This Body, Unleashed!
My head was spinning.
I had thought there hadn't been any major incidents for a while, and then one hit right on schedule.
Not that the attacks were ever completely predictable in the first place.
I could accept that, at least.
I was sitting in a café with the class president, a magical girl, when a portal suddenly opened nearby and rubble rained down on us.
It was lucky I hadn't been buried under it and crushed.
"Siwoo... are you really okay...?"
The girl in front of me had already cast healing magic on me several times, yet she kept checking my face with that same worried expression.
There wasn't even a scratch on me—nothing but a bit of dust on my uniform.
The way she was worrying made me realize that the scene she had witnessed last time was still burned deep into her mind.
...I should just spill everything.
I fought the urge to remember, forcing a smile instead.
It was all because of her bright smile and the warmth radiating from her that I was feeling this fleeting illusion.
"I'm fine, really. You already cast that healing spell, didn't you?"
"Really... you're sure?"
"Yeah. It wasn't your fault. It was the Demon King's Army's."
"Ah, okay... Siwoo. If there's any problem, call me right away...!"
After repeating that promise dozens of times, I finally managed to leave.
Walking toward the path, the stares from passersby felt heavy, as if they were wondering what kind of trouble I had gotten into on the streets.
But what could I do? It wasn't my fault.
Dragging my tired body through the apartment complex, I took the elevator up and headed for the front door.
"I'm home..."
Opening the door with a tired greeting, there she was—Lee Harin, crouched in her usual spot on the sofa, as if nothing had changed.
She still wore the windbreaker I had lent her, stolen from me.
She wasn't even in her transformed state, and it wasn't outside, so why was she wearing it?
"...What kind of state is this? Did you get beaten up by someone?"
"Not someone... a monster..."
"What kind of nonsense... Ah, got it."
Harin tilted her head, then nodded.
"You fell down on the road, huh?"
"No!!!"
"Not no—hell no. You tripped over nothing since you were little..."
She continued with a voice mixed with laughter, then suddenly stopped.
"...Really?"
"...Yeah. Your memory is correct."
"...Yeah, it is."
Every now and then she would remember her past memories and slowly return to normal.
There were times in between when she would doubt herself.
All I could do was hold her down when the brainwashing got worse and check if her memories were accurate.
It was simple, really, but the only one who could help Harin was me.
If heroes didn't appear where they were needed, what would happen to this world?
There was one difference, though—the heroes were already here.
I would just help my wounded friend in my own way.
Even though it hurt me.
Was my pain worse than the pain she had taken?
"...Stupid..."
"..."
I really shouldn't have mentioned the past memories.
Every time I corrected them, the foolish old days in my chest would surface again.
Maybe that was the real black history.
This was the black history.
"So... what exactly happened?"
"I was sitting in the café when the Demon King's Army appeared and buried me in rubble."
"...No way."
"Yeah... with the class president..."
For a moment, I thought I heard Harin's voice coming from inside the rubble.
At the time, I had been half-dead from lack of oxygen, so I figured it was a hallucination, but apparently my hearing wasn't the issue.
"Well, you two were fine, right?"
"...Yeah. We killed it fast and got out quick. We didn't even use much power."
"Glad to hear it."
Just as we were talking, the story I had heard from the class president that morning flashed through my mind.
After I reported about Harin, the Association had issued a kill order.
"..."
Even though Harin was no longer affiliated with either side, there was no way she knew that.
And even if she wanted to, to whom could she tell?
To the class president?
The class president would believe her, at least.
But I couldn't even tell her my own story, so there was no chance she could share Harin's.
For now, though...
"Speaking of which, the class president told me... The Association sent a guideline. If you see her, they want you... killed."
"...Hah."
Harin listened for a moment, then sighed in annoyance, leaning her head on her hand.
"Can't say I blame them. From their perspective, I'm just a traitor who betrayed both sides."
"But... you used to be a magical girl... Can't you just convince them...?"
"Hah."
She snorted and leaned back against the sofa.
"They think a girl like me is too pretty to just kill. Right?"
"Ah, no... but..."
"Shut it. It's obvious they'll do it anyway. Stop saying stuff that gives me a headache. Haa... Tch. I guess I should rest today..."
Silence settled once more.
What now? The conversation had ended.
I was wondering if it was finally okay to go wash when...
"...Speaking of, where's the chocolate pie?"
"Ah."
I had completely forgotten.
*****
In the end, I changed into some clothes, shook off the dust in the bathroom, and barely washed my face before stepping back outside.
The air felt colder than usual today.
I should have worn the windbreaker I lent her, but Harin had stolen it.
There were no other clothes.
I wasn't exactly someone who went out much, so I didn't need many anyway.
I shouldn't expect much from a male high school student who only stocked dozens of the same outfits.
I just wished I would buy new ones someday.
But as usual, after that thought came the nagging doubt—why bother buying new clothes if I barely left the house anyway?
Useless thoughts, but once I fell into them, there was no escaping the infinite loop.
Walking while pondering that, I looked around.
The weather was chilly, or maybe it was just because I was walking a lonely road.
Everything around me was quiet and peaceful.
I had been thinking that if this kind of normal life continued, it would be nice...
—Wiiiing! Wiiiing!
A disaster alert sound rang from my phone.
Instinctively, I tapped the screen to check the notification on the lock screen...
"Haah..."
The news wasn't from nearby—it was from a fairly distant location. The Demon King's Army had appeared.
Good.
Lately, all the incidents involved magical girls and attacks in close proximity.
Even today.
I had only come to drink a drink with the class president at the café, and yet an incident happened.
Of course, the class president wasn't exactly normal—she was a magical girl—but it wasn't as if we had met in our transformed states.
Why had they opened a portal right in the middle of a perfectly fine road, right above me, and poured out like that, just to bury innocent people alive?
If this had been a nearby invasion or if I had gotten entangled with another magical girl, I would have been lying in bed all day with nothing but chocolate pie to keep me company...
"Aaaah! We're going out~! Hooray!!"
"..."
What on earth was that?
I turned my head at the lively voice and saw a girl's back as she ran toward the entrance of the building right next door.
She wasn't wearing a thick blue coat, but her fluttering skirt was bright red, patterned with checkered design—it looked like a student from our school.
"...No way. How did our school end up with two magical girls..."
The world was big, and South Korea was even bigger.
There were lots of girls and lots of magical girls.
That "going out" line probably meant they had been called from somewhere else.
Like, for example, in a game when a raid was called...
Healers and tanks were always major problems wherever they went.
"..."
Even as I thought that, my feet moved on their own, following the instinct that curiosity had killed the cat.
Besides, she was shouting at the top of her lungs and clearly heading to transform.
If Harin had been here, she would have pulled my hair to drag me over to watch, anyway.
—Peek.
Out of curiosity, I glanced at the building next door.
Blue light spilled out from inside, just like when the class president had transformed—her uniform changing into a magical girl outfit in an unrealistic way.
She wore a blue-and-white-and-black dress with a short blue jacket, white gloves over white stockings that reached up to her arms, and a white scarf fluttering in the airless room.
As a weapon, she was holding a long... staff? I guess?
A magical girl with blue hair holding a long stick appeared in my vision.
"I've been unable to go out because I was in pain until now, but finally!!!"
Her voice was full of lively energy, as if she had no intention of hiding it, like she was announcing herself everywhere.
Her eyes, burning with determination, flashed like the sun—bright orange.
"This body... activate...!"
The magical girl pointed at herself with her thumb on her right hand and spun around.
The moment our eyes met, she froze mid-turn, and so did I.
"Class...?"
"Ah."
We both stood stock-still in our spots.