I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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“Chae-yeon? Chae-yeon?”

I don’t really know what this feels like, but something about it feels dangerous, so I quickly shook Chae-yeon’s shoulder to wake her up.

“Mmm….”

But Chae-yeon snuggled deeper into me as if she was a cushion made for cuddling. If this were someone else, I might have thought that was a bit too obvious.

After all, she’s only a year older than me, and at least we share the same gender.

With the air conditioning on, Chae-yeon, being on the slender side, might have felt a little chilly.

…No, that’s not what’s important right now.

“Chae-yeon-senpai.”

Ha-yoon had quietly come up next to me and spoke. Oh right, she still called the magical girl seniors either ‘senpai’ or ‘unnie’.

“Chae-yeon-senpai, want to get up?”

“……”

For some reason, Chae-yeon’s body flinched.

Looks like she’s listening.

“Mmm….”

Having already flinched once, pretending to keep sleeping is a bit pointless.

“It’s cold…”

She looked a little pitiful as she said that while shaking. Even though she’s a senior, she’s on the shorter side and quite slender, making her feel younger than me given the circumstances. At least Seo-hee sometimes acts like a leader, and Yeon-woo can talk maturely at times, which makes things different.

“Um….”

This time Ji-hye opened the door.

Ha-yoon’s voice had turned low as if she was a bit upset, while Ji-hye sounded a bit scared instead.

When I turned my gaze, I noticed Seo-hee, Yeon-woo, and Jua had gathered around us.

All three of them were staring at me intently.

Why?

I didn’t do anything wrong.

Sure, I might have forgotten to keep a low profile and slipped downstairs, getting surrounded by reporters while shouting something like a declaration of war, but…

They probably shouldn’t be mad about that now; it seems more like they’re upset about Chae-yeon clinging to me.

…Why?

I don’t get it.

“Heh, it’s warm…”

No, Chae-yeon. Don’t say things like that.

Could you let go of me?

*

No matter how chaotic the morning was, we actually woke up pretty early. Outside, the sun was fully out, but since I often slept late on Fridays and would sometimes sleep until almost lunchtime on Saturdays, getting up at around nine felt pretty early for me.

Even if I hadn’t been woken by Chae-yeon’s weight, Ha-yoon and the others would still have gotten up.

It’d feel weird for me not to help prepare breakfast.

“Oh, but….”

While preparing a simple breakfast in the pantry next to our dedicated lounge, I suddenly remembered to ask.

“Can’t we just eat in the dining hall?”

Since it’s always staffed, there’s definitely a space for meals. Anyone working here can use it for free, and we’ve used it a few times before. It was just too bothersome to go out for dinner while we were here.

“Well, that would lack romance, you know? Romance!”

Yeon-woo poked my arm with her elbow, laughing. She was close enough that our shoulders almost touched.

Yeon-woo is a lot less reserved compared to the others. I remember she was the one who built up walls when we first met, but now she’s the most touchy-feely among us.

“Since we’re all gathered, we should eat something together. You know? Seo-hee has already brought a grill up to the roof.”

“…Is that really okay?”

Pang!

A perfectly toasted slice of bread popped out, and as I placed it on a large plate, I spoke.

“It’s fine. This place was made for us, after all… even if Yeon-bang went a bit overboard with it. Apparently, the separate rooms were just built because they ended up making too many rooms that no one uses.”

For sure, it’s way too big for just six of us. Were they expecting a larger group? Though, considering no extra people have joined, it seems like those plans might not have worked out.

“Did you toast the bread? Then—Whoa!?”

As Yeon-woo turned around, she suddenly slipped—honestly, I didn’t see what she slipped on, but she came tumbling towards me.

Fortunately, she wasn’t holding anything, and I was right in front of her.

If I were just an ordinary high school girl, I wouldn’t have been able to catch her weight and would have fallen over too. But hey, I’m a magical girl, right?

And Yeon-woo must have held her balance as well, even if she still fell.

Not to say she didn’t fall, though.

Thud.

Yeon-woo’s face landed against my chest.

“…You okay?”

She looked fine from here, but I asked anyway, just in case she bumped her chest and hurt herself.

“Phew.”

She breathed deeply, as if she was trying to catch her breath.

I mean, doing that in this situation is a bit odd.

“Are you okay? Could you get up a bit?”

I placed a hand on her shoulder, but—

“Ah. I think I suddenly lost strength in my legs from being startled.”

She kind of said that in a dramatic tone, wrapping her arms around my waist more tightly.

…

I mean, it didn’t feel bad. It’s just that magical girls… how do I put this? I’m not sure if it was a coincidence or if the union deliberately chose cute people, but everyone is pretty. Yeon-woo has a good figure too.

Now that I think about it, this world does resemble a cartoon, so maybe everyone we pass has these striking faces. It’s definitely not just about being magical girls; the girls around me are all beauties—even Pang-pang and Ji-hye.

I decided to accept that this is just the kind of world it is.

“Ah, this feels warm and nice.”

“Don’t say that while looking at someone’s chest.”

I couldn’t help but get a bit flustered as I shifted my face, but Yeon-woo wasn’t even looking at me. So I guess she wasn’t worried or scared.

Huh.

Is it normal to be this physically close just out of friendship?

…Is it because this is a magical girl story? I have no idea.

As I scratched my head and turned away—

“Hey, Yeon-woo.”

“……”

“Can you at least respond?”

I said a bit anxiously, but Yeon-woo still cuddled against me quietly. Well, if we’re being picky, it’s closer to leaning against me than cuddling.

I turned to check behind.

Four people were standing near the pantry entrance, arms crossed and staring at us. Ha-yoon, Seo-hee, Chae-yeon, Jua.

And Ji-hye was looking at us with a bit of concern on her face.

Why are you all staring like that again?

Is it that bad for me to hug someone? I didn’t even initiate it!

I felt a bit frustrated, but since expressing that probably wouldn’t change anything, I decided to quietly stay still.

*

“Wow, it must be that she has nine tails. Are you planning on adding four more from there?”

“Four more? Who?”

“There are five magical girls.”

“Isn’t it six?”

“You have to exclude yourself.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

Seo-hee, who had been preparing charcoal along with me, stared at my face.

It was still a bit muggy outside, but as the sun was setting, it seemed to be getting a little cooler. By the time it was completely nighttime, it should be bearable.

I wonder how we’re going to handle mosquitoes, but for now, I’m relieved that I haven’t seen any yet.

Seo-hee really set up a grill on the roof—two big barbecue grills, actually.

“Being on the roof, we can see who’s coming at us right away, right?”

That seemed to be Seo-hee’s reasoning. I kinda felt like she just wanted to grill meat, but I didn’t want to challenge that because I felt like I would just look foolish.

“Anyway, that’s telling us not to casually flirt with anyone.”

“Flirt? What are you talking about?”

“……Forget it if you don’t know.”

Isn’t it you who should be explaining that? Why are you only keeping it to yourselves? Why couldn’t you share that with me!

…

Well, that said, I didn’t feel too bad about the whole thing. My friends come up to me because we have this friendly bond.

At least the senior magical girls don’t mind when I call them by their names.

“Ji-eun.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you like us?”

Seo-hee asked with a slightly puzzled look.

“You guys? You mean the magical girls?”

“Well, yeah. If possible, the four girls currently here, who are also your friends.”

“…….”

I stared at Seo-hee in confusion at her sudden question.

Next to me, Seo-hee was arranging the charcoal with a pair of tongs, just like me.

Covering up her blushing expression, she was staring intently at the charcoal.

“Well, yeah? I like you guys. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have become a magical girl.”

“Oh really?”

Seo-hee smiled brightly.

This wasn’t her usual wild smile; it was more of a childlike one.

“That’s good to hear.”

Definitely.

I thought that was a relief.

Had I not belonged here, I would have still been burning with feelings of inferiority toward the magical girls up until now.

 

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