Caught Between a Magical Girl and a (Former) Magical Girl 17: The Lunch Rush and the Demon General's Counterstrike
After school ended, I exited the classroom at top speed, backpack slung over my shoulder to avoid bumping into anyone.
It was a strangely ominous premonition.
Somehow, I had a feeling that the homeroom president would grab me because Harin hadn’t shown up at school.
And I was right.
“Siwoo-ya!”
The homeroom president suddenly blocked my path, her eyes sparkling with bright hope as she looked up at me.
She felt like an impossible warmth that I couldn’t push away even if I wanted to.
Maybe the homeroom president was just like that by nature.
“Thank you so much for listening to my worries this morning. Honestly, there wasn’t anyone else I could confide in around me.”
“Um… mmm…”
“I could never do it with my magical girl seniors or my coworkers… and you were the only one left… I’m really grateful. For real, Siwoo-ya.”
“T-thank goodness… Your worries seem to have eased up a little…”
“So, um… would you happen to have a bit of time? I’d really like to treat you to a cup of coffee!”
I should have refused.
My brain and spinal cord instincts were screaming that warning.
If I got any closer right now, I was definitely going to get entangled in something even bigger.
And on top of that, I might end up seeing the same scene from the last school again.
But I couldn’t refuse.
“...Yeah, as long as it’s just a little time.”
“Thank you, Siwoo-ya!”
Following the smiling homeroom president, we arrived at the same café we’d been to last time after dodging her ultimate technique.
I sat down again, breathing in that air filled with the same sweet-and-bitter scent.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I’ll have…”
No matter how much I was helping her with her counseling, calling her that way still felt a little awkward.
Plus, this was just a simple reward between friends.
Here, I should keep it normal and order an iced americano…
“Um… first, I’ll…”
While I was still debating, the homeroom president spoke first.
“I’ll have a vanilla latte made with decaf espresso, but change the milk to almond milk instead, and please put a lot of vanilla syrup and a lot of cinnamon powder on top.”
“...”
I thought she was reciting some magic incantation.
“Ah, and the red bean shaved ice, the cheese cake, and then…”
“U-um, um… Homeroom President?”
No matter what, wasn’t ordering that much a bit much?
Especially for a single female student.
Plus, I hadn’t even said I wanted to eat anything, and she was ordering all these expensive things.
I should at least warn her so she wouldn’t worry about her wallet.
“Ah, it’s fine! Siwoo-ya! I’m paying!”
“No, that’s not the issue…”
I subtly turned my eyes to check the menu prices.
[Red Bean Shaved Ice: 15,000 won]
[Cheese Cake: 8,000 won]
The taste was good, but maybe it was because this wasn’t a chain café, the prices were quite high.
Even the drinks were expensive enough that I thought the café was overpriced, so this was basically the price of a full meal.
I couldn’t rack up any more debt.
“T-that seems a little too expensive…”
“Ah, it’s okay!”
The homeroom president answered in a small voice.
“I’ll just use the allowance I get for my activities!”
“Ah…”
Yeah, right.
Even if she was a magical girl protecting the world, she wouldn’t do it without pay.
I didn’t know exactly how much she got, but it definitely wasn’t a small amount.
Probably.
“So, even if it’s expensive, it’s okay…”
“I’ll have an iced americano.”
“Understood! Your order has been received!”
“Hee…”
It looked like the homeroom president had been planning to treat me generously, because the moment I ordered the cheapest menu, her expression turned gloomy.
...Oh well.
Since I was the one getting treated anyway, even if it was out of goodwill, ordering expensive food made me feel a little guilty on my conscience.
After ordering, I sat down lightly in the same spot as before.
The homeroom president soon followed me and sat down lightly across from me.
“...”
“...”
The silence between us.
The morning conversation was already finished, so continuing it didn’t make sense.
But if I asked her more about magical girls?
The homeroom president might feel suspicious, or she might feel resentful about my advice from this morning.
That would only poison Harin, who was the only one I would meet again.
...Since I never wanted to bring up the past no matter what, I needed to think of something else.
Let’s keep it normal here…
“S-so, how have you been lately, Homeroom President?”
“Well... just the same as usual... um... wait a second.”
The homeroom president stopped talking for a moment, then raised her index finger toward the air and muttered quietly.
“Silence.”
In an instant, all the loud and small noises around us stopped.
“Well... because of those executives, the work has decreased a bit. So lately, I’ve been going to support requests that came from far away.”
“How far away is it?”
“That... Busan?”
“...?”
That was way too far.
“There are other magical girls in Busan, aren’t there?”
“Of course. But a pretty strong Demon King’s Army appeared... and since I also have flight ability, I went.”
“They didn’t all just fly around?”
That was surprising.
Back then, all the magical girls I’d glimpsed were fighting while flying.
It seemed not everyone could do aerial combat.
“Back in the old days, that was the case, but recently they’ve divided into systems and specialized training. For example, enhancement types increase the body’s power to jump higher and so on.”
“Homeroom President?”
“I’m purification-type. Specialized in purifying evil. Of course, I can use various other magic too!”
Just like the model-student homeroom president, she seemed to put her best into everything.
The kind of self-sacrifice that I, an ordinary person, couldn’t understand and found terrifying.
On top of that, she was kind even to weird people like me who drew a line and refused to let people approach.
Someday, could I also pour out the truth hidden deep inside me in front of her?
It was something I still didn’t fully understand no matter how much I thought about it.
-Ding ding ding!
The vibrating bell I’d brought rang loudly, starting to let us know that the drinks and snacks we’d ordered were ready.
Of course, the only thing I was drinking was the iced americano.
Since I was getting it with the homeroom president’s allowance, she should be the one eating the food.
“Ah, it’s ready. I’ll go get it.”
“No! Siwoo-ya! I’ll get it!”
It was only natural that the one being treated would receive it.
But the homeroom president had already walked all the way there while I was standing up and was bringing back the tray piled high with food and drinks.
“Siwoo-ya, here’s...”
Walking over with a bright smile, the homeroom president suddenly froze her expression.
“Siwoo-ya! Run...!”
“Eh.”
-Thud.
She dropped the tray on the floor and reached her hand toward me.
But before that hand could get close...
-Boom, bang!
In an instant, a vibration covered my whole body, and immediately countless fragments rained down in front of my eyes.
“...M-Magic!”
The sound of the homeroom president casting magic faintly reached my ears.
*****
“Siwoo-ya!!!”
With the accident unfolding right in front of me, I couldn’t finish speaking.
I tried to reach out and pull Siwoo over before it was too late, but with my body that hadn’t transformed yet, there was a limit.
I barely managed to cast the Protection spell...
“...Demon King’s Army!”
The reason part of the building had collapsed was simple.
A portal had opened from the upper part of the building where the pillars supported, and the Demon King’s Army had invaded.
-Krroooor...
The monsters looked like octopuses wriggling on the rubble, moving their tentacles here and there.
I had to deal with them quickly and rescue Siwoo.
Still, the faint reaction from inside the rubble was being sensed.
“Innocent Heart, transformation!”
By now, the gazes that had been looking at me from around were gone.
Without time to adjust my posture in the rubble, I gathered mana and exploded it.
In an instant, instead of my school uniform, a sparkling magical girl outfit wrapped around my body, and a familiar magic wand was gripped in my hand.
“Magic Missile...!”
I tried to attack the Demon King’s Army, but my magic suddenly stopped manifesting.
Right below me, Siwoo was buried.
Over him, that giant Demon King’s Army was crushing him.
Protection had its limits.
Especially when cast without clear magic resolution, like right now.
What if I attacked the monster here and the Demon King’s Army moved even more intensely?
Then Siwoo would...
...No. Don’t think about it.
Right now, the priority was to somehow erase that Demon King’s Army without resistance.
“...Huu.”
I extended the magic wand fully, brought both hands together in one place.
I gathered mana in front of the magic wand and made it swirl.
Then, all at once, I controlled it and fired the mana forward in a single shot.
“Heart Shining Buster...!”
-Fwoosh!
It should have been like that.
-Kwaaaaaang!
One beat late, the ray flew toward the place where the Demon King’s Army had already been torn apart and disappeared in the air.
“...Eh?”
What the heck had happened.
I looked around and felt a familiar mana brushing against my whole body for a moment.
But it wasn’t the mana of a magical girl; it was a completely alien energy.
“...Demon King’s Army!”
The executive I had run from last time was floating in the air, looking down at me.
“...This is.”
She muttered in a low voice.
“Revenge for last time.”
“What!? What does that mean...!”
-Shuuck.
With those words, the executive threw herself into the portal she created behind her and vanished from my sight in an instant.
If it was revenge from last time, was she really going after that Demon King’s Army instead of me catching her?
Just because of that!?
“...Hah.”
Even though my head was still throbbing, one thing was clear.
Probably, following Siwoo’s advice, I had to cling to that executive somehow.
Otherwise, I would never find the truth, that was for sure.
While I kept repeating that thought in my head...
-Kuguguung...
“Siwoo-ya! It’s okay!?”
Using telekinetic magic, I lifted the rubble and rescued Siwoo.
“...I thought you were going to die.”
“It’s never okay in front of me.”
I reached out toward him.
Siwoo stared at my hand for a moment, then extended his arm and grabbed my wrist instead of the hand.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Y-yeah... no...”
Siwoo’s voice was exactly the same as usual.
But there was a very slight, subtle tremor.