The Balloon Mascot's Irresistible Pitch

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Balloon Mascot, who had scouted me as a mascot himself, opened a gate and whisked me away somewhere. We arrived at what seemed like a café teeming with mascots.

"What would you like to order from the menu?"

"...I'll have an Americano."

"An Americano? That's unusual. Human world drinks don't really suit us, so we don't order them much."

The Balloon Mascot grinned at me. He had the form of a female protagonist figurine straight out of an anime.

"Just to reiterate, I brought you here to chat because I thought you might consider working with us."

"...That's a proposal I never saw coming."

The Balloon Mascot rested his chin in his hand and chuckled.

"It's more surprising that you think there'd be no reaction after showing you that. Probably that other guy already brought up scouting you for his company too."

"Pardon?"

"You know, that robot-looking one."

Instantly, the Robot Mascot who'd shown me some goodwill just moments ago popped into my head.

"Anyway, before those guys could approach you, I figured I'd get the jump on them... you know, take the lead? That's why I brought you here."

The Balloon Mascot pulled a square booklet from his pocket.

"To start, our company differs from others—we focus not just on raw magical girl power, but on other unique aspects a bit more."

"Other differences...?"

"You could call it a form of transformation."

That's when someone interrupted.

"Your drinks."

"Ah, thank you."

Clink.

An Americano and a glass of liquid cotton candy were placed in front of me and the Balloon Mascot, respectively. He chugged the cotton candy and shuddered with a shiver.

"Nngh... As you probably know, most of those critters? Monsters? Hazards? Anyway, most are biological types, but the real heavy hitters usually come with that as a baseline."

Tap, tap.

The Balloon Mascot drummed his fingers on the table.

"High-grade ones—B-rank and above—are anomalies through and through, every single one."

"...You're talking about phenomenon-types and location-types?"

"That's one way to put it."

The Balloon Mascot nodded.

"Of course, no matter how strong they are, magical girls can't handle every single one. Especially phenomenon-types... The number successfully subjugated so far can be counted on one hand. How tragic would it be if a magical girl fell to those?"

"...Can't argue with that."

"That's why our company specializes in that area to some extent."

Fwoomp.

The Balloon Mascot inflated his hand. For a split second, it overlapped with the image of me suppressing the Tornado Mascot earlier.

"Expansion and contraction of size—this is our main function."

This time, he deflated his hand, making it slender.

"Of course, it's not as efficient as temporarily boosting raw power. No company beats Bear Teddy in that department. But being able to adjust things beyond just power creates unexpected variables."

"True enough."

I nodded instinctively. In combat, the size of weapons or strike points has a bigger impact than you'd think. If you can overwhelm with sheer force? Maximize the strike area to wipe them out in one go. If you need to target weak points with limited power? Minimize the area for maximum penetration. Being able to adapt like that based on the enemy? That's plenty appealing on its own.

"Sure, power amplification is similar in the end, but someone like you could optimize this strategically."

Swish.

A finger sprouted from the Balloon Mascot's hand. The slender digit lightly gripped my tie.

"Raw power overwhelming everything? That's valid too. But for someone like you who surveys the whole battlefield and orchestrates like a commander, more options are always better."

Slowly.

His hand crept past the tie to caress my cheek.

"With what you showed today, I can guarantee we'd be the perfect partners if you joined us. What do you say?"

Rustle.

Several stones tumbled from the Balloon Mascot's pocket. Each one was a Core.

"Five Cores as a signing bonus. How's that?"

"..."

I hesitated for a moment. Their power was undeniably attractive. But my conclusion remained the same.

"I'm sorry."

I carefully pushed the Cores aside on the table.

"...Oh my."

"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tempting, but switching companies... That's a bit much."

The voices of Elephant Manager and Bear Teddy Senior from just before we came here echoed in my mind. Betray them after those words mere minutes ago? I wasn't that heartless or shameless. Even in my past life, guys like that died early. Reborn now, I had no intention of changing that mindset. I didn't want to become like them.

"...Heh, well. Yeah. I figured it might end like this."

Swish.

The Balloon Mascot tucked the booklet away.

"Still, getting rejected stings. Yeah... really stings. If I could, I'd just kidnap you right here..."

Sloooowly.

Her hand began to inflate bit by bit. A chill ran down my spine right then.

"Kidding."

The Balloon Mascot returned her hand to normal. Then she extended her other hand with something in it.

"This is...?"

"My business card."

A clean white card with a few balloons and soap bubbles, bearing the Scale Enterprise name. Below it, a small phone number.

"We'll probably run into each other often anyway. Better to meet as industry acquaintances than make it awkward. And..."

Swoosh.

The Balloon Mascot leaned her smooth face toward me.

"Being around that brilliant command style of yours, I might pick up a thing or two."

"...You're blunt."

"That's my charm. Here, one more thing."

Swish.

The Balloon Mascot tapped the business card. Looking closely, there was a small pen-like rod attached to the bottom.

"This is...?"

"A one-time trial for our company's skill. I don't hand these out to just anyone... but who knows? You might try it and want to join us."

The Balloon Mascot chuckled playfully.

"We're always welcoming."

"...Thank you."

I bowed my head politely.

"I should give you my card too, but I don't have one."

"Ran out?"

"No, I just got here—haven't had time to make ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any."

"...You mean that seriously?"

The Balloon Mascot flinched.

"I figured you were some manager-level scout or higher..."

"Complete newbie."

"...Be honest. You're not from the Outer, right?"

"Pardon? What's that?"

"Your reaction says no... Yeah, those crazies."

The Balloon Mascot shook her head.

"See you next time."

With that, the Balloon Mascot vanished. I finished my Americano and opened a gate right back.

"...You're back."

"Yo, junior. What happened this time?"

Elephant Manager and Bear Teddy Senior looked my way. Senior was outright grinning and extending his hand, like he knew something had gone down.

"...It's a long story. Anyway, first things first."

Swish.

I pulled the Cores from my pocket. Their faces stiffened instantly.

"Could you appraise these for me?"

"Where'd you get those...?"

"Oh, and Scale Enterprise headhunted me..."

"What!?"

Crash!

Senior and the Manager flew at me in a flash.

"What's that supposed to mean!? You're not quitting, are you!?"

"Junior!!! My bad!!!"

"Pardon? No, wait?"

I had to repeat a dozen times that I wasn't switching before I finally escaped.

In a room on the outskirts of Seoul. Even with the sun up, the blackout curtains kept it pitch black.

"..."

The room was a total mess. The only light came from the computer screen flickering with ads now and then.

A woman lay on the mattress in the center.

"..."

Dead to the world except for faint breathing. Then her phone rang by her ear.

Ding-ding-ding~ Ding ding-ding-ding~

"...Nngh."

She groaned and grimaced. She didn't budge until the ringing stopped. But...

Ding-ding-ding- Ding-ding-ding-

After more than five rings, she finally groped for her phone by the bed with a scowl.

Thud.

She grabbed it, checked the screen, realized it was a call, and held it to her ear.

"Hello..."