Chapter 74

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 74

Chapter Title: A Quiet, Yet Unholy Night

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"Hoo."

The Magical Battalion Commander let out a deep sigh. It reeked with sticky fatigue.

'I'm gonna die.'

The reason for her exhaustion was nothing special.

The Magical emergency combat training and Magical discipline training that had dragged on until today had been far more grueling than expected.

Especially since high-ranking Magical Girls were involved, the intensity had been off the charts.

She never wanted to get dragged into it again.

Not that being dragged there in the first place made any sense.

'No, fuck, why me?'

She still couldn't wrap her head around it.

It was absurd enough that some bullshit Magical Luck draw had gone around, but of all things, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it had started from the Magical Battalion Commander herself.

She'd never even heard of any of this before.

She'd only found out once she got hauled off to the Magical training.

She'd protested as best she could after the fact, but it hadn't changed a damn thing.

If anything, it had backfired spectacularly.

In the process of protesting, she'd gotten tangled up with the Magical Girls who'd sent the Magical help call, and that's when Kim Siyul's injury came to light—purely by coincidence.

And it wasn't the kind of thing you could just brush off.

Apparently, he'd been hurt bad enough that dying on the spot wouldn't have been surprising.

The resulting Magical fallout had been massive.

Not only had the severity of her Magical punishment ramped up to the extreme, but what was supposed to be a one-day ordeal got extended.

'Those bitches should've buried it properly.'

If it hadn't come to light, everything would've been fine—but no, it did, and now she'd suffered every hardship imaginable.

Anyway.

Despite all the twists and turns, the godforsaken Magical discipline was finally, completely over today.

But the Magical Battalion Commander couldn't rest.

'Fuck.'

She had a backlog of Magical work piled up.

As expected. Just because she'd spent the entire Magical workday getting Magical discipline didn't mean her duties vanished.

So today, too, the Magical Battalion Commander was whipping her weary body to get through her tasks.

- Prrrng.

At that moment, a bell rang out.

It was still that bizarre tone she hadn't gotten used to, but once she saw who it was from, she was thrilled to hear it today of all days.

「Magical Battalion Commander, it's me.」

"Yes, Magical Captain."

The Magical call was from the Magical Captain.

The Magical Girl who'd handled her backlog.

「I've taken care of almost everything you assigned.」

"Really? What about the Magical petitions?"

The Magical Battalion Commander broached the topic cautiously.

"Are those done too...?"

No helping it. Even as Magical Battalion Commander, Magical petitions were a real hassle.

For two reasons.

Having to check and respond to messages from anonymous senders she didn't know.

And the glacial Magical system taking forever.

'It pisses you off emotionally, and it's annoying.'

Ignoring them entirely or slapping together half-assed replies wasn't an option.

The moment the sender filed a Magical objection to her response, it'd escalate upward—and inevitably lead to a Magical audit.

'Gotta wrap it up at my level somehow.'

For a Magical Battalion Commander, it was a situation she absolutely had to avoid. Especially now, with her Magical standing already shaky.

「For the Magical petitions directed to you, Magical Battalion Commander, I've personally drafted and submitted responses for most of them, so please review. What's left are the ones that need your direct eyes based on content.」

"Perfect. That's a huge relief."

No empty words—she meant it.

Since the Magical Captain was handling the backlog and confidently saying she'd sorted it at her level.

In fact, the Magical petition the Magical Battalion Commander had just checked was exactly the kind too tricky for the Magical Captain to handle alone.

The title alone made it obvious.

Petitions dipping into personal territory like this were probably the ones the Magical Captain had left alone.

"Hoo."

The Magical Battalion Commander dashed off a reply while sighing in relief. She secretly hoped she'd make it home before midnight tonight.

"Thanks, Magical Captain."

「No problem. Oh, and about that Magical decommissioned dorm. There's one urgent update related to it.」

The Magical decommissioned dorm.

That had to be the one where Kim Siyul was staying.

"What is it?"

「A Magical Girl named Rainbow Chameleon from there was rushed to Magical Central Hospital tonight with acute cerebral hemorrhage.」

"Oh?"

Something felt off.

From the occasional checks, that Magical Girl had no notable health issues. If anything, she was just a bit smaller than average.

So what the hell happened?

「She claims she saw a non-Magical black hole, but I have no idea what that means.」

Even the explanation didn't clarify it.

What the hell was a non-Magical black hole?

Still, she roughly pieced together the info.

"So that leaves only four people in the dorm now? She won't be back anytime soon."

「Probably. From what I glimpsed, Rainbow Chameleon's condition looked really serious.」

"Got it. I'll keep that in mind."

「Then I'll log out of the Magical intranet. Call if there's more Magical business.」

"Sure. Thanks for your hard work."

The Magical Battalion Commander gave a faint smile.

The Magical Captain seemed competent enough with Magical paperwork that she hadn't replaced her—and it had paid off like this.

Of course, fully trusting her felt off somehow.

Just a gut feeling of unease.

She couldn't pinpoint why, but every time the thought crossed her mind, the back of her head prickled like it was warning her.

'Fuck, what is it?'

She'd never actually gotten hit back there, not once.

It was a bizarre sensation.

'Still.'

For now, no issues. The Magical Battalion Commander shook off the thought and checked the next Magical petition.

Her mind a bit lighter than before.

"What the fuck."

And just like that, it grew heavy again.

The title of the Magical petition staring back at her was particularly grating.

'Which bastard dares...'

She was gonna kill them. The Magical Battalion Commander bit her lip.

She had no memory of posting any Magical announcement or bitching, so why the hell was this petition here?

The Magical Battalion Commander opened it.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

The Magical Battalion Commander repeated her thanks nonstop.

She typed the same into the reply.

It was gratitude from instinct, not cognition.

For a split second, she'd felt like she'd nearly crossed an irreversible Magical river.

"Hoo."

Once her mind settled a bit, she suddenly wondered why the Magical Captain hadn't filtered out a petition like that.

But the doubt didn't linger.

A sudden spark of curiosity overshadowed it.

'What?'

Why was something like that posted as a Magical petition? Why hadn't the Magical Captain filtered this one either? The questions bubbled up, then vanished.

'What the hell.'

Curiosity burned about what was inside. That was all that lingered in her head.

The Magical Battalion Commander opened it, mesmerized.

And immediately clutched her eyes.

"Gaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!"

The horrific Magical image seared into her Magical retinas ravaged her brain mercilessly via her optic nerve.

A cosmic horror beyond words lurked there.

An unfathomable black hole.

Beneath it, a massive speck like an asteroid.

Literally, non-Magical cosmic horror.

"Urghhhhhh!!!"

The Magical Battalion Commander wrung her empty Magical stomach, spewing bitter gastric acid. Unbeknownst to her, blood streamed from her eyes.

The price of meddling in forbidden knowledge she'd never encounter normally.

"Hahk...! Hahk...!"

Finally, she gnashed her teeth until her lips bled and frantically dialed a number.

Desperately suppressing the urge to gouge out her eyes, shoving aside the question of why shit like this even existed.

On the third ring, the call connected.

「Hello, Magica—」

"It's me."

The Magical Battalion Commander cut her off immediately.

「Yes, Magical Battalion Commander.」

More important than Magical formalities.

"There was some horrific crap in the Magical petitions. Why'd you make me check this...?"

She got being pissed about handling the backlog, but once assigned, shouldn't you see it through properly?

So why hadn't she filtered this?

The Magical Battalion Commander could've replied vaguely and moved on.

She was genuinely curious.

「Because I couldn't see it either.」

This bitch.

The Magical Battalion Commander ground her teeth, swallowing a sharp retort that surged up.

No point stirring trouble here.

Plus, she was useful in her own way.

She'd already taken enough hits; burning bridges now would be pointless.

'Hold it in, hold.'

With superhuman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠patience, the Magical Battalion Commander steadied herself and checked the remaining Magical petitions.

'She did help a lot, after all.'

How many minutes passed?

Her resolve shifted slightly.

From tolerate and move on.

'This fucking bitch.'

To I'll kill her someday.

The remaining Magical petitions the Magical Captain had passed on were no different from the nightmares she'd already endured.

Titles that piqued curiosity.

Indescribably horrific contents.

These Magical petitions went on endlessly. Naturally, so did the Magical Battalion Commander's suffering.

She couldn't even adapt. Too many variations.

'What the fuck is Pop Art style?!'

In the end, she got fresh shocks every minute, reacting violently each time.

Night deepened.

'Ah, I'm really gonna kill her.'

Along with the Magical Battalion Commander's murderous intent.

「Huff huff. Ahh.」

「This is the Magical Administrative Squad.」

「All Magical Girls, grab your personal magic wands and assemble immediately.」

「Tonight, we hold a Magical mock battle.」