Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter 19. Association – ???

“What is this?”

“It’s rice.”

“To me, it looks like ramen.”

“In this context, rice means a meal—not just food!”

What a load of nonsense.

“Bachaoo9”

“None left!”

Well, as long as it fills the belly, who cares? A student might not be good at cooking. She usually survives on ramen and instant food, so this isn’t much different. She probably boiled a huge pot of ramen all at once to save time. That must be it. It has to be.

“Where’s the rice…?”

Unho stared longingly at the ramen as if he was hoping for real rice after a long time.

It’s not my fault. Who could’ve guessed she would boil ramen thinking it was rice?

“Let’s feed Abin later; let’s eat first.”

My words served as a signal, and each of us filled our bowls with ramen. Greasy, red broth with noodles that would snap even if you just lifted them. It looked bad, but how could ramen be ruined? You just throw in the noodles after boiling water.

Looking at those sagging noodles, I figured chopsticks wouldn’t work, so I scooped up the soup and spooned it into my mouth. The first thing I tasted was blandness, followed by the punch of powdered ramen spice floating on top, and the horrible texture of the gooey noodles that wouldn’t dissolve in water.

This isn’t right.

Sure, I’ve eaten some pretty awful stuff in the war, but nothing like this. Only deliberately cruel cooking could be compared to this monstrosity.

Unho was using magic to slurp down the noodles, but even she frowned as if thinking, “What is this?” The only ones eating diligently were the expressionless Lin and Baek Sihyeon. Well, they probably thought it was fine since they made it themselves, right? I pondered for a moment on how to navigate this mess. Should I flip the table yelling “What is this rice?” Should I just close my eyes and shovel it in? Would fleeing under the pretense of having no appetite even work?

Thoughts swirled in my head, and Unho’s gaze got increasingly pitiful.

Beeep! Clank.

The sound of entering a password and a door opening.

“I’m backkk…”

A breathy voice announced Han Abin’s return.

This was an opportunity.

A golden chance to clear this hideous mess off the table. My body moved quickly as I dashed to the entrance. As a teacher who cares for his student, I should happily welcome her after a tough training session, right?

“You’re back.”

She was collapsed in the entrance, completely exhausted and drenched in sweat, but her transformation hadn’t worn off. It looked like she really just ran 150km, but her mana hadn’t run out, keeping her transformation intact.

With her drained mana, she had maintained her transformation for 8 hours. Whether it was due to excellent mana efficiency or she just had a natural talent for mana control, it was still a talent in its own right.

It deserved praise, but there was something more pressing at the moment, so I pushed that thought aside for later.

“First, wash up and eat. Sihyeon made ramen.”

“Ramen…?”

Han Abin gasped, seemingly understanding my words regarding the ramen.

“Is ramen really ideal after a run? What do you want to eat?”

“No, if Sihyeon prepared it, ramen is fine… Gah!”

Close your mouth and say what you want. Quickly. I shot her a gentle killing intent. I had the perfect excuse to get rid of that disgusting stuff right in front of me; I couldn’t let it slip away. That ramen is inedible.

Desperately moving my mouth to convey my message; I wasn’t sure if it got through.

“Meat…”

“Right. After exercising, you need some nutrition.”

I didn’t expect meat, but anything is better than that monstrosity.

“Wash up, and I’ll grill the meat.”

Perhaps it was my intimidating aura, but Abin answered in a weak voice in return. There’s bound to be meat in the refrigerator. I can’t be sure since I only rummaged through it early in the morning, but the Association must have stocked ingredients so there’s bound to be some meat.

After tossing the collapsed Abin into the bath, I smiled and returned to the dining area.

“The ramen’s all soggy now.”

Baek Sihyeon, sporting a sulky expression, remarked, but honestly, my feelings of relief from being able to dispose of that hideous mess were all that mattered to me.

“Abin wanted meat.”

“What about my ramen?”

“Honestly, would someone who just came back from exercising want greasy, hot ramen?”

“Meat’s greasy and hot too.”

Not the same!

…My excuse does sound flimsy.

“What kind of exercise did Abin do?”

Fortunately, my flimsy excuse seemed to land well enough to get a proper question in return.

“Ran 150km.”

“More like 15km, right?”

“150km. All the way around Seoul.”

At my words, Sihyeon seemed shocked, and her expression was a bit different.

“Is that even possible?”

“An hero’s capable of it. You’d probably manage it in under an hour.”

I offered some light advice to Baek Sihyeon, who seemed to hesitate in disbelief.

“Forget the mindset of a regular human before becoming a hero. You all have transcended ordinary humans, and can now do things that were once impossible.”

While I answered brightly, I guessed she wouldn’t really understand. She didn’t yet realize the power she possessed.

Even if you run with all your might, you don’t see speed meters like in a car, and swinging your fist doesn’t net points like some arcade game.

Running or throwing punches feel like completely normal actions, and just like how things were back in the days before becoming a hero, you wouldn’t be able to gauge how much stronger you’ve gotten.

If left unchecked, it would soon become second nature.

As long as she got used to it before killing a human, that’s what matters.

“Well, it must’ve been a bit tough for Abin, since that girl has the lowest tier of physical enhancement abilities.”

“How long did it take?”

“Running without breaks, probably around 8 hours.”

“And food?”

“I wouldn’t know, but I doubt she ate anything.”

Only then did Sihyeon, pushing away the stinking mess, realize the severity of the situation.

“Then we really have to feed her.”

“That’s why it’s meat.”

Things seemed to line up. If I could just get rid of that hideous food, everything would be perfect.

“Then, as much as it pains me, ramen is going to be dessert.”

“By that point, it’ll already be too soggy to eat.”

I didn’t know why she was so obsessed with that mess, but I really wished she’d just toss it out. There was a brief stare-off, but in the end, the monstrosity ended up in my hands, flying into the waste bin.

A pot covered in pitch-black, burnt ramen spice and dough stuck to the bottom—I prayed my eyes were mistaken.

As I tried to salvage the damaged pot, a familiar smell wafted up my nostrils. The smell I often caught after surgery in a field hospital—it was the stench of disinfectant.

“How was the bathroom?”

“Okay, it had good hot water.”

A somewhat high-pitched voice.

Was Abin always this high-pitched?

Her formerly child-like voice had taken on a slightly risen pitch.

I turned my head towards the direction of the voice, away from the rusted pot.

A short brown bob and a slightly overgrown pink head of hair, a petite magical girl was nowhere to be found, replaced by a mature woman in the dining area.

“You’ve really had a big change in your transformation.”

“When I first transformed, at least my body was similar…”

Her voice rose a little, but her personality still shined through in her uncertain tone.

“Is this the case of divergence over time? It used to be more common.”

Back in the day, many heroes worked for a long time.

“What about the meat?”

“Sihyeon is grilling it.”

“…Is that charcoal? What do you mean?”

What is she talking about? Clearly, they were given an electric grill. Even if they turned ramen into a monstrosity, how could they char the meat?

At the moment I turned to look, I couldn’t believe what I saw.

Meat transformed into charcoal, blackened meat grease, and smoke wafting in all directions—precious meat was burning to a crisp.

“So, you grill it until it’s tender, about the size of your palm…”

“Meat! Meat is Poyo!”

While staring at her smartphone, Baek Sihyeon was poking the meat. Beside her was a fluffy white figure trying to transform the charcoal back into meat.

Sihyeon, what you’re searching for is steak—not grilled meat.

Furthermore, it’s already turned to charcoal and won’t even become tender.

I snatched the tongs away from Baek Sihyeon, feeling an indescribable sensation.

“It’s not done yet! You need to grill meat until it’s crisp!”

She might’ve heard something about grilling, but that was the only information I got from her. Even if that info happened to be right, what was sitting there wasn’t even close to being crisp.

In the end, leaving the rusted pot alone, I took it upon myself to grill the meat. Abin had offered to do it, but after that intense training session she went through, I felt like it was my duty.

“You need to grill meat until it’s crispy.”

Though I said that, Baek Sihyeon was too busy shoving her mouth full of perfectly cooked meat.

And beside her was a cheerful, white creature, burying its face into the rice.

During this chaotic dinner hour, an unspoken exchange happened between Han Abin and me.

I understood why I had been so fixated on throwing that ramen away.

Abin nodded, and I nodded back.

Even if it meant being a teacher that cooks, I would never let Baek Sihyeon touch the stove. I’d rather die than let anyone eat that kind of food every day.

Racing through the dark night, the particles of the Otherworld’s power spread behind me, and the night that always sheltered me—just like every other night.

The only thing illuminating the darkness was the light from the smartphone in my hand, assuring me I wasn’t being swallowed by shadows.

I really need to get a disguise monster, too.

Ensuring my students were asleep, I had to get back as quickly as I could to avoid being detected.

I needed a disguise monster moving forward, too.

Thinking this through, I looked back at my smartphone, reflecting the action report of my target for today, Taejoon Kim.

When I first received that information, I couldn’t believe it, so I glanced away for a moment, but the details written there hadn’t changed.

“Why is the spokesperson of the Association living in the dormitories of the Association?”

According to the information gathered by the Danger Rifle, he reportedly resides within the dormitories of the Association.

If he were a low-level civil servant, it wouldn’t be strange, but how could a high-ranking official like a spokesperson live in a dormitory? The dorms aren’t that great.

I knew well from my time working at the Association what it was like living in a dorm. I had to leave after some incident, but still…

I considered the possibility that the dorms had suddenly improved while I was away, but knowing the Association’s frugal nature, that seemed unlikely.

Thinking he must be using a government residence somewhere, I assumed it would instead be one located on Association grounds, not a dormitory. Things had started going awry from the start.

Living in a cramped dormitory with terrible soundproofing? If that’s the case, a disturbance would likely happen quickly. I thought of just wrapping up with some interrogations on who ordered what, but given the situation, I might have to go in for a kidnapping.

As I re-established my plans, the towering buildings came into view.

Tall buildings in the heart of Seoul.

Not just one, but several buildings intertwined to form a black tower—a last bastion of humanity built to sense and prevent incursions from the Otherworld.

Among them was the Korean branch of the Association, which oversaw Southeast Asia—it drew near.

The Association’s buildings shone brightly even in the dead of night, fulfilling their duty to protect humanity and uphold the rights of heroes.

When the light from the Association touched my body, it felt as if it were chastising me, illuminating my being.

The Association is justice, and hadn’t you been striving for that? Yet you plan to raid the Association for your own selfish reasons.

Just by touching the light from the Association, it felt like a voice resonated in my mind. The feelings I harbored towards the Association made me sensitive to such a voice.

“I don’t intend to take a hostile stance against the Association.”

The existence of the Association is needed.

For humanity.

For Awakeners.

“I just intend to uphold justice.”

To maintain the ideals and justice that everyone built together through the Association, I needed to cut away the parts that went astray.

Even with no one to hear my words, I still muttered them to myself. The dark particles gradually shrouded the light, and I slipped back into the darkness once more.

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