episode_0030

“By chance, do you like coffee?”

“Coffee, huh… Yeah, I like coffee. Then, shall I try a cup of coffee made by the counselor?”

This situation somehow felt like a dream.

I’ve seen many magic girls, but to be in the same house as a fallen magic girl called a disaster.

It’s probably a story I wouldn’t have believed if someone told me a month ago.

In the first place, there are few people who would think a normal conversation is possible with a fallen magic girl.

-Pour.

“Hmm, the sweet coffee scent unique to instant…”

“I’m sorry. I prefer instant coffee over expensive coffee.”

“No. I like it too, I used to drink a lot of instant coffee.”

“Then…”

I somehow felt a sense of kinship with her surprisingly simple taste.

That’s why I was curious.

What kind of magic girl was Esther before she fell?

Maybe she’s a magic girl I know?

Or a magic girl from before that.

I was curious about Esther’s identity, shrouded in a veil.

-Sip.

“Alright, so shall we talk, Counselor? Hmm, since things turned out this way, how about we do it in the counseling format you’re best at?”

“Counseling format… are you talking about that?”

“Yeah. I’m personally curious. Just what kind of counseling do magic girls receive that makes them like the counselor. Aren’t you curious?”

Curious, huh.

If she asks, I can do it.

However, unlike what I do for Aina or Frayf now, I’ll have to proceed in a standard way.

‘Because I can’t hold hands and kiss someone I’m meeting for the first time.’

Thinking about the ‘something’ that was masquerading as counseling so far, I even felt a little embarrassed.

“Ahem, a counseling format, huh… well, alright. Then…”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

This is an opportunity.

An opportunity to find out about Esther and about what ‘falling’ is.

Regaining my composure, I opened my eyes.

“Oh. That look is cool.”

“I am Counselor Lee Yeon-woo. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Esther.”

“Yes, yes~ Nice to meet you, Counselor. I’m Esther… feel free to call me whatever’s comfortable.”

Along with a simple greeting as usual, I thought.

What should I say next?

Should I continue with small talk to narrow the distance?

Or should I peel back the darkness she holds, little by little, through direct conversation?

With as little information as I had about the other person, the options were endless.

However, since I had to exclude the landmine options among them, I also felt nervous.

If so, something simple like small talk would be best, wouldn’t it?

“Lately, how have you been living?”

“Hmm? What does that mean?”

“It’s about how you usually live. Whether your daily life is enjoyable or if you’re having a hard time because of something. You know, things like that.”

“Daily life, huh… There’s not much to call daily life. I just sleep.”

She just sleeps?

“Is there anything else besides that?”

“Hmm, well, since I mostly just sleep.”

“Then perhaps where do you usually sleep? Home?”

“Heh, home, what a joke… There’s no way a fallen magic girl would have a home.”

Then, where on earth does she sleep?

I was curious. Since there’s nowhere for fallen magic girls to exist in the first place, where do they live?

Once again, I sent a gaze filled with questions.

“Ah, well, sleeping… Hmm. I mostly do it in a dedicated space. It’s quiet there and the sense of stability is good.”

“Are you talking about a space?”

“As expected, you wouldn’t know, right? Shall I show you sometime?”

As she said that, Esther extended her pure white finger.

Then, once in the air.

She scratched downwards… and it began to shimmer.

-Scratch.

A crack widening at Esther’s touch.

And inside the crack, a strange space where black light was possible was revealed.

“See? This is like my home and bedroom.”

“Uh… ho- How amazing.”

“It’s more comfortable than you’d think, would you like to go in?”

I shook my head left and right.

Because it looked like once you entered, you could never come out again.

If I went in for nothing and couldn’t get out like, what was it, the Backrooms? Wouldn’t that be a huge disaster?

“So, you rest in that space and then come out.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

‘I see why pursuit was impossible too.’

I heard that when a fallen magic girl appears, they track them using all information sources.

But this was a part that allowed me to understand why Esther, who had caused chaos in the city, wasn’t caught.

“Then, aside from sleeping, do you have any hobbies?”

“Hobbies… Hmm… Ah, there’s one.”

“What is it?”

“Hunting.”

Hunting?

“I mainly hunt magic girls.”

“Uh, i- is that re… really true?”

“Heh, no. Of course, it’s a joke. Our counselor is quite naive, aren’t you?”

It’s not that I’m naive, it’s just plausible because you said it.

The words almost came out of my throat, but I endured.

Esther with a light smile, laughing.

Even while laughing, covering her mouth with her white hand felt elegant.

“Then, I’ll ask you back. What do you usually do, Counselor? You must do something besides counseling.”

“I… recently started living together. I’ve been very busy because of that lately.”

“Living together? No wonder. So that’s why the lingering magic residue got stronger? That magic girl from last night must be your cohabitant, right?”

“Yes… that’s all correct, Ms. Esther.”

“The word ‘playboy’ comes to mind before ‘counselor’.”

“…I can’t deny it.”

It’s called counseling, but the reality is that my main job is to charm magic girls and inject love.

Esther just kept laughing, as if she found teasing me amusing.

She rested her chin on her hand comfortably and smiled with her eyes.

“This makes me think of the old days.”

“If you mean the old days… when?”

“Oh my, that’s a dangerous thing to say. It’s best not to say things that can guess a woman’s age.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

“But still. Since I’ve been treated like this and even received free counseling, I guess I can tell you this much as a service.”

Such luck.

If I just listen carefully to what she says, I’ll be able to figure out when she was active as a magic girl.

If I’m lucky, I might even find out what kind of magic girl she was.

To listen intently to her words, I focused as if opening one ear.

“Well, you probably wouldn’t know even if you heard… there were friends who were active with me back then. Magic Girl Rage… Pureheart, Starrer.”

“Wait a minute… If it’s Rage, Pureheart, Starrer…”

“You know them! I thought everyone had forgotten since it’s been so long, but people still remember……”

The reason I was surprised wasn’t because they were great magic girls.

In the first place, the magic girls Esther mentioned are names that people nowadays barely know.

Because the aliases of the people Esther mentioned are….

‘They’re the 1st generation magic girls… From when I just entered elementary school… 20 years ago?’

20 years ago.

A time when monsters first appeared, and the existence of magic girls was not yet supported by the government or socially recognized.

We call them the 1st generation magic girls.

‘There probably weren’t many magic girls back then.’

As it was the 1st generation, the number of magic girls wasn’t large, and not many people’s names were known, so I had pretty much memorized the names of the famous magic girls.

‘A 1st generation magic girl with strength great enough to be mentally sound despite being fallen… And if she was friends with them just now.’

An alias of one magic girl came to mind in my head.

1st generation.

No, because until Aina appeared, there was only one person with the title of the strongest magic girl.

“Magic Girl S…”

“Shhh. You shouldn’t carelessly speak of someone else’s past.”

That’s not what’s important.

Because the person in front of me was the one who changed my life.

The boy who received help from her is now grown up and living entangled with magic girls.

I wanted to speak.

The words of gratitude I hadn’t been able to say until now…

But with my mouth blocked by Esther, I couldn’t possibly speak.

It was the moment my insides were gradually burning up.

“And… a guest has arrived.”

‘A guest?’

Esther, who had been smiling with her eyes, soon began to stare sharply.

Where she was looking was the window.

It was the window covered by blackout curtains.

Not the main door, but a guest at the window? What does that mean?

-KABOOM!

The wall Esther pointed at exploded.

The window and wall of the officetel collapsing.

As dust scattered and my vision blurred, a figure began to appear.

Red eyes shining in the darkness.

“Found… you.”

“Chain?”

Hair braided into two pigtails and red eyes.

Even the black chains scattering around her.

It was the fallen magic girl Chain.

But why all the way here? Why?

Before that thought finished.

Giving off an inner light from her eyes, she gradually began to approach me.

“I found you… I found you, enemy of humanity. Yes… you were precisely the enemy of magic girls.”

“Damn it…”

“Sorry, but we’re still talking, you know?”

Esther, showing her palm as if saying ‘don’t come’, with a hint of annoyance.

In Chain’s eyes, Esther’s hand didn’t seem visible at all.

She just kept getting closer, swinging her chains and posing a threat.

It was just as the feeling of fear began to arise at the gradually closing distance.

“Die!!”

-SWISH!

Chain, who had come right up to my nose.

For a moment, it felt like my life was flashing before my eyes.

-KABOOM!

“Huh…?”

But Chain instantly vanished from in front of me.

“Didn’t I say we were talking…? Do I have to teach you manners directly for you to understand?”

Esther, who subdued an A-class magic girl with mere strength.

Chain struggles as if trying to escape, but Esther’s grip only becomes stronger.

Chain, who was slammed into the floor, struggling fiercely, her eyes closing under the gradually intensifying grip.

As if she fainted, the light in her eyes blurred and her movements decreased.

“Huh, looks like the house is all broken.”

The house that became a mess due to Chain’s appearance.

The window and wall were shattered, and dust got into the appliances, which likely seemed broken.

“I- It’s alright… Well, I guess it’ll all get fixed someday.”

“Hmm… that’s a shame. Since I was treated to coffee today, I guess I should give a service.”

-Snap!

As soon as she finished speaking, Esther’s finger snap was heard.

“This is……”

“Well, it’s simple magic.”

The broken walls and appliances all began to get fixed, as if ‘time’ was going backwards.

Joy returned once again at the sight of the house becoming normal, as if nothing had happened.

‘Thank goodness……’

I was more worried about the time it would take to repair than the cost, and it’s resolved like this.

“Ahem, so, was today fun, Counselor? Well then, see you next time.”

“Yes, next time… next?”

“Then, goodbye.”

Esther, dragging Chain, opening a portal and entering.

See you next time, she says.

Surely not here again?

My head ached a little, but I still thought it was fortunate.

If she really is that magic girl from the past….

“Ha… Let’s just rest a bit.”

My head started aching slightly, perhaps because of the many sudden events.

For now, let’s sit comfortably on the sofa and watch some TV….

[Urgent news report. Magic Girl Aina, Frayf discord rumor is currently hot…]

“Ah….”