Chapter 112
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Mascot Unit (3)
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The Magical Girl's explanation went like this.
The second reason Magical Girls came to the Mascot Unit was none other than Magical adoption.
In simple terms, it was about increasing the number of mascots.
She said the candidates for adoption were limited to mascots without a Magical Girl.
And there were two main ways such mascots without Magical Girls came to be.
Either the Magical Girl died.
Or they were abandoned, like the mascots of Magical felons.
No wonder there had seemed to be more mascots than Magical Girls earlier. It wasn't my imagination.
"Mascots without a Magical Girl aren't completely unable to speak. There are plenty that can talk just like regular mascots."
That meant the Shiba Inu here had lost its magic power and become an ordinary animal.
"Of course, even if they can't speak, they're still proper mascots. Their Magical intelligence index is much higher than that of regular animals."
Compared to the grandiose term "Magical adoption," the actual process of taking one in was no big deal.
You just bonded with the mascot and naturally let your magic power flow into it. That was it.
Once you'd infused enough magic power, it would start talking like a normal mascot, or so she said.
The exchange I'd overheard between Rez and her mascot earlier must have been about adopting a new one.
At that moment, the Magical Girl clapped her hands.
"It might be hard to understand just from an explanation, so let me show you how it's actually done."
To demonstrate, the Magical Girl reached out toward the Shiba Inu next to Whitey.
"Dogi, come here."
[Grrrrrr!]
But the Shiba Inu bared its teeth and lunged at the Magical Girl instead.
"Watch out!"
The octopus warned her at this sudden turn of events.
But the Magical Girl didn't panic.
Instead, she casually dodged the Shiba Inu's teeth, as if this was a familiar routine.
In the end, all that echoed emptily in the air was the sharp clack of its jaws snapping together.
As the failed attacker scampered away, the Magical Girl flashed a confident smile.
"You just do a Magical bond like I did and let your own magic power flow in."
"That wasn't any bonding at all."
"Our Bosintang is a shy one by nature, so this counts as a Magical bond."
The Magical Girl nodded, then suddenly looked like she'd forgotten something and hurriedly added,
"Oh, right. Not every mascot can be Magically adopted. Its color has to be very similar or identical to your magic power's color. Otherwise, it's just a waste of Magical effort."
So, to sum up Magical adoption:
The target: a mascot without a Magical Girl.
The method: bonding and infusing magic power.
The condition: the colors have to match your magic power.
It was roughly like charging a phone. The mascot was the device, magic power the electricity.
Matching the magic power color was like using the right charger specs.
That said, one question remained.
"But what's the benefit of Magical adoption?"
Why bother increasing your mascot count?
At a point where they didn't help in combat, adding more offered no real gain. Bluntly put, it was pretty much pointless.
"Mascots have two Magical duties: delivering Magical news and helping with Magical evacuations during disasters. The more mascots you have, the better."
This was actually useful intel.
Considering that regular news was handled by Magical Girls serving as messengers, her words implied two key points.
First: Truly critical news came directly from your own mascot, not the messengers.
Second: Even combat-incapable mascots assisted with evacuations in emergencies like disasters.
In other words, a mascot showing up meant crisis.
It might seem like overthinking, but with Magical felons as precedent—and me nearly getting my lines cut that time—better safe than sorry.
"Plus, you can help with your existing mascots' Magical mental care. Of course, in that case, you also need to consider if the Magical compatibility works out."
This was for the mascots' sake, but I got the psychology behind it.
It was like giving a lonely only child a sibling.
"And."
At that moment, the Magical Girl gave a sly little smile.
"It's like having a pet for emotional stability. I know comparing mascots to pets is a bit off, but you get the idea."
It wasn't wrong.
Owning a pet didn't offer much material benefit.
Extremely speaking, it was an extension of self-satisfaction.
But.
That extension could become someone else's reason to keep living, or a turning point in their life.
Mascots weren't much different.
That was what the Magical Girl wanted to say, I figured.
I could understand it. Hell, I had one such existence in my life right now.
Yeah. The girl I'd met in that other world.
She couldn't join my journey to kill the Demon King since she wasn't combat-useful, but her presence had changed my life.
From a murderous demon to a hero for one girl.
I hoped she was doing well.
Someday, I wanted to see her again.
"That's right, Hetero. And mascots have a naturally high Magical intelligence index, so they keep the bathroom cleaner than me."
"Just aim for mascot level. Please."
Rez ruined the moment completely. I seriously wanted to kill her.
Anyway.
"You can tell if the meat you're eating is from a monster or not, but whatever— no one's selling monster meat anymore, so it's not a big deal."
The Magical Girl tacked on that final note and wrapped up her explanation.
"Anyway, go ahead and meet the mascots now. I'm heading out first."
The moment she left, Whitey suddenly approached me.
"Hey...! No, Siyul!"
"What?"
I tilted my head.
Whitey inched closer and spoke up.
"You don't have a mascot yet, right? Have you thought about which animal you'd want to make yours this time?"
"Eh."
Honestly, no.
Even if I could use magic power to make a mascot, I had no interest when they didn't help in fights. No animals appealed to me anyway.
Right then, Whitey—who'd crept right up—glanced at me slyly and blurted out,
"How about a puppy?"
"Nah, dogs are a no."
"Huh...? W-Why...? Don't like puppies...?"
Whitey looked like the world had ended as she met my eyes. Her blue irises sparkled with desperation and worry.
But dogs really were a hard pass for me.
"I've got trauma with dogs."
"Oh, PTSD. Okay, can't be helped then."
Thankfully, Whitey respected my stance.
"Thanks for understanding."
"No prob. Gotta be careful with PTSD folks or they go on Magical shooting sprees."
"Hey, you bitch."
If anything, it felt more like handling a severe case than true respect.
Honestly, that stung a bit.
I wasn't some low-rank; I was A-grade.
Separately, it wasn't wrong that I had dog trauma.
I'd mentioned suffering because some generals walked their pet dogs regardless of rules.
Literally.
I'd really suffered.
Because I'd had to salute that dog bastard.
It was absurd. The dog started barking at me wildly, so I calmly fetched some soybean paste and a kitchen knife, and from then on, it saluted me.
The silver lining? The company commander had indulged in some body-building grub, so the doggy antics didn't last long.
Still, it didn't feel great.
No matter how I thought about it, the company commander's actions back then crossed every line of human decency.
Hogging it all selfishly like that. That wasn't human behavior. Not sharing even a bite was straight-up cruel.
The dog bastard had gotten eaten by another dog bastard.
A true case of kin devouring kin.
But I didn't confront the company commander. Instead, I upheld the discarded human decency. I was A-grade, after all.
So I reunited the general with his pup.
I didn't like the general much, but he was the owner. As owner, he deserved at least a piece.
What even an A-grade like me hadn't predicted was the general throwing away the meat without eating it.
I still don't get it. Why toss something that precious? He could've given it to me.
Being a general must mean not knowing food's value. Well, if boldly discarding valuables is general material, I had nothing to say.
Anyway.
"Ha, fuck."
A wave of disillusionment hit me, and I swore.
Back in service, aside from A-grade me, it was all lowlifes. Why was it the same even as a Magical Girl? My life was thoroughly fucked.
Just then, Whitey's bright voice snapped me out of it.
"I'm gonna circle the grounds because of the mascots. Wanna walk together if you're okay with it, Siyul?"
"Eh."
"I see... Sorry..."
Whitey deflated instantly.
I quickly added,
"It's not because I don't like you. I'm just too lazy for all this. Honestly, I'm not even thinking about a mascot."
"Oh, really?! Okay! What a relief!"
I didn't know what was relieving about it, but since Whitey was smiling again, I nodded along.
"Anyway, I'm off! See ya!"
"Yeah, go ahead."
[Master!!! Come with!!!]
I waved casually as Whitey left with her mascot in tow.
Praying she wouldn't cause any trouble.
"Let's go!!!"
[Yeah!!! Master!!!]
"Magical Girl Gold Retriever! Don't jump in the Magical mud puddle!!!"
Too late, it seemed.