I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

---

The policy has been established.

I can’t even be sure if it’s the right policy, but there was no other way.

Ha-yoon pressed the communicator.

There was no need to wait long for a response.

[Ha-yoon!?]

A voice came through the communicator.

It sounded like a perfect Earthling voice, but it probably wasn’t the Squeaky Adult’s own voice.

Like James, they must be wearing a translation device, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to mimic an Earthling voice.

“Cherry. I have a favor to ask.”

Perhaps the situation was urgent, Ha-yoon skipped the pleasantries and got right to the point.

[Okay. What kind of favor?]

Surprisingly, Cherry didn’t seem too flustered by Ha-yoon’s words.

Did she perhaps expect to receive a call?

No, if we think about it, the fact that we hadn’t contacted anyone until now might have been unexpected. Our situation was such that we needed someone’s help, even without the bomb. It was rather selfish to endure this all alone without asking for assistance until now.

“…….”

Ha-yoon’s expression turned contemplative for a moment.

Even though we had removed the tracking function from the communicator, ‘communication’ anyway means being connected with someone.

Since the police nearby already know the location, that wasn’t a problem, but there was a real possibility that others were listening in on our conversation.

No, they must definitely be listening. They would need information about us.

Every word we spoke could contain hints that could be extracted.

“……Could you come here for a moment? You know where we are, right?”

And until now, she didn’t say specifically what was happening here.

Saying “there’s a bomb” could sound casual at first.

We were in a civilian area, and even if we mixed in saying that we didn’t install it, just the fact we called someone to ‘disarm’ that bomb could prompt people to label us as terrorists.

But the other party was already using any means necessary. So it would be best not to even mention a word like ‘bomb.’ We didn’t know how they might use it.

With AI and whatever technology out there, being careful may not even matter in the end.

[……. ]

There was a brief sound of breathing from the communicator. It seemed slightly nervous.

[Got it. I’m on my way.]

And the other party replied without delay.

All three of us exhaled a sigh of relief.

James was still inside the drone, so I couldn’t see his expression.

But I was sure it wasn’t a good one.

*

Cherry arrived after I had broken the floor and pulled out the bomb.

Just to be safe, I scanned the surroundings again, rummaged through the half-broken desk to recover the magic, inferred the surroundings of the bomb, and drew a large circle around it, gradually breaking bits of the floor away.

At first glance, the floor seemed completely marble, but that part was suspiciously thin marble. Though it wasn’t easy to break since it was still stone, at least breaking the surface completely and clearing it out was possible.

And then—

“This is….”

Ha-yoon gasped, holding her breath.

What was buried below was a gigantic circuit. It was an unexpectedly large circuit compared to the ones I, Ha-yoon, and Iris had on our wrists.

When I thought of a bomb, I expected it to resemble an anti-tank mine, but seeing it in reality made it seem about a meter in diameter. Furthermore, the circuit was suspiciously glowing and vibrating.

Once we cleared away the top stone slab, the vibrations seemed to intensify.

“……What do you think?”

I asked James, who remained silent for a moment.

“It’s extremely unstable. It’s hideously poorly made.”

Honestly, it was beyond my understanding. It seemed that the Squeaky Adult had their own criteria for judgment. I figured it must be the work of the planet’s people.

“Can we disarm it?”

“Well, it’s possible.”

The drone James was operating landed.

Once James got off the drone, he leaned against the edge of the hole, momentarily deep in thought.

“As I mentioned earlier, if you make even a little mistake while disarming it, it will explode.”

“……But there’s still a chance, right?”

“There’s always a chance if we’re just talking about possibilities. But we won’t know unless we try.”

Ha-yoon, Iris and I exchanged looks.

As we briefly sank into silence—

Outside, chaos erupted.

I could hear the police shouting, urgently trying to resolve something, and then—

There was a squeaky sound, followed by something similar to the drone James rode, and something flew in through the broken window.

Instinctively, I reached out to grab it.

It wasn’t the wisest choice. The drone had four spinning propellers, and I could’ve easily gotten my hand chopped off.

But thankfully, I managed to grab the ‘middle’ of it.

“Uh, um… What!?”

In stark contrast to James’s drone, the drone without a top lid had a pink-furred hamster that surprisingly looked a lot like James sitting on it.

It had relatively large ears for a hamster, and its tail was fluffy. This must be the “Cherry” Ha-yoon mentioned, the Squeaky Adult.

I felt like I had seen it before.

“Uh, uh, uh…?”

Since our eyes met, “Cherry” seemed quite flustered. It glanced around, met Ha-yoon’s gaze, then looked up at me again.

“…”

I felt it would be a bit cruel to tease it more, so I carefully set it down below.

“Whoa, uh, thank you.”

Cherry said this quickly before darting towards Ha-yoon’s feet.

“Cherry!”

“Ha-yoon!”

Once Ha-yoon picked Cherry up, it looked extremely pleased and shouted towards her.

“Are you okay!? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. What about you? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

“Oh, yeah. Thanks to that kid catching me…”

“I understand that you’re happy about reuniting.”

However, their conversation didn’t last long.

There was another Squeaky Adult nearby with a pretty bad personality who found the previously joyful chatter between the two quite bothersome.

“If we don’t focus here soon, we might blow up. Not everyone wants to die together, right?”

“…….”

At James’s words, Ha-yoon gently placed Cherry down at her feet.

Only then did Cherry finally see the circuit we had exposed by breaking the floor.

“……What is this!?”

Cherry clearly saw that the circuit was operating in an extremely unstable manner.

“I think it’s a circuit designed to explode upon reacting to magic. If there’s too much magic, it’ll explode, and now that the supply has been cut off, it’s troublesome. If the stable state breaks, it won’t be controllable anymore.”

Just by hearing me, it seemed Cherry already grasped the situation.

“What the heck…?”

It appeared Cherry was quite unfamiliar with the actual identity of the bomb.

However, I at least knew she had no involvement with it.

“Well, I suppose that’s true.”

Perhaps realizing what I was thinking, James spoke.

“We could weaponize the circuit, but if it were us, we’d have used a much more sophisticated method.”

“What do you mean by that?”

At James’s comment, Cherry looked shocked.

“There’s no way any civilians would plant a bomb in the middle of a populated area!”

James looked up at me with a visibly displeased expression.

“What can we do? We can’t leave unless we deal with it, right? You said it would be difficult alone, didn’t you?”

Hearing my words, James gritted his teeth and climbed over the bomb.

“Then let’s hurry and resolve this so we can leave. Will you help us?”

But even at James’s words, Cherry hesitated.

“Why are you hesitating?”

“……I know nothing about your circuit. I don’t even know how emotions work in it, so what if I mess with it and something goes wrong?”

“Just follow my instructions.”

“If I’m only going to follow your instructions, I could have done this alone, don’t you think?”

No words came from James in response to Cherry’s reply.

“…….”

I silently watched the exchange between the two.

“Should we just watch?”

“…….”

At my question, James once again fell silent.

And after a moment, he took off his translation device around his neck.

Seeing James’s reaction, Cherry took off her device too.

Their conversation fell silent into nothing but squeaky hamster sounds. Since we couldn’t understand their words at all, it looked like just two hamsters scurrying over complicated equipment at a glance.

And Ha-yoon was quietly watching those two.

Her gaze seemed a little serious.

Maybe it was because of the circuit, or because her friend “Cherry” was up there with them.

But somehow, I felt like Ha-yoon was thinking something different.

A little later, I recalled the exchange I had with James.

I asked him if I should be ‘having positive thoughts’ about things.

Lifting my gaze slightly, I looked at Ha-yoon.

Her eyes remained low, staring at the circuit.

Surely she wasn’t considering that discussion, was she?

I must have been too reckless.

But fortunately, Ha-yoon just continued watching the two fiddle with the circuit without speaking to me.

*

“To sum it up, we’ve solved one issue.”

James, with the translation device back around his neck, said.

“What did we solve? The bomb’s still there.”

Cherry retorted at James.

“At least we bought time to escape, didn’t we?”

“Hey.”

Cherry seemed appalled at James’s words.

“Are you saying we should leave the bomb as it is? If that guy creates a Black Hole, it will explode just a few minutes later!”

“What do you mean by that?” Ha-yoon asked.

“I’ve just made some adjustments to the bomb’s circuit.”

Cherry answered immediately in response to Ha-yoon’s question.

“But in such a short time, messing around with something that could explode if touched incorrectly isn’t easy. What we could fix was ‘delaying the explosion’ rather than ‘preventing it from exploding’.”

“……So?”

I asked, and this time it was James who replied.

“That means we can’t stop it from exploding entirely. It’s already horribly unstable, and there’s no way to fully resolve it. If we want to solve it, we can only use traditional methods of bomb disposal.”

Which means we’d have to evacuate people and blow it up.

Yeah, traditional methods would certainly mean that—

“But doing that would spread rumors that Ji-eun planted the bomb here.”

“Well, what do you expect from this situation?” James said.

“Either we all blow up together, or at least some survive and the bomb explodes. If we have to choose between the two, obviously the latter is better.”

“…….”

Nobody could respond to that.

“Should we shout that there’s a bomb planted so we can push the police back?”

I asked quietly.

All eyes turned to me.

The circuit was vibrating. The circuit on my wrist and the one buried under the floor both felt the same shaking.

James, seeing that, pinched the bridge of his nose.

“……We might not even have the time for that. Whether the police will listen to us is also up in the air. They might want to send experts in.”

“Is there a way to control the circuits from outside?”

Iris, who had briefly sunk into thought, brought up another idea.

“…….”

All our gazes turned to Iris.

“So, what if we say there’s a bomb, and because of some reason, the other party doesn’t believe it, sending someone inside? That means we could explode it right at that moment.”

“Well, that’s….”

James fell silent.

“We didn’t see any communication devices. However, we didn’t inspect every nook and cranny, so I can’t be sure.”

Another possibility fell through my mind like a falling stone.

The two circuits vibrated more forcefully.

“Okay, everyone, calm down!”

Did Cherry pick that up because she heard my feelings towards James? She spoke to me nervously.

“……Let’s start with the simplest option first.”

Ha-yoon sorted things out.

“First, we need to explain things.”

“……Do I have to go?”

“……No, I’m sorry.”

At Ha-yoon’s shaking head in response to my question.

“This is something either I or Iris has to do.”

Because my own emotions were unstable right now.

If I went out to talk to the police and my blood pressure soared, it could explode without any warning. While it hadn’t felt so urgent when the circuits were hidden below the floor, I could now feel the circuits reacting sensitively to my emotions.

Even if I removed the circuit from my wrist, it would probably explode the moment I did.

I tried to remind myself not to think of the chairman’s face. I’m not entirely sure when I started feeling despair, but anyway, I knew that the more negative thoughts I entertained, the more dangerous it was.

I managed to nod at Ha-yoon.

*

To cut to the chase, it worked.

Of course, it wasn’t a good situation for me.

No matter how much Ha-yoon and Iris said it wasn’t me who planted it, the police would not believe that.

There must have been something similar happening before.

The two of them were known to be with me, so the police wouldn’t believe any tale spun by an accomplice.

The upside is that other civilians were also running for their lives, not just the police.

People with a lot to lose. They would surely prioritize their own lives above all else.

“…….”

And while I listened to these stories, I tried my best to restrain my emotions.

Even if I had been somewhat stabilized, I had to exercise caution because I could explode after creating a Black Hole.

I thought it would be better if the others ran far away before I tried to escape, but for some reason, Ha-yoon and Iris didn’t want to do that.

If something dramatic happened and ‘I’ collapsed, Ha-yoon and Iris would have to carry me away then.

We still didn’t know where the three who hadn’t followed us were. We just relied on my vague sense of how to get there.

So, in order to ensure everything went smoothly, I had to endure.

After watching the police retreat outside, Ha-yoon came back inside.

“……For now, we’ve retreated. They said fifty meters; it could be more than that in reality. But….”

It didn’t take long.

There was still some apprehension lingering. The proper method would be to search house by house to find anyone who might still be inside.

Just because it’s a wealthy house doesn’t mean there aren’t any people with difficulties living there. There could be elderly folks inside who need care.

How long would that take?

Plus, we couldn’t be sure whether the wealthy individuals would even allow the police in to search their homes. How much was the public even aware of the current situation? How many people would manage to escape while we were causing mayhem?

“…….”

I felt like Ha-yoon was having the same thoughts for a moment.

“Would it be okay to move the circuit?”

James and Cherry simultaneously turned to Ha-yoon.

“Moving it might be doable. But….”

“Reflecting on Iris’s thoughts, that seems like a very risky choice.”

Thankfully, the circuit didn’t have a separate camera. Since it would explode when we left, it probably didn’t need one.

However, there could still be a remote detonation device.

If so, then attempting to move the circuit itself was dangerous.

Iris’s warp technique isn’t almighty either. Since it’s not a fully developed technology, it could only move to random coordinates that aren’t too far and don’t overlap objects.

To move people accurately to the right coordinates would become much more complicated. Moving ships in outer space doesn’t require advanced calculations. It’s a fixed point.

But Earth rotates while orbiting at the same time. Warp points for moving from one surface to another must travel in sync to ensure stability.

If one can make huge warp points using tremendous energy, it would be possible. They’d need funds and manpower to create ‘specific coordinates,’ build devices consuming immense energy to produce them, and so forth.

Iris is a genius who can do that herself.

…‘If she’s ‘prepared.’ And if there were other high-tech magical devices to utilize.

Both are not feasible here.

“……Thinking through every little detail is pointless. You know that, right? If such a device exists, it could just as easily be programmed to explode during transportation.”

“So that means we should avoid moving it.”

James said with a slightly agitated tone.

“If we assume something like that exists, then we shouldn’t move it at all!”

“…….”

What to do?

Should we consider the possibility that there are still people left behind?

Or leave it as is and watch it explode?

“……I’ll do it.”

“Uh?”

Ha-yoon seemed somewhat startled by my words.

“Why are you trying to do this?”

I answered in disbelief.

“A bomb is not something to deal with in the middle of a city. If it explodes here… you all understand, right?”

When I asked while looking around, nobody could muster a response.

“You don’t even need the Black Hole. I can… fly.”

Plus, I’m strong enough to swing that giant hammer without a care.

So this had to be my responsibility.

“But—”

“Regardless of doing the right thing, this needs to be in my control.”

Honestly, this was always an option I considered from the beginning.

It was just a choice I had postponed until the end.

But what can I do? If there’s no other way…

I walked over to grab the circuit.

“Wait, Ji-eun!”

Why?

Isn’t it impossible to just let things explode here?

“The explosion radius is fifty meters; it means if I fly higher than that, I’ll be fine.”

“Just wait a moment.”

Iris said.

But I wasn’t inclined to hear her out.

……I’m just an envious little person who took a job with a corporation that openly commits evil deeds just because they got jealous of the main character. To be honest, I couldn’t help but hide my jealous feelings towards Ha-yoon right now.

But that doesn’t mean I want to become a murderer. I’m more than sufficient being treated that way already.

I couldn’t have done anything during the first explosion. I didn’t even know that bomb existed.

But now, everything is different.

I know there’s a bomb, and if I let it detonate, someone could die.

Then ignoring that would be no different from murder.

Even though I’m a little villain, I don’t want to become a true villain. I’ve only ever wanted to be in the protagonist’s position.

My previous inability to act led us to this outcome.

“How long might it explode after making a Black Hole?”

“……Well, about three seconds? Since there will be overload time.”

At least three seconds I had to create.

“But if it absorbs too much magic before then, it will enter the unpredictable zone.”

“Hey, what are you talking about? You need to stop this!”

The circuit I was holding began vibrating. It was heating up furiously. It felt like it might explode at any moment.

Unlike the main characters, I felt far more fear than courage right now.

And along with that, I felt disempowered and in despair.

But I wasn’t going to think about dying.

I was going to strike back properly, even if it meant dying.

“Could it be absorbed into the Black Hole?”

“It would explode the moment it enters. Your Black Hole is pure magic energy. Reducing the explosion isn’t feasible. Just because it explodes the moment space overlaps doesn’t mean the explosion won’t erupt outside afterward.”

“Ji-eun!”

Ha-yoon ran toward me, but I held up the circuit in front of my chest.

“I’ll be back.”

“Wait, wait, there has to be another way!”

Iris shouted.

“But there’s no time.”

I instinctively felt as I looked at the vibrating circuit.

“……There’s no time for this circuit to endure my emotions.”

I met Ha-yoon’s gaze.

A second later, Ha-yoon charged at me.

Before she could reach me, I had already turned around and dashed back.

I threw myself out through the broken window.

Rolling on the floor, I took to the skies with all my strength.

Not finding time to look down below, I flew high, feeling the circuit responding to my magic, growing hotter as a result.

How high have I gone? How much longer could this circuit hold?

Just as the temperature I felt on my skin started dropping considerably, I threw the circuit upwards with all my might.

And then, I cut off its magic.

I felt that same sensation from when I rode on a ride that dropped suddenly at an amusement park.

The circuit soared high, and I fell downward.

The distance between us had grown quite a bit, but asking if I could avoid the blast would be a different story.

The circuit glowed bright.

For a circuit returning to despair, it was a surprisingly bright light—

And then I felt someone pulling me from below.

My vision blurred, and I realized it was Ha-yoon.

“Ha-yoon?”

“I’m fine.”

Ha-yoon smiled as she said this.

“Hold on for just a moment!”

Before I could even say anything, she hugged me and spun around.

Toward the circuit above us.

And we were both engulfed in the explosion simultaneously.

 

---