I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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There are various types of aliens.

Really, I mean “various types.” Not all aliens look like people.

Pang-pang, for example, gets high on caffeine like us, has antennae on her head, and her skin is blue. But that’s still close enough to being human, I guess. Eun-ha is vast, and the planet’s environment is diverse, hosting an unimaginable number of intelligent life forms. In fact, there are way more like Cherry than like Pang-pang.

That makes sense. On Earth, there’s only one kind of animal that resembles humans.

It’s fortunate if they at least somewhat resemble animals; there are bizarre cases of intelligent beings that are plants or even stones and metals.

At least the entity before us wasn’t one of those stones or metals.

It looked like a walking lobster, with shells smashed in here and there.

That’s how it appeared to me.

Isn’t it usually after being cooked that crabs turn red? Yet that lobster-like alien had red shells still intact. Could it have been cooked already?

The police were finally showing up. This was… unavoidable. It hadn’t been long since all this started.

“You all, run away!”

I shouted as I stepped forward in front of the aliens.

The circuits were spinning energetically.

Hope isn’t as consistent as you might think. It’s not a simple emotion; it’s a mix of various feelings that come together, making you feel it that way.

A single fact could bring you crashing down, but alternatively, a single fact could also lift you up.

While it seems like anything could be glued together, that’s how my head thinks, but my heart just can’t accept it properly, making it uncontrollable.

It’s so complicated that it’s probably not something just anyone can use.

Despair is the same. In this case, feeling it is easy, but the time before that feeling shatters is too short, which might be a downside.

I felt a strange emotion watching the combatants scramble to flee.

I couldn’t even count how many combatants I had brought down. Even if I could count, it didn’t really matter since they were all in the same uniform anyway. Just because they were wearing the same combat suit doesn’t mean they weren’t wearing someone else’s hand-me-down.

But still, right now… I had received help.

Would it be going too far to think it’s part of Noir Corporation’s plans? Do they really think children shouldn’t get involved in things like this because there’s a line to it?

“… That’s not something to think about right now.”

Right. What I should be pondering isn’t that complicated matter.

There was an incident. But Ji-hye was fine. There was no evidence that the other kids were hurt. Seeing the teachers evacuate safely, I was sure the kids would be fine too. They definitely weren’t the kind to run away first.

So—

“Usually, I’d think they were just a bit unfortunate.”

The aliens were mutated creatures affected by something on Earth for some reason.

The cause was unknown, but it seemed like they generally blamed “Earthlings.” They had no magical power but, in return, were beings that moved their circuits with emotions to generate energy.

There was a belief that aliens might have been influenced by Earthlings’ overflowing emotions, but that was so completely random that it couldn’t be defined.

All we could do was suppress them to ensure no one else got hurt, and hand them over to the federation.

Once they go out into space, they supposedly revert to their original forms.

So—up until now, they were in the position of the somewhat unfortunate beings. I thought it was better to restrain them before they could kill or harm anyone.

“Today, I’m a bit mad.”

I muttered that.

“Well, I understand.”

Seo-hee said bitterly.

“It’s my first time here, but—this is your home, right?”

I nodded slightly at the cautious question.

That home was a bit damaged. Not severely, but still.

If a child got hit by that attack, they could die in one blow.

“… I didn’t want to visit like this for the first time…”

Ha-yoon murmured as if disappointed.

I felt the same way.

I had planned to invite them over one day, but things got strangely tangled up in many ways, and I hadn’t yet.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

I gripped the hammer tightly and said.

The magical girls nodded.

*

The aliens… while they seem unfortunate, they’re not beings that can be liked.

There’s a certain reason behind “it couldn’t be helped,” but because I got hit by the very thing that couldn’t be helped.

It’s no different from snow falling from the sky or rain pouring down. It’s nobody’s fault, but it’s just annoying when my clothes get wet.

“Hah… Hah…”

I exhaled, standing with my wand on the floor.

My arms and legs were a bit sore. Getting punched by those pincers hurt like hell.

Still, it wasn’t too dangerous since the circuits were operating well.

While I was keeping the alien tightly bound, Cherry came to transport it with the federation’s people.

“… I’m sorry it turned out like this… No, I’m sorry. It’s my fault.”

“… No way. How could this possibly be your fault?”

Hearing Cherry apologize, I couldn’t possibly get annoyed or angry.

To put it another way, the emergence of the alien was something like a natural disaster, so it couldn’t be helped. If anyone were to be scolded, it would be Noir Corporation, who moved us to a different place—ah.

I see. Today, the combatants from Noir Corporation came to our aid.

Even if the officers weren’t around.

Looking at the combatants standing anxiously over there, I tilted my head.

What are they doing standing over there? Usually, when magical girls show up, everyone runs away. Are they waiting to say something, thinking today won’t be an enemy?

Even though I got some help…

I looked over at Ha-yoon.

She was surrounded by kids. Among kids, isn’t a magical girl a superstar? Seo-hee, Jua, Yeon-woo, and Chae-yeon were the same. They all looked extremely happy surrounded by the kids.

If I had known this would happen, I should have brought them over beforehand.

“Ji-eun.”

“I guess I’m not very popular.”

Ji-hye spoke to me, and I jokingly responded.

“No, I’m sure they’re all grateful.”

Well, I can see one boy standing there, fidgeting.

… That’s right. My outfit is a bit stimulating for the kids. He probably doesn’t want to show that he likes something like this and acts uninterested instead. I understand. I had a phase like that too.

Rather than forcing a conversation and creating more embarrassing memories, I decided to just ignore it.

“Well, I see them every day, so that makes sense. For those kids, this is their first time. It’s only natural for me to look like an idol.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“You’re not denying it, which is a bit disappointing.”

I said as I rubbed my shoulders, and Ji-hye was taken aback. I didn’t mean for her to be that shocked.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

I said with a smile and exhaled deeply.

Right. Ji-hye seems fine, and while the building got a bit damaged, it’s probably not to the extent that I can’t manage with the money I’ve saved. Otherwise, I could at least ask the federation for a little help.

… More than that, right now.

I looked back at the combatants.

They hadn’t been of much help in terms of “combat.” That’s obvious. How could a person holding a piece of wood resist against armed robbers with guns?

But those people with the clubs managed to successfully get the kids out.

There were many questions lingering—how did they know, why did Noir Corporation even think to help, but right now, there was only one thing I needed to do.

I walked over to those combatants.

Seeing me approach, one of the combatants was frightened. But another one, though scared, didn’t run away. It seemed like they realized I didn’t look too angry.

“Thank you for your help.”

As I said that, the combatants froze.

The one who usually hits the combatants the hardest was me. So it makes sense they’d be shocked by this kind of reaction.

I try to hold back a bit usually… Should I try harder to control it?

It seemed like someone felt they had to respond, but the combatants were shoving each other to answer, sitting there in front of a mere teenage girl.

Looking at their outfits, they didn’t seem that threatening.

… No, maybe it looks more dangerous because of those outfits? It’s not my intention, but a bit…

But before any of those combatants could respond—

“Ji-eun?”

Cherry, who had somehow come to my side, spoke up.

“Oh, this is just to say thank you—”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I was getting at.”

It seemed Cherry wasn’t about to comment on my gratitude to the combatants.

Rather, she said.

“… There’s a situation at the research institute.”

If we could see Cherry’s skin beneath her fur, we might have noticed her face turning pale.

With that atmosphere, Cherry spoke.

“They say there’s an intruder at the research institute. I’m sorry for what just happened, but…”

I unknowingly glanced at the combatants.

Seeing them frantically waving their hands, it seemed they didn’t know what was going on.

“Combatants?”

“Yeah, right now….”

“Got it.”

I held back a deep sigh.

Of course.

Policies for the organization don’t change that easily.

… The magical girls trying to save the kids and the combatants protecting the illegal research institute.

Somehow, these situations feel like they’re destined to lead to the next article’s content.

 

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