I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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I had nothing to talk about with this person.

…No, if I really looked for something to say, I’m sure I could find one.

To be precise, it’s more like I didn’t particularly want to engage in conversation.

The reason they called me at the last moment.

I think I understand.

This person must have been worried about me. Though I’m not sure if she’s really my mother or not.

…It can’t be an act, can it? If it were, there would be no reason to call me at the last moment.

Even if she’s an employee of Noir Corporation, she probably doesn’t really know how our circuits operate.

If Noir Corporation sent this woman to me, it must mean they got more than they bargained for.

Once she came in, the other person didn’t say a word.

In the end, it was me who spoke first.

“Why did you do that?”

“…”

She probably never expected something like this would happen.

Her face turned pale. Maybe it was my words that caused her to look that way.

“I’m…”

As I silently looked at her, she struggled to open her mouth.

“I came to see because I heard you were… fighting.”

“So that’s why you came?”

I know it. I understand.

This woman is likely my biological mother, or at the very least, someone who really believes she’s my biological mother. So, I guess it’s reasonable she came to check on me.

If it were me, and my daughter was out there fighting an alien in space, I’d be worried enough to want to see her.

She might have called my name just like this.

And if, because of me, my daughter got hurt, she would have turned even paler than this.

But even so.

It’s a feeling I can’t quite express in words. No matter how much she might be my real mother, she’s never shown up until now.

“I,”

“…I’m sorry.”

She spoke while bowing her head deeply to me.

I shut my mouth.

I wanted to throw a bunch of words at her, but seeing her like this just made my brain freeze up.

“Until now, someone who’s never acted like a mother… coming to me like this, must be quite confusing.”

Forcing out the words, she barely managed to speak.

“It must not feel welcome.”

“…”

“Just because I’m worried, coming like this… If it’s a burden to you, Ji-eun.”

I slightly parted my lips.

What should I say?

If I had truly gone through a hard past, I might have clung to this mother who came looking for me.

But I didn’t live that kind of life.

I was left in a baby box, so at least I didn’t freeze to death in winter. There were people who took care of me the best they could during my childhood.

When that person quit, I was sent to the orphanage.

An orphanage is still an orphanage. There are places that abuse children and places with terrible facilities, but the orphanage I was at was not one of those.

The kids were generally nice, and the teachers were undoubtedly people who cared for us.

…If you ask me whether they were like parents, I’d have to say yes. Even though I know it’s not quite the same.

There are many children in the orphanage. For a few teachers to take care of all of us, it’s far too many. Naturally, the love we receive can’t match what a real parent would give.

The teachers did their best, but…

So, when this ‘mother’ says something like that, I inevitably feel something. An uncomfortable, ticklish feeling.

…

I don’t believe it. Just like Jua said, and other kids acknowledged the possibility.

The test results haven’t been submitted anywhere yet, and most importantly, Noir Corporation — the largest company in this country that operates on a scale extending across the galaxy — conducting the tests raises suspicion.

“…”

If I wanted to ask something, I could have.

But my mouth just couldn’t formulate the words properly.

What if – what if she hears that story and gets shocked or bursts into tears? I found myself thinking about it without realizing.

And even if it’s an act, it would be an incredibly burdensome thing for me. I’m… not a psychopath.

“If it’s a burden, what will you do?”

At my words, her eyes blinked.

“Are you planning to disappear?”

As I stared straight at her, she could only hunch her shoulders and bow her head.

That means she doesn’t intend to disappear.

“…If I want to continue as a magical girl, I might need your consent.”

When I said that, the woman raised her head.

“What if you really are my mother? If we share blood.”

It feels a bit foolish to say this after I’ve already gotten the results from the genetic test.

Still, I wanted to nail this point down.

“So if you really become my guardian, how do you plan to handle being a magical girl? Can you agree to that?”

“…I will.”

“The magical girl makes more money than you’d think.”

This is true.

It’s not like I’m earning chaebol-level money or anything. I probably wouldn’t be getting what someone who’s been in a major company with many achievements for decades would earn either.

But at least, it’s more than any salary I’ve ever seen in my past life. If you calculate it by average, it’s still definitely above average.

If someone wanted to take advantage, they could definitely do so. I didn’t spend much of that money either; I just saved it up.

…If someone were really looking to profit, they’d want me to continue being a magical girl. The magical girl salary wouldn’t just sit frozen in place.

“If all of that went into an account, it might be quite helpful.”

As I said that, she stared at me for a while.

Then she bowed her head again, looking at her fingertips, and said softly.

“I didn’t want to meet for something like that.”

“…”

“And for being a magical girl… I can earn money myself.”

I closed my eyes at those words.

Oh, I see. This person…

Her words made things even more confusing.

If she were sent from Noir Corporation, it wouldn’t be strange for her to respond like this.

At the same time, I thought, even if she were really my mother, this response wouldn’t necessarily be off.

So, my head got even messier.

*

Ha-yoon and her friends came back shortly after that woman left.

Only Ji-hye came to spend a bit more time with me before returning.

The hospital room was a private one.

The darkened hospital room was quiet. Only the sound of my own breathing could be heard.

I tried to sift through the tangled thoughts in my mind, looking for a way to sort them out.

Grabbing at the edges with my fingertips, I tried to untangle it strand by strand.

If she’s not my mother…

…Of course, it wouldn’t concern me at all. Ironically, I thought that this would be the most comforting scenario.

But if she is my mother…

…I really don’t know. This part is so tangled I couldn’t even begin to unravel it.

Should I quit being a magical girl?

Yeah. A magical girl. What will happen with the magical girl work?

I… I like being a magical girl. It can be dangerous at times and sometimes it hurts, but I think it’s where I can achieve something among the children.

Building relationships and having trustworthy comrades… that was a joyful thing.

But if I’m told not to do it just because it’s worrying, would I want to hear that?

I wouldn’t want to listen at all.

But at the same time—yeah.

At the same time, I would think that something has ‘become’ of me.

Family, after all.

Ji-hye is a sister. The teachers are like parents. The kids from the same orphanage are like siblings.

Even if I try to think that way, the similarities just can’t replace the real connection. I will definitely… feel like I hate it while simultaneously feeling like I like it.

“…Looks like the company played its cards well.”

What kind of judgment did they make when they released the article?

Did they really think things would roll out like this? Did they realize how much impact this would have?

I just hope they haven’t thought it through to that extent yet.

*

Combatants are weaker compared to magical girls.

Especially when it comes to aliens who can’t use circuits; their potential for growth is nearly nonexistent.

Of course, the emotions driving Noir Corporation’s circuits were ‘negative emotions’ regardless of how it turned out, so it might be feelings that didn’t suit Pang-pang from the start.

“…”

But still, Pang-pang worked as a combatant.

There’s really no reason; it’s just that there aren’t many good jobs available for an alien with no special specs.

In other words, the pay is pretty decent. Since it involves physical work.

Though today, Pang-pang didn’t really want to go to work.

It was because she saw news that the magical girl, Happy Lily, had been seriously injured.

How that affects how they think of Pang-pang on that side is uncertain. They’ve met several times and had pleasant conversations, but the level of how a celebrity considers Pang-pang as a friend is different from the level of how Pang-pang considers a celebrity as a friend.

It’s not a grand reason like she can’t go out because she can’t fight Lily.

Rather, it’s just that she didn’t feel like it today.

“…Hmm.”

But in the end, Pang-pang responded to the call.

In that case, it means decent pay for her.

To make the living expenses this month, she had to do at least one more job.

“…”

Suddenly, a humorous thought crossed her mind about asking the magical girls how Lily was doing.

That wouldn’t work. Lily — no, her real identity is unknown to Pang-pang since she doesn’t know that she’s a combatant.

…Noir Corporation, making moves to execute a plan just because of one magical girl. And Pang-pang, who rushed out in response to that plan.

“…Maybe I should look for another job.”

Feeling a sense of self-loathing, Pang-pang left the house.

 

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