The Magical Girl Impersonator Incident (3)
As expected, Kim Dohee accepted Kim Doa's request without complaint.
I sent her our home address and, in the meantime, asked Keter to procure a magical girl cosplay outfit.
And so, now...
"It looks pretty convincing."
"Dohee, I'm so sorry, sis..."
We had created a new magical girl.
The frilly dress, symbolic of a magical girl. Complete with a mascot doll. Anyone would see her as a magical girl.
Keter had put some thought into the historical accuracy; the outfit matched Kim Doa's transformation form perfectly in purple.
Thanks to that, it came out looking just like Kim Doa in her prime.
I've always thought this, but everyone else is so stacked—none of them really looked like magical girls except me. That's what a real magical girl looks like.
"Perfect."
Keter clapped her hands softly, clearly satisfied with the result.
It really wasn't bad at all.
Even Kim Doa, who kept apologizing, had her phone out snapping photos.
"...This is actually going to help, right?"
Kim Dohee trembled, too embarrassed to even lift her head.
"You think we'd make you wear that just to mess with you? There's a good reason for it."
I patted the shivering Kim Dohee on the back.
Feels kinda like the bad guy here.
"I'll explain."
Having finished taking her photos, Kim Doa pocketed her phone.
"There's this crazy bitch going around Seoul pretending to be a magical girl. She's causing trouble everywhere, giving me a massive headache."
"Ah... That rumored self-proclaimed magical girl."
Kim Dohee nodded. She already knew about it.
"You've heard too, Dohee."
"Yeah. Narin told me it's been hot lately."
Hot, alright. In all the wrong ways.
"Anyway, tracking her down is basically impossible, so this time we're luring her out ourselves. That's why we need someone to play the part of a magical girl."
Kim Doa sighed.
She felt bad about dragging Kim Dohee into it, even if there was no choice.
"Th-then... do I have to keep doing this until we catch that fake magical girl?"
"Probably."
It was an irresponsible answer, but yeah, she'd have to until the impersonator showed up.
No substitutes around—Dohee was our only option.
"I'll pay you hourly. Double the minimum wage."
"Dohee, I'll chip in too, sis."
Kim Dohee's face turned beet red.
She was finally grasping her situation.
"...Isn't there anyone else besides me?"
"Nope."
I answered firmly.
Hearing that, Kim Dohee clutched her head.
"Sorry, Dohee. This is all my fault for not having better options."
"No, it's okay, sis."
This time, Kim Doa patted Kim Dohee's shoulder.
"Just... keep it a secret from the others, please."
"Yeah, our lips are sealed."
"I-I'll do my best!"
Kim Dohee clenched her fist tightly.
But here's the thing.
In this modern world with the internet everywhere, secrets don't stay secret for long.
Oblivious to that, Kim Dohee pressed on, and our operation to catch the impersonator resumed.
And it's real
We sent the fake magical girl, Kim Dohee, ahead and tailed her from behind.
"She sure draws aggro."
Every step Kim Dohee took drew all eyes to her.
Kim Dohee kept walking steadfastly.
What a mental powerhouse.
Double minimum wage wasn't enough—five times over at least.
"Dohee, hang in there."
Kim Doa muttered softly.
"Why don't you put the camera away first."
She's been apologizing nonstop while snapping pics like crazy.
Even if she's like a little sister, that's just excessive.
"Ahem."
Only then did Kim Doa pocket her phone.
We'd attached a simple radio—made with Tiphereth's help—to the doll Kim Dohee carried. As expected from mascot magic, the sound quality was crystal clear.
"For now, go help that grandpa over there."
Kim Dohee approached the old man pulling a handcart.
After a brief chat, she used Magical Push to haul it from the bottom of the hill to the top.
Nice one, magical girl.
Just in case we didn't catch the impersonator today, we'd prepared some insurance. The impersonator had been tarnishing the magical girl image, so we planned to build up good deeds like this to counter it.
"But shouldn't we be doing that?"
Kim Doa said after some thought.
"The impersonator's the one ruining the image. We can put up a fake too."
"A most logical point, miss."
"Do whatever. If you wanna, take 'em."
Looks like some neighborhood kids had gathered, begging for photos.
Unable to refuse, she struck poses obediently.
"She looks more like a magical girl than us."
Watching Kim Dohee, she overlapped with the magical girl I'd once dreamed of.
Of course, smiting enemies with the power of light and justice is great.
But I preferred this pure, everyday magical girl vibe.
Jealous.
"We're more like combat weapons than magical girls."
Kim Doa gave a wry, self-deprecating smile.
"I've saved kids before, but never posed for pics with them."
"Miss, an ad for children's clothing models has come in for Esostar. Would you like to shoot with the models?"
"No way!"
"Why not? You pull off the cutesy act sometimes—you'd be great."
When have I ever?
I've lived my whole life like an old dude.
No way I'd fit in with cute girl stuff.
"I'll put it on hold."
"Don't hold—reject it."
Keter clicked her tongue softly.
Gotta check the Esostar DMs when I get home.
Can't leave it all to Keter or who knows what'll happen.
By now, Kim Dohee had finished the photos and was making an ice dinosaur for another kid with her powers.
"Ooh."
Sculpting ice like that requires precise control.
Way harder than just hurling powerful ice spears.
"She's pretty good."
"That's why I couldn't stop her from starting a guild. I'd have blocked it if she was mediocre."
Kim Doa wore a complicated expression.
I got it, somewhat.
Kim Dohee had exceptional power sense.
Kim Doa couldn't let that talent rot just because awakeners were risky.
"Last one: head into that alley over there."
"Yeah."
Excitement leaked into Kim Dohee's voice.
Good work.
We followed Kim Dohee into the alley.
It was wide open, and no witnesses so far, so I wasn't expecting much.
I pulled out my phone and checked the Magigal.
We'd done it in a crowded spot, so hopefully there'd be reactions.
Yes, that's the stuff.
Exactly the reaction I wanted.
She was helping some grandpa with his cart earlier
Screenshot all you haters ㅇㅇ
As I scrolled for more posts, a creepy sensation brushed past somewhere.
Unpleasant.
Definite erosion.
"She's here."
Kim Doa leaped to the rooftop at my words. Rear support, as expected.
"Miss, she's right ahead."
Turning at Keter's words, something stood before Kim Dohee.
Perception interference? Hard to see clearly.
I took a deep breath and glared at the impersonator.
Nothing's truly invisible. Cheap tricks like that don't fool me.
Slowly, the impersonator's form emerged.
"...Is that even human?"
Dark red dress. Snow-white hair. It had a human shape, sure.
Otherworld stone growing from her left eye. Unfocused right eye. Arm wrapped in bandages, corrupted by erosion.
And a small sheep doll perched on her shoulder. Already torn in places.
"Malkuth...?"
Keter murmured in a trembling voice, staring in disbelief.
"That's the mascot?"
Before we could process, the impersonator approached Kim Dohee. Then twisted her neck at an unnatural angle.
The radio—Tiphereth's magic—held up; her voice came through clearly, if distorted to hell.
At Kim Dohee's words...
The impersonator drew a dagger from her bosom.
It's on.