episode_0009

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry… … . I’ll buy you new snacks.”

“No, it’s okay. Did you say ham-sik? It’s so cute. Here, um, the fairy-like one is… … .”

“I’m Na-min! I’m Na-rin’s sister!”

“Aha. Nice to meet you, Namin.”

Fortunately, even though Hamshik went into the cookie jar and slaughtered everything inside, the man just handed Nalin the cylindrical cookie jar containing Hamshik and didn’t say anything.

The manager who followed us seemed to be very angry at Nalin, but the hamster in the barrel was not scared enough to scream, so he soon calmed down and spoke.

“You know it’s ridiculous to bring a pet to work, right? You can’t help it today, so you can leave it alone, but next time, you won’t be able to do anything. You’ll have to leave it at home.”

“Yes, I will. Sorry.”

“That’s right, Hamshikki won’t be hungry. I’ll prepare meals for him at home!”

The reason I brought Hamshik here is because if I left him home alone, he would finish all the food and starve until we got home.

Hamshik won’t starve if there’s someone around to constantly feed him. He even said he’d buy him a cell phone, so he can call Nalin if anything happens.

So that’s one thing. The manager’s expression has become unpleasant. Is it because he feels bad that Hamshik says he’s hungry?

He is afraid of rats, but he seems to be a gentle person who values life.

The manager, who had been muttering to himself and thinking for a while, bent down slightly and looked at me on the desk and asked.

“Then, if Namin is at home too… … . If we just divide it up and put it out there, wouldn’t she eat it on her own?”

“Hamshik eats only half of other people’s food, but he eats it all when he thinks it’s his! Right, Hamshik?”

Hamshik usually ignores what I say, but he must have eaten all the potato chips in the container by now. He came up to the transparent plastic lid and looked outside. When he heard me, he wrinkled his nose.

Then he stuck his tongue out and started licking the lid.

Even though it originally had a lid on it, it was wrapped in plastic again so there shouldn’t be even a crumb on it.

Since it smells like candy, is it trying to lick off even a particle? Or, if it’s ham, it could be teasing us outside.

The manager flinches at the sight and steps back, while Na-rin and other employees giggle, unable to hold back their laughter.

The manager blushed and asked, perhaps embarrassed that he was the only one surprised.

“Hey, I think you ate all of these potato chips. How much was left that you ate all of them?”

“There was a little more than half left. It must have been as much as my body, but I ate it all.”

“Ham-sik eats that much. I think he’ll eat more. Yesterday, he finished one bungeoppang and ate half another.”

The bizarre sight of Hamshik licking the lid while turning his head from side to side, and the manager who turned his gaze away from Narin’s words, fell into his own thoughts again and soon sighed.

“Anyway, what can’t be done can’t be done. I can’t get rid of the rules because of Narin. No matter how cute my son or daughter is, I don’t bring them to work either. And if you allow one, there will be employees who bring dogs and cats in the future.”

“That’s right. I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m sorry.”

“Yes, I had no choice but to bring you here today, so I’ll stop here… … . Can you stay home alone, Nami?”

“Yes, if anything happens, just call Na-rin! And it’s okay because Ham-shik is with you, so you’re not alone.”

“Okay, I got it. Everyone, go and do your work.”

Fortunately, the manager understood. Hamshik could have been kicked out of the office because he was afraid of rats, but he let it slide like this.

So we were able to safely go to Narin’s seat, held in Narin’s hands.

It’s not very organized, but there’s still a computer on the desk and a file cabinet filled with files.

Narin, who had placed me and the cookie jar with the ham in it, whispered as she took off her coat.

“Whew, I made it through safely. I thought I’d get in big trouble, but this is a relief. Oh, were you scared of Namin?”

“No, I wasn’t scared. I was a little nervous when Hamshik saw me and yelled, but he got over it.”

“That’s right. I guess she just let it slide because you guys were so cute. She was a little irritable because she’s become a woman these days and is a little irritable.”

“Are you a woman?”

That’s a strange thing. A gender change. Can the body change?

Well, I guess I died and was reborn with this body, so that’s understandable… … Well, I don’t have any memories of being a baby, but anyway.

If you listen to the nuance of what Narin is saying, isn’t it saying that her body has changed like that?

It’s not like he physically got cut off somewhere and turned from a man to a woman. If he did, he wouldn’t be walking around like such a cute girl.

Could it be that this isn’t the world I used to live in?

“Yeah. Since the gate connecting to another world was created, people have been gaining abilities and such. Of course, not all of them are like that. Some people are like that. Or, there are people who went to another dimension and came back. The manager is one of those cases. His body changed like that in the process.”

“Aha… … .”

Somehow, the description was similar to the place I lived in my previous life. And there was more to it than I knew.

We had soldiers mobilized against the gate and shooting guns. Even then, there were some people whose guns didn’t work, so we were very confused.

If this is the same world as the previous life, and people have developed abilities to fight against it, it could be said that antibodies have been developed against a virus. Or that they have evolved.

I was the one who stayed behind to kill time and ended up shooting and dying. If such capable people had shown up even later, would the other soldiers have survived?

Thinking about other seniors and juniors and executives who treated me well, I hoped that would be the case.

“I guess the son and daughter felt a bit of a disconnect because their father became such a cute girl. But just because they look different doesn’t mean the manager is no longer the manager, so their relationship will mend someday. Until then, we just have to endure some nerves, you know.”

“I see. I think he’s a good person though!”

“That’s right. You’re a good person if you don’t scold me even though I’m an hour late. Anyway, my sister’s job is to collect, organize, and analyze data on people who have such abilities and send it to the guild and the government. And magical girls too.”

“Wow, a magical girl?”

It’s a strange world. Magical girls. I didn’t watch it when I was little because I thought it was just for girls, but it’s about young girls wearing frilly skirts and fighting monsters for the sake of people.

Come to think of it, that’s the kind of world it has become. If you want to fight against monsters from another world where guns don’t work, you have to be at least that good.

Narin answered my questions while waiting for the computer to turn on.

“Yeah. Even though there are people who have awakened their abilities, and people who have become incredibly strong and returned from other worlds, the population has decreased a lot. So even ordinary people temporarily raise their potential and become Awakened, and send them to the military. That’s how the military changed into a magical girl unit.”

“Huh? What about the existing soldiers?”

“All active-duty soldiers have become magical girls. If you don’t like it, you can transfer to another unit, serve out the rest of your military service, and then be discharged… … . They say you won’t be promoted.”

“Oh.”

Does that mean that the successors who survived that chaos became magical girls?

Aside from always being grateful to them, I really wanted to see them at least once. I wondered what those brown-haired girls would look like if they became magical girls.

Should I just wear a frilly skirt and wave my magic wand around in my shabby body? Or should I still shoot my gun?

Although she had many more questions, when a screen appeared on the monitor asking her to enter a password, Narin reached for the keyboard.

“Sister studied hard and got a job at a guild that allows alternative service… … . Now, since you have to work, go play with Hamshik. But don’t be noisy or go too far.”

“Yes, I’ll play quietly here.”

I had to earn money to feed us, so I couldn’t stand in the way. So I rolled the cylinder containing the ham to the corner of the desk.

Since the corners of the desk were blocked by partitions, there was no risk of it rolling over, so I rolled it to a corner and slightly opened the transparent plastic lid so Hamshik could breathe.

“Hamshik-ah. It smells like potato chips in there. Is that okay?”

But Hamshik just slapped my hand away with his front paw, telling me to close the lid. It’s transparent anyway, so it won’t get darker if I cover it, so why is he doing that?

Do you really hate the smell of potato chips? You’re going to suffocate.

After some thought, I finally went to the pencil case on the desk and took out a screwdriver.

If you don’t want to open the lid, you should at least make some holes. I’m thinking of poking holes with a screwdriver.

Since Hamshik is still playing around licking the lid, I’ll make a hole far away from Hamshik.

If I hit it hard and pierce it, it will make a lot of noise and Narin will be startled, and if Hamshik comes here while I’m not looking, he’ll get hurt, so I turn the screwdriver in a round and round motion like I’m turning a screw to make fire with a stick.

It took a long time to drill a hole because the cookie container was so sturdy. But I felt a little proud after drilling a hole, so I went over to the plastic lid to show it off.

Hamshik was sleeping inside, blowing a balloon through his nostrils.

As you inhale, the nasal balloon shrinks, and as you exhale, the balloon increases in size.

“Who worked so hard to make you breathe, and you’re like this, honey? That’s fatal! You ate all the snacks yourself!”

I feel wronged.