Warning: Heed the Executive's Words!
After only the three of us remained in the hospital room, I carefully examined Kim Mina's appearance and asked her with concern, "So, are you all right?"
She wore a white gown, and her face still held the healthy glow of recovery.
She wasn't even wearing one of those wristbands, yet somewhere inside her body she must still be in pain, which was why she remained hospitalized.
My worry had not yet faded, but...
"Ah, yeah! I'm completely fine now!"
But Kim Mina, as if she had been completely cured long ago, proudly flexed one arm like a muscle show while using the other to roll up her sleeve.
Through her pristine white skin, I caught a glimpse of some leftover muscle definition from the magical girl activity.
"I was bedridden all day yesterday, but now I'm totally back to normal! It's the perfect resurrection of a self-conscious overly-heroic type!"
"...You? Self-conscious overly-heroic?"
"Haha! It's not really like that! It's just dialogue from the story, dialogue!"
Kim Mina laughed with a giggle, reaching out and patting my shoulder with her palm.
The sound of the air popping made me wonder if she really was a magical girl after all.
"Kuuu... Even though I'm stuck in this hospital room, it's so boring! I want to go outside!!!"
"Mina-ya, the teacher said you need to stay at least two more days..."
"But!!!"
Kim Mina shouted loudly.
"Being locked up inside here is making me so bored and frustrated I'm going to die!!! It's more heartbreaking than my body hurting!!!"
"Aha..."
The homeroom teacher gave a flustered smile.
After all, Kim Mina had always been incredibly active and full of vitality.
Even if it was for her health, the thought of how incredibly frustrating it would feel to be trapped alone in a narrow hospital room was almost unimaginable.
As for me... since I was the kind of person who found being alone comfortable, I didn't feel that much frustration, but...
Think of it as Harin clinging to me all day long like a glued-on best friend.
It wasn't unpleasant, but lacking personal time made it a little tedious...?
"Still, it's great that your body recovered."
But that also meant nothing compared to seeing Kim Mina's body was fully healthy.
Instead, it felt like my heart, which had been wavering with worry, was finally settled.
I had worried because she had changed color, knelt in the middle of the road, and seemed ready to fight the homeroom teacher to the death...
Now it all seemed resolved, which was truly fortunate.
I didn't want to see my friends fighting at all.
After all, I'd seen it once or twice already...
"Yeah. Rest well. You must have been really drained after the Awakening."
The homeroom teacher accepted my words and expressed concern for Kim Mina.
I wondered if the magical girl's Awakening consumed a lot of power.
When the homeroom teacher had done it, it hadn't looked that exhausting.
Maybe it differed from person to person.
Once the conversation doors opened between us, we began sharing endless varied stories.
Mina asked if my recent life was going well and whether I had any injuries.
I replied that thanks to her protection I was fine and barely managed to give the correct answer with a subtle smile.
Even so, I couldn't bring up the fact that another Demon King's Army Executive had saved me.
Not to the homeroom teacher or Harin, but in this room with Kim Mina, it was a story that couldn't be told.
...Actually, I didn't want to tell even them.
After several tens of minutes passed like this.
"Thanks for taking care of me, Siwoo! I'll be discharged soon and show you my complete resurrection!"
"Don't overdo it, though."
With a slightly awkward smile, the homeroom teacher and I left the hospital room.
Once again passing through the corridor and the thick iron door, the place we had just left felt strangely like the secret hideout I had as a child.
"Okay, Siwoo! Rest up, and I'll see you at school later!"
With those cheerful words, I said goodbye to the homeroom teacher.
*****
As I rode the bus back home again.
-Dring.
The phone in my pocket vibrated briefly.
[Yo.]
The sender was none other than my childhood friend Lee Harin.
The patience I had been holding in check while going out to visit Mina had finally reached its limit.
[Harin?]
[Then who else would it be, pink-haired or blue-headed?]
From the tone, it was clearly 100% Lee Harin.
But one thing puzzled me.
[But how did you get my number?]
I had no memory of telling her my number.
Really, how did she know?
As I wondered in my head what method she might have used, her short reply came.
[Pink hair told me.]
[And what's the problem if I know? Is that that weird?]
[Not weird, but...]
[Then it's fine. Don't worry about it.]
I scratched my head.
Well... yeah. After all, we live in the same house, we're childhood friends.
Knowing your contact info isn't that strange.
I had been uncomfortable receiving calls from friends ever since I stopped building walls with them...
[So, why? Did you get into an accident or something?]
[Fuck.]
Lee Harin's immediate short curse message arrived.
[What do you think of me?]
[A clumsy childhood friend?]
A read receipt floated beside the message bubble, but after a little time passed, Lee Harin didn't reply.
As I stared at the screen, a new bubble from Harin popped up.
[You fucking bastard.]
[Why are you acting like this to me?]
[Whatever, just bring me a chocolate pie when you come back.]
[If I don't bring it?]
Feeling a bit heated by the insult, and curious how Harin would react if I played along, I sent a short reply.
A read receipt appeared beside the bubble, but no reply came from Harin.
Just as I wondered if she might have turned off her phone and was running toward me at full speed, I pulled my eyes from the screen and looked around.
-Dring.
The phone vibrated again briefly.
As I glanced at the screen, the sentence in the newly appeared bubble was crystal clear and incredibly simple.
[Are you really going to die?]
"..."
Worried that my joke might turn into reality if I kept joking, I immediately replied.
[Okay, I'll bring it. Calm down.]
[Hmph.]
Lee Harin's short pout returned.
I walked straight toward the convenience store, picked up the last box of chocolate pie still in stock, and tucked it into my arms.
Once I got home, the day's work would end with Harin's complaining about her tantrum.
I would wash up, lie down on the bed for a bit, then fall asleep.
Thanks to everything that happened, I didn't need to go to school for a while, so I started daydreaming about future plans like going somewhere with Harin for fun.
"Hello?"
Someone sitting at the terrace seat of the passing-by café greeted me.
When I glanced over, I couldn't tell who it was and didn't recall seeing them anywhere.
Thinking I must have mistaken the person, I waved my hand as I tried to walk past the café.
"Even though we just met, you forgot about me. That's really..."
-Stumble.
My legs froze instantly.
I turned my head and looked at the girl still sitting calmly in the chair.
She looked ordinary, but there was a light smile on her face.
-Click.
Instantly, dense noise and flickering flooded my vision, and I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, as if the mask had been lifted.
The girl who had been lounging on the terrace revealed her true self.
"...Nightmare."
"Please sit."
"..."
After releasing the door handle I had been gripping, I approached the chair opposite her.
-Creak.
I pulled out the chair and sat down with a thud.
Even so, my gaze remained fixed on the Nightmare in front of me while I scanned the surroundings.
The people walking on the street and the other customers inside the café's full glass windows showed no subtle glances in my direction at all.
As if Nightmare didn't exist or wasn't visible in Demon King's Army form.
The mask being lifted with the noise moments ago probably only affected me.
"...Is it magic?"
"Yes. It's a magic spell that makes me appear as an ordinary woman. Of course, I can show my true form only to the person I want."
-Snap!
As Nightmare snapped her fingers, the Demon King's Army Executive form vanished in an instant and reverted to that of an ordinary woman again.
Black ponytail, black eyes, and black glasses on her eyes.
And the clothes she wore were a suit for some reason, making her look like an ordinary office lady.
"Do you like this appearance better?"
"...They both look the same."
"Fufufu. Then I'll talk to you in this form."
Apparently, my preferences didn't matter much.
"Well... let me introduce myself again. My name is Nightmare, an Executive of the Demon King's Army."
"...Jung Siwoo. A student."
"I know. You were wearing your school uniform back then."
With that, Nightmare took a sip of the espresso in her small cup.
"Mmm, coffee really is delicious. Want me to order you one? It's free right now."
"...I'll pass."
"Tsk, what a shame."
-Slurp.
Nightmare took another sip of coffee.
"Well, then shall we move on to the main topic. Siwoo."
She sat up straighter and looked directly into my eyes.
She looked ordinary, but the person hidden behind her was not an ordinary woman.
And the words that came out of Nightmare next were...
"Join the Demon King's Army."