I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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“…Um, excuse me.”

After a moment of contemplation, Jua raised her hand slightly, looking a bit worried.

Among the magical girls, Jua was the one who followed me the most. So, I thought she was just concerned about the magical girl business.

“Is the inspection… reliable?”

However, the question that came out of Jua’s mouth was much more far-reaching than that.

I stared at Jua intently.

I wasn’t the only one.

Seo-hee gaped at Jua in shock, while Yeon-woo looked at her with a stiff expression. Chae-yeon didn’t show much expression, but she was staring at Jua intently.

“Um, Jua.”

Seo-hee spoke up first.

“No matter how bad the situation is, that sounds a bit extreme.”

“Ah, no, but that’s not what I meant.”

Jua waved her hands in a fluster at Seo-hee’s words.

“I just find it all too suspicious—what with that article coming out and suddenly that person showing up, and the company that wrote the article.”

I blinked in surprise.

“Is it okay if I hear more about what you mean?”

Ha-yoon, who had been sitting silently next to me, asked.

Jua glanced at me with a slightly pale face.

Only after I nodded did Jua swallow and continue her explanation in a trembling voice.

“This inspection form here.”

Jua pointed to the hospital logo in the corner of the form as she spoke.

“Why is the hospital’s name…?”

“It’s problematic to operate a hospital for profit, but there are hospitals run by medical foundations established by corporate donations. Noir Corporation also has a hospital run in such a way.”

I looked at Jua without saying a word. She got a little flustered at my gaze, but she continued to explain earnestly.

“And… this hospital is one of those. Even though Noir Corporation’s name isn’t mentioned, it’s operated by a foundation funded by companies in that group.”

“…”

Even after hearing Jua’s explanation, everyone remained silent.

Since I was saying nothing, the kids seemed a bit anxious, so I slowly spoke up.

“So… If, hypothetically speaking… Noir Corporation were to manipulate something like this, you’re saying that could be possible?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not asking for an apology; I’m just asking if such a possibility could exist.”

Jua’s eyes darted around.

It seemed she wasn’t sure whether she just got carried away by her emotions or what.

Could that really be a possibility?

Could it be that the hospital I went to for a DNA test regarding ‘Mom’ was actually related to Noir Corporation? Is it possible for things to be so intricately plotted out?

“Ji-eun.”

Ha-yoon opened her mouth.

“Who was it that suggested going to that hospital?”

“That is…”

I answered blankly.

“It was that person.”

It was indeed me who, without a second thought, suggested going for the DNA test, but frankly speaking, I hadn’t had the mental space to think about anything.

There was no time to search for information whatsoever.

Common sense says that if you want to get treated at a large hospital, it usually takes a lot of time. Appointments are a given.

“…”

This time, silence descended for a different reason.

Perhaps feeling a bit more courageous, Jua spoke up again.

“The genetic testing became much more active after alien technology came in. Before that, it was done in places like research institutes… So, I thought, if—just if—the corporation is scheming something…”

I gazed down at the inspection form and remarked.

“…Really to that extent?”

“…Ji-eun.”

Ha-yoon hesitantly opened her mouth.

“We fight with hope. If our circuit loses hope, it can’t run. No other emotions matter at all.”

That’s why it’s said that it’s hard to find magical girls.

Conversely, it’s also true that the despair circuit can’t overpower the hope circuit.

If the hope circuit moves forward by continually embracing hope, the despair circuit must persist through despair to keep moving as well. Usually, in despair, people choose to give up.

“So—”

I started to speak but choked up.

“So you’re saying they might have done something like that, just to shatter my hope into pieces?”

“If! If that’s the case!”

Jua exclaimed quickly. It seemed she realized I reacted much more intensely than she expected.

“I’m just saying there’s a possibility! A very, very low chance! It just seems odd that everything keeps happening…!”

So, the reason Jua brought this up was not solely due to worrying that I might not be able to become a magical girl.

It was more about a potential situation that was simply possible.

That’s why she must have said it.

“…”

In that case, how would I confirm it?

Could that woman truly be someone related to the corporation, capable of pretending like that?

“Ji-eun.”

Ha-yoon called my name as she placed her hand over mine.

“It’s okay.”

I shook my head.

“No matter what happened, I would have been suspicious anyway.”

Right. Eventually, I would have doubted it, regardless of the inspection results.

Trusting too completely would feel too strange given the timing. I could dissect every little detail about it.

“I’ll confirm it.”

At my words, the kids fell silent, unsure of how to respond.

In a situation like this, I guess it’s completely natural not to know what to say. I would have thought the same if my friend acted like this.

In a situation like this, trusting the other party means… having to check everything until the very end, right?

I took a deep breath, thinking that way.

*

‘Mom’ sought me out again.

And I found myself deliberately extending my time at the magical girl headquarters, trying to avoid her.

I… I really don’t know what I want to do. To be honest, I feel like it would be uncomfortable any way it goes.

Even if the other party did nothing wrong. I’m not really the type to be that forgiving.

It would have been better if a combatant showed up to smash something excitingly and fight it out, but strangely, Noir Corporation remained quiet.

Still, it didn’t feel right to avoid her completely, so I met her a few times, but neither she nor I had any memories together. Even if we shared blood, we were still like strangers.

No, if she were a mere stranger, we probably would have developed some human connection. If you meet someone a few times, that’s generally how it goes.

In that sense, it felt even worse than just being an outsider.

After saying I would check, I wasted about a week just avoiding that issue—

Then the alarm went off in the room I was in.

I dashed out of the room immediately.

“It’s a monster!”

Ha-yoon shouted. It seemed she had run over to my side right after hearing the alarm.

I hastily grabbed my wand and returned to the room—

For some reason, the wand felt a little heavier than usual, but I didn’t pay it much mind.

No more overthinking.

Combatants and monsters are different.

Even if there are many combatants, they are beings we can subdue with one strike. Naturally, they are not scary to fight against at all.

But monsters are strong.

They can directly attack our bodies as magical girls. If we get hit, it actually hurts, and we can get injured.

No one asks if we’re okay.

Everyone knows that asking something like that would only bring about those memories and thoughts into their heads.

And, that… would affect the battle as well.

Oh, I promised not to think about anything.

I bit my lip and ran.

And then I flew alongside the kids.

The time it took to transform was a bit slower than usual.

*

The police did their best.

Monsters started appearing shortly after aliens came to Earth. The cause is unknown, but aliens become monsters on Earth at a specific probability.

You might think we could just drive all the aliens away, but—there are significant benefits to Earth accepting them. Particularly in terms of the climate crisis, which has mostly been solved through alien technology, we didn’t want to risk backtracking into extinction by cutting ties again.

Moreover, in our country, just because we don’t maintain relations doesn’t mean other countries do the same.

On the contrary, it was the less developed nations that embraced the relationship more rapidly than the advanced countries. It wasn’t surprising that simply because of that, their standard of living and national strength became ‘magically’ stronger.

Thus, most countries in this world embraced aliens while trying their best to prepare for the risks when monsters appeared.

…If you look at it strictly, our activities are somewhat illegal vigilante operations, but that’s partly the reason they can’t completely eradicate us.

It’s much safer for us to fight than to place the police in imminent danger.

“…Kugh!?”

Well, thinking about it like that, I guess I shouldn’t be too upset just because of the generator.

Boom!

In the end, a minor got knocked around by a monster while trying to save the world, and that’s pretty much the same.

“Ji-eun!?”

When Ha-yoon saw me flying sideways after colliding with a monster, she yelled.

Feeling something warm flow from my shoulder, I realized I was bleeding.

…It should be a place that’s protected even without a cloth. With the magical power wrapped around my body.

Is it possible that my magical power has thinned out?

Looking at the circuit, it certainly felt like it was running a bit less efficiently than usual.

…If Noir Corporation was aiming for that, I guess they have hit their mark perfectly.

 

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