I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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I stopped going to school, and to be honest, I wasn’t too thrilled about the whole job situation at first.

School classes, no matter how boring they are, can’t compare to the sheer boredom of plain labor. Plus, the work hours stretch out longer than the time I spent studying.

Of course, things might change if I started doing evening self-study at school.

But, I don’t know how to put it…

“Let’s eat, food!”

It wasn’t a huge site, and the work was only short-term, plus there were hardly more than ten of us working here—but maybe that’s exactly why I felt this way.

I thought, “I can handle this job.”

I know the reason I can feel relaxed while doing this demanding task must be due to the circuit I’m wearing.

If it were my original body, I would have been completely exhausted after just a few hours in the morning. I had decent stamina since I did physical work regularly, but the capabilities needed for a few hours of continuous labor and a quick skirmish are quite different.

In that sense, I have to admit, Earth Buddy is impressive.

Even in this environment, he keeps hanging in there.

The only “reason” I know for Earth Buddy’s perseverance comes from his own words, but the real reason could be different. Regardless of what that real purpose might be, he’s working hard and living here at an age not much different from mine.

He seems to be doing things he wants to do as well.

“Why?”

When I caught him staring at me, Earth Buddy asked.

Then, looking at the gimbap in his hand, he offered it to me.

“You want more to eat?”

“No, I still have some of what I was eating.”

I said that and popped the gimbap into my mouth.

Just to mention, I also got a can of coffee. I guess that’s meant to be drunk after a meal.

Of course, I didn’t give it to Earth Buddy. Everyone working here knows well what happens when he drinks coffee.

If we’re talking about caffeine content relative to the same volume, the caffeine in one can of coffee is actually more.

Earth Buddy also didn’t throw a tantrum insisting on having it; he quietly drank an energy drink instead. He’ll definitely buy a drink on his way home after work, though.

As I munched on the rather unremarkable gimbap, my body shivered slightly.

Just because I’m using a circuit doesn’t mean I don’t get warm while working. Of course, if you move around a lot, you’ll inevitably sweat, and in winter, it gets a bit chilly when that sweat cools down.

I increased my pace of stuffing gimbap in my mouth. I thought it would be better to eat quickly and get cozy in a warm spot.

At first, I was a bit nervous that people working here might ask about my situation.

Even if they did ask, I had planned to lie, but you know what they say, “If the tail is too long, it will get caught.” If I keep lying, inconsistencies will show up, and the chances of getting caught will increase.

But the people working here didn’t feel the need to pry into my background.

“You don’t have to say anything.”

When I expressed my doubts, Earth Buddy said this.

“There are plenty of people who come here to work and leave. Some are Earthlings, and some are not. Not everyone working here has some story to tell, but since there are such people mixed in, they don’t bother asking.”

“Right….”

I guess Earth Buddy and I are in a similar position.

Knowing that brought me a bit more ease.

I know my position well.

I can’t just hide forever. Once I’m out in the open, whether it’s the company, the federation, or the government, those chasing after me will definitely exist.

For now, I’m just temporarily hiding my identity; if the company assists, it’s not entirely impossible for them to find me. After all, Noir Corporation has the technology to track the energy of Magical Girls, right? There’s no way they couldn’t apply it to me.

James warned me about that too.

So, what we have to do is figure out the situation as quickly as possible and either take revenge on the company executives or somehow ensure neither side can carelessly mess with me.

It would be risky. Once we start moving in earnest, this kind of life will be harder to maintain. Roping in Earth Buddy would be pushing it too far.

Or maybe, in a sense, I might as well say I’m already entangled.

“….”

Lost in these thoughts, I continued to shove gimbap into my mouth.

After chewing and swallowing a good amount, I washed it down with the small can of coffee.

The coffee, which seemed to have a bit too much sugar and cream, revitalized my tired body. The combination of sugar and caffeine is just perfect for tough work.

“Okay, okay, let’s wrap this up and head home.”

Hearing the shout from a nearby uncle, I crumpled the can of coffee in my hand and stood up.

Maybe it’s because I had something to eat, but the cold felt less intense.

Taking a deep breath, the air felt refreshing. Though, I bet it’s just my imagination. I mean, this is a construction site, after all. It’s full of dust.

Still, oddly enough, I didn’t feel any aversion.

Here, there were no kids sending jealous glances because I was next to someone famous, no teachers glaring at me because I did something they didn’t like, and none of those kids who would pop up one by one at the start of the semester trying to ruin my day.

I didn’t have to pretend to hide my circumstances, nor did I have to worry about getting bullied by anyone. There was no chance of running into a massive ball of magic energy that felt like it would set me ablaze, and I didn’t have to be concerned about whether something would break.

I just came here, worked, got paid, and purchased a little something on the way back home—that was everyday life.

I missed Ha-yoon. I wondered how Ji-hye was doing.

But at the same time, I was also trying my best not to dwell on those thoughts.

Nothing was resolved, and there was no sign that it would be. All of my precious few relationships had shattered.

Naturally, what I should be feeling here is worry and regret.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel those things at all.

But the strongest emotion I felt right now was a sense of liberation.

The peculiar feeling of being free from the pressure I had felt from those I had longed for.

*

“Hey, Ha-yoon, how about we go out to eat something together today?”

A bunch of girls I rarely talked to suddenly spoke up.

“Uh, well….”

“Or maybe we can catch a movie? Do you like movies?”

“Sing karaoke? There have been so many frustrating things lately; let’s just blow off some steam!”

As if they understood everything Ha-yoon was feeling, the girls were practically crowding around her.

Ha-yoon felt slightly overwhelmed. Typically, these were kids she rarely spoke to, and when they did engage, it was always with caution.

Yet, in the last few days, they seemed to be coming much closer, almost overwhelming her.

The ones approaching her were ironically girls whose faces she recognized.

More specifically, they were kids connected through their parents.

“Or, do you want to come over to my place?”

Some were suggesting that.

“Instead of going somewhere noisy, you could just chill at home. After all, we live close by.”

Was that the case? It might be. If their parents maintained a relationship and sent their kids to the same school, that made sense.

But Ha-yoon felt a bit burdened by those suggestions.

“Sorry, I’m kind of….”

“There’s no one bothering you now.”

Someone said that, cutting into Ha-yoon’s response.

“Exactly! Whenever there was time for just you and me, someone always came in to interfere and take you away.”

“You don’t have to be scared. There’s no one awkwardly hovering around now.”

“Speaking of which, there was that girl who lived in the orphanage, right? Wouldn’t she have approached you with some kind of agenda?”

“Why would you say something like that?”

Their conversation stumbled upon Ha-yoon’s words.

“…Ah, sorry.”

The girl talking behind Ji-eun’s back apologized to Ha-yoon. Her expression seemed quite sincere.

“What I mean is, I’m not saying that for any particular reason. There are plenty of stories of people overcoming tough situations and succeeding out there. But, you know what, Ha-yoon?”

That girl quietly lowered her voice.

“Every time you wanted to do something, someone would suddenly appear and get in your way. You remember, right? They would interfere, throwing their weight around whenever we even tried to start a conversation. It’s not inevitable that everyone faced with those situations would act that way. But… isn’t that a little accurate? If it were you, there would definitely have been more kids—”

No, wait.

I realized the context was completely different.

As Ha-yoon recognized that this girl knew exactly what she disliked, Ji-eun grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

Sudden advances are scary. It’s a bit intimidating when a bunch of kids gather around and start throwing words at you.

“W-wait! I’m sorry, I have plans today….”

“Aw~”

Ha-yoon’s response elicited a clear look of disappointment from the group.

“Oh, I see. But you’ve been like this for the past few days.”

“Because things have been happening….”

“Hmm.”

The stance of the standing kids looking down at seated Ha-yoon was inevitably one of looking down.

However, I never felt that kind of pressure when Ji-eun stood like this.

Her smiling face wasn’t scary at all, and there was no sense of her wanting anything.

Did the other kids always act like this?

Or—

“Ha-yoon, it’s not because you dislike us, right?”

A voice asking the question nervously. The eyebrows lowered slightly, as if worried. A smile that hinted at a bit of trouble.

It seemed everything was communicating “we mean no harm,” but.

Why did Ha-yoon feel like there might be something behind that smile?

‘Have I been this suspicious?’

That thought startled me.

“Ha-yoon?”

“Uh?”

“Do you dislike us?”

The question came again.

“Um… it’s not that I dislike you….”

“I see, then.”

The girl grabbed Ha-yoon’s hand and said.

“Let’s get together next time when you have some time. Having a lot of friends isn’t a bad thing. And you too, later on—”

Ha-yoon could only listen blankly to those words.

Up until now, she hadn’t particularly disliked school.

It wasn’t that she loved everything. Ha-yoon was human and had parts that didn’t sit well with her.

But right now, it was different.

That ‘reason to love’ seemed to have completely disappeared, turning school into just an undesirable place.

Only one thing had changed.

Ji-eun was gone.

Whenever Ha-yoon hesitated during an invitation, it was always Ji-eun who spoke up to redirect the conversation.

Whenever Ha-yoon felt down, Ji-eun was there, pulling her to somewhere brighter, getting her something sweet to eat.

Just with Ji-eun gone, people’s attitudes had shifted like this.

How did people think of Ji-eun when she suddenly interrupted and whisked Ha-yoon away? They probably didn’t think kindly of her.

Had Ji-eun been receiving the glare that Ha-yoon should have gotten all along?

“….”

I thought that it was nice to have Ji-eun, who could look at me without expectations.

Had Ji-eun really acted that way out of genuine desire?

Maybe Ha-yoon, as her friend, had been looking at her in a particularly calculating way, forcing her to act in specific ways that she didn’t want to.

While hoping that others would view her without prejudice, Ha-yoon had, in fact, been seeing Ji-eun in a rather self-serving manner.

She missed Ji-eun.

But at the same time, she was scared.

Scared that the reason she wanted to see Ji-eun was simply to have someone else take her place and bear the grudges meant for Ha-yoon.

No one revealed their true emotions in front of Ha-yoon. However, perhaps something happened behind her back, completely hidden from her.

Just like how Ji-eun had to work for Noir Corporation, maybe Ji-eun was silently suffering in ways Ha-yoon couldn’t see.

As those thoughts crossed her mind, a chill ran through her.

“…Ji-eun….”

She muttered quietly, hiding from others.

Of course, there was no response.

Ji-eun’s spot was empty.

Would she be able to come back?

Could she return to the life she once had?

Perhaps Ji-eun didn’t want to return to that life anymore.

That thought scared her.

The reason why Ha-yoon burst up from her seat with her bag and dashed out of the classroom as soon as the homeroom teacher finished talking was because of those feelings.

When she got home, her father and mother were out again. They were probably going to be late tonight too. Things were still unresolved.

With a slightly weary face, she went to her room and lay on the bed without even changing her clothes.

What had Ji-eun thought when she looked at Ha-yoon?

She thought she had treated Ji-eun well.

She often gifted her things Ji-eun seemed interested in.

But when she tried to recall that now, she realized she didn’t know what Ji-eun really liked. Sure, she knew Ji-eun liked music, and that she didn’t have genre discrimination. Ha-yoon had bought the same albums Ji-eun had also bought and listened to them.

Besides that, Ji-eun had adjusted to Ha-yoon’s preferences. Without needing to force a request or vocalize what she wanted, she would simply do what she wished.

Yet Ha-yoon had been completely unaware of the circumstances surrounding Ji-eun.

“…I want to meet her again.”

She was afraid of what kind of conversations might occur. Yet, she wanted to see her again.

She wanted to apologize for her mistakes and express her gratitude.

Even if, if they did meet again, it would hardly be a situation for proper conversations.

Still.

…And that wish came true before that day ended.

*

“I’ve prioritized while you’ve been working outside.”

He talks as if he pulled off some super important task while working.

Well, to be fair, if we’re counting what goes in and out, James probably ate the least out of all of us. He mostly just munched on nuts and seeds, and the quantity of those hardly filled one fist.

He did wash and bathe, but just leaving water in the sink for dipping was sufficient. These days, all he needed was to put water in the basket in the bathroom. That way, he could at least manage to get out and wash himself.

Being a hamster who could bath alone and dispose of leftovers in the toilet—no matter how I think about it, that’s an ideal pet.

Of course, I seem to be the only one thinking that way in this household. Earth Buddy seemed to look at James with the expression one might have when seeing a serious racist who abuses others of different ethnicities every time I play with James.

The reason he didn’t push it was probably that he felt a bit sorry for James since he too was once a combatant under Earth Buddy.

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

James, who had experienced a lot at my hands, spoke with suspicion as he gazed at me.

By now, he had assumed a position where he seemed ready to bolt at any second, both front paws—uh, I mean hands—pressed down on the floor. Recently, whenever I’d try to catch him, James would scurry away behind Earth Buddy. As usual, Earth Buddy would wear an increasingly complicated expression then.

“…Nah, just keep explaining.”

Despite my words, James continued eyeing me suspiciously as he explained further.

“The most important thing is evading detection. I didn’t bother to create tracking technology for combatants. Most of them have weak energy, making it nearly impossible to track based solely on energy. Otherwise, we’d need to utilize much more expensive equipment.”

Right. The Despair Circuit is just equipped with GPS. I remember the class monitor saying that would be much more economical if it were possible to put one on there.

The reason for tracking Magical Girls based on energy is simple. There’s no one willing to implant such a GPS into a Magical Girl’s circuit. How could a bunch of mice successfully plan to hang a bell around a cat’s neck?

“So?”

“Tracking is done through satellites. However, we can’t just drop satellites.”

Geostationary reconnaissance satellites. Tracking them takes 90 minutes for the information to be updated, so it would be better to simply place a satellite in geostationary orbit.

“But what if we mess up the receiver at the base station?”

“Then we just have to use a new receiver.”

“Do you know that? That technology itself is highly confidential. It was designed for government use.”

“Are you saying there’s no backup?”

For that kind of thing, everyone, including combatants, could access it. Among the Magical Girls, I’m sure there are those who know as well. It’s not strange if information has leaked a bit since they’ve captured combatants a few times.

“The location of the base station is known only to a select few. And yes, that’s correct. There’s currently no backup. To be precise, it’s under development.”

So that means…

“If we destroy all of that, we can have some freedom for a while. From a few months to over a year.”

“….”

But doesn’t that mean we’d need to commit terrorism for that?

Isn’t that a bit risky?

“Well, the relationship between the federation and the company has soured significantly. There are quite a few ways to leak information. If the federation learns about that ‘tracking technology’, they will undoubtedly take issue with it. From the company’s perspective, that technology also serves as a means of ‘deterrence,’ so they won’t easily hand it over either. Even if they transfer core technology, they must hold on to some cards in their hands.”

“…….”

I stared at James for a while.

“You’re kind of an evil genius, aren’t you?”

“What? That’s quite a compliment.”

Seeing James with an appearance that resembled a company employee while he humbly bowed his head oddly infuriated me, but I held back for now.

So that’s the scoop.

When the two sides clash, we can sneak in and accomplish our goal.

 

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