The Cute Girl Train's Judgment

The man panicked at the cute girl judgment. A train station inside the office? They looked like ordinary humans at first glance, but they had weird animal ears. And not just one—there were so many of them.

"You didn't tell me about this!" the man shouted. How was he supposed to know? They should've warned him about something like this! Why hide something so important? No, no, no!!!

"You knew... about me?!"

"Yes! The director told us!"

One of the attendants replied.

"We were really worried you wouldn't show up. If you'd gone into the salon instead, it wouldn't count as our achievement! There's that doll in the isolation room too, and the office itself is basically one big monster... So we're extremely grateful you're using our train!"

I have no idea what she's talking about. No clue, no clue, no clue, no clue, no freaking clue! Incomprehensible words. An incomprehensible situation. Incomprehensible everything.

"Aaaah! Aaaaaah!!!"

The man clutched his head and rolled across the train floor. It felt like someone had pried open his skull and jammed a crowbar into his brain.

Tsundere, kuudere, yandere, little sister, big sis, senpai, kouhai, teacher, childhood friend, class rep, ojou-sama, twintails, ponytail, two-side-up, drill hair, chuunibyou, gothic lolita, queen, princess, cheongsam, ahoge, blonde, black hair, silver hair, long hair, short hair, twins, split personality, swimsuit, cat ears, dog ears, fox ears, stepsister, stepmom, nurse, police, shrine maiden, magical girl, sadist, masochist, vtuber, mage, knight, thief, elf, dwarf, office director, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girl, cute girlcutegirlcutegirlcutegirlcutegirlcutegirlcutegirl—

Information he'd never known. Information he never wanted to know. Forced straight into his head—

"Hahk... hahk..."

The man gasped for air. The watching attendants went "Ooh!" and clapped.

"You endured it!"

"Congrats! That couldn't have been easy!"

"Just a bit longer—hang in there!"

"Endure what the hell—gahk?!"

The man couldn't make a sound. Because he wasn't a cute girl. How could a non-cute-girl voice even exist? The name Cute Girl Train said it all. Even if he hadn't known, anyone hearing "Cute Girl Train" should get it instantly. It was obvious.

So, kill any voice that's not a cute girl! Kill it! Kill ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it! Kill it! Kill it!

He tried to scream the words, but nothing came out.

The man couldn't even stand. That walk of yours? Not very cute-girl-like, is it? Way too manly, don't you think? You could walk gracefully or skip with your skirt fluttering—that'd be fine! But that's just too masculine! Beyond tomboy territory! Your face, body, legs, everything—none of it's cute girl material. If you were a cute girl, that manly stride might be a charm point. Too bad you're not.

The man clawed at the floor with his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hands.

"Kkhk... kkhk..."

Unable to make a non-cute-girl sound, he couldn't speak.

The attendants watching chimed in one by one.

"Huh? You wouldn't get off here, right?"

"Your memories would all vanish, and you'd turn into a cute girl~"

"Hang in there! Hang in there! Hang in there!"

"Wasn't there a doujin with cute girls chanting 'ganbare'?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Laughter from the cute girls echoed. The train, which had briefly stopped at the station, started moving again.

Swish swish—

The sound of mopping echoed through the station. Not a speck of dust left behind—meticulously clean. Even if it already looked spotless, you couldn't slack off. Cleaning wasn't just about making the station pristine. It polished your mindset too.

As the attendants diligently mopped, the door opened.

"Ah, Director!"

"Director, you're here!"

"Auu."

Mayuri instinctively stepped back at the approaching attendants. Being the ultimate cute girl with max popularity was great and all, but she wasn't some celebrity. Having hundreds recognize her was a little scary.

In the blink of an eye, she was surrounded by cute girl attendants. Overwhelmed, Mayuri faltered.

"What brings you here?"

"Want some tea while you're at it? We just got some premium leaves from Hell!"

"Anything you need, Director!"

"Okay, can you let me speak...? This is chaos..."

She was used to most cute girls by now, but the Cute Girl Train attendants would take time. ...There were just too many.

Mayuri scanned their faces and spoke up.

"Yesterday, you caught a Muksi Saengmyeongche, right?"

"Yes!"

"Just like you predicted, Director—a Muksi Saengmyeongche invaded!"

"Incredible foresight!"

"One at a time, please..."

One sentence from her, and three replies came back. Why?

"Miyeong was supposed to handle it, wasn't she?"

"Yes. But we thought we could manage, so we did."

"I see... No one got hurt? It was a serial killer."

She'd assigned Miyeong out of worry for the attendants. Waking up to a notification that the 'Ambiguous Hairdresser' hadn't done it—but the 'Cute Girl Train' had—had shocked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her. So she'd rushed to the station first thing.

"We're fine!"

"Thanks for worrying! It makes us so happy!"

"I'd break an arm for you, Director!"

"...Value yourselves more. Anyway, how'd you do it?"

"We put him on the train."

"He got off midway."

"And lost his power as an urban legend!"

"Hm."

Mayuri pondered that. The 'Cute Girl Train' used to be the 'Hell Train,' right? Even after turning cute girl, its core traits lingered. Like delivering judgment at each hellish stop. Getting off midway meant the 'Man in XX' went straight to hell.

No need to worry then.

Mayuri nodded, then asked about something that'd bugged her.

"Who's the new face?"

The others clustered around her, but one kept mopping diligently. She looked younger, puppy ears perked as she worked hard.

"Hey, maknae! Director's here—get over here!"

"Huh? But senpai told me to clean?"

One attendant dragged the maknae over.

"Our newest recruit. Of course you wouldn't know her."

"Newly hired...? Are you guys still growing?"

"Yup! Our train runs Hell routes nonstop. We give chances to passengers interested in becoming attendants."

"Eek."

Mayuri's mind went blank. They could grow even more? Already too many! Good thing they were an independent branch. If they were like Ari—needing her responsibility... She didn't even want to imagine.

Shaking her head, Mayuri looked at the maknae.

"New here?"

"Yes!"

"Got a name?"

"Hmm, maybe? But who cares? We don't need one to have fun!"

"R-Right..."

Mayuri peered at her face, then turned to leave.

"I'll head out then. Keep up the good work..."

"Yes, Director! We'll be waiting for your next ride!"