I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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Another day has passed.

There were a few cherry blossom trees blooming on the mountain. They weren’t nearby. Unlike when I first came here, now the mountain ridge was covered in green leaves, with only the bright pink petals showing through here and there.

I wondered who had planted them here. It seemed likely, considering this village must have had people living in it long ago.

Of course, the young folks must have left a long time ago, leaving only those who can no longer leave or have no intention of leaving to remain until the end.

The village probably hadn’t changed much. I wasn’t sure where they managed to get supplies. Was a crumbling house acting as a store? Or did they buy things delivered from afar? It’s possible that those with cars occasionally ventured out to shop, only to find it too exhausting to drive back into town afterward.

Since it was a place where people lived, perhaps they still wanted to make it somewhat decent. Just having a hint of pink amid the endless expanse of green in the distance was enough to refresh the gaze.

“……”

I jumped down from the tree.

However, the sight of the village that came into view was devastating. To be honest, it didn’t look like a place people could live. Having lived in a city where there’s internet, phones, and cars everywhere, this seemed even more desolate.

The trace of human presence had vanished long ago. While we were managing to fix things here and there, that very effort made the shattered doors and flimsy boards even more distressing. It was almost reminiscent of a refugee camp.

Well, in a sense, it indeed felt like a refugee camp. No, it was worse than that. There weren’t enough people around to establish a society or community here.

Kids in their mid-teens were tending to the fields. They had already harvested food there twice. Yet even now, tiny crops for a third harvest were still hanging on. It was a sight enough to make one feel the greatness of magic.

I heard that food conditions were rapidly improving in some regions joining the federation, but that couldn’t just be propaganda, could it?

Inside, cultured meat was being grown in a magically cooled environment.

Watching meat grow to the size of a plate wasn’t particularly pleasant, but it was also an invaluable source of protein for us. The difference between grinding beans for nutrition and being able to chew on meat was significant. Especially when it comes to morale.

Yeah, morale.

The will to fight.

“……”

With such thoughts, this scene felt utterly incomprehensible to me.

These kids had no reason to be here. Had they not followed me, they’d likely be living their ordinary lives without a care.

Yet here they were, sleeping under flimsy plastic blankets on top of plastic sheets or helping to till the fields, or scavenging parts from dilapidated buildings to fix things. It was hard to understand.

Of course, I was working alongside them. Initially, I had boasted that I was the leader, but regardless, it felt a bit odd just waiting for something to enter my mouth without doing anything.

Whenever the kids tilled the fields, I quietly joined in, and if they cooked, I wandered nearby or picked up some firewood.

What’s really irritating is that the magical girls never bothered me or excluded me. Whenever it was time to do something, they always included me, especially if it was something good.

So at this point, I couldn’t help but seriously consider.

Are they really joining me…?

Or am I the one who’s joined them…?

That can’t be right.

I was the one who ran away first, and that’s how I found this place. I started living here first. If anything, they were the ones who entered and started living here.

But because of those numbers, at some point, it had begun to feel like I was receiving help from them.

And that was something I truly disliked.

The magical girls had always been rivals in my heart. Sure, it would be easy for others to laugh at that story. James might even roll with laughter.

When I was a combatant, I’d never won against a magical girl. In fact, even though our numbers were significantly greater, when I and the other combatants charged in, the magical girls would turn up out of nowhere, effortlessly trampling us.

Sometimes, I managed to land a hit. I’d thought, “Maybe we could win this.”

But every time that happened, the magical girls, with a zeal as if rising against adversity like heroes, would rally and decisively put us down in one punch.

I hated being the one filling that ‘adversity’ role.

Why could others possess the protagonist’s position and build their harem, but I couldn’t? Even in gender-bender stories, there are plenty where the protagonists manage to get girlfriends.

After all, it’s all just fiction, so getting angry over it is senseless, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated about having ‘swapped’ with someone.

And thus, I grew to dislike magical girls. I liked Ha-yoon, but I hated the fact that she was one. This feeling was something I simply couldn’t help.

However, if this continued, I’d ultimately have no choice but to acknowledge that the magical girls were all good kids.

Even if it felt gross, human emotions are unpredictable.

“Ji-eun.”

While lost in such thoughts, how long had I been dazed?

Suddenly, I heard my name being called, and when I turned around, Ha-yoon was looking at me.

She had a notebook and a pen in hand.

Even in such circumstances, the magical girls always moved toward hope. Even in despair, it seemed they believed they should make the best of it, rummaging through the ruins to find a somewhat decent stack of loose-leaf papers and pencils.

The loose-leaf papers were promotional items given out over a decade ago, and the pencils were similar. I hadn’t thought them important, so I had just left them behind to wither.

Wondering what they planned to do by finding those, I soon realized the papers would make for perfect note sheets.

Indeed, these magical girls seem to be beings who can’t stand the concept of ‘boredom’. If they didn’t have that, I could imagine them whittling wood to make a chessboard.

So after Ha-yoon showed me the notebook and pencil, it was a clear invitation to ‘let’s play.’

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

In this situation… even in this situation.

I closed my eyes and let out a small sigh.

Then, maintaining as indifferent an expression as possible, I approached Ha-yoon. She looked genuinely pleased just by my presence.

*

Perhaps the reason I said those things that evening was also because of those tangled emotions.

“You guys, isn’t it about time to get a little nervous about attendance?”

The start of the new semester right after winter break is fine since spring break follows soon after.

But the start of March is different.

They would be promoted to the next grade. Those who were first-year students could no longer claim to be freshmen, regardless of the excuses they made, and younger students would come in. Second-year students would be in a period where they ought to feel the pressure. They were literally becoming exam candidates.

And among them, there were those two types of students.

Ha-yoon and I, along with Iris, were second-year students. If we wanted to move up to third year smoothly, shouldn’t we be preparing to return to school soon? I might not know the exact provisions, but there’s probably a minimum number of attendance days one must meet.

Considering my situation had been one of not being able to attend school, it could be said that I had run away this far, but the others were not in the same position.

“If we don’t go back to school soon, it might really be impossible to reverse this. Don’t we have to take the college entrance exam?”

That’s right. In fact, the three of them were now seniors.

Seniors. If anyone in the upper or lower floors has a student preparing for exams, they would reduce their footsteps a bit, yet these guys were actual exam candidates still here.

I couldn’t say much about them slackening off after school, but completely running away and not going to school felt a bit wrong.

Well, the student records may already be in an irretrievable situation.

It must have been ages since they had fallen off the teachers’ radar.

Rumor had it that students from a prestigious high school had upped and run away. What’s more, those who had run away were magical girls, a group highly regarded by others.

Just having them around brought fortune, but they had disappeared in a way that no one ever expected.

Is it any wonder that good words wouldn’t come their way?

I could only imagine how anxious their parents must be.

The magical girls’ faces became a little serious at my words.

The children exchanged glances among themselves. Did they have telepathy? It wouldn’t be surprising if magical girls had that, but such descriptions weren’t seen in webtoons.

So right now, this was a clear indication that their hearts were in sync.

“So…,”

Ha-yoon seemed to gather her thoughts and hesitantly opened her mouth.

“Let’s go back together?”

“Have I lost my mind?”

I couldn’t hide the incredulity in my voice as I asked her back.

What, would we get caught if we went back? Until everything is resolved, I have no intention of moving from here. If necessary, I’m willing to run far away.

I’ve never checked how far I could teleport, but if possible, I’d be willing to escape to the moon.

“Why is my situation brought up when you’re talking about them?”

“Ji-eun, if you don’t return, none of us are planning to go.”

“Ha.”

I let out a faint laugh in disbelief and glanced back at the kids.

I set down the bowl. It was something I’d been using as a plate after eating instant rice and cleaning it thoroughly. Among the things we had, it was unusually thick plastic, so even as a makeshift plate, there were no signs of wear, but to others, it must look problematic.

What it meant was that we were reusing a disposable item that should have been thrown away after one use. Although it seemed somewhat acceptable to reuse takeout containers, for some it might come across as shocking as reusing ramen cups.

It could even be something to expose on a social critique program.

“Why? What do I mean to you all? Ha-yoon, it can be considered that we’re friends. It might work emotionally. But the rest? Why they’re here, sacrificing their future for me?”

When I brought up ‘future,’ the kids’ shoulders slightly jerked.

In novels and comics, students are often portrayed as adults or reliable seniors. When they reached the university level, some even play the role of experienced leaders offering life advice.

But objectively, these kids were far from that.

In a way, so was I.

“I figured it could happen for the first few days, and while I thought they could follow me while facing battles as magical girls, now that it’s March, I really can’t understand why they’re here.”

Thus, I couldn’t grasp why they were willing to endure this situation for so long.

Grateful—sure, let’s acknowledge the truth. I am thankful. Without their improvements to food conditions, I might have truly perished by now. Though James might have provided the heat, the issue of food was beyond my reach.

Even if I hadn’t died, I might have eventually broken down and surrendered.

But still.

Isn’t this enough?

It’s fine for me, but the other kids should be attending school properly.

“……”

Were my words too abrupt? For a while, the kids just stared at me, wide-eyed.

Or perhaps, I might have been too late to speak up. If I wanted to dismiss them, I should have done it earlier. Even if I tried to send them back at this point, it was already too late.

The magical girls had fled with the circuit, so even if they returned, avoiding punishment would be a challenge.

University? What was the point of going to university after getting into such a mess? I doubt anyone would accept them. They’d have to keep an eye on the government.

I was being too emotional.

The feeling I had was impatience.

Whatever might happen to my life due to my choices, that was my burden to bear.

But I didn’t want to get involved in ruining others’ lives because of my decisions. Yet it irked me that it was out of my control.

I hadn’t thought to that extent, but I had seriously considered the possibility of using the magical girls’ guilt to make them return.

“……Why do you think we are here?”

Rose asked.

“……”

I couldn’t answer.

I just didn’t know.

No, well, I do know one thing. It’s ‘because of me’. But that’s about it. Because of me? Why?

“Do you have a sense of guilt or something?”

When I asked, Rose fell silent.

“If you say it doesn’t matter, then does that mean you want to go back? What exactly do you ultimately want to do here? Are you trying to comfort my pain?”

The children looked slightly stunned at my words.

Is that really the reason? For that motivation?

……If that’s the case, then I can conclude that their presence here is truly out of affection for me, or perhaps a sense of guilt.

Or perhaps they wish to convey some kind of ‘truth’? Like a citizens’ organization?

Thinking back, regardless of the reasons, it ultimately revolved around me.

So, it wasn’t right for me to get angry or annoyed at this.

Suddenly I thought of social issue exposure programs I watched during childhood.

In those, there are always scenes where people with mental issues push away those trying to help them for all sorts of reasons.

Right now, I was situated as that ‘pushaway person.’

While I felt annoyed and angry, I had no clue how to end this. At the same time, I didn’t feel like apologizing.

In the end, what I came up with was just a pitiful way to get up and go outside.

*

Since I was afraid the kids would hear me if I stayed close to home, I crouched down almost at the village entrance.

I didn’t find wild animals all that scary. I hadn’t seen wild boars yet, but I had seen some foxes and unfamiliar birds a few times. They all quickly turned away and fled as soon as their eyes met mine.

I wondered what to do if I encountered a bear, but then realized that there’s no definite answer if I did, so I decided to think about that when the time came.

I heard a car passing from far away. It wasn’t frequent. While it wasn’t too close to the road, the night was quiet enough that sounds could reach me from that distance.

Not wanting to think about anything, I just sat in a crouched position, playing with the dirt with my fingertips. Already, weeds had grown so thick that I figured no one would even think there was a path extending here.

“Ji-eun.”

And once again, without fail, I heard my name being called.

“……”

I felt embarrassed.

When measured by mental age, I was much older than Ha-yoon, yet I couldn’t control my emotions well.

It’s also not as if I could pin all the blame on the deity or the author who put me here.

Ultimately, I was just a person who hadn’t matured enough. That was the conclusion I reached.

“I knew you were worried about us.”

“Worried?”

Reacting instinctively, I stood up.

When I turned around, Ha-yoon was looking at me.

Even in the dark, her face stood out clearly. Although it wasn’t a full moon, it was bright enough to illuminate Ha-yoon’s face.

“Am I worried about you?”

“……Sorry, was that a misunderstanding?”

There was absolutely no mocking tone in her voice.

Her purity was so revealing that it disturbed me.

I stepped closer to Ha-yoon.

She took a step back.

Her expression seemed a bit frightened for some reason.

Did she dislike being hated by me?

Why is she going so far to think of me? What was her purpose in wanting to stay close to me?

I had no idea.

“I… told you, didn’t I?”

Ha-yoon said.

Though she seemed afraid, she was startled enough to back away almost touching a crumbling wall behind her.

“What do you mean?”

I asked, feeling a twinge of excitement at her expression.

I knew it wasn’t a good feeling. I realized that I was simply using Ha-yoon’s feelings.

But even with that guilt, knowing this isn’t because I’ve genuinely triumphed over Ha-yoon, I stood right in front of her.

Her face was just within my sight. Just enough for our bodies to touch.

I placed a hand on her chin and asked.

“What do you mean?”

“…Anything. I said I would do anything.”

“Anything?”

“……”

Ha-yoon paused before answering my question.

“……Yes.”

“Really? Anything?”

“Anything.”

“……”

Holding her face with my hands, I quietly gazed at her.

I know the term ‘anything’ doesn’t have that kind of meaning. I also know that Ha-yoon liking me doesn’t mean the same thing.

And my feelings for Ha-yoon don’t hold that meaning either. They can’t.

But…

“……Why?”

I released her face.

And quickly stepped back.

Right. Why?

I had no idea.

I didn’t understand why Ha-yoon was going this far. And I didn’t comprehend my own actions either.

Given the circumstances, am I going crazy? While speaking outwardly that I’m not, am I still harboring such thoughts?

…To vent my anger.

Right. I had no intention of going all the way.

However, somewhere along the line, I had wanted Ha-yoon to escape. I hoped that the claim of ‘anything’ would turn out to be a lie.

But Ha-yoon didn’t do that.

Even now, she stood before me with her hands clasped over her chest, her face flushed red, just looking at me.

Eventually, I had no choice but to retreat once more.

Though that was just within this village.

 

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