Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Alice Is Sleepy...
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Even though an entire city had been turned upside down, people went about their daily lives as usual.
This wasn’t because they’d grown accustomed to living alongside Abyss Beings in particular. It’s just how humans are.
No matter where the chaos breaks out, few people neglect their own lives to worry about it. Those uninvolved start their day just like any other, and those who are affected need some time to overcome their grief.
[Damage from this A-Rank Abyss Being outbreak includes...]
-Beep
For a Magical Girl to stay mentally healthy, it’s also necessary to deliberately avoid news like this.
All you need is the conviction that you did your absolute best.
If you did everything you could, and damage still occurred, that means it was beyond your control from the start. There’s no need for guilt or sorrow over it.
It’s best to think of Magical Girls as beings who mitigate the damage caused by Abyss Beings, even if just a little.
In the old days, there were quite a few voices claiming that Abyss Beings appeared because of Magical Girls, or that they should conscript Magical Girls and use them as soldiers.
But several countries that tried to exploit their own nation’s Magical Girls that way ended up regretting it badly, so those voices have died down in modern times.
Magical Girls are basically pushovers by nature, but that doesn’t mean they’re slaves who’ll do whatever others demand.
A Magical Girl’s duty is to exterminate Abyss Beings and prevent civilian casualties from them.
They might follow someone else’s orders if it’s efficient in that process, but if it’s neither efficient nor harms the Magical Girl, and she just takes it lying down, then the Mascot steps in.
If the power meant for exterminating Abyss Beings is abused, and the Magical Girl shows no will to resolve it, it’s judged a major contract violation, and the contract can be terminated.
What happens if a Magical Girl’s contract is terminated?
Here, you need to understand the Magical Girl contract system. A Magical Girl’s contract basically lists ‘what the Magical Girl receives through the contract,’ ‘what the Magical Girl must do upon contracting,’ ‘the conditions for the Magical Girl to fulfill the contract,’ and various additional explanations and exceptions.
Contrary to what people commonly think, Magical Girls do receive something basic in return.
And what people call a Magical Girl’s ‘retirement’ is the third one. It means the Magical Girl fulfills the conditions and properly completes the contract.
If the contract is forcibly terminated for failing to meet the conditions without going through retirement, then naturally, what was received upon contracting is reclaimed, and the Magical Girl’s magic power is reclaimed too. This isn’t just a simple case of a human losing their Magical Girl contract and being done with it—it leads to a drop in the Mascot’s trust in that group.
If a certain classification of humans contracts them to hunt Abyss Beings, but they keep ignoring those Abyss Beings to serve the nation and follow the great leader instead, the Mascots will terminate the contracts, leave, and never set foot there again.
Well, you probably already know which countries pulled that nonsense and ended up with Abyss Being outbreaks because of it.
Thanks to that, other countries stopped doing such foolish things.
Anyway, if they retire properly, the Magical Girl doesn’t lose what they received through the contract, and while most of their magic power is reclaimed, some remains for the Magical Girl to use.
What can be done with that remaining magic power...? According to info from retired Magical Girls, they can transform into their appearance from their Magical Girl days, or separately, possess physical abilities on par with an untransformed active Magical Girl.
Even without transforming, Magical Girls have the physical prowess of a trained fighter, so they’d never be outmatched physically anywhere.
Plus, thanks to the magic power, aging proceeds very slowly, which is of tremendous value to women, no doubt.
Seeing it this way, you might think Magical Girls get everything they’re promised and choose it themselves for a bright future. Wasn’t it unpaid labor? Actually, weren’t they blinded by those rewards? There was a huge uproar after a retired Magical Girl revealed this.
But...
How many people would readily accept a deal offering around 10 billion won after working in a warzone where enemies might attack at any moment, you’re thrown into the fray immediately when they do, and you don’t even know when the mission ends?
I haven’t experienced much of society while working as a Magical Girl, but I think most people wouldn’t accept. Unless their life is truly desperate or they have nothing left to lose.
That’s how it is.
The rewards might look appealing, but Magical Girls aren’t in it for the compensation. They’re the type who find satisfaction in helping others and saving people through those acts.
Why else would some continue extermination even after meeting retirement conditions, refusing to retire?
Retirement rewards are like severance pay, given in appreciation for past hardships and hopes for a good future. Very few see the rewards as the purpose of Magical Girl activities.
Mascots don’t approach vulgar types who’d start Magical Girl work just for the rewards in the first place.
“Phew, finally cleaned it all up.”
So what have I been doing with all this pointless explanation?
I’ve been sorting out the house that got trashed two days ago.
With an A-Rank Abyss Being having appeared, there were more than a few houses and buildings in this state. It’d take days for repair crews to arrive. For now, I had to patch it up as best I could and live with it.
Oh, there are Magical Girls who specialize in restoring damage from Abyss Beings like this. Surprisingly, some can manipulate earth and stone to repair buildings.
But those Magical Girls are usually deployed to more severe disasters, so it’s rare to see them fixing individual houses like this.
It’s not like you can just pay them because they’re Magical Girls.
Alice, can’t you use magic like that? No, I can’t.
If I could, I wouldn’t be putting up walls with plywood.
-Knock knock knock
“Ex, excuse me. Is anyone home?”
“...”
It was the voice of the woman next door.
For reference, the Abyss Being that demolished my house miraculously spared hers. Aside from some building materials tumbling in, there was no major damage.
Destroying my framework to get revenge like this. I’ll make sure to exterminate any Abyss Beings I encounter from now on as painfully as possible.
“I, I heard hammering, so you must be inside... I’m sorry for keep coming over. But could you come out just for a moment?”
‘...Sigh.’
She puts up an iron wall when others are uncomfortable, so why does she cling like this?
Still, it’s true I made noise fixing the house, so I should apologize for that.
-Creak...
“Sorry. It was noisy, right? I tried to avoid your sleeping hours and only did it during the day, but still, sorry.”
“Ah, no, that’s fine... Here. I thought you might need this.”
“...What’s this?”
“It’s a one-person tent and sleeping bag. In case your bed got wrecked... Ah, I bought it but never used it, so don’t worry... I washed it before bringing it, so it’s clean. I was worried if you were sleeping properly...”
“...”
She was nosy, but her concern was spot on.
With the house in this state and insomnia from stress, I hadn’t slept properly for nearly two days.
My body, enhanced by Magical Girl magic power, is tough, but mental fatigue builds up regardless, leaving my mind pretty hazy right now.
When a house gets wrecked like this, normal people sleep in evacuation centers, saunas, motels, or hotels built for such disasters.
But all those were impossible for me.
I never know when I’ll have to deploy as a Magical Girl, and I’m risking my life to hide it, so no way could I stay in an evacuation center with 10 people per room, a packed sauna, or a motel or hotel crawling with CCTVs in the hallways—not unless it’s inside a private room.
In the end, the safest place was home.
‘...I should refuse.’
If you’re going to put up an iron wall, do it properly.
Taking some things and not others isn’t an iron wall. It’s just being selfish—swallowing what’s sweet and spitting what’s bitter.
I’ve never thought I wasn’t selfish... but accepting this once would give her justification to keep coming later.
If you’re pushing away, you have to keep pushing. Pulling now because of the situation...
[Sejin, I think it’s better to just take it.]
‘...Tokki, are you crazy?’
[You’re in really bad shape right now. Normally, I wouldn’t say anything about pulling two all-nighters, but you fought an A-Rank Abyss Being, contracted with Emerald, fixed the house, and only slept two hours total. You said you’d play games since you couldn’t sleep, but ended up turning it off.]
‘There’s no guarantee taking this will let me sleep.’
[But it’ll help. It’s true you can’t use the bed. Could you deploy in your current state? Even a D-Rank Abyss Being would be a crisis right now.]
‘...’
[Mascots have a duty to ensure a healthy, sustainable deployment environment for Magical Girls. You just took down an A-Rank, so they won’t call you out today or tomorrow, but if you’re not in deployable condition when it’s actually needed, that’s a problem. You know that. Can you swear there’s 0% chance the Abyss won’t spawn another A-Rank today or tomorrow?]
‘Fine. Shut up, my head hurts.’
-Throb
Tokki wasn’t wrong about a single thing.
My insomnia wasn’t just one or two days, but showing no will to recover in this wrecked state would allow Tokki to intervene.
I didn’t like owing someone else, but...
“...Thank you. I’ll use it well and return it.”
“Hey, it’s because I feel bad. In a way... uh... What should I call you? Your name... Han Sejin, right? I saw you working part-time back then... Sejin-ssi? Sejin oppa? Whatever you’re comfortable with?”
-Chill
-Suppress
A cold sensation crept up from my fingertips, so I hurriedly gripped my hand with the other to clamp it down.
I was in front of someone else right now.
“Please call me Sejin-ssi. Other titles... feel a bit burdensome.”
“Yes... In a way, you could say my house used yours as a shield, so I feel bad too...”
“No need to feel bad. I’ll... gladly accept this.”
-Clank
“...Ah, one moment.”
The sleeping bag and tent were folded, but too thick to fit through the safety chain.
I closed the door slightly, undid the chain, opened it wider, and took them.
“Oh, right. My name’s Kim Sina. Call me whatever’s comfortable. I’m much younger, so you can drop the honorifics.”
“...Got it, Sina-ssi. See you next time.”
“...Yes! See you!”
-Thud
-Clack
“...Hoo.”
I don’t even like talking to other people much, but the goosebumps on my hands hit harder right now.
Woman, younger, and Magical Girl.
Though for now, that woman only matches the first two.
...I really hate that combination.
Really. Terribly.