Consultation with the Matriarch
The iron horse descended in the middle of the wasteland. Beneath the waiting hall, long exposed to sandstorms and eroded to the point of collapse. Pania and I stared at the railroad tracks stretching across the horizon over the dirt ground.
“This isn’t a city.” Pania’s voice was as dry as the surrounding landscape. The complete lack of inflection in her tone made it clear she had decided to treat me like an inanimate object. Seeing the dried tear tracks on her face made my heart waver for a moment, but her attitude filled me with a sense of injustice. Hadn’t we started that bet with mutual consent? Yet here she was, sulking over her loss and treating me like some kind of criminal. The kind who swallow the sweet and spit out the bitter. As expected, I’m simply not compatible with women by nature.
“I got off here on purpose. I plan to gather information from the slum village near Hespina City, then visit the sanctuary of an ancient magical girl to look for a magic tool. Market-level magical girls are on a completely different dimension from random riffraff, after all.”
I don’t care what someone like you thinks of me. I repeated the words silently in my head and spoke with a calm expression. In response, Pania gave a half-hearted nod without even turning to look at me. I let out a sigh and started walking toward the slum village.
After walking along the dirt path for about thirty minutes, we arrived at a slum village enclosed by a worn but sturdy wooden fence. The first impression I had upon entering the village was that it was much larger than I’d expected. Though everything looked old and shoddy, it had all the essentials. Street vendors lined every road despite it being a slum, and there were grocery stores, a blacksmith, a hospital, and even an auction house. At this scale, it felt more accurate to call it a slum city rather than a slum village.
The people walking the streets took one look at our outfits and quickly hurried away. It seemed a wandering magical girl had caused trouble here in the past. Whether large or small, slum villages everywhere ended up as punching bags for wandering magical girls, so it was only natural. But with wariness toward magical girls this strong, gathering information would be difficult. It would have been different if Pania had been a member of the village from the start, like in the slum outside Talos City.
“Hello, magical girl ladies. Is this your first time here?”
At that moment, a middle-aged man in his fifties approached us. What was his goal? I quickly scanned him. His clothes were shabby but clean, without a single frayed spot. His mustache and chin were neatly groomed, suggesting he shaved every day. There was no earthy or sweaty smell typical of the slums. Instead, a faint hint of perfume wafted from him. No matter how prosperous a slum might be, its residents were still poor—how was this possible? By common sense, bathing, laundry, and perfume should be luxuries for the poor.
As I stayed silent, pondering his intentions in approaching us, he introduced himself first.
“My name is Kwak Seong-heum. If you need a guide, I believe I can assist you, which is why I spoke to you, magical girl ladies. If you do not wish for guidance, I will withdraw immediately.”
Hearing his following words, I finally understood his purpose. So that’s what this is about?
For ordinary people, avoiding magical girls without exception was common sense. Magical girls generally had foul tempers or twisted thought processes. If you valued your life, that was the normal reaction. Yet there were those who approached magical girls despite knowing the danger. Men who wagered their own necks on the gambling table for the living expenses that were even more desperate for the poor.
There was only one way for the lowest dregs of this world to rise: being chosen by a magical girl. Regardless of their past, that single factor could grant them an unimaginable leap in status. It was a convergence of interests—magical girls wanted servants, and the poor wanted powerful backers. There were actual cases where it had worked out that way. Of course, the fact that displeasing a magical girl even slightly could mean the end remained unavoidable.
Even if they were extras, I liked this type. Humans who didn’t just sit with their mouths open waiting, but reached out to seize what they wanted. The kind who could put their own head on the scale for their goals. I smiled at the man.
“I’m Xena. This is Pania. We’ll be in your care.”
Upon hearing my answer, the man quickly bowed at the waist. Just as I had secured a useful source of information, a voice ruined the moment.
“I’m against it. How do we know what kind of person he is? He looks suspicious at a glance.”
But there was no wariness in Pania’s expression. The reason this girl—who knew better than anyone that humans could never threaten a magical girl—was saying such things was obvious. It was because I had agreed. This little brat…
Even if the man truly had some other scheme, didn’t she realize we were in a position where we had to accept guidance? We weren’t ordinary wandering magical girls to begin with. We were planning to confront a city’s market—an upper-class magical girl.
“This damn…!” I had endured as much as I could. Just as I reached out to grab that arrogant girl by the hair—
“Please wait a moment, Lady Xena. It is only natural not to trust a stranger. Allow me to show you a trivial skill to help you become familiar with my face and ease your tension.”
The man smiled amiably and pulled five dirty rubber balls from his pocket. As he tossed them into the air and began juggling, Pania’s eyes widened in fascination. The corners of her mouth kept creeping upward, and she looked like she might start drooling any second.
“Tsk…”
The objective had succeeded, but my mood was far from good. I stood with my arms crossed, watching the man pass the balls back and forth. What’s so impressive about that?
When Pania’s applause rang out, I no longer wanted to watch and left the spot.
“Go ahead and play for a bit. If there’s a problem, call me with the receiver.”
No answer came. That made my teeth grind slightly.
“Haa…”
No matter how temporary our cooperative relationship was, this level of hostility was problematic. If this situation—like a time bomb that could explode at any moment—continued, there was a high chance the foundation of our relationship would collapse. And if that happened? Obviously, confronting the markets would become impossible. That was exactly why I felt uneasy. It was certain.
I reached out and took six apples from the basket in front of the stall.
“What’s so great about that? I can do it with six.”
After spitting out the confident declaration, I tossed the six apples into the air. I tried to catch the first one coming down, but the damn thing rejected my hand, slipped away, and smashed into the ground.
Thud!
“......”
Five more sounds followed in succession.
Thud! Thud, thud, thud! Thud!!
An elderly man sitting in front of the stall stared up at me blankly.
“What the hell!! Say something! My ears are open, you know?!”
“Eek!”
When I shouted in embarrassment, the old man abandoned the apple baskets he had set out and fled in a hurry. Six crushed apples on the ground and one magical girl. My mood grew even more depressed.
Anyone would do… I needed someone to listen to my story…
I squatted down in the spot where the old man had been sitting and turned on the video call.
[It’s been a while, Porim. It seems something has gone wrong.]
“As you can see.”
[I cannot tell just from six crushed apples…]
No. The apples weren’t the problem. After a brief hesitation, I explained everything that had happened to the matriarch. I desperately needed advice on why Pania was getting so worked up and what I should do about it.
After listening to my story, the matriarch rested her fingers against her chin. After a moment, she carefully opened her mouth.
[To hear such a story from your lips is unexpected. In that case, I must respond with sincerity as well. Porim, I believe the realm of reason and the realm of emotion are distinct. I think that boundary must be clearly maintained.]
It was a Zen-like answer. What exactly was the matriarch trying to say?
“And?”
[Before I begin, let me make one thing clear to avoid any misunderstanding. Porim, what you told your partner was not wrong. Choices must always compromise with reality.]
“What? So I was right after all?!”
[Do not rejoice.]
The matriarch quickly changed her expression and looked stern. After saying something pleasant, telling me not to like it—what kind of new torture was this?
[It is not wrong, but it was an unnecessary and insensitive remark. I wonder why you felt the need to deliberately bring up a story she refused to hear, after she had already acknowledged her loss in the bet. That is the question that arises.]
“Well, that’s true, but… anyway, it’s a fact, isn’t it?”
[If I were to explain to you, with perfect and irrefutable evidence and reasoning, why an ideal magical girl cannot exist, could you still say it is merely a fact?]
“......”
Approaching it from the perspective the matriarch described left me completely speechless.
“That’s…”
[It is about whether there was any need to forcibly rip apart your partner’s dreams and beliefs with reason and shove them in her face.]
Well, now that I listened to the matriarch, it did seem like I had been a bit too harsh…
“Alright, I understand that I was slightly in the wrong. So what should I do…”
[You simply need to convey your sincerity. No matter what the content is, even if it is not words but actions, it is fine. As long as it contains sincerity, it will reach the other person.]
I picked up the six clean apples from the basket and put them into a plastic bag. The matriarch’s expression turned stern again.
[I do not think that is a good idea.]