READ NOVEL ONLINE Do you know about the insect called the Asian giant hornet?
A motorcycle in the mountains.
A drone in the city.
With various nicknames, it’s undoubtedly the apex predator in the insect world.
However, even a physical monster like this insect has its weaknesses…
That is, the fire and heat that would fry its body to a crisp.
In other words, my compatibility with this monster is overwhelmingly in my favor.
“What happens when a bug-type goes up against a fire type?”
“Ty… type?”
“Such a thing exists.”
Leaving behind the unfortunate creature that couldn’t even grasp the sophisticated joke, I twisted the hand that was gripping its horn and completely flipped the insect monster into the air.
“Ugh!”
“Ahhh!”
A short scream echoed.
Typically, creatures like this armored bug have their legs horizontal.
And since they’re not structured for easy rotation, once flipped, they struggle to return to their original position.
“Wh-what are you doing?!”
And generally, these insects…
Their belly is their weak point.
I almost said “Siyeon” but shook my head, properly calling out to Moon instead.
“Moon, could you freeze its back in this position?”
“Uh, got it.”
Siyeon, inching toward the wriggling insect legs, hesitated a bit.
It certainly looked pretty gross to girls.
But boys might actually cheer!
An insect monster that combines a stag beetle, a rhinoceros beetle, and a mantis? Impossible to resist.
Anyway, Siyeon approached the side of the laid-down monster and aimed her wand at its flapping wings.
“Moon Shower—!”
“Kaaak—!”
The creature’s wings and back, firmly frozen to the ground.
With a short scream, it was caught in the freezing grip of its body.
Here, Siyeon’s work was done.
Just before leaving home, her eyes were glued to the computer.
Since she’d have nothing more to do, she waved her hand dismissively.
“I’m done; I’m going back to watch cartoons.”
“Okay!”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Siyeon soared into the sky.
She must have really wanted to watch cartoons.
“Ugh, ugh!”
The monster’s resistance was not over yet.
Its desperate praying mantis-like claw arms flailed, but being flipped over and its wings sealed, it could do nothing.
I briefly touched my palm to the heart decoration on my staff.
A short sound, similar to sizzling meat, echoed nearby.
Not too hot by the standard of a supreme physical being, but I quickly pulled my hand away to heighten its fear and despair.
“Whoa, that’s hot.”
“You, you little bastard, you don’t mean to…?”
“Correct!”
With the tone often heard in various videos, I sat atop the soft-looking belly of the insect, clearly marked with segments.
“Th-th-that… that hurts—!”
The fearful voice drenched in terror and despair filled me with joy.
Feeling the heat of the heart decoration nearing, I slowly brought it closer to the belly, as if inscribing my love on it.
The sound echoed as if I had placed meat on a searing hot grill.
“Uraah—!”
“Mmm, the smell—”
Though not as good as grilled pork, the aroma of something getting charred was quite savory.
They say people used to enjoy fried grasshoppers back in the day, so I figured if it smelled like this, anything would be edible.
As the flailing intensified, I lifted my staff slightly.
The heart-shaped mark was blackened, and the belly was white, clearly leaving a dark stain.
“Mmm! Satisfying, very satisfying.”
“Huuh, huuh…”
The insect monster’s belly and chest swelled and deflated repeatedly.
The shaking mantis legs brought forth the realization of how significant heat can be as a source of pain for insects.
Honeybees can catch giant hornets by surrounding them and raising their internal temperature to kill them; that’s what happened.
“If it goes down this easily with just one shot, that’s a bit disappointing.”
“Pl… please stop…”
“I’ll roast you nice and slow; if you hate it, just don’t come back here, okay?”
Ignoring the monster’s pleas, I gradually shifted my grip on my wand to change its mode.
After about three turns, short bursts of flame shot out from the tip of the heart decoration like a flamethrower.
They even kill hornets like this in videos.
“Huahhhh—!”
What felt like hours to the monster passed in mere minutes.
It curled inwards completely, its legs shriveled up, and began to gradually disperse into sparkling powder.
By the way, there was something curious in what it just said.
[I’ve heard plenty about you from the others!]
“Hmm…”
I muttered, pondering the emerging question, and watched until the monster completely scattered before soaring into the sky.
If it had heard enough from the others, then that meant this guy must have a specific gathering place somewhere.
Close to zero percent revisit rate of monsters in our area.
Looking at the revisit rate due to fear, I had some idea, but hearing this fact directly confirmed it.
So, if monsters have a place to gather…
Would getting rid of that place mean they wouldn’t appear anymore?
‘Whatever, why am I even thinking about this…’
I let go of the deepening thoughts and shrugged it off.
Once again, this world is half-baked.
A world where girls appearing as elementary school students use some incomprehensible power to dispatch monsters that no magical girl can defeat.
Even if the logic doesn’t add up, there’s really nothing to say about it.
After monsters disappear, whether they head to a training center, a gathering spot, or whatever doesn’t really matter, right?
Thinking deeply is pointless, definitely a waste.
“Release.”
Flying back to my neighborhood, I arrived at a different apartment rooftop near my own.
I recited the familiar transformation undo phrase while patting my shoulder.
Magical girls must change their landing spots each time to avoid being identified by ordinary people.
Though there’s supposed to be some rule among magical girls, honestly, it feels practically non-existent.
“Ugh, sore.”
As the fatigue from undoing my transformation hit me all at once, I grasped my shoulder with the hand I just tapped and rolled my neck to loosen it up.
With a cute little crack, I felt a short burst of pleasure.
Is this the kind of sound a child in elementary school would make…?
Anyway, I used the elevator downstairs to head to our apartment.
“Is Mari home? Did it go well?”
“Yeah, as usual.”
“Shining, magical power—!”
The sounds from the computer animation echoed.
The lively, youthful voice of the character overlapped with Siyeon’s voice.
The voice actor for that character is amazing.
Meanwhile, I couldn’t even manage to imitate them.
Well, it pays well, so I guess it can’t be helped.
There’s no real difference between a magical girl and a voice actor.
It’s just a difference in whether they have real powers or not, I thought.
Then, I lay on my bed, turned on my smartphone, and naturally, my fingers went towards the delivery app.
Magical girls and voice actors both need to eat and live, right?
“Siyeon, is there anything you want to eat?”
“Um….”
Short and simple question, but it was followed by a lengthy contemplative hum.
“Anything!”
That indecision led to a result of the vague answer: ‘anything.’
It was a response that relinquished the decision-making power to me.
But still, it wouldn’t be right to order something that kids wouldn’t want to eat.
‘Anything, anything…’
With too many choices, it only made things harder.
It’s not like I could allow anything spicy or raw fish on the list with Siyeon involved.
Why not order both?
The delivery fee would double, though!
‘Hmmm…’
Ten minutes went by without making a decision, endlessly scrolling with my thumb.
Was there really so little food suitable for kids?
After much deliberation, I finally chose a safe, if not unknown, pork cutlet.
The kind that comes with a separate container of sauce tailored for kids’ tastes.
I ordered four.
Why? Because I must eat something before heading to school tomorrow.
Out of the two cutlet boxes delivered, I saved one for breakfast and devoured the other two for dinner.
After finishing my meal, it was 9 PM—the time for good kids to sleep.
The comfort of lying down without earplugs was indescribably delightful.
“…!! -!”
“-!! -!!”
Voices of an agitated man and woman came through the curtain covering the balcony.
Curious about the sounds of what seemed like a fight, I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
Before anything, I grabbed my smartphone, opened one eye, and pressed a button.
The time was 5 AM.
It’s an awkward time to sleep again and even more so to wake up.
Being careful so Siyeon wouldn’t hear me, I descended cautiously from the bed’s stairs, slipped on kid-sized slippers, and carefully opened the curtain to step onto the balcony.
Though summer was approaching, a chilly early morning breeze blew.
Once I stepped onto the balcony, the muffled sounds of the fight beyond the curtain began to take form.
“Is this your fucking front yard, you crazy bitch!? If you feel sorry for the furry wheelies, take them home with you!”
“What’s wrong with feeding cats! What’s so uncomfortable about it!”
It seemed like the person who had just put up that warning sign.
A woman in a tank top and shorts from upstairs was having a verbal spat with a man in front of the apartment.
As expected, things started to escalate.
How exciting it was to witness this interesting scene!
‘What a jackpot.’
Suddenly, I had zero regrets about being awake at 5 AM.
The unyielding verbal exchange between the woman and the man made my heart race.
Of course, I hoped the man would win.
“Oh really?! Then if any of the cars here get scratched, we can charge it all to you! Where do you live, you crazy bitch? Don’t say you don’t live here, huh? I saw you go into Building 105!”
“Why do you have to be so heartless?!”
“You have too much compassion to leave cat food out that attracts maggots and stinks?! Did your mother teach you that? Gathering stray kittens around and bothering the neighbors!”
“……”
The woman became silent, unable to interject amidst the barrage of insults.
Maybe she didn’t expect her mother to be insulted?
Seizing the opportunity, the man shouted even louder.
“Tell me where you live, you crazy bitch!”
“Fine! I won’t tell you! It’s not like you need to know!”
This concluded with the woman escaping, unable to contain herself in frustration.
“Damn…”
A gasp of admiration slipped out of my mouth without realizing it.
From the balcony, I clapped silently, sending unspoken admiration and respect his way.
Someone like that, defeating monsters that even magical girls can’t, is truly a hero of this age.