Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Interlude: Each One's Night
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A hectic day had finally drawn to a close.
Nothing much happened afterward. We all gathered again and received various announcements from the Magical Captain. That was it.
Things like, "You've earned a rest tomorrow after all your hard work today—no major duties," or "The barracks that took down the most monsters gets extra points for everyone."
And especially, "Whitey, who finished off that unusual monster at the end, gets special leave."
Once all that wrapped up, we returned to the barracks, and now here I was, lying in bed.
Whitey and Sora had stepped out to wash up for a bit, leaving me alone in the barracks. In other words, no interruptions—I could finally get some proper sleep.
But sleep just wouldn't come.
"This is bullshit."
It pissed me off to no end.
I could somewhat understand being thrown into the fray to fight monsters. After all, my current status was that of a magical girl, so facing off against them was par for the course.
Flexibility? I wasn't expecting any. This was a den of lunatics, no different from the military. Expecting sanity here made you the crazy one.
Social reputation?
Yeah, totally fucked.
But there was something even worse.
"Un-fucking-believable."
Getting chewed out by a goddamn monster.
Like some holy roller speaking in tongues, the mute beast suddenly started talking.
And not just that—the first words out of its mouth were calling me less than human.
Who could've predicted that? And before I could even argue back, the thing offed itself to escape.
I was wronged.
Deeply, truly wronged.
Even a monster wouldn't see me as human.
Didn't that make me look like a bigger psycho than the magical girls?
Honestly, all things considered, I was just a normal guy with sane thoughts.
The more I chewed on it, the more quiet rage bubbled up.
"Who the fuck suicides to bail like that, you piece of shit!"
I let out a hollow roar of fury, but fatigue crashed over me right after.
"Ha, fuck."
Yeah, I'd definitely pushed it today.
I'd only meant to test how well my body moved, but it performed beyond expectations.
So naturally, I'd gotten a bit carried away without realizing. No wonder I was wiped.
Still, all in all, it was a good thing.
At least no lingering aftereffects to suffer through.
Unlike before, when just breathing hurt, now my body felt incredibly light. Almost like it wasn't mine.
Anyway.
"Time to sleep."
Lulled by the heavy drowsiness, I drifted off again.
That's when a tentative voice broke through.
"Hey, you asleep?"
I opened my eyes to see Whitey staring at me. A bit further back, Sora watched us silently.
While I'd dozed off briefly, they'd both finished washing up and returned.
And now Whitey was talking to me out of the blue.
"What."
Interrupted mid-sleep, my voice came out snappier than intended.
But surprisingly, Whitey didn't flip out.
"Um... well..."
She just hemmed and hawed, trailing off.
The cocky attitude from earlier was gone; now she was just gauging my mood.
Not that I planned to grill her.
I was too damn tired.
"If you got nothing to say, beat it. I'm sleeping."
"W-Wait!"
But as I issued my dismissal, Whitey clung desperately, like a pup terrified of abandonment.
What the hell was this?
Earlier she'd charged at me like she wanted to kill me.
"That... at the start, when I called you and got all violent with my words... I'm really sorry."
"You mean calling me a darkie?"
"Yeah, truly sorry."
I half-thought it was a prank, but her serious expression suggested genuine remorse.
"Why the sudden apology?"
"Well..."
Whitey hesitated, glancing at me cautiously before continuing.
"You're not actually as bad as the rumors say... I feel like I discriminated against you too much as a magical girl..."
"Is that so?"
"Especially thanks to you, I finally got a proper magical achievement and scored some leave... I really needed it this time."
More than anything, she kept thanking me for the leave. Must've been urgent for her.
"You needed the leave that bad?"
"Yeah..."
"Got it."
Whitey bowed her head.
"Sorry. My bad all this time."
"Fine. Do better next time."
I nodded casually.
"For real...? Really...?"
But Whitey, like she never expected me to accept so easily, double-checked.
It was ridiculous.
She apologized, and now she's surprised?
"Why act shocked? Should I not accept your apology?"
"No! It's not that, I just never thought you'd be this cool about it... Everyone else stayed mad no matter how many times I apologized..."
I got it.
Even I hadn't expected magical girls to be such psychos compared to the rumors.
Let alone the gap between hearing about someone and meeting them in person.
Oh well.
If she's apologizing this hard, might as well forgive her.
I'm a hero, after all.
"It's fine."
Besides, this was nothing.
"Discrimination was way worse in my other world. What you did doesn't even count, so don't sweat it."
Compared to there, it was child's play.
That place was true discrimination hell.
"Really? What'd the other world folks do?"
"I'd confess, but instead of dating me, they'd just cry."
"Uh..."
"Real human discrimination, right?"
"..."
Whitey fidgeted in awkward silence.
That's when Sora jumped in.
"Sunbae, that's not discrimination. That's distinction."
"Shut your trap."
Either way, it worked out well.
Looking back, Whitey now called me "you" instead of "darkie."
Not by name, but for a reject like her to recognize her faults and reflect? Huge progress.
And I made it happen.
A twinge of pride swelled in me.
"At least now you treat me like a person."
"Ah, but you're not human. How could a human do that to a grandma?"
"Fuck, seriously."
Well, she still didn't see me as human.
Then Sora cut in again.
"How about we throw a little magical party to celebrate sunbae's arrival?"
She held a large bottle in one hand.
"What's that?"
"Magical water. Here."
"Oh, nice."
Water was plenty for me. Clean stuff like this was rare in the other world.
I downed the glass Sora handed me in one go.
It had a sharp tang.
And a bitter finish.
"...This is booze."
"It's magical water. Just with a bit of magical impurity."
"You're gonna make me puke."
True lunatics.
Not only labeling booze as water on the bottle, but cracking it open in these abstinent barracks.
And Whitey, acting like it was normal, timidly offered a glass.
Sisters both crazy.
"You two really nuts?"
"You not drinking the magical water?"
"No thanks! Then don't drink it!"
Sora scowled and snatched the booze away.
Of course, I took it back.
"Just one more glass of water."
"Sunbae, you said you weren't drinking."
"You must be Jesus. It was water, but turned to wine in my mouth."
Sora glared sharply without a word.
I ignored her and shoved the glass forward.
"No more, and I'll report you—nail you to a cross?"
"Sunbae, you're a real asshole."
"You calling me, Sora?"
"Not you, unnie! And don't even respond to him!"
In the end, Sora grumbled and poured anyway.
"Tch."
A pair of amber eyes fixed on me with clear displeasure.
"Kicking grandma shows your true character, huh."
"I'll kill you, for real."
And so our little private party began.
The Magical Captain's mind was a whirlwind.
A man had shown up at the base as a magical girl. Not by choice—he'd been dragged there. She'd checked later, and it wasn't entirely wrong.
'Why the hell would they send a guy like that here?'
But he wasn't exactly normal either.
A magical deserter who evaded capture during the monster invasion.
A magical concept nut claiming he'd been to another world.
A self-proclaimed Hero of the Moon magical psycho.
One alone would've been bad enough— all three in one person?
Could anyone call that sane?
Even human?
'What were the higher-ups thinking?'
No matter how she turned it over, it made no sense.
Magical superiors' thoughts were always opaque to underlings, but this was beyond gauging.
Still.
"Magical Battalion Commander, it's me."
"Oh, you're here."
The most baffling person stood before her.
Magical Girl Pale Crow.
Her magical superior, the Magical Battalion Commander.
Among everyone the Magical Captain had met, Pale Crow was the least understandable.
Reasons aplenty.
A mascot that didn't exist.
A magical girl who stayed transformed 24/7.
And.
Achieving Magical Battalion Commander in record time.
'Where the hell did she come from?'
The third was especially weird.
Previously unknown—no magical feats ever—then suddenly bursting onto the scene, rocketing past everyone to Battalion Commander.
Yet.
'She hasn't shown a damn thing.'
Pale Crow hadn't fought a single monster, hadn't cast a single spell.
She claimed it was just magical desk work, boosted by favors, but that was bullshit.
No amount of backing gets you that far.
So the Magical Captain wondered.
Did she really have that much loyalty?
Hidden popularity?
Or.
'Manipulation?'
Forcing them to obey?
'No clue.'
Some had whispered she'd changed completely overnight.
Right around the monster invasion and her awakening as a magical girl.
But.
'Those whispers vanished.'
No one dared say it anymore.
Pale Crow was eerie in every way.
Magical skills.
Magical record.
But the strangest part was separate.
'What the hell is she thinking?'
Impossible to read her schemes.
Even today: When the Magical Captain had pressed urgently earlier, Pale Crow gave incomprehensible answers.
Casually, indifferently.
— "Just give him a standard magic wand and send him off."
— "The monsters are super weak anyway. One might be iffy, but it'll be fine."
— "No worries. I'm sure."
Pale Crow said not to worry, but the Magical Captain couldn't help it.
Not about Kim Siyul dropping into the monster horde, though.
Pale Crow had stressed it, and anyway, his life or death wasn't her problem.
'From the crap he spews, better off dead.'
No, she worried about sending him to his death as a magical girl.
'It'll definitely come back as magical responsibility.'
Someone had to take the fall.
'Not scared?'
Kim Siyul was someone Magical Major General Purple Snake fussed over—a rare magical powerhouse's backing.
Sending him to die?
No way it ends quietly.
The fallout would be massive.
Blocked promotions, dirty jobs piled on, political sidelining.
Life becomes hell.
'I'll be fucked first...'
The repercussions would hit underlings like her under Pale Crow too.
Still incomprehensible.
Superiors were unreadable, sure—but Pale Crow felt different.
The former was mere curiosity.
The latter.
'Something.'
Chilling.
She couldn't pinpoint why. Just long years as a magical girl—instinct tolling faint alarms.
"What brings you at this hour?"
"Delivering magical records. Remember that magical girl who suddenly retired, claiming she couldn't use magic?"
"Oh, right. She had some solid spells."
Even now, conversing, the chill lingered.
A shame, yet no regret shown. Understandable as an exec, but a bit much.
'Still, one of her own magical girls...'
Talking like a stranger. The Magical Captain pondered silently.
Then a clear voice pierced her thoughts.
"Something you wanna ask?"
"N-No, Battalion Commander."
"Your face screams it. Go on, spit it out."
Pale Crow smiled serenely. But to the Magical Captain, it felt creepy.
Like watching bugs play.
But what to ask?
Why send Kim Siyul to die?
'No...'
Absolutely not.
Pale Crow hated repeating herself—despised it.
Asking again now? Magical suicide.
Pale Crow pressed.
"Tell me. Come on."
Staring straight at her.
Cornered, she blurted it out.
"I-I'm wondering why you sent Kim Siyul specifically to that magical barracks."
"Oh, that?"
The Captain hadn't blurted without thought.
Another genuine curiosity.
"Yeah, that barracks is called a magical peer dorm, but it's really just for magical misfits among magical girls."
"True."
Kim Siyul's barracks was special.
In a bad way.
Not bad enough for Magical Green Camp, but full of magical girls too defective for normal group life.
Essentially a magical dumpster.
'One's relatively normal, tagging along with her sister, but the rest... yeah.'
Hard not to question.
"We barely balanced after one retired, but adding another? Who knows."
Kim Siyul was a magical bomb.
A ticking magical time bomb.
One wrong number, and he'd grab collars regardless of rank—a mad bastard.
Mood soured more?
No way it stops at collars.
'Even spat casuals at me, that fucker.'
If same-rank magical girls clashed?
'Magical chaos.'
Won't end pretty.
"Isn't that good?"
"Huh?"
"Better if they fight now. Draw blood, even."
"..."
The Magical Captain shot a quizzical look.
Pale Crow spoke.
"Know gu poison?"
"Gu... poison?"
"Yeah. Trap bugs together, let them eat each other till the strongest survives."
Why bring that up? The Captain's doubt deepened.
Pale Crow continued flatly.
"Same with those rejects. If they fight to kill, won't one useful to me survive?"
"But..."
The Captain trailed off.
Too dangerous. Rejects or not, treat them like bugs?
And that emphasized "to me."
What was she planning?
'Normally it'd be "us" or "everyone.'"
Rebellion surged to her throat.
Almost asked if even her precious magical stag beetle survived via gu.
'But can't ask that...'
Luckily, she held it in.
In magical society, less talk is better.
Especially with inscrutable superiors.
Mess up, and it's magical no-holds-barred.
Succumb to shadowy magical girl lynchings.
"And."
Pale Crow smirked faintly.
"If rejects tire fighting each other, it's easier for us, right? Too busy biting to notice what we do."
"That... yes."
The Captain nodded.
Pale Crow's smile turned cold.
"That's why I shoved that fucking bastard in there. Slot was open anyway."
Uncharacteristically sharp and irritable.
But excluding that, her logic held.
Rejects busy infighting? Execs do whatever unnoticed.
Naturally, other magical girls' eyes on the drama. Unless it explodes huge.
'Then maybe snag some magical snacks...'
Won't notice a little side hustle. The Captain mentally plotted.
"As expected of the Battalion Commander."
Her expression eased.
Answered the "question," and scored a chance for new magical gear unintended.
"Anyway, just watch. If something useful to me survives their brawl, great. If not, they weaken themselves. Either way, I win."
"Yes, perfect."
Thus, the two magical girls smiled in unison, earnestly hoping the rejects would tear into each other.
And at that moment.
Kim Siyul and Ray—who should've been ripping each other apart as predicted—
"Fuck yeah! Besties starting today!"
"Cheers!!!"
"One more round, everyone!"
Were becoming magical soulmates.
"Friend, wanna play a secret game with uncle?"
"What magical play? Magical leash walk?"
In a form neither the Magical Captain nor Battalion Commander could've imagined.
"Nah, complaint game."
In short, the worst possible form.