I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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Jua had been a bit worried lately.

She didn’t view the situation too pessimistically, but of course, it wasn’t as positive as Jeong Ji-eun had said.

Even if she went back to school, could she really start over in the second year? Would she graduate on time and get into university?

No matter how she thought about it, reaching a positive conclusion about that question seemed to be looking at the situation too naively.

Despite her worries about the future—well, who knows.

When looking at the five people here, it wasn’t all bad.

Even without the Hope Circuit handed out by the federal government, Jua—so Iris—could create a functioning device.

She couldn’t say they weren’t receiving any help from civilization, but there were ways to survive. It felt like she was finally realizing that now.

Here, there was no one pressuring Jua to do this or that.

There wasn’t an opponent they had to defeat either.

Everyone was in a situation where they needed to work to survive, so they naturally took on tasks themselves.

As they helped each other, the situation improved, and life became a little richer.

Of course, if she were told to live her whole life here, she would surely think of a way to escape.

“……Nothing again today.”

After washing up and drying her hair, she murmured to herself.

Making a device to dry her hair wasn’t as hard as she had imagined. She had motors she could return to, a source of energy, and a source of heat, so as long as she assembled it carefully, it wouldn’t break. There was no need to connect wires, and since there was no reason to install a battery, the number of components decreased, which actually increased stability.

This was also something that James and Jua had created together. All the women here had long hair. Even Rose, who had the shortest hairstyle, had hair that was still too long and thick to dry naturally.

Moreover, since James was covered in fur, having a device that produced warm air was something they would eventually need.

“Looks like he went for a walk.”

Rose replied leisurely.

Each Magical Girl had slightly different ways of accepting the current situation, but none had completely fallen into despair as they fought with hope.

Everyone showed slight signs of anxiety, yet strangely, they moved as if they were at ease.

“……”

Things were a bit different for Jeong Ji-eun, who had come here first.

Even so, every time Iris looked at her, she felt a bit strange.

The first thought that came to mind was guilt.

She didn’t think it was entirely wrong. Combatants often did things that were no different from what hired thugs would do, and she never felt significant hesitation in stopping them.

However, that didn’t mean she could feel nothing when the person she had beaten stood before her.

Especially, Jua often recognized Jeong Ji-eun. Thanks to her distinctly noticeable figure, it was easy to find the “annoying one.”

Even when there was no chance of winning, she always fought to the end. Even knowing she couldn’t do it, she rushed in swinging her fists.

Jua still couldn’t understand that feeling. The entire situation was completely different from the beginning.

The reason she had that kind of job was to bring money back to the orphanage where she lived…

Having dried her hair, she set down her handmade hairdryer.

After a moment of contemplation, she stood up.

“Are you planning to go look for them?”

Rose asked playfully as if she knew what Jua was up to.

“……I’m just going to get some fresh air.”

Jua said that and headed outside.

*

Finding the two people wasn’t too difficult. As long as she didn’t go into the collapsing ruins, there was no place to hide. If they entered the forest, it might be harder to find them, but that was unlikely at this hour.

When Jua spotted the two sitting near the village entrance, she quickly hid nearby.

It might not have been necessary to do so, but…

The sight of the two sitting close together, illuminated by moonlight, created an atmosphere that made her feel like she shouldn’t interrupt.

There was no conversation.

No sounds of laughter.

Only Ha-yoon leaned against Jeong Ji-eun, eyes closed.

“……”

From a short distance away, Jua crouched behind a wall, holding her breath as her heart raced.

Why?

She had no idea why she felt that way.

To Jua, or rather, Iris, Ha-yoon was an important presence. There was the friendship aspect… but she was also a wall she needed to overcome.

Although there had been seniors who had become Magical Girls a year earlier, Ha-yoon felt different even compared to them.

It wasn’t simply that she was skilled; rather, how should she put it? It was as if there was a shine about her that didn’t require her to put in effort.

Ha-yoon’s “hope” was different.

The hope of Magical Girls usually came from a sense of purpose. And the sense of purpose of other Magical Girls came from their role as Magical Girls.

Since it was a job and work, they felt a sense of responsibility to some extent, but at the same time, Magical Girls took pride in being in that position.

Iris’s behavior toward combatants had stemmed from that.

Strong and righteous beings. Objects of admiration.

They could understand the reason the federation bestowed names like “Magical Girl” or “Hero” upon talents they discovered.

But Ha-yoon’s hope was… much less concrete.

Even so, it always burned bright and vividly.

Iris remembered the moment that burning hope had faltered.

When Jeong Ji-eun went through something like that.

When she was hospitalized and lost consciousness, when she was chased by the police, and when she infiltrated an office building.

Not just Iris, but other Magical Girls could clearly see that Ha-yoon’s hope had become dim.

She was curious about the reason.

Iris leaned forward again to look at the two.

She couldn’t see properly. All she could see was Jeong Ji-eun’s profile, which didn’t look bright.

The feeling she experienced was something Iris hadn’t felt before.

It was different from jealousy. Nor was it embarrassment. In fact, she was already experiencing embarrassment too vividly to distinguish it.

“……”

Blossom’s hope.

I didn’t know what its source was, but for some reason, she was a person with the courage to never give up.

While turning the circuit with emotions that seemed profoundly dark, she was a person who didn’t get swallowed up by that emotion.

A person who stubbornly clung to a cliff without letting go, no matter the situation.

Perhaps the reason Ha-yoon saw that person as “hope” lay there.

Iris recalled again.

The combatant who had tried to land a hit on Iris’s face with a strange ruse.

If their positions had been reversed, could Iris have done the same?

“……”

The conclusion was, “I don’t know.”

It was frightening to draw a conclusion to that question.

Because it felt like it would make her less than one of the combatants.

And at that time, she recalled the kind of feeling she had felt and fell into confusion once more.

Envy.

Iris felt envy toward the bright light of hope that Ha-yoon leaned against.

Even knowing how rude and cruel it was to look at someone in that situation and say, “I envy you,” Iris was feeling such emotions.

When she heard the sound of the two about to stand up, Iris quickly got to her feet.

It wasn’t hard to hide her footsteps.

The two seemed to have not heard her.

*

It didn’t take long to come up with a plan.

If there was someone who would be the first to lose their reason, there could only be one other person.

That would be the current chairman of the Noir Corporation.

“Sounds good.”

And that operation was something I definitely wanted.

Even if I was told to think rationally, humans are creatures that cannot completely ignore emotions.

Just considering that everyone here was moving with despair and hope tells you that the source of their driving force isn’t reason but emotions.

Hope can grasp at something even if it’s futile.

Despair can be conjured from situations that are fine.

Whoever created this world, isn’t it quite a convenient perspective?

“So, we just have to break into the chairman’s house?”

“That’s not as simple as it sounds.”

James said, sitting on the floor with his arms crossed.

“I know where the chairman’s mansion is, but it’s hard to believe that that coward will just stay there.”

The former chairman ultimately fled, leaving his men behind to save himself, but there was no need to bring that up and make James angry.

“However, it is indeed a valid deduction. Yes, he’s ‘not a rational’ person. His goal is to make us suspicious and act in self-preservation, so it might be better to just go in and smash things up.”

“Oh.”

I smiled pleasantly for the first time in a while.

“Do you think there will be aliens there?”

“Probably.”

“Then we don’t really need to fight, right?”

“Yes. Aliens don’t distinguish between friend and foe. No matter how much they are controlled by resonance, they cannot give specific orders.”

After saying that, James looked at me, who was smiling, and then asked.

“Do you have any questions?”

“I do.”

“What’s the question?”

“How much expensive stuff is there?”

“……”

James let out a sigh that expressed disbelief.

“That place was originally used by the former chairman. Naturally, the current chairman’s possessions won’t be that plentiful. The very reason he keeps that house is partly because he’s jealous of the former chairman.”

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

Of course, I felt a bit regretful for the former chairman, but at least that person didn’t physically attack me.

He might have claimed to insult Ji-hye, but he never actually did.

……

But then I thought about it again, and the reason Ji-hye had to go through something like that was precisely because the former chairman had investigated me.

Then again, I doubt I’d feel guilt for breaking a few things. Alright then.

“What are you making that clear expression for?”

“Nothing, I just feel good thinking the counterattack is starting.”

“……”

James narrowed his eyes at me disapprovingly.

What? Why? What’s up?

You’re the one who came up with the idea to charge in. My glances won’t change the operation.

“Am I going alone?”

“No.”

Ha-yoon cut me off sharply.

When I turned to look, she was staring at me with a rigid expression.

“Why? Are you worried I’ll get captured again?”

“Yep.”

Whoa, that was a bit too straightforward.

“Are you trying to show that I moved on my own? What would you even do if you followed me?”

“To stop you.”

“……”

I looked at Ha-yoon intently, then slowly opened my mouth.

“No matter what, I won’t break into anyone’s house.”

At my words, Ha-yoon momentarily opened her mouth in shock.

……Why does she look so shocked?

Didn’t we finish that conversation already?

“What about the others? Do you have another idea?”

As I said that, Iris raised her hand suddenly.

Why are you raising your hand?

Among the Magical Girls, wasn’t she supposed to be the most emotionally stable? Well, I mean, Delphinium exists, but in the original work, she was known for often mishandling reckless operations.

…Ah, I guess she’s trying to say that this operation is foolish.

“It’s too reckless to go alone.”

And my assumption was somewhat correct.

“……Hey, wasn’t this already decided?”

“Plans are never really finished until they’re executed. If there’s something deficient, we must clarify and address it.”

Rose chimed in next to Iris.

If this were just a while after we arrived here, I would have probably ignored her words. At that time, I thought she would be more of a burden than a help.

But having received too much help, it was impossible to ignore their opinions now.

Moreover… the Magical Girls had already fought alongside me several times.

If they were talking about “deficiencies,” then it was highly likely they genuinely meant it.

“……Go ahead, talk.”

In the end, I couldn’t just ignore what the three said, so I nodded and asked.

“What deficiency are you talking about?”

“If there’s one alien, all of us need to fight it. Even if we’re dodging damage, we know aliens don’t stick to just fighting, right? How do you think you’ll avoid being captured?”

“Because I have a black hole.”

“What happens if you get hit on the head?”

“…….”

“If you get knocked out and lose your circuit, you won’t be able to return to us. You’d be stuck being caught. Or maybe ‘captured’, should I say?”

That’s quite a serious language she uses.

But she wasn’t wrong.

What if there are multiple aliens? Being a Magical Girl, my reflexes were better than normal, and I was confident I wouldn’t get knocked out in one hit.

But my magic was still somewhat lacking compared to other Magical Girls.

If there happened to be as many aliens in that mansion as there were at the broadcast station, it could get dangerous.

If we only consider the “possibility,” then it’s not entirely impossible.

“That’s a valid point. Jeong Ji-eun, what do you think?”

Noticing that I had been rebutted by Iris, James smirked and asked.

“……What are you going to do if we chase after you?”

“First, I can provide covering fire. And my supporting fire includes ‘warp.’ It might hurt a bit, but it’s possible for me to move you to another place in an emergency.”

Having been on the receiving end several times, I wouldn’t be too pleased to receive that again.

“And I can act as though I’m ‘stopping you.’ You know how you create a commotion and noise when you teleport, right? If Magical Girls were trying to stop you, wouldn’t it make sense for me not to get involved?”

“……”

I had nothing to say.

James looked as if he was thoroughly enjoying my situation as he gazed back and forth between me and Iris. I pinched him around roughly.

James struggled to escape while squeaking, but he didn’t have the strength to break free from my grip. Biting me while using a circuit wouldn’t work.

…For some reason, Ha-yoon was looking at my hand coldly, so I let go of James. Now that I think about it, they were Magical Girls. I wonder if this would be seen as racism against them.

Even so, since I had looked at my hands rather than my eyes, it wasn’t that terrifying.

“……Got it.”

While I had briefly bought time under the pretext of tormenting James, in the end, I couldn’t come up with a retort to that.

“I want to go too!”

Ha-yoon raised her hand like Iris and said.

“If I have someone to watch my back, that wouldn’t be so bad!”

“……No, you’re coming to ‘stop’ me, right?”

“That’s fine. We’ll create a chaotic atmosphere together.”

I stared at Ha-yoon who said that.

When our eyes met, for some reason, Ha-yoon twirled around shyly. She was looking up at me with her eyes open wide, which was quite adorable, but she was also quite a tricky opponent.

Has Ha-yoon… ever acted like this before?

“……”

For a moment, I pondered.

If she was acting like this, then there had to be some real danger in the situation, right? That must be why Ha-yoon was so determined to come after me.

Indeed, I might have been overconfident, thinking too lightly of my opponent.

Underestimating and overestimating both can have detrimental effects on us.

However, if I had to choose which side would bring more significant damage, it would undoubtedly be underestimating.

“……Fine, I get it.”

In the end, I had no choice but to answer that way.

Seeing Ha-yoon’s face brighten made me feel like I had probably given the wrong answer.

*

“Are you sure you’re okay? Should we follow too?”

Before we left, Rose asked Ha-yoon once more.

“Of course! I’ll be completely fine!”

“…….”

It wasn’t a picnic we were going to.

I didn’t feel bad that Ha-yoon thought of me positively, but at the same time, I didn’t know what to say to her reaction.

It felt like I was back to the way it used to be before coming here. My instincts screamed that it wasn’t all good, but still, a part of my heart welcomed the situation.

While Ha-yoon’s face was bright, Iris looked a bit stiff.

“If it looks like you’re really in trouble, it’s okay to stay behind.”

“Do you really think I’d say that and then run away?”

With my words, Iris responded a bit sharply. Did it sound like I was trying to provoke her?

…Well, given our relationship, I could see where she was coming from.

But I didn’t want to get embroiled in anything emotional, so I just raised my hands slightly.

“Alright. Are you ready? The circuits are all set.”

Showing a bit of my old working habits, I nodded my head.

“……Then let’s go.”

 

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