The Guardian's Contract

"I see why you only had a glove on your left hand."

"Right?"

I sat in a chair, sipping the juice Dusick had brought me, chatting with Keru. A fight had broken out, and I had won.

I had won.

I'd barely ever been in a fight in my life. In every childhood scrap I could remember, I was always the one who ended up with a bloody nose first. And yet one left-handed rocket punch—I'd named it myself, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but still—and that magical girl had gone down cold. Yeah. That felt pretty damn good.

I was this strong!

"Anyway, someone's going to show up from the Gwangmyeong branch soon. Their branch leader's a woman with a pretty nasty temper. Not sure how that's going to go."

"Send whoever they want. I'll knock them all flat."

"Still, it's really something. Among all the Mothers so far, not a single one had a style like yours... Then again, nobody's ever had magic power overflowing like that, either."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Then how had the Mothers before me even managed to keep fighting?

"Well, they'd wring every last drop of magic power out of themselves making Mains, and after that... the drain was just too much, so they all, you know. Ended up like that."

"How many of them died?"

"Huh?"

"You said they died."

"When did I say that?"

If you say they all ended up like that, doesn't that mean they died? Doesn't it?

"They retired. Retired and went their own ways."

"You can just... retire?"

"Yeah. If you want to, sure."

"I see..."

There was more humanity in this than I'd expected.

"But are all magical girls like that?"

Arrogant. Full of themselves. Treating Mogumogu-dan like something permanently beneath them. Judging by what Precure had done to me, it wasn't her first time. It couldn't have been. That kind of bone-deep cockiness didn't come overnight.

"Most of them, yeah. As far as Mogumogu-dan goes, the Mains just swarm out, get carved up in a single magical girl attack, and the Mother—the boss—gets treated like a Main-dispensing vending machine. Aside from the original Mother... a Mother as strong as you? You're the first."

"Oh-ho."

As we talked, Dusick strode over and bowed.

"The Magical Girl Association's Gwangmyeong Branch Leader has arrived."

"Ah. Send her in."

I could fight now. That was the point. There was no reason for our side to bow and scrape. I stayed slouched in my chair and waited for our guest.

Before long, a tall woman in a suit appeared through the front entrance. As she stepped inside, her gaze flicked once to the massive crater in the wall across from the door, once to the crumpled front door itself, and once to Precure, still out cold on the sofa. And last of all, to me, slouched in my chair.

That piercing stare made me flinch a little. Behind glasses flashing under the fluorescent lights, the look she was giving me was anything but ordinary.

She clicked her way over to me and gave a slight bow. She seemed like someone with actual manners, so I stood up from my chair.

"Park Seon-ah, Gwangmyeong Branch Leader of the Magical Girl Association. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠My alias is Frilly. Please call me whichever you prefer."

Frilly's gaze dropped to my chest for a moment. She cleared her throat.

"I'm the new boss of Mogumogu-dan. Mo—Mother."

I'd almost given my real name. The new one still hadn't settled on my tongue.

"This new boss of Mogumogu-dan appears to be quite powerful. For Precure to end up like that."

"Well, if one punch did that, maybe it's less that I'm strong and more that..."

Time to take a little jab.

"...Precure here is just a bit weak?"

"Precure?"

Frilly gave me a look that said, Oh, you're joking, and smiled faintly.

"From the looks of it, that front door and... the wall were Precure's doing. The Gwangmyeong branch will cover the full cost of repairs."

"Yes, you should."

Honestly, I'd been a little worried. We clearly had no money, and the sponsorship funds needed to be saved if we wanted to feed the members anything decent. The facilities needed fixing, too. And since the building wasn't even ours, we were obligated to restore it to its original condition.

It all came down to money!

"We've been terribly rude. We'll take Precure into our custody, then."

"Yes, please do."

It wasn't as if we were out to kill each other and conquer the world. Keru had made it plenty clear that this was a business relationship on both sides.

"We should have a meal together sometime. We'll make the arrangements."

"Sure, why not."

I figured I'd at least give an answer. Among working adults, was there any promise more empty than we should grab a meal sometime?

"Well then, I'll be on my way. We'll send over a few dates and times for that meal."

Wait, she was serious? Hold on, I'm really not into that kind of thing... But Frilly didn't hear my inner scream. She turned toward Precure.

"What a stupid bitch. Tch."

A light curse drifted over, but pretending I hadn't heard seemed like the wiser move.

Frilly snapped her fingers. A circle drew itself in midair, and Precure floated up and was sucked right into it.

"What was that? That was actually pretty cool."

"You can do that too."

"Teach me later."

"Mother. We've imposed on you. Until next time."

With a crisp bow, Frilly's footsteps faded as she disappeared beyond the entrance.

"Is she strong?"

"Think about it. You think she got to be branch leader for nothing?"

"Fair point."

Was she stronger than me? Was I going to end up in a lot more fights?

The Magical Girl Association, Gwangmyeong Branch. A place packed with nothing but the most notorious battle maniacs among all magical girls. The leader of that branch was Frilly, also known as the Mad Dog Princess.

She left Mogumogu-dan's not-so-secret base chewing on her nails.

"Holy shit. I almost got way too turned on."

A height that easily cleared five-foot-seven. Pitch-black hair. Sharp, charismatic eyes with a distinctly Western cast. Pupils that glittered the color of fresh blood. And on top of that—vertical slits. Plus that violently oversized bust.

Every last detail was a strike dead-center in Frilly's strike zone. The instant she'd laid eyes on Mother, her heart had started hammering.

She'd always hated Precure—a dumb bitch who knew nothing but fighting, and close-range fighting at that—but in this moment, she was grateful. How lucky that they'd met like this first, that she'd gotten to plant such a powerful first impression.

Once this pack of feral lesbians got a look at Mother... it would be a nightmare. Before those rivals started showing up one after another, she needed to mark her claim. Frilly made that vow as she climbed into the waiting car.

"Dusick, look into some contractors. Get some estimates, too."

"Yes."

"Don't just get one. Check five or six ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠places. And don't just go with the cheapest one—actually, no. Just bring me all the estimates. Got it?"

"Yes, Mother."

Without quite noticing when, I'd started speaking casually to Dusick like it was the most natural thing in the world. Formal speech had felt awkward, but dropping it entirely had felt awkward too. After fighting Precure and properly establishing a boss's dignity, though, talking down to her didn't feel strange anymore.

"Ah, Keru."

"Yeah."

"That thing. The contract, or whatever it was. Let's do it already."

"Alright. Let's go to your room."

My room. Come to think of it, not even a full day had passed. I'd done a stream at night, been monitoring it when Precure busted in, and now the clock said it was already two in the morning.

Looking at it again, the room was truly barren. One desk, one bed. That was it.

"Oh. Come to think of it, where do I shower?"

"The shower's over there."

Looking again, there was something like a small room in the corner.

"It's a bathroom and shower combined. Used to be a separate toilet, a separate shower, a separate dressing room..."

Keru's voice trailed off. The hard times they'd been through seemed to be flickering through his memory.

"We'll build it back up eventually. Anyway, let's do it. That contract thing."

"Alright. Go stand in the middle."

I went and stood in the center of the room, just as Keru indicated. He flew over to face me and hovered at eye level.

With a whoosh, a circle drew itself at my feet. A six-pointed star took shape within it, and from between its lines, black mist seeped ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out and began climbing up from my feet. Before long the mist had wrapped around my entire body, but it didn't obstruct my vision at all. Keru still looked like a black cat, and yet... was he getting bigger?

No, not getting. He had gotten bigger. The cat that had been Keru was now nearly twice his previous size.

I should've asked for an explanation first. But I had at least that much sense. It felt like he was waiting for an answer, so I accepted without hesitation.

And in that instant, the cat-sized Keru became a massive black panther, crouched before me.

"Good grief, look at that magic power. Just going by volume, you'd surpass even the president of the Magical Girl Association."

"This magic power thing—is it important?"

"It is."

Whether you're a magical girl or an evil magical girl, magic power is the foundation of everything, he said—even as he groomed his fur with a claw, curled up on the mattress.

And with my head pillowed on that same Keru's belly, I lay there at my leisure.

It was fluffy. And soft. Sleep was coming.

"Anyway, get some sleep. You must be exhausted."

"Wasn't going to argue even if you told me not to. I'm so sleepy..."

So fast I could barely hear my own words, I sank into sleep.