I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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Ji-hye did not regret that decision.

She didn’t regret skipping school, or running to a dangerous place. Maybe even spending all the money she had just to buy those things.

Thanks to that, she was able to find out that Ji-eun was safe, and that she could somehow help Ji-eun.

But just because she didn’t regret it didn’t mean it wasn’t scary.

Ji-hye found adults awkward and frightening.

Maybe it was because the only adults she really saw were the teachers at the orphanage and at school.

The orphanage teachers took great care of the children, including Ji-hye and Ji-eun, but everyone who lived there knew that those teachers could never replace a real mother or father.

There were simply too many kids to take care of.

At least they received plenty of donations, so she never felt like there was a shortage of money, but maybe that’s why Ji-hye never felt comfortable dealing with adults.

And what if it was the ‘police’?

“Ji-hye student?”

A woman who didn’t look much older than Ji-hye called her in a gentle voice.

The two of them were probably in some kind of a break room. Other spaces could have people in them too, but the other rooms were empty.

Was it consideration? Ji-hye was reminded of those interrogation rooms she sometimes saw in movies and dramas, which were completely bare.

Was she not being treated like a criminal yet?

She had heard that you shouldn’t enter restricted areas, but she had no idea what would happen if you did. That was to be expected; schools don’t teach you such details.

“Ji-hye student.”

When Ji-hye didn’t respond properly while looking around, the woman in front of her called her name again.

“Yes, yes.”

Nervousness made her struggle to respond all at once, and her voice cracked a little.

“Ji-hye student, you, um, shared a room with Jeong Ji-eun, right?”

At least, Ji-hye hadn’t told this woman that.

Of course, there were many ways she could find out. It was true they shared a room. It would be easy to find out at the orphanage.

“…Yes.”

Knowing that lying would be pointless, Ji-hye answered like that. She was just scared of what the next question would be.

She looked at the woman.

The person who brought her here was a police officer, but it certainly wasn’t a police station. It might just be a government building.

So was this person in front of her also not a police officer? It was hard to guess her identity just from her suit.

“Well then… can I assume you were quite close?”

Ji-hye opened her mouth but barely managed to close it again.

What should she say here?

But soon enough, she remembered that lying would be meaningless again.

Ji-hye had rushed to that dangerous place immediately after receiving a text. She had run as fast as she could, avoiding those who tried to stop her, and— handed food and clothes to Ji-eun.

Could someone who simply called her a “close friend” have done so much? They said friendship could be strong enough that you couldn’t easily break it, but in reality, it can be shattered over something trivial.

Even Ji-eun wouldn’t have thought it was strange if Ji-hye didn’t show up. Back then, she jumped without a second thought, but now that she reflected on it, that was not a decision anyone could have made easily.

Even if Ji-hye denied it here, this person would already be convinced that Ji-hye had a deep friendship with Ji-eun.

Above all, Ji-hye didn’t want to deny it.

Moreover, it wasn’t that they used to be close; they still were.

“…”

Her choice was to remain silent.

Ji-hye knew little about psychological warfare or political judgments. She just understood that it was better not to say too much in front of the police.

To her, it might appear as a flimsy resistance, but she did not want to spill everything to those who were troubling Ji-eun.

Seeing that Ji-hye wasn’t answering, the woman in front of her let out a slight smile and picked up the file sitting on the table between them.

She flipped through the papers and paused to read one of the pages briefly.

A moment of silence hung between the two.

Almost a minute went by as the woman checked the documents before she finally spoke.

“I heard you went through a regrettable incident the other day.”

“…”

Ji-hye didn’t say a word.

“Did you hear that Ji-eun visited you there?”

“…”

“When Ji-hye student was in danger, Ji-eun came to help, even at the risk of being arrested. But it can’t just be a simple friendship, can it? After all, haven’t you two grown up like sisters since childhood?”

“…”

When Ji-hye stubbornly wouldn’t open her mouth, the woman fell into thought for a moment and then closed the file.

Setting it on the table, she spoke as if to persuade Ji-hye.

“Ji-eun is involved in several charges. But it’s still okay. No one has been severely injured or killed.”

The mention of no one being dead made Ji-hye’s heart race.

It felt as if she were being told that such things could happen eventually given enough time.

“Of course, there are still other allegations against her. There are those who suspect it because this was also during the process of revealing those allegations. That’s… well, one could say she was overwhelmed by fear. There are often cases where people Ji-eun’s or Ji-hye’s age think the investigation itself will be detrimental to them and try to run away.”

The woman propped her elbow on the table and leaned slightly forward. Her expression was that of someone giving serious advice.

“Ji-eun is still a minor. It might be better for her to resolve the situation as soon as possible. It would be legally advantageous.”

“…”

“If you keep dragging this out…”

The woman spoke in a cautious tone.

“Is there anyone from the orphanage that you’re still in contact with? As far as I know, I think there are those who have gone to prison.”

Ji-hye knew that much.

No matter how hard the teachers tried, not every ‘child’ would grow up to be a good person.

Some kids refuse to accept their circumstances and grow into adults, while others might go through so much from the start that they can’t entertain any other thoughts.

And above all, many do not adapt well to society after they leave the orphanage.

What they can take with them is severely limited. They do get some subsidies, but in most cases, it’s not enough to be truly “independent.”

Many also have no relatives elsewhere.

Consequently, some people certainly end up going down a bad path.

“…”

Ji-hye glared at the woman.

The woman’s expression didn’t change.

She maintained that look of someone who had grown up a few years early and was offering sincere advice to someone younger.

Pretending to be concerned was merely intimidation.

No, maybe she was just underestimating Ji-hye. Perhaps she was trying to persuade Ji-hye to convince Ji-eun.

Would Ji-eun really give herself up if Ji-hye persuaded her?

Ji-hye wasn’t sure about that. But she didn’t want to find out.

If Ji-eun had gone this far, it meant she had reasons that were worth being angry about. Ji-eun could be a bit particular, but she never gets angry without cause.

“…If Ji-eun contacts you, please reach out to us here. We will do our utmost to help you.”

The woman handed Ji-hye her business card, which had her name and contact number written on it.

It seemed she really was police after all.

As the woman stood up from her seat, she said, “Then we’ll take you back—”

“…This is Seoul, right?”

“Yes?”

“If it’s not too far, I can go alone.”

“…”

The woman looked at Ji-hye with a blank stare for a moment before awkwardly smiling.

“Still, we should—”

“…No. I really don’t want to. I’m scared of riding in a police car again too.”

Maybe Ji-hye’s reasoning was persuasive enough.

The woman closed her eyes for a moment, thought, and then nodded.

“Alright, if you say so…”

Ji-hye also stood up.

Whether the woman walked first or not, Ji-hye walked straight ahead and exited the building.

Then she threw the business card into the nearest trash bin.

She might regret that choice later. Maybe that woman was trying her best to help Ji-eun. Trying to lower the sentence as much as possible and minimize any repercussions she might face.

But Ji-hye didn’t want that.

Ji-hye believed in Ji-eun. In a way different from what others said.

She hadn’t killed anyone, hadn’t committed terrorism, and she might even be innocent.

It wasn’t about believing in those possibilities—Ji-eun was truly in a situation that left her feeling wronged, and Ji-eun wasn’t the kind of child to commit acts of terrorism.

And she believed that the current situation was merely an expression of her frustration.

She believed that Ji-eun was fighting for her own sense of justice.

There was no logical basis for that. In fact, she just wanted to believe it because she wished it to be true.

To others, it might seem like a foolish thing to do. Perhaps even Ji-eun herself would think it was ridiculous if she were to hear those words.

But still, Ji-hye just wanted things to stay that way.

Ji-eun was one of the few people that felt like family to Ji-hye.

She wished that nothing would ever separate them.

*

Even after I got the food, I didn’t feel very good.

I guessed that was probably why I had placed the heavy convenience store bag down and left the house.

Wasn’t it? I thought about how much money Ji-hye must have spent to buy that.

It might not seem like a lot of money to others, but for Ji-hye, it was almost her entire fortune.

Just like I enjoyed buying music CDs occasionally, Ji-hye liked going to places like the movie theater.

Unlike me, Ji-hye had quite a few friends, and needed money to hang out with them.

So she knew that money wasn’t just a light matter.

I also knew how scary it was to run through the police who were surrounding that place. Even adults would have a tough time squeezing through, yet a kid in her mid-teens had shouted my name amid all that chaos.

Where could Ji-hye be? Did the police take her away? Would she suffer any repercussions?

As those thoughts crossed my mind, I couldn’t pure-joy about getting that stuff.

If only I hadn’t said anything, if it hadn’t been broadcasted, would Ji-hye not have come looking for me?

I wanted to contact Ji-hye right now. It was totally feasible with one of the kids’ phones, but James would probably oppose it.

“Ji-eun.”

As I stared blankly at the sky, Ha-yoon called me from behind.

When I turned around, I saw Ha-yoon, wearing messy clothes.

“…Are you okay?”

Ha-yoon asked after a moment of searching for the right words.

I couldn’t respond at all.

I was not okay.

But saying that out loud would have felt like I was being overly dramatic, so instead, I said something else.

“…Let’s check the stuff.”

Regardless of how I felt, I had received it after all.

I couldn’t let Ji-hye’s efforts go to waste.

The kids kindly hadn’t touched the things I received.

I walked slowly toward the plastic bag that sat in the middle of the room and opened it.

There was a lot of various food in there.

There were cans and instant food, even premade rice and ramen.

“…”

I looked silently at the kids.

All the children’s gazes were fixed on the inside of the bag.

I silently pulled out a few cups of ramen. Their size made the bag shrink significantly upon being removed.

It wasn’t dark outside yet. I’d need to eat something to keep going for the rest of the day.

I pushed the ramen toward the kids and their expressions brightened.

Seeing that— I felt an overwhelming emotion that was hard to put into words.

Right, let’s fill our bellies first, then think about what to do with the remaining food.

…And then, what to do next.

*

I have to admit one thing.

The smell of ‘proper food’ after a long time was truly incredible.

Most people might question adding ‘proper’ in front of just one cup of instant ramen, but…

At least for us, who had just scraped by with a little bit of vegetable and canned ham or tuna for the last few meals, having a complete meal was more than just ‘proper food.’

“Phew…”

Dahlia, having slurped up the soup of the ramen, let out a satisfied sigh. It sounded full of satisfaction.

Her face was slightly reddened, showing that she must have been touched by the taste.

“I’ve never thought it could be this delicious.”

“Anyone here would probably think the same.”

Rose chimed in with that comment.

Though I didn’t agree with the words, I felt similarly. The ramen tasted good after such a long time. I thought I might eat it all within days if I didn’t hold myself back.

If it was that good, how amazing must the other instant foods like rice or curry taste?

But soon, all the kids wore resolute expressions, as if they were determined to focus.

The food we had on hand was limited.

If we devoured everything just because it was delicious, we’d have to survive on canned food for quite a while again afterward.

No matter how much we could gain energy from magic, it wasn’t possible to go for several days without food.

James said reversing entropy was the goal, but he still hadn’t succeeded in that.

The total amount of energy generated in our bodies could not exceed the amount of energy left in our bodies at that moment.

We had no idea when the next summon might be. Even if it happened, we didn’t know whether we’d be able to find food.

And going out freely to find food could also be dangerous.

Consequently, we needed to ensure that we could somewhat sustain ourselves here.

Perhaps sharing similar thoughts, Delphinium spoke up.

“…Was there no cultured meat among what you brought?”

Hearing that made me set down my ramen and brought the bag out to spread it in front of me.

Would there be any uncooked cultured meat at a convenience store? Most of it would probably be instant food. Even if the ingredients were cultured meat, if the tissue was not living, it’s meaningless for ‘growing.’

“…I found it.”

But it seemed Delphinium had a different thought than mine.

What Delphinium pulled out was a refrigerated item.

“What’s that?”

“For grilling.”

As she said that, she confirmed the ingredients of the hamburger steak.

“It’s not cooked yet.”

At first, it was hard to believe there could be something uncooked sold in a convenience store, but even if there was, it was just frozen food. It was simply mixed in with the instant products that Ha-yoon had picked out.

“You might fail.”

When I looked at her doubtfully, Delphinium said it expressionlessly.

“But there are ways to try. If we can keep at least one cell alive, we’ll be okay.”

Back in my time, cultured meat was still incredibly expensive, making it difficult to be fully commercialized, but that wasn’t the case here.

Even in an age where spaceships traverse the universe, there are times when you might have to explore directly. If you want to study celestial bodies or explore places where life can’t survive, you obviously need to stock plenty of food onboard the spaceship.

That’s where cultured meat comes in.

…Why on earth would they sell ‘usable cultured meat’ at a convenience store? It could be for aliens, I guess.

Just as some Earthlings love space travel, there are also aliens who enjoy it.

Especially the ones that came to Earth would be even more inclined towards such interests.

Of course, a lot of them might just be here for a few days’ vacation. Still, wealthy individuals who leisurely wander through space would certainly outnumber all the Earthlings combined.

“…Looks like there’s been a fresh produce corner in the convenience store.”

I couldn’t tell whether to be happy or what, but for now, I decided to believe that it was indeed a joyful thing.

“If it succeeds, does that mean we can keep producing meat?”

“Yes.”

Delphinium nodded.

“But it might also fail. Don’t get your hopes up.”

No, to say that after already granting hope…

…

Well, I’ve at least secured enough food to last several days. Or rather, it could last a week if we rationed it out.

I just hoped the ‘magic’ would be powerful enough.

The moments of brief joy quickly faded as I finished my food and chatted with the kids.

Reality was still harsh. To be honest, it was still dark ahead of me. In one corner of my mind, thoughts kept circling around, asking, ‘Should I have given up back then?’

But still.

At least in this world, out there, I confirmed that there was someone who believed in me.

I recalled Ji-hye’s face.

Ji-hye, though it was tough, smiled at me. That expression on her face had no signs of fear toward me.

Instead, she had shaken off all those difficulties to come running to see me.

Ji-hye… she didn’t fear me even after going through that. She didn’t dislike being involved with me.

Just that alone—was enough of a comfort.

 

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