Ch.105Chapter 18. A Certain Emotion (1)

I decided what I wanted to prioritize, and my head felt a bit clearer.

Whatever purpose they had for kidnapping Pang Pang, the longer we dragged this out, the more disadvantageous it would be for us.

Since I’d already received agreement from the other Magical Girls, we decided to take action immediately.

First, I planned to leave the room and meet with that government official who was waiting outside the orphanage.

And I asked straightforwardly.

“What does the government want?”

They wouldn’t be offering to help us without conditions.

I didn’t know how helpful they’d be, and if their demands were excessive, I’d refuse immediately and we’d find our own way—

“To subdue Noir Corporation.”

As if he’d already made up his mind to answer this way, the official responded immediately.

I wasn’t sure how high-ranking this person was or how much authority he had in negotiating with us, so I just glared at him harshly. The official then offered what sounded like an excuse.

“I apologize. Until recently, Magical Girls were considered subjects of surveillance.”

“You don’t need to explain. I felt it with my entire body.”

“…Yes, I apologize.”

Was he sincere, or just trying to appease us? I realized it didn’t matter either way. What I wanted was already beyond that.

Besides, there’s probably nothing to gain from pressuring this person. If I had to guess, he’s probably equivalent to a subcontracted employee at a corporate customer service center. Even if I made extraordinary demands, he likely couldn’t grant them.

At this point, I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to send someone higher-ranking, but then again, I might have an adverse reaction to someone too high up, so they probably sent this person after careful consideration.

The official I met last time did seem higher-ranking than this one.

“…Please continue.”

“Yes, to explain… Magical Girls were subjects of surveillance, and there were opinions that you should be subdued if necessary, but we’ve concluded that’s not the right answer in the current situation. Given the circumstances.”

“Because you need our power to subdue Noir Corporation?”

“That’s correct.”

Now they’re being honest.

I believe this isn’t a lie.

The police force, or even military forces if necessary, could fight against Noir Corporation. But the cost of engagement would likely be disproportionate. Moreover, if police officers or soldiers actually died, the situation would become even more complicated.

They say the government might gloss over the deaths of one or two soldiers, but looking deeper, such incidents could block someone’s path to becoming a general. What’s just a small scratch for the collective could be catastrophic for an individual.

And if no one in that collective wants to be in such a position, they might naturally think of “outsourcing.”

It would make sense to want to use us as mercenaries—people who broke away from the Federation on their own, yet remained intact after fighting forces that Noir Corporation created with all their might.

Plus, we have a fairly positive public image, which makes it even better.

“I need to know the scale of Noir Corporation. It has to be a force that six of us can handle.”

“Judging from Noir Corporation’s current reactions, their forces don’t seem that large-scale yet. They’re probably thinking about leaving this country as soon as possible.”

“So, the current chairman of Noir Corporation hasn’t left Republic of Korea yet?”

“Of course. I can be certain of that.”

I was a bit surprised by the official’s statement.

“How?”

“It’s simple if you think about it.”

Instead of the official, James, who was on the table, answered.

“In this country, only Iris and you can create warp points that allow individuals to warp without separate devices. And even those individual warp points currently only allow random location jumps. Your warp point is… beyond explanation. Those two options aren’t even worth considering.”

James looked toward the official.

“Besides, to maintain large-scale production facilities floating in space and supply exclusive devices across the galaxy, it’s meaningless to just escape as an individual.”

“That’s right. They need to either launch directly from the surface into space or use a large-scale warp point.”

And large-scale warp points are typically managed by either the nation or the Federation.

Republic of Korea does have several warp points, but they’re smaller in scale and have relatively shorter travel distances compared to those built by the Federation. Above all, they’re managed by the nation itself. Since Korea hasn’t directly joined the Federation and hasn’t progressed beyond nominal citizen exchanges.

And Noir Corporation isn’t the only entity that has built them. Even if it was built by Noir Corporation, they still couldn’t use it directly.

“Then what are they planning to do?”

“If they can occupy the area by force even temporarily, using it would be sufficient. Once outside, using warp points becomes relatively free.”

The reason it’s difficult to go from the surface to space is because planets are always moving.

Once you’re out in space, warp points become relatively easier to use.

So, these lunatics are thinking about terrorizing the most important facility in this country and then running far away… that’s what they might be planning.

“There’s also the option of fleeing overseas. Right above this country, there’s an entity that ‘wishes for the Federation’s power to be overturned,’ isn’t there? Above all, it’s a place that treats its citizens as expendables even nominally.”

“…”

Huh.

Well, it’s certainly plausible for evil forces to join hands with other evil forces.

Anyway, whichever direction they go, we’re one step away from “the current regime making the mistake of handing over citizens’ lives to a company and even arming our worst enemy.”

And we’ve already missed the golden time. Most of the time was spent chasing after me.

Now I understand why they’re clinging to us.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I completely trust them.

“So, is the government saying they’ll give us the authority to deal with the company without any conditions?”

That’s the positive interpretation.

“Well…”

“Are there conditions?”

Sitting across from the official, I rested my elbows on the table and propped my chin.

In response to my question, the official rolled his eyes around and then spoke in a shrinking voice.

“…For smooth cooperation, it would be better if all Magical Girls remained within the government’s contact range…”

So there are conditions after all.

In other words, despite all the reasons they gave, and even though the urgency is real, they also want to keep us under their management.

I briefly weighed the two conditions.

Cooperating with the government, from an emotional standpoint, is absurd. I want to smash the government, companies, and the Federation to pieces. They’re the three entities that have tormented me.

But at the same time, to quickly find Pang Pang, I need to cooperate with this country, which has rights to various facilities.

“Then, let’s set more detailed conditions and make a contract.”

That was my answer.

“And those conditions will include the opinions of all six of us, plus Cherry and James. There won’t be any additional negotiations. We don’t intend to set unreasonable conditions, and we’ll clearly state only the non-negotiable parts.”

The official’s face brightened at my words.

Was his career at stake? Thinking about it again, I’m not even sure if this person is really a government official. Maybe he’s another subcontractor hired by the country. I’ve heard they sometimes bring in external negotiation specialists.

Though I’m not sure if he’s a real expert.

“Thank you!”

That’s what the official said.

It seems they hadn’t considered the option of subduing us and forcing cooperation.

Or maybe they were preparing for that if negotiations broke down at this point. Since there’s no way to see the other party’s cards until they play them, we’re not pushing too hard either.

*

That doesn’t mean we concluded the negotiations that day.

Why would negotiations be called negotiations? Our side needs to attach various conditions, and their side needs time to review those conditions.

Of course, both sides are equally short on time, but we still needed to clearly address what needed to be done.

We decided that if the situation became urgent, we would step in to resolve it without negotiations, and for now, we returned to our room at the orphanage.

“Jihye, I’m sorry.”

I said that to Jihye, who was standing behind the door before I closed it.

The apology wasn’t just words; it was sincere.

This room was originally mine and Jihye’s. So I felt really bad about constantly pushing out Jihye, one of the original occupants.

But I don’t have any other place I can trust. Of course, someone else might have entered here and installed cameras or recording devices. But that means I trust places prepared by the other side even less.

It’s only recently that I’ve become so distrustful of people since coming to this world. Even I wasn’t like this before.

…Or maybe it’s just my true nature showing.

“I’ll open it again soon.”

Saying this to my best friend, my only family, was also painful. So this statement was sincere too.

After all, what we wanted wasn’t that much.

“It’s okay.”

Jihye said with a bright smile.

“Because I know you’re on the other side of the door.”

“…”

For a while, I couldn’t say anything in response.

She must know that I could easily escape from the other side of that door.

Is she just choosing to believe?

“Yeah.”

At least this time, I didn’t want to betray that trust.

Yes, absolutely not this time.

*

After the door closed, Jihye’s heart beat even more fiercely.

What did I just say?

Jihye already knew that Jieun could travel far even from inside the room if necessary. And of course, “if necessary” is unavoidable. Since Jieun has been through so much, telling her not to escape no matter what would be too cruel.

But what Jihye just said was exactly that.

Because I know you’re on the other side of the door.

She didn’t intend to force anything with those words. It was just something she blurted out instinctively.

Although she had let Jieun go several times and wished her luck, each time she regretted it.

When family members who have been together all along are far apart, with no knowledge of whether they’re safe, all Jihye can do is worry.

She can’t contact them. She can’t go meet them.

Even with other family members, they would surely react the same way by the third time.

…Even knowing they shouldn’t.

“…”

After standing in front of the door for a while, Jihye eventually leaned against the wall with her hands hanging limply.

Knowing Jieun’s abilities, she couldn’t completely relax.

Afraid that Jieun might disappear like this.

Facing such a Jieun, not being able to do anything—

—not having any way to help, only weighed heavily on Jihye’s heart.

*

It didn’t take long to create an agreement.

We already had opinions we’d shared over quite a long time together.

Although initially I was the one making unilateral demands, people can’t stay angry forever.

Besides, strictly speaking, the only mistake the Magical Girls made was doing their job diligently.

…Even if they had done something wrong, they’ve already paid for it enough.

I already risked my life when I raided the headquarters that day. I wanted to say what I wanted to say even if I collapsed there.

The reason I’ve been able to stay alive from then until now—at least the reason I haven’t ended up like that Earth Kaijin—is because there were beings fighting alongside me.

Plus, by now I was already being treated as a Magical Girl.

“So, shall we go with this?”

I asked once more while looking around.

The girls all nodded with serious expressions.

The requirements we created were made somewhat hastily, so legally speaking, there might be some loopholes.

Maybe the government will use those loopholes as an excuse to not fully meet our requirements.

…Well, if that happens.

We’ll just stop listening to them. After all, the reason the government is joining hands with us is also because of our power.

Our requirements were broadly as follows:

First, they won’t make a big issue of what we’ve done so far.

Most of the damage caused by our actions came from us attacking Noir Corporation first or fighting against Kaijin. At the time, we couldn’t know exactly what Noir Corporation was doing, but now that it’s been revealed, we decided to push forward with the claim that we fought “to prevent that.”

The Magical Girls looked a bit uncomfortable with James’s idea, but there weren’t many other options.

Next, since they’re turning a blind eye to our crimes, they shouldn’t forcibly mobilize us.

This clause doesn’t actually have much significance. It’s just because we don’t want our actions to seem like “doing what others tell us to do.” It’s a condition to appear as equal partners cooperating, not as if we’ve surrendered to the government.

Of course, we can’t equate ourselves with the “government.” After all, the constitution states that the government’s power is delegated from the citizens. If just the six of us claim to be equal to all of that, we’d become subjects that need to be regulated.

So it’s a cooperative relationship, not a typical employment relationship.

And to prove that, the government shouldn’t restrain or monitor us. We didn’t think the government would follow our words exactly, but at least after making a promise, they wouldn’t openly act that way in front of us.

“…”

After reading through the list we had written one more time, we all sighed deeply together.

Whether it’s because of what we did, or whether Noir Corporation deliberately timed their actions to match this timing, we still can’t be certain.

For other things, we’ll be able to find clues one by one as the government provides information.

They won’t just sit still when they’re in such an urgent situation either.

“Then…”

I said with a furrowed brow.

“Where are we supposed to stay from now on?”

The girls fell silent at my words.

The equipment there can be moved again. Since my clothes have been dyed black, there might even be excess energy for such tasks.

The problem is where to put those moved items.

Since the government has agreed to contact us, we needed to stay nearby. But at the same time, we needed to stay somewhere where neither the government nor the Federation could interfere too much with us.

That means somewhere in Seoul—

“…Should we go back to school?”

Ju-a asked seriously.

Right. We’re all still students. Hayun, Ju-a, and I are in the second year of high school, and the rest are in their third year.

Since we’re living in Seoul, the reason for not going to school becomes a bit weaker.

We did talk about how it wouldn’t matter if they attended for one more year, but these kids must be worried too. Even though they’re in an environment where being a year late isn’t a big deal, we don’t know how their parents would react in this situation.

“Let’s… put that aside for now.”

I don’t remember how many class days we need to attend in a semester. I also don’t know what’s legally possible or not.

There’s too much I don’t know. I thought things had been sorted out over the past few months, but now my thoughts have become too complicated again.

In the end, we couldn’t decide anything other than the agreement, so we had to go back outside the room.

Jihye was still waiting outside the room.

Jihye smiled brightly when our eyes met.

The emotion in that smile was sincere joy. It was an expression as if she was purely happy that I hadn’t disappeared.

“…”

I’m newly realizing how much we’ve relied on each other.

After being entrusted to the same church, and then coming here again when the orphanage run by that church faced difficulties, we’ve both gone through equally tragic fates.

Perhaps I’ve been taking our connection too lightly.

“Where are you going today?”

Jihye asked again. It had the same meaning as her earlier statement about waiting for me.

After mumbling for a while, I finally had to answer somewhat uncertainly.

“No…”

It’s not deception.

At least, I didn’t think it was deception.