I Can't Sacrifice the Few for the Happiness of the Many
Spice is pain.
Which meant that, when you had nothing else to work with, enduring it was simple. You grabbed something and squeezed with everything you had. A thoroughly classical method—the same principle as a woman in labor yanking her husband's hair. Put force into anything at all and the nerves scatter while you grit and strain.
Of course, I was tied up, so that option was off the table. My next best move was to cling to Helena and whimper.
Ever so tenderly, she fed me a drink and even slipped snow-white rice into my mouth. That alone didn't quite put out the fire, but after that much care, I figured I ought to at least pretend I was feeling better. So I ignored my tingling mouth and put on a little whine.
"Hiiing. Ith too thpicy."
"You knew that chicken lunch box was spicy when you picked it. Why choose it if you can't even handle the heat?"
"Because spicy can still be delicious. I wanted you to try it too, Helena."
"I already picked my own. If you give me yours, what are you going to eat, Yeonmin?"
"Hehe. Just watching you eat fills me up. I don't really need to eat in the first place."
"Stop talking nonsense and eat something that isn't spicy."
"That's right. I'll share some of mine with you."
"Ehehe. Thank you."
Helena, Yegyeong... pretty people with pretty hearts. The thought made me smile all by itself. Another resident who happened to be passing by even handed me a banana milk on her way out. I would have liked her to at least say hello to Helena while she was at it, but watching her leave the convenience store with that exhausted face, I supposed we'd have to save the introductions for next time.
Anyway, thanks to everyone pitching in—Yegyeong included—I was spared the tragedy of plain rice and pickled radish. Well, even then I was mostly just eating seasoned greens, but still. Plain rice and yellow pickled radish alone... Sure, that radish goes in kimbap and makes a decent ramen side, but that would have been a bit much.
And so, a little regrettably, there was no incident that might have made Helena a new friend. We finished our somewhat eventful breakfast and headed off, same as yesterday, for modern-civilization adaptation class. That was when Miso Cheonsa drifted over to me with a smile.
"Yeonmin. I hear you brought another beautiful girl into the world this morning?"
I barely managed not to ask the stupid question of how she knew. The villa itself had been provided by the Association for people like us, after all. So someone like Yegyeong—the handlers living with us—must have filed a report.
Miso Cheonsa's tone was a little like she was calling me to account, but her face was smiling, and she looked like a little girl, so it wasn't particularly threatening. And I had nothing to be ashamed of. I had erased an unhappy element from the world and made a tiny snowball of happiness—for the person herself, and for everyone around her. Rolling it was up to her, of course. But give it one little nudge and it would gather happiness all on its own. That's just how beautiful girls work. Their very existence makes the people around them happy—and they become happy themselves.
"Yes, I did a good job, didn't I? She was startled for a moment, but I gave her a body that will never need dieting, and I even made her into her own ideal type."
"Fufu. You may have done it with the kindest of hearts, Yeonmin, but perhaps she didn't want that at all. Only do it when someone asks you to. People are already wary of Helena even though she does good work—it would be a shame if they started avoiding her because of this."
"Hing. But still..."
However kindly Miso Cheonsa phrased it, this was still a don't do that. It wasn't a total ban, of course. If someone asked me first to turn them into a beautiful girl, I was allowed to grant it. But wishes like that don't have much flavor. Fortune is more dramatic when it finds someone who never expected it. If rain only fell on people sitting around waiting for it, then everyone in the world would get what they wished for.
And then I pouted.
Miso Cheonsa's height shot up, and her pale skin began to darken. As if that weren't enough, her soft, tender skin started packing on muscle...?
"Then what about the people whose type is a musclebound man like this?"
"Euaaaaah! I'm sorry, please turn back into a beautiful girl!"
I never imagined she'd go that far to stop me from turning people into beautiful girls. But a beautiful girl becoming a bald, musclebound Black man was a catastrophe that had to be prevented. So I shook my head wildly and begged, and thankfully Miso Cheonsa returned to her child form.
Changing her appearance whenever she pleased, as if daring anyone to call her human. What a cowardly angel. Would it kill her to just walk around in one set form, like I do?
"Fufu. You understand now, don't you? From now on, unless it's a genuine emergency or something unavoidable, you mustn't go around turning people into beautiful girls."
"Yes..."
And just like that, I lost countless potential beautiful girls. But I couldn't accept sacrificing the few for the happiness of the many. Even if two beautiful girls were added, if one disappeared, it wouldn't mean anything.
Besides, she hadn't forbidden it entirely. What if I turned a dying person into a healthy beautiful girl? Then I'd be saving them as a bonus! That must be what Miso Cheonsa meant by unavoidable circumstances.
"Ah, and just in case—though I don't believe a kind-hearted girl like you would ever do this—I trust you won't go around putting people in danger just so you can turn them into beautiful girls and 'save' them."
I'd actually been thinking of seeking out dangerous places. And then Miso Cheonsa went and said something even more tempting. Unfortunately, she'd brought it up first, so trying it was off the table.
"Ehehe. I hadn't even thought of that. But I am allowed to save people who are in real, real danger, right?"
"Well, yes. But only people in real, real, real danger."
Just as the scolding was winding down, another voice cut into our conversation.
"What's with the baby talk, nyang? You talking about the Bishoujo Beam, nyang? You go around blasting that thing and you'll end up in re-education every season like me, nyang. Once you're in this class you can't even travel, and Miso Cheonsa works you like a dog, nyang. Better not do it if you can help it, nyang."
Nyangnyangbeam, arriving right on time for class. Judging by the way she talked, this clearly wasn't her first or second go-around. But there was such a simple way to make unhappy people happy. I couldn't just leave them like that because I was scared of some class, could I? ...A conviction Nyangnyangbeam had probably shared. Which was why she was retaking the course now.
Hmm. So I really did have to hold back. What a shame.
"So what are we doing today, nyang? Taking Helena to another gate, nyang? Two days of fighting in a row sounds pretty exhausting, nyang."
"Ah, I don't mind."
"There's nothing quite like it for gaining experience, but adaptation training includes cultural elements as well. Shall we go see a movie today?"
While I was brooding, Miso Cheonsa, Nyangnyangbeam, and Helena started moving the conversation along without me. But the topic was something I could get behind. A movie was a kind of total cultural art form, after all.
What kind of films would a world this changed even be making? Species had diversified, and people's thinking had shifted a great deal. Romance between different races, maybe? Or action spectacles that made use of unique physical traits? Or perhaps mystery films about incidents born from cultural clashes, and the investigations that unraveled them.
Either way, I welcomed fresh stories. I'd always loved stories. The reason I'd loved revenge tales was simply that they were always new, always surprising. But if something could offer fresh material and a fresh plot, a movie might even be better. Because it wasn't real. The misfortunes and trials the protagonist suffered were only made up. No one had to live through that hardship and come out hollow, the way Helena had. So you could enjoy it with a clear heart. Even if you didn't get to watch brilliant wills realized and tangled together... at least the eyes would be happy.
"I'm in favor. If it means giving Helena a new experience."
"Hm. I don't know what it is, but if it helps me adapt here, I should go along with it."
"It'll be fun, nyang. No—Miso Cheonsa will show us something fun, nyang. Or else I get to punch Miso Cheonsa, nyang."
"Fufu. As if I would recommend something boring. You're welcome to look forward to it."
So I decided to look forward to it, just as Miso Cheonsa said. Helena would explore a new civilization in the form of cinema. And I would take in this changed world, happily watching a movie surrounded by beautiful girls.
...Well, that too, but. If you go to a movie theater, you can eat popcorn and butter-roasted squid and things like that, right? Maybe it was because breakfast had been so meager. I wasn't actually hungry. But that compensatory craving—wanting to give my bored mouth a little novelty—was something I couldn't help. I was in it for the concessions, not the feature.
And so we left the academy building and headed for a nearby Movie Theater. The moment we arrived, sirens blared out of nowhere, and shutters began slamming down on every side.
"What the fuck, nyang! Miso Cheonsa, what the hell did you do, nyang!"
"If anyone's done something, wouldn't it be you, Nyangnyangbeam? I merely escort you all. I don't go around causing incidents."
"This sneaky angel pulled something, I just know it, nyang! Last time you said nothing would happen and my ice cream turned into mint chocolate, nyang!"
"But it was delicious, wasn't it?"
Hmm. Shutters coming down was generally not a good sign. I should take a look around first.