Under the Lantern Light? (Part 2)
I thought it made sense. There was definitely something hidden there.
Hearing So-hyun's words about returning home, that was exactly what crossed my mind. Not just me, either. Everyone else would have thought the same.
"But I can't force it."
She was already grown up, and the truth was, I couldn't compel her to accept help unless she asked for it herself. After all, it felt a bit weird that I was being this considerate.
"Let's head this way."
Kim Su-jeong and I followed the hand of the person who had brought us to another location. Either way, we had managed to secure a somewhat decent new base according to my plan.
"But you don't look very comfortable."
"It's because I'm really worried."
The aftertaste wasn't pleasant at all. If you start something, you should finish it, right?
I scratched my head. The truth was, the help I could give wasn't much. I could just smash everything to pieces and kill whoever got in my way.
"Then let's give it some time. She has to do her own guarding."
In the end, I decided to wait for the time being.
"There are plenty of friends here... Anyway, feel free to relax!"
The teacher who had escorted us showed us around the facility. The reason the Management Bureau, an agency handling various incidents including magical girls, had established such a place was simple.
"Health checkups?"
"If you're involved with aberrations or magical girls, there are way too many weird cases."
The teacher smiled bitterly and explained in a somewhat sanitized way. I understood the sanitized version in one go.
A few days ago, horrific experimental subjects found on the ship of an international crime syndicate.
They might even survive.
"Aaaah... Aaaah!"
"Look out! Jun-ah!"
"Teacher Park! Quick, give her sedative!"
Just like that. Startled, Kim Su-jeong stuck to my side.
The teacher who was guiding us was also shocked and shielded us with her body.
"D-don't worry. This kid is just a little hurt. She won't harm you at all."
"...Yes."
Her voice was trembling slightly, though. Suddenly, blue scales began sprouting and sinking repeatedly across the child's body.
I could see the uncontrolled mana surging inside the little one's body. Uncontrolled mana was extremely poisonous. It slowly gnawed at the target, causing pain.
"Hmm. I sense a branded malice. It must be the malice left by those who did this to her body."
Len's words confirmed it with finality. I buried my face in her lap and held Kim Su-jeong's hand, which continued to tremble.
"Owie... arm."
"S-sorry, Jina..."
"Don't worry. Nothing will happen. Hurry up and tell us the room or something, teacher."
I woke the two of them up. The teacher blinked in surprise and nodded.
It was worrying, but I had no choice. I really didn't want to act like a little girl, no matter how childish.
"This is the room you two will share. You can't fight, okay?"
The place we were shown was a small room connected to a corridor lined with many others. The room with bunk beds carried a very familiar scent.
"Dorm life."
A scoff escaped me. It was almost identical to the two-person dorm I had lived in during my university days before enlisting.
"I'll give you detailed instructions later. Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Lee Sun-young, and for now, I'll be your supervisor."
"Okay, okay. Go enjoy yourselves!"
I saw off the supervisor teacher, Lee Sun-young, who had said she had business to attend to, and closed the door. As a national institution facility, it wasn't bad at all.
"This is nice. Yeah."
"...Yeah. But it's still a bit far from freedom."
I looked out the window and clicked my tongue. The window wasn't large enough for even a small-framed girl to move around freely.
Security around the facility was also tight.
For children who listened well, it might be safe and cozy, but for someone like me who took rebellion as a given, such strict security wasn't particularly appealing.
"So-hyun noona would have been better off coming here."
"...Maybe we'll meet again soon."
It was a short acquaintance, but I felt I had grasped her fairly well. We would probably meet again in the not-too-distant future.
"You waited a long time? Well, I'll tell you the basic rules."
By the time sunset arrived, the supervisor staff member Lee Sun-young returned. The moment she saw our faces, the first thing she said wasn't pleasant to me.
"You must follow the rules. For your safety, you must."
"Of course."
"...Really?"
She looked at me and asked. This was a bit troublesome. Had she already noticed something? I hadn't done anything yet.
"Of course."
I smiled. Judging by how she reacted to that smile, her face turned even more suspicious.
"Until your school is assigned, I'll tell you the schedule you'll follow."
Of course, her next words weren't pleasant to me either. One obvious fact I had forgotten during my long years in the Demon Realm surfaced.
To gain freedom in this world, you need a price. The opposite also holds true. The price of a safe and cozy home is control.
And that control was exactly what was coming.
"...Five o'clock dinner and washing, nine o'clock sleep? And for those under fifteen, no solo outings outside? Damn."
In front of the closed door, holding the schedule, I couldn't hold back the curse that slipped out.
*
"Plenty of food and it tastes good, but it's a bit inconvenient..."
That evening, Kim Su-jeong, who had been eating dinner beside me, muttered. This ordinary girl was enduring this, so what about me?
My nerves were on edge. With this healthy food, I would have preferred something I actually wanted to eat.
"Really, you're such a government worker."
I let out an unnecessary sigh of frustration. Older kids seemed to handle it better, but we younger ones faced stricter controls. Even our clothes were identical: white short-sleeve shirts and black shorts.
"What will we do later tonight? Watch TV? Now you can watch in the common room as much as you want."
"I guess so."
I nodded vaguely. Sorry, but I couldn't satisfy myself with TV.
Especially not with cartoons meant for kids. For true freedom, I probably needed to move while others slept.
"I agree a thousand times that I have to move secretly. But you're not moving for merits, right!?"
"What does that have to do with anything? Have I been processing less merits than usual? Tell me. Yeah."
"N-no, that's not it..."
Grabbing both her ears and stretching them out, Len shook her head desperately.
On the upper bunk, Kim Su-jeong was already deeply asleep. She wouldn't wake up. I had cast mana to deepen her sleep.
Young children need to sleep early to grow tall. But for adults, nine o'clock was just the beginning.
"First, get some money. What should we do? Drink or play games?"
I covered my body with mana. Just as the squid camouflaged its body to match its surroundings, I assimilated the mana covering me into the environment.
I opened the door and stepped straight out into the corridor. I avoided both the CCTV cameras and the night-shift teacher's eyes.
Once outside the facility, I changed into my attire and took to the sky.
"Yeah! I get it! You need to relieve stress too! But what are you planning? No money, no acquaintances!"
"I'll get the money!"
I flew across the urban skyline at high speed. The magical girl's senses were incredibly convenient in times like this. Malice overflowing in every direction. Among that malice, I detected a slightly different kind and headed toward it.
"There! Flick it! Flick it!"
In a dimly lit alley near the scene, I released my camouflage and removed my attire. With my current notoriety, people would be terrified the moment they saw me.
"Get out of the way!"
"Kyah! Mom!"
I saw a female officer trying to arrest a man who was running. She drew her weapon to threaten him, but I shoved her aside as she tried to grab him. The victim was bleeding and collapsed, and the surrounding people who had shouted couldn't stop him.
I timed it perfectly as the man burst out and tripped him by appearing from the alley.
"Guruooh..."
Along with a shameful sound, the satisfying crack of a human body hitting the asphalt headfirst echoed.
The sound of a broken nose and crushed teeth.
"Arrest them!"
"There... police... where'd they go?!"
A few citizens rushed over and pinned down the immobilized man. I slipped away from the scene. My target wasn't catching thieves to begin with; this was just a byproduct.
"Chasing a villain's money is impossible for a magical girl. But what if it's the victim's money?"
While everyone was in chaos, I stealthily took the wallet from the bag the thief had been carrying and quickly pulled out a gold-colored paper.
In exchange for recovering their own belongings that were almost stolen, giving such a reward was only natural in this world. It looked like a luxury bag too, and even in this era, wallets were stuffed with cash. This was a bargain.
"This... this crazy woman."
Len's extreme praise followed the scream. I chuckled and moved my mana to hide again.
No one could have seen me.
"What should we do now?"
It felt like I could finally enjoy proper nightlife for the first time since falling into this world. My heart was pounding like a kid's for no reason.
In a world where aberrations and magical girls actually exist...
The nightlife scene on this Earth was far more extreme and indulgent than the one I had lived in. I had been controlling it with all sorts of excuses.