Praise Pronesis!
A day had passed since the kaijin showed up on the entrance ceremony day. For security reasons, school announced a one-week closure, leaving me with nothing to do but roll around at home.
"Ah... Lumina Betaris's autograph..."
I hated myself for forgetting to get her signature.
For a brief 37.2 seconds, I considered asking her for one at school next week, but nah, that wouldn't fly. Even if everyone knows a magical girl's civilian identity—the so-called red pill—fans have a duty to play dumb about it.
As I was rolling around on the bed, Sofia suddenly piped up.
"By the way, what're you gonna do with those magic stones?"
Oh.
Right, I had those too.
I pulled one out of my pocket and held it up to the ceiling light. When the beam hit the inside, it refracted like a gem, tinting my vision red.
"Too much hassle to take 'em to the Association..."
Going back to that place where I just got fired felt kinda awkward.
"Sigh..."
Thinking about living expenses ahead, maybe I should just suck it up and—
"Wanna sell 'em to me then?"
?
Was she messing with me?
"How would you even buy them?"
Normally, magic stones required the Association's proprietary tech to extract energy, so civilians couldn't just use them freely.
"Put one on your phone screen."
?
Did she want me to curse her out or something?
Sofia's tastes were looking a bit suspect right then.
"Quit staring at me like I'm crazy and just try it for real."
...Hmm.
Fine, whatever. I held the magic stone up to my phone screen like she said—
Schlurp.
?
"Haah... It's been forever since I had a magic stone... So delicious..."
There was a slight resistance, but my totally normal phone just slurped it right up. In no time, the stone in my hand vanished without a trace.
"Ah... That hit the spot... Hey! Gimme the next one quick!"
I thought nothing could shock me more after meeting Sofia, but apparently I was still too young and naive.
Anyway, I fed all the remaining stones into the phone as instructed.
"Ah... Yeah, that's it... Slurrrp... Haa... So good..."
Each time, that resistance and the way they disappeared right before my eyes made the whole thing feel kinda weirdly erotic.
I wonder if people in the old days, before magic showed up, felt like this when they first saw it.
Lost in that thought, I kept feeding them until suddenly, no stones left in my hand.
"Urp... Ah... That was yummy!"
She let out a satisfied burp like she was stuffed, fiddled with something for a sec—
[Bora Bank: 5,500,000 won deposited.]
Oh.
"Just so you know, this is legit money I earned fair and square. Nothing shady, so no need to worry about getting flagged. Won't even be traceable in the first place."
Fair enough, but I didn't expect her to match Association rates exactly. No fees skimmed either.
"I have been blind to your divinity. I offer my deepest gratitude for your mercy in passing it on untouched, without even deducting a fee..."
"Yeah, yeah, keep praising me."
In a pitch-black room with curtains drawn tight, blocking even the tiniest sliver of light, a man scraped by day after miserable day.
Huh Seungju.
30, unemployed.
Never held down even a part-time gig in his 30 years, his one joy in life was shitposting on communities to tear others down.
Today, like always, he cast his line into the community like a master angler.
Comments started rolling in almost immediately.
Boom—fish on the line right away.
Normally he'd need three bait posts to hook one, so this felt like striking gold.
Reeling it in, he prepped to slice it up sashimi-style.
'If it's C-rank she's kaijin chow lol'
Less than a second later, a reply.
Today's catch was extra fresh, still flopping even out of water.
The sweeter the sashimi would taste.
'Why so mad over someone who's not even you? (Genuine question)'
Reply in one second flat.
He could've been weirded out by the speed, but the thrill of the bite blinded him to all else.
'Joo-gyuh-choo-ma~'
No comeback this time.
"Hmm..."
Subpar flavor. Not enough to wrap up the day. Time for fresh bait.
"Lavender next? She's been stuck at C-rank for 3 years... Honestly kaijin chow, right?"
That'd hook a ton.
"Eh, Association might sue for defamation... Wild card instead?"
Mid-thought, his decade-old monitor went black.
"What the fuck."
His favorite rod snapped—rage inevitable.
"Fuck... Keyboard's dead too, wtf is this...?"
Then the monitor lit up again.
"Oh, back on—"
No.
A hand.
A pale hand emerging from the black screen.
"GYAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!"
The room turned into pandemonium in seconds.
Ignoring scattered trash, he scrambled to escape the monitor.
But a small-fry angler can't outswim a starving croc.
"P-Please spare me!!!!"
Didn't know what he did wrong, but begging for life first.
Did his prayer work? The hand stopped.
"Hah... hah..."
Then red text on the monitor.
"S-Spare me please...! I'll live right from now on...!"
Ignoring his flooded pants, he clapped his hands begging at the screen.
"Y-Yes...! Really, I'll live right...!"
This moment? Dead serious. If it meant survival, he'd do anything.
"?"
The white hand again.
"No I love it!!!!! Totally down!!!!!!!!!"
"Y-Yes... From now on, I'm a devout follower of Pronesis..."
With that, the screen returned to normal, his sins still there.
His missionary work had only just begun.
...
"Heehee..."
"...Sofia, whatcha doing?"
She'd dipped out of my phone saying she had somewhere to go, came back, and had been grinning like an idiot ever since.
Her smug face on the screen looked way too satisfied, so I couldn't help asking.
"Without me, you'd be getting roasted online right now? Hurry up and thank me!"
"...?"
Why was this electronic lifeform acting up on day one of school?