Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Eheh, We're Screwed
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The next day.
"Ah, I'm too late. I'll head out now! See you next time, White Sis!"
I waved with a smile at Yu-na, the high school girl who showed up right on schedule as always today.
"...So this is what it feels like to have your blood run cold."
I had to flop over onto the counter, using my soft chest as a pillow, and let out a massive sigh.
Truth be told, I knew full well that quitting this convenience store gig right about now would be the safer bet. Whatever Bell said yesterday was obviously just him trying to mess with me.
But... there was a reason I couldn't bring myself to quit, even knowing that.
"At least she seems to be doing well. Nice to see."
"Who knows. Is she really doing well, or is there something else going on?"
"Hey, damn it. Give some warning before you sneak up."
Just like clockwork, as Yu-na showed up today, I was in the middle of jabbing the store manager—who had popped out from hiding somewhere—in the side.
"What? Why the long face?"
Normally, he'd be grinning mischievously by now, ready to tease me again, but today Bell just propped his chin on the counter, staring grimly in the direction Yu-na had disappeared, like something was off.
"Ha-yul."
"What? You're freaking me out."
"Doesn't something feel weird?"
"So spill it already. What?"
What was he dragging this out for? No customers around, perfect—I was just about to elbow him in the head when...
"When did Yu-na become a Magical Girl?"
"Uh... around a year ago, I think?"
"And have we seen any news lately about a new Magical Girl debuting?"
I turned to look at him sharply as his voice hit me, and thought it over carefully.
"...Nope?"
Yeah, that was weird. Back when I quit being a Magical Girl, I figured someone at Yu-na's level could hold her own anywhere. Even if she'd pulled herself together afterward and tagged along with other Magical Girls... you'd think I'd have heard her name pop up somewhere, right?
"I looked into it after meeting Yu-na yesterday—just in case, even checking remote areas—but there's zero record of her anywhere."
"That doesn't make sense. Even when she was running around with me..."
"Yeah. That was her last sighting."
With that, I fell silent for a moment, locking eyes with Bell.
Ding-a-ling...!
A couple customers came in and checked out.
"...It's not what I think it is, right?"
"Afraid so. That's the conclusion I've reached too."
No way Yu-na would go that far off the rails.
"She skipped debuting officially and went straight to the enforcement division? For real?"
I looked away from Bell—who just shrugged in disbelief—and sighed.
"Looks like she really wanted to snag you, Ha-yul."
"Cut it out, seriously... that's scary..."
"Should we just ghost everyone? Haha."
Bell said it like a joke, but it pissed me off how it felt completely sincere.
"You know better than anyone that's not gonna happen."
"Yeah, suppose so."
As I sighed again involuntarily and started tidying up the mess the customers had left behind...
The Crisis Alert Device, silent for a while, blared its siren and flashed yellow light. Outside the sky—visible even from inside the store—a black, rippling orb like a marble hovered over the middle school field right nearby, signaling an impending Demonic Beast.
"This is an announcement to all citizens. This is not a drill—it's a real situation. Please calmly proceed to the nearest shelter or evacuation center. We repeat: this is not a drill—it's a real situation..."
The school buzzed with commotion, clear as day—no need to even transform to sense it. Makes sense; a thing like that popping up over the school field? Total chaos as everyone evacuated.
Pew.
But the difference from usual... before the kids and teachers could even make it outside, a familiar streak of blue light pierced clean through the Demonic Beast's core, right as it was hatching from its egg.
Flash—!
The beast's corpse turned to ash from the pierced core outward, but as if refusing to let even that fall on the field, a few more blue streaks shot from different angles, colliding and exploding...
I decided to stop thinking about it.
"Eheh, we're screwed."
That evening.
"So, what do we do about this?"
I called out to Bell, who was prepping dinner in the living room—Seon-ah was off today and had devolved into her nocturnal mode again.
"What do you mean? Cut her off while we can win. Or... accept your karma."
His answer was the same as hours ago. At least we'd gotten a rough gauge of Yu-na's level today.
"She said she'd make other rookies quit ASAP, but she's weirdly soft on Yu-na. Ha-yul, I mean."
"What can you do? Arm bends inward."
"That's not the saying for this."
As Bell sighed about not getting why I kept pushing Yu-na to the very end...
"No matter what anyone says, Yu-na's gotta be the absolute last. That's non-negotiable."
I stated my unshakeable resolve.
"Well, if you're set on it... best I can do is shift the script's ops to another region entirely."
At least he wasn't pushing back to the bitter end. That's what I liked about the guy.
Clink, clink.
Surrendering to the now-familiar sensation of sharing this space with someone...
"Thanks."
I spoke to the boss's back—he was still diligently prepping dinner—my gut telling me even this brief respite wouldn't last.
"You eat something bad?"
Of course, his response was the idiot freaking out that I'd actually say thanks.
Same time.
"Phew."
The Magical Girl—blue ponytail swaying down to her hips, clad in a gothic white frilly dress adorned with blue gems—set down the staff she'd gripped tightly in both sweat-soaked hands and exhaled deeply.
"Good work, Bluebell."
"Ehehe, thanks for the hard work today too, Teacher."
Bluebell. The girl—Yu-na—beamed at her awkward new Magical Girl name, then bowed to the pink-haired Magical Girl who'd spammed spells to train her without showing a hint of fatigue: Aruel.
"By the way, Bluebell... or Yu-na."
"Yes?"
"Not my place to bring it up first, but... you really plan to skip debuting as a Magical Girl and head straight to enforcement?"
Aruel still looked uneasy about a mere high schooler like Yu-na joining enforcement, but Yu-na wiped the smile from her lips and spoke softly.
"Yes. It's fine. Demonic Beast hunts can still be like today, right?"
She'd never sought the spotlight or thanks from the start. If she could just support the other Magical Girls, that was enough.
"I have to stop Senior."
Her eyes burned with firm resolve.
"Otherwise, I can't be a Magical Girl."
She wanted to be their strength. Protect them. And do it all alongside Senior.
Stop her. Keep Senior from leaving, convince her to stay. But she was too weak for that.
Everyone said she'd grow strong fast. She had the talent. But what good was talent? She couldn't even reach out to the suffering Senior right in front of her.
"Keeping Senior from committing more sins—that's my starting line."
Senior had already crossed an irreversible river. The least she could do was hold her back. It was her duty as one of the few left who still remembered Ryu Ha-yul the man.
"...You're pretty crazy yourself."
"Uh... that's a compliment?"
"No."
Aruel lightly bonked the head of Yu-na, who had dropped her transformation and clung to her in confusion.
"Anyway, let's grab some food. Anything you want?"
"Mala tang!"
"...What's so great about that spicy stuff?"
"Aw, Senior said it was okay back in the day!"
Penalty for keeping a high schooler out past schedule: total menu veto. Aruel sighed in agony at the torture ahead, then muttered quietly—too soft for Yu-na to hear—as they headed out of the underground training ground.
"...She sniffed it out already, huh. That demon bastard."
Her cold pink eyes fixed on a tiny black device—commonly called a drone—smashed to bits after being spotted on the way in.
――.
While Yu-na was off grabbing her bag, Aruel rummaged through the drone wreckage in the corner, pulled something out... muttered into the eavesdropping device in her hand, then crushed the rest with her fingers.
"Gotta teach her tail detection starting tomorrow."
"Huh? What'd you say, Teacher?"
"Nothing. Come on, before it's too late."