I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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Before long, sirens began to wail outside.

The entity the police usually faced when we received a call was, without a doubt, an alien, but today the target was different.

It was likely some kind of protection for the chairman of an off-world corporation that played a pretty important role in this country… or something like that.

Of course, the chairman wasn’t inside. I don’t know how they decided that my hitting the chairman and stealing the company’s important facilities were equally important, but it seemed they resolved to be cautious about ‘both.’ At least, I had to admit that judgment wasn’t wrong.

If I had really met the chairman here, I’m sure some limb would have been broken.

Well, with Ha-yoon and Iris next to me, there wouldn’t be any killing. Even if I were alone, I probably wouldn’t have killed for real. Doing so would have constituted actual murder.

Wait, is breaking limbs considered a serious crime too? Is it different from simple assault? Hmm.

In that case, it’s probably best to just stick to threats.

Ha-yoon and Iris looked at me.

There was still time. The police wouldn’t storm in right away. They’d realize that even a sniper shot wouldn’t incapacitate me immediately, and that just sending a few officers inside wouldn’t be sufficient to subdue me if I went wild.

Should I wait until I go out?

Even so, I didn’t want to deal with even a few bothersome intruders.

I set a table in front of the entrance door to block it. I propped up an already half-damaged wardrobe behind it to slow anyone trying to break through.

Would the police come through the large broken windows where we barged in? If they flew in with something like a helicopter, it would definitely be possible, but unfortunately, that area was too ambiguous to block properly, so I decided to leave it as is.

There was nothing on the second floor. That wasn’t unusual. The space was too cramped to hide anything. Compared to the outside, the emptiness was too apparent, and above all, the house had a flat rooftop.

Even if I tried to hide something important, it would only be in a space where someone could barely lie down. Just in case, I hit the ceiling of each room once to check, but there was only enough space for wiring inspections.

James hadn’t come inside yet. This was at least evidence that the police didn’t have any plans to send a helicopter in.

Iris looked at me.

I didn’t say it out loud, fearing there might be a listening device, but she probably sensed that something was off about this space.

Still, it was odd that there were no facilities to deal with us at all.

Did they think I wouldn’t check the previous chairman’s house? Did they think I would simply find the place where they were?

Or did the aliens no longer have the resources to stir into action? The number of aliens that had been opposing us since we routed them might have dwindled to almost nothing.

If there were any other possibilities… they were probably preparing to develop more reliable equipment rather than using up each alien to exhaust us.

If that’s the case, this place might have been categorized as a ‘relatively less important location’ as James anticipated. The chairman didn’t need to be here on purpose. It wouldn’t be surprising if there were several buildings where he could stay discreetly, maybe even in a pricey hotel room, and we’d have no way to find out.

Even if we figured it out, we’d have to be cautious about barging in. After all, it was a place involving civilians.

It was frustrating, but this might be a wild goose chase.

“…”

I momentarily pondered.

Would it be better to just turn back from here? Or should I search for a basement?

“What’s wrong?”

As I was thinking, James’s voice echoed in.

“I came to check because I didn’t hear any crashing from inside, but it seems there were indeed no highly important items.”

James remarked as his drone flew about, inspecting the surroundings.

“…”

“I assure you there’s no need to worry about eavesdropping. At least, as far as I can check, there’s nothing of concern.”

“Well, wouldn’t it have been better to inform me of that a bit sooner?”

“I was monitoring for helicopters and drones coming by just a moment ago; how was I supposed to let you know? I didn’t even bring a wireless communication device.”

“…”

Maybe I should make one or two.

“Well, I didn’t come here with any high expectations anyway. Our goal for coming here was merely to instill the notion that you’re targeting the chairman’s life. The point is to draw as much strength away from the real target, so you shouldn’t be too disappointed.”

Hearing James say that felt a little odd.

Right now… is he trying to comfort me?

I couldn’t see his expression. As a hamster, even if I could see his face, I could only confirm it based on the shape of his mouth and the size of his eyes, so it wasn’t exact, but even that made a big difference compared to not being able to see it.

It didn’t seem like James was feeling friendly towards me at all; rather, it was likely that he was concerned I would fall into complete despair, disrupting his revenge.

Just when I was about to suggest we call it a day—

“Um, um, do you perhaps also have a scanning feature?”

“Pardon?”

Suddenly, Ha-yoon spoke up, causing James’s drone to turn towards her.

Despite the voice being slightly distorted through the speaker, it sounded quite clear, revealing her flustered demeanor.

James was a bit awkward with the other magical girls. While I couldn’t exactly say we were close, at least I regarded him as an emergency food supply.

Except for Iris, with whom I worked on things, I rarely saw James conversing with anyone else. Usually, when he had something to say, he would ramble on; even when responding to me, his answers would be taken over by other magical girls interrupting.

Especially with Ha-yoon, it seemed she had never spoken up first since she was concerned that James was an ‘enemy officer.’

“Can you check if there are empty spaces…?”

Ha-yoon’s voice lowered slightly; the drone didn’t have an expression, but it looked like it was momentarily lost for words as it merely gazed at Ha-yoon.

“Well, I can’t say it’s utterly impossible to do it that way, but….”

“Then?”

“Though that doesn’t mean we can see through walls like with X-rays. We can only scan around and identify somewhat suspicious locations.”

“…”

Ha-yoon, Iris, and I exchanged glances.

Then we turned to James.

“In that case, it just means we can scan the first floor. Why didn’t you say so at the beginning?”

“Well, since I have the blueprint for this house, there’s no way to determine if it could serve as a research facility.”

“…”

James’s words once again plunged us into silence.

I stood there with my mouth agape, staring at James for around five seconds.

“Why didn’t you say so from the start? I mean, didn’t you initially act like you knew nothing? What were you thinking when planning the operation?”

But James gently ignored my words once more, turning back to Ha-yoon.

“Well then, let’s scan the first floor. If we find something special, we’ll either destroy it or take it with us. Of course, it’s highly likely that there’s nothing of the sort.”

He must have just wanted to see me suffering. Damn it.

But since we had already accomplished the goal for coming here in the first place, complaining further seemed awkward.

I followed James down to the first floor, where he headed to the center of the living room and activated the drone’s… some function.

Lasers shot out from the drone in all directions. At first glance, it looked like surveying lasers, but it was much more intricate. That probably came from some alien technology or something.

I wondered if we were even allowed to be there, but since James didn’t say anything, we all just stood still.

While we remained silent, sirens blared outside, and people murmured.

By now, the police must be surrounding the building.

They hadn’t yet started telling us to surrender or come out.

They were being a bit more cautious.

It hadn’t even been thirty minutes since we arrived.

From the police’s perspective, the best scenario would be for us to just leave without doing anything.

“…”

“Why?”

After the laser scanned us from above to below, James fell silent. I waited a moment, but when he didn’t speak up, I decided not to hold back anymore and asked again.

“…There are no facilities.”

“Is that so? Then shall we head back—”

“No, wait a moment.”

James’s voice carried a hint of perplexity.

“…Why?”

“Below here, there’s a circuit. It appears to be running on the magical power you use.”

“Can you really detect things like that? I thought you said you couldn’t see through!”

“I can detect vibrations.”

If that’s the case, then those vibrations must be extremely subtle. At least we couldn’t feel them at all.

If something was embedded in that hard floor and spinning, the vibrations must be almost imperceptible. The thick concrete probably absorbed most of the tremors. If there weren’t any open spaces surrounding it, it would be even more so.

“But why? Is that circuit important?”

If the circuit was running, it would be due to my presence. To create even a minor vibration in the ground would only be natural.

“It is important, in a way.”

James paused for a moment before speaking.

“The circuit is exceedingly unstable. And it’s rather large.”

“…Huh?”

“I see. To put it bluntly, it’s as unstable as the circuits you used when you were a combatant. But it’s much larger.”

“…So?”

“It means there’s a risk of an explosion.”

I, Ha-yoon, and Iris fell silent.

“Let’s go.”

“Wait, wait a minute. You’re not actually thinking of creating a black hole, are you? Do you want to blow up the mansion and fly away? If your magical power overflows, it’ll explode immediately. That’s exactly what the enemy is aiming for, right?”

“So, are you saying they’ve planted a bomb where we could potentially come?”

“Rather than a bomb, it’s a circuit deliberately designed to be shoddy. But from what I gather, that’s likely the case. Since it runs on your magical power, it would be concealed well. If you didn’t come, it wouldn’t even activate in the first place.”

“…Then why didn’t it explode when we arrived?”

“Didn’t you fall through the air?”

Ah, I see.

“Then we need to fly out right away—”

“No.”

James said in a rather serious tone.

“Thanks to you using the propulsion device during your rampage inside, the circuit seems to be running in an extremely unstable state. The vibrations aren’t consistent.”

Oh.

I see.

To activate the propulsion device, I needed to make the circuit spin forcefully. I had made this place so hot that it could break the mechanical devices, and while there were spots that caught fire, in this case, I’d swung a hammer and extinguished those flames with force.

So, what I was saying is that I was blasting my magical power all over the place, creating chaos in here.

And for me to fly, I needed that magical power.

If my magical power was added to the already heated circuit—

“…”

We fell silent.

Outside the house, the sirens blared loudly.

[You are surrounded!]

Moreover, now there were announcements coming through loudspeakers planted outside.

[Immediately disarm and come out—]

I let the sound float past one ear and said,

“So, you’re saying right now we have to escape without flying or using teleportation?”

I looked at Iris.

“What about you? Can you send us somewhere else? You know how to use warp. How about shooting Ha-yoon and me with that gun?”

I pointed at the rifle.

“We’ll escape to anywhere and then agree on a place to meet again. Once we’re out of here, we can manage somehow.”

“No, wait a moment.”

James interrupted again.

“The magical power applied to the circuit not only makes it unstable, but it also keeps it functioning. If they truly wanted to cause an explosion, they’d ensure the control device wouldn’t work the instant the magical power you were supplying vanished. So, I believe the circuit will explode the moment you leave here.”

James was trying to explain the situation calmly, but he couldn’t completely hide his agitation.

“If that rifle could be used to warp anyone, it might not be a problem. It wouldn’t matter if it’s going to explode ‘after’ disappearing. You wouldn’t be around when it detonates. However…”

I rubbed my forehead.

Right, even if that rifle had such functionality, I personally can’t use it. The type of magical power I used differs.

Naturally, I can’t handle all the aliens using just my magical power. As useful as my power is, I’ve been fighting as a magical girl for less than three months.

Given that, my efficiency falls behind those who have been fighting for years. Plus, if I spread my magic power too thinly among everyone, there might come a crucial moment when I can’t use it.

That’s why, during battles when moving, it was natural for me to give the circuits to the magical girls to use. A few minutes of chase would be inconceivable. On top of that, James has been steadily working on the tracking device, further delaying them.

…If I end up as the last one left, it becomes meaningless. No matter how hard I try to escape, the bomb will detonate.

“…What’s the blast radius?”

I recalled the moment when my circuit exploded. It didn’t explode that big. I mean, I had seen it when I was a combatant; back then, I was still using very low output, so it was rather small, and the circuit I use now is different than the one below.

“I can’t be sure, but,”

James seemed briefly lost in thought.

“I’d say the radius might be around 50 meters.”

50 meters.

That doesn’t sound that big, but things are different in a place where houses are crammed together.

That means a diameter of 100 meters, and it could entirely fly out within that radius.

If it had just been buried on the boundary between the house and the garden, it wouldn’t have been a big problem. It could end with a narrowly avoided explosion of some parts of this mansion and the surrounding road.

But this is buried underneath the ‘mansion.’

No matter how small I estimate it, there’s no chance that it doesn’t reach the next house within a 50-meter radius.

Plus, being in the middle of Seoul, with city gas running around, that adds to the complexity of the explosion. A bomb doesn’t just explode in a wide arc horizontally. It detonates vertically as well.

“…What about the police?”

“Last I saw, they were surrounding the area. Yes, I’m certain there were police right at the front gate. At least a few would get caught in the explosion if they came inside and confronted you.”

“If we don’t use magic—”

“Your magical power is influenced by your emotions. Have you forgotten?”

“Are you telling me I have to be thinking positively right now?”

“What did you hear just moments ago? I told you the circuit will explode the instant the magical power running into it vanishes!”

No, so what am I supposed to do now!

…Right, they must have laid this trap anticipating such a situation.

Coming here was a misstep. It wasn’t about my foresight failing; rather, this place was initially useless to the chairman, hence the setup.

Even if I blew up, there wouldn’t be any regrets whatsoever.

Moreover, an ‘explosion’ makes for a very good story. Even if the civilians have all evacuated by now, if someone were to get hurt by this explosion, it would ruin any favorable opinions about me, and the label of ‘terrorist’ would be easy to stick.

All the positive responses from the announcement I had spread would all be nullified. Damn it.

“Do you think the police will back off?”

“Do you think the people who came to arrest you would retreat?”

“What if I say there’s a bomb inside?”

“Are you kidding? Do you want to make all that hassle pointless?”

…Is he picking a fight with me?

No, calm down. If my temper explodes, the bomb might as well.

“…Hey.”

While James and I were talking, Ha-yoon raised one hand slightly.

“Can I… suggest an idea?”

She didn’t need to worry about speaking. The situation indeed called for some concern, but even in such cases, the thought itself is fundamentally important.

We could find some way to morph the idea into something feasible.

“First of all, can’t we just break the floor and pull out the circuit?”

“It’s possible.”

“Then, what about tampering with that circuit?”

“…It’s indeed possible, but…”

James replied, his voice laced with a sigh.

“I can’t ensure that the bomb will remain intact. If things go poorly, it could explode during the extraction, or it might explode while I’m disassembling it.”

Yeah. It is unstable.

It’s like trying to extract parts from a computer without unplugging it first. There’s a possibility of electrocution, and the components might be damaged. At least a computer might not explode, but this circuit is a completely different story.

“If we called in another expert?”

“…It’s highly likely that the company won’t assist.”

Ha-yoon looked towards Iris.

“Jua, didn’t you say the company’s circuits were structurally quite similar to what we use?”

“…Not when you get into specific details, but… Yes, for the most part, they ‘utilize emotions.’ In terms of how they operate, they are similar. If there were someone who possessed even more specialized knowledge than me…”

Iris looked at Ha-yoon as if she had realized something.

Ha-yoon nodded and turned to James.

“In that case, there’s someone I can recommend. Just like you, a squeaky adult, and they have excellent knowledge of circuits.”

“Are they by any chance from the federation?”

“Yep.”

“Why don’t you two escape first? I’ll deal with the bomb somehow.”

“No way.”

Ha-yoon firmly shot down my suggestion.

“Jua, you should head back first.”

Then she turned to Iris and repeated the same words.

“Why should I do that?”

Iris responded, looking utterly confused.

Then she spoke decisively with an unwavering expression.

“Let’s just proceed with Blossom’s idea. We’ll create a distraction and call Cherry. More than anything, if I go, there’s one less person that can assist.”

“…”

It seems no one is listening to a word I say.

I sighed deeply and rubbed my face.

 

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