Exchange Meeting (1)
"Th, thankfully, not all the magical girls from every country are coming to this exchange meeting."
"They're not, huh."
Exactly.
Ramu, dangling from the ceiling like a piñata, chattered on.
"It's just a select elite group from the six most influential countries in the world. Think of it like a summit meeting."
"The vibe alone is suffocating."
"Wait till you see who's coming. It'll choke you even more."
Ramu summoned a tablet PC in midair, and five profiles popped up on the screen. Magical girls from the US, UK, China, Russia, and Japan. These are the ones visiting?
I'm a huge magical girl otaku, but I don't know every single one worldwide. Maybe 70%? Just the famous ones. Still, as national reps, I figured I'd recognize a few, so I swiped through the screen.
"Whoa. Is she coming too?"
"You know her?"
"Of course! She's super famous."
US Representative
Codename: Furry
She might be the most famous magical girl in the world after Prima, in all sorts of ways.
Magical girls usually take human form. But not this one.
Furry was a suspicious fox beastkin magical girl covered head to toe in fur lol, zeroing in on a very specific crowd (80% animal proportions).
She could talk to animals and tame familiars like Shining did.
The key difference from Shining? She applied her familiars' traits directly to her own body for extra transformations. Kinda like me.
Anyway, she's a named magical girl with a record of taking down an A-rank monster alongside one partner.
"Didn't ask, but thanks for the rundown."
"Oops. Did that slip out loud?"
"A bit too much. You into that kinda thing?"
"Nah, not my taste..."
"Hm. Keep your tastes under wraps in public."
Next up...
UK Representative
Codename: Sherlock
"Whoa! Sherlock!"
"You know her."
The intellect of Britain's magical girl scene—a detective-type. Her unique magic pinpointed monster weaknesses, right?
If she'd been there during the Bital fight, I could've exploited his weak spot without designing Reverse Scale.
Plus, she had her own artifact! One that detected lies... or so I'd heard. Never seen it in action, though.
"Did you have to mutter that out loud?"
"Just take the compliment. Unless you wanna get down from there."
"Tch."
Next, China.
"Uh... this one..."
"You know her? She's first-gen, so I figured even you wouldn't."
"You underestimate me too much."
True, I don't know every first-gen magical girl. But this one's an exception.
China Representative
Codename: Tenma
Most codenames are in English, but not China's magical girls.
Even if you asked for English, they'd stubbornly stick to hanja, claiming continental pride.
Some did use English, like Zero Shu Ga Clan or whatever. Anyway...
Tenma was the standout star among China's magical girls.
Because... she's over 50 and hasn't ditched her concept. Untouchable even by mid-30s Frost—an iron-faced legend.
And she's a child-type too. Meaning I could hear an 8-year-old jammin' go "This lady hereby~" on the spot.
But yeah, she was seriously strong back in the day. A legend from the old S-rank raids.
If I could absorb her mana... I might skyrocket straight to S-rank, no sweat!
"Doubt it. You didn't become as strong as Aurora just from her mana."
"That's that, this is this. Can't I dream?"
This guy always kills the vibe.
"Next, Russia."
"Ah... she's coming too."
"Is there any you don't know?"
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Russia Representative
Codename: Matryoshka
Matryoshka. I've seen her plenty. Where? The crime section of the news...
True to her codename, she used splitting magic to spawn clones from her main body.
The issue? She ran a mafia with those clones.
Magical girls are supposed to strictly separate monster-hunting from civilian life. Unspoken rule.
But this one openly bossed a crime syndicate in full magical girl mode—the Big Mom of our world.
Kinda like Frost. Frost again. What is she, anyway?
The tablet showed a blonde little girl hugging a vodka bottle her size, perched queen-like on the shoulders of burly thugs.
Identical girls lined up behind her.
"But I've always wondered— isn't running a crime org as a magical girl crossing the line? Doesn't Magical Castle sanction her?"
"Classified, but Russia requested we leave it be. No reason for us to meddle in their affairs."
"Whoa..."
Bear country lives up to the hype. Different scale.
"Think I could learn that cloning trick?"
"Why? Planning to clone homework help?"
Whoa... you nailed it.
"Homework builds good habits. That's how you become a fine magical girl."
"You sure run your mouth for a loose-lipped bunny."
True that. Anyway, gotta snag her mana. For homework's sake! Note note.
"Last one... Japan."
I swiped the screen.
"...Huh? Her?"
She's famous.
The magical girl Sword soul-crushed and chased off way back. Heard she hasn't come near Korea since. What's she doing here now?
Japan Representative
Codename: Katana
Photo-Katana sat demurely in an antique kimono, sipping tea.
"Wow, she's pretty."
Honest take. If Sword was the ice beauty, this was the frail, ethereal maiden vibe.
"Japan has more magical girls, right?"
"Korea has more total, but Japan has more actives. They're basically the birthplace of magical girl culture."
Magical girls first appeared here, but Japan made them a cultural staple first.
Hence stuff like magical girl squads.
"Still, she seems polite. Hard to picture her fighting Sword-unnie."
"Don't let looks fool you. Judge by that and you'll regret it. You weren't around for the mess back then."
"Nah, she looks too sweet."
Phrenology exists for a reason.
Plus, same East Asian roots—kinda feelin' the inner kinship. No harm befriending her.
Anyway, all heavy hitters. Can I even host properly? Sure, I'm amazing too!
"Anyway, that'll make six including you."
"3:3 split. Suspiciously even."
"One's more fur than bread."
True.
"One more thing... As host, you get one guard assigned."
"Oh, can I pick again? Menu, please."
"They're your seniors, not buffet options."
"Gotta enjoy the perks."
Happy dilemma over who to pick—
"Sadly, upper brass already chose."
"My input ignored again."
"Can't be helped. But she's an acquaintance you know well, so forgive them."
Huh? Acquaintance? Who's out? Temia needs rest after last time. Aurora? Bella?
"Sword."
"Sword-unnie...?"
Didn't she have bad blood with Katana?
"Don't blame me if stuff goes down later."
"..."
"Answer."
Worried if this was smart, a brilliant idea flashed through my mind.
"Ah! Perfect!"
"What?"
"Wouldn't it be great if Sword-unnie and her made up?"
Last Busan trip, I'd heard bits of Sword's past with Katana.
No hard feelings—in fact, she regretted it deeply.
Said it was her misunderstanding, wanted to apologize and buy a meal next time they met.
Didn't specify the misunderstanding, though... Probably no biggie.
Exchange lasts three days. Set up a natural meet during, ease into reconciliation mode?
Sounds good to me.
"Ehehe."
Just imagining it warms my heart. Me, symbol of peace?
"That's on you as host. Not much for you to do anyway. Real talks happen 'behind the scenes.'"
"Sounds super shady. Can I trust that?"
"Magical Castle stays neutral. Trust the government this time."
Great at passing the buck. Then Ramu grunted, unraveling his bindings with a whoosh. See? All WWE.
Fine for venting, but no satisfying thwack. Kinda meh.
"I'll head back to HQ. Mountains of work."
Ramu opened a Magical Castle gate and stepped in. Does what he wants.
That ticked me off, so I sniped:
"Abandoning your charge for work?"
Surprisingly, he turned dead serious. What?
"Know what it is?"
"...Maybe?"
"Researching theoretical approaches to non-reversible cyclic structures in transcendental mana flows and ritual response latency."
"What's that?"
"Kidding."
You little—
"Heh. Don't hold it against me. I've always acted in your best interest."
"Adult excuse classic."
"Sadly true. Adults are usually right. Farewell."
"Gonna ghost again? How do I call you in a pinch?"
As he vanished into the gate:
"Just call my name desperately."
Magical Girl Center, somewhere in Seoul. Right in the lobby center.
"..."
"..."
Sword and I stood side by side.
"Unnie."
"Speak."
"I'm nervous."
"No need. I'm here."
Truth was, less nerves... more the short outfit. No kid-sized suit handy, so I bought an artifact via the Magical Castle app.
Got this super short one!! Can't say that outright, though.
"Th-they say translation magic's on, but my tongue feels tied anyway."
I fumbled an excuse. Sword stared calmly, deeply—unreadable as ever.
Suddenly, she rummaged in her pocket. The chocolate bars from her Busan home stay.
"You liked these."
"Thanks."
"Mm."
I munched. Sweetness helped.
Sword pointed at my phone.
"That."
"This?" I dangled the penguin keychain. Her Busan gift artifact.
Not wearing it specially today—been on my phone a month as an accessory. For real.
"Cute, using it lots."
"Why not use it."
Uh... communication glitch. She was curt before, but extra today.
"This time."
"Ah."
Ohhh.
She's asking why I didn't use it against Bital or Rexon siege.
I could've. But never that dire...
"...S-Saved it 'cause Sword-unnie gave it~"
Her eyes narrowed. Bad answer? Then—
"Uh-heh." Her hand went for my cheek. Squishing and stretching like mochi.
Angry? Affection? No words, no clue.
After ages of cheese-pull cheeks, she said curtly:
"Katana."
"Ah, whad kinda person wuz she? Good to know for da exchange..."
"Acquaintance."
Plop.
"Wha? What kinda person was she? Prep helps for hosting..."
Sword released my cheek, crossed arms. Long silence, then:
"Proud woman."
"Ah, got it."
More details, please. Then her eyes sharpened.
"Incoming."
The door opened. First guest entered.