I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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“……”

Just after the officer and combatant disappeared simultaneously, Blossom and Iris were blinking at each other for a while.

“……Huh?”

Then, late to react, Iris muttered that.

It was clearly a mistake.

Losing a combatant isn’t a huge issue.

While researching circuits is indeed important, it was common for the Magical Girls to automatically cause any device made by the corporation to malfunction just by retrieving it. Since magic was involved, Iris speculated that there must be some kind of device of that nature.

Samples could be obtained during each battle, and as long as the broken parts didn’t overlap, they could continue their research bit by bit, so it wasn’t a big problem…

But the officer was the first chance to make an arrest this time.

“Is it a warp point?”

Blossom stepped out of the room, saying this. The magic wrapped around the wand in her hand had diminished a bit compared to before.

Blossom didn’t show a remarkable expression towards Iris.

Just as always, a look that seemed to say, “I understand completely.”

“…I-I also, if I hadn’t rushed in so suddenly…”

Yeah. I suddenly got startled when that ugly face popped right in front of me and ended up teleporting out of there.

What a horrific attack it was—aiming that ugly officer’s face precisely at Iris’s.

Looking back, that was probably the plan.

The human warp point technique hadn’t been perfectly researched yet. At least Noir Corporation was assessed to have no related technology. If there had been such a thing, they would’ve given it to the officer to prevent incidents like today.

The combatant knew that, and quickly assessed the situation.

Whether it was gambling or a well-calculated move, who knows, but with the result turning out like this, saying it was chance or something now is meaningless.

Blossom’s body was bathed in a bright light.

Having returned in her casual clothes, Blossom turned around to look at the generator.

“It’s okay. At least we kept the generator safe.”

And on her turning face, a smile appeared.

“Even if we catch the officer, we’d have to release him shortly anyway, right? The information we can extract from the officer is limited.”

Currently, in Earth, it was only the Magical Girls that officially operated in the Republic of Korea.

And those Magical Girls could ‘subdue’ but would not ‘torture.’

Just as numerous countries on Earth claim, “We don’t engage in inhumane acts like torture,” behind the scenes they extract information through torture or threats, it may not be the case with the Galactic Federation, but at least for now, it seemed they had no intention of letting the ‘Magical Girls’ perform such acts.

So, the captured officer could just keep his mouth shut and stall for time.

No matter how the Galactic Federation delegates the representation to the Magical Girls and the government recognizes the extrajudicial rights of the Galactic Federation personnel, they couldn’t completely disregard the law.

“I’ll write the report together. Good job. It could have been dangerous if things had gone a bit wrong.”

“Dangerous…?”

Blossom said in a comforting tone, but that seemed to leave a deep mark on Iris’s pride.

This was neither a fight with the officer nor a defeat to a mere combatant. It wasn’t that she was losing in a fight; she lost in strategy.

That Iris, who was so confident in her own combat style.

“……”

But the truth is, there was nothing to say, so Iris clenched her fists.

What would Delphinium say when she arrived?

And seeing Iris like this, Blossom keenly felt once more the importance of ‘cooperation and strategy.’

Maybe next time, she ought to take the time to have a proper talk.

By the way.

Blossom looked at the spot where the combatant had been until the very end before turning to Iris.

“Jua.”

“……Please call me Iris when I’m in this outfit. Why?”

Well, at least it was a relief that she had the mental energy to respond, and Blossom asked Iris.

“Have you met that combatant before? It sounded like you talked about knowing him earlier.”

“Yeah. Every time we run into each other, he spouts some really annoying stuff and gets away.”

“Was he dressed like that last time too?”

“No, this time his outfit changed. It seems like he got promoted or something.”

“But how did you recognize him?”

“Huh?”

“Method of recognition even though the outfit changed. I’d like to know a bit. If I remember it, I might be able to identify him next time.”

Under the direct gaze of Blossom, Iris felt her face heat up.

“Well, um, that, you see… I mean, I remember the scratch locations on the helmet.”

“You just said the outfit had changed, right?”

With that innocent question, Iris’s face turned even redder.

“B-But he was still wearing the same helmet! He must have some kind of attachment to it! And, uh, on his body!”

“On his body?”

“A-Ah, it’s nothing!”

Iris ultimately couldn’t explain one of the methods of recognition to the end.

Meanwhile, Blossom seemed genuinely nodding and absorbing the information, making Iris want to tear her hair out.

*

After shivering in the cold for about 30 minutes, a car arrived to take the officer Walter.

It was a large sedan. It wasn’t an ordinary vehicle. Just looking at it, one could see that every single piece of steel plating was very thick, and the tires were much larger and higher than normal cars, as if they were expecting to get shot at.

When I opened the backseat door of the car that stopped in front of me, a man seated deep inside spoke.

“You have a very pathetic face.”

“What the hell, man!”

James, who had come out to greet, was the first to take a jab at Walter. Naturally, Walter flared up.

His mood hadn’t been great ever since the combatant rescued him just a little while ago, so he got angry hearing James’s words as he arrived in a luxury vehicle.

“Do you even know how much I struggled there? Did you really pass on the information correctly? This is not what I was told!”

“I thought handing over the internal blueprints was sufficient, though?”

Walter fell silent at James’s words.

James looked down at Walter as if he found him pathetic.

His Mohican hair was bent to the side, making for a rather avant-garde style. His outfit was torn and tattered—well, that wasn’t too different than usual; he always walked around in rags.

“I was arguing from the very start that it was too early. Yet it was you who insisted we had to go in before it was fully constructed. What more do you expect me to do?”

“……”

“By the way, where have all the combatants I lent you gone? I hope you’re not saying you lost them all. The number of combatants captured is increasing, and the price of circuits is going up significantly. I’ll write a report to absorb the losses incurred this time from the marketing department budget. I assume you have no objections to that?”

“…….Tch.”

Walter clicked his tongue and got into the car.

“Do you realize now how much of a hassle you have caused? The reason our company insists on using a separate ‘task team’ rather than subcontracting services.”

Walter remained silent.

“More importantly—”

With or without Walter’s response, James continued.

He manipulated the tablet PC he was holding and opened a video.

The footage was from someone’s head-mounted camera.

“Hey!”

Seeing what was on the head camera, Walter got angry again.

In the video, Walter was bound tightly to a shining rope. The owner of the head camera was running while holding Walter in one hand.

And then with all his might, he threw him forward.

Naturally, Walter figured it was a deliberate provocation to annoy him, but James’s face was quite serious.

“What do you think about this combatant?”

“Eh?”

Walter looked at the video again.

The combatant let Walter go, exchanged a few light words, and just ran off.

With a very light gait. Almost like a worker off on their way home.

Of course, it genuinely looked like a worker heading home—just the clothing was not formal.

“……Um.”

At James’s question, Walter crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

“Is that one using a new circuit? Even so, he fought pretty well.”

“Is that so?”

“Why? Are you planning to promote him or something?”

“Yes. I’m considering it.”

Walter’s expression turned a bit peculiar.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Walter spoke while looking at James.

“I’m just curious about what kind of person is being praised by you; I mean, I’m not interested whether they are weird or not.”

“Is that so? I think he’s a new talent to lead our team going forward.”

“Huh. Why? Are you trying to make him an officer?”

“If nurtured, there’s a possibility. I see potential.”

“……Are you serious? An Earthling in an officer position?”

“I’m a meritocrat. Also a pragmatist. You can’t properly make money on Earth with that sort of discriminatory view.”

“……But if you promote him directly, people will talk.”

“Please don’t consider me a fool like you. Naturally, he has to achieve significantly better results first. Plus, there are still uncertain aspects. Only when those aspects are ‘definitely’ solved can he be elevated to an officer. For now, it’s just the first step. I’m far from reaching the desired results.”

As James said this, a glint sparkled in his eyes.

He looked like a beast drooling over a delicious prey in front of him.

Walter moved a bit closer to the door to create some distance.

He seemed fine at first glance, but he knew his nature wasn’t very good. Here, he spoke politely, but when a combat situation arose, he spat every kind of harsh words at the combatants, using them as shields.

And he also seemed to take pleasure in psychologically tormenting something.

What kind of person that combatant was, he couldn’t quite tell, but Walter felt a bit sympathetic.

*

This battle didn’t hit the news.

If anything, based on scale, it should have been the biggest battle I participated in, but the problem was it took place in a location treated as confidential by the Galactic Federation.

Naturally, the media didn’t get the story. They probably took measures to ensure that the story didn’t leak at all, rather than having to regulate the reports.

It didn’t seem that Noir Corporation had any intention of spreading the news about the battle either.

Both sides were keeping the power plant’s existence a secret. Even if they could hide the emotions that were involved, saying they would ‘develop something by moving humanity’ is not something that can be easily concealed.

“……”

“Why?”

“Is there something good on your mind?”

Yesterday I came back late, and now I was lying around in bed until this afternoon when Ji-hye asked.

“Good thing?”

“Are you a man after all?”

Ji-hye didn’t answer my question, immediately firing one back.

“After coming back in the middle of the night and waking up feeling good the next day, there’s no reason other than a boyfriend.”

……It was a somewhat rational speculation, but it was wrong.

There were indeed a lot of boys, but—

“Just. Some days are like that. Today is my nothing day, you know?”

The simple reason for my good mood was straightforward.

Finally, I could land a hit on a Magical Girl.

Of course, it wasn’t that I actually landed an effective blow. My fist ultimately didn’t reach Iris.

But still, with Iris’s attack, I could manage to release the officer. That expression she made in the last moment was delightful enough to feel a sense of achievement.

“……”

And just after that thought, I felt a bit guilty.

Iris is annoying. Honestly, if you asked me if I could like her, I’d probably only be able to answer that it’s tough.

I already knew her character from reading the webtoon, and I understood the environment that would naturally arise desire for recognition. When I read it in comics, I could sometimes feel a bit sorry for her. I thought she was cute at times.

But that was before coming to this world and getting hit by those beams.

No matter how pretty the other party is, one eventually feels like hitting back after constantly getting beaten up. This time, I finally succeeded, even if indirectly.

This was also a possibility—a chance to see if I could truly oppose a Magical Girl.

Why wouldn’t I feel good about that?

And—

Blossom.

“……”

“Oh, suddenly I’m feeling down.”

While my face changed, Ji-hye mumbled that, and I waved my hands dismissively and turned on my side.

Hae-yoon is a nice girl. She cares about me, who has no friends, and even jumps in first to protect people in dangerous situations like before.

That’s why she’s a Magical Girl; that’s why she’s the protagonist. She’s strong and powerful.

So perfect, it dazzles just to look at her.

That said, even someone like her feels emotions. She gets hurt when people show disdain for her and feels pressured by others’ expectations.

But still, when I watch her, I inevitably feel some emotion.

Straight-up jealousy.

Jealousy that I can’t be like her no matter how much I try.

No matter how hard I study, I can’t get the same scores or better than her. Hae-yoon always scores among the very best, even though she seems to study less than I do.

No matter how hard I try, I could never surpass Hae-yoon. She’s the kind of person who would pick up trash off the sidewalk and throw it away. I wouldn’t even think of looking for that trash.

Hae-yoon is loved by everyone, while I am the opposite. When she talks, it’s something grand and impressive, but when I do, it’s just being ‘over the top.’

The more I’m next to Hae-yoon, the more I strangely feel that ‘envy’ hit.

Even though the one that should be envious is me.

I know that these thoughts only make me miserable, but I can’t avoid them.

Hae-yoon is great. A truly good friend, and I want to keep knowing her. I hope that in about ten years, we can drink together.

But while feeling that, I still want to win. No matter how impossible it may seem.

Perhaps the reason I accepted the suggestion was also due to those twisted thoughts.

“……Haha.”

If this keeps up, I won’t be different from Iris.

Turning my body in another direction and chuckling to myself, Ji-hye looked at me with a completely serious expression and said:

“Ji-eun, how about seeing a psychiatrist? If you’re too worried, I can go with you.”

I waved my hand to brush off her hand on my forehead, making a face that said ‘what a ridiculous idea,’ and Ji-hye chuckled.

Then, as she got up from her seat, she said:

“Shall we listen to some music?”

“That sounds good. Play a song for me.”

The music CD Ji-hye played was the OST of some space-action movie.

Even though it was called an OST, it felt more like a collection of 20th-century hit songs rather than original music from the movie.

But there’s usually a reason hit songs are hit songs.

The music playing was quite upbeat, and it lifted my spirits a bit.

Anyway, people really can read thoughts well.

Watching Ji-hye sit in my chair, imitating my usual posture while listening to music, I couldn’t help but smile.

*

Winter vacation felt both long and short.

When I was working, I thought a month-long break would be great, but now that I became a student, the vacation felt way too short.

Well, which holiday is long in the world anyway?

Holidays end the moment you blink.

On the bright side, I only had a smartphone and a CD player to enjoy as hobbies, so I didn’t often stay up late.

The combat situation was the same. Ever since the Magical Girls regrouped after the last base invasion, their activity frequency has dropped significantly, and it seemed the company was busy with their own affairs, moving very little.

Well, for me, it meant there were no battles again. No reason to wander outside until late at night.

Thanks to that, I was feeling extremely refreshed when the vacation ended after a long time.

I greeted Ji-hye, just like any other day, and slowly walked to the bus stop.

Hae-yoon was already there with me.

Both of us go to school a bit early. So there weren’t many people waiting for the bus besides us.

Hae-yoon could easily take a car to school.

“Hi~”

I was a bit worried that she might have been overdoing it since the last battle, but upon seeing me, Hae-yoon smiled brightly and waved her hand.

Just her smile alone felt like healing to my heart. Who wouldn’t like that smile?

Only people who are deeply distorted in their hearts wouldn’t appreciate it.

I didn’t dislike it.

I waved my hand lightly in response to Hae-yoon.

As we sat side by side, Hae-yoon spoke in a slightly disappointed voice.

“We didn’t get to meet often this vacation.”

“……Yeah.”

A moment of silence passed over my short reply. The awkwardness wasn’t palpable. That’s just how our conversation usually goes.

“A new bakery opened in the neighborhood. Want to check it out?”

Hae-yoon returned to the conversation.

“Let’s do that. It’ll be done early today anyway.”

When I answered brightly, Hae-yoon nodded her head with a wide smile.

Still… She seemed unaware. Well, she couldn’t know in a combatant’s outfit.

I let out a tiny sigh.

It was still cold, and white breath escaped my mouth.

Hae-yoon leaned closer to me.

Our arms brushed slightly.

I thought that wouldn’t transmit body warmth, but apparently, that was not the case.

Until the bus came, I felt a tiny bit warmer.

 

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