The Strongest, but the Genre Is Magical Girl

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Avoiding the rough interrogation, the Interpreter Uncle mumbled it off as a joke.

Considering how he even dodged eye contact, it seemed there was a hint of truth in his words.

In any case, while taking jokes lightly, I wandered around taking photos of the wheelhouse and engine room…

I even poked my head into the adults’ social space, the bar, filled with the strong scent of alcohol.

It was quite a sight to see elementary school kids with tiny backsides unable to fill the round chairs meant for hefty uncles.

Beside them, adults who looked like interpreters seemed to be acting like mischievous parents trying to early educate their kids about drinking.

By the way, the staff didn’t even try to stop us minors from coming in.

It might be that they had a hard time guessing our real ages based on our transformed appearances.

In this atmosphere, was it even possible to casually sip on some alcohol…?

“Aren’t you still a minor?”

“Yes.”

I thought that, but I was subtly restrained by the Interpreter Uncle’s question.

A bar lined with bottles of alcohol, the names of which I didn’t even recognize.

I didn’t want to have a stomach-churning experience by gulping down drinks just because I was caught up in the mood, so I captured it all in my eyes and camera.

On this aimless monster exploration trip, it turned into a trip to the North Pole like a regular tourist on the icebreaker.

The job wrapped up quickly, but apparently, there was no early return planned.

Other countries’ magical girls didn’t seem dissatisfied either, enjoying the luxurious life aboard the icebreaker to the fullest.

Then, at some point, their actions became bolder…

Having taken plenty of photos, they took off their transformations in their rooms and cozied up beneath their blankets when there was a loud knock on the door.

When I confirmed it was the Interpreter Uncle and opened the door, I received some unbelievable news.

“Excuse me? What are the magical girls planning to do?”

“Oh, they’re looking for someone to touch a polar bear’s paw…”

“Have they lost their minds?”

While it wasn’t intentional, I had encouraged them to relax and take it easy in the warm room, and now it seemed like they were at a loss for what to do.

Now wanting to touch the jelly of a polar bear that could easily tear apart a weak monster, what kind of wind was blowing?

Even the interpreters from various countries seemed to be quite tipsy, with some wanting to join in when the bear was being subdued to touch its paw.

It would end up with someone getting their head smashed from a paw strike and turning into a cushion merchandise before they came to their senses.

Polar bears can rip a person apart.

“XXX X XXXX XXXX XX!”

“Let’s go catch the polar bear!”

In particular, a Chinese magical girl who seemed to be either a golden girl or boy was especially enthusiastic, treating the polar bear like it was merely a panda.

Completely forgetting the mishap from the first day, she was recruiting magical girls here and there as if it were the day to visit an amusement park.

Many magical girls, regardless of nationality, teamed up on that day, saying let’s touch the polar bear’s paw.

As if by fate, we got to meet a polar bear near the ice that the icebreaker was slicing through…

“Whoa!”

“Eek—!”

Thus, I witnessed the polar bear’s front paw slap that I had only heard about before.

You know, in cartoons or movies, you sometimes see people flying with some psychic power or something, right?

I never thought it could really happen; bears are indeed something else.

If I weren’t transformed, just like a grape might pop, my head would have been taken off, but…

Fortunately, without such a horrific bloodbath, a few magical girls charged energetically, managing to subdue the polar bear.

Like a picture with its neck and limbs tied up, the polar bear was forcibly laid down and subdued.

Though it had never lost to anyone in terms of strength, it was having a rare experience.

Despite its overflow of power, it seemed to realize it couldn’t keep struggling, as I felt it gradually relaxing its strength.

That would be my first and last chance to touch the polar bear jelly.

‘It’s not exactly squishy.’

It felt more like the surface of a bumpy basketball than jelly.

In any case, since what remained was just the photos, I took a snap of the subdued polar bear.

With the ambitious plan of touching the polar bear’s paw somehow concluded, it was lunchtime.

Lying in the room, I organized the photos to send to Siyeon…

It had just turned morning in Korean time.

Ding! A message arrived.

[Ah]

[So that’s what happened]

Early in the morning, there was no question about who the sender of the message was; it was definitely her.

Tap, tap, tap! My fingers quickly moved to respond to the late reply from a friend and family.

Closing one sleepy eye while still keeping the other open, I swiftly tapped away in the dark room.

Click, the light switch was turned on by her mascot’s beak, illuminating the dim space.

“I have to turn on the light; it’ll ruin my eyesight.”

“Thank you…”

With the sleepy tone of a morning voice, I thanked Baemi while keeping my eyes barely open, fixated on the screen.

Yesterday morning, Mari, who hadn’t been sending replies despite my messages.

For some reason, upon realizing the reason, I sent a message filled with understanding.

Though it was said that the job was done, when would we be coming back?

To receive the answer I hadn’t heard yesterday, I sent the same message I’d sent yesterday morning again.

[Then when are you coming back?]

One second after sending the message, I saw the numbers rapidly disappearing.

I secretly hoped for a response like ‘Maybe tomorrow or the day after.’

[No early return.]

[Looks like it’ll go according to schedule.]

“Ah…”

With a sigh escaping my lips at the message I received back from Mari.

Sulking, I slammed my puffy winter blanket on the tatami mat.

I had finished all the japchae and curry, leaving only a few sausages and quail eggs that seemed tedious to prepare.

What should I eat for breakfast again?

“Is Mari coming back early?”

“She said she’ll return according to the schedule…”

Taking a deep breath and releasing the air I had stored in my cheeks, I replied in a deflated tone to Baemi’s question.

Though I was hungry, nothing came to mind as breakfast ideas.

Should I fry some egg rice with sausages?

Or should I just draw until I get hungry?

If such troubles continued every day, the emptiness in the house felt overwhelming.

Just then, a message notification broke the silence.

Did I have a message to send? Just as I was about to get up from the bed, I glanced at my smartphone.

[(I sent 9 photos.)]

[The polar bear’s paw was hard.]

In the photos Mari sent, young girls were holding onto the polar bear as if they found some interesting toy, all smiling brightly.

They must all be magical girls too, right?

The polar bear’s expression looked comically exasperated.

In addition, there were also photos of delicious-looking food and what appeared to be the navigation deck of the ship.

True to her nature of saying, “Photos are all that’s left when traveling,” it seemed that Mari was taking many pictures.

“Ha-ha.”

I started to write a message saying I wished I could go too.

But then I erased it with my finger tapping repeatedly on the same spot, reasoning that if I ever said such a thing, Mari would surely respond with, ‘Then let’s go again sometime!’

So I just chuckled over the polar bear photos.

How did she manage to take such perfectly timed shots?

By the way, looking at the food photos that Mari sent made me hungry.

It was morning, but should I just order something to eat…?

Yet again, nothing specific came to mind; I found myself in a dilemma.

In the end, I decided to leave the decision to someone else.

“Baemi, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Me? Hmm…”

Nodding slightly in the air, Baemi spun around in circles.

It seemed she too was equal parts puzzled by the sudden question, circling around in place.

I wondered if she wouldn’t get dizzy doing that.

“Wouldn’t a lunchbox be good at this time?”

The contemplative groan kept flowing from Baemi before a conclusion eventually popped out.

For breakfast, many delivery places probably hadn’t opened yet, so how about a lunchbox?

Oh right, since it’s just 8 AM now, chicken places probably aren’t open yet.

“Right, what should we eat…?”

As I clicked the lunchbox category on the delivery app, a wide range of delivery restaurants popped up.

Though lunchboxes are perfect for an early breakfast, many places didn’t even open until 8:30 or 9.

Even after settling on a restaurant, the indecision continued.

Chicken mayo, kimchi stir-fry rice, pork cutlet, shrimp tempura, tteokgalbi, beef bulgogi, spam, dakgalbi, curry donkatsu.

Just as I finally decided on a lunchbox place, it turned into another series of choices.

The types of lunchboxes varied tremendously.

Should I eat this or that? The decision was exceedingly tough.

‘What should I eat…?’

After nearly 20 minutes of deliberation, I settled on curry with pork cutlet and assorted side dishes that Baemi could eat.

That would solve breakfast.

With nothing to do until the food arrived, I plopped down in front of the computer and started drawing.

Since Mari was in the Arctic, I thought I’d draw a character using ice today.

With a swish, the pen glided across the page, forming the character.

The academy teachers told us to start with a circle when drawing characters and to sketch face contours or guidelines for eye placement, but…

It felt like studying if I followed exactly as they said, so I just drew freely as I pleased.

Twenty minutes had passed since I earnestly stuck to my chair and began drawing when the doorbell rang.

“I’m here!”

Regardless of whether Mari was around or not, Siyeon was doing quite well.