1. Magical Girl Contract
1. Magical Girl Contract
It was when I was 10 years old.
Black clouds covered the sky, making it gloomy. On top of that, it was raining. At such a time, I held my breath and clung to the alley wall.
Outside the alley, an indescribable being was searching for prey. No, I don't know for sure. Perhaps I was just feeling that way because of the overall atmosphere it exuded.
I covered my mouth so my breathing wouldn't leak out. So that the being wouldn't notice me. My pounding heart and excessively heavy breathing paralyzed my thoughts.
I felt like I was going to die. It wasn't a metaphor.
The rain, falling intensely, soaked my body.
I peeked out of the alley and stole a glance at the being. Monster. Villain. Beast. Various words came to mind.
There was no accurate expression. Just overwhelming fear dominating my mind.
-Keureureu.
A sound like grinding breath echoed. It was the sound of that being. The sound got closer and closer. Slowly. Yet quickly. My heartbeat and breathing grew rougher.
I closed my eyes. It wasn't resignation.
That was when it happened.
"Magical Girl Sweet Chocolat, deployment complete! Huh? Kid, what are you doing here?"
I opened my eyes slightly. The tension melted away at the voice I heard in an instant. In front of me, a girl who looked about five years older than me tilted her head.
It was still raining, the sky was gloomy, and the unpleasant sound of that being could still be heard, but...
For some reason, I felt relieved.
"Aha, I see. You couldn't avoid it, huh?"
"......Hwaaang! Noona......!"
The fact that someone was there, the inexplicable premonition of salvation that perhaps this girl might save me, washed over me.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll help you."
The girl said that and patted my head. I just sniffled back the runny nose and watched the girl's back as she walked away.
When the girl finally disappeared from my sight, I realized that my whole body had been trembling.
A moment passed. Maybe about five minutes.
"Kid, you can rest easy now!"
After hearing dozens of pained screams like "Kieek!", the girl reappeared in front of me, looking completely fine.
The rain stopped, and the sky cleared up.
I wiped my eyes with my hand and opened my mouth.
"Did Noona take care of everything...?"
"Yep. Don't worry! This Noona took care of everything! Should I take you home?"
"No. That's a bit too much..."
"Really? Okay. Goodbye, kid!"
The girl waved energetically and disappeared. I waved in the direction she had vanished. A moment later, I hesitated, thinking it was a pointless gesture. My face started to itch.
&&&
I remembered drinking with my friend yesterday. I probably tried to lament the world through alcohol because I failed the exam again.
Thinking about it again, my face burned. Why did I do that? I really don't know.
Anyway, I greeted the morning with a hangover, and while I was holding my head and cooking hangover ramen...
[Won't you answer me?]
"Wait a second. No, honestly, this doesn't make sense."
[What doesn't make sense?]
I was so dumbfounded that I was speechless for a moment.
Honestly, a talking teddy bear is talking to me right in front of my face; who wouldn't be stunned?
No, it just doesn't make sense. Even if magic has been commonplace for a long time, what the hell is a talking teddy bear?
[Ahem, I am not a teddy bear, but a mascot. I am a being that finds children suitable to be Magical Girls like you and makes contracts with them.]
I sighed. The teddy bear tilted its head, asking [Why are you sighing?].
The audacity to not even know what was wrong with its own words.
I opened my mouth.
"Why would a being like you come looking for me? First of all, I'm not a girl. In other words, the only part of 'Magical Girl' that fits is 'Magical'."
[A Magical Girl doesn't necessarily have to be a girl. They don't even have to be a mage. Even an adult male with no magical ability can become a Magical Girl if they sign a contract.]
"Does that make sense?"
I was shocked for a moment. Weren't Magical Girls supposed to be strictly pure and soft girls?
That's why I thought there was no way I could be a Magical Girl.
Wait a minute. Then. Sweet Chocolat who saved me when I was 10, surely she isn't... No, right?
[Sweet Chocolat is indeed a girl. She was such a kind child.]
As if reading my mind, the teddy bear answered my suspicion.
[Instead, well, Magical Girls like Equitesia or Alea were men. Although it hasn't been revealed in Magical Girl society.]
Wait. My head throbbed for a moment.
Equitesia... Equitesia?
A man...?
I screamed while clutching my head. It wasn't intentional. It didn't matter. I just felt like I was losing my mind.
And with good reason.
I bought an Equitesia doujinshi a month ago.
Seriously.
How should I put this.
So, to use an analogy, it's like getting a girlfriend, only to find out she was actually a man? Who wouldn't be confused in this situation?
[Why are you like this?]
"My world has collapsed today. Or maybe yesterday."
[What is that? Those nonsensical words.]
"Equitesia, who has been the light and flame of my life for a month, was actually a man?"
[He's still a man, but anyway.]
I couldn't say anything.
"Please leave."
[Huh?]
"I want to be alone."
I have to organize my doujinshi, too.
A sudden, heavy wave of reality check hit me.
[But my job is to make a contract with you.]
"When did I say I would sign a contract?"
[Then were you not going to do it?]
"Why should I sign a Magical Girl contract?"
[Why? Because you were chosen. Destiny has picked you.]
The teddy bear looked triumphant, as if it had not a shred of falsehood.
No. A doll can even make an expression like that? Was a doll even capable of changing expressions in the first place?
[No, I am not a doll, but a mascot! Anyway.]
"No, but, men can sign contracts and become Magical Girls. I'll grant you that. But that doesn't necessarily give me a reason to sign. Above all, I don't get anything out of it."
[Why wouldn't you get anything? If you become a Magical Girl, you can wield greater magic than any other mage in this world. And is that all? Just by registering as a Magical Girl with the Magical Girl Management Bureau, 3 million won is deposited into your bank account every month like clockwork.]
Every month... 3 million won? Not 300 won, but 3 million won?
[Yes. 3 million won.]
3 million won is about the level of an average office worker's salary. But, just by registering, 3 million won every month?
I instantly drooled. In a life of unemployment, what could be more important than money?
3 million won every month... No, wait.
"Magical Girls have to fight those, uh, monsters? Beasts? Villains? They're risking their lives, and you only give them 300?"
[Aing, tsk tsk. You materialistic brat. Every time you subjugate a witch or a witch's minion—the monsters, beasts, and villains you're talking about—the bonus amount added increases.]
Have I ever been as strongly persuaded as I am now in my 20 years of life? A contract, I need to sign the contract right now. I have to.
[Do you want to sign the contract now?]
Just as I was about to nod, I froze because of a strange delusion my imaginative brain conjured up.
"My dream is to be a mage. But if I become a Magical Girl, won't it be hard to be recognized as a mage?"
Even I didn't fully understand what I had just said. It was due to a messy stream of consciousness.
[What kind of moronic thing is that to say! According to what I know, aren't mages recognized as long as they pass a certain exam?]
"That's true, but. Ah, how should I put this? There's... you know. It just feels like it, doesn't it? I don't think they'd give the title of 'mage' to someone who awakened their magical abilities through the power of a Magical Girl."
The teddy bear stared at me as if glaring, then sighed.
[I'm sorry. It seems I tried to explain it with words too difficult for someone short-sighted like you. Then, do you know what happens when a talented person becomes a mage?]
"They'd become a great mage, right?"
[That's how it is. No, I really don't know why the higher-ups chose a guy like this. Anyway, ah. And one more thing. Even after the contract, you in your pre-transformation state can only use magic at your current level. Since Magical Girl magic can only be used in the 'Magical Girl' state, to begin with.]
So, what this teddy bear is saying is that I can keep taking the mage exam, and if I pass, I can be recognized as an official mage.
"There are no disadvantages to signing the contract, right?"
[None. And, although I say this because I pity you, most contractees don't reveal fatal disadvantages as much as possible.]
I was speechless for a moment, but the teddy bear nonchalantly gestured into the air. Soon, a parchment-like paper with its top and bottom edges rolled up appeared.
On that paper, characters I had never seen before were written.
[Ah, I'll cast an interpretation spell for you.]
Only then did the characters start to look like Korean. Looking at it roughly, it was something like a contract.
-Magical Girl Contract.
I read the contract carefully, point by point. Thanks to the lack of difficult words, I could read it quickly. I didn't know about other things, but there were no clauses disadvantageous to me. At least, in my opinion.
I took a deep breath and wrote my three-character, no, two-character name in the signature line. Crookedly, my name 'Yu-min' was written on the contract. Hmm. Why is my handwriting like this?
[The contract is concluded. So, you, please faint for a moment.]
"What?"
[Exactly as I said. I'll take care of the overcooked ramen.]
Ah, right, I was cooking ramen.
At that moment, the teddy bear's blunt hand struck my neck.
No, it's doing something this suspicious all of a sudden? Am I being kidnapped right now?
That's not it, right? It's not, right?
That was the end of my consciousness.
&&&
You've finally become a Magical Girl.
It's already been 10 years since I've lived in your heart.
Finally, finally you've become a Magical Girl.
May your future be bright.
Like the vast, clear sky without dark clouds.
May your future be a verdant life.
Above all, I hope you don't make a mistake this time.
I hope, this time, you don't perish.
From the one who loves you, to you.