episode_0018

The history of managing magical girls is shorter than you might think.

In the first place, the time when Clifort’s demons descended on this world was the late 2010s.

Magical girls are like glass.

They may look beautiful and pretty on the outside, but they are so delicate that they break easily.

Moreover, many ‘adults’ in existing political circles or society lacked understanding of magical girls and forced them to become heroes.

As magical girls fell into corruption as monsters or beasts, causing national losses, the approach to dealing with magical girls shifted towards caring for them as much as possible.

That is the present, idols.

With all of Clifort’s demons dead, the threat to magical girls’ ‘lives’ has decreased relative to before, and magical girls have now become popular idols.

However, there are still those who stubbornly view magical girls as soldiers or police officers.

“The special investigation chief made a mistake. More accurately, he didn’t expect the RGB team to hear what he said at the meeting.”

While riding in Misaki Team Leader’s car, Misaki Team Leader briefly talked about the magical girls’ escape crisis.

“He lacks understanding of magical girls. To delve deeper, he lacks delicacy.”

“Was it a mistake this time, or is he always like that?”

“It could be considered a mistake, but it could also be seen as realistic.”

Misaki Team Leader looked ahead with a tired expression.

“It’s more efficient to find and hire an A-rank top rather than carrying around a B-rank trio.”

“Hmm….”

“He doesn’t acknowledge the system of magical girls. He only sees magical girls as ‘grades,’ regardless of their understanding of the right path.”

I understand.

To adults living in the adult world, the dreams and hopes that magical girls speak of are like fairy tales.

“Among the RGB team members, there are three who have reached maturity. In terms of grades, all three are B-rank. Seiya is B+, and the other two are B0.”

“It sounds like some university credit story.”

“Credit… yes, it does. It’s fitting to see it as credits. Just as credits later evaluate students in society, the same goes for magical girls.”

The matured RGB team is B-rank.

A fully matured polar bear is A-rank.

Ultimate magical girls are revered as S-rank talents.

Those chosen by the 10 Great Archangels, Sephiroth, are classified as SS-rank.

A classification that I, from a societal perspective, do not particularly favor.

Where could one simply say to an idol, ‘You’re a B-rank idol,’ to their face without causing harm?

Causing harm to idols.

“Now, we need to bring back the magical girls who heard the term ‘B-rank’ to the scene.”

“What does Misaki Team Leader think?”

“What?”

“The B-rank trio and one A-rank. Who do you think is better?”

“……”

The car stops.

The red light at the intersection seems to take quite some time.

“From the administrator’s perspective, minimizing risk is the right thing to do. Increase efficiency. In that regard, the polar bear is someone you can trade with.”

Tap, tap.

Like tapping on a calculator, she taps the steering wheel with her fingers.

“If you admit to hiding your identity, I can guarantee that she can act freely in the special room on the 13th floor. She will receive A-rank treatment, full cash payment, and even deposit into a magical girl-exclusive account in Switzerland if requested.”

“Are you entrusting everything to one person?”

“For now, persuading and bringing one A-rank here is more feasible with the current available forces than carrying the B-rank trio.”

“So you want immediate reinforcement.”

“…Neodongtan doesn’t have any A-ranks. They’re all B-ranks.”

It is a problem that occurs as it is a new city, but at the same time, it is about 2 hours away by train from Tokyo.

“We need to somehow promote A-grade as the face of the city. This will allow us to secure budgets in defense, which directly leads to the safety of citizens.”

“……”

“But.”

Vroom.

“I believe our team will overcome the trials and become A-grade.”

Team leader Misaki nodded while stepping on the accelerator.

“Should we give up because the kids can’t produce immediate results?”

“……I see.”

I pointed ahead.

“You’ve taken the wrong road. You should go this way, not that way.”

“Huh? Wait. The navigation…”

“The direction is correct, but the order is wrong. Let’s see.”

I took out profiles of magical girls from Misaki’s briefcase.

“Usually, in times like this, it’s best to prioritize ‘Red’ first.”

“What…?”

“The more urgent it is, the more you should go back. Instead of choosing the closest team member, it’s better to pick someone who can persuade other team members. If you want to lead the RGB team as it is.”

I freshly marked the address written in “Seiya’s” profile.

“Let’s go. We’ll start with the ‘Leader.’”

The leader isn’t always red, though.

In general, the leader has always been the protagonist in leading the team.

“Got it. Then about the car…”

“To the parking lot. Let’s buy some gifts on the way.”

“Parking lot?”

“Yes.”

I flicked the address in the profile with my finger.

“Unpleasant things may happen if government vehicles go nearby.”

At that moment.

“Daughter. It’s okay. What’s the harm in not being a magical girl?”

“Mom….”

The black-haired high school girl reddened her eyes as if she was about to cry.

“But if I’m cut, our house…”

“There are ways to make a living. After hearing that story yesterday, your dad and I reached a conclusion. Dad is going to retire.”

“What?”

“Selling the house, taking the retirement pay, and moving elsewhere. To a place that takes care of our daughter.”

“Mom, wait.”

“Kanzaki Seiya. Listen well.”

The middle-aged woman spoke firmly.

“You don’t need to sacrifice yourself for a place that doesn’t respect you. Even if it was ten years ago, we…”

Ding-dong.

The bell rang.

At the same time, the wife stood up abruptly from her seat.

“No matter what happens, you must not waver. Understand?”

“…Yes.”

The high school student, Seiya, nodded with a gloomy face.

The two younger siblings in the room were looking anxiously outside, but Seiya closed her eyes tightly and nodded.

“…Okay. Don’t think about anything else…!”

“Excuse me, ma’am. Nice to meet you, Seiya.”

“Come this way.”

Following Mrs. Kanzaki’s guidance, entered the room was Misaki Murata, the team leader who had eaten fried tofu with them just yesterday.

“…Who are you?”

Then, a woman they had met for the first time yesterday caught their eye.

“Wow.”

She was amazing once again.

If Misaki, the team leader, was said to be a typical female civil servant, this woman named Umeme looked like the ‘ideal witch.’

After retiring from the field, she maintained her youth and beauty, maturing into a woman rather than a girl.

Her maternal instinct, which could easily become motherhood even if she became a mother of a child, was similar to magic, making Seiya constantly compare herself with that immense motherhood.

Although it cannot be said that Umeme has retired as a magical girl yet, if she does, I personally want to ask.

What perfume do you use? How do you do your makeup?

How do you get such a model-like figure?

“I’m the intern trainee Umeme.”

“You don’t have to bring this…this kind of thing.”

Mrs. Kanzaki was taken aback by what Mumei brought.

It’s one thing to receive a gift, but the gift itself is burdensome.

“We…”

“Manager Misaki. Could I have a word with your mother for a moment?”

Has this already been discussed?

Mumei began to take the lead, and Manager Misaki nodded as if accepting it.

“I will have a chat with Miss Seiya.”

“Oh, me?”

“Yes. Just the two of us.”

Mumei reached out her hand.

“Shall we step outside for a moment to get some fresh air?”

—

If there are a few things that surprised me when I came to Japan, it’s that Japan is considerably better for eating desserts than Korea.

Not that I’m comparing.

No matter where you go in Seoul, there are waffle-selling universities, and cafes are scattered everywhere.

“But there’s no parfait.”

Boom.

In front of me, a parfait with layers of fruit and sherbet is placed inside a glass.

“While Korean shaved ice became popular with Dongtan’s trend, I prefer this.”

If there are a few comfort foods in this world after landing, it’s parfait.

Well, I’m not staying in Japan for parfait.

“Do you like sweet things?”

“I love them.”

“…Really?”

“If it’s not sweet, you can’t taste anything.”

I scooped up cream and melon flesh with a spoon.

“Ms. Kanzaki, being an idol is tough, isn’t it?”

“…”

I don’t refer to them as magical girls.

Perhaps thinking about the title used for magical girls from the outside led to starting to call them ‘idols’ appropriately, which might have influenced the idolization of magical girls.

‘Also, they have visuals that wouldn’t be strange for actual idols.’

Sometimes, the gap between magical girls and their real-life appearances becomes too wide, making it awkward to call them idols—hence, in some cases, they are referred to as comedians or entertainers.

But Seiya—Kanzaki Seiya, our Red—is different.

It may be unusual to use their real name as their magical girl name, but it’s not strange for young magical girls these days.

“Hey, Mumei.”

Seiya asked while fiddling with the strawberry on her strawberry parfait.

“Are you a retired magical girl?”

“…”

“Um, I mean…”

“I’m not a witch, but a magical girl?”

“That…!”

Seiya clenched her fist and shouted.

“A magical girl is always a girl, and I’m only 17 years and 3 months old!!”

“…”

For a moment, my head felt fuzzy.

“I am not a retired magical girl.”

Because I haven’t completely retired.

“I’m just here where I need to be.”