Infiltrating the Association
"This is weird. It should be around here."
"See? What did I tell you!"
Popo and I were currently wandering in circles right in the middle of Gangnam. To be precise, this was our third time circling the building Red had emerged from.
It really was bizarre. That redhead had definitely looked exhausted when she walked out of somewhere around here. Why couldn't I see it?
"Hmph! If it were that easy to find, any random person, dog, or Mir would've strolled right in by now!"
Seeing our lack of progress, Popo seized the opportunity to start backseat driving.
"Still, we're searching this thoroughly. How can it just not be here?"
"How should Lord Popo know?! Hmm, maybe it's covered by some kind of barrier?"
A barrier. I guess you could make those with magic.
"Ah. What kind of barrier?"
"Uh... probably the kind that makes it completely invisible to normal people...?"
I see. I paused, resting my chin in my hand.
The street was bustling with office workers and shoppers carrying bags. There wasn't a single girl who looked like a magical girl in sight.
Fortunately, everyone was too busy going about their day to pay much attention to a beautiful young girl staring blankly up at a building in the middle of the street. But with the place tightly sealed behind a barrier, how was I supposed to find it?
'Completely invisible to normal people, huh.'
Oh? Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in my head.
"Popo, if I coat my eyes with magic, will I be able to see the barrier?"
If normal eyes couldn't see it, then all I had to do was change how I was looking.
"What? Well, yeah, you'd be able to see it, but..."
"Really?" Then that settled it.
"But Mir, that's too dangerous! If you release Ker's magic in a place like this, every magical girl in the area might come rushing out!"
"Sounds great. Then I can just follow them to the Association."
"No, ugh! You're impossible!"
Leaving the head-clutching Popo behind, I channeled a tiny, microscopic sliver of the wolf's magic—the power I'd been using all this time—to my fingertips.
'Where is it... the building...'
Flicker, flicker. Amidst the faint haze of magic, a landscape that hadn't been there before began to shimmer into view.
And soon, I saw it. A spot that had clearly been a solid, seamless glass wall was now warping, revealing a small, door-like distortion.
There it is.
"Found it." A victorious smile played on my lips.
I strode purposefully toward the shimmering space.
The moment I was certain I had stepped completely inside, I instantly withdrew the magic gathered at my fingertips.
"Oh, not bad..." A soft exclamation of admiration escaped my lips as I took in my surroundings.
The ceiling was ridiculously high, and the floor was made entirely of polished marble. It was so grand that you could practically smell the obscene amount of money they had poured into the place.
"So this is where the magical girls work..."
How do these middle school brats live in a nicer place than I ever did? Must be my imagination.
"You! Hey! Stop right there! Get back here!"
"Who would actually stop just because you told them to? Dummy Blue!"
As I strolled along, admiring the interior, a noisy commotion echoed from the end of the hallway.
"Hmm?"
Rounding the corner were two magical girls, one clad in striking pink lace and the other in sky-blue.
One was running while giggling hysterically, as if having the time of her life, while the other chased her furiously, brandishing a wand. Playing tag, are we? How youthful.
"Ah, watch out, watch out!"
Huh?
Thud! A heavy impact echoed through the hallway.
"Ugh, ow..."
Wait. For some reason, even though I was the one who got hit, the nameless girl was the one who let out a shriek and tumbled backward.
"Ow, ow, ow...!" The pink magical girl rolled on the floor, clutching her rear as if she had just slammed into a solid steel pillar.
What's her deal? It didn't even hurt that much. Why is she overreacting?
"Are you okay?"
"Ouch... Huh? Oh, you're a person...?"
She looked up at me with a dazed expression. It felt a bit awkward to just stand there staring, so I offered her a hand.
"Sorry. I should have watched where I was going."
The pink magical girl gave an embarrassed chuckle and eagerly grabbed my hand.
She tried to pull herself up using my hand, but then her eyes darted between my small frame and my wrist, and she suddenly let go of her grip. Instead, she pushed herself up from the floor on her own.
"..."
Thanks to that, my hand was left hanging awkwardly in midair. I felt a sudden prick of annoyance. It felt like I'd been looked down on. Ugh.
As I pulled my hand back, the pink magical girl finished dusting herself off and locked eyes with me.
"Whoa..."
Her mouth fell open as she stared blankly at me. The sky-blue magical girl beside her also cut herself off, her eyes drilling into my face.
Ah. It's this again. This is exactly what happened when I first met Harang. I relaxed my shoulders, bracing myself for the inevitable storm.
"Wh-Who are you? Why are you so cute?!"
Right on cue, the pink magical girl grabbed both of my cheeks, beaming. Why is she being so overbearing?
"Blue, Blue! Look at this! She's so incredibly cute!"
"Hey, Pinky. Don't squish her face like that. You're scaring her."
The girl called Blue scolded Pinky, pulling her hands away. Though, it was a bit rich coming from her, considering she was already twirling a lock of my hair with a look of intense curiosity.
"You seriously look like a doll! Are you a new recruit?"
I figured they'd jump to that conclusion. I put on a naive expression and nodded.
"Ah... yes. Today is my first time at the Association, so I got a bit lost."
"I see. No wonder I didn't recognize you."
Blue tilted her head, studying me. Her gaze swept over my body, and her brow furrowed.
"But I can barely feel any magic power from you. What's up with that? Is it because you're new?"
Ah.
"Oh, that's..."
Come to think of it, I was completely suppressing the wolf's magic right now. In other words, I was no different from an ordinary human. Hmm. How should I explain this?
"Oh, come on, Blue!" While I was trying to come up with an excuse, the pink magical girl smacked Blue's back and chimed in.
"Newbies are always bad at controlling their magic. When you first joined, you couldn't even handle your wand properly and kept fumbling around!"
"Th-That was ages ago, Pinky..."
As Blue grumbled and shut her mouth, Pinky suddenly linked her arm through mine.
"Hehe, since you're new, how about Unni gives you a tour of the Association? It's like a maze when you first get here, so people get lost all the time."
Oh. I cheered inwardly. A local volunteering to be my guide? Don't mind if I do.
"I'd really appreciate that. I honestly had no idea where I was going."
I let Pinky lead me as we walked further down the hallway.
"What are your hobbies? Is there anything you like?"
And so began the inevitable barrage of questions. Pinky clung to my side, chattering away and asking about this and that.
But thanks to all the training I'd had dealing with Harang, I was already well-accustomed to this sort of thing.
"Hmm."
The key was to pause and pretend to think it over naturally.
"Baking. I like making different kinds of treats."
If I gave an answer they'd likely be interested in... just like this, Pinky's eyes lit up.
"Baking?! Oh my gosh, can you make butter rice cakes too?"
"Of course. It's easy as long as I have the ingredients. I'll make some for you next time."
"Whoa! Really? It's a promise! Blue, did you hear that? We don't have to worry about snacks anymore!"
Pinky bounced up and down, shaking my arm. Just as I thought. If you throw out a bait that naturally leads to the next question, you easily take control of the conversation. While they babbled away in excitement, all I had to do was extract the information I needed.
"By the way, you mentioned giving me a tour. What do people usually do around here?"
I took advantage of Pinky's high spirits to slip in a question.
"Over there is the training ground! Across from it is the equipment maintenance room, and this hallway is where the seniors have their private rooms!"
Pinky pointed eagerly in various directions as she continued her tour. As she did, my gaze locked onto a heavy iron door labeled "Archives."
That's the spot. I stopped and pointed at the door.
"Um, could we go inside the archives? I don't know much about monsters yet... so I thought studying up beforehand might help later."
A place like that was bound to be packed with information on magical girls.
At my request, Pinky let out a gasp and spun around. She stared at me as if she were looking at the most incomprehensible creature on Earth, then turned to Blue with a look of pure horror.
"Wow, our newbie actually likes reading books. Just hearing the word 'studying' is giving me a headache..."
"Being diligent is a good thing. It's a lot better than throwing yourself headfirst into battle like you always do."
Pinky stuck her tongue out at Blue's jab.
"Well, a senior can't stand in the way of a junior's passion! Go on in. Just don't stay too long, okay? If you keep staring at letters all day, you'll want to quit being a magical girl altogether!"
"Like I said, that's only true for you, Pinky."
Though she grumbled, Blue swiped her card on the reader to unlock the archive door.
Creak. The heavy door swung open, releasing the scent of old paper.
"Oh, a senior is already here. Hello!"
And there, in the distance, was a familiar red-haired magical girl... Huh?
"Ah, Pinky. And Blue's here too..."
Uh-oh.
Red's hollow, exhausted eyes locked onto me, and in an instant, they stretched wide with sheer, unadulterated horror.
"...Huh?"