A Long-Awaited Cherry Blossom Picnic! (With a Side of Chaos) (6)
If it weren't for that familiar head of hair and the equally familiar voice, Seyeol probably wouldn't have recognized her at all. Her eyes, usually half-lidded from drowsiness, were now wide open with a sharpness that bordered on menacing, radiating an almost palpable pressure. Her brown irises had shifted to a brilliant golden hue, like the rising sun. The weapon in her hand was no longer the crude steel pipe one might find at a construction site; instead, it had transformed into something slender and refined, like a conductor's baton. But the most striking change of all was the white halo now floating above her head. At first, Seyeol thought she was seeing things, but the halo shimmered brightly atop her pink hair, exuding undeniable presence. It didn't look like a simple accessory. Her instincts as a magical girl told her that it was woven with magic so intricate and complex that it was impossible to grasp at a glance.
"Magical Girl Cosmo. I'll be joining the fight from here on out."
Though the words sounded curt, Seyeol could feel the icy, bone-chilling emotion behind them. Jihye swung her hand toward the lycanthrope. Every spell required several preparatory steps to activate—at least, that was what Seyeol had been taught. The three elements of spellcasting she'd learned in academy theory class: mana preparation, magic circle construction, and spell activation. You drew up the mana within your body, aligned it properly, formed the circle, and then cast the spell. All magic followed this sequence, regardless of speed. But the magic Jihye displayed that day completely defied Seyeol's common sense.
Thud—
With nothing more than a flick of her fingers, the lycanthrope and every monster nearby burst apart. There was no visible magic circle. She had only waved her hand, yet an unknown spell had targeted the monsters and activated instantly. In truth, Seyeol hadn't even noticed it was magic at first. Only afterward, sensing a slight irregularity in the mana flow, did she realize Jihye must have cast something. Why? No—how? Both Seyeol and Miju stared blankly at Jihye's fingertips, unable to comprehend what they had just witnessed. Was this what magic truly was? The art of wielding laws that produced incomprehensible miracles. That was the new definition of sorcery and magic that Seyeol had learned.
Hum.
Once everything was over, Seyeol noticed that the halo above Jihye's head was now emitting a powerful, steady sound—nothing like before. It reminded her of a car engine on the verge of roaring to life.
"...Good work, class president."
"J... Jihye."
"Cure."
The spell activated a split second before Jihye even finished speaking. There was no need for an incantation, but hearing those two words from her lips filled Seyeol with boundless reassurance. The throbbing pain in her abdomen and elsewhere gradually faded, and the bruises began to disappear. Only after the pain subsided did she truly realize how badly she had been hurt—and at the same time, grasp the sheer power of the healing magic.
"No monsters detected within a 500-meter radius... Validity check complete."
Jihye glanced around as if confirming something, then approached Miju as well.
"You okay, Miju?"
"Uh... y-yeah. But Seyeol... she got hurt pretty badly..."
Perhaps it was the shock of facing such a horrific situation, but Baek Miju was so choked up she could barely speak. Jihye, however, understood perfectly and gently reassured her.
"The class president already treated her. She's going to be fine, so don't worry."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. Really. Go check for yourself."
At those words, Miju rushed over to Seyeol. Though Miju herself was covered in wounds, she didn't seem to feel any pain at all. If anything, it was Seyeol who looked startled by the extent of Miju's injuries.
"S... Seyeol... sob. A-are you okay?"
"Yeah. But Miju, you're hurt pretty badly too."
"I... Seyeol... I thought you were going to die, sob. I was so worried, and I couldn't do anything to help... sob!"
"It's okay, Miju. You helped plenty. Thanks to you, I was able to land a hit on that lycanthrope earlier, remember?"
"R-really... waaaaah!"
"Don't cry... Everything's fine now. There, there."
"Waaaaaaaah!"
Even though magical girls possessed physical strength and durability several times greater than ordinary people, these academy freshmen weren't even full-fledged magical girls yet. For girls right in the middle of puberty, a battle that had teetered between life and death must have been incredibly stressful. The citizens within the safety of the protective barrier watched as the two girls clung to each other and sobbed, each lost in their own thoughts.
Kim Jihye quietly approached from behind Miju, cast a healing spell on her, then turned to gaze down the cherry blossom path.
"You both did well."
She said it with a sigh toward the empty air. Having lived as a magical girl, she had seen scenes like this many times before and should have been used to them by now. Yet no matter how much time passed, her heart still felt heavy. Maybe her constant drowsiness and desire to keep the world at arm's length were just ways of avoiding these emotions she couldn't bear. A lot of thoughts crossed her mind. Cherry blossoms drifted and fell.
"They're finally here."
From the sky descended a dozen or so girls. All of them wore elaborate outfits, sported strikingly unique hair colors, and carried an assortment of weapons as they slowly descended to the ground. They were all magical girls. Earth's magical girls.
✮✮✮
Among them, one girl with hair the color of the emerald sea around Jeju Island approached me.
"I'm Magical Girl Blue Sea of Hyeopjae, Deputy Director of the Magical Girl Association's Seoul Field Response Team. Could you please state your affiliation and magical girl name?"
"Affiliation: Magical Girl Academy. Magical girl name... Cosmo."
"The Academy? Are you a faculty member, by any chance?"
Startled by the mention of the Academy, Blue Sea asked if I was a teacher or staff member.
"No... I'm a student."
"A student? ...Understood. If you could explain the situation in detail—"
"I'll handle that."
Just as I was about to explain, a voice suddenly called down from above. I didn't flinch; the approaching presence alone told me exactly who it was. The other magical girls, however, looked visibly surprised. When they saw the girl who had quietly appeared behind me, their expressions shifted as if they'd run into an unexpected celebrity.
"I'm Kim Jiah, Deputy Chairperson of the Academy Education Committee under the Association. My magical girl name is Blossom."
"Ah... Ms. Blossom. What brings you here...?"
Blue Sea looked flustered in Jiah's presence, a far cry from the confident demeanor she'd shown when approaching me earlier. Jiah, as if such treatment were only natural, began her report in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.
"We were out for a spring outing when we got caught up in the incident. The illegal signal was detected at 12:43. However, the gate appeared at 12:44. Normally it takes about five minutes, but this gate was unusual—it manifested within roughly one minute of the signal. The entities that emerged were beast-type monsters, primarily lycanthropes and centaurs."
"Ah... yes!"
Before I knew it, Blue Sea was scribbling down Jiah's words. The other magical girls were doing the same.
"The academy students receiving treatment over there and my younger sibling here handled this section of the cherry blossom path, while I took care of the rest of the Han River Park. There are over thirty injured, including those with minor wounds, but no fatalities."
As she spoke, Jiah lightly draped an arm around my shoulder when she mentioned her "younger sibling." Being treated like a real little sister felt strange. The girl who was grinning for some reason looked down at me with a cheerful expression.
"Any stragglers left, Jihye?"
"No. There weren't any monsters within a 500-meter radius. If we factor in the area you checked, I'd say we wiped them all out."
"...That's what she said. Identifying any remaining stragglers, collecting the corpses, and securing the scene are the field response team's responsibility, so... I'll leave it to you?"
"Understood. We've taken full custody. From now on, we'll handle the site."
With those words, the gathered magical girls dispersed in all directions. Blue Sea was the last to move, glancing back at Jiah and me with an uneasy expression before disappearing. Only after all the obstacles were gone did Jiah release her embrace.
"...Good work, oppa."
"What do you mean, good work? You did more than I did."
"Still. You weren't out of mana, were you?"
I pointed at the halo with my finger.
"I managed to refill it somehow with this. I can hold out for now."
"What even is that... I've seen all kinds of magic, but I can't even begin to understand how this thing works."
Jiah studied my halo intently for a moment before looking away, as if it was giving her a headache.
"Do you have any idea how shocked I was when you ran out to save those kids earlier?"
"...Were you?"
"Of course I was!"
I'd unintentionally worried her, but it had been an emergency. Even if I knew it was my fault for charging out without a proper explanation, waiting any longer could have gotten the kids seriously hurt.
"...Oh. This isn't the time for an argument. How are the kids? They didn't get hurt too badly, did they? Since you were there, I figured they'd be fine, but still."
"They were hurt pretty badly, so I gave them emergency treatment. Nothing major to worry about."
"Whew. Thank goodness. Now I need to handle hospital admissions, contact the Academy, and reach out to their parents..."
The scene, which had been chaotic with the arrival of the magical girls, was gradually regaining order. Monster corpses were being gathered in one place, damaged roads and facilities were being repaired, and people were heading home. Some treated the injured citizens while others documented the scene and organized the incident report. The site bustled with swift, efficient activity.
"Busy, huh."
"Yeah. The silver lining is that none of the kids died."
Jiah looked toward where the children were. There, two girls were already lying on medical stretchers with their eyes closed, as if their tension had finally melted away. It was hard to imagine they had just been through a fierce battle; they looked so peaceful as they drifted off to sleep.
"I never thought academy freshmen would hold out like that."
"Our kids are pretty tough."
"...Our kids? You sound like their dad or something."
"What? Jealous?"
"A little."
She was actually jealous of a bunch of kids. A grown adult, no less.
"It's normal for a little sister to feel that way."
"Yeah... Anyway, our fun cherry blossom outing got completely ruined. All because of one gate."
"It did. Oh, oppa. Let's take the kids to the hospital first, then head over there."
"Where?"
Jiah smiled brightly.
"I'll tell you later. Let's take care of the kids first."
"...Got it."