The First Request

Following Nabi’s words, once night fell, requests began appearing one by one beyond the blue window. Each one was neatly summarized, just like the job postings commonly found on the internet. Every registered request also had a time limit; once the allotted time ran out, it would vanish automatically and another request would take its place. Each request was graded by difficulty, with a recommended level listed beside it, giving the whole thing an oddly game-like feel.

From what I could gather while skimming through them, every single request involved some kind of secret, shady business happening on the underside of society. Crimes people vaguely knew about but chose to ignore because they weren’t personally involved. Most of the requests here were about stopping exactly those kinds of crimes.

That was roughly the first request that caught my eye. The wording tried its best to soften the content, but the subject matter was still so heavy that the dissonance remained impossible to ignore. Why on earth would a magical girl show up at a drug deal…? If you thought about the typical magical girls you saw in mainstream media, the combination was completely mismatched. Of course, the moment a slime pretending to be human started playing magical girl, things had already strayed far from common sense, but even with the dark concept, this felt excessive.

When I voiced my doubt, Nabi’s reply was even more ridiculous.

Hearing Nabi’s voice perfectly replicate that mischievous tone made the image of that annoying cat float into my mind. True to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his thoroughly twisted way of thinking, even his explanation casually trampled over ordinary common sense.

Even setting that aside, the request was strange in several other ways when it came to difficulty. I still lacked experience, so I couldn’t gauge the exact level of challenge, but a recommended level of 50 was no joke. It wasn’t overwhelmingly strong, yet anyone at that level could be considered an experienced hunter. Naturally, no ordinary request would demand such a level, which meant the “bad guys” listed there almost certainly included awakened individuals among them.

Even without that, the request was already packed with danger. The idea of willingly walking into a situation where I might run into awakened enemies was something I wanted no part of, no matter how overpowered this body was. I passed.

In the end, I decided to start by figuring out the difficulty scale of the grades shown here and searched for the easiest request available. Thanks to the convenient “Refresh” function I’d seen somewhere before, finding what I wanted wasn’t difficult. The most harmless-looking request with the lowest recommended level—a literal tutorial quest. The rewards in achievement and points were smaller because of the low difficulty, but for a first request, that was perfectly fine.

Once I made up my mind, I acted quickly. The lowest-grade request titled “Scold the Delinquent Big Brothers!★.” The name was weird, but I understood the meaning well enough, so I accepted it before it could disappear.

A cute sound effect played, and the details of the request I’d just accepted appeared in the upper right of my vision.

As expected, the content matched the title perfectly, but what caught my eye first was the reward. Even for the lowest grade, wasn’t this too stingy? The A-rank request I’d seen earlier offered 40 points—exactly eight times more. It felt like a silent declaration that they wouldn’t let me get anything for free. The one silver lining was that points didn’t seem to vary by grade.

A few hours ago, I’d checked the shop function. It sold special items—mostly useful tools for operating as a magical girl rather than pure combat gear. Every single one had been strangely unique, and they were still vivid in my memory. If I had any of them, they’d definitely come in handy.

Through this, I could clearly see his intentions. He wanted to support my activities as a magical girl to the fullest while doing everything possible to hinder my ultimate goal of retirement. He hadn’t said it outright, but the behavior was far too blatant.

While I was thinking that, the space in front of me suddenly distorted without any warning. I widened my eyes. The air that had been rippling like noise soon formed a black vortex the size of my height. Just as panic threatened to overtake me, Nabi responded quickly.

“Ah… right. That’s what it was. I completely forgot.”

Recalling what Ur had told me earlier, I finally let out a sigh of relief. So the portal was the means of transportation to the request site and back. When I first heard it, I hadn’t really understood, but seeing it now made perfect sense.

A black vortex floating in empty air. Naturally, nothing could be seen beyond it. Only dense darkness quietly swirling.

“……”

Honestly, just looking at it made me reluctant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to step inside. The appearance alone was enough to make entering feel wrong. It looked like a miniature gate. I wondered if I’d end up falling into some strange dungeon.

As I hesitated, Nabi spoke again. If I didn’t enter the portal quickly after it appeared, the request would be automatically canceled. In other words, I had no time to dawdle.

With a deep sigh, I approached the black vortex and glanced around the room one last time. According to what Mei had said when she came to the room earlier, he was confirmed to be working overtime tonight and wouldn’t be coming home. Since this was my first day here, he must have felt guilty about not being able to stay with me, so he’d even passed along an apology through her.

Of course, for me, who needed to leave the room for the request, this was a huge stroke of luck. I’d had quite the struggle convincing Mei, who insisted she’d stay in the room with me tonight because it would be scary. I’d finally managed to get her out and locked the door properly, so nothing should happen.

Reassuring myself like that, I pushed down my anxiety and threw myself into the portal.

At the same time, my vision was dyed in dense darkness, and a sensation like being submerged in water enveloped my entire body. After the unpleasant feeling lingered for a moment, I felt my feet touch solid ground, and my vision, previously obscured by darkness, began to return.

The scenery that gradually came into focus was completely different from the room I had just been in. The moment I clearly saw the outlines forming before me, my eyes widened.

The landscape spread out in front of me was very familiar. The light and shadow of Seoul, made even more distinct after the great disaster. I was now standing right in the middle of that shadow.

How long had it been since I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠last saw this sight? I slowly turned my head while gazing at the scenery I hadn’t faced in so long. In the distance, tall apartments stood brightly lit even at night, contrasting with the shabby buildings around them. The only light illuminating the darkened streets came from faint streetlamps. The sight of old, dilapidated buildings lined up in a jumble reminded me of an aging daldongne.

This place, where despair fit better than hope, was where those who had failed to board the new era naturally gathered. It was also the place I had lived until just recently.

So many things had happened over the past few weeks that I’d almost forgotten, but seeing it now brought back vivid memories of the past. In a way, the memories of that past felt more real than this new reality, as if I had finally returned to where I was supposed to be.

A place where those left behind by the times naturally drifted together. Everything was exactly as I remembered. The only thing that had changed was… my appearance.

Nabi’s voice broke through my thoughts. I quickly refocused and scanned my surroundings. The portal had dropped me on the rooftop of the tallest building in the area, so I had a clear view of the ground below. Thanks to that, finding the site was easier than expected.

A dead-end section between narrow alleys. Beneath the only streetlamp nearby, I could see people. Three of them in total. Even from this distance, it was obvious they weren’t all together. Two large, burly men were surrounding a relatively small man. With a dead end right behind him, there was nowhere to retreat.

When I enhanced my vision, the detailed expression of the cornered man became clear. Deep despair, resentment, and fear were written all over his face. That alone was enough to understand the situation. I’d experienced something similar multiple times in the past, so I didn’t need to think deeply. He’d unfortunately run into “hyenas.”

That was the slang used by people living here. Someone returning home late at night after finishing a hard day’s work. Delinquents waiting in the barely visible alleys, spotting them and quietly tailing them. Two to four of them would surround their prey like a net, driving them into a corner. Once the victim panicked and tried to run, they’d inevitably end up in a dead end. At that point, it was already game over.

Having all their money and valuables taken was the minimum. If they didn’t hand everything over willingly, violence was never off the table. It was no different from common thuggery, but if you didn’t cooperate, you’d end up with a broken bone, so resistance was impossible. The nickname given to those who shook people down until nothing was left was “hyenas.”

Of course, if the streets were well-lit, it would have been easy to avoid, but this area had almost no infrastructure. Once night fell, it became pitch black, leaving people completely helpless.

Then one question naturally arose. Couldn’t they just call the police? It was the simplest and fastest solution. Logically, that would be the obvious choice. But common sense didn’t apply here. There were two main reasons.

First, the police in charge of this area had no motivation whatsoever. Second, and more importantly, there weren’t just one or two of these hyenas. Even if you managed to catch one, another would simply roll in to fill the empty spot. These guys had sharp ears when it came to this kind of thing, so the moment they realized someone had reported them, a hellish retaliation was guaranteed.

At first, many people tried to resolve the situation, but after a few years, most gave up. They realized that, to those in power, this place was nothing more than a district of powerless losers with no influence. No matter what you did, no one would pay attention. Anyone who lived here even briefly could understand that easily.

After the great disaster, people had lost all their leeway. They were too busy worrying about their own futures to spare any concern for others. If you couldn’t even protect yourself, you were mercilessly weeded out. It might sound cruel, but… that was reality.

I slowly melted into the darkness and approached the site while completely erasing my presence. As I got closer, I could finally hear their voices. From what I could gather, the man who had become their prey didn’t seem to have any money on him. The delinquents, who had been threatening him aggressively at first, now looked like they roughly understood that he was telling the truth.

You might think that having nothing to take would be a good thing, but that was a huge mistake. A starving hyena finally catches its prey after all that effort, only to find it’s nothing but a bone with no meat? What would happen next was obvious. They’d completely lose it.

Sure enough, the delinquents’ already menacing expressions twisted even further. Thick veins bulged on their tightly clenched fists, and their eyes burned with pure rage. At this point, there was no need to think deeply about what would happen next. The man himself seemed to have sensed his fate, squeezing his eyes shut with a resigned expression.

If I left him like this, he was bound to have the worst night of his life. Sensing that it was time to step in, I was about to take a small step forward when I suddenly flinched. The moment I actually thought about revealing myself in front of people, a small hesitation grabbed my ankles.

I instinctively knew. The moment I took that next step, there would be no turning back.

Frozen in place like ice, I slowly raised my gaze and looked at the man visible between the delinquents. He wore a miserable expression, as if everything was already over. But deep down, he must have been hoping for something. A very… very slim possibility, but still hoping for a miracle that could turn this situation around.

If the old me had been standing here, what would I have done? Obviously, I would have cleanly pretended not to see anything and walked past. But the current me was different. I now had money and leisure that I hadn’t possessed in the past, and above all, this emotion boiling deep in my heart. Its true nature was the faded, long-lost desire to become a hero that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠once held as an ideal.

Of course, looking at reality now, it had become quite distorted, but the essence of helping someone in trouble remained the same. Thinking that, the faint shame that had remained also melted away naturally.

With my resolve firm, I took a deep breath and hypnotized myself. I projected onto myself the image of the “little devil” I had practiced countless times in my head throughout the day. Normally, this should have caused tremendous resistance. But my mind accepted the thought as naturally as a sponge absorbing water. It was an extremely abnormal situation, yet I myself didn’t notice it.

After a moment, once I finished all my preparations, I remained hidden in the darkness and opened my mouth with a deep smile.

“Hehe… Hey, big brothers, what are you doing over there? If it’s okay, I’d like to join in too…”

“!!!……”

The moment that bright yet somehow chilling voice rang out, all three of them flinched and shrugged their shoulders almost simultaneously. After all, hearing a little girl’s voice in a dark alley this late at night would startle anyone. For ordinary people, shrinking back psychologically was the natural reaction.

I savored their terrified expressions to the fullest and revealed myself under the light. Emerging slowly from the dense darkness was a small girl wearing a cute gothic lolita outfit. A modestly sized hat sat tilted atop her hair that fell to her shoulders. The frills at the hem of her skirt swayed with her light steps, accentuating the girl’s elegant impression.

Most decisively, the white smiling mask covering the girl’s face created a striking black-and-white contrast with her dark outfit while simultaneously giving off an indescribably eerie impression.

In the face of this sudden, unrealistic situation, none of the three could easily come to their senses. Looking at them, the magical girl making her debut for the first time wore a playful, wicked smile. Of course, since the white mask covered her face, no one saw it directly… but the smile the girl wore matched the one on the mask almost perfectly.

Thus, the Outsider Magical Girl made her modest first appearance in the deep darkness where everyone was asleep.