The Magical Girl Academy!!!!
Jinwoo could not understand what was happening. When he announced his desire to enroll in the academy, Park Chiyou had sunk into deep thought. Then, all on her own, she seemed to reach some private conclusion and suddenly burst into tears.
“Huuuueeeeee!! I’m sorry! Jinwoooo!!”
“M-Mother?! Why are you suddenly—?!”
“Huuuueeeeee!! Our Jinwoo! All this time you’ve suffered so much… because of Mom!!”
“Mother?”
“Huuueeeng!! Don’t worry, Jinwoo! Even if you’re a boy who can’t become a magical girl, I won’t scold you anymore~!”
“Mother, like I already told you, I have become a magical girl.”
But simply forming a contract wasn’t enough. There were still countless things he needed to learn as a magical girl. All of his future activities would be managed through the academy as well.
Now hiccupping between sobs, Park Chiyou sniffled and continued.
“Hic! Hic! Jinwoo, you don’t have to push yourself anymore. There’s no need to force yourself to become a magical girl just for my sake!”
“Mother, as I said before, I truly want to become a magical girl. It’s something I’ve longed for since a very long time ago.”
The phrase “a very long time ago” struck Park Chiyou like an arrow to the heart. Since a very long time ago… he’s been trying to earn my approval?! And all this time I’ve been…! Haaauuugh!! I really am a terrible mother!!
She had fallen headfirst into a colossal misunderstanding. Johnzalles, watching the scene from a third-party perspective, could clearly tell what had gone wrong inside her head. Still, it felt awkward to correct her outright, and since there was no real reason to dispel the misunderstanding, Jinwoo decided to ride the wave.
“Therefore, Mother, I wish to enroll in the Magical Girl Academy. As the youngest son of the Parkmyeol Park family, as a magical girl from a prestigious magical-girl lineage, I want to once again make our family name shine across the world.”
Filial son.
Those two short, powerful words flashed through Park Chiyou’s mind. Even though he had been born male, he was willing to work hard for her sake—and for the sake of the entire Parkmyeol Park family. For a child of a house that valued honor above all else, Jinwoo’s attitude was flawless.
Park Chiyou
Current Emotional State: Deeply Moved / Love / Conviction / Faith
It was a festival of purely positive emotions. If nothing else, the sincerity of his desire to become a magical girl had reached her heart.
Yes, her son had resolved to become a magical girl. What kind of mother would stand in the way of her own child’s dream?
I want to let our Jinwoo do anything he sets his heart on!
Besides, he had already contracted with a fairy and defeated a Heavenly Machine in battle. At that point, refusing to let him become a magical girl simply because he was male would be ridiculous. Even newly awakened girls usually couldn’t face a Heavenly Machine. Only the young ladies of certain prestigious families, who had received early education through every kind of elixir and rigorous training, could fight at all after awakening.
Jinwoo had received none of those advantages, yet he had displayed that level of talent. When you looked at it objectively, it was nothing short of genius. If he had been born a girl, he would already be famous as an undeniable prodigy.
“All right! I understand! This mother will help you enroll in the Magical Girl Academy!”
“Oh! You mean it, Mother?!”
“Hehe! Who do you think your mother is? The Helen Keller of the magical girl world! The current chancellor is my junior, so I’ll have a word with her!”
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mother!!!”
“Ufufu! I’m looking forward to it, my son!”
Once the academy matter seemed settled, Johnzalles let out a small sigh and stepped in front of Jinwoo.
Squeak… squeak…
“Hey, human.”
“Yeah, fairy.”
The two stared at each other with deadly seriousness. In the wordless battle of gazes, it seemed as though some profound communication was taking place.
“…………(Sigh… fuck. Do I really have to do the whole magical-girl thing with this dickhead?)”
“…………(Hm. Guess I’ll have to pummel his upper body again today.)”
Same silence. Completely different thoughts. At the exact moment their hearts missed each other by a mile, the air between them shifted. They clasped hands.
“Fuck it. Let’s do this, human!”
“Yeah! I’m counting on you, fairy!”
And so the two men forged a bond of friendship.
As expected, this is the flavor of boys… ufufu…
Park Chiyou simply watched them with a warm, contented smile.
The Magical Girl Academy—often shortened to Magic Academy—was the sole institution of its kind in Korea. While academies existed in many countries around the world, Korea’s Magical Girl Academy stood out as especially prestigious. That said, it wasn’t exclusive. Anyone with potential could enroll, whether they came from a famous family or not. Because of that openness, awakened candidates from all across the nation flocked here in hopes of becoming magical girls.
The campus was so large that an entire Academy City had sprung up around it. The academy itself was enormous, with multiple specialized buildings.
— Academy Customer Service Center —
Countless calls came in at all hours, so the staff on duty waited at their stations. A veteran employee had just finished one call and was letting out a tired sigh when—
—Riiiing~~
The phone rang with merciless timing, as though refusing to let her rest. Without missing a beat, she lifted the receiver.
“Yes~ You’ve reached the Magical Girl Academy Customer Service Center. How may I assist you today?”
[Ahem… Hello. Could you connect me to the chancellor?]
A sudden, out-of-the-blue request to speak with the chancellor. The veteran immediately caught the scent of a difficult customer and answered in her sweetest professional voice.
“May I ask what this is regarding, ma’am?”
[I’d like to enroll my child in the academy, so I need to speak with the chancellor directly.]
“Ah, I see. In that case, I can transfer you to the admissions department—”
[No. Connect me to the chancellor.]
A bold answer. The veteran’s instincts screamed that something was off. She decided she absolutely could not patch this person through.
“I’m sorry, but the chancellor is very busy. You would need to schedule an appointment in advance to speak with her.”
[Transfer the call. Now.]
She could feel the engine revving. The veteran kept her voice calm.
“Ma’am, this is already quite accommodating. If you’d like, I can book an appointment for you right now.”
[I have nothing to discuss with you. My business is with the chancellor.]
“…Did you not hear what I just said?”
[Are you implying I’m a senile old woman?]
“No!! Of course not! Anyone can mishear something, right?”
[Enough. Put the chancellor on. Immediately…]
The veteran sighed silently. It looked like she had run into a truly impossible customer after a long time. According to protocol she couldn’t hang up first, so she had to make the other party do it.
“We have regulations, ma’am. We can’t just connect anyone to the chancellor, so—”
[Are you joking with me right now?]
“………”
The overwhelming charisma pouring through the phone made chills race down the veteran’s spine. Even though the caller wasn’t standing in front of her, it felt like a blade was pressed against her throat.
“M-Ma’am…?”
[Switch the call. Now.]
“That would be… rather difficult…”
[Switch it. Can’t you hear me?]
“Ah… um…”
[Do you really not know who I am?]
There it was—the classic “Do you know who I am?” line every difficult customer eventually used. In seven years on the job she had heard it before, but no one who uttered those words had ever turned out to be anyone important. Sneering inwardly, the veteran began to reply.
“Well, you see—”
[This is Park Chiyou of the Parkmyeol Park family. Do you truly not recognize the name?]
“….!!!!”
Parkmyeol Park. One of the most distinguished magical-girl families in existence. And if this was Park Chiyou, then she was the current head of the house—the very Helen Keller of the magical girl world who had played a major role in the Heavenly Demon War thirty years ago. A powerhouse famous for saying that a true healer eliminates every threat before offering healing!
“I-I-I-I’m terribly sorry! I didn’t realize I was speaking to the head of the Parkmyeol Park family!!”
[By the way, miss, you do know that I donate a rather substantial sum to your academy every year, yes?]
“I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
[What do you think would happen to that academy if I decided to cut off those donations?]
It was no exaggeration to say the Magical Girl Academy largely ran on Park Chiyou’s regular contributions. While other prestigious families donated as well, her support dwarfed everyone else’s. Her influence was absolute.
“M-Ma’am—no, Madam Head! I sincerely apologize!”
[Hey, Han Sua. Put that bastard on the line. Right now.]
“Yes! Right away!”
Besides, Park Chiyou was Chancellor Han Sua’s senior. No matter how much power Han Sua wielded inside the academy, rumor had it she couldn’t even squeak in front of her formidable predecessor.
“I will connect you immediately!”
Meanwhile…
“Hmm~ hum hum~ hmm~~”
The highest authority of the Magical Girl Academy, Chancellor Han Sua, was once again leisurely savoring cheap instant coffee and enjoying the peace.
“Mmm~ The flavor of mix coffee really is unbeatable today.”
—KABOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOM!!
Explosions erupted beyond the window behind her. Han Sua paid them no mind, simply lifting her cup to her lips. Her favorite classical music drifted gently from the computer speakers.
—KABOOM!!
—♬♪ A harmonious duet of classical music and detonations. This was exactly why Han Sua never bothered raising the volume.
“Another wonderfully peaceful day.”
But that peace was about to be brutally shattered by a single phone call.
—Riiiing!!
Click.
“Hello?”
[It’s me.]
The demonic voice on the other end seemed ready to rip Han Sua’s spine straight out of her body.
“Hiiiiiiik!! S-Senior Park Chiyou!!”
[Yes. Exactly how are you training your staff?]
“Y-Yes?! Wh-what happened…?”
[I asked to be transferred and they refused like their lives depended on it. Do you want to die?]
“Aaaaah! I’m sorry! You could have just called my personal number!”
[You… changed your number?]
“Ah……”
[Hey. If you changed your number, you should have let me know.]
“Ah… yes, of course.”
[Even though we haven’t spoken in over ten years, this is still a little… disappointing, no?]
“Ei~ Senior, don’t say it like that~ I’ve been busy too, you know. You understand—I’m the chancellor here.”
[So it’s fine not to contact me? Is that what you’re saying?]
“Of course not~~ Eiii~~ Senior, really~ Anyway, what can I do for you?”
[Ah, right… All my daughters attend your school, yes?]
“Yes, that’s correct.”
[It looks like our youngest will be enrolling next year as well.]
“Aaaaah! Really? So the youngest has finally awakened! Ohohot! Congratulations~”
[I don’t need your congratulations.]
“S-Sorry.”
[Never mind that. I’ll be submitting the enrollment forms for our youngest, so keep that in mind. Understood?]
“Yes! Of course!!”
[Just try canceling the enrollment. I’ll kill you with my own two hands.]
“Yes! Naturally! Why would I ever cancel it?! Ahahaha!!”
[I’m hanging up.]
—Du… du… du….
Click.
“Agh! That fucking bitch!! First contact in years and she’s a total nightmare!!”
Han Sua slammed the receiver down with enough force to crack plastic and began cursing with a face like a raging demon. It was no exaggeration to call their relationship a long-standing grudge. The number of times she had been beaten under the pretext of “treatment” was beyond counting. Park Chiyou’s temper was so foul that the slightest displeasure usually ended with flying fists.
“Ugh! That old hag! Why won’t she just die already!”
Unfortunately, mages who retired from magical-girl service aged slowly and tended to live long lives.
“Wait a minute…”
Only then did something odd occur to Han Sua.
“The youngest?”
She had definitely said the youngest would enroll. The only youngest in that family was Park Jinwoo—the family’s shame and complete good-for-nothing. Had they had a fourth child in the meantime? Surely… it couldn’t be Park Jinwoo himself, right?
“No way. They must have had another child.”
It had been well over ten years since their last contact. Plenty of time to have another baby.
“Haa… Please let it be a normal, decent child.”
Thinking of the two young ladies from the Parkmyeol Park family already studying at the academy, Han Sua clutched her head and let out a long, weary sigh. She could already sense a new storm on the horizon.