I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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I always felt frustrated.

In my past life, I probably didn’t achieve anything remarkable.

I’ve only worked a little. Even then, it wasn’t a proper job; just part-time gigs here and there.

After a break, I went back to school late, but the gap in what I learned was almost as long as the time it takes for a high school student to enter and graduate, making it hard to catch up.

Still, I think I tried my best.

I was pulling my hair out trying to follow along with the others and worked hard to save up some living expenses.

So, even if what I had managed to accomplish seemed small to others…

To be honest, I was a bit proud of it.

But all of that turned to dust when I crossed over into this world.

It was weak, but there was no evidence of my efforts left. All my family and friends vanished, and I was just a kid with nothing in my hands.

Yeah.

I’ve gained many things in growing up.

Ji-hye became my sister. Even after all the fighting and me being a jerk when we first met, Ji-hye stuck by my side.

Ha-yoon was the same. Despite living in a world so different from mine and easily becoming a magical girl, she encouraged me to become a magical girl myself.

I made a lot of other friends too. Now I had things that I could never bear to lose, all nestled in my arms.

But still, I felt a nagging frustration somewhere deep inside.

The reason I came to this world.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around it. If there really is a being called God, I wish that being would just laugh at me for being here. If that were the case, I could proudly say I lived like this and be satisfied.

It’s as if that being knows I’m hoping for that, as it offers no signs of existence.

No, it’s even scarier that way. I worry if my coming here was just a coincidence. Was it just that I died and randomly reincarnated in this world?

I am very greedy.

Even when I got things from others, I wanted to paint over them with my own efforts and make them truly mine.

Ha-yoon made a place for me as a magical girl, but I wanted to prove that I deserved to be there, as if I’d fought for that place with my own power. I wanted to win over the kids somehow, to create a reason for my being there.

“Haah, haah…”

Did I do okay?

I still don’t know. Even this—who wanted it? Me or someone else?

Even when I read a webtoon and left a comment, maybe it wasn’t that I was disappointed in the comic, but rather just envious of those who made their dreams come true by publishing comics after studying and working part-time.

I truly don’t know.

“…”

I thought while looking at the fallen alien.

But still, I have no choice but to keep moving forward.

The bond I’ve gained is something I can’t throw away. To say it again, I am very greedy.

People say connections come and go, so there’s no need to worry too much about it, but I’d rather disagree.

I want to know the kids around me for a lifetime. Even if we get married and get torn apart, I want to eat together, hang out, and even have a drink sometimes.

And for that, I want everyone to be here, without leaving a single one behind. Yes, everyone should be at least by my side. Right?

If I’m near Jupiter, I won’t be able to meet up for coffee whenever I think of it.

“Phew.”

I exhaled.

My white outfit had a bit of blood on it. I tried to brush it off with my hand, but it just smeared. Even though it was an outfit artificially made with magic, it really does get stained easily.

The other kids were also breathing heavily.

“What the heck are these guys….”

The aliens weren’t at fault, but still, it’s hard not to hold any bad feelings toward the opponent we just fought.

They weren’t just lightly sparring with us; they truly charged in with the intent to kill us.

“…More importantly.”

Jua said.

“This thing on my chest, it’s a circuit, right? How can the aliens move the circuit?”

We fell into silence.

Earthlings can’t become aliens. That was a key feature. The magical power inside them reacts adversely with the emotions of Earthlings, causing them to transform into aliens, so thus, Earthlings had no reason to turn into aliens with no magical power.

This alien had a circuit embedded in its chest, but…

…No, maybe it’s unrelated to the circuit. More like, this creature itself seems to be… specially created.

Either way, it’s the worst for an Earthling.

“…Let’s wrap this situation up quickly.”

Jua said, and we all nodded.

“I’ll take care of this.”

Cherry said.

“Are you sure? There are so many aliens.”

“If they faint once, they rarely come back up. We just need to get them into the spaceship and out of the atmosphere. If we distance them from the emotions of Earthlings, their appearance should at least come back.”

Cherry answered my question with a serious look.

Then looking up at me, she said, “Hurry up. No matter how slow the ship’s departure is, we’re cutting it close. Oh, right.”

Cherry suddenly floated up as if she remembered something, riding some kind of UFO-like equipment she only uses when absolutely necessary.

Rushing to her personal room using that device, Cherry soon returned with something that looked like a small backpack.

The backpack had a somewhat angular design. Rather than just a backpack… well, it felt more like a mechanical device in and of itself.

Looking at that pure white, sleek, and angular backpack, I thought of one thing.

“…Generator?”

“Yeah. The federation hasn’t taken it yet. I made it so that it could help you guys instead.”

I picked it up and strapped it on.

“Thanks. It’ll be a big help.”

If needed, we could just take turns using it, like we did last time.

“We should be taking off soon. It’ll take a bit more time to get out of the atmosphere, but if we wait too long, it’ll be dangerous for you too.”

The ship was said to have just launched from below.

It probably forced its way up through the ground, which means it seems to have quite a few dents on its exterior. That’s why we still have some time until we’ll face the aliens.

My friends and I looked at each other.

And then we nodded.

“Jua, it looks like you’ll have to put in some work.”

I said with a grin, and for some reason, Jua’s face turned slightly red.

“No, it’s obviously my job. I studied hard so I could be useful in situations like this…”

Including warp technology.

“Impressive, really.”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Jua replied, twisting her body slightly.

We didn’t say anything more and quickly grouped together.

Jua took out the fuse from her gun and inserted a new one. Click. The gun was loaded, and the muzzle pointed toward the sky.

“Here I go. This time, I’m sure it’ll hit hard against the ground.”

Jua said.

We grabbed each other tightly. I felt the warm skin of Ha-yoon’s arm against mine.

Ha-yoon’s pink eyes were looking at me.

Inside those eyes, I could see Ha-yoon’s tenacious spirit.

She’s always soft and easily hurt, but inside, there’s an unwavering, clear soul. I was drawn to her like this and ended up here.

I’m not sure if the situation improved because of me or worsened, but even if it’s the latter, Ha-yoon would never give up on me.

Jua pulled the trigger.

The purple beam shot into the sky, then split into pieces all around.

And it scattered down over our heads, changing the scene before our eyes.

*

This time, we didn’t roll on the ground. We all experienced it once, so we could brace ourselves to some degree, and most importantly, we were tightly holding onto each other, so there was no chance of falling. Maybe Jua had gotten the hang of it a bit more too.

The wind was strong. And, above all, it was a little cold. At the same time, it was hot.

Just in the nick of time, we barely arrived safely.

We exchanged glances to signal we were grasping the situation. Only Ji-hye seemed a little more flustered.

I held one of Ji-hye’s hands and followed Seo-hee, who started moving ahead.

I could hear a rumbling sound behind me.

It was the sound of the generator running.

It seemed to blend the emotions of not just me, but Ji-hye who was right behind me, and Ha-yoon who was huddled closely beside me too.

…Really, it felt just like a magical girl.

To not lose hope even in such a situation was slightly impressive.

We quickly found the entrance.

It seemed our altitude wasn’t too high yet, as we could smash the door down.

We rolled inside and got back up.

“…”

I gripped the hammer tightly.

Yeah.

Let’s see that face.

I really wanted to smash it at least once.

 

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