Hand Over Your Daughter
In that sense, hand over your daughter to me. I even considered the possibility that the enraged mob might charge in as a group right away. Fortunately for them, nothing like that happened. Shin Hye-jin and the government soldiers took the lead in retreating, letting the heat die down. Unless they got swept up in mob mentality, there was no way those guys—who couldn't even withstand the sword's aura—would rush in blindly.
"Hey, can we talk now?"
"What the hell is going on here?!"
Thanks to that, we were able to return indoors and catch a brief moment of respite. Why just brief? Because this was probably far from over.
Anyway, I used the time to sit down Yoo Su-ho, Su-yeon, and even their parents—who'd rushed over after hearing the commotion—and lay out the exact situation.
First off, my reaction after hearing about everything that had been going on in their household:
"Heh. So you're the one who vanished from sight, Su-yeon?"
Honestly, I'd guessed most of the other parts. But the reason they'd come to me for help? Su-yeon being one of my stream's veteran regulars and recognizing the magical girl from the news? That, I never saw coming.
"Ahem, it is so~."
"Not something to brag about... You've always been a bit unusual, but to think you were loyally watching my streams every day."
Anyone could tell just from her speech and mannerisms, but Su-yeon wasn't normal in several ways. It was the influence of her brother Yoo Su-ho, a die-hard otaku who devoured everything from anime to VTubers without discrimination. Apparently, from a young age, she'd unwittingly undergone genius-level subculture training by following her big bro into every genre. (It's hearsay because I didn't witness it myself.)
When I first met her, she was the type who loved laughing "O~hohoho!" and insisting she was a proper young lady— the kind of kid you just know will cringe at her black history a decade later.
...I didn't expect it to continue even now, though.
At least she was so adorably pretty that it didn't come off as weird.
Anyway, I figured I wouldn't be surprised no matter what eccentric antics Su-yeon pulled. But her being a stream regular? That was a whole other story.
"Uuu. It's unnie's fault~."
"Huh."
"After you went to Seoul for college entrance exams, we never met even once. Just when I thought we'd finally get in touch... Hiiing."
Her voice dripped with genuine grievance. Hmm. Was I that big a deal to her?
I never imagined the puffed-cheek Su-yeon thought of me that way. Who'd expect a girl to hold such special feelings for her brother's friend she only played with occasionally when he visited?
I hadn't even mentioned my VTuber debut to her back then since she was in Daegu. Su-ho and I were both in Seoul anyway.
"Sorry. But we'll see each other plenty from now on."
"Really?!"
"Yeah."
If I'd known she felt this neglected, I would've made time for her at least. And now she was practically my protégé-in-waiting. Even if she hated it, I'd have to stick close.
"I-is that okay?"
Su-yeon's mom, who'd been reeling from my casual reveal of "the egg's true nature is a mascot," snapped out of it and asked worriedly.
"Those were some seriously scary people. I get that you're the amazing magical girl from the news, Seol-hee... but still."
She looked genuinely terrified. Can't blame her. Their goal had been recruitment, so they hadn't resorted to outright violence. But even just what had happened inside was plenty eerie enough to frighten any civilian.
Of course, the fact that it led to concern for me was a bit surprising. It'd been ages since anyone worried about me like that.
She probably grasped that I was "something incredible," but not exactly in what way. Seeing Su-yeon's dad with a similar anxious expression, I answered plainly.
"It's fine."
Then, noticing her parents' worry and Su-yeon's face clouding over with an "oh no" look, I placed a hand on her head.
"No issues at all. Once the mascot hatches, you could've handled them solo with ease."
"Hawhat?"
"The mascot taking that form means you have truly exceptional talent. You've been awakened since almost the start of the gate incidents, right?"
All three nodded with puzzled expressions.
That meant nearly a month—over two weeks even from when the egg appeared. And it still showed no signs of hatching.
"The stronger the contracted power, the longer the mascot slumbers."
According to records from that world, even just over a fortnight meant birthing a magical girl worthy of being called the era's strongest. Cases exceeding a month were so rare in their long history that records were spotty.
Well, it didn't guarantee becoming the era's top magical girl, so direct comparisons were tricky. But her innate vessel was definitely larger than the two juniors I'd met and admired earlier.
...I'd heard the basics about Daegu already, but I'd clearly underestimated it. Even if I just observed from afar, I needed to keep tabs. It wasn't on the level of the Sanrochi threat, but a magical girl with this much potential suffering nearby and going berserk? That could spark a crisis just as bad.
"In that vein, I have something to tell you two."
I addressed the auntie and uncle seriously.
"Wh-what is it?"
"Why so grave all of a sudden?"
Maybe my sudden seriousness startled them, since they'd been calm until now. As they flustered, I voiced the measure I'd thought of since identifying the egg.
"Hand over your daughter to me."
"Huh? Wh-what did you say?"
"Hawaaaat?!"
"My goodness."
With Su-yeon right there, the surroundings would keep devolving into this mess. I couldn't just leave a magical girl junior (prospective) to fend for herself.
So either I'd guard her here, or she'd come to my turf. Either way, Su-yeon needed to stay by my side.
"Wait, was this the real reason Su-ho got rejected?"
"Never even crossed my mind."
I guess phrasing it literally caused a bit of misunderstanding. But why was Su-yeon blushing? This family had some wildly open-minded interpretations.
"N-no, that's not what I meant. I just mean I'll take responsibility for Su-yeon for a while."
"Aww, what? You scared us."
"Hawawa...."
Why the disappointment there?
"Once I stomp around a bit and take Su-yeon with me, things in Daegu should settle down too."
It wouldn't be perfectly tidy on the way out, but without the egg and Su-yeon as sparks, no major flare-ups should happen.
"St-stomp? ...What?"
"Oh my god. Are you planning to storm those scary people?"
"No need for that. They'll come to us soon enough."
"...?"
Su-yeon shot me a look like, Didn't they all leave already? With her ladylike concept and pure innocence, she really was perfect magical girl material.
"Sending them packing once doesn't end it."
They'd backed off out of fear earlier. But with profits on the line, they wouldn't give up easily.
What about the fame from taking down Sanrochi? Unless you'd faced me yourself, people would dismiss it as "overhyped" or "good luck" and delude themselves. Especially greed-driven types—they had to imagine untouchable foes as conquerable to justify chasing their desires.
So unless you were sharp enough...
BAM-!
"Ugh. What the hell are you guys?!"
...this was inevitable. As I stood up around the time cleanup wrapped—having sensed the intruders from afar—I heard Yoo Su-ho's shout from outside.
Awakener Human Rights Association, Daegu Branch Chief Kim Tae-ho inwardly cursed another branch chief while facing off against Yoo Su-ho with his association members.
Thanks to that bastard Jo Cheol-min, what a mess this turned into.
He'd originally planned to team up with Yeongju Branch's awakeners and their chief, Jo Cheol-min, to flip the board by force. But Jo Cheol-min bailed with nonsense like "I've decided to become a good lizard from now on," derailing the whole scheme.
It ended in a drawn-out dispute culminating in a big shot's descent.
Just take Japan's money and chill. Why come meddle here?
After Seol-hee cleared the estate with her show of force and claim of ownership, the frantic factions in the tug-of-war scraped together every resource they had. To exclude the common enemy—the magical girl Elice Calamity—they even formed a temporary alliance. They couldn't just chase chickens and end up staring at the roof.
No matter how strong, she can't handle all of us.
Did she really solo that massive thing? She's a fluke hero who lucked into the fight.
She's strong enough for Japan to back her, sure, but how OP can one person be?
...Self-rationalizations like that helped too.
Anyway, they'd gathered forces as quickly as possible and swiftly re-entered the estate. Spotting the vigilant Yoo Su-ho, they'd ditched prior restraint and gone straight for "capture"—just moments ago.
"Hmph. So you finally showed your true colors."
"Can't be helped, right? That magical girl wrecked the whole game—sticking to rules now would be weirder."
Their "restraint" hadn't been total pretense. In chaotic times, flaunting power was a virtue... but avoiding real force expenditure was wiser.
But now the board was broken. They jeered mockingly, venting pent-up stress, as the awakeners laughed.
"What, spouting Three Kingdoms nonsense now?"
And almost simultaneously, the magical girl's voice rang out from above.
"Elice Calamity!"
"She hasn't bugged out yet!"
"Grab her!"
A far cry from earlier reactions. Those geared for full combat showed a marked attitude shift.
"Public authority's totally gone to shit."
Seol-hee wasn't among the group—guessing she'd dipped—but the government wasn't intervening either, so she clicked her tongue in disapproval.
"Sigh. Streaming time's creeping up anyway."
As her light tone trailed off, she released the fox-like sword in her left hand.
Kiiing-
The blade sank into the floor smooth as cutting tofu, emitting a bizarre wail.
"Forgive the brutality."
Cracklecracklecrack-
Frost raced across the ground, freezing the owner's every "enemy."
What the...!
Kim Tae-ho, at the front, was stunned. Not by the freezing itself.
Awakeners were defined by power, operating on power logic. As branch chief, he was Daegu Branch's strongest member, battle-hardened unlike Yeongju's laid-back folk. He wouldn't falter from an opponent's ability alone.
It won't melt?
Yet he couldn't hide his shock because, the instant his feet froze, he'd unleashed his awakening—flames—to thaw it immediately.
Cracklecracklepop-
But no effect. Even as alloy-melting inferno enveloped the encroaching chill from below.
The frozen parts didn't thaw, the freezing didn't halt, not even the speed slowed.
As if this frost permitted no interference.
Impossible...!
It wasn't about superior ability or skill. As a fire awakener—polar opposite to ice—he sensed something profound.
It's different.
This was different on a fundamental level.
Kim Tae-ho blacked out amid the furnace blaze, his body fully encased in ice.