Finding the Magical Girl
"Mir, how are we going to find this 'Marchen' girl anyway? You said she's too busy to do much active duty. It sounds like it'll be hard to even catch a glimpse of her!"
The moment we completely left the Association building and sat down on a bench in a quiet park, Popo popped out from between my clothes and asked.
As the little guy said, if she was a sustenance-type magical girl, she was far more likely to be holed up at a part-time job or school rather than hanging around the Association.
"I have my ways. It'd take way too long to search for her on foot. I'll just force her to show up in front of me."
"Force her? How?" Popo tilted its head. I stared intently at the creature and asked,
"Popo, you mentioned before that you can sense where a monster is going to appear ahead of time, right?"
"Duh, obviously! Before a monster tears through dimensions, the mana starts to fluctuate."
"Then, couldn't we change that? By intentionally disrupting the mana, we could slightly warp the coordinates of where it's supposed to be summoned."
"Gasp!" At my question, Popo froze mid-air as if someone had hit a pause button.
"Is it not possible?"
"No, it's just... I've never thought of that before... But it might actually be possible."
Popo fidgeted with its front paws, seemingly lost in deep thought, before nodding. "Yeah, I think it'll work. If I use my mana, it's totally doable!"
"That's all I need to hear." I stood up with a satisfied smile.
"Popo, do you remember Marchen's family history from the records we saw earlier? It said both her grandparents suffer from incurable illnesses."
"Yeah, it said she pours all of her magical girl subsidies into their hospital bills."
An incurable illness. In that case, they wouldn't be at some run-of-the-mill local clinic. It would have to be a large general hospital capable of regular, advanced examinations. And there were only two hospitals of that scale in this vicinity.
Furthermore, Marchen was a devoted granddaughter who cared for them with utmost sincerity. To juggle nursing, part-time jobs, and magical girl duties, her daily route had to be as short as possible.
That meant the convenience store or restaurant where she worked was likely inside the hospital building itself—or at least within a five-minute walk from the main entrance. The probability was easily ninety-nine percent.
"If we summon a monster near the hospital, Marchen, as the local magical girl in charge of this district, will be the first to rush out."
Of course, we had to ensure there were zero civilian casualties, so finding the right spot was our top priority. My conscience pricked me a little for exploiting a hardworking girl's desperation, but it wasn't like I was doing anything truly evil.
I was just going to make her an offer, and I'd be the one defeating the monster anyway. If Marchen refused, it would be a shame, but I'd leave it at that. If she accepted... we would both get what we wanted. It was practically a win-win strategy.
"Popo, when is the next estimated monster appearance?"
"Hup." I stretched lightly as I asked.
"Hold ooon..."
Popo, having slipped back into my arms, began sniffing the air. I had never really cared enough to ask how it sensed mana, but so that was how it did it. Like a dog.
...I didn't mean that as an insult. I meant it literally looked like a puppy.
"Hmm, I can't tell yet. I think it'll take at least another thirty minutes before I know for sure."
"I see. Then should we do some scouting in the meantime?"
There were only two large hospitals nearby anyway. I had nothing else to do, and thirty minutes was plenty of time to drop by one of them and get a feel for the place.
"Scouting? How are you going to find her? The records we grabbed earlier didn't list her exact workplace. Are you going to search the entire hospital district one by one?" Popo poked its head out, looking puzzled by my suggestion.
"Using mana." I replied confidently, taking a step forward.
It was something I had realized during the incident with Harang. Just as magical girls could sense me, I could also sense them. To be precise, it was like feeling the ticklish sensation of a magical girl's unique mana brushing against my skin.
It was a very bizarre feeling. A bit like someone licking my skin with their tongue? Normally, I could only sense a magical girl if she was right in front of me, but if I focused with a clear purpose like now, using it like a radar wasn't impossible.
"Whoa, that's amazing, Mir! To think you'd come up with a method like that!"
Right? I am pretty amazing.
"That's me for you. I think I'm allowed to quietly gloat about it for about five minutes."
"Ugh. You would've sounded so cool if you hadn't said that. Do you absolutely have to mix in self-praise at the very end?"
Popo grumbled from my chest, chiding me. As expected of a creature stingy with compliments but overflowing with nagging.
I casually brushed my side hair back and replied,
"Is that so? Then I take back what I just said."
"Ugh! Mir, words aren't like cookie crumbs! You can't just sweep them back up like that!"
Popo protested, tapping my tummy with its front paws, but I merely shrugged and kept walking toward the hospital.
Boing, boing. The jiggling of my soft belly was a bit ticklish.
Now, let's see...
The nearest large hospital was Maria Hospital. A grand, towering white building with a clean exterior. Its very name exuded a benevolent atmosphere, as if it would care for its patients with the utmost devotion.
The grounds were so vast that it made me wonder if a hospital of this scale had always existed right in the middle of Gangnam, and there was a decent crowd of people coming and going.
Come to think of it, since I had always been healthy, this was my very first time visiting such a massive hospital. It felt strange.
The smell of disinfectant was somewhat unpleasant yet oddly refreshing. Combined with the distinct scent of hospital gowns, it made my nose twitch involuntarily.
Sniff, sniff.
"Popo, why have you been sniffing me for a while now?"
"...Don't say things that'll make people misunderstand if they hear you! I'm sniffing the scent of your mana!"
"Then why are you sniffing from inside there?"
At my question, Popo's movements came to a sudden halt.
"I-If there's a magical girl nearby, we might get caught!"
What nonsense, coming from the guy who had never been caught even when hanging out completely in the open. However, I could immediately tell what was actually going on.
For someone who used to be busy riding on my shoulder or hovering in front of me, lately, it had been burrowing deep inside my clothes with no intention of coming out. If so, there was only one answer.
"Popo."
"Y-Yes?"
"I know you like being in my arms, but don't sleep in there."
You'll get drool on my clothes.
"H-Heck no! O-Of course not! Hehe." Startled, Popo squirmed near my chest. Seemingly embarrassed, it cleared its throat a few times before finally poking its head out to look around.
"Whoa... Mir, the hospital is way bigger than I thought. How are you going to find that Marchen girl here? Isn't it too big to just wander around aimlessly?"
For someone who had just been scolded, its attitude shifted incredibly fast. Well, putting that aside for now.
Indeed, this hospital was massive, especially when counting the main building, the annex, and the funeral hall. But I calmly walked toward the elevator.
"What else can we do? Good old-fashioned legwork."
"L-Legwork?! Don't tell me you're planning to walk through the entire building—?"
"Yep."
Ding. I got on the elevator and pressed the button for the 15th floor. As expected of a large hospital, the elevator, which looked like it had been built with an absurd amount of money, arrived at the top floor without making a single sound.
The scene that greeted me as soon as the doors of the 15th floor opened was far more peaceful than expected. I had imagined a hospital to be a chaotic mess with sirens constantly wailing and families weeping.
Maybe I had watched too many dramas. The absolute silence felt rather awkward instead. I stepped out of the elevator and walked slowly.
Now, where are you? The magical girl who will become my precious first sacrifice.
Calling her a "sacrifice" sounded a bit off, but since I didn't have any other term for it, I decided to just go with it. I closed my eyes for a moment, focusing as I swept my senses for any mana brushing against my skin.
I concentrated for quite a while, but the air was pristine. Far from the bright, distinct mana of a magical girl, there was only the heavy scent of expensive disinfectant. I guess she wasn't on this floor.
"Oof..."
As I walked toward the end of the hallway, I saw an elderly man groaning in the distance near a sofa, struggling to stand up.
I couldn't tell if he had lost his balance trying to pick up a cane dropped on the floor or if he had suddenly lost his strength, but he looked incredibly precarious.
"..."
I glanced around. There were no passing volunteers or guardians in sight. Sigh.
"Are you alright?"
I quickly ran over and grabbed the grandfather's arm to support him. He was much lighter than expected, making him easy to lift.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you... This old man's legs suddenly stopped listening to him."
"It's fine. Let me pick up your cane. Are you hurting anywhere?"
"No, no, not at all. Thanks to our Seol-ah working so hard every day, I don't have a single discomfort."
Who on earth was Seol-ah? It seemed the grandfather was mistaking me for someone else. Perhaps he had a bit of dementia.
"Thank you every time..."
"Don't mention it."
As I handed him the cane, the grandfather tightly held my hand, smiling and thanking me repeatedly. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I scratched the back of my head.
"Please rest here for a bit before going back inside. Be careful."
"Alright."
I gave the elderly man a bright smile and turned around. Now, time to get back to business.
Just as I was about to head down to the next floor—
"Grandfather!"
Suddenly, a hospital room door at the end of the hallway burst open, and someone rushed out. And in that exact moment, a sharp sensation intensely stimulated my skin.
This is...
Found her. The magical girl.