Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: No Monopolies Allowed
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'Who gave you permission to call me senior?'
I nearly snapped back gruffly at the woman's voice coming from behind me but swallowed it down.
First things first, I turned my head to check out her face. Golden hair and eyes gleaming brightly caught my eye, along with a staff topped by a striking cross.
She was obviously a support-type Magical Girl.
No wonder she couldn't even escape properly and was struggling like this.
"Wa, wah... Th-thank goodness... I thought I was done for..."
"You won't die. Not as long as Alice is here. No one will."
Did she even realize she'd almost died just now?
At least she didn't seem like a complete airhead, so that was a relief.
"W-wait a second, senior!! Behind you!! The monster behind you!!"
"Huh?"
[KHAHAHA!! Perfect timing, all bunched up like that!! I'll smash you both at once!!]
I whipped my head forward at the rookie's urgent shout—no, correction, the newbie's cry—and saw the monster had closed in, swinging a massive fist right at us.
Its body was the size of a decent building, so its fist was truck-sized too. If something that big came flying at us that fast, two Magical Girls would obviously get turned into mincemeat.
…Or so you'd think.
'Is she insane?'
"S-senior! Forget me, you at least get out of here! If you're alone, you can dodge it easy..."
-Whirrr...
Mana gathered at the staff, forming a crescent moon like before with Lunar Blast, filling into a full circle.
The difference? It was way bigger this time.
"Alice doesn't abandon her comrades!"
"...!"
'Great, now even B-Ranks are looking down on me?'
The orb of mana glowed blue as the monster's fist bore down on us, ready to pulverize us both.
-Shoo...
At that moment, the staff began to move.
The enlarged blue orb traced its path, trailing blue mana like a comet's tail.
When the elliptical trajectory's end collided with the monster's fist—
Comet Smash.
-BOOM!!!
The fist and the upper arm attached to it—basically its entire limb—couldn't withstand the massive energy and got torn clean off.
[Kraaaaaaaagh!!!!!!]
"Go back where you came from! Monster!"
[Who's calling who a monster...!]
Before it could recover, I'd already leaped into position.
Right in the air near its head. Perfect view of the face cratered by my earlier Lunar Blast.
"Yap!!"
-BOOM!!
[Kieeeererereek!!!!!!]
Ah, now that's a proper monster scream.
Monsters should scream like monsters, not try to mimic humans.
"If you won't go quietly, Alice will send you back herself!"
[Grk!]
-BAM!
First, I uppercut its jaw hard to seal that mouth and prevent any surrender nonsense.
What followed was basically a one-sided beatdown.
I'd already been in a foul mood from getting dragged out at the worst timing, so instead of dying quietly, this thing had to pull stunts and stupidly assume I was weak up close.
That's the problem with idiots who think you're weak in melee just because your ranged attacks are strong.
A newbie fresh off a contract might not know better, but after eight years of this crap without melee defenses? That's just moronic.
And beyond that basic common sense, I wasn't weak in close combat to begin with.
My ranged attacks are plenty strong, but they always fell just a bit short of finishing foes off.
That's why people who really knew Alice were aware she usually finished enemies with staff strikes up close.
Well, these days, I'm half-treated like a has-been, so it doesn't come up much.
If you're gonna treat me like a has-been, then don't build up expectations. But when I don't match their precious image of Alice, they come swarming like rabid dogs...
-BOOM!
[Grk...]
-Hiss...
"Ah."
The sandbag broke.
B-Ranks don't pop up that often, so stress relief opportunities are rare.
"...Alice! Mission complete! Everyone, let's head back..."
"W-wait! Alice senior-nim! D-don't you remember me?!"
Ah. Annoying.
I should've ported out right away, but I wasted time on lines and now I'd heard her out.
Should've left before she spoke, but now that I had, bailing would be ignoring her—and that wasn't something Alice would do.
Fine, since I'd heard her, might as well check...
"Hmm... Alice doesn't remember you? Have we met somewhere?"
"Th-that! Five years ago! At the Han River, during the S-Rank monster! You saved my life then!"
"Han River...?"
I dredged up hazy memories. Yeah, that incident was on record.
An S-Rank monster would've gotten its own name, so probably...
"You mean the Leviathan incident?"
"Y-yes! That's it! You saved my life back then!"
"Ah, right, that time... the name was..."
"It's Mia!"
*-Sparkle sparkle*
Eyes like hers, golden and shining so bright you could almost hear the sound effects.
Yeah. No memory.
Does she think she's the only newbie I've saved?
Hell, I'd saved one today with this B-Rank alone. Scale it up to A- or S-Rank fights, and how many Magical Girls do you rescue in one battle? Can't remember them all.
Whatever. She's the classic type: junior Magical Girl idolizing the senior who saved her life.
"Of course I remember! Glad you're still doing well! Did you make it back safe? Alice was too busy to follow up..."
Honestly, I wanted to ignore her and bounce, but Alice wouldn't do that, so I had to play along.
"O-of course I'm fine! You saving me was more than enough... Against Leviathan, you flew on starlight beams, luring its water cannons away from people to buy evacuation time, and even landed the finishing blow—how could I expect more from someone like that!"
"Heh. That's the least Alice can do."
Well, praise like that isn't so bad.
In this day and age where fewer and fewer express proper gratitude instead of taking help for granted, it's rare to hear.
"Um, if you're okay with it, could we maybe grab a meal sometime? I've wanted to see you again ever since, but never got the chance until now!"
*-Freeze.*
Ah.
I barely kept my expression from freezing up.
Proposals like this weren't new.
Plenty of humans with ulterior motives wanted to get close to Magical Girls.
Still, I managed my face and refused in classic Alice fashion.
"Sadly, Alice belongs to everyone. Your love is appreciated, but you can't monopolize Alice's love."
"I-it wouldn't be monopolizing..."
"Anyway, Alice has to get back to work. May your starlight always shine bright!"
"Ah...!"
-Flash!
I tossed out a solid line and vanished into light before she could cling, teleporting to a deserted spot.
"Tokki. No complaints now, right? Even if there are, tough luck."
[Go-good work... You can rest now. Two spots in one day, both B-Ranks basically soloed... Performance should be fine.]
"Who's acting like my record was ever lacking?"
Even if Alice is has-been treatment these days, that track record doesn't vanish.
Never once short on Magical Girl achievements.
...Other areas had issues, sure.
[And you handled that Mia Magical Girl well too... I was sweating bullets thinking you'd snap at her like old times.]
"...Better eat some shit-talk than get cocky and die."
One of the Magical Girl rules is not spilling each other's secrets outside.
We operate in secrecy by default, and if someone gets twisted ideas and leaks identities to the press, trust crumbles fast and chaos ensues.
Keeping Magical Girl secrets is a core contract clause tied to mascot bonds.
It has a slight side effect, though...
[You could've been nicer. You know how many question storms I got from other mascots back then? 'Is Alice splitting personalities or what?' ]
"...You know I hate other Magical Girls."
[Sti-ll, she's a colleague in the same line of work now. Anyway, good job today... Keep it up.]
There was that joint mission where I got pissy at a green newbie fumbling her role.
If it leaked to the press, it'd be fatal for my 'Alice' persona maintenance, but luckily it was just among Magical Girls.
The rule kept it internal.
'...Transformation release.'
-Flash.
In the lonely atmosphere, I dropped the transformation. Gone was the Magical Girl with long white hair and sparkling blue eyes—back to my usual drab self.
"Bus again today...? Taxi fare..."
A question that arises around now.
How do Magical Girls make money?
Answer: 'Figure it out yourself.'
No way mascot aliens from another dimension have Earth cash, and no one's paying salaries for monster-slaying missions.
So Magical Girls handle their own living expenses while doing the gigs.
No rule saying you must hide your identity, so those who go public use powers for cash or join agencies to drop music and rake it in.
But for those hiding identities and risking lives? They hustle to survive.
Oh, lately there's subsidies per Abyss Being slain if you prove you're a Magical Girl.
New system, back in my day it wasn't there, and I have zero plans to register, so details unknown.
Anyway, for me... Living off cash Alice stashed back then, plus rare TV appearance fees in cash.
Current income's in the red, but hey, suffered young, right?
Not rich, but I eat well, buy what I need.
Guess that's why they say suffer young for ease in old age.
-Rustle.
"Hm?"
Mid-bus-or-taxi debate, a sound from the ground made me look down. A yellow bill flaunting itself.
"...Someone dropped it again."
Looked around more—yep, a wallet, probably lost in evacuation. Sneaked closer, opened it: decent stack of cash.
130,000 won. Rare sight these days when cards handle everything.
'ID... Got one. Let's see...'
Checked the owner's ID for familiarity.
Face rings a bell, like I'd seen it once...
'Ah. That asshole from before.'
The prick from last week's callout, bitching about me being late, threatening I'd get fired and it'd be my fault.
'You deserve it.'
Civilians get free protection—no biggie. But if you're gonna yap big while unpaid? Pay up.
Pulled the cash bundle, left ID and cards in the wallet, pocketed it.
In this era of routine Abyss Being evacuations, lost-and-found systems for wallets and junk are solid.
Easiest classic: stuff in a mailbox.
Not a huge crime, so cash out, ID/cards in—mail it off.
Better than never getting it back.
This citizen probably owes his life to me anyway. Won't mind donating cab fare to a Magical Girl. Guy worries about his commute; he'll get mine.
Oh, FYI, Magical Girls don't zip Seoul-to-Busan or whatever. We stick to activity zones around home bases, so returns don't take hours.
Even then, it'd be black-company hell. Unpaid labor.
"Now that I think, dinner time soon..."
Today's haul: 130,000 won cash, two days off ahead.
Not a bad day.