Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Yoon Si-a and the Magical Girl Athena
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A suitable living space where one could live comfortably and sleep without discomfort.
Enough money to always secure meals without worrying about starvation.
With some determination, able to save up for a happy family trip.
On special days, able to head out occasionally for delicious food.
Not luxurious, but a life pursuing big and small happinesses.
Most people look at this and call it "ordinary."
However, there are not a few whose finances are so poor they worry about every meal.
People for whom even getting through each day feels hopeless.
Some might say that if you work hard and earn money, anyone can achieve it.
But from the person's perspective, poverty isn't something you can shake off as easily as words.
Patching one hole somewhere to cover the shortfall,
Then digging another hole to fill that one, endlessly.
In such a family struggling amid inherited poverty... a girl was born.
In the hope that the child would grow into someone bright and cheerful without worries,
She was given the name "Si-a," meaning "finally clear and bright."
Her parents couldn't dress her in nice clothes or feed her expensive treats like other kids,
But they scrimped on their own meals to raise their daughter well.
To the point that being born into poverty felt out of place,
Si-a grew into a remarkably pretty, diligent, and gentle child.
"Mom! Dad! I got 100 on my test today!"
"Wow... our Si-a is really something, isn't she?"
"Guess Mom has to make something delicious today."
She aced every test with perfect scores or top marks,
And at school, she was renowned as a kind-hearted, pure-souled student.
"I'll study hard... and someday make Mom and Dad happy."
Even knowing she'd been born into poorer circumstances than other children,
Si-a never once blamed or resented her parents.
Because she understood she'd been born and raised through their love and sacrifice,
She harbored the wish to work hard and bring her parents happiness.
She dreamed of someday escaping poverty to live together in a spacious home.
But the girl's wish went unfulfilled.
The crack in what had seemed an eternally harmonious family began with one incident.
"Are you seriously out of your mind? Why would you do something like that!"
"No, I mean... it'll really be fine, I swear."
One day, it came to light that her father had co-signed a loan for his friend.
The friend needed massive capital to launch a new business,
And he couldn't turn down the plea to share the risk.
But co-signing debt isn't something to accept just because it's a buddy asking.
If the friend ditches loyalty or affection and bolts,
The full responsibility lands squarely on the guarantor.
It was that pure-hearted intent to help an old friend that caused the trouble.
"Mom and Dad... fighting again today..."
She learned of her parents' sudden change in her third year of middle school.
Coming home to a house once filled with cheerful laughter,
Now brought only icy footsteps or sharp shouts.
Even good grades drew no reaction amid money woes,
And pleas for necessities fell on deaf ears.
"No one will listen... and there's nothing I can hope for..."
Si-a began fearing to share her thoughts with others,
And started avoiding reliance on anyone, parents included.
She focused solely on studying even harder, even better,
To earn money soon and restore her family's harmony.
"What do you mean? Absconded in the night?! He's not the type!"
On the day Si-a returned from her first exam in her second year of high school,
Her father was saddled with hundreds of millions in debt from his runaway friend.
The family's precarious balance collapsed in an instant.
Father set off to track down the absconder and didn't return for months,
Mother, shattered mentally, barricaded herself in her room, drowning her life in alcohol.
Now, even a single bowl of ramen couldn't be eaten without anxiety.
"No... why do we have to suffer like this...?
Can't we go back to those happy childhood days...?"
Even upon hearing about the co-signing,
Si-a had steeled herself to study hard and help her parents.
But this time, she simply couldn't.
Her top-of-the-class grades plummeted abruptly,
And after school, she hustled between part-time gigs just to afford meals.
She wandered lost in the despair of generational poverty.
Finally, as high school graduation loomed,
Si-a abandoned college dreams and plunged into the workforce.
Father's meager salary couldn't touch the debt,
So she had to grind for cash relentlessly.
Skipping even a single day meant going hungry.
At 20, prime age for pretty dresses and primping.
Though her beauty outshone any girl's,
Si-a was clad not in finery, but threadbare work clothes.
"Ha... what time's the next shift again..."
Finishing her night job, trudging home in the early dawn.
-Rumble rumble—
As she pondered how many more hours of sleep she might snag,
A roar like collapsing buildings echoed repeatedly from behind.
"Monster!! It's a Monster!!"
The source of the din was a Monster.
Far too early for pedestrians on the streets,
But an elder out for morning exercise screamed it into existence.
"Mon... Monster?"
Monsters typically emerged after 8 a.m. through late afternoon,
Mostly amid crowds.
Today, it popped up in the quiet morning hours,
Smashing buildings instead of attacking people.
"Gotta run home fast...!"
Exhausted to the point of collapse,
But to save her life and avoid injury, escape was essential.
A broken leg would mean crippling bills,
So even to save money, she had to bolt now.
-Rumble rumble—Rumble rumble—
Yet the Monster, drawn by some unseen force,
Slowly closed in on Si-a.
"Kyaaah!!"
She tripped over debris from a building the Monster toppled en route.
"Ow ow..."
Brushing off her scraped, bleeding knee to stand,
That instant, her eyes met the slobbering Monster's.
"Grrrrrr..."
It looked furious beyond measure.
Dozens of grotesque teeth reeking foully,
For some reason, it glared at Si-a in rage.
"N... No... Kyaaak!!!"
Shocked by its horrific visage, her limping leg buckled,
And she crumpled right there again.
Eyes squeezed shut, arms flailing wildly,
She grabbed something and swung at the looming Monster.
-Shing—
"Grrraaaaaah!!!"
In that split second, as Si-a pried open her eyes,
The Monster shrieked, its head cleaved clean in two.
"What is this... Did a Magical Girl save me?"
She figured a Magical Girl had timed it perfectly to rescue her,
But scanning everywhere, no such figure in sight.
"Wait... this on the stick... That's the Monster's blood...?"
Liquid matching the hue oozing from the Monster's bisected skull.
Athena had instinctively swung the thick wooden stick gripped in her hand to defend herself,
Coated in the exact same color.
"Early morning surprise Monster emergence... Mystery ordinary woman defeats it, goes viral"
"Monsters appearing irregularly... No countermeasures?"
After Si-a unwittingly vanquished the Monster,
Articles popped up about an ordinary woman taking one down.
As they spread online,
A few Magical Girl Management Bureau officials visited her workplace.
"Ever thought about working as a Magical Girl?"
"Me... you mean?"
To fell Monsters required not brute physical force,
But magic power that manifested only in select women.
Athena had tapped her dormant magic in that moment of peril.
Even strands of her formerly jet-black hair turning red afterward,
An effect of her innate magic awakening.
"We heard your family carries massive debt...,
Working as a Magical Girl, you'd pay it off in no time."
A fact unknown to the public due to scarce info on Magical Girls.
Not just anyone could do it—a perilous, life-on-the-line job,
Thus offering top-tier welfare and fat paychecks.
And so, Si-a accepted the scout's offer and chose to become a Magical Girl.
"Magical Girl Athena—I will protect you all from Monsters."
To break free from the grinding poverty that had tormented her,
With iron resolve never to sink into despair again... she took up the sword.