episode_0028

Arin’s surprised face was truly adorable.

Hmm, words like “adorable” don’t even begin to describe it.

I don’t think anyone would call me abnormal for wanting to see more of that expression.

Yeah, I’m sure everyone in the world would say the same.

That’s how cute it was.

To be surprised by just this much.

My body still wasn’t fully loosened up, so I just lightly moved my body…

Look. The color of the beam that should have originally come out is orange instead of its usual color.

And, it should have been fired as an output that shouldn’t leave any residue.

I’ve really weakened.

Blanc seems to have caught on to that.

She’s looking at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

It’s a bit unsettling to see her lost in memories for a moment and then starting to analyze me.

How weakened I am, how much my output has decreased, and what my preparation speed is…

Well, that’s a bit awkward.

I’ve revealed to the enemy that I’ve weakened. In the end.

Oh, really.

Anyway, setting that aside. I came to show Arin a demonstration.

“Um, do you have more mannequins? There are a few more demonstrations I need to do in the future.”

“Yeah, there are plenty over there, so Arin will bring them.”

Arin asks Blanc with a trembling gaze when Blanc mentions her name.

“M-Me… bring the mannequins… Y-Yes!”

Hmm, she seems surprised to the point of being scared.

I should probably help her relax a bit.

“Arin, I have no intention of hurting you. Do you trust me?”

“Y-Yes! Of course, I trust you, Vina unni…!”

Arin answers with a trembling voice, taken aback by my sudden question.

“Why are you so scared, Arin?”

“Ah, n-no. I’m not scared!”

“Haha… It seems like you’re still a bit tense. Just a moment.”

I pause my flight for a moment, grab my weapons from the box, and fly back up.

The next weapon I wanted to show was my rifle.

Yes, it’s a custom weapon.

Actually, I used this more when I didn’t have a tail.

But since I got a tail, I just carried it around for show.

Dr. Park made it as lightweight as possible for me to carry around easily.

Well, being a monster, I don’t mind carrying something heavy at all.

Anyway, I infuse my magic into this custom rifle.

When I finish infusing my magic slowly and there’s no sign of it taking in any more, that’s when I’m ready.

There are all sorts of functions when using magic on a rifle.

For now, it’s just a regular rifle.

“Then I’ll shoot.”

Bang—

As expected, the bullet pierced the mannequin’s chest accurately.

“Next, I’ll fire in rapid succession.”

When firing in rapid succession, the bullet spread is important.

The hazy smoke clears, revealing the mannequin with a hole in its chest.

There was a large hole in the mannequin’s chest.

“Ah, my skills have really deteriorated a lot.”

“V-Vina unni…?”

“Yes, Arin. What is it?”

“Uh, wh-what…?”

“Why are you acting like that?”

“Y-You’re saying my skills have deteriorated this much?”

“Yes, ideally, the hole should be smaller than this.”

“Wh-what? Uh?”

Arin was busy spouting strange words like a broken doll.

I don’t know why.

Then, I focus slightly on the mannequin.

A slight leap for close-range movement.

To an ordinary person, it might look like teleportation.

But to a magical girl like Blanc, it’s nothing special.

Arriving in front of the mannequin, I plunge the dagger I had reversed in my arms into its neck,

Then its abdomen.

And then I pull it out, infuse it with magic,

And slice off the mannequin’s neck.

The head flies to the end of the wall.

Well, the mannequins here were all created with the assumption that they would fight magical girls.

Easily broken, is that a flaw?

“Hey, Arin. This isn’t ordinary, is it? What do you think?”

I asked Arin, who was still staring at the decapitated mannequin, lost in thought.

As soon as she realized I was calling her, she panicked and replied.

“B-Blanc unnie…! I-I’m sorry! I judged too hastily! Please spare me!”

“Sigh…”

Approaching the startled Arin, she trembled and hid behind Blanc.

Hmm, what to say.

Well, Blanc is also capable of handling this level of situation lightly, but why do I feel that way first?

Arin, trembling behind Blanc, apologizing to me for her mistake.

“I-I’m sorry…! I’ve been too arrogant until now! I thought you, Blanc unnie, were weak because you’re an old villain…! P-please spare me! P-please? Please…”

Seeing her cower in fear like that, I really want to tease her.

Ah, my bad habit seems to be resurfacing.

When I attacked the amusement park to extract energy from civilians, I stopped the roller coaster at the very top and teased the children there to absorb their fear energy…

Confirming a way to instill fear and executing it, the thrill of obtaining that fear.

The slight feeling of becoming lighter, easier to move in that thrill almost made me addicted.

I stopped indulging in that thrill because I thought it could ruin the boss’s grand plan, but…

Well, I’ve stopped it now.

Seeing Arin like this… makes me want to try it once because she’s so cute.

The aura of darkness, can I emit it again?

“…Arin, did you really think that…?”

“E-EEK?!”

Ah, it seems so.

Blanc’s gaze towards me changed slightly more than towards Arin.

Well, she quickly realized what I was about to do and returned to her original gaze.

“Arin, I really cherish you, but when I hear such stories…”

“P-please… spare me…”

“I want to escape from the confinement of these magical girls…? With just two magical girls here, it should be easy to handle.”

“S-spare me…! I’ll do anything…! I really made a mistake…”

“W-what do you mean by anything, Arin?”

“Sob… anything…”

Alright, I got an unexpected harvest.

I put my hand in my pocket for a moment and look at her.

“Well, there should be a substantial reward to tempt me, right?”

“I’ll do anything you ask, Blanc unnie…!”

“Why would I ask a weak magical girl like you to do something?”

“I’ll fulfill all your wishes…!”

“All of them, you said?”

“Yes!! Please…”

Now, she’s not even trembling like a leaf…

She’s just…

Like a pitiful puppy…

Ah, she’s really cute.

I wanted to see this side of her.

Whether she sensed the slight change in expression or not, Blanc looked at me with a disappointed look, which I deliberately ignored.

Scattering the aura and somehow reverting everything back to the old me.

“Alright, I’ve recorded everything, Arin.”

“…Yes?”

And then, I moved behind Arin and embraced her.

“Haha, why are you so surprised? I wouldn’t hurt Arin.”

“H-huh?”

“Hehe… how naive. You’ve been fooled, Arin.”

“Y-yes…?”

Still not understanding, Arin, who couldn’t come to her senses in my arms, was told by Blanc.

“Arin, Vee was just trying to scare you. Look.”

“Vee…?”

“Arin, you still don’t get it?”

“What…?”

Blanc spoke to Arin, who still didn’t understand, in my arms.

“Arin, Vee was just teasing you to scare you. See?”

“Vee…?”

“Did you just see that attack? If you really wanted to deal with me and escape, would Vina be hugging you?”

“Ah.”

Now that Arin finally understood the situation, she struggled to break free from my embrace.

For me, who had regained my abilities, it was just a child’s struggle.

“Ah…! S-Sister!! I-I’m embarrassed…!”

“Haha, Arin’s cute appearance. It’s nice. It feels good to be a little lighter and more comfortable.”

“Ugh…”

After seeing me like that, Blanc finally spoke.

“Vina, stop hugging Arin. How about it? Isn’t this test enough?”

“Yes. Then let’s go back up. Arin, Blanc. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

Arin, who had been in my arms, finally managed to break free and said, “Ugh…! I-I’ll sulk for a week if you don’t make tteokbokki for me today!”

“Haha… Alright. Let’s go with tteokbokki then. Blanc, you can activate the collar again.”

“Okay, just a moment…”

“Oh, there’s one more thing I’d like to test…”

“What is it? You can test it comfortably since it’s not on right now.”

“No, please activate the collar. I’m curious about how this tail moves even when the magic is restricted.”

“Oh, just a moment. Here.”

With Blanc’s words, the magic was restricted again, and I felt my body becoming heavier.

I focused on my tail for a moment.

Ah, it moved.

Maybe it’s because of the restriction on magic output, I can only use three.

Well, I’m sure I can’t even fire a magic missile.

But, why did Blanc leave these tests to me…?

“Blanc, is it okay for me to do this test…? What will you do if the weapon works properly and I commit another misdeed?”

“Huh? It was for misdeeds?”

If I ask with such an innocent look, what does that make me?

Sigh.

“No, it’s because I need help with work.”

“Well, then it doesn’t matter, right?”

“Doesn’t matter… Sigh.”

“Why?”

“You’re really… Haha…”

“If you’re done, let’s go up.”

“Oh, yes. Just a moment.”

I stored my tail so it wouldn’t be visible.

I thought it wouldn’t be possible due to the magic restriction, but it worked?

It will be helpful in the future.

For now, let’s go up and make tteokbokki.

But did I buy the ingredients for tteokbokki?

Well, I must have.

Today’s harvest was more than I expected.

Now all that’s left is… Arin’s training.

Oh, right. There was also a sparring session with Blanc.