution Division's job is straightforward: eliminating Villains with powers beyond what the military or police can handle. I tagged along on one mission as an observer... and refused right after seeing the results.
"Yeah, I get it. You're too kind for that, Ha-yul♥"
Who knows when he'd snuck back in. Bell, who'd gone to the nearby convenience store for ice cream, leaned against the sofa where I was lying without a sound.
"Did you know? Small fry aside, once you're known as a Villain who can tangle with Magical Girls... you lose all human rights."
"Eek, really?"
"Yep. If Seon-ah's identity gets out, she's no longer human that day. So be careful. Running around with trackers like this time is trouble."
He added that at our level, having no identity or anything was the norm.
"Reality is harsh. They strip your rights to keep you from being Villains. No cool aliases either. Ha-yul here would probably be called something lame like 'John Doe' by now."
"Alright, looks like you wanna die here today...!"
"Ack! Wait, wait! Ha-yul! Mistake! It was a mistake... Gah!"
I grabbed Bell's yap by the hand as he belatedly covered his mouth and shook his head... then launched myself from the sofa, kneeing him in the solar plexus.
"Anyway, got sidetracked... In short, Villains aren't human, so it's fine to kill them. That's the Execution Division I was talking about."
"Hmm... Got it."
Seon-ah, who'd slyly sidled over to join in beating Bell, finally seemed convinced. She nodded, chin in hand.
"...But in that case, how were you casually doing part-time jobs?"
Now she stared at me with utter disbelief.
"Aren't you the most dangerous one, Ha-yul?"
She'd naturally think that. Among us, I was the biggest hot topic—Robelia, the ex-Magical Girl who'd gone full Villain, not just some minor screw-up.
"Who knows?"
Instead of answering, I trailed off and glanced at the silver bracelet on my left wrist.
"Even if our house got raided, I'd probably be treated as someone to protect."
Perception interference bracelet. According to Bell, tweaking it adjusts the output... and every change makes people who'd seen me before perceive me as a totally different person.
"How do you find someone who doesn't exist?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
They were already looking for me as a guy, and on top of that, I wandered around tweaking the output for perception interference. Pinpointing me? Only Aruel-sensei or Yu-na might manage it.
"That's why I don't transform outside for no reason."
As I fiddled with the bracelet on my wrist... it hit me that our new place wasn't far from the convenience store.
'No way... Nah.'
No matter how you slice it, that'd be too paranoid. I glanced at the idiot lying flat on the floor, beaming creepily as he enjoyed our feet.
"Ahem. I specially picked a place where you can stick to main roads so our scary Ha-yul feels safe. Impressed? My consideration?"
Had he read my mind? Bell looked smug.
"Consideration my ass."
"Thankyouthankyou!"
I figured it was coincidence... and stomped his annoying face barefoot.
"...Who's scared? I'm not a kid."
Sure, lately alleys made me a bit wary after the kidnapping attempt and near-miss... but a macho man like me scared of alleys? No way.
"Ehehe, our Ha-yul's scared of alleys?"
"One more word, and the fridge'll be mysteriously emptier by morning. Seon-ah."
"Look at her. Can't even take a joke?"
As Seon-ah laughed carelessly at her silly tease... I pondered ordering late-night snacks if we felt like it.
"Oh, right. Since we're all together for once, let's talk next script instead of fattening stuff."
Bell's voice came as he finally got up, licking my foot.
"Brought tasty ice cream too. Knew it'd end like this, so I stashed it in the freezer. It's zero sugar these days! No worries about gaining weight!"
Seon-ah and I exchanged knowing glances—this guy's dodging snacks again—then took the thin script he handed over with a depressed look and slowly opened it.
"That damn zero. Eat your zeros yourself. I hate zero-sugar stuff."
"Right, right. Snacks are all about taste."
We tactfully skipped mentioning Seon-ah's waistline thickening lately.
"Seon-ah. You know? All those midnight snacks... you've gained weight."
Anyway, no need—the self-destruct button was right there, unable to hold back.