Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Magical Transformation?
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Sora thought to herself.
'What the heck?'
Kim Siyul was acting weird.
Of course, Kim Siyul is a weird guy. Actually, even putting it that way felt like a slight Magical redundancy.
It was a kind of Magical tautology error.
Because Kim Siyul and "weird guy" meant exactly the same thing.
But today, he was even weirder than usual.
'Something happen?'
He was wearing a Magical poncho raincoat, hood pulled all the way down tight, and even had on Magical work gloves.
Well, if you thought about it, it wasn't weird at all.
Starting today, the weather called for poncho raincoats for the next few days. And there was Magical drainage work lined up too.
So putting it on was perfectly normal.
You could even call it thorough Magical preparedness.
But.
No matter how much poncho you wore, wasn't pulling it down so far that your face was completely hidden just a little... off?
'Oh, and now I see he's even got a Magical mask on?'
And on top of that, he never took any of it off, not even for a second.
Not during the grueling Magical fieldwork, not even when he came indoors.
No, he wrapped it even tighter.
As if he didn't want to show even the tiniest bit.
'And why's he suddenly eating separately too.'
That wasn't all. He kept up the bizarre getup right up until he went to sleep. And it was the same the next day.
'Why?'
Sora was dying to know.
He'd been perfectly fine just a little while ago, so why was he suddenly covering himself head to toe like this?
But no one had a proper answer.
"Sis, you know why Senior's acting like that?"
"He's prepping to join the Magical KKK or something?"
Ray wouldn't stop saying weird crap.
"What about you, Ty-see?"
"Feels like he's prepping for Magical immediate divine descent."
Ty-see wouldn't stop spouting nonsense.
'Better not even ask Muyong...'
Sora decided quick.
But talking to Kim Siyul directly wasn't easy either.
He'd gotten noticeably busier lately with Magical duties, making it hard to even approach him. And once they ended, he'd vanish without a trace.
No clue where he went.
Like he'd completely ceased to exist.
Then he'd slip back in right before Magical roll call to crash, leaving zero chance to talk.
And that wasn't all. Even when Sora luckily managed to corner him and ask...
"Nah, it's just... y'know... that kind of thing."
All she got were vague dodges.
Kim Siyul never gave a straight answer.
'What the heck is it.'
She kinda got that he didn't want to show his face, but the reason? No idea.
Finally, Sora couldn't take it anymore and made up her mind.
'Today, no matter what.'
She'd figure out what was going on.
"I'm gonna go wash up."
Right on cue, as soon as Magical duties wrapped, Kim Siyul announced he was heading out to wash and left the Magical dorm.
A moment later, Sora tailed him secretly.
He wasn't lying about washing up—right as she stepped out of the dorm, she saw the door to the Magical showers close.
Meaning Kim Siyul was inside the Magical showers. Timing-wise, he had to be in the changing room.
'Now's the time.'
Sora flung open the door to the Magical showers without hesitation.
Of course, she hadn't charged in blindly. She'd prepped excuses in case he complained—like she didn't know he was there, or hadn't heard him say anything, or she'd be more careful next time.
But.
None of her prepared lines came out.
She just.
"Uh...?"
A dazed question. That was it.
It wasn't because he was naked or anything. He'd only just gone in, so he was only now pulling back the hood of his Magical poncho raincoat.
Just.
"Senior...?"
There was nothing beyond the hood.
Yeah.
No head where a head should have been.
Just... empty.
Honestly, Kim Siyul pulled so many thoughtless stunts that she'd sometimes... okay, often thought he must live without a brain.
But she never imagined his head was actually gone.
'No way this is real...'
Sora was totally thrown.
She had no idea what to say. She was so shocked she could barely breathe, let alone talk.
Her mind couldn't handle it anymore. None of it felt real. But forcing herself to accept it as reality was impossible.
"Wh-what... happened..."
She trailed off and passed out.
"So Senior, you're saying it wasn't that your head was gone, just that your whole body was transparent?"
"Yeah."
I replied with a bit of a deflated look.
Honestly? I was beat.
Physically and mentally.
Dragging Sora's fainted ass back here was bad enough, then everyone suddenly grilled me, and in the middle of it all she wakes up demanding an explanation.
Explaining the situation and my condition didn't take long, but it was so intense it felt like forever.
At least things were totally back to normal now.
Starting from the moment they demanded I explain.
"Well, you're fine now at least. Thank goodness."
"Yeah."
I'd wondered if this state would stick around, but nope—total relief.
"So the inferior being thinks that the inferior being's condition just now was caused by a Monster's Magical curse?"
"Circumstantially, yeah."
Up until moments ago, my whole body had been completely transparent.
I figured it was probably a curse from that Monster.
Your classic transparency curse.
There hadn't been anything else that could've messed with my body like that besides the Monster.
That said, Sora and Whitey each looked unconvinced.
"But we definitely took out the Monster back then. Shouldn't the curse have been lifted completely?"
"Yeah, Sora handled the Monster, so the curse on me got cleared too."
Sora and Whitey had a point.
The curses on Whitey and the other Magical Girls had lifted after they beat their Monsters.
So my conclusion was this.
"Probably a delayed-activation curse."
Unlike Sora and Whitey, I'd been fine when the Monster cursed us before. If the curse that hit me back then activated just now, it fits perfectly.
There are post-mortem curses that trigger even after the caster dies, right? Mine's probably something like that.
The Magical Capital Hospital missing it was a little weird, but not totally incomprehensible on a common-sense level.
Think military. Does the army ever handle anything perfectly on the first try?
Hell no.
Every army in the world fumbles around before barely scraping together countermeasures—and those are never perfect anyway.
Magical Girls are the same.
They probably just treated the visible injuries and called it a day.
You can't expect common sense from a system that discharges people without a proper check.
"Does a delayed-activation Magical curse even make sense?"
"Monsters talk. They fly through the sky. Magical Girls exist in this world. What's not to believe?"
I didn't know jack about it myself—what can you do.
The curse was the most plausible explanation I had.
"True, when there's already an inferior mental patient claiming to be a Hero, a Magical transparency curse feels right at home."
"Exactly. Compared to mixing up Magical bullshit with reality, this is logical as hell."
"Now that you mention it, this is the most realistic thing you've ever said, Senior."
"I am the real Hero, you bitches."
Whatever I said, they all nodded and accepted it in their own ways.
But Sora looked dissatisfied about something and suddenly made a grumpy face.
"Still, Senior, you went too far this time."
"How?"
"If something weird was happening to your body, couldn't you have just told us? We're Magical comrades, aren't we?"
Her words dripped with hurt, and I mumbled back a little sheepishly.
"I didn't wanna get accused of peeping while you guys were washing up or changing."
"Uh..."
Sora trailed off.
I opened my mouth again.
"Be real—if I'd said I got hit with a transparency curse, you definitely would've suspected me. Right?"
I glanced at Whitey and Nakji. They both averted their eyes at the same time.
"Can't... exactly deny that."
"Uh, um... sorry."
They were affirming what I'd said.
Not like I couldn't understand.
Of course you'd suspect me.
But even so, it left me feeling a little down.
"See? Even if I wasn't peeping, I couldn't prove it. I really had no clue."
"Um... sorry, Senior."
Even their apologies didn't lift my mood.
"All I know is that Sora's got a mole between her thighs."
"You were peeping! You crazy Senior!!!"
These failing-grade bitches had senses like a damn bloodhound.
Couldn't let my guard down for a second.
Right then, Ray—who'd been lounging around all chill—went half-feral and lunged at me.
"Hetero!!!"
"What the hell's your deal?"
"You gotta show me Sora's thigh mole too!"
Ignoring Sora's eyes rotting away in real time next to us, Ray clung to me desperately.
"Did you maybe snap a Magical photo of it?"
Ray was radiating pure desperation from every inch of her body. She seemed dead serious.
"Please! Please! I'm begging you!"
But I didn't have any pics of Sora.
I only had alternatives.
"Ray, I don't have pics of Sora's mole, but I do have some other prime moles—wanna see those instead?"
"Oh, really? Yeah, show me that!"
Thankfully, Ray seemed perfectly happy with the runner-up option.
So I made a wish.
"You definitely asked me to show you."
"Huh?"
I hoped those weren't famous last words.