Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Interlude - A Brief Rest, And
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Sora simply couldn't believe it.
In truth, she'd half-given up on Ray's vacation herself. There was no hope in sight, no matter how she looked at it.
And in the midst of all that, the balance in the Magical bank account she managed with Ray had plummeted, driving her insane.
No money means death.
It was a story that never really felt real before.
But now she was teetering on the edge of living it.
She'd even been considering a Magical emergency loan—or worst-case, Magical loan sharks...
"Sora! I'm back!"
"Huh? Sis?"
Yet, miraculously, Ray had taken her vacation.
And not just any vacation.
She'd come back holding the card Kim Siyul had handed her.
Sora couldn't wrap her head around it.
"Sis?! What happened?!"
"Well..."
And the words that followed from Ray's mouth were equally incomprehensible to Sora's mind.
"Your bro fought that bitch?"
"Yeah."
Kim Siyul had picked a fight.
With Mint Turtle, a Magical Girl Sora shared a vicious grudge with but whose skills were so superior she couldn't muster the courage to challenge her lightly.
A fight between an ordinary human and a Magical Girl.
The winner was obvious. No matter how extraordinary Kim Siyul's movements were, an insurmountable gap existed between them.
It was sheer recklessness.
A true Magical egg-hitting stone.
Smashing a Magical egg against a rock.
But.
"And your bro won?"
"Yeah."
Kim Siyul had actually won.
"How the hell? You just said all Sis could provide was a Magical steel pipe."
"He developed it with magic."
"What?!"
He hadn't just won.
By casting a spell she'd never imagined he'd use, he'd overwhelmed her not once, but twice in a row.
And even in a Magical showdown where the White Magical Girl intervened, he'd taken her down.
"Magical Peanut Butter Enchant...? What the f—"
"Not peanut butter enchant. It's a skin-whip charm."
The method was a dick move, but whatever.
The result was victory.
Kim Siyul was a dick anyway.
"I heard later that my name was already registered in the Magical vacation system. So I was fated to go on vacation anyway."
"Oh... really...?"
And on top of that, Ray was originally destined for a Magical vacation.
"Anyway, I got the card too!"
"Thank goodness! Seriously!"
And finally, the surgery bill issue was neatly resolved.
No matter how she chewed it over, it was absurd. Who could've predicted things would fall into place so perfectly?
Like some childish fairy tale.
The moment Ray finished speaking, two emotions welled up in Sora's heart.
Guilt, and gratitude.
She hadn't seen it herself, but hearing it from Ray was enough to know it had been no easy fight.
'That jerk got hurt too, but so did your bro.'
Yet Kim Siyul had endured it willingly.
For someone bound to him by the shallow ties of Magical dormitory comrades.
'I should apologize to your bro when I get back.'
Still, it was astonishing. Kim Siyul, who she'd thought was just a regular guy, could wield magic.
Against Mint Turtle of all opponents. Even Sora, with her personal magic wand, struggled to inflict wounds, yet he'd dealt a mortal blow.
With nothing but a Magical steel pipe.
'How?'
That other world and hero stuff he always talked about.
This was Kim Siyul proving it himself.
'No way, for real?'
Even so, it was hard to believe. It felt strangely unrealistic.
At best, she chalked it up to a rare Magical mutation—her thoughts wouldn't stretch further.
'A Magical test subject would make more sense.'
But Sora didn't dwell on it.
More accurately, she couldn't afford to.
"Sis?! Is that for real?!"
"...Yeah."
Because words far more important than all that had just come from Ray's mouth.
"You like your bro?!"
Ray had finally developed feelings for Kim Siyul.
How long had she waited for this day?
"No, just... a little interest..."
Ray tried to play it off as mere curiosity, but to Sora, it was clearly more.
"So your bro's not that great, huh?"
"Nope! That's not it!"
Even now.
She reacted instantly to the casual probe.
"Honestly, your bro has no good points. Right?"
"N-No!!! Absolutely not!!!"
"Really? I don't see it."
"Sora, Siyul has so many merits unlike your thinking—!"
And when anything negative about Kim Siyul came up, she jumped to defend him.
"...Thinking about it, that guy's not even human, so maybe he doesn't have many merits."
"...Yeah."
Of course, that didn't mean she could actually refute it properly.
It was an inevitable reaction.
To reiterate, Kim Siyul was a dick.
Anyway.
Ray definitely had a favorable impression of him.
"Anyway, Sis doesn't hate your bro even if he's not human. Right?"
"...Yeah."
See? Every time Kim Siyul was mentioned, Ray's lips twitched upward uncontrollably. Like a dog grinning at the word "walk."
'Thank goodness.'
After a long wait, a Magical turning point had finally arisen for Ray and Kim Siyul's relationship to evolve beyond friendship.
Only.
"But... Sora..."
"What's up, Sis?"
"I lack confidence."
Ray seemed unsure of herself.
Sora grabbed Ray's slightly hesitant hand tightly and vehemently refuted her words.
"No way! Honestly, what's wrong with you, Sis? Compared to your bro, what could you possibly lack—!"
But.
"...Not really."
When it came down to it, she couldn't refute it.
Ray had her shortcomings too.
Mainly in intelligence and common sense.
Of course, she wasn't as vicious as Kim Siyul, but that wasn't worth bragging about. It was basic Magical virtue.
Ray knew it too, her expression growing even gloomier.
"That's why I lack confidence."
"Sorry..."
In the end, her loud rebuttal dwindled into a mumbled apology.
But it was fine.
Regardless, Ray now harbored a desire for a deeper relationship with Kim Siyul.
So Sora had only one job.
"Don't worry, Sis! I'll help you!"
Help Ray get together with Kim Siyul.
"Really?!"
"Of course! I'll provide maximum Magical support to make you and your bro lovers!"
From a friend with feelings to an irreplaceable lover, and ultimately marriage and becoming a couple.
"Thanks, Sora!"
"Yeah!"
All for a "happy" future.
I was back at the Magical Capital Hospital in no time.
Contrary to that dickhead's words, it hadn't taken long for my missing finger to regrow.
I'd been a bit freaked out when the glans devoured my finger whole back then, but it was needless worry.
"Still, cases like this are close to Magical anomalies, so please don't let it get eaten next time."
Of course, it wasn't common.
"We at the Magical Capital Hospital basically just lay the foundation for the damaged area to regrow using magic power. After that, all we can do is provide Magical nutrients or antibiotics."
The treatment for lost body parts essentially relied on the patient's recovery ability. In my case, it was abnormally fast compared to other Magical Girls.
Probably because I'd regained more of my power.
Before, barely staunching wounds was all I could manage.
That didn't mean the Magical Capital Hospital's treatment was nothing. Quite the opposite.
"It's still amazing, though. I didn't know lost parts could recover like this."
"Really? It's standard Magical medical procedure these days. Magical health insurance covers it too."
"Oh, nice."
Just laying the foundation was revolutionary. Something unimaginable in the other world.
This world was definitely superior in these aspects.
If your body got severed or torn off in the other world, and the original part was gone like this time?
Two choices.
Live without it.
Or source from a fresh corpse you'd just killed.
I recommend the former. Rejection from the latter could leave you wandering death's door. I knew from experience.
Anyway, I expressed thanks to modern medicine and moved on.
Honestly, I wanted a detailed explanation of what they did and the principles behind it.
I wouldn't get injured like this often, but better safe than sorry.
But I quickly shelved that thought.
More like it got shelved for me.
"Well, Magical Girls who handle magic power well recover noticeably faster, but this speed is a first. Did you go through something special before?"
"I was the Hero of the Moon."
"You're that guy? The dickhead who spouted Magical bullshit about being handsomer than Dojun?"
"Ah, fuck."
Back then, I was too busy fleeing rampaging Magical Girls to explain properly.
I'd clearly apologized, but that shitty bitch must've twisted my words. Most of the Magical Girls at the hospital wanted me half-dead.
This is why good looks make life easy.
I was honestly jealous.
If I'd been that handsome, I wouldn't have been mobbed by confessions in school or stabbed in the other world for being ugly.
Anyway.
With recovery done, I returned to base to avoid getting killed by the eye-rolling Magical Girls.
And now.
"Creature, is that place comfortable for you?"
"Eh, so-so."
"That's a relief. Seeing the creature meekly confined in the Magical barrier truly calms this girl's heart."
"Octo, I get what you're driving at, but you've been pissing me off since last time?"
I was in a Magical barrier.