I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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I can’t possibly share the story deep in my heart with the other kids.

It feels like everything is happening because I’m here.

Regardless of the political reasons behind it or who their parents are, a Magical Girl is a Magical Girl.

They truly wish for world peace and have the righteous hearts to stop the villains who harm others.

Of course, the world is complicated, and it’s not like we can only act justly, but I really understood how these kids were fighting.

Because I was a Magical Girl among them too.

…It’s just that my existence isn’t as pure as theirs.

Anyway, since they were such good kids, if I shared that story, they’d surely try to comfort me. And I probably wouldn’t feel any better because of it.

So that story didn’t need to be brought up. I didn’t really want to see the kids in pain either.

However, even so, there was one thing I could talk about.

“So, you want to find that girl named Pang-pang, right?”

“Yeah.”

That’s what I decided to do.

I wanted to know what had happened. If it really was because of me.

And if possible, I wanted to help her out of a difficult situation.

Because I was a friend.

We hadn’t known each other for long, but she felt different from the others I had met till that point. She seemed like a kid who genuinely wanted to enjoy her life, different from friends I had made as a Magical Girl.

I somehow didn’t want a kid like that to get tangled up with such a company. Above all, it seemed like she didn’t want to either.

…No, perhaps I just wanted to ask if she was someone I approached simply because I was a Magical Girl.

“Of course, we have to help her.”

But despite that selfish request, the kids nodded.

Seo-hee said with a serious expression, “The one who helped you a lot when you were in that situation was her. I don’t really understand why she’s still in that company… Why she’s working there after doing those things.”

“…Maybe that’s why she can’t get away.”

Someone responded to Seo-hee’s words. It was Chae-yeon.

Chae-yeon was deep in thought with quite a serious expression.

Seeing our gazes fixated on her, Chae-yeon continued speaking.

“I can’t say for sure. It’s just speculation. But she probably knew that girl Pang-pang had a connection with you.”

“…Is that so?”

“I’ve checked the Combatant’s helmet. It clearly had a camera and a position tracker.”

“That’s right.”

Jua chimed in with what she heard.

“If she hadn’t kept an eye on the Combatant’s situation, there’s no way she would have been able to send reinforcements or anything. Especially on that day, when such a large force was moving. She was likely monitoring Pang-pang’s situation in real-time.”

“And maybe that situation was already planned out.”

Yeon-woo finished Jua’s words.

“They probably didn’t want to capture you or anything like that. They couldn’t win even if they sent several Combatants. Rather, they must have been trying to hide that girl Pang-pang among them. The way they attacked you seemed more about trying to buy time than genuinely hurting you.”

“…Why?”

I asked.

“Is there a reason to take Pang-pang away like that? Most Combatants are just employees.”

The Combatants working for Noir Corporation are just staff members. They’re not even in a high position, just regular employees.

While they’re not subcontractors hired through other companies, even so, their standing in the company isn’t high.

If there were Combatants specially favored by Noir Corporation, those would be Earthlings instead.

Not because Earthlings are particularly great, but probably because they could skillfully handle the circuits provided by Noir Corporation.

“……”

The kids fell silent for a moment at my question.

It was Ha-yoon who broke that silence.

“Ji-eun.”

“Yeah.”

“That could be…”

Ha-yoon hesitated a bit, then opened her mouth again.

“Maybe Pang-pang could be a high-ranking figure within Noir Corporation.”

“Pang-pang?”

As I said that, I looked around at the other kids’ faces. Seo-hee’s expression was ambiguous. Not that she found it unclear, but more of a ‘Really, could that be true?’ look. Chae-yeon had a blank face. But Yeon-woo and Jua nodded seriously, as if they agreed with Ha-yoon’s statement.

“But, if Pang-pang is…”

If she’s high up in Noir Corporation, would she really be living in a basement? Couldn’t she live in an apartment or somewhere better? After all, Noir Corporation, while its headquarters is in Korea, is actually a massive company stretching across the galaxy. Would someone working there really do that?

“It could be a disguise.”

Yeon-woo said casually.

“Ji-eun, think back to when you first met Pang-pang.”

She collapsed in front of us, presumably drunk.

That might not have been such a difficult task. She just had to act tipsy in front of us after drinking caffeine.

Did she plan that?

“I find that a bit strange.”

Seo-hee said.

“If they were really that close, she wouldn’t have helped us at that moment. She did something we couldn’t do instead. If there was a situation where Ji-eun could have fallen off, why would she forgo that?”

“It could have been a power struggle.”

“That’s a bit odd to think, isn’t it? I can’t pinpoint it exactly, but… isn’t that a hassle?”

“……”

Either side seemed to have some merit.

But maybe that’s why the conclusion we reached was the same.

“Anyway, we should chase after her somehow. Whether that girl named Pang-pang is truly trapped by the company or really is one of its employees, we need to find out.”

At Seo-hee’s words, we all nodded in agreement.

That was true.

And—

To be honest, it didn’t really matter if Pang-pang was actually a company officer.

In that case, it would just be a matter of confronting her and turning her back into a friend.

Just like I had done until now.

*

While we were thinking about where to start, we received one operation order.

“Last time, our Research Institute was attacked.”

Gathering us together, Cherry said.

“And… it seems like the Federation doesn’t want to just watch us get trampled on.”

Honestly, that sounded a bit strange.

It was Noir Corporation that was getting trampled, after all. We were the ones interrupting them whenever they tried to do something.

But then again, we hadn’t really attacked Noir Corporation’s facilities directly. There had been many times our side’s facilities were attacked.

And when we attacked Noir Corporation’s facilities, it was usually after ours had been attacked first.

This time, it seemed like the Federation wanted to execute some sort of retaliatory operation.

“To put it frankly…”

But Cherry said this time with a somewhat serious expression.

“Honestly, this might be a bit dangerous. There were photos of that incident in the news, and if we get caught, it’ll probably end up all over the paper again.”

“Is the Federation not going to take care of it this time?”

In previous operations over the past few years, articles had been published about environmental destruction caused by Noir Corporation’s construction or interviews with people suffering from noise complaints or other problems.

The Federation isn’t neglecting public opinion either.

But Cherry shook her head at my question.

“This time might be tough.”

“Tough?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to attack Noir Corporation’s branch right in the middle of Seoul.”

“……”

At those words, we all blinked in surprise.

“So…?”

“Yeah.”

Cherry said.

“Sorry. I also didn’t get the full information. Just that was the order. So… this probably isn’t just about retaliation. It means the Federation has noticed something important inside there.”

Cherry’s dark eyes shifted between us. Though they belonged to a hamster, they weren’t so small that the worries could escape them.

“There’s something important inside. We’d like you to either destroy it or bring it back.”

This time, it wasn’t just about venting frustration.

We were supposed to go in and either destroy or take something that Noir Corporation was genuinely serious about protecting.

That’s what Cherry was saying.

“And preferably without being noticed.”

Cherry added.

“I was told to avoid the media’s eye at least. This involves other parties too. …If it’s not something that would stand out significantly to passersby, it’ll probably get buried. That would be something Noir Corporation won’t be able to openly talk about either.”

We looked at each other.

And then looked back at Cherry.

“What’s that item?”

“They didn’t tell me that much.”

“Then how are we supposed to destroy or bring it back?”

I asked.

“…They said we’ll know when we see it.”

Cherry said with a pained expression.

We fell silent once again.

 

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