After the Day of Discovery
After the day it was discovered, Pania no longer took part in the communal labor. It was exactly what I had hoped for, but the real problem was that she stopped going outside the tent altogether. She simply sat in the corner, clutching me with her head hung low. That became her new daily routine. She only moved three times a day—when she reached into the jar, pulled out corn kernels, and placed them in my mouth. It was the third day since Pania had shut herself inside the tent. I grew worried about her; she hadn't eaten a single thing all that time.
“Pania… you need to eat something…”
No answer. She only offered me a fragile smile that looked as if it might shatter at any moment. Instead, when night fell and darkness settled over the slum, she would mechanically ask me the same question.
“…Mr. Porim, are you still on my side?”
Each time, I gave the same reply.
“Of course. I’m always on your side, Pania.”
Words I wasn’t even sure I believed. And every time I spoke them, I inevitably sank into uncomfortable thoughts. Hadn’t I used her out of my own selfish desire to create the Ideal Magical Girl? When you really thought about it, wasn’t I the same as the villagers? This was different from when I had raised Serafina. Back then, I still had a voice. But now? The reality was that I couldn’t even speak properly to a low-ranking magical girl like Jem. I should have known my place from the beginning. Talking about the Ideal Magical Girl when I didn’t even have the ability to protect her? Hadn’t I simply thrown Pania into hell for my own self-satisfaction?
“I wanted to make you shine in the coolest way possible. I hoped you’d become the greatest magical girl.”
Whenever those feelings surfaced, I comforted Pania. No—I comforted myself. I knew it was nothing more than rationalization. But this much was undeniably sincere.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say it. I already know.”
Her answer to my pathetic excuse of ‘I did my best’ was always the same. Pania’s hand as she stroked my head was warm. She probably already understood. The moment we started blaming each other, this fragile bond held together by the single word “magical girl” would shatter. Even so.
Today she took one step further.
“Mr. Porim. I’m really sorry, but… the power of the magical girl… could you take it back?”
The unexpected words made me catch my breath. What she wanted was something I could not give.
“That’s impossible. A Soul can only be retrieved when a magical girl dies…”
“Why?”
“The magical world put restrictions in place. It’s to prevent people from using magical girls and then throwing them away.”
I licked my lips and added one more thing.
“Because magical girls aren’t tools…”
“Pfft…! Pffft… Kup…”
Pania’s body convulsed at my words. She slowly lifted her eyebrows, then clutched her stomach and burst into cackling laughter. Tears welled in her eyes as she slapped my back. Even then, her eyes were not smiling.
Another week passed. The situation remained at a standstill. Sunlight filtered through the torn tent flaps. I had stayed up all night again. Pania was dozing in the corner, head nodding. It was always like this. She would either stare blankly outside the tent or doze off. One or the other. Even so, it was better when she was asleep like now. When awake, she only held me and stroked me. It wasn’t that I hated her touch. It was just… every time Pania caressed me, the guilt pressed down on my heart even more heavily. That small hand felt unbearably heavy. That was what made it uncomfortable.
If things continue like this, she’ll really break…
My anxiety worsened with each passing day. What the hell was I supposed to do? How could I return Pania to the way she used to be? No matter how far beyond human a magical girl became, she was still a living creature. There was no way she could stay fine after refusing to eat for ten whole days. I had even tried force-feeding her. She vomited everything up shortly after.
That was when it happened.
“Pania. Are you in there, Pania?”
The village chief’s voice came from outside the tent. This time his tone was strangely gentle. The same man who had led the charge in cursing her—what was he after now? Pania startled awake and looked toward the tent flap. Her face gradually brightened. Life returned to her previously limp body. But I stopped her.
“Wait. Don’t go out. Something feels wrong.”
“What is it?” Pania asked, voice excited.
“It’s communal work time, but I don’t hear any noise.”
Normally there would be murmuring, the scrape of sacks, the thud of logs. Today the silence was unnaturally complete.
“They must be waiting for me! Like before, so we can work together—”
“Like before? Do you honestly believe that?”
I gazed at her quietly. At my words, she froze mid-sentence. After a moment, Pania flinched, then forced the corners of her mouth upward into a smile.
“Of course!”
But the smile was strangely twisted, artificial. With that, she dashed out of the tent as if afraid the chief might leave. She must have missed the days when she lived among the villagers. Even after being betrayed so thoroughly. A bitter feeling washed over me.
But it seemed Pania’s hopes were betrayed once again.
“Serafina…”
“It’s been a while, Porim. You know why I’m here, don’t you?”
The ones waiting outside were the village chief and Serafina. Behind them stood Jem at rigid attention.
“Uh… uh…?”
Pania’s face flooded with confusion. Ignoring her, Serafina stepped toward me.
“Say something.”
Serafina disliked moving herself. She always sent subordinates like Jem for anything that needed doing. Claimed that getting involved in trivial matters lowered her authority. Yet here she was in person. This was absolutely not a good sign. It meant she had judged the matter important enough to handle personally. She must have already received Jem’s report on how worthless Pania’s abilities were. So why?
“……”
I didn’t have enough information to speak recklessly. This was a situation where not only I but Pania could die. Even someone like me, who had walked endless tightropes to avoid offending the magical girls, couldn’t read the current atmosphere at all.
“Porim. You plan on keeping your mouth shut forever? Stop thinking so hard and answer already.”
When I remained silent, Serafina asked again. Her face smiled, but her voice was razor-edged. At that pressure, Pania took a step back. Her face had gone deathly pale and was trembling.
“Th-that is…”
Just as I tried to answer, the silent Jem slowly raised a finger and pointed at the dirt floor. The gesture meant to prostrate and beg. Advice from an acquaintance, a warning from a fellow Magical Girl Association member. If I followed Jem’s suggestion, I might save my own life. But I couldn’t do that. Bowing here would mean surrendering Pania’s fate entirely to Serafina. I had to keep my head straight. Calming this madwoman came first.
“L-listen. I’m not trying to challenge the Association. If I were, I would have chosen a strong magical girl…”
Serafina stood with her arms crossed, silently looking down at me. As if telling me to say everything I had to say. The sight only increased my impatience. React, damn it! Say something!
“You know it too! Pania doesn’t have the power to threaten the Association!”
“That’s true. I was told in advance, but I didn’t realize she’d be this much trash.”
Serafina seemed to have gauged Pania’s level at a glance. It was an utterly humiliating remark, yet that single sentence felt like a lifeline. I grabbed it immediately.
“Right? Then…”
I could get through this safely. The moment that conviction crossed my mind—
“I don’t care if the bitch is trash or not. The important thing is that you dared to ignore my orders. Didn’t I tell you not to make her?”
Serafina spat out each word in a low, clipped voice. Then she pointed her finger at me. Brilliant light began gathering at its tip. A clear death sentence. My frantically spinning thoughts froze solid at the sequence of motions.
It was over… If only Jem had come alone, I might have tried to run. But this was the final form of a magical girl—physical ability more than three times that of an ordinary one, capable of manipulating not just phenomena but causality itself. A concept that had only appeared as a MacGuffin in the novel, the pinnacle of magical girls. The realm only three people had ever reached throughout Part One despite me groveling like a dog using my original knowledge. Escaping from an awakened magical girl was impossible.
“I won’t kill you out of respect for old times. Hmm… four legs is a bit much, don’t you think?”
“Ah… aaa…”
My lungs seized. No air would leave my mouth. Perhaps I had already given up the moment Serafina raised her finger. Then something yanked my leg hard.
“What are you doing?! Are you just going to die like this?!”
It was Pania. She held me tightly and sprinted across the dirt with all her strength.
To put it bluntly, isn’t it pretty much a terminal life where you have to die if the Association president tells you to die?
Serafina watched the retreating figures of Pania and Porim.
“As expected.”
When she raised her finger, a massive curtain of light enveloped the entire slum. The escape route was now completely sealed. Serafina gave a small smirk and turned her gaze to Jem.
“It’s been a while. Shall we see what you can do? Kill the trash. Bring Porim back alive.”
“Understood, President.”
Jem spoke with composure, but inside she was burning. I told you not to let sparks fly toward me… Jem bit her lip. She had realized that this self-indulgent president had just drawn a red line through her own name. The words “let’s see your skills” were a warning: if the results were unsatisfactory, she would suffer the same fate. Jem knew it well.
To survive, she had to make up for it. She needed to produce results beyond simply capturing the target. Efficiency, time taken—everything would be evaluated.
Jem ran in the direction Pania had fled and shouted.