I Have a Customer

A customer had come.

I stared blankly at the person standing at my door.

Long pink hair, pure white clothing.

Without a doubt, it was Lumina, the Pure White Magical Girl.

"……Please, come in."

"Thank you for having me."

I never expected her to come in person.

Lumina neatly removed her shoes and stepped into the living room. Then, just before sitting down at the table, she hesitated for a moment and asked carefully.

"May I sit here?"

"Ah, yes. Please, make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you."

I went to the kitchen to see if there was anything I could offer, but nothing in the fridge seemed quite right.

Not that I'd ever expected to have guests over.

In the end, I just poured a glass of water and set it down in front of Lumina.

"So, um, how did you find this place……?"

"Lovely gave me the address."

"Ah, I see."

"……."

"……."

This is unbearably awkward.

What am I supposed to say at a time like this?

Just then, Ppeupri and Lovely, off in the corner, began clinging to each other and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠making a scene.

"It's been so long, bbi—!"

"I missed you, myong—!"

"It's only been three days, bbi—!"

"I still missed you, myong—!"

I was gaping at them when a soft laugh came from beside me. Lumina was covering her mouth with her hand.

"Ah, sorry. The two of them playing together is just so cute, I couldn't help……"

"It's fine."

"How are things with Ppeupri? It was really awkward for me when I first met Lovely."

"It's not awkward, exactly. She just eats too much. Sometimes I wonder if she came to Earth just to eat."

"I did not come here to eat, bbi—!"

At Ppeupri's indignant flapping, Lumina let out a small burst of laughter.

After that, the mood eased considerably, and we managed to keep a conversation going here and there.

We were in the middle of exchanging small talk about fairies when Lumina suddenly spoke up, as if something had just occurred to her.

"I was late, wasn't I? I wanted to come sooner…… but they wouldn't discharge me from the hospital right away."

"That's quite all right."

"Still, thanks to the bracelet you made, Blacksmith, I was able to stay safe. Thank you."

Come to think of it, the silver bracelet I'd made was on Lumina's left wrist.

I hadn't noticed while crafting it, but sitting there against a brilliant white, ornate magical girl outfit, it looked impossibly crude and plain.

"Ah, this one's a different wound."

Lumina held up the bandage wound around her right wrist, as if explaining herself.

Apparently she'd noticed me looking at it.

"Actually, at first I was wearing a different bracelet instead of the one you made. This one."

Lumina reached into the empty air and drew something out.

It seemed to be a subspace — the kind magical girls use to store their belongings.

It was a platinum-colored bracelet, its surface densely studded with finely cut mana stone fragments. One look told you it was expensive. But one side of it was scorched pitch black.

When I focused my attention, the status window appeared.

"……This isn't a device for preventing mana leaks."

"Sorry?"

"Ppeupri told me. That you'd have a mana leak problem, Miss Lumina. But this doesn't prevent mana leakage at all — if anything, it's a device that draws out even more mana. And the attribute doesn't match you, either."

Lumina's expression stiffened.

Meanwhile Ppeupri, who had been lounging nearby, overheard me and came fluttering over in shock.

"Don't tell me — mana amplification, bbi—?!"

"Uh, yeah. That's the one."

"With that effect active, the leak gets even worse, bbi—! And with the attribute mismatched on top of it, it must have malfunctioned, bbi—! Why on earth did you wear something like this, bbi—!!"

"So THAT'S what was wrong, myong—! The bracelet just suddenly burst, myong—!"

So that's why it was scorched black.

Lumina looked away as she spoke.

"I didn't know any better…… I doubted your skill, Blacksmith. That was my fault."

"It's not your fault. Anyone could have."

If it were me, I'd have tried the flashy platinum bracelet over a plain lump of silver metal, too.

Lumina cradled the bracelet I'd made, then looked up at me and smiled gently.

"They said an improved model would arrive next week, but I don't think I'll need to accept it."

"Sorry?"

"Oh, right! First I need to pay you for the bracelet!"

Just now — did something like a promise just pass between us……?

Lumina reached into the air again and rummaged for something.

"I looked into it, but magical engineering hasn't really gone mainstream yet, so there's no fixed market price."

"Ah, is that so?"

Come to think of it, I didn't know much about this field myself.

The most I'd ever heard were a few news stories about mana stones being processed into strange and wonderful devices.

How much would something like a bracelet even be worth?

Should've looked into it.

"Would this do?"

What Lumina produced was a red stone about the size of a fist.

A faint light shimmered from within it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— it looked like quite a high-grade stone.

Probably an upper-grade mana stone?

For now, I played dumb and asked.

"What is this?"

"An intermediate mana stone."

This flashy thing is only intermediate?

"If you take it to the exchange I recommend, you'll receive around thirty million won with no commission. I'll send you the location by text."

Thirty million won……?

For a second, I thought I'd misheard.

My used car had, in fact, only been worth about eight thousand dollars, and the ten million won I'd quoted to Ppeupri was a figure I'd exaggerated in the heat of the moment.

I'd even spent three straight days pestering Ppeupri, worried I wouldn't get even that much.

But thirty million won?

"Bbi—! Heehee! What did I tell you, bbi—! I said I'd make you enough to cover a used car, didn't I, bbi—!"

Ppeupri declared, puffing her chest out proudly.

I gathered my scattered wits.

"Um, Miss Lumina."

"Yes?"

"Isn't this too much……? It's just one bracelet."

Even as I said it, I was a little stunned myself.

I'd always vowed never to become a sucker, and here I was, haggling my own price down.

Lumina shook her head.

"For me, it was the difference between retiring and not."

"……Sorry?"

"I was actually planning to quit."

Lumina smiled brightly.

"Ten years on the job — I thought I'd done enough. I didn't even know my mana was leaking. I just assumed I wasn't what I used to be."

"……."

"But when I put on the bracelet, it stopped."

Lumina lifted her left wrist slightly.

"So it was worth every bit of that."

When she put it that way, I had nothing to say.

My very first prototype had actually helped someone.

It was a strange feeling.

"Ah, one moment."

Just then, Lumina's phone rang.

It seemed to be a call from her guild — she answered briefly and hung up.

"I'll have to head out for today. The guild needs me urgently."

"Ah, of course."

"May I request more equipment from you next time?"

I glanced over the gear Lumina was wearing.

Even her clothing was 4-star grade.

As expected of a first-generation magical girl.

"I've only just started this blacksmith business, so I'm not sure how much help I can be."

"You've already helped more than enough."

Lumina said this as she slipped on her shoes at the front door.

Was this it — had I just gotten my first customer?

"Then I'll be in touch, Mr. Han Doyun."

"Yes. Get home safe."

"See you next time, Ppeupri, myong—!"

"See you again, bbi—!"

The door closed, and through the window I could see Lumina and Lovely flying off together into the sky.

Ppeupri flapped her wings and spoke up.

"Bbi—! Heehee! What did I tell you, bbi—! I said money was coming, didn't I, bbi—! Today I'm eating three shrimp burgers, bbi—!"

"Hey, Ppeupri."

"Bbi—?"

"Did you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever tell Lovely my name?"

I had never told Lumina my name.

Ppeupri tilted her head, then said:

"No idea, bbi—! Maybe I mentioned it to Lovely, bbi……?"

Oh, so that's what it was.

I turned my eyes to the red mana stone sitting on the table.

Either way, I had thirty million won now.

"Ppeupri. Do you eat beef too?"

"I love beef, bbi—!"

"Are you seriously a bird……?"

"I'm a fairy, bbi—!!"

A world where fairies eat beef. Unbelievable.

I decided I'd turn the mana stone into cash and start with a good meal, then turned my attention to my hammer.

How could I raise it to 2 stars?

A dark chamber.

The executives of the Evil Organization were watching a screen mounted on the wall.

The monster in the white lab coat pointed at the screen and spoke.

"Every time our monsters and kaijin fall to the magical girls, the equipment-corroding bacteria we implanted spreads in all directions! The magical girls' own heroics are accelerating the spread! The project is a success!"

The so-called Acid Project.

Amid the never-ending war against the magical girls, it was a new strategy unveiled by the Evil Organization.

If we cannot defeat the magical girls, then attack their equipment instead.

That was the goal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of the Acid Project.

"So at last, this endless war can be brought to a close."

The long-haired monster leading the executives spoke.

Arms crossed, she gazed ahead with a defiant tilt to her posture.

"We owe it to that man. He sold us the information that every last blacksmith of Astra had vanished."

At her words, everyone nodded in agreement.

"But this isn't the end. Is that man ready?"

"About that…… I believe he still needs more time."

The lab coat monster fidgeted nervously as he spoke.

The woman tilted her head for a moment, then said smoothly:

"Is that so? Then it can't be helped. It's fine — it's only a matter of time, after all."

The woman smiled with perfect composure.

The tips of her long, razor-sharp nails brushed past her lips.

"I'll end this war within a month."

"……!"

At her declaration, the executives sprang to their feet.

"For Dark Star!"

Their roar filled the dark chamber.

On the screen, the names of hundreds of magical girls and their equipment readings hovered in dense formation.

Those readings were falling — little by little, but without pause.

Only one of them remained utterly still. But not a single soul there noticed.

It was Lumina's.