Weekend Date with Friends? Maybe I'm Popular Now?(7)
The result of a tenacious life force enduring the harsh winter. It could happen anywhere, regardless of location. Even on something as simple as a credit card—the size of a palm—it was entirely possible.
“...Jia, you really put a spell like this on me?”
The pink petals blooming from the card in my hand fluttered high into the sky, higher and higher. Then they began drifting in a single direction on the wind. The sight was quite spectacular—an artificial cherry blossom festival in early summer. Even some of the magical girls who had been fighting the monsters paused to watch. It was a spell that drew a lot of attention.
“What on earth is this, Jihye?”
“I-is this... Blossom-nim’s magic?”
Myeongju’s friend seemed to have caught on quickly. This phenomenon was Jia’s magic. And it was very clearly intentional. The petals flowed and swirled like waves until they reached a certain spot. There was definitely a person there. He would have easily located the marked object by following the cherry blossom petals. Given his skill, he’d probably show up in three seconds.
Three.
Two.
And one.
The moment the countdown in my head reached zero, something descended from the sky. The girl who appeared wrapped in petals looked like she could’ve been called the bride of spring without any sense of incongruity. With her pure white hair and a neat dress adorned with a flower brooch, she hurried over to me and scanned the surroundings. Like a bodyguard protecting her charge, she checked every direction, assessed the entire situation, and then spoke.
She really was overprotective.
“Don’t you think putting a tracking spell on the card is a bit much?”
“Well, what’s the harm? I just put it on in case something happened.”
“Still... it’s a little... ugh. Yawn.”
No matter how worried she was about her sleepyhead brother, this was too far. Actual full-on stalking. When I gave her a suspicious look, Jia quickly explained herself.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. The tracking only activates when the magic triggers, so I have no idea where you went or what you did today.”
“I didn’t examine the magic circle in detail, but it does seem that way. I’ll let it slide this time.”
“...Thanks?”
“Um... Jia unnie? Why did you suddenly...?”
Unlike me, who had already pieced together the whole story, the class president and Mijeong’s friend still looked completely lost. Jia explained it to the kids again.
“Before I sent Jihye off today, I suddenly had a bad feeling. So I cast a tracking spell on the card. That way I could locate you immediately if anything went wrong.”
“Then you saw the monster alert on the phone and immediately...?”
“Yeah. I came running right away. To protect Jihye and all of you.”
It was the truth, but the way Jia tried to sound cooler in front of the kids irritated me a little. Did she always act like this around the little chicks? No wonder she had such high favorability with children. A magical girl wasn’t just supposed to be strong—she had to inspire dreams and hope in people. In that sense, Jia was doing a pretty good job.
That said, it was still annoying to watch my own blood-related little sister act all impressive in front of other people. She never did this at home... but outside, she was all about keeping up appearances. My mouth itched to say something, but I held back. Even though Magical Girl Blossom and Jia were the same person, they were also different.
“Excuse me for a moment?”
While Jia and the kids were chatting, a woman approached. Purple fluid was splattered across her cheek and clothes, making her look quite messy. The magical girl holding a heavy shield and a long staff must have just come from battle. Her breathing was still ragged.
“Yes? What is it?”
“I am Pastrol Knight, leader of Guardian Team 1 at the Gunpo Sanbon Branch. If I may ask, Blossom-nim, what brings you to this area?”
“I live nearby, so I came just in case something was wrong.”
“I see. And the students beside you... they’re with you, correct?”
The class president, Mijeong’s friend, and me. Her gaze wavered slightly when it landed on me, but she kept speaking as if nothing was amiss. Jia didn’t seem to notice.
“Yes. They’re my adorable little brother and his friends.”
“Ah……”
Her reaction seemed to short-circuit for a second. I could roughly guess what she was thinking. She was probably remembering the earlier conflict. Jia’s influence must be greater than I thought. Knight kept glancing at me nervously, fidgeting the whole time.
“Um... are any of the students injured?”
“No. We’re fine.”
“Y-yes!”
“Yaaawn……”
I definitely bit my tongue just now. I definitely bit it.
“I’m more worried about whether the Sanbon Branch Guardians are okay. How are things?”
“We have successfully completed the subjugation and are currently mopping up the remnants. Zero casualties. The cleanup is nearly finished, so we expect the situation to be fully resolved in about five minutes.”
“Then you won’t need any help.”
“Unfortunately, no.”
“Knight, I just finished dealing with the last remnant and—... huh?”
Another magical girl appeared from behind while she was reporting to Jia. The moment Mireum saw the situation, she froze completely. Like a herbivore suddenly face-to-face with a predator.
“Bl... Blossom-nim?”
“Yes, what is it?”
“……”
For the record, the kids and I were still nestled in Jia’s arms.
“Um... ah... e...?”
Mireum had completely lost the ability to speak. She kept looking back and forth between Jia and me, sputtering broken syllables. If someone couldn’t sense that something was off from that reaction, their social awareness level would need serious questioning.
Jia asked the strangely behaving Mireum-something,
“Did something happen with our kids?”
“N-no! Nothing at all happened, Blossom-nim!”
Tap.
That was the sound of Knight slapping her own forehead quite forcefully. Her acting was seriously terrible. If she got flustered and slipped up all on her own when I hadn’t even said anything, of course it looked suspicious, you incompetent magical girl.
“……What happened? Tell me honestly. I strongly advise against putting lies in your mouth. What exactly did you do to our children?”
It felt like the temperature around us had dropped in an instant. Did you know? People could create a chilling atmosphere without any magic at all. Everyone around seemed to feel the sudden coldness. Their expressions grew serious. Especially Knight and Mireum-whatever.
I looked at Knight. In this moment, she was someone who had fallen into the water because of her friend’s mistake. And I was the passing tourist holding a lifeboat in my hands. If Mireum told Jia the whole story exactly as it happened, what would occur? Would she get a pay cut? Suspension? Dismissal?
No matter how much fault I bore for touching the monument without permission, the Association would hold Knight even more accountable for threatening civilians—especially ones without any power. It was something a magical girl must never do: ‘Threatening or injuring civilians.’ In Magica, it had been treated as an extremely serious crime, and Earth didn’t seem all that different. Most likely, she would be stripped of her magical girl uniform.
…From what I saw earlier, she seemed pretty skilled. It would be a bit of a shame, wouldn’t it?
I looked at Mireum again. There was a terrified squirrel standing right there. The memory of her yelling at the kids replayed in my head. Even though I’d gone to the arcade to relieve stress, I still couldn’t forgive her. Deep inside, there was a part of me that wanted her to be punished. I wanted her to suffer this time so she would never even think about scaring kids again.
But still.
I had also let my anger get the better of me and mocked her. That was definitely not something a senior magical girl should do. Even though I had half-abandoned my identity as a magical girl, the feeling of shame was unavoidable. People make mistakes. And magical girls, of course, are people too.
“Haa……”
I let out a sigh and spoke to Jia.
“Nothing happened.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
Jia stared at me, and I stared back at her. We gazed intently at each other’s faces for a moment. Eventually, Jia gave in and spoke to the Guardians in a much softer tone.
“Since my little brother says so, I’ll let it go. It seems I don’t have the right to question the Guardians any further.”
“…Phew.”
Someone let out a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure if it was one of the kids or one of the two in front of us. Either way, I was glad it passed without incident.
And right on cue, a radio transmission crackled through.
“Any special notes?”
Crackle.
“The memorial monument?”
Coincidentally, the memorial monument was causing trouble again. Just what was going on this time? While I was feeling curious, Mireum-whatever seemed to be desperately trying to hide her cold sweat.