I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

---

Still, one good thing is that magical girls are truly nice.

Sure, they can be a bit odd sometimes, lacking awareness or doing things I can’t quite comprehend—but hey, I figured that was just part of their innocence and decided to let it slide.

So of course, Ji-hye treated them well.

Actually, Ji-hye has hung out with magical girls before.

Ji-hye was way more sociable than I was, so I thought she’d become friends with the newcomers pretty quickly. From what I heard about Ji-hye’s school life, it seemed like she had a ton of friends.

But Ji-hye couldn’t be super close with the magical girls. At least, she wasn’t as chatty with them as Pang-pang was with Ha-yoon and me.

But since they were my guests and would be hanging out with us for the next few days, the other kids were really trying to engage with Ji-hye.

They were cracking light jokes and sharing grilled meat, too. Ji-hye looked a bit flustered but was gradually blending in with them.

“…It’s quiet, isn’t it?”

Before I knew it, Ha-yoon had come up beside me and asked that.

“Is it?”

I wondered while watching the kids chatter away. Maybe they were finally getting used to talking to each other because there were giggles near Ji-hye whenever she told a joke.

It’s not that quiet, though.

“No, not that way. Over there.”

“Oh.”

I turned my head again.

I heard that Seoul was considered one of the major cities. With a population over nine million, the city had skyscrapers reaching for the sky.

Even if you packed that vast space with only four to five-story buildings, there’d still be a massive number of people, yet taller buildings towered so many it was hard to count. They were visible even from here.

But even in such a place as Seoul, mountains exist.

In fact, it was said there were quite a few for a city of this size. And this headquarters happens to be located among those mountains.

Even in Seoul, it’s rare to see a building nestled right between mountains like that. The land is pretty wide, obviously crowded with high-rise apartments, but still, the imposing sight of another mountain looming right in the middle made the gap between our mountain and that one seem unusually narrow.

Even with Seoul’s dazzling lights, or maybe because of that.

The areas with mountains felt dim, and the light flowing through them looked like a river.

I could see a car passing by in the distance. If I squinted and looked closely, I could also spot people moving between the buildings.

Since our building was a bit higher up the ridge, not too many people wandered around, but I could still see some moving through the residential areas and even people loitering in what could be described as a busy district far away.

Among them, I’m sure there were loud people. It was the weekend, after all, a perfect time to get tanked.

But even such a scene, viewed from this distance, managed to feel silent. I could hear the sounds of cars, the distant barking of a dog, and occasionally someone shouting excitedly, but in a strange way, at this hour, even those sounds felt somewhat empty.

“Right.”

I think I get what Ha-yoon meant by ‘quiet.’

“It’s been a long time.”

“…”

Ah, yeah.

It’s been ages since we’ve been like this.

Since becoming a magical girl, it’s been nonstop. Not that I was busy with work, but I suddenly found myself in the thick of a much larger social circle—well, spending a lot of time with friends.

Ha-yoon barely had moments of feeling down, so I had little reason to bring her somewhere quiet to comfort her. If anything, considering the number of incidents that shook my own mental state, I had it worse.

Maybe that’s why moments of just ‘us two in a quiet place’ had become so rare recently.

I heard laughter from behind again.

Oh right, I didn’t actually change locations after all.

The rooftop was spacious enough, and since we were here by the railing, we were somewhat distanced from the party.

“Lucky us. They seem to be having fun.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Ha-yoon said that and seemed a little restless, shifting around a bit.

“Why?”

“Uh, well.”

When I asked, Ha-yoon started looking around while scratching her cheek.

“Hmm… how should I put it? It’s been a while.”

Yeah, we kinda talked about that a moment ago.

Oh.

It suddenly hit me.

I hadn’t just brought Ha-yoon to a quiet place to sit around doing nothing.

I wasn’t quite sure who leaned on whom first, but by the time I realized it, I was already stroking Ha-yoon’s hair, holding her hand, or hugging her.

I didn’t think that was strange. I mean, hugging is something you can do between girls, right?

“…”

I reached out and placed my hand on Ha-yoon’s shoulder.

It was more of a casual embrace than a full-on hug, but Ha-yoon’s fidgeting settled down a bit.

Could it be that she was actually hoping for this?

…

I see.

Yeah, Ha-yoon was probably worn out in many ways.

Being a magical girl isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, you know. Basically, it’s a job where you need to be able to fight people, deal with monsters, and battle the biggest corporation in the country.

Just not long ago, my life almost took a turn for the worse, and I ended up infiltrating that company’s office, making it feel like I was wrestling for my life.

I got shot multiple times. If it weren’t for magic, I might have been gravely injured or even dead.

Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if the problem is more with me for not feeling overly concerned about such events.

“You did well.”

“Yeah… Ji-eun, you too.”

I said so, and Ha-yoon echoed my sentiment.

The truth is, there’s a lot more hardship ahead. Noir Corporation isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Honestly, I don’t think it’ll disappear by the time I retire. If anything, the Federation seems ready to cut and run if faced with a challenge.

So, my short-term goal remains to get Pang-pang out.

And once that’s done, well, I guess I’ll just keep fighting like usual.

How long I can keep this up, I don’t know.

“…”

Ha-yoon leaned against me, looking like she felt relieved. Even after so many years of being a magical girl, she still seemed to crave my warmth.

Did I comfort her too much?

“Hey, Ji-eun—”

“What are you two doing?”

Just as Ha-yoon was about to say something, a furious voice cut in.

I turned to see green eyes glaring ominously.

“…Ji-hye?”

As I turned with Ha-yoon, Ji-hye was staring at the hand resting on Ha-yoon’s shoulder.

It seemed like I should remove my hand, so I tried to, but Ha-yoon had already wrapped her arms around me like Chae-yeon and Yeon-woo had done earlier, determined not to let go.

Behind Ji-hye, other magical girls gathered.

“What’s going on here?”

“…”

“Ji-eun… what the heck are you doing?”

“Ji-eun, you…”

Seo-hee glanced at me, her shoulders quivering oddly. She was older than me by a year and had often taken on a leadership role before we joined, yet there were moments when she strangely looked like a little kid.

“So you really put your hands on Ha-yoon after all.”

“What are you trying to say?”

I asked, dumbfounded, and she yelled, “Duh!”

Suddenly, Ji-hye jumped at me.

And buried herself in my embrace.

Of course, by then, Ha-yoon still hadn’t let go, leaving Ji-hye’s position quite awkward.

“…”

Ha-yoon lifted her head slightly to glare at Ji-hye.

Their gazes clashed strongly.

In my embrace.

Seriously, what have I done wrong?

I don’t mind the staring contest, but I’d prefer it if they could at least do it away from me.

Besides, I found it hard to understand why Ji-hye would act this way toward Ha-yoon. Does she want to be a magical girl too? But if that’s the case, shouldn’t she feel competitive toward me? Like I felt a bit inferior to Ha-yoon?

…Though, I guess Ji-hye isn’t that type.

“What’s going on?”

Seo-hee shouted and charged at me.

And she hugged me.

Of course, with Ji-hye and Ha-yoon already attached to me, the situation became even more awkward.

Ah, I get it now.

This is a hidden camera situation, huh?

I even looked around to see if anyone had a smartphone, but no such luck.

“That’s so unfair!”

Jua yelled, clearly upset, and then rushed over.

“Think I won’t join in?”

Yeon-woo followed suit.

“…”

Chae-yeon just walked straight toward me without saying a word.

So in the end, I was completely surrounded.

When I regained my senses, I found myself being held tightly in every possible way. If it were just one person, I might have managed somehow.

“…What are you all doing?”

I could smell meat everywhere.

My clothes would surely smell like it afterward.

And I thought the weather was cooler now that night had fallen, but it seemed I was mistaken.

My body was already drenched in sweat.

 

---