episode_0017

It had been a day since the polar bear had knocked down Nuemomokami.

The Special Investigation Department sweated profusely to recover the remains of the fallen Nuemomokami, and Chief Misaki ordered me to ‘go home.’

Even though I had signed a contract, I was just an ordinary person until yesterday.

I may have had the title of a road manager, but just by ordering tteokbokki for lunch, I had already fulfilled my role.

In other words,

‘There was nothing more for a regular part-timer to do there.’

The magical girls I was supposed to take care of had left work for rest after the battle, leaving me with nothing to do, so I went back home.

A huge incident had occurred from my first day at work, but the life of the intern employee Mumei remained ordinary.

The polar bear incident.

For a day, Neodongtan and the whole world buzzed for a moment, but people quickly reached a consensus.

– An unidentified magical girl is cosplaying as a polar bear in Neodongtan.

The end.

No one thinks about Sandalphon.

Sandalphon is already a thing of the past, an existence beyond common sense and norms.

With that alone, I could watch the situation like watching someone else’s business, feeling relieved.

People thought of the polar bear as a ‘magical girl in disguise,’ and that was it.

The same was true in online communities.

– Hey, did you hear the news? A complete ‘Free Witch’ came to Neodongtan this time, and they say it’s the polar bear.

– Really? But which group does she belong to?

– They’re marketing her as unidentified. Just like other magical girls have done before.

In a cafe bustling with people I briefly visited, high school girls were sharing stories like that.

‘Calling it a community is just listening to gossip in a cafe.’

I don’t search on the internet.

I want to find information, but I once got caught up in hacking while searching through my browsing history or ego-searching, so I don’t casually search for information.

– Are you searching for Sandalphon? Oh, you’re Sandalphon.

Because there was one crazy magical girl, I collected information in an analog way as much as possible.

News. Radio. Stories through auditory enhancement.

Nowhere in them was Sandalphon found.

As a result,

“Hmph, hmph, hmph.”

While getting ready for work this morning, I could leisurely step outside.

Nothing had changed from yesterday to today.

On the way to work, office workers and students in uniforms still walked, occasionally bikes rode by, and people welcomed a busy morning.

Sometimes you hear about the ‘polar bear,’ but that’s only natural.

“So, is our Neodongtan mascot magical girl going to be the polar bear now?”

“I don’t know. Even if Bat Man of Gotham City is a representative hero, he’s not officially employed by the city, right?”

“Then what about… ‘Dark Hero,’ something like that?”

Walking in step with the high school girls in front of me, I listened closely to their conversation.

“Dark Hero? Ha. It’s just to build recognition. Trying to get into Tokyo.”

“As expected… Is that the goal?”

“Probably. They’re trying to inflate their salary by building achievements in Neodongtan. They’ll be called to Shibuya or Haneda for contracts.”

“Right. Where was it last time…? The magical girl who was in charge of all of Osaka did just that, right?”

“She worked in Kyoto in a fox mask for over a year, but as soon as she paid 1 billion yen in Osaka, she switched over.”

Despite the fact that the conversation among high school girls was quite materialistic and monetary, this was the reality of Japan and the world.

‘Society has become like this.’

Even if you’re just a member of society, you can spend hours discussing topics like ‘someone around my age earned this much.’

But when you hear that teenage girls in their early to mid-teens – at most late teens – are making tens of billions or hundreds of billions, you can’t help but be interested.

Entering the entertainment industry at a young age and becoming a successful idol, like many middle and high school girls who long for it, the magical girl has become a guardian of peace and an idol.

“Everything’s fine.”

A seasonal business.

The magical girl is a self-employed business owner, and eventually, retirement is inevitable.

“Hey. If we became magical girls, would we be like this now?”

“What? After doing some lip service to protect people, we’d be with our brothers… Eek!”

“Hehehe, do you think if you become a magical girl, you won’t need me anymore?”

“Why. Are you also eyeing our brothers?”

“No. Just ask for 1% of your salary from me. Ahaha!”

Even if the magical girl herself doesn’t think that way, the world’s view towards magical girls is like that.

Sigh.

Listening to stories about the world turning, I arrived at the Special Investigations Department.

Although people were crowded at the entrance, most of them were so-called “Cyber Lekkas” who handled issues after incidents.

“Who is the polar bear?!”

“Hello, I’m Dongtan Oldie. I’m currently at Neo-Dongtan’s Special Investigations Department…”

“Excuse me.”

I avoided them and headed towards the entrance, showing my employee badge to the security guard blocking the way.

“You belong to the Comprehensive Measures Department.”

“…Yes? It’s actually the Special Measures Department.”

“Oh. You should probably ask for that to be corrected later.”

The security guard pointed to an organizational chart.

“Due to this incident, internal restructuring has taken place.”

“…Oh.”

On the first-floor lobby, some employees were touching the organizational chart.

Whether they were making new nameplates and signs or the existing department structure was rapidly changing.

Monsters. Monsters. Villains. Demons.

From the five departments that were originally divided into five separate sections, a new nameplate suddenly emerged next to the lines descending from those five departments.

[Comprehensive Measures Department of the Special Investigations Department.]

“……”

It seems like the internal situation has been slightly overturned in just one day.

* * *

A while later, 13th floor of the Special Investigations Department. Comprehensive Measures Department office.

“Wow.”

As soon as I arrived, a bitter smile escaped me.

“Would you call this a rise to power, or would you call it a demotion?”

“Both.”

An empty office space.

Slightly larger than a regular office within the company, almost 60 pyeong in size.

“Isn’t this just an apartment?”

With about 20 pyeong allocated for workspaces, the remaining space could serve as a bedroom or dining area.

There was even a separate room.

“I was told to fill the office on my own.”

Team Leader Misaki pointed uncomfortably at the desk and computer in one corner of the office.

“This place used to be empty. It was a favor for someone.”

“If it’s a favor… could it be for the ‘Local Magical Girls’…?”

“Right. It’s a place to accommodate magical girls who can respond immediately while living here.”

Misaki Team Leader and I are in such a place.

Perhaps-

“Is this space for me?”

“…Mumei, you’re quite an interesting person.”

“Pardon?”

“Just kidding, talented. Unfortunately, this space is not for Mumei.”

Well.

In the past, there was a time when they offered me a space like DiO Land used by top celebrities in the US, but it’s impossible to negotiate deals with Sandalphon and Deal with this cramped space.

“Until yesterday, it was the Special Measures Department. However, due to yesterday’s incident, the Monster Measures Department Team Leader made quite a mess.”

“What happened?”

“He received a warning. He won’t be fired. Instead, he might leave on his own soon.”

In essence, it’s a situation of ‘leave on your own accord,’ so the Monster Measures Department Team Leader will likely be replaced soon.

“Do you think he’ll hold on? He’s a public official too.”

“If it weren’t for the polar bear, would all the magical girls have been ensnared by tentacles? Among the magical girls already ensnared by tentacles, some even use that as an excuse for mental fatigue.”

“Oops.”

“Thanks to the polar bear, we got through the situation safely. Even if that person had requested support from us early on, we probably wouldn’t have been able to defeat Nue Momokami, but at least it’s true that he insisted on handling it in his jurisdiction on site.”

“Seems like it’s to prevent such incidents from happening again. We should wrap it up nicely.”

“Yeah. Otherwise… ah, never mind.”

Team leader Misaki scratched his head and sat down on a chair in the workspace.

Probably.

– I just hope that the first case of exterminating monsters by the Comprehensive Measures Department doesn’t turn out to be a ‘retired former special investigator from the Public Service Inspection Office.’

Well, maybe that wasn’t what I was trying to say.

“Sigh. Let’s talk business. Mumei.”

Misaki pointed to the empty seat.

“Currently, the Comprehensive Measures Department has more authority than we think. We don’t need to wait for support requests like last time; we can deploy troops on our own.”

“Wouldn’t there be resistance from existing departments?”

“There will be resistance. But dealing with political issues is my job. Magical girls should focus on helping each other, saving people, and eliminating bad guys. Mumei, you just need to support those magical girls.”

That’s a good point.

Being meddlesome is a basic skill of a magical girl, and the very essence of the existence of this Comprehensive Measures Department seems to be meddling.

“Alright. So, what should we start with today? Cleaning the office? Choosing lunch menus? Or decorating the office?”

“…Recruiting tenants.”

Misaki covered his face with one hand.

“The department changed, and I got promoted, but the RGB team was disbanded right away.”

“…What?”

“Well, it was supposed to continue as it was, but should I say the parties involved went AWOL?”

Misaki pointed to the empty office.

“We should start by capturing the runaway magical girls. Who should we go after first?”

“…Runaways?”

“Yeah.”

Runaways.

“Some high-ranking person said something unnecessary. Whether it’s RGB or whatever, instead of using them here, it’s better to catch RGB Polar Bear and bring them here.”

“……”

“As a result, I heard that the team members are all resting at home. Some contacted diligently, some returned to their friends’ teams, some disappeared, but… sigh.”

In a way, that might be the natural course of events.

“Let’s go find them.”