The Three-Hundred-Year-Old Magical Girl
Gorgo asked about my name. Just as she had hinted, it was clear she wanted to know more about who I was. So I decided the first step was to dredge up memories I could barely recall anymore—memories from when I first arrived in this world. If I was going to explain how my name came to be, those details were essential.
That is to say, it all began in a laboratory.
“…My earliest memories are of the lab. I didn’t fully understand that I was a homunculus at the time, but I do remember escaping from there, however faintly.”
“Ooh… an artificial human!”
“Ah. Yes, well. I suppose I am, but I’m no different from any other human, so I’d appreciate it if you treated me as one. It’s rather unsettling otherwise.”
“Oh my, that wasn’t what I meant. I’m sorry.”
Even as I spoke, none of it truly bothered me. I shrugged and continued.
“Anyway, when I opened my eyes, I was thrashing about inside a capsule cylinder large enough to hold my entire body, my limbs far too short.”
“A capsule cylinder…?”
“A solid glass tank. A kind of incubator.”
Gorgo’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Such a thing exists! The science of three hundred years later is terrifying. Even now, when I walk the streets and see streetlamps lighting up on their own, I’m startled…”
“That’s understandable. Three centuries is an absurd span of time.”
“So? What did you do after escaping?”
“…It was difficult.”
I had tried to build suspense, but I realized she probably wouldn’t find the full story entertaining. I condensed everything that happened after I fled the lab into a single line.
‘Well, what does any of that matter now…’
Even so, the sheer absurdity of summarizing it that way made me chuckle. Gorgo, however, listened with genuine seriousness, so I couldn’t bring myself to dismiss her interest.
“Back then, I was a complete blank slate. I didn’t know where I was or even how to speak. A fool, really. And with nowhere to turn…”
“I suppose there wasn’t anywhere.”
“Exactly. So I learned about the world the hard way—rolling through it with my whole body. I struggled to pick up the language just to survive, searched for food and shelter every single day, took any work I could find…”
“……….”
“I fought like a rat.”
“You’ve been through so much, dear.”
“It wasn’t so bad. I couldn’t die, after all.”
Within days of arriving, the familiar place names made it obvious this was the world of the game. But this was a grimdark fantasy setting. Adapting wasn’t easy. Still, hanging myself wasn’t an option. I had to survive, no matter what.
“In any case, I was just a clueless child. Even so, one name lingered in my head: Yohan, with the surname Kim.”
“Oh? So that’s how it happened. Whose memories were they, I wonder.”
“I’d like to know myself, but there’s no way for me to find out.”
In truth, I did know. I simply had no intention of revealing it to anyone yet. So I brushed it off.
“By the way, whenever the young lady introduces herself, she says, ‘I am Karalin, Grand Duchess of the Vitagarte family.’ Isn’t that right?”
“D-don’t tell me you copied that?”
“Yes.”
“Pfft—Puhaha!”
“…It is rather funny. You may laugh, Your Highness.”
“So when you introduced yourself as ‘Yohan of the Kim family,’ it became Yohan Kim!”
“I’m glad you understand…”
“Look at you, your ears are turning red.”
“……….”
Still, what could I do? I couldn’t lie when she asked. In the end, it all stemmed from the fact that the word for “family” or “house” in this world’s language was identical to the Korean equivalent. Moreover, revealing one’s house was a noble custom tied to blue blood. People who didn’t know I was a mere knight assumed from my manner of speech that “Kim” must be my family name. That was the whole ridiculous story.
“Ahaha—! I haven’t laughed this hard in ages. Thank you for telling me all this.”
“It was nothing, my lady… I mean, Your Highness.”
“I’m certain Karalin found it just as amusing and left it alone. Still, you were lucky to be picked up by someone like her. Traveling from the capital all the way to the North would have been grueling for a child. Did something happen?”
“Ah, well, I was sold into a brothel in the North after being caught in human trafficking…”
“Oh, damn. You don’t need to say any more.”
“N-no! The story’s getting strange! Anyway, I managed to escape and was taken in…!”
“…You really have suffered.”
While we were talking, the heavy stone door swung open on its own, and a fluffy-haired blonde girl stepped inside.
“Yohan, are you feeling better now…?”
“I told you, it was just a surprise. I’m fine.”
Seeing her reminded me why I had come here in the first place.
‘Right, this…’
I had come to give her Solaris. Gorgo’s sudden display of power had startled me so badly that I’d forgotten everything else. But handing over the sword right now would feel completely out of place. I was still sitting here looking ridiculous; tossing her the blade and saying “Here, use this” wouldn’t exactly be a joyful gift.
So, to change the atmosphere, I made a suggestion.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Hm?”
“I feel terribly guilty for interrupting the flow of your sparring. I’d like a chance to make up for it.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“…If you’re not too tired, how about the three of us—Eclipse and I—cross blades with you?”
“…I don’t mind. What do you think, Lord of Steel?”
“No problem. I can’t afford to react the way I just did every time I face one of the Six Swords in the future. I may need the practice.”
I wanted to witness Gorgo’s skill firsthand, and this would also fulfill the sparring match Eclipse had been begging for. Two birds, one stone.
“How about it, Eclipse? I doubt you’ll refuse.”
“O-ohhh…!”
Just as I expected, Eclipse’s eyes sparkled as she beamed.
“F-finally…! Yohan agreed to my request…! As expected of the aligned—!”
“That’s not it.”
“The unaligned Lord of Steel, Yohan—!”
***
Gorgo was currently in a state where Eclisia’s Spike—a piece of lost technology and a powerful artifact—had forcibly anchored her original personality into her mind. It was a drastic measure I had taken to restore her to her proper self. Because of it, Gorgo was, at her core, still one of the Six Swords. No different from Asparug.
“Are you ready…?”
“…I should be the one asking you that, Gorgo. Drawing out the Six Swords’ personality must be unpleasant. If you don’t want to do this, we can stop right now. No hard feelings.”
“Oh my, how kind of you. Worrying about me too. Hehe, Karalin has nothing to worry about, does she?”
“…Please don’t say things like that. May I take that as a yes?”
“Yes.”
So if that personality emerged, we would be facing the same thing as one of the Six Swords wearing Gorgo’s face. Eclipse had already sparred with her, and it seemed Gorgo was controlling her power well. Still, I had asked her to fight seriously—without knocking us unconscious. If the line blurred, I would handle it somehow. She had agreed readily and seemed prepared to go all out.
“Then… here I come.”
“…Let’s begin, Eclipse.”
“Y-yes…!”
Click—
When she turned the spike embedded in her head, the world around us was swallowed by a storm of steel.
It was a chilling sensation I could never get used to, no matter how many times I felt it.
“K-khahahat—! Damn it, Gorgo, pulling these pointless tricks…!”
The voice was rough and masculine, nothing like Gorgo’s. It was only natural—Asparug, the true owner of the body, had been called forth.
“What are you staring at…? Ah. I remember you. You’re the bastard who froze me that day and saved Gorgo. A filthy human whelp. Fine. This time, I’ll kill you for sure. I’ll kill you horribly… and use you as fuel for the sun! Khahaha—!”
But I could only gape at her. Because the outfit she wore—the black garments Karalin usually wore—had suddenly changed into something utterly bizarre.
Frills. Navy-blue lace. An unmistakable… magical girl costume.
“Hey, Eclipse. Her… no, Asparug’s outfit. Why is it like that…?”
“W-well… Professor Casacos—”
“Our mother…?”
“Yes. After she installed some strange device on the spike a while ago, it’s been like this…!”
“D-damn it—.”
That damned mother of mine. She hadn’t said a single word to me. When had she even come here to do this?
My head spun, but I still gripped my sword.
“…Here I come, Asparug.”