I Became a New Magical Girl Priest

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The meeting concluded with a decision on the policy.

We will continue with our existing operations.

The company’s image has already taken a huge hit. Didn’t something like this happen right in the middle of the crowded Yeouido?

Having already faced several incidents related to aliens, we were somewhat adapted to the situation.

When an alien appears, we shut down the area and evacuate the people. It’s the same when our combatants clash with the magical girls from the federation.

Not only was such a plan formulated, but it also meant that we had already experienced the ‘real thing’ multiple times according to this world’s standards.

However, no matter how thoroughly we prepare, there are limits.

It’s fine if it’s just a residential area. It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial district either. People leaving their homes for a few hours doesn’t create a significant problem for the economy.

Similarly, if a self-employed person can’t operate their business for a few hours, that’s an acceptable loss compared to human lives.

However, a company stopping operation is quite a blow. Whether it’s a small or large enterprise, if they are interconnected, the damage is worse. Compensation measures exist, and the federation claims they will compensate, but compensation is never a panacea.

As a result, in a densely populated area full of towering skyscrapers, evacuation can only be limited.

So far, there hasn’t been an alien capable of collapsing an entire building.

Strictly speaking, we’re dealing with a single criminal with special abilities.

Still, for now, we will clear out places where filming might take place as much as possible, but if an alien starts flying around, that’s a whole different story.

At least a flying alien like a magical girl is a first for me. And this level of destruction to buildings is unprecedented in my memory.

The footage taken from afar clearly captured our figures.

There were limits to silencing the police, and various rumors had been spreading through people who had already formed a good image of us.

“The company has been conducting experiments on earthlings.”

“Perhaps the federation was involved in such actions too.”

“The magical girls escaped from such beings.”

I felt a bit confused as I was strangely at the center of these stories that seemed both right and wrong.

Well, whether accurate or not, it was a good thing that the rumors turned in our favor.

“We will thoroughly audit the Noir Corporation.”

I can’t tell how sincere that was, but that’s what the government announced for now.

The alien in the video had the silhouette of an earthling, another massive explosion had occurred in the lab, and I had become the image of the ‘White Magical Girl.’

At that time, it was easy to push the narrative of terrorists or villains, but they probably couldn’t say that after seeing me, who was fully armed and working alongside the police.

Setting aside the color of the situation, how could it be said that the police were cooperating with terrorists?

“We will clear up the misunderstanding with the magical girls and cooperate with the government for a better future. We promise to provide maximum cooperation as long as the Republic of Korea permits it.”

This announcement came from the representative office of the Eun-ha Federation.

Magical girls and heroes from other countries were all in an uproar because of this.

So far, there has been no indication of whether the company and the federation have really joined forces. However, since the circuits used for combat were also what the ‘Earthling Aliens’ had hanging on their chests, we couldn’t just let it slide without saying a word.

All those heroes and magical girls from other countries were earthlings just like us.

Perhaps both sides made announcements like this as a message to us to cooperate: implying that they could at least target the company.

But—

“There’s no apology, is there? No apology.”

I muttered as I took a big bite out of the hot dog that had been warmed up.

That’s right.

For such reasons, I had no thoughts of cooperating with the two of them just yet.

I have a personality that annoys others in various ways.

If someone has done something wrong, they should tell me directly. There’s so much that can be done without even having to face each other, isn’t there?

Is it really that difficult to say I’m not a terrorist? If they had just said that, I wouldn’t have ended up smashing hammers there last time.

Fortunately, it seemed that those here empathized with my words, so at least I didn’t annoy them further.

…Anyway.

For such reasons, our immediate tasks didn’t change.

It was to somehow torment the current chairman. That was our sole purpose. To clarify that this was still our ultimate goal and to find out what was really happening within it.

At the same time, we had an additional goal concerning the ‘other thing’ we wanted to achieve.

That is, to become the ‘Fourth Force.’

As of now, we didn’t have any significant equipment or facilities. It was definitely someone’s property but just left unused, and we were using it without permission.

We relied on a nearby stream for water since there was no tap, and for electricity, we were just using gadgets running on batteries that were charged using the energy from the circuits.

To give it a bare semblance, we needed to make this place look decent because we didn’t have enough personnel; to appear even somewhat plausible in the eyes of others, we needed various equipment and facilities.

And for those materials, we decided to scavenge from the company.

“We can make it look pretty convincing by pulling circuits off the aliens’ bodies.”

Cherry remarked.

“It would probably be difficult to completely fix the insides or outsides of the buildings. That’s the realm of architecture. But we can make cleaning tools and air conditioners. And also screens that double as situation boards.”

“For something like a screen, we need parts that function as a screen.”

“We can substitute that with a projector. We have hologram technology, so it would suffice.”

Cherry answered me cleanly.

“Of course, we might be able to make a projector with what we currently have, but it would definitely not suffice for use as a ‘situation board.’ Generally, it has to be at least 100 inches, right?”

Cherry had already brought a device containing a map of South Korea.

It seemed Cherry wanted to make this place not just ‘a place that merely looks convincing’ but ‘a place that can genuinely serve as a headquarters.’

I couldn’t comment on that. If they wanted to make it a better place for themselves, I would just follow along.

“…Locating the chairman shouldn’t be too difficult.”

And even James, who had been making a face as if he didn’t want to, eventually acquiesced to our plans.

He probably thought that since he was in such a minority, it wouldn’t even matter if he opposed us, but for now, he indeed helped in laying out the plans.

“The government has stated they will conduct an audit. That means they’ll ultimately summon the chairman for questioning.”

“They might escape to outside the planet.”

“Well, I don’t think a being who couldn’t even kill the former chairman would dare to pull something like that. They might lack power but are very prideful. They also have a keen interest in the immediate gains. In such a situation, if they vacate that position, the real chairman would surely appear and take their place.”

James said with a somewhat blunt expression.

“They might as well invade this country. That’s the worst possible plan, though.”

“…So what will happen then?”

“At first, the company might seem somewhat favorable. After all, they don’t know how many earthling aliens they’ve faced, do they?”

“And then?”

“Perhaps you guys will pop up. By that time, the federation wouldn’t be able to remain idle. Ultimately, their aim is the energy of the people on this planet, but outwardly, they will have to profess justice. You all know that the federation isn’t entirely united, right?”

“What if some of them side with the company?”

“Right now, the federation’s most competent circuit expert has already come over here, furious about your treatment.”

“…”

I had no rebuttal to those words.

Not everyone in the federation is entirely just.

But at least, they maintain some ‘virtue’ compared to the current chairman of the Noir Corporation. For now, that federation still plays the role of government.

“The Earth has already been recognized as a planet inhabited by intelligent life forms since first contact. If they were to turn that around now, other planets would definitely think ‘our stance could be reversed anytime’ as well. I’d rather not say this, but one of the planets that would worry about that the most would likely be our planet.”

Among the aliens, there are beings that look like hamsters, some that resemble bears or dogs, and even those that escape the realm of typical biology, resembling rocks.

Those forms… how to put it, while they’re ‘useful,’ it seems some prefer not to use them from a human perspective.

However, even with such examples, I couldn’t completely wipe away my worries.

Already, even amongst earthlings right here, there are those who don’t treat other earthlings as ‘people.’ No, from East to West, they’ve always existed, so it’s more accurate to say, ‘they still do exist.’

“Well, I suppose it’s still pointless to be too relieved.”

As if reading my thoughts, James shrugged his shoulders.

“Just understand that the sole reason Noir Corporation can exist as a company is that it is based on Earth.”

I couldn’t help but nod to that.

“…Ah, right. And.”

“Another question?”

“This circuit.”

I showed James the circuit on my wrist.

A faint white light was still flowing from the circuit. It was completely different from when I was drifting towards despair before.

“This, what’s going on? Isn’t the structure different?”

“Of course, the structure is different. If it were easy to switch direction just because it’s reversed, there would be no reason for the federation and Noir Corporation to waste time researching each other’s circuits.”

“…Then, what is this?”

“As I said last time, I think it might be the harmony of magic.”

“Isn’t it necessary for circuits to run for magic to work? Are you saying that the direction of the circuit changed due to magic when the circuit isn’t running?”

“…Your hope might have influenced the circuit of another magical girl.”

“My hope.”

“Yes. You already know about resonance, right? It’s possible that the hope-filled Blossom and your hope intertwined to create some magic I am unaware of.”

“That’s not common, is it?”

“Common or not, at least this is my first experience. Generally, circuits are crafted by someone using objects that possess magical power. If they’re not earthlings, they can use magic directly.”

“…”

“…However.”

Seeing me tilt my head, James opened up his stance.

His tone was more cautious than usual.

“However, we have a hypothesis we established… or rather, the former chairman established a hypothesis.”

“A hypothesis?”

“Why despair and hope, of all emotions? It is possible to make the circuits move weakly with just one emotion, but to create ‘meaningful energy,’ you need a complex emotion of despair and hope.”

James hesitated for a while, seemingly pondering whether he should voice this, and then slowly continued.

“That’s why this hypothesis came about: ‘Despair and hope are merely differences in direction.’”

“…A difference in direction.”

“Yes. The more intense the emotion, the more it would rotate the circuit, meaning the situations necessary to create the strongest emotion might differ only in direction, while their essence could be similar.”

Despair is an emotion that infinitely falls.

Yet, the circuit craves an ‘endless despair.’ If all those feeling despair completely give up and refuse to experience further despair, the circuits will stop turning.

One must endure and absolutely not give up even while feeling despair to meaningfully utilize the circuits. Just like me.

Conversely, the same applies to hope.

Only those who can reach out towards the thin beam of light descending from afar can move the circuits.

Perhaps, the fact that all those who can move the circuits in our country are magical ‘girls’ and that they all lived comfortably in their own homes might hold some connection.

“…Huh.”

Hearing that, I felt strangely empty and let my shoulders slump.

So… if what James said is true, it means I had talent from the very beginning.

I don’t know what kind of existence threw me here. But that being didn’t just toss me here aimlessly.

Maybe they empowered me in some way? Like giving me a talent or something.

Or was it because I had talent that I was thrown in here?

I’m not quite sure. I’ve never actually met them or talked to them.

But one thing is for sure.

…Even with such talent, I could not believe in myself.

I only ever envied Ha-yoon, and my thoughts were only about winning by going in the opposite direction.

“How unexpected,” I said, exhaling deeply.

James didn’t bother to reply to that.

*

Last time, I slept outside the tent, but still, the tent remained my room.

It was getting too warm under the influence of my winter sleeping bag. I was gradually removing some of the plastic from inside.

To be honest, I could have just gone outside to sleep, but whether I slept outside or not, Ha-yoon would always stick to my side.

And I thought it would be awkward to show such a scene to the other kids.

In the end, I chose to hide inside the tent, and Ha-yoon kept following me.

In this situation, I couldn’t refuse. Refusing now would only exacerbate the misunderstanding.

“…”

“What are you thinking about?”

Ha-yoon always lay looking at me so naturally, which meant I always lay with my back towards her.

Facing each other was obviously not a viable action.

I had done that often with Ji-hye, but she was my sister after all. Furthermore, lying face to face in this small space felt a bit strange.

If I lay looking at the ceiling, Ha-yoon would naturally rest her cheek on my shoulder.

I thought it was a somewhat uncomfortable position, but it seemed Ha-yoon had no intention of letting go.

And resting her cheek on my shoulder also meant her face might barely graze a specific area of mine that jutted out. Specifically, she would be looking down at that area.

Moreover, since she was close, she ended up hugging my waist, and sometimes even placed her legs on my thighs.

I knew that wasn’t intentional. If I lay directly, the already cramped tent would feel even tighter, and we naturally had to get closer to secure room.

If I fell asleep and moved my body, such positions would be inevitable.

…It seemed somewhat similar outside the tent, yet, regardless, that was how it was.

So, I always lay with my back to Ha-yoon.

Then, Ha-yoon naturally hugged me from behind.

Her arms entwined around my belly, and I could feel her body gently pressed against my back.

Sometimes her forehead would touch, and at other times, it would be her cheek.

However, it sometimes felt too comfortable.

As long as I didn’t look at her face, the uncomfortable feelings melted away.

“Ji-eun.”

“…Yeah.”

“What are you thinking about?”

When I didn’t respond at all, Ha-yoon gently asked again.

I had nothing to say.

My jealousy of Ha-yoon was all on my own. I had the ability to reach a similar position from the very beginning, yet I had erratically made everything into this situation.

There was no way to voice such things to Ha-yoon.

Maybe someday James will spill it all. Somehow, I feel like Ha-yoon wouldn’t be too disappointed to hear it… but, who knows, that’s just my thought. Just like I’ve been living as the ‘Black Magical Girl’ or ‘Combatant,’ I might just be rationalizing for myself.

So, for now, I didn’t want to speak of it.

No, if possible, I wanted to continue not speaking of it in the future.

This was the result of figuring things out and making sense of them all by myself.

“…If you have something on your mind, let me know.”

In the end, Ha-yoon took a step back as well.

“No matter what you’re thinking, I’ll also think to solve it together.”

Ha-yoon’s affection was always dazzling.

It was I who was envious of that affection and spiraled into strange directions.

…A difference in direction, they called it.

Perhaps the direction I first grabbed was simply the wrong one.

Now that I’ve found the right direction, can I even turn back?

It’s funny to say this when I thought that before, but…

Isn’t it too late to go back?

I had dragged Ha-yoon into my twisted feelings, hadn’t I?

No, of course, I did.

If that’s the case, I also had the duty to revert it back to its original state.

“…”

With my eyes closed, I clenched my fist tightly, forcing myself to sleep.

 

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