I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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The orphanage building was in better shape than I expected, but that didn’t mean it was a situation I wanted to be back in today.

Aside from a few broken spots on the concrete exterior, the building itself was okay.

The problem was that some of the windows were completely shattered.

If someone stumbled in carelessly, the kids could get hurt, and even if they managed to get inside safely, they could still get injured when leaving their rooms in the morning.

Cleaning up all the broken glass wasn’t easy either. Most of the kids living in the orphanage were much younger than me. I couldn’t exactly have them clean up the shards of glass.

A few teachers, along with a handful of others around my age, had to tackle the issue, but even if we spent all night cleaning, we’d need to double-check everything before we could comfortably let the kids back inside.

“…I’m sorry,” I said.

“Oh, no, Ji-eun,” one of the teachers replied when I apologized.

It was true that the appearance of the monster was just unfortunate luck. There was just one alien nearby that had turned into a monster.

However, the fact that the combatants arrived before I did…

I could fly. We weren’t exactly in Busan or some distant island.

Yet I still showed up too late to the orphanage. When I arrived, the combatants had already evacuated all the kids.

…What if.

What if the Noir Corporation acted like that to sway the people around me to their side?

I felt a bit frustrated with myself for entertaining such thoughts even in this situation.

Anyway, at dawn tomorrow, I had to reorganize the building. Thankfully, there were areas where the glass hadn’t broken, so I planned to gather the kids and have them sleep there for now.

“Ji-hye.”

After settling the kids down and finishing some miscellaneous tasks, I finally got to go back to Ji-hye.

“Yeah, Ji-eun,” she greeted me with a bright smile. It looked almost forced, like she was trying hard to appear cheerful for my sake, which made me a bit sad.

“Are you really okay? No injuries?”

“Yeah…” Ji-hye nodded as she said that.

Only then did I feel a wave of relief wash over me.

“…”

Tonight, all the other magical girls came along to help me out. Even at this late hour.

And…

In the distance, there was that person who claimed to be my mom.

Since we needed all hands on deck, I eventually accepted her help too. In fact, I didn’t even get to say anything before she already had permission from the teachers and was inside cleaning vigorously with a broom.

“…”

As I exchanged glances with her in the same space, Ji-hye’s atmosphere seemed to resonate a bit more. I thought it might just be my imagination. It’s often the case that strange assumptions cloud one’s judgment.

I briefly fell into thought but ultimately made my way over.

“Thank you,” I said.

That person’s name was Jeong So-yeon. We share the same surname.

If we had separate moms and no dad, I supposed I would have grown up with that last name. I wasn’t sure if the person who first took us in knew our last name, though.

“Oh, no, I…”

Jeong So-yeon looked flustered at my words. She waved her hands energetically and glanced at Ji-hye standing next to me.

I didn’t really want to introduce her.

So, my characteristic selfishness bubbled up again.

The reason I wished I had no family was that I didn’t like the thought of someone suddenly finding me after all that time and trying to restrain me.

At first, I thought this feeling was similar to how people who run away must feel.

Leaving for somewhere they can’t be interfered with and living freely. I had dreamed of living like that, sometimes meeting up with my friends, some of whom I even shared a place with.

But thinking back, I realized it was simply a matter of not wanting the kids around me to be taken away by someone else.

Whether I left or whether the other kids left, in the end, it all felt like being taken away… even if it were for family reasons. Or if someone I loved came into the picture and got married.

I really am a terrible person.

I bitterly smiled to myself and forced a faint grin as I spoke.

“This is Ji-hye.”

“Huh?”

At my sudden introduction, Jeong So-yeon looked a bit surprised. Ji-hye didn’t seem as startled, actually. It felt more natural this way. So-yeon was the one in a particularly awkward state, considering she had once lied about being my mom.

“She’s the girl I share a room with. I’ve mentioned it a few times, right?”

“Oh.”

After I explained, Jeong So-yeon nodded.

“She’s a girl with the same last name as me. We grew up like sisters.”

They weren’t complete strangers. We had run into each other a few times when she visited the orphanage. We had exchanged greetings.

But this was the first time we had gotten to know each other on this level.

Neither Ji-hye nor Jeong So-yeon seemed to have any real inkling of what the other thought. Perhaps one of them felt a resemblance in their own unique way, but they didn’t seem to see it through just looking at each other.

Well, that was fine now.

I had no intention of butting in, anyway. Until one of them noticed something and confirmed it, I didn’t plan on bringing it up first.

…But really, it might just be because I didn’t want Ji-hye to go.

“Thank you for staying so late today,” I said.

“Thank you!”

When I bowed again, Jeong So-yeon awkwardly returned the gesture.

She’d probably come back again, even without me inviting her, knowing that we weren’t related by blood.

…So I thought it wasn’t something I could just outright hate.

The teachers came over to us, chatting with the external helpers as they greeted them before moving on.

While Jeong So-yeon was talking to one of the teachers, I took Ji-hye and left.

Next up to greet were the magical girls.

“Really, thank you.”

These kids felt comfortable. We were already close enough to trust each other’s safety.

…Sometimes to the extent of doing things that might be politically risky.

“No way, what’s with that? Friends help each other, right?” Seo-hee was the first to speak, with others nodding and chiming in.

“Don’t worry too much about it.” Yeon-woo said, and Jua smiled, “In this kind of situation, it’d be the harshest thing not to help.” “…Right. It’s the least we could do.” Chae-yeon replied, easing my mind a bit.

Next time, whenever I needed to help, I’d just help.

“Ji-eun.”

Ha-yoon called out to me.

“Are you okay?”

Well.

To be honest, I wasn’t really okay. So much had happened today. I was a little scared of what might come up tomorrow.

But in the end, everything that could happen had already happened. Next time… I’d just have to go with the flow.

“…What will you do? There might be empty rooms.”

“Oh, no,” Ha-yoon shook her head at my words.

“We should head back. If we stay, the teachers and kids will start worrying.”

“Right.”

I was grateful for that. The other kids nodded seriously in agreement.

“Then…”

Ha-yoon paused briefly and reached out to hold my hand.

“Then, Ji-eun, see you tomorrow.”

I didn’t know why those words felt so comforting.

My circuits started to spin a little faster at what she said.

Was Ha-yoon aware of when my circuits would turn?

If she was aware, I could only hope she wasn’t too deeply aware.

After saying our goodbyes, my friends, like true magical girls, flew off into the sky, scattering in the directions they needed to go…

Each of them going toward those well-off houses across the street.

I stared blankly at their receding figures and murmured, “I want to sleep a bit.”

I bitterly smiled again.

When I looked down, Ji-hye was watching me with her mouth slightly open.

“What? Do I have something weird on my face?”

“No, not at all. It’s just…”

“Just?”

“Just… Just, you look tired.”

Ji-hye stumbled over her words in response to my question.

I shrugged my shoulders.

There were plenty of things to think about, but I was starting to feel too lazy to even keep my head above water.

Honestly, I had reached my limit.

I walked unsteadily, and Ji-hye quickly came over to walk beside me.

We nodded to the teachers we passed by and walked through the now quiet corridor after all the kids went inside.

The wind blew through the broken windows. After hours of careful cleaning, there were still no glass shards in sight.

Ji-hye and I entered our room.

I didn’t even have the energy to wash up, just splashed my face and quickly changed clothes.

Without even fully drying my hair, I haphazardly spread out my blanket and lay down. I would be wet in the morning, but who cares.

Right now, all I wanted was to sleep.

Before I could even check if Ji-hye was lying next to me or not, darkness enveloped my vision.

When I opened my eyes again, it was morning.

 

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