The Dignity of an Adult
"Agh, Mir! How could you waste the power we worked so hard to steal on something like that?! Are you an idiot? A total dummy?!"
Popo buzzed around my head, furiously hammering me with tiny fists. Apparently, using the precious magic we had just plundered from Marchen to heal a couple of old folks was completely unacceptable. Popo's face was practically bursting with sheer, unadulterated frustration.
"It's my choice," I muttered, pouting as I trudged along. I was the one who stole it, so it was my power now. Who cared what I did with it?
"Hmm." I paused to look up at the hospital building. High up on the fourteenth floor, bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight, three silhouettes were visible through a ward window.
There was Seol-ah, weeping tears of joy as she held her grandmother's hand, and the elderly couple standing tall, comforting their granddaughter with warm smiles. After quietly watching the scene for a moment, I turned back around and stepped into the shadows.
"I'm not done yet! Mir, I'm not letting you off the hook this time!" Popo was still fuming, repeatedly rapping me on the head. Talk about a nagging machine.
"Popo, I think we actually got some good results out of this, though."
"What do you mean, 'results'?!"
"No, seriously, look at this." I stopped walking and held up my index finger toward the creature.
"Huh? What is it? What's there?" Popo tilted its head and slowly drifted closer to my finger. Completely off guard, it narrowed its eyes to focus. I didn't miss the opening—
Flick!
"Ow!"
Blehh. I flashed a mischievous grin and quickened my pace to put some distance between us.
"Y-You...!" Popo trembled with rage, tiny hands clenched into tight fists. Ah, teasing Popo really was the best. The reactions were always top-tier. Still, I should probably tone it down.
Judging by how hard it was huffing, one more poke and it would definitely charge straight at my head. Not that it would actually hurt—Popo's fists were so tiny they didn't pack any punch at all.
Though, getting hit in the exact same spot repeatedly did start to sting after a while. It was kind of like being stalked by the spoon killer.
"Calm down, Popo, and listen to me. I'll be serious this time." Since I didn't want to deal with the stinging, I quickly raised both hands in surrender.
"My total magic capacity increased." Even though I had just spent a massive amount of magic to heal those two, I could feel it. The vessel holding the energy circulating inside my body had clearly expanded.
It felt like upgrading from a tiny portable charger to a slightly larger one. Since it was my first time experiencing this, I couldn't explain it in detail, but that was the gist of it.
"Hmph, what kind of ridiculous nonsense is—wait, really?" Noticing the complete lack of playfulness in my eyes, Popo's jaw dropped. It immediately dove into my arms and started sniffing me. What was this all of a sudden?
Poke.
"Get off." I pressed my finger against Popo's forehead and pushed it away.
"Whoa, it's true! Even after pouring out so much magic, your scent is way stronger than before!" Popo couldn't hide its sheer shock even as it was pushed back. "How did this happen?!"
"I don't know either. I just felt it." Ever since I ended up in this body, strange things kept happening. But hey, as long as it wasn't hurting me, I figured I'd just take it as a win. Hmm. Wait a minute. A brilliant idea suddenly popped into my head.
"Popo."
"Yeah?"
"I just had an absolutely genius idea."
"Ugh." For some reason, Popo made a face. It was the kind of look you'd give the Boy Who Cried Wolf. Ah, I guess in my case, it would be the Girl Who Cried Wolf.
"Popo, looking at me like that is a little hurtful."
"...Huh?! What do you have to be hurt about, Mir?! Lord Popo is the one who gets teased every single day! If anyone's hurt, it's me!"
"So, do you want to hear it or not?"
"Fine, what is it?"
Heh. Prepare to be amazed. "We're going to start a Magic Bank."
"A Magic Bank?"
"If they deposit magic, we return it with interest." Let's say I absorb 50 units of magic, and my total capacity increases by 50. I could add half of that, say 25, and return 75 back to them.
I get a permanent boost to my magic capacity, and the magical girl gets more magic back. The only issue is that I don't know how fast magic naturally recovers... but still, isn't this basically an infinite magic glitch? I proudly rested my hands on my hips.
"Mir..." But after hearing my revolutionary idea, Popo simply shook its head. "I hate to break it to you, but that's impossible."
"Eh? Why?"
"What do you mean, why?! Normal magical girls can't just absorb foreign magic like you do!"
Huh. Is that so? Well, I guess it would be too overpowered otherwise. What a letdown.
"You might not know this, Mir, but if foreign magic enters a normal living being's body, it triggers a severe rejection response. They suffer terribly!"
"Really? What kind of terrible things?"
"What do you think?! Um, I don't know the exact details... but they'd probably just drop dead!"
"...Really?" That was weird. I was perfectly fine. "Then why am I okay?"
"Are you seriously asking that?!" Popo clutched the back of its neck in disbelief at my innocent question. Wait, did it even have a neck? Either way, it trembled with exasperation as it shrieked.
"Because you're the King, obviously!"
"Ah." Right. The King. I had temporarily forgotten.
"I see. We are the King. As expected of Us. We really are quite magnificent. Our vessel is simply built different."
"No! I'm not saying you're amazing, I'm talking about Ker!"
"Yes, yes, We understand. You may address Us as Your Majesty. Lord Popo, have you been moved by Our royal majesty?"
"...Agh! You are so incredibly annoying, Mir! Can I please just punch you once?! Just once?!"
"Hmm~ I can't hear you~" I hummed back mockingly. Popo puffed its cheeks out so hard they looked ready to pop, glaring at me with a furious pout.
"I'm definitely getting revenge later! Just you wait!"
"Sure, sure. I'll look forward to it."
"Agh! You just have to get the last word, don't you?! How can a person be so utterly shameless?!" Popo stomped its feet in midair, throwing a massive tantrum. How cute.
"Because I'm an adult." After all, a true adult is supposed to tolerate a child's whining while still dismantling them with logic.
"What does that have to do with anything?! If you're an adult, act like one and talk to me properly!"
"Because I'm an adult."
"What are you even saying?!"
I simply possessed a level of life experience that this little brat couldn't hope to match. As an adult, how could I ever lose a verbal spat? Besides, I had the dignity of a King to uphold.
"...Fine. You're so great. Just wonderful!" As if a sudden realization hit, Popo began circling around me, a wicked grin spreading across its face.
"If you're such a great adult, why are your sleeping habits so terrible, huh?!"
"..." Ah.
"You almost fell off the sofa in your sleep yesterday! Do you remember that? No! Of course you don't! Because I was the one who had to grunt and groan to heave you back up! And you were sleeping with your mouth wide open, drooling...!"
"..."
"And when we get home, you're just going to flop straight onto the bed without washing up again, aren't you?! Is that how an adult is supposed to behave? Huh? Why don't you answer me, O Great King?!"
I kept my mouth shut, staring straight ahead in silence.
"Aaaagh! Look at you shutting up the moment you lose the advantage! Answer me! Answer me, Mir!!!"
I quickened my pace, pretending not to hear. Popo buzzed in my ear like a mosquito, but I just kept walking. A true adult remains unshaken by the criticisms of others.
"Are you listening?! Are you listening to me, Mir!!!!!"
Popo flew right up to my ear and shrieked. I calmly raised a hand, tapped my ear, and shoved my hands into my pockets. What should I have for dinner? I pondered, focusing on a truly critical issue.
I want something hearty tonight. I felt a bit empty inside. Probably because I had spent all my energy stealing magic, healing people, and engaging in this exhausting battle of wits with Popo. Yeah. There was nothing like protein to restore one's energy.
Maybe meat. A glorious vision of bright red meat sizzling on a grill flashed through my mind. What kind of meat should I get? Pork belly? Or maybe some savory marinated galbi? Hmm. A thick steak didn't sound bad either. Or maybe a satisfying plate of spicy stir-fried pork...
Prick.
"Ow."
A sudden sharp pain shot through the tip of my finger. What the? I lifted my hand and saw Popo chomping down on my index finger with its tiny mouth. I shook my hand to get it off, but the creature clung on like a piece of old chewing gum, refusing to let go.
"Anther me...!" It mumbled around my finger, but the words were so muffled I couldn't understand a thing.
"Popo, leaving teeth marks on Our royal personage is an act of high treason. You do realize that, right?" I used my free hand to gently pinch the scruff of its neck and lift it up. Only then did Popo spit out my finger with a wet *ptui*.
"Treason my foot! Mir, why do you keep ignoring me?!"
"I didn't ignore you." I just let it go in one ear and out the other.
"Then say something!"
"Hmm, what do you want for dinner tonight?"
"No! That's not what I'm talking about!!!" Popo stomped its feet in midair, practically dying of frustration.
"How about marinated galbi? We can grill it at home."
"..." The moment the word "meat" left my mouth, Popo's furious, murderous glare instantly melted away.
"...Marinated galbi?"
"Yeah. Sweet, savory meat. Grilled to a perfect golden brown and eaten with a bowl of warm white rice. It's absolute heaven."
Gulp. I heard Popo loudly swallow its saliva. "D-Do you think you can win me over just by saying that?"
Yes.
"Why? You don't want any?"
"...No, I want some."
"Good choice." I knew you would. Stop playing hard to get.