An Exorcist Magical Girl!

 

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【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】

Defense against the deletion crisis is 4.5% complete》

 

My heart nearly dropped when I saw the word

“deletion crisis”

but I managed to calm down when I saw the words

“defense work”

right after it.

 

A series of related pop-ups appeared in the status window

 

《Defense task: Deletion crisis could happen at any time! Be prepared and protect your talent》

《If you reach 100% progress on the defense task, you will be completely free from the threat of talent deletion. 》

 

Huh? What is this? This is good!

 “What, what, why are your eyes so wide open all of a sudden?”

Seo Jun asked, puzzled by the look on my face.

 “There is such a thing!!”

A breathed a sigh of relief after reading my current task.

 

As if one talent deletion crisis isn’t enough, I’m wondering if I’m about to lose my talent forever in the blink of an eye.

 

The answer to my anxiety was written right in front of me.

 

Instead of hanging on for dear life and not even knowing where to go, I now have something I could do.

 

I need to make 100% progress on my defense. The vague direction became clear.

 

The first thing I had to do was figure out exactly why I suddenly had 4.5% defense progress.

 

I looked back at the situation just before this popup appeared.

 

Oh, you know what?

 “Seo Jun, say genius one more time.”

I said.

 “What?”

Seo Jun was clearly thinking I’m crazy.

 “Call me a genius one more time.”

I said again.

 “… Genius.”

She said hesitantly.

 

I rolled my eyes

, “Seriously.”  “You’re a genius.”

Seo Jun finally gives in to my demand.

 “Oh, no.”

 

 

The popup window popped up as soon as Seo Jun called me a genius earlier, so I wondered if being called a genius again was a condition of the defense task.

 

‘Well apparently not!’

 

Seo Jun looked at me like I was a bug, but I didn’t care.

 

I didn’t seriously think that being called a genius was a condition, I just wanted to hear it many times.

 

Of course, exorcism is 99% the trigger. It was clear that catching the demon would increase my defense progress.

 

Well, at this rate, I’d be living the real thing every day.

 “Hey, do you know any other ghosts that are a little tough?”

I asked.

 

Seo Jun has the ability to express

“You asked me to call you a genius, so I did, and it made you feel good right?”

with just facial muscles.

 

I’m sure I looked like I was trying to get through two or three sentences because I wanted to be called a genius, but I was just in a hurry.

 

It was very unfair, but it was also very difficult to explain it in a clear way.

 

How do I explain the deletion of a talent and the arrival of a talent? I’m still confused.

 

If I try to explain it in detail, I don’t know how far I can go.

 

If I keep answering questions with my tail between my legs, I’ll probably end up telling her the whole story of why I switched talents.

 

Well, that’s a little…

 

It’s an embarrassing story to spill to the second person I’ve seen today.

 

Besides, it’s not like my talent blossomed normally, and it’s not like someone who acquired it in an unorthodox way would look good.

 “What? Why are you looking so depressed again?”

Seo Jun is looking concerned.

 “I’m not, I’m excited!”

I said, trying to look cheerful.

 

The corners of my mouth twitched up at Seo Jun’s question, but she still didn’t look convinced.

 “Baek Iri I’ll be honest, I thought you just went crazy.”

she said.

 

I tilted my head.

“How did you know?” “You don’t deny it.”

she added.

 

But if the roles were reversed, I’d be thinking to myself that too.

 

I would have laughed, then cried, then laughed again, because I would have been called a genius without any context.

 

So, in the spirit of support, I’m going to give her the benefit of the doubt.

 

I chewed on the bread Seo Jun had bought me and quietly asked the person who had sent me the talent

‘Why?’.

 

It was a question with all the complexities of a question.

 

If the talent had arrived, surely there must be someone who sent it.

 

I wanted to ask that person,

‘Why did you pick me?’

 

Why did they pick me? What was their intention in sending me this talent?

 

I don’t know who you are, but why don’t you just give it to me and leave me alone?

 

If I could meet him, I’d give him a big bow of gratitude, and then I’d slap him. Then I would bow once more.

 

I shove the last crumb into my mouth.

 

I grinded my teeth, trying to calm my anger, even though there was nothing to chew.

 “You like bread.”

Seo Jun muttered beside me.

 

I must have looked like someone who was obsessed with bread.

 

I felt embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

 “So, how’s the food at this school? Is it good? The food at my old school was just so-so. You feel like you’re just eating to fill up?”

I began to say.

 “It’s so-so here but they have a lot of delicious options, so it’s good.”

Seo Jun said.

 “Oh, I’m looking forward to it. Oh, right, what was for lunch today?”

I replied, trying to sound excited. 

 

Seo Jun in her monotone voice answered,

“Stewed calf’s leg.”  “…..” 

I glanced at the bag of bread in my hand, then at Seo Jun.

 “Then why?”

showing the bag of bread to her.

 “Just to thank you.”

She muttered.

 “All of a sudden?”

I asked again.

 

I blurted out in frustration.

“Ugh, I don’t want to eat stewed calf’s legs on the first day of school.” *** 

One by one, the students who had eaten lunch returned to the classroom, and the surroundings became a bit noisy, and that was the end of our small talk.

 

Fifth and sixth periods began with the same jokes as the morning.

 

The students had gotten tired of the same repertoire, and now the teachers booed at the mere mention of the word transfer student.

 

Only the seventh period teacher came in and started the class without much fanfare.

 

He was a middle-aged man with piercing eyes who taught Magic and Ethics, one of the areas of study.

 

He seemed to be a blunt type who didn’t like to play with kids.

 

However, he did stare at me as if he was curious about my new school.

 

But he looked a lot scary, and it even bothered Seo Jun, who was sitting next to me.

 “Baek Iri, did you do something wrong?”

Seo Jun whispered.

 “Of course not. It’s my first day of school.”

I whispered back.

 

I couldn’t look at the board in class for fear of making eye contact with him.

 

I’d much rather have just small talk like with the other teachers, even though it’s annoying.

 

As soon as 7th period ended, my homeroom teacher walked into the classroom, and the closing ceremony was over in three minutes.

 

Announcements, greetings, end.

 

I’m glad my homeroom teacher isn’t the nagging type. At my previous school, the bell rang for a standard 20 minutes.

 

I quickly organized my bag and waited for Seo Jun to stand up.

 “What? Do you have something to say?”

Seo Jun asked.

 

That’s what they say about being aesthetic.

 “Wow… We went to the same school and the same training center, but you tried to go to the training center separately?”

I said, sounding like I was just betrayed.

 

I slapped her in her arms, and the look of incredulity returned.

 “I’m not going to the institute today.”

Seo Jun said, dismissing my accusation of being left alone.

 “Oh?” “I’m going straight home; I don’t have class today.”

she added.

 “Huh?”

I blinked, taken aback by what she said.

 “What are you so surprised about? Hurry up, you’re going to be late.”

She urged me to move faster.

 “Uhm…”

I’m embarrassed. I thought we were going to go together, but it was a day off for her.

 

I was about to leave the classroom in a huff, but someone stopped me from behind.

 “Ugh, what the hell?!”

I barked at the person behind me.

 

It was Seo Jun.

 “Just kidding. Come with me.”

she said jokingly, pulling me out of the classroom in a hurry.

 

What the heck? I never thought she’d make a joke like that.

 

As I turned around with a dumbfounded look on my face, Seo Jun’s eyes lit up with satisfaction.

 

How many times throughout the day have I seen Seo Jun change her expression and tone of voice?

 

And even when she’s playing these pranks, she’s expressionless.

 

I was convinced that she was the furthest thing from fun, that she was a fourth-dimensional freshman with no interest in her surroundings!

 

Apparently, I was wrong about it.

 “Why do you look shocked?”

Seo Jun teased, poking me in the side.

 “Uh, well, it’s normal to be shocked when the person who just pointed a knife at you on your first meeting suddenly starts making a joke.”

I exclaimed.

 “Oh, right. I know.”

she replied without any care.

 

We eventually left the classroom amicably.

 “Oh, let’s get something to eat at the canteen. There’s nowhere to eat near the training center.”

Seo Jun suggested.

 

***

 

I thought we were going straight down to the school gate, but Seo Jun took me to the cafeteria.

 

The cafeteria, located between the first and second floors, was so cold in April that I wondered if they had turned on the air conditioner since it was April.

 

There must be a particularly high concentration of ghosts in the stall. I think my body temperature has been invaded by ghosts.

 

I shivered slightly and rummaged through the kimbap stalls.

 

Seo Jun saw that and said quietly.

“It’s important to open the senses, but you also need to know how to close it properly.” 

I thought I closed it right after I finished my midday exorcism earlier.

 

I quickly pulled up the status window and checked.

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Name: Baek Iri】【Rank: S】【Skill total: 23】【Title: – 】【Skill: – 】 

The main Talents window appears. If I’d left my account open, I would have seen an activation window showing the status of my abilities, so the fact that I saw the main screen showing my talents, skill total, and title meant that my account was now closed.

 

Oh, and, unbeknownst to me, my skill total had gone up by one point. I guess it reflected the exorcism from earlier.

 

Anyway, my senses were definitely closed. I gave Seo Jun a puzzled look and demanded an explanation.

 “Ah, ‘properly’ closing means layering defenses to prevent the ghost from invading your senses, not simply leaving it at 0% open.”  

At a nod, Seo Jun added.

“You’ll learn it at the academy, you’ll get the hang of it.” 

One of the basics, I guess. For a magical girl, it’s probably the most basic stage of transformation.

 

Ah, so much for using magical girls as a unit of comparison. I need to get used to the whole exorcism thing.

 “Did you pick everything?”

Seo Jun, who had put the kimbap on the counter first, beckoned me to hurry up and buy.

 

Just then, I heard a voice from the back of the store that was clearly directed at me.

 “Transfer student?” 

I turned around in surprise and saw a familiar face.

 

Mr. Magic and Ethics, who had walked into seventh period earlier, was standing behind me.

 

He froze in his tracks as he stared down at me with those fierce eyes. Up close, he was even taller than I’d expected, and I took an involuntary step back.

 “I heard that your transfer was suddenly decided…”

He said to himself, not really demanding an answer. 

 

I fumbled for a timely greeting.

“Oh, good afternoon, Sir…”  “Yeah.”

He acknowledged my greeting curtly, stared at me for a moment, then turned on his heel and walked out of the stall.

 “What the hell? What did you say?”

Seo Jun, who had finished paying first, came up to me and asked.

 “It was just something. Nothing much. I guess he was just bothered that I’m a new student.”

I shrugged trying to finish paying for my food.

 “For someone who doesn’t like to talk to students, he must have found you interesting.

” Seo Jun stated.

 

Seo Jun pushed me toward the register and glanced back at the teacher as he walked away.

 

With that, we each stuffed a roll of kimbap into our bags and headed back to the training center.

 

My true new beginning as an exorcist was about to begin.