Live Strongly!

I jolted awake out of nowhere.

"Gasp…."

No, some crazy bastard showed up in my dream, okay? So startled that I woke up, I sat up without thinking.

"Sis, what's wrong?"

And that's when I realized Nao was peering down at me.

"W-whoa, you scared me…. Since when have you been there?"

"Huh? Since you went to sleep, sis."

Nao tilted her head like I was asking something obvious.

She still hadn't gotten over her separation anxiety. Maybe that's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠why she always snuck into my bedroom at night. I let out a sigh without realizing it.

"C-come on, at least let me sleep alone…."

"Sorry, sis…. It's just so boring at night…."

Nao made a face like a scolded puppy.

Come to think of it, as a vampire, Nao didn't sleep at night. Plus, her separation anxiety was a bit different from Lisa's. Lisa hated when I was out of sight, but Nao seemed more terrified of being completely alone.

That's why I'd figured tossing Ari her way would do the trick. But maybe it was tough at night when everyone else was asleep.

Ugh, she was making my resolve waver….

I'm too nice for my own good.

The universe's cutest girl—not just pretty face, but pretty heart too. In the end, I gave her permission to stay in the room.

"Sis, you're easy?"

"What?"

"Don't you wanna be a vampire, sis? If you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠become one, your body gets super healthy."

"……."

I chased her out.

Nao pounded on the door, whining, "I did wrong! Sorry! You just looked so easy that I thought maybe you'd say yes to becoming a vampire…! Hiiing…." But I pretended not to hear and locked the door.

Even if I was the nicest cutegirl in the universe, there were limits to what I could allow. I got that Nao was lonely, but sorry, no vampire life for me.

It scares me a bit, remembering that time….

One of the hallucinations from Possession popped into my head unbidden. Nao had once imprisoned me and tried to force me into becoming a vampire. Of course, that was just a vision from Possession—our sweet Nao would never do that.

I checked the clock and pulled the covers back over me. Still 4 a.m.; I needed more sleep.

Speaking of Possession, it reminded me—the Cute Girl Mod fixed me as the cutegirl protagonist. So, would I stay a cutegirl forever, even after 100 or 1,000 years, without aging? No need to become a vampire?

…That was kinda creepy.

Nah, probably not.

Even so, that seemed too much. Last time at the Murderer Hotel, I'd been judged a pure human, right? So I should have a normal lifespan.

With that thought, I drifted back to sleep.

And in the morning, Nao was peering down at me again.

"…I locked the door. How'd you get in?"

"I've been practicing turning into mist lately."

I see….

Vampires in stories could turn into mist, bats, wolves—tons of abilities. But Nao had never used any vampire powers like that.

Probably because even after becoming a vampire, she'd kept her humanity intact. Her mind stayed so human that she couldn't properly wield powers like mesmerism, domination, or creating thralls.

But maybe during the Eight-Foot Ghost incident, spreading those wings had given her some realization. Had she actually learned to use some vampire abilities?

"…Got it. I'm gonna change clothes now."

"Okay! I'll get them for you!"

So I put on the clothes Nao brought me. Was it my imagination? I'd thought she couldn't live independently due to financial reasons, but now she seemed even less likely to than Ari.

Imagination… right?

"Nao-ya."

"Yeah? What's up, sis?"

"Hypothetically, say I went to another country. Or another world? Super far away—what would you do?"

"Follow you?"

"Uh…."

"Kidding. How could I abandon my viewers and go?"

Right? Our Nao's so admirable~. A streamer who puts her audience first. True pro spirit. Feeling relieved, I got ready for work.

And only when I got to the office did it hit me late.

"Oh, right. Magical Girl's Birth…."

I'd completely forgotten. Nao's antics at dawn had distracted me. Or maybe I just didn't want to remember.

After all the monsters I'd faced, excluding our originally human Nao, none of them had been right in the head. Even our nutjob Ari and menthal Lisa were somewhat understandable.

Monsters like Possession were harder to get, though.

…But Magical Girl's Birth wasn't just incomprehensible—I didn't even want to understand it. First monster ever that I felt that way about.

Haa….

I sighed and opened the bestiary.

Cleared, huh. Meaning she'd become a cutegirl.

A monster I never wanted to see again, but now she was a cutegirl somewhere in the world. And since girlified monsters could track my location in real-time, she'd definitely come find me.

…My head was already starting to hurt.

"Gotta handle one thing at a time…."

First, I called Park Jong-cheol.

"Park Jong-cheol, it's Mayuri from Liriri Detective Agency. Um, it looks like I resolved Magical Girl's Birth…."

Park Jong-cheol sounded shocked over the phone. I hesitated on how to explain, then my gaze drifted to the fridge in the corner of the office. There was a bowl in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there. Twenty days from now—no, a day had passed, so 19 days. In 19 days, that bowl would produce soup.

"I received a Muksi Saengmyeongche called Twentieth Turtle Soup from Urim Enterprises…."

"I see…. So I used Twentieth Turtle Soup to uncover the identity of Magical Girl's Birth and resolve it…."

Park Jong-cheol hung up there. Would he believe me? Honestly, I figured he wouldn't. I hadn't even gone to Busan—this sounded fishy from his perspective, resolving it remotely from Seoul.

I figured it was fine if he didn't believe me. The achievement of taking down a threat level 5 monster would be great, but more than that, I pitied the Foundation staff still struggling in Busan. Time to clock out, everyone.

As I thought that, Park Jong-cheol called back.

"Uh, so you believe me?"

He bought it? He hadn't even seen me resolve it.

Was it because I was the universe's cutest girl?

Oh, right—it's a game.

Then it clicked. Like in an RPG, you get a quest to kill five orcs. You go to the dungeon, kill them, and the NPC praises you and gives the reward without seeing it. Same in this monster game. Game logic, I guess.

Come to think of it, no one had ever witnessed my resolutions, but they'd all believed me anyway. Must be because it's a game.

And so, Magical Girl's Birth was officially declared eradicated in the industry. Liriri Detective Agency's name was plastered everywhere as the top contributor.

I became a super fixer renowned for handling a threat level 5.

Case solved, reward from the Foundation secured, fame gained.

Everything went smoothly, but one homework remained.

A few days had passed, but she still hadn't shown up.

"Where the hell is she wandering…."

Headache kicking in, I pinched my brow.

I didn't want to meet the now-cute Magical Girl's Birth. We hadn't talked much, but I could tell she wouldn't be hostile.

Maybe just leave her be? But….

"…Why is this?"

I had no idea why, but even without going to the scenes, I knew what had happened. Had I gained clairvoyance? Already a cutegirl, now with clairvoyance too? OP.

"Should I snag a scouting-type monster…?"

Leaning back in my chair, I muttered that.

Honestly, I'd never needed scouting abilities before. My game knowledge sufficed, and monsters usually came to me anyway.

But after Magical Girl's Birth, chasing one felt frustratingly slow. Hence the "where the hell is she?"

"Eh, it'll be fine."

I shook my head at that point. No guarantee those news stories were her doing. Could be coincidence; she's probably just living a human life solo. Yeah, she wants independence. Unlike Ari, Lisa, Nao, etc.

The other monsters were the weird ones, needing my support. Monsters have pride too.

Live strong, Magical Girl's Birth! Short meeting, nice to meet ya, let's never meet again!

With that, I left the office.

The next day,

"Hello, boss! I'm Prism White, the magical girl of conviction and courage!"

I arrived to find a cosplaying girl.

Frilly skirt swishing, wing accessories on her head—sparkly as hell. Her eyes glittered unnaturally; one look and I knew she was nuts.

Her speech was totally different from the dream, but I recognized her.

No, correction: Recognize what? I don't know this psycho bitch.

"Wrong person."

"It's thanks to you, boss! Thanks to you, I could become a magical girl like this!"

Kiratt☆ She struck a weird pose.

"But boss, why haven't you become a magical girl with that beauty? Doesn't make sense. Wanna team up as a magical girl duo?"

"Scram."

I said it outright.

Ugh, her voice was so loud. Who the hell brought this girl here?