I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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“Is that a good thing or not?”

It’s not like we have a TV. We do have smartphones, but we weren’t using them because we couldn’t let anyone track us.

James and Iris, who fiddled with the parts I had stuffed into the hyperspace, seemed to think that the ‘screen’ was anything but easy. And if you think about it, that makes sense. Sure, you can talk about a screen as if it were just a single component, but in reality, it’s a bunch of tiny pixels all crammed together.

So unless we manage to snag a screen from somewhere, there aren’t any replacement parts. We have a ton of ‘chipsets.’ Even then, having versatile computer parts meant we were somewhat able to whip together various devices.

I did come up with the idea of dismantling a smartphone to use its screen, but I couldn’t help but wonder, “Do I really need to?” Not having a TV didn’t cause major issues while gathering information.

Though we had various parts available, I definitely didn’t want to waste anything. The difference between having a spare part for emergencies and not having one was massive.

Anyway, at least we had a radio, so we could gather information through it.

Surprisingly, it seemed my choice to throw bombs into the sky at that moment wasn’t entirely wrong.

When I visited the treatment center that day, there were a few police officers without their hats, which I took to be a sort of gesture or something similar.

[Was it easy to save people who had aimed guns at themselves and fired? You just said it was a given for someone to do that, but how many would willingly do good deeds for someone they don’t have warm feelings for? If I hadn’t gone there, the bomb might not have been involved at all.]

I couldn’t quite grasp why they were debating that incident pointlessly, but anyway, such discussions were happening on the radio.

The words I had spoken were woven into arguments suggesting that my actions had, in retrospect, been wise.

Thanks to the black hole above that day, debris didn’t fall to the ground. I had merely thought that it was fortunate that people weren’t hurt, but because the debris barely fell below, people didn’t know ‘exactly what had exploded.’

That’s right. They just thought there was an explosive; they never actually considered that if I hadn’t been there, the circuits might not have been activated and there wouldn’t even have been an explosion. There wasn’t even proof that it was a circuit in the first place.

There were shards pulled from Ha-yoon, but none of them included vital circuit parts.

While some speculated on the explosion, no one truly knew ‘how it worked.’

[Could it be a self-made drama? If this were all a setup to shift blame away from themselves—]

[Those are still children on the run. Didn’t you hear what they said? Didn’t they ask for food and clothing? Do you think that was also part of the act?]

Well done.

I cheered for that unnamed fighter who supported me. Not that I’d gain anything immediately from this win here.

[If everything is just a setup, then everyone in the world could be called a terrorist. Doesn’t it seem bizarre? That an ordinary teenage girl could create a bomb capable of causing such enormous explosions not just once, but twice? If that were true, then there would have already been several incidents like that in this nation.]

While the other party struggled to find a response, the debater quickly continued.

[Wouldn’t it be more plausible to think of the opposite?]

[Does that mean the government is scheming? Or the federation or corporation? There are so many conspiracy theories it’s hard to count. Let me ask this: if all the governments around the world were concocting similar schemes, wouldn’t the whole globe be engulfed in the flames of war by now? Or would it have already become a terrible dystopia?]

[Looking at the facts, not every government is always plotting, you know? But at the same time, it’s much more common for conspiracies against individuals to come to light than government conspiracies. And look at the scale of the incident. Right now, they say it’s about a magical girl, but until recently, she was just an ordinary minor with no connection to that mess. The only link is the Noir Corporation she worked for; so does that imply that the magical girl conspired with the company to commit terrorism?]

[… That’s not quite what I’m saying… ]

The debate slowly drifted away from the events I had caused just the other day, and now it turned into a discussion about whether the incident was a conspiracy or not.

Hearing the off-topic remarks made me lose interest, and I changed the channel.

“…Huh.”

I took a deep breath.

Not long ago, I could hardly breathe with the weight in my chest, but seeing people express themselves, even like that, was somewhat comforting.

Maybe until now, they had been controlling public opinion somehow.

Unless it’s a dictatorship, it would be nearly impossible to keep suppressing what people think. Looking at it from a conspiratorial perspective, spreading another rumor might be a much more effective way to divert attention.

In that sense, the incident that had erupted this time was just as hard to suppress as when I got caught up in the terrorist act. Back then, it was just about pointing arrows at me, but now it was completely different.

The entity that planted the bombs was still not confirmed.

However, one thing was certain: my image… had improved a little.

I looked at the circuit.

The circuit… didn’t vibrate. It wasn’t completely inactive, but the rotation speed had decreased significantly, leaving no reason to shake.

That wasn’t… particularly a good thing. The circuit running at high speeds was what I needed to fight.

“…Ah.”

As soon as I thought that, the speed of the circuit shot back up again.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“What do you mean ‘ridiculous’?”

As I muttered to myself while gazing at the circuit, a sharp voice responded with a question.

Startled by that voice, I looked up to see Ha-yoon sitting beside me naturally.

She had perched beside me quite nonchalantly on the doorframe, though the sliding door didn’t completely conceal the entrance. It was a bit spacious for two fairly slender girls, unlike a big adult male.

“No, I mean, it’s just… the contents of the radio.”

I said that while naturally lowering my left hand.

But Ha-yoon’s gaze was still glued to the circuit.

Did she catch on to what kind of energy I was using?

When Cherry and James were chatting, Ha-yoon had been watching them closely.

To ordinary ears, it probably just sounded like squeaking. Iris, who was nearby, didn’t seem to grasp their conversation either.

Did Ha-yoon… understand?

She’s smart, so it must be because she studies hard at home, achieving those grades. But still, even with less study time than me—or maybe even less—she got far better grades.

Her comprehension level was different, and she might have some inkling of what the Squeaky Adult language was about.

If that’s the case, maybe she understood this energy as well.

But as her gaze, which had been concentrated on my circuit, suddenly jumped up and locked onto my face, a smile appeared on her lips.

Lately, it had been like this.

Ever since Ha-yoon had started sleeping in my tent—because I didn’t want her getting sick anymore—she’d keep doing this.

After that, Ha-yoon had simply come into my tent without a care. She even casually shared my sleeping bag.

When I got my sleeping bag, I envisioned how exceptionally cold it would be outside. While it wasn’t particularly expensive, it had duck feathers inside, designed to withstand freezing temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius, but now it felt almost too warm to bear.

Weirdly, Ha-yoon kept pulling that sleeping bag over herself and me.

She pressed against me as if we had to snuggle up completely underneath it together.

When I looked up at the ceiling, she even hugged my arm tightly. Objectively speaking, Ha-yoon’s figure was… it didn’t really emphasize her femininity as much as one might expect for her age, but she still had a sufficiently feminine shape.

But with her hugging my arm like that, how do you think I’d feel? Regardless of the physical age, my mind was a different story. I would feel incredibly flustered, embarrassed, and completely at a loss for what to do.

I couldn’t even move my arm. Not just my arms but all the way to my fingertips. I thought she could probably sense what I was saying.

But if I turn to face Ha-yoon, waking up in the morning becomes even more awkward.

That was the moment Ha-yoon would definitely wrap her arms around me from behind. Naturally… well, yeah.

With that thick sleeping bag on top of us and the heat, it became quite… well, you get it.

At first, I thought she might still be sick. When someone gets a flu, they sometimes shiver with cold, and injuries can lead to a similar sickly state from the germs that enter through the wounds.

But usually, doesn’t that stuff get better after sweating profusely?

Every night, we both ended up drenched in sweat, yet I found it hard to understand why she continued behaving this way.

…Maybe it was a mistake to let her in from the start.

Once she thought of it as her sleeping place, did it just keep coming back in?

“…”

Even now.

Ha-yoon was sitting so close next to me that her thigh was nearly flush against mine.

Even when I’d sneak out during the night for a stroll, she had done the same. And now, she was doing this openly in the daylight. It wasn’t like there were no other kids around.

And—

What’s more awkward was…

I looked down at the circuit on my wrist.

No vibrations.

The energy didn’t seem to be draining, indicating it was functioning. It generated enough energy to power our devices and more. Transformations shouldn’t be an issue for now.

Still, despair felt greater than hope.

But… hope was a complicated matter.

Public opinion had only just started to turn in my favor. Yet I still had many battles ahead. It wasn’t enough for just words, considering not everyone in the world stood by us.

And probably wouldn’t in the future.

Moreover, I wouldn’t be able to completely quell this rage unless I punched the chairman himself in the face.

But—

“…”

Ha-yoon leaned her head gently against my shoulder.

She smelled nice.

And that was the problem.

I knew deep down that feeling hope like this wasn’t right.

I shouldn’t feel hopeful just because I recognized that Ha-yoon could risk her life for me— I had that in my mind, yet couldn’t ignore it completely.

It would be better to move away quickly.

But still, I couldn’t bring myself to.

The circuit was slowing down, gradually reducing its speed. The intensity of its vibrations had weakened dramatically, yet I could still feel it.

In just a few days, I was weakening.

To the point where all that brashness I had earlier felt completely out of place.

That scared me.

*

So, since the day before yesterday, I had been thinking about how to distance myself a bit from Ha-yoon.

No matter what I did, she would always follow me around like a little puppy, and I couldn’t just tell her to stop doing that.

How could I say that to the one who saved my life? Not even indirectly, but directly.

I had that much of a conscience.

I still felt inferior. I was envious too. Those clingy feelings were still very much there.

But if this kept going on, I was scared I’d turn into the same weak combatant I once was. I didn’t want to become like that again.

So, I came up with one thought.

“…What if we change the order of our baths?”

Rose said that and turned her head.

The other magical girls— especially Rose, who locked eyes with Ha-yoon for a long time— looked back at me.

“Why? Do you not like it or something?”

“…Not really.”

I carefully chose each word.

It wasn’t that I really disliked it. On the contrary, I thought it was great. Yet the uncomfortable feelings remained.

But… that good feeling was dangerous. For me, at least.

“We always have the same order for bathing. There might be times when someone wants to go first, or maybe when they’re feeling lazy and want to go later, but it always seems like it’s just me and Ha-yoon who go first.”

“Ah, did you ever want to bathe later?”

Rose interpreted my words quite innocently.

“If you’d said something, I’d have adjusted the order for you.”

“No, what I’m trying to say isn’t that.”

I said, feeling my forehead sweating.

What if they just saw this as nonsense?

At some point, I realized I wasn’t acting as the owner of this space; I was just following the order set by others.

I couldn’t help it. I was alone and surrounded by five magical girls.

Besides, following the routine set by them was convenient in many ways. They didn’t even force me to follow along. Whether I slept late or got up late, they wouldn’t care and continued doing what they needed to do.

They wouldn’t throw a fit if I just received the meals they prepared or if I skipped the dishes.

But… once again, I had a conscience. I couldn’t just keep saying ‘no’ indefinitely.

Plus, these days, Ha-yoon had even started sleeping next to me.

Ultimately, if one of us awoke, the others would too, so I couldn’t just say, “It is what it is.”

…Ah, but this wasn’t what I was originally talking about. Just saying.

“How about deciding the order randomly? Like rock-paper-scissors or drawing lots?”

The magical girls exchanged glances with one another.

It wasn’t so much a moment of elevated communication as they simply didn’t understand why I was saying what I was.

“…If you really want to do that, then I guess it can’t be helped…”

Rose tilted her head as she spoke.

I nodded.

“I want to. It seems fair.”

Avoiding looking directly at Ha-yoon, I said that.

For some reason, Rose just stared at Ha-yoon. Then she sighed deeply and shrugged her shoulders.

“Well, fine. If you really want to do that. After all, the order can always be decided later.”

Relieved by Rose’s words, I nodded in agreement.

Then, I was suddenly jolted.

Ah, but didn’t it seem like I had ordered the kids to just follow my lead?

How did it come to this point of seeking their agreement?

…The reason was simple.

It was all because of Ha-yoon.

For completely different reasons than before, I had lost my composure. Something that was difficult to pinpoint and articulate with words.

“…”

I couldn’t bear to make eye contact with Ha-yoon, who was staring at me.

That gaze was eerily similar to how Ha-yoon looked at me when she was watching me play with James.

I didn’t know why she was looking at me that way. To be honest, I was scared to ask.

What if, while discussing our relationship, we found out that we had different angles of perception on the gaze we were giving one another?

While I thought I needed to distance myself from hope, I simultaneously didn’t want to push it too far away.

I was somewhat sick of this way of thinking, yet it was something that wasn’t easily changed.

 

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