Get on the Same Boat (3)
Get on the Same Boat (3)
Winter had arrived in earnest. Frost clung to the windows, and every breath scattered into white mist. The cold air lashed at my ears without mercy, turning my skin red and raw, numbing sensation until my fingertips stung. That season had come.
This was exactly the kind of weather that made me want to hole up at home, peeling tangerines on top of a heated mat—but that was not an option right now.
“Oppa, what about this place?”
“Mm... too cramped. And the route here is inconvenient. Tough if you don’t have a car.”
“You think? Ugh, this is hard.”
Because I had to help Jo Ah-yoon with the preparations to open a café. We had already decided on interior props, furniture, and the core menu through discussion, but we still hadn’t settled on a location.
We’d agreed I’d get my barista certification after building up my skills through the café opening.
I really did wonder when Jo Ah-yoon had found the time to get barista and baking certifications. She’d always been a strong student, so I suppose diligence and a good head for studying count for a lot.
Even if she is short.
“What were you just thinking?”
“Nothing. Just, the place we saw before was cheap...”
“Oppa, what did I say about deciding based on cheap? We’re not going to be on a main street. The money all comes out pretty much the same. We have to choose carefully—the place we like the most.”
“...Fine.”
I didn’t really see it. To my eyes, aside from a few bad ones, they all looked more or less the same.
Of course, Ah-yoon was the one putting up the money, so I couldn’t complain. She looked me over, then snorted a laugh.
“Cold?”
“Yeah.”
“Honest, at least.”
She waggled her fingers. That was the signal to bend down. I silently leaned over. Jo Ah-yoon smiled bashfully and touched my ears and cheeks with her gloved hands.
“Look how red your ears and cheeks are. Anyone would think you were drunk. Total wasted face.”
“I am drunk, technically. Drunk on our Ah-yoon’s charms.”
“Oh god, what the hell. That kind of bullshit confirms you’ve really lost it. Fine, let’s just check this last one and then go somewhere like a café to warm up.”
Even while cursing, she smiled as if she didn’t mind. When Ah-yoon’s hands left my face, I straightened back up.
“Every time I see you, you’re really goddamn huge... How’s the air taste up there?”
“Very clear.”
“Ha, so jealous. Oh, Oppa, you know what? I’m taller now.”
“Oh? Really?”
“Yeah. 0.3 centimeters.”
I’d been wondering how much she grew, and it was only 0.3? Even with that tragic figure, Ah-yoon puffed out her chest with confidence.
“Come on, that’s basically... that’s within the margin of error every time you measure...”
“It is not?!”
Ah-yoon shot back at my words, then declared with an intensity that bordered on desperation:
“This means I have officially entered the 150-centimeter range!”
“Uh, uhh...”
Well, put that way, I can see why it’s a little desperate. I’d probably care too if the digit in front changed.
“Is it a positive side effect of transformation?”
“It’s a side effect.”
“No, it means my body is growing to be better suited for combat! I, Jo Ah-yoon, have not had my growth plates die in my twenties!”
“Oh no, what if I can’t see my darling, petite Jo Ah-yoon anymore~”
“I might get taller than you someday.”
“All that delusion from 0.3. Hit 160 first, then get back to me.”
“Give me one year.”
We traded light banter as we walked along. Fresh white breaths condensed and rose into the sky.
Ah-yoon had undergone several more transformations since the first one. Time enough to grow used to the Belt transformation.
Time enough to notice how it differed from mine.
The biggest differences were the Belt and the Star.
In its Metal Sphere state, I suspected it had the same design as mine, but once it actually became a belt, it looked completely different.
A white belt with a form resembling a bird with a lens in the center spreading its wings, or more precisely, something close to an upside-down W.
It was markedly different from the base form of my own belt. Everything except the central lens had changed.
And whereas my star was closer to that of a monster, the five stars Jo Ah-yoon possessed resembled those of a magical girl.
Jo Ah-yoon’s stars emitted a cleaner, purer light. A radiance that was infinitely similar to the colors of the stars held by magical girls. A boundless brilliance that could grow without limit.
In short, Jo Ah-yoon had already completed her constellation, but her growth potential was endless.
Is my transformation unusual, or is hers?
With no way to make a control sample, it was difficult. Should I storm Boötes’s place later and ask about it?
“What are you thinking about so hard?”
“Hm? Oh, just... it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow, so what’s the plan?”
“We have to find the café before the new year comes!”
“There are only a few hours left...”
Ah-yoon was cheerful. Seeing that pluck naturally brought a smile to my face. She really wouldn’t have looked out of place with a magical girl’s star. How could anyone be this pure and clean?
The problem’s on my end now, though.
We’d resolved Ah-yoon’s memory issues, and she had a clear vision. But I still hadn’t found all my stars, and my memory was the same.
Just what happened that I lost this many memories?
If even losing my memories is a trial, then I’m still in the middle of it. My purpose remains protecting the magical girls. That’s unchanged.
According to Boötes, the amnesia was a test of whether one could still move forward properly without knowing one’s purpose. But I already knew my purpose. So what meaning did this Loss hold for me?
What the hell got tangled up here?
It was complicated.
“Haaah...”
“What, was it that cold? Want to go faster? What, want me to transform for you?”
“Don’t overuse it... we still don’t know how dangerous it is. It has side effects. Your thinking could change, like a monster’s.”
“...I might get taller.”
“That is the side effect.”
She still hadn’t shed her kidlike side. Considering that Jo Ah-yoon’s star was close to a magical girl’s star, the odds were high that side effects like mine wouldn’t occur. But you never know.
Now that I think about it, Ah-yoon’s transformation is much safer compared to mine.
No rampage, less worry about being subsumed by monster-like thinking, the amnesia recovered quickly, and according to her, there were no coercive mechanisms like Quests.
Ha, goddamn, life’s unfair.
Even among the socially disadvantaged, there was a gap like this. Was this just the brutal reality? Then again, when I thought about how many people had it worse than me, even that thought was probably just self-flattery.
I shifted my gaze to the Metal Sphere. According to Ah-yoon, her belt had her old mascot transplanted into it and was quite affectionate, but this cold thing never worried about me, its mind perpetually full of schemes to get me killed.
[The Guardian currently possesses 14 stars.]
Didn’t ask.
Though I was curious.
“Oh? Oppa, what about this place?”
As we walked, Ah-yoon pointed at a spot. It was a small café tucked away in an alley. Soft, lantern-like lighting blotted out the shadows and lit up the signboard.
“Not bad.”
“Right? Let’s go.”
Jo Ah-yoon strode ahead without hesitation. I moved to follow behind her.
“Hello~!”
She energetically pulled open the door. My skin, which had been dying from the winter air, sighed with relief as if saying it was glad to be alive. Meaning it was warm.
A stove was set into the wall, with a long counter and about three tables. Overall, it was a cozy café.
“This place is nice...”
Enchanted by the distinctive atmosphere, Jo Ah-yoon murmured in admiration.
“Welcome. Would you like to order?”
“Ah, yes.”
Jo Ah-yoon pattered right over to the owner. I took in the surroundings as I walked along slowly.
An old pinball table, vintage rock LPs, neon signs as accent decorations. The café was packed with the kind of props Jo Ah-yoon loved.
Just as I thought. Even while trying to order, Jo Ah-yoon’s eyes were sparkling as she looked around.
“Miss...?”
“Ah, sorry. Two Americanos, please.”
“Okay.”
“Hot, please.”
“Hehe, I understand. It’s very cold out, isn’t it?”
The owner was an older woman. Her warm demeanor helped make the place feel snug.
“I’ll make sure they’re nice and warm. Please, have a seat.”
“Okay.”
I smiled in thanks for her consideration, then found a spot and sat down. Jo Ah-yoon followed and sat with me. The excitement brimming in her smile made it immediately obvious what she was about to say.
“Oppa, this place...”
“You want to make the café like this, too?”
Jo Ah-yoon nodded vigorously.
“Look, how pretty is it. The location’s good, too. A quiet alleyway... someone coming in to shelter from the rain... old jazz and rock, city pop drifting out... the smell of good coffee beans. Mmm, this is it.”
“The specifics are nice.”
“And isn’t the coffee aroma absolutely killer? Wow... I really wish I could open a café like this.”
Even after that, Jo Ah-yoon went on for a long while, revealing her admiration for this café.
“I really want to set up a café like this...”
“You’re setting up a café?”
“Ah.”
The woman bringing out our Americanos had heard that perfectly.
“Oh, I’m, I’m sorry. I was too loud... that was rude...”
“Rude? Not at all. A young boss-to-be, I take it?”
“Hahaha... nothing that impressive...”
“Or maybe a young newlywed couple trying to start a new shop~?”
“We are not a couple!”
How harsh. She shut that down way too sharply.
“Oh my, I’m sorry. The atmosphere between you two just gave that impression.”
“The, the atmosphere... heheh, really...?”
Ah-yoon sheepishly scratched her cheek. Maybe her throat was dry, because she lifted the cup in front of her and drank. Her eyes soon sparkled again.
“...! This is—!”
“Good, right?”
“Yes, yes!”
“Thank you for noticing... ah, is it all right if we keep talking like this?”
“Of course!”
“It’s been a long time since I had a conversation like this. No customers at all, lately.”
A conversation naturally started up between the two women.
It began with light talk about coffee beans, props, and furniture, and eventually extended to a discussion about the whole café.
In the middle of it, Jo Ah-yoon heard a remark she absolutely could not let pass.
“...Miss, don’t you go starting a business rashly. Especially, choose your location carefully.”
“Location is important.”
“It’s beyond important. Do you know, Miss? This area has now been designated as a caution zone for monster activity. Lately, there’s been a huge number of disappearances around here...”
Even here? I’d been under the impression this place wasn’t that far from the city center.
“Here?!”
“I’m telling you... that’s why I’m planning to move the shop soon. You might well be my last customers. Miss, don’t you go signing contracts carelessly like I did. How was I supposed to know this place would turn into that kind of area...”
Of course she didn’t know. This distance should have been more than enough to consider it safe. No matter how much monster activity has increased lately, a full caution zone designation is too suspicious.
But Jo Ah-yoon seemed to have latched on to something else entirely.
“You’re... moving the shop?”
Her eyes sharpened.
“Ma’am, sell this shop to me.”
“...Excuse me?”
I knew it.