The Magical Girl's Birth

The nutjob invading this office is me. My name is Prism White! I'm a magical girl who protects the world☆ I'm throwing down with these smugglers!

"Magical Punch."

I swung my fist. Bullets were flying right at me. Bullets—those are for weaklings who couldn't cut it as magical girls. These days, all magical girls pack some serious physical prowess. My dynamic vision locked onto the bullets perfectly. And just like that, my Magical Punch connected, batting them away.

Kang! Ricocheting bullets. The smugglers started yelling something. Too bad the magical girl patch came with no language upgrade. Thanks to the boss being Korean. So I couldn't patch any languages besides Korean either. It was seriously depressing that even my magical powers couldn't teach me new languages.

"Come on, everyone! Surrender to the police quietly! If you do, I'll let it slide!"

But what flew at me next? More bullets. Even after seeing me deflect them with my magical ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠powers. And in the smugglers' eyes, I spotted pure terror. They feared my magical powers. But if they were really that scared, they would've run. Choosing to fight instead of flee meant they had some guts. With that kind of courage, they should've become magical girls. Why didn't they? It made no sense.

In the end, the smugglers weren't magical girls, so they couldn't beat one like me. Magical girls stand above all values in this world. Justice always triumphs over evil. In other words, magical girls and criminals are polar opposites. Criminals, being evil incarnate, can never defeat a justice-driven magical girl.

I found a phone among the knocked-out smugglers and dialed.

"Hello, police? I've got some smugglers here!"

I used magical modulation to disguise my voice before alerting them. Last time, I beat up some extortionist high schoolers and dragged them to the station, only for the cops to try cuffing me. That's why I pulled this trick now. A perfect cleanup from a flawless magical girl. Pride swelled in my chest—followed by crushing emptiness.

"Aren't there any villains worthy of me?!"

I'd finally become a magical girl, and all I'd done was beat down street punks and dismantle crime rings like this. Sure, I was upholding justice, but what was the difference from regular cops? When would a magical girl's true justice shine?! Ah, the tragedy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of it all!

Back in the day, I'd have conjured up a proper villain to battle. But becoming a magical girl stripped me of my monster-making powers entirely. Even if I'd kept them, I probably wouldn't have bothered. Fighting my own creations felt hollow—just self-indulgent theater.

Maybe I should aim bigger. I'd been operating around Korea, but heading to another country sounded good. Lost in thought, I glanced toward Seoul. At the end of that direction pulsed an overwhelming presence. The boss was there.

"Before jetting off abroad, I should at least say hi to the boss!"

I headed for the Liriri Detective Agency. "Detective Agency"—so tacky. Better rename it the Liriri Magical Girl Alliance HQ from now on.

The 'Magical Girl's Birth' bond effect seemed like a passive skill. Once a day felt stingy, but crisis detection was undeniably huge in a horror game. Still, was this thing even working right? Wasn't this a crisis?

"Let me say it again, Boss! Thank you so much for making me a magical girl!"

Not quite "Boss"—more like "Foss," the Korean slur for boss. The floor shook with a thud!

Kuwoong!

The second she barged into the office, she slammed her head to the ground in a bow. Magical girl reflexes, maybe? The motion from standing to kneeling and forehead-planting was blindingly fast. Watching ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her, I debated kicking her out.

A nutjob had invaded the office—wasn't that a crisis?

"Should I just store her away?"

"N-No! Then I can't be a magical girl...!"

She snapped her head up, staring at me with desperate eyes.

"Please endure it! You can't give something and take it back! If you made me a magical girl, let me live as one forever!"

"Voice too loud... Tone it down?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Knowing she needed to impress me, she straightened up perfectly. Totally different from our dream encounter. Back then, her speech was stiff and formal—why the sudden politeness?

"Oh, that's because I became a magical girl! With this magical girl look, it's common sense to match the speech! So since I'm like this now, I reworked my speech..., no, my whole personality!"

"So, you're forcing it?"

"Pretty much! But if I keep it up, won't this become my true self? For magical girlhood, I can kill off my old self...!"

"Nutjob..."

Fair enough. She'd trusted the promise of becoming a magical girl, beaten her own body to death for a "bishoujo punch." If she could kill her flesh, tweaking her personality was easy.

"Anyway, I came to say I'm thinking of heading abroad! Other countries are rife with crime—purging that evil and saving the day is pure justice! The epitome of magical girl duty, right?"

"No."

"Wh-Why...!"

"You're an illegal immigrant right now. If some group like the Foundation catches you, it could expose my powers."

The Foundation would be manageable. But a cult? No thanks. Now that we'd met, I wasn't letting her out of my sight.

"B-But Boss, how am I supposed to realize justice then?"

"Give up."

"No way! I'll crap myself if I have to! No, I'll eat your crap—just please, don't—!"

"...You're insane."

Aigoo, my head... Talking to her drained me, so I slumped into my chair. Then Nao sidled up to her slyly.

"Um, so you wanna be a magical girl, right?"

"Yes, exactly!"

"But the charm of magical girls isn't just the transformation, right? Hiding your identity while living normally—that double life is part of the fun in magical girl stories..."

"Spot on! Yeah!"

Pang! With a weird sound effect, she transformed. Or rather, de-transformed. The crazy magical girl costume vanished, leaving ordinary clothes.

"Cover identity... That's genius. Office drone by day, world-saving magical girl by night! Love this vibe."

"I wasn't planning to hire you."

"Huh? I can eat your crap, Boss!"

"...No need for that."

I pondered. In a way, she was the most independent cute girl yet. Mine all clung to me, refusing independence. This one wanted to chase dreams abroad right away—admirable, almost. But too independent was a problem. What good was independence without social skills? She'd cause chaos overseas for sure.

"I handle Muksi Saengmyeongche. Most of them threaten humanity."

"Ooh! So Muksi Saengmyeongche are 'evil'—fair game!"

"Not always, but dealing with the threats is my job."

I explained. She got it and thunked her chest affirmatively.

"Got it! Helping you crush Muksi Saengmyeongche is magical girl work too! Removing threats to humanity is protecting mankind—peak magical girl stuff. But why aren't you a magical girl, Boss?"

What? Her magical girl obsession grated, but I'd convinced her. Time to bind her before she stirred trouble.

"I'll name you. 'Magical Girl's Birth'—shorten to Matan?"

"Eek... B-Boss...! That's so tacky!"

"Can't think of anything else. Matan it is. Matani sounds cute. Surname..."

"How about Baek?"

-Creak—the salon door opened. Out came my dedicated coordinator, Miyeong. She barely did external work, sticking to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠salon—a quiet employee. Unique, but the least troublesome of the bunch.

"Baek?"

"Baek Matan. Magical girl who rides a white horse. Fun, right?"

"N-No...!"

She looked horrified, but Miyeong flashed a rare satisfied grin. Pun hunt over—she vanished back inside. No better ideas, so I went with it.

"I hate this name...! It's not magical girl material at all!"

She—no, Matani—collapsed to her knees in despair. Tears streamed down.

Drip drip...

"Change my name, please..."

"But you said you'd do anything."

"Yes... For magical girlhood, I'd crap in the street if needed, but this name... hic... wahhh..."

She bawled her eyes out. Ugh, my resolve wavered...

"F-Fine... If I think of something better later, I'll change it."

"Th-Thanks... I'm so sad right now, store me away please."

"Huh? You hated being stored."

"I can't tolerate existing as a magical girl with this un-magical name... I just wanna vanish from the world for a bit..."

"Mm."

No clue what she meant, but she wanted it, so I stored her.

"Still, Boss, if you ever need a magical girl, call me anytime—no holding back..."

With that, she slipped into my storage.

Been a while since a total psycho showed up at the office. Better not let her out anytime soon, I thought.