Public Enemy (2)
Kim Su-jeong's eyes sparkled as she watched the TV while having breakfast the next morning. The broadcast was in the middle of interviewing people who had survived last night's attack.
"Look at that. Takilas appeared again yesterday, they say."
"...I see."
"But what exactly is this illegal prostitution business?"
I was a bit surprised. The girls who had been spared because they didn't meet the criteria were the prostitutes. Fortunately or unfortunately, Jeon So-hyun hadn't been there. Still, it was absurd. Talking about the only survivor or something. There had been quite a few people who survived by seeing me.
"Takilas now wants to stand above the law. Is that strange?"
"Originally, all magical girls are those who do private enforcement."
The news anchor said with an agitated voice, calling me a demon that disrupts social order, framing it in a way that made me laugh out loud. Where were the magical girls who operated with permission?
"Still, it's cool..."
"Stop watching and get up. We'll be late."
I clicked my tongue and pulled Kim Su-jeong's arm. From today, a leisurely life would be tough. We had to go to school now.
Today was the first day of transfer.
"Take these. Guard them well!"
Lee Sun-young handed us something as we stood with our bags and school uniforms. It was a phone.
"Make sure to answer when you get a call. There's an anxiety app installed, so you can't access weird sites anyway, but it won't be inconvenient for you to use."
"Yes."
"Thank you!"
Kim Su-jeong accepted it happily. I accepted it too for now. But this was definitely a troublesome item.
Anxiety app? It was called an anxiety app, but in this country crazy about control and censorship, the location tracking and information collection built into it were very annoying features for me, who wasn't a gentle child.
"Think of a way."
"What do you mean?"
"Even if I have to carry this phone around, I won't be able to transform."
I whispered to Ren while moving in the car. Ren let out a helpless sigh as if it was unbelievable.
"What? Can't? This useless..."
"No. Maybe there's a way. We'll talk about it later. Get in the car."
Ren pointed to the van. The van carrying the students, including me last, headed to school.
"You're not nervous?"
"Yeah."
In the short time driving on the road, Kim Su-jeong sitting next to me opened her mouth with a stiff face.
Of course, there were times when I felt excitement and nervousness about new semester, new friends, new teachers. At least 110-115 years ago. So now, no emotion. Rather, it was more irritating that I had to be locked in such a childish space for half a day.
"Even if I can't adapt, what then..."
"What can I do? Just do it."
Of course, as an adult, I understood her worry to some extent, so I accepted it normally.
"Hmph. It must be hard to adapt?"
At that moment, the guys who were trying to be cool one by one appeared.
I clicked my tongue lightly and turned my head to look at the male student sitting in the back seat.
"Does it look like a bluff? Really..."
"Who are you?"
"What?"
The guy was flustered when I shot him coldly and stuttered. At least he was a student from the same school. He seemed to be growing, but still immature in a bratty way.
"M-my name is Gang Jin-su."
"Are you a senior? Your name tag is different from ours."
"Sen-senior? Uh... you're first years. I'm second year."
The guy looked down at his name tag and nodded.
Since I had completely taken the lead, I moved on to the next question comfortably.
"What do you mean by it being hard to adapt."
"That is..."
The guy couldn't speak when I looked at him straight in the eyes and started speaking, so he hesitated and avoided my gaze.
"Because of our background."
And the one who answered my question wasn't the guy, but the female student sitting in the single seat across the aisle.
"Just because you're from the facility, you get looks from others. But what if that facility is a place where discarded experimental subjects, treated infected people, or hybrids of weird beings gather."
"Hey, Hong Soo-young!"
"Did I say something wrong?"
Suddenly, an argument broke out among them. I reassured the bewildered Kim Su-jeong and watched this interesting scene.
"What's going on behind?"
"...Nothing."
The homeroom teacher, sensing the commotion, naturally deflected and the second-year female student who was called Hong Soo-young by the senior showed her hand to us.
It was only then that I realized she was wearing a glove.
"Sorry for the new students. If you go to school with a monster like me, you'll get all kinds of finger-pointing."
Her hand, cold and cynical, had dark blue scales. The shape of her hand was slightly different from humans.
I sensed the mana in her hand.
"Thank you for the advice."
"What..?"
"But, at least there won't be any finger-pointing in front of me."
Those who dare to belittle and ignore the king of the Demon Realm will soon be disgracing the Demon Realm. I promise you, if such a thing happens, I won't just let it slide.
Hong Soo-young, perhaps realizing my true intention in my young eyes, closed her mouth and swallowed dryly without realizing it.
"Everyone, we're here."
At that moment, the van stopped on the road next to the school.
*
"Let's go to the office."
"Eh? Uh..."
Students were just starting to arrive at school. We arrived a bit early and crossed the school grounds.
"..."
"So, where is the office, senior?"
"Why me..."
I smirked and urged Hong Soo-young. Because I had been asked to guide the new students who transferred today to the homeroom teacher.
"Here. Come in."
"Will you come in with us?"
"...I told you earlier. It's not that students hate monsters."
She took us to the entrance of the office and then shuffled away.
Her small shoulders looked quite heavy now.
"What to do...?"
"What can I do? Let's just go in."
I took the sad Kim Su-jeong following me behind and entered the office. Since it was early morning, the office was quite empty.
"You are..."
"We transferred today."
The first person to appear in front of us was a middle-aged man with half his head shaved and a protruding belly.
The moment he saw us, attention focused.
"Ah! The kids from the facility under the Management Bureau!"
Then this crazy guy started talking in a loud, unfiltered voice.
I instinctively measured the malice of this guy.
The teacher, as expected, had a threshold higher than normal, even similar to the guy who enjoyed underage sex trade and called himself a tester.
That meant if I wanted, I could cut his throat right now.
"Hey, Yoon teacher!"
While I was debating whether to kill this guy or not, he called another teacher in a big voice.
"Yes, department head."
"These kids seem to be going to your class, Yoon teacher."
"Oh, these kids?"
"They're from the facility, so please take good care of them. Hehe!"
The brought Yoon teacher was a young male teacher. He then took a sip of coffee and left.
Of course, it didn't matter. I remembered the face clearly.
"Hello? I'm Yoon Sun-ho. Your names are... Kim Su-jeong and Lee Jin-ah."
"Hello."
I greeted him gently and measured his inner nature too. And nodded slightly. Yeah, how else would it be if there were only stupid and evil people in the world. Sometimes there should be clean and clear people like the Management Bureau's Oh Yun-seo.
Yoon Sun-ho, who would be our homeroom teacher, was also a kind person with almost no malice.
"So, shall we sit for a bit? We'll go to the same class later. I'll help introduce you to the kids in the class."
He gave us drinks and made seats for us.
Kim Su-jeong gave me a look. Perhaps the good-natured girl realized that Yoon teacher was a good person, and she looked a bit relieved.
Whether there was work or not, he was busy moving around even after seating us, doing something repeatedly.
"Hey, can I ask one thing. At school..."
[Suddenly?]
At that moment, Ren suddenly climbed onto the table in front and looked up at me, sighing.
I can't say it directly, but I have to persuade this guy.
Ren, the veteran mascot of Lana Land.
Originally, the mascot's duty was to guide and lead magical girls, but the new magical girl Takilas she was in charge of was different.
She was the embodiment of overwhelming violence and arrogance. She acted without hesitation, and her appearance was like a bloodthirsty murderer who went crazy for blood.
Humans analyzed that her mental state might be abnormal. They called her a psychopath.
But Ren knew. The magical girl Takilas was not crazy at all, and not evil.
The reason is simple. It's the place that will become the foundation of her true self. It's safer to endure a bit.
[What's the connection between Takilas killing and the middle school first-year girl Lee Jin-ah?]
And, it doesn't ruin the study atmosphere.
'This crazy. What nonsense am I saying right now.'
Ren barely held back the impulse to slap his own mouth.
But the reason for saying such nonsense was obvious. Because I couldn't tell the real reason.
'You should grow up normally, happily. Until adulthood. Even more...'
This was Ren's true feeling, recalling the recent past trauma.
And the basic condition for that was happy and normal school life. Because Ren knew how important it was in human society.