A Magical Girl's Ideal
"Phew... didn't break..."
Fortunately, it seemed like only I heard the homeroom teacher's quiet mutter.
Ever since turning into this body, all my senses had sharpened, letting me pick up even tiny sounds like that.
After finishing his introduction, the teacher started explaining the schedule ahead.
"Yes... We'll be distributing textbooks in the library shortly... In the meantime, let's use this time for quick self-introductions. Any questions?"
One student shot her hand up right away.
It was the girl who'd come in last, the one now sitting next to me. Her amber eyes sparkled as she raised her hand high.
The teacher hesitated, sensing something off about her energy, but eventually gave her the go-ahead.
"Any chance we can hear about your first love—"
"None. No more questions, so let's start the self-introductions."
Oof. I thought that was a classic one.
The teacher brushed it off coldly and announced the start of self-intros.
"I'll call you by attendance number. When your name's called, stand and give a quick intro."
Do they still do this? Guess it's the easiest way for teachers.
"Kang Ji-won."
"Hi! I'm Kang Ji-won. Hobby's soccer..."
The called guy stood and launched into his intro. Hobbies, likes, dislikes, even random TMI nobody asked for.
Pretty standard stuff.
"Nice to meet you all!"
"Next, Kim Na-eun."
"Hi, I'm Kim Na-eun..."
The second one was a quiet-looking girl.
...Second one down, and I was already bored.
A few others seemed to feel the same, starting to zone out or sneak peeks at their phones.
"Next, Kim Do-yun."
Honestly, nobody really pays full attention to these. Everyone copies the first few, so it all blends together.
The only differences are the nitpicky details. Favorite games, foods, whatever.
Unless someone's dying to stand out, it'll probably go like—
"Nice to meet you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ah.
Right. Her.
The one who'd burst in yelling from the start was just as loud for her intro.
"I'm Kim Yena!!!! I love righteous magical girls and hate evil kaijin and magic beasts!!!!!"
Whoa...
Sudden urge to befriend her.
"My fave magical girl lately is Magical Girl Pronesis! The way she swoops in, handles those tough magic beasts and kaijin nobody else can catch, then just dips without a word? So cool!!!"
? That was just me killing time since nobody else was around to do it.
"Yes... That's, uh, enough?"
"No way!!! We've barely scratched the surface of Pronesis's heroic tales!!!"
"Yes... Moving on to the next student..."
"Hng..."
She sat down surprisingly quick. Thought she'd push back a couple more times, but she knew her limits.
......
Luckily, no one else tried to steal the spotlight after that, and soon Seoyeon's name came up.
"Yun Seoyeon."
Standing up, her height hit me again—seriously tall.
She scanned the room with cool eyes, lingering on me for a split second before starting.
"Hi. I'm Yun Seoyeon. Love sweet desserts. No real hates. Nice to meet you."
She sat back down. Solid, average intro.
My turn was next, so I started brainstorming what to say.
"Lee Sea."
Damn. No time to think.
I stood up, and the class started whispering.
"Isn't she like, elementary school age?"
"She looks just like a doll..."
Their stares were pure "cute kid" vibes.
I ignored the murmurs and spoke up, chin high.
"Hi, I'm Lee Sea."
My clear, high-pitched childlike voice rang through the room. The kind you never get tired of hearing.
But I laced it with a slightly lower tone.
"I like magical girls."
A few kids' eyes lit up at that.
Mostly ones who'd said something else for their likes.
Probably closet fans cheering at home but too "mature" to admit it publicly.
That bugged me a bit.
"No real hates."
I hated that.
"Nice to meet you all."
That was it.
"Hmm..."
Magical Girl Pronesis
Estimated Unique Magic: Warp
Estimated Rank: C+
Notes: Operates personal review site. Hacking attempts failed.
Nowon Branch of the Magical Girl Association.
The man eyeing Pronesis's profile muttered while gazing out the window.
"Magic beasts have been popping up a lot lately."
He clasped his hands behind his back, glancing at his secretary nearby as if expecting agreement.
She sighed, then replied.
"Posing again?"
"...Can't you play along just a little?"
Han Seokjun, 54.
Way too old for branch manager and striking dramatic poses.
"Why do you even do that at your age?"
"Doesn't it look cool?"
"Not at all."
And his secretary, dishing out brutal honesty without flinching.
Joo Jihyun, 32.
Former magical girl—pretty powerful one, too—but she'd retired a decade ago and was a full adult now.
Secretary gig post-retirement suited her fine.
Except...
"Please stop."
Ten years of watching the boss's theatrics had worn her patience thin.
"Anyway, what do you think? New magical girl on the scene."
She scanned the profile on his desk.
"Honestly? I'd love to recruit her right now."
"Right?"
She'd burst onto the scene with unprecedented powers, flipping the Association upside down.
Discovering she could warp others too? They were desperate to sign her.
"Problem is, she ignores every offer."
Two months of proposals—money, wishes, harems, you name it. All rejected. She kept operating solo.
They'd even formed a dedicated team, but no dice.
Tried luring her with meetups of local magical girls? She warped out instantly.
Strategy scrapped; the planner got a formal apology letter.
"Hilarious, right?"
They smirked, reading through the reports.
"Association's clown show is pretty funny."
"Right?"
"If she doesn't wanna join, what can you do? It's not like 20 years ago..."
"Oh, check this out."
He fiddled with his smartphone and showed her the screen.
"This her personal review site?"
"Probably. HQ thinks it's tied to her ideal."
Her eyebrow arched.
"This is her ideal? What kinda weird ideal is that... Kinda jealous, though..."
Most magical girls never find their ideal before retiring.
The farther they stray, the weaker they get. Peak is...
"I hit rock bottom at 21..."
21.
When reality sinks in, and they drift completely from their ideal.
Most retire around then. Even ones who'd found theirs.
So yeah, Jihyun envied Pronesis.
"Getting stronger from reviews? Way too easy."
But Seokjun shook his head.
"Dunno. I don't think it's that simple."
"Why not?"
He tapped his lips with a sly grin.
"Secret~"
"..."
Her face soured; he quickly changed topics.
"Ahem... Anyway, HQ's pushing hard to recruit her. Gave us all sorts of support since she's local."
"Ah, so that's why the rural girl moved here?"
"Kinda. Half her choice—she was screaming to see Pronesis."
"Her ideal's solid, at least."
"Yeah. Anyway, we're gonna be busy. You're dismissed."
"Got it."
She gave a curt nod and left.
Alone, his face hardened as he glared out the window.
The view wasn't pretty. Just endless apartments. No landmarks, no flair. Apartments, apartments, apartments.
Staring at it, he muttered.
"A magical girl's ideal should never be taken lightly."
"It's their life on the line."
"I haven't left my room yet."
"Ah."