A Declaration of War
It was early morning. Or rather, closer to dawn—a time when the sun still seemed a long way from rising. The boss had called for me. I threw on some clothes and headed to his office. On the way, I ran into Go Yu-jin. Maybe it was because of what had happened the day before, but I felt strangely awkward around her.
“Uh……”
When I trailed off, Go Yu-jin immediately looked away. She walked right past me, heading toward the boss’s office. I watched her open the door and step inside, then snapped out of it and followed after her.
The boss was waiting for us, exhaustion written clearly across his face. He took a sip of hot coffee, then pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips.
“Ah. Don’t smoke that. The smell gets all over my clothes!” Go Yu-jin snapped.
The boss clicked his tongue once, then set the cigarette down on his desk. He took another sip of coffee, looking thoroughly fed up.
“First, let me tell you what I’ve learned about this incident.”
The boss began his explanation. He started with the fact that the woman behind it was named Ryeo (黎), then moved on to how the ones who had targeted us were only a fraction of the Samgunhoe operatives who had crossed into Korea.
“The bastards who pulled this off, including that woman, numbered exactly seventy. There might be a bit of Chinese exaggeration mixed in, but one thing is certain—they weren’t all the ones who came to Korea.”
The way the boss spoke with such confidence made it obvious he had information separate from what he’d extracted from the woman.
“Do you think they’ll keep targeting Double Melon?”
“It’s not just Double Melon.” The boss stared at me intently. “You too.”
“Me as well?”
“That’s right. On our side, you’re pretty much the only one who can protect Double Melon around the clock.”
He had a point. No matter how strong a vampire was, they couldn’t use their power under sunlight. In the game, that was represented by losing a certain percentage of health per second in direct sunlight. Unlike our opponents, our base being a vampire clan was a massive weakness.
“Understood.”
“What about school?” Go Yu-jin asked. The boss gazed at her quietly. After what had happened yesterday, would he really allow it? But Go Yu-jin wasn’t the type to just accept a refusal. I knew her personality well after being by her side all this time. I quietly stepped to the side and looked away. An argument was about to break out. Voices would rise. The smart move was to stay out of it.
“You said exams are coming up soon, right?”
“Yes. And I haven’t missed a single class this semester—third year, first semester—not even been late once.”
Go Yu-jin was gearing up. Soon both their voices would rise together as she asked if he even had a brain. I braced myself.
“Then I guess there’s no helping it.”
“Excuse me?”
His answer was so unexpected that I echoed it back at him. The boss looked us both over once, then continued.
“You have a life to live too, after all. But I need two promises from you.”
“……What are they?”
“One. From now on, the two of you are never to be apart. Even if one of you goes to the bathroom, the other waits right outside the door. That’s how close I want you to stick together.”
“Are you insane? I don’t care about him, but why should I have to do something like that?!”
“Have you already forgotten why yesterday’s mess happened? Rin abandoned you and followed the woman who lured him away. And you didn’t wait for Rin—you went off with a bunch of other guys.”
Other guys? I turned to look at Go Yu-jin. She was staring back at me.
“You sent me that text and then went chasing after some girl’s ass?”
“You’re the one who went off with a bunch of guys? Who were they? Don’t tell me it was those sunbae bastards?”
“Enough.”
Slap!
The boss clapped his hands sharply, drawing our attention.
“Rin. I told you yesterday, didn’t I? From now on, don’t leave Double Melon’s side. Make sure you fully understand what your original role is.”
“……Yes.”
“And you. I don’t know what’s going on, but you don’t just follow random men around. Especially not if they’ve got blonde hair and tanning involved. Luckily they were just horny idiots, so they only used you as bait before tossing you aside. If it had been anything else, who knows what might have happened?”
Blonde. Tanning. He was definitely talking about those sunbae guys. She had made it so obvious how much she hated them, yet she still went with them? ……No. Go Yu-jin was playing the part of a good girl at school, so there must have been some reason. Still, an unpleasant feeling kept nagging at me.
“What happened to those guys?” Go Yu-jin asked in a low voice.
“They got too deeply involved. They did some despicable things too. You won’t be seeing them again.”
“Really?”
Her tone was laced with irritation, but she seemed to accept it for now.
“I’ll say it again. Do not separate from each other. And until the Samgunhoe matter is resolved, both of you will stay in the main headquarters building. I’ll move your rooms so you’re right next door to each other.”
I could see Go Yu-jin’s lips trembling. She was clearly holding back her anger.
“And the second condition. Exams will be over soon, and then it’s vacation, right?”
“Yes.”
“During vacation, you’ll focus more on your magical girl activities. To be specific──.”
“Wait a minute. I thought we were putting the magical girl project on hold?” Go Yu-jin asked. I nodded in agreement.
The boss looked at us for a moment, then reached for the cigarette on his desk. He clicked his tongue again and took another sip of coffee instead.
“I’d like to do that too, but it’s no longer possible.”
He set the coffee cup down and turned sideways to operate the computer. The sounds of rapid keyboard typing and mouse clicks alternated. After a moment, the boss turned the monitor toward us. A video was already loaded on the screen. He hit play.
It showed men in suits and sunglasses brutally beating people with dark skin. Screams in various unknown languages rang out. Soon one of the attackers turned his head toward the camera. There was a sharp gasp, the screen went black, and the sound of running footsteps followed. That was where the video ended.
“The Samgunhoe bastards have started hunting illegals. Most of the ones who had agreed to cooperate with us have already been taken out. Some of them appear to have been killed.”
In the magical girl project, the illegals played the role of villains. They were the ones who got beaten down by Go Yu-jin—or rather, by Double Melon. Just as there can be no hero without a demon king, there can be no magical girl without villains.
“But this──.”
“Shh. There’s one more.”
The boss opened another window he had prepared in advance. Another video. I checked the title first this time.
The video began to play.
"Magical Girl Fresh Grape has arrived!"
"In the name of Fresh Grape, the magical girl who protects justice, I will not forgive you!"
"Grape Punch! Grape Knee! Grape Elbow!"
In the video, a girl who looked slightly younger than Go Yu-jin—someone whose figure still lacked mature sensuality—was fighting in a sparkling magical girl outfit. Compared to Go Yu-jin—no, to Double Melon’s costume—hers had extremely little exposure. Instead of emphasizing a bursting cleavage like Double Melon, she had a voluminous ribbon covering her chest. Her skirt was short, but it was firmly secured so that even during intense movements, her panties were almost never visible. Still, every once in a while they were, and the panties were childish white ones with grape illustrations that matched her name.
If Double Melon was a magical girl for adults, this one felt like a magical girl for actual girls. ……Or maybe not entirely?
After the outfit, what caught my eye next was the girl’s movements. Despite her slender frame, her motions reminded me of martial artists from wuxia films. Her legs split with the flexibility of a dancer, and dust kicked up every time her feet struck the ground.
Boom!
When the girl—Magical Girl Fresh Grape—slammed her body sideways into her opponent, he flew helplessly through the air and rolled across the floor several times.
“I can understand hunting illegals. It’s cutting off the enemy’s resources. But what the hell is this? The essence of the magical girl project is advertising. We indirectly promote our company’s products through the spectacle of a magical girl’s battles. But this…… there’s nothing here.”
The boss took another sip of coffee and rubbed his tired eyes.
“I watched the video over and over until late at night. It doesn’t look like it’s advertising any specific product. Well, there’s the scent-based approach like Double Melon, but there are way too few people around for that. So here’s my conclusion.”
Even as the boss spoke, the video continued playing.
"Everyone, please cheer for Magical Girl Fresh Grape! Your support gives Fresh Grape strength. Ah, but don’t stare too closely, okay? It’s embarrassing. Fresh Grape is a ‘real’ girl, you know."
“……This is a declaration of war aimed at us.”
After the boss finished speaking, Go Yu-jin answered in a slightly trembling voice.
“It does seem that way.”
Go Yu-jin’s lips were quivering.
“If she’s going to call herself a girl, she shouldn’t have put on makeup. She’s painted everything on and still calls herself a girl?”
I turned away from the muttering Go Yu-jin and looked at the boss.
“Anyone who knows that I am the master of Bloodycore also knows that Double Melon belongs to our company. If they’ve seen this video, they’ll understand that this is a challenge directed at me. If I avoid the challenge, I become a coward. Therefore, I will accept it.”
“But how? Are the magical girls going to fight each other?”
I couldn’t picture the scene. From the video, it was clear that Fresh Grape had trained in martial arts. If they fought the way they usually did, Double Melon would be utterly crushed. Besides, was there even any justification? To people who didn’t know the situation, they were both just magical girls of justice—or women putting on that kind of show.
“The one who’s going to smash those bastards is you, Rin.” The boss pointed at me.
“……What? Me?”
“That’s right. This time, you’re the villain. We’ll begin operations after Double Melon’s vacation starts. So until then, both of you make sure you don’t get hurt. Understood? Let me finish what I was saying earlier. The second condition is that after vacation begins, you will focus on magical girl activities.”
“Fine. Let’s do it.”
Had the boss allowed her to attend school as a carrot to boost her motivation? If so, it seemed like wasted effort. She was already burning with determination just from watching Fresh Grape’s video.
“Then you two can go now. The sun will be up soon. I need to get some sleep.”