Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Magical Reporting Ceremony (1)
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Some might wonder about it.
What's this about racial discrimination in Korea?
Of all things, targeting a Korean.
But there was no other way to put it.
"What the hell is this blackie?"
Because of the one person standing in front of me.
Long blonde hair that evoked images of dog fur, and blue eyes.
A curvaceous figure that even casual clothes couldn't hide.
Fluent speech with just a hint of awkwardness.
She was obviously a foreigner. And a beauty at that.
"Shut your damn mouth, you whitey bastard."
But that didn't mean my words came out nicely.
She'd spoken like an asshole—why the hell should I play nice just because she was pretty? She was a fellow recruit anyway, so no real issue.
Besides, it was a bit ambiguous to call it outright racism. There was a flaw in the terminology, really.
"Why the hell am I a blackie?"
How the hell was I a blackie?
If anything, I'd be a yellow monkey.
"Your hair's all black, and your eyes are black."
"You crazy bitch."
In a world full of magical girls, they discriminated based on hair color, not skin.
The epitome of a dumb white girl.
Magical girls really were all mentally ill.
"Hold on a second!"
At that moment, a high-pitched voice barged right into the standoff.
"You're Kim Siyul, right?"
The owner of the voice was, predictably, another magical girl.
Blue hair and a noticeably petite build.
Fox-like amber eyes that seemed to slyly flicker.
Pink eyeshadow that brought foxes to mind.
I glared at her, wondering why the hell she was calling me, and she flinched, her lips twitching.
"Oh, right! I forgot to introduce my magical self!"
Ignoring my sharp gaze entirely, she smoothly launched into her introduction.
"I'm the magical girl Blue Fox! You can just call me Sora for my magical name!"
"Sora?"
I voiced my suspicion with a guarded expression.
She beamed back, catching my words effortlessly.
"Yep! I'm Japanese-American! But my name's straight-up Japanese: Sora!"
It seemed like a lot had changed while I was gone.
Gathering all of Korea's crazies in one place wasn't enough—they were importing foreign lunatics now too.
The world really might be ending.
Not that it would be surprising if it did.
As I mulled over my complicated feelings, the magical girl who'd just introduced herself as Sora spoke up.
"You're 33, right?"
"Yeah. So what?"
I replied indifferently, but she didn't react at all.
She just stared at me steadily.
"Hm."
Something felt off.
Her eyes seemed to appraise me, like I was on display.
Definitely. I'd seen that look plenty in the other world.
At that moment, Sora gave me a sly smile.
"Then from now on, I'll call you senpai."
"Hey, why?"
I shot back at the sudden declaration.
Sora answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You're older than me. So, senpai it is."
The magical girl spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
I didn't feel like arguing.
No, I didn't even want to.
You couldn't reason with someone like that anyway.
In the end, I half-gave up.
"Call me whatever—old man, senpai, do what you want."
"Old man works, but senpai's easier to say, right? Calling you oppa would be total magical girl cringe, though."
"Just do whatever."
"Oh, and when you call me, use my name. Not 'hey' like that. Got it?"
Give her an inch, and she took a mile.
Her magical girl name was Blue Fox, right?
Definitely a real fox of a girl.
The way her narrow eyes crinkled in a smile, and how she got everything she wanted even now.
Whatever. What could I do?
Dealing with crazies just wore me out.
The sane one had to endure.
I was the hero, after all.
"Fine."
"Great."
No sooner had I spoken than Sora's beaming face turned serious as she asked,
"What do you think of my big sis?"
"What?"
My short exclamation carried two meanings.
What the hell did that mean?
And what random big sis talk was this?
Sora seemed to grasp both questions, linking arms with the racist right away.
"Oh, I mean my big sis Ray here."
I hadn't wanted to know, but I'd learned the other magical girl's name anyway.
Ray.
Probably meaning light, like a ray.
Honestly, too good a name for the likes of her.
Meanwhile, the suddenly mentioned Ray narrowed her eyes at Sora.
"Sora, why'd you drop my magical name like that?"
"What's it matter? She's our magical recruit buddy—we'll be together, so better she knows. Right?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
Surprisingly, Ray didn't make a fuss at Sora. She just grumbled quietly.
Honestly, it was intriguing.
I'd figured she'd call her a bitch or something.
But then a sudden question popped into my head.
"Your big sis?"
Their chat felt like family talk, but they looked nothing alike. Different looks, different names—total strangers.
So why call her big sis?
Sora, still cheek-to-cheek with Ray, flicked her gaze to me and answered.
"Oh, after my parents died, I got magically adopted into Ray sis's family."
Heavy stuff for a smiling delivery.
In the end, I steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Anyway, what about your sis?"
"Yeah! Be honest!"
Honest? What was there to say?
"Thick-headed as hell."
"Oh, totally."
"You're better, at least."
"Huh? You hitting on me?"
Now I could see they really were family.
Both nuts.
Thinking that was flirting? Please.
As I stared at her coldly, Sora narrowed her eyes and pouted slyly.
"No can do. I'm a 'lez,' you know."
Fits the Japanese-American bit perfectly.
Casually coming out and all.
Still, separately, she gave off a chilling vibe.
Summing up our chat so far, this Sora girl boiled down to one thing.
Unfathomable.
Couldn't predict her thoughts or schemes at all.
Uneasy. Instinctual gut feeling. In the other world, people like her were the most dangerous.
Needed to be careful.
Didn't want a knife in the back again.
At that moment, a sharp voice shattered my thoughts.
"Blackie! Why the hell am I a thick-headed magical?!"
The crazy white bitch from before.
I couldn't comprehend it.
I'd said it straight— what was the problem?
"Your head's empty."
"Beer?"
"Not that empty, you crazy bitch."
"Anyway! I'm way smarter than you think, blackie!"
"Yeah?"
Smart, huh?
Was she, though?
"You know what Korea's superconductor is?"
The white girl shot back immediately.
"Course I do. It's that tool where you apply heat and pressure to magical copper and lead to zero out magical resistance."
Unexpected.
Didn't think her skull could handle that.
Stunned into silence by the normal answer, she pressed on even more cockily.
"You know how many monster Indians us American magical girls terminated with magical superconductors?"
She wagged her index finger side to side.
"You ain't got nothin' on me."
Ridiculous.
What the fuck kind of superconductor was that?
"We call that a lead bullet by social consensus, thick-head."
"Your talk ain't wrong. Prove it otherwise."
"Uh..."
Couldn't refute it.
If anything, she was right.
Hated to admit it, but had to this time. She was tougher than I thought.
Maybe pleased by my reaction, Ray smirked.
"This is basic magical common sense for anyone in the City. Got it?"
"The City? What's that?"
"You don't even know the world's most famous city, New York? Totally magically uneducated."
How the hell was I supposed to know from that?
Really wanted to smack her.
But separately, calling New York the most famous city? No way.
"New York's all you got?"
"Ha?"
Ray's face twisted slightly.
I twisted my lips further.
"Where I lived's more famous than New York."
"Where?"
Ray glared sharply, as if daring me to spill.
I opened my mouth calmly.
"Ssangmun-dong."
"What the hell's that?"
"You don't know Ssangmun-dong?"
"What kinda place is it?"
Ray looked deflated. Probably not the answer she expected.
But I was confident.
Ssangmun-dong was the most famous city.
In Korea and worldwide.
"The city that birthed and raised Seoul National University Business top student Jo Sang-woo and Squid Game winner Seong Gi-hun— and you dare not know it?"
"Ah."
Ray finally got it. At this point, not knowing would be weird.
"That answer you?"
"......"
In the end, Ray stayed silent.
Fact too hard to counter.
Anyway, good enough to establish dominance with a first meeting.
Time to use the barracks as intended.
"Sora, where's my bed?"
Yeah. Bedtime.
"Over there. Right next to sis's magical bed."
"Got it. Thanks."
I headed to the bed she pointed at, lay down, and tried to sleep.
Would sort gear later.
Just too tired now.
Today's events had been a lot.
Back from the other world, dragged by cops soon after, hauled to judgment hall, nearly died in psych eval, somehow became a magical girl and got dragged to base.
All dragged around.
No say in any of it.
And parents' fate still unknown.
"Life's such bullshit, for real."
Good thing I was Nova Pia's majority shareholder now. Otherwise, I'd have jumped into the Han River by now.
To the real other world full of dreams and hope, not that dogshit one.
"Still, whatever."
Not entirely dissatisfied. There was one small but solid plus.
Could sleep worry-free now.
In a bed, even.
Not blood-and-mud ground, mosquito-snake tree, or rotten-cold trash heap. An actual bed with a roof.
Thinking that way eased my mind surprisingly.
"Blackie."
If not for the crazy bitch next door piping up.
I cracked my eyes to look at Ray.
"What."
"Listen before sleep."
Sora helpfully killed the lights, but in the dark room, one pair of blue eyes gleamed fiercely.
"If you crash on my magical bed 'cause location confusion, you're dead for real. Gonna smash two magical superconductors into your skull. No cap."
Pretty harsh for a barracks mate.
But I just expressed surprise.
"Oh."
"What?"
"Nah, nothing."
Felt like the other world again.
Situation way better now, though.
Anyway, back to sleep.
"Done talking? I'm sleeping."
And so I drifted off.
A little girl stood before me.
Faded dress here and there.
One wilted moonflower clutched in both hands.
Choppy gray bob with uneven ends.
Lilac eyes sparkling with pathos.
I knew her well. Impossible to forget.
The only one in the other world who treated me like a person. Pure and kind.
And.
The one reason I became a hero.
That small, fragile girl was my sole precious bond from the other world.
Overjoyed.
So much to say.
Does your body not hurt anymore? How've you been? Got a name now?
And more. Wanted to tell her everything from today. If possible, come to this world with me.
But before I could speak, she blocked my lips with a finger.
Then smiled faintly and called me.
"Senpai!"
A word she'd never said.
One I never would.
Then it hit me.
"Ah, fuck."
This was a dream.
I opened my eyes to the clear view of the barracks interior from before sleep.
But something was off.
Judging by the dawn view outside, it was still sleep time.
So why were the lights on?
Surroundings felt a bit hectic.
No way these assholes were partying while I slept. Fitting for a den of psychos.
"Senpai!"
Sora called urgently.
Perfect timing.
"Party without me. Don't wake me."
"No, senpai! Not that! It's urgent! Get up!"
Why the panic?
I tilted my head, and Sora explained.
"A monster appeared in front of the magical base!"
"What?"
"We gotta deploy! Now!"
Monster.
The living disaster I'd only heard of.
Meant fighting it.
"A monster?"
"Yes!"
Right.
Magical girls' fight.
"Tough luck."
Not mine, though.
They'd handle it fine.
"Good luck."
And I went back to sleep.
"Get up, you damn senpai jerk!"
Lulling myself with Sora's furious scream.