Ch.11Chapter 2. Private Life (5)

Whether my heart shrank to the size of a walnut or not, the situation was becoming increasingly serious.

From my perspective, at least.

With Hayun standing right next to me, only one thought kept circling in my mind.

…Does that reporter know about me?

Noir Corporation doesn’t explain situations well to me. The same goes for other combatants too. We basically give the impression of being day laborers at the bottom of the hierarchy.

But what about the reporter?

If they’re a wanted criminal by the Galactic Federation, they might be treated similarly. No, they must be.

Since we needed to be photographed properly to determine where we were, Hayun and I changed our positions accordingly.

Jihye and Iris walked in front of us. By subtly blocking our front, it would be difficult to capture an angle showing Hayun with a man.

Besides, Iris was also a Magical Girl, so her face was fairly well-known. Wasn’t the goal to capture dating scenes with a boyfriend?

It was obvious we’d look like friends out having fun, so naturally, they’d avoid angles that included Iris.

Behind or beside us. Since long-distance photography was possible, they’d probably follow and shoot from a distance.

I thought they’d most likely shoot from behind. If they shot from the side, my face—which didn’t particularly hide the fact I was female—would be clearly visible.

Iris was walking ahead, looking at her smartphone. She seemed to be checking whether the article was being updated or not.

Hayun moved closer to me. She even rested her head against my shoulder.

“…”

Surprisingly, Hayun didn’t seem to have any complaints about that position.

Does she walk like this with other friends too?

I tried to recall, but it didn’t seem like it. When I met her walking with that Earthaboo last time, she wasn’t like this.

I don’t have romantic feelings for Hayun. I know she’s pretty and kind, definitely someone likeable—but she’s my childhood friend.

Plus, there’s quite an age difference between us. So I don’t think about her that way at all.

But even so, my heart wasn’t completely unmoved.

After all, almost no man wouldn’t feel something when a pretty person is pressed against them. Unless their sexual orientation was toward the same gender.

What is this?

I’ve never seen Hayun looking this pleased before.

Well, in the webtoon she was portrayed as having quite an affectionate personality, so maybe that side of her is gradually showing—

—Ah, I see.

She might be acting right now. We need to get photographed by the stalker to find out where they are.

While I was silently understanding this, Iris, who had been walking ahead, stopped.

“…Found it.”

“Huh? Wait, Ju-a—”

As Hayun noticed something about Iris and reached out her hand—

Iris was already holding a gun.

…Huh?

Oh, of course it wasn’t the long rifle she usually uses to shoot at me. She hadn’t even transformed yet, so carrying something like that would be too burdensome.

Plus, there are a lot of people here. If she suddenly transformed and started fighting, it could cause major problems.

So what she was holding wasn’t a rifle but a pistol. Not a large one like police officers use, but one small enough to fit in the palm of her hand.

Pew.

Iris slipped her hand between Hayun and me, then pulled the trigger.

“Squeak!?”

Simultaneously with the gunshot, a strange sound like that came from somewhere behind us, a bit far away.

“Ju-a!”

Hayun shouted at Iris.

Is she angry? Judging by her furrowed brow, it seems she’s glaring at Iris in her own way.

“…Don’t worry. I’ve memorized the face properly.”

But more importantly, how can she aim so casually?

Well, even normally she doesn’t seem to aim precisely, just roughly points the barrel and shoots. Maybe magic bullets have some kind of guidance function? At a glance, they just looked like lasers.

“Excuse me?”

We heard a voice from behind us.

Turning toward the sound, we saw a couple approaching a man who was lying face down on the ground.

They seemed to be trying to help a random man who had suddenly collapsed, but—

Smack!

The man slapped away the hands reaching out to him and got up.

Then his eyes met mine.

“…Ah.”

Normally I might not have noticed, but maybe because I was aware of the situation now.

The man’s right eye strangely glinted. He wasn’t wearing glasses, but it was as if sunlight had reflected off a lens.

The man, realizing the situation, immediately turned around and started running.

And seeing the man flee, Hayun’s expression changed.

The arm that had been linked with mine was already freed. The strangely satisfied expression had completely disappeared, replaced by the expression I always saw when she was about to fight.

It was different from Iris’s expression, which seemed to almost look forward to fights.

Blossom always wore a “resolute” expression. Even though Hayun seemed incapable of getting angry, her stiffened expression at least looked “serious.”

Hayun started running.

“Eek!?”

“I’m sorry!”

Hayun shouted as she chased after the man who was pushing people aside.

“…This isn’t going to be easy.”

Iris said.

It’s awkward to transform. There are too many people around, and above all, this isn’t a real combat situation. The Galactic Federation also manages its image. If they overreact, it could lead to various criticisms.

Despite having extraterritorial rights, they can’t ignore “public opinion.”

“Hmm.”

Though not transforming doesn’t mean she can’t fly, Iris seemed to be thinking of a different approach as she looked up at the buildings.

“Alright. I’ll go via the rooftops.”

And without saying anything more to us, Iris just ran toward a nearby building.

“…”

Left behind, Jihye and I stared blankly at each other for a moment.

Then, we hurriedly started running after the two.

*

At this point, someone might recognize Hayun.

If she stayed quiet while disguised, it would be hard to notice, but now that she was running through crowds of people, it was inevitable.

But no one seemed to be trying to stop a Magical Girl who was chasing someone.

As I ran hard, I glanced up at the buildings to the side.

Hop.

Most people’s attention was directed at the fleeing reporter/stalker and Hayun, so they probably didn’t notice, but I could see Iris jumping from building to building. She definitely wasn’t just using her own strength to jump. She must be using magic or something similar.

The stalker had incredibly fast running speed, as if their legs had been modified too. Hayun was tirelessly chasing after them.

“Ah, wait, wait.”

As I was running hard, a hand suddenly appeared in front of me. It was Jihye, who had been running slightly ahead of me.

“What?”

“Huff, just a moment… this is too exhausting.”

Jihye said, catching her breath.

“The person running away is an alien, and the person chasing is a Magical Girl. Do you think it makes sense for normal people like us to chase after them?”

That’s… true?

I was out of breath too, but not as much as Jihye.

Well, I was still a fighter who used circuits in battle. I’d be significantly outmatched compared to real executives, but compared to ordinary people, well.

“…”

After thinking for a moment, I exhaled.

Then I took out my smartphone and called Hayun.

Ringing… After about two rings,

[Jieun?]

Hayun answered the phone.

“Hayun. Do you think you can catch them easily?”

[Ah, well…]

Judging by her hesitation, it seems not.

Well, they’re a vicious stalker with a galaxy-wide warrant. It would be stranger if they could be caught easily.

Plus, neither of them had transformed.

“Jieun!?”

When I suddenly started running, Jihye was surprised and followed me.

While running at a pace Jihye could keep up with, I said to Hayun:

“Hayun, can you circle around and herd them? Can you contact Iris?”

[Yes, yes. I can contact her, but…]

“Good, then the two of you should be enough. The location is—”

I recalled the streets I’d seen on our way here and told Hayun where to go.

…This is a habit. Whether successful or not, combatants had to quickly disperse and escape. We wouldn’t go to prison if caught, but our identities might be revealed. Plus, securing an escape route could be useful for other purposes even if not for escape.

The same applied here. I had habitually checked the streets while walking earlier. Even without knowing the details, the streets in a busy area are always connected to main streets somehow.

If I could just make them circle around—

*

Hearing Jieun’s calm voice, Hayun thought for a moment.

Was Jieun always like this?

Her personality… she was always quiet and calm. She did talk a bit more around Hayun, but she was never chatty.

A friend who would quietly come and sit next to her when a seat was empty, waiting until Hayun spoke. That’s how Hayun perceived her.

And because of that, Hayun felt most comfortable when she was with Jieun.

Her parents had high expectations for Hayun. They were good people, but with their high expectations, their conversations were often about the future.

Her friends too… they were all nice kids, but they usually approached her first. Sometimes when they came as a group and took turns talking to her one by one, it felt overwhelming.

She didn’t dislike any of them, but…

“Yes, I understand. I’ll circle around and try to herd them.”

Hayun responded calmly. She touched her wireless earphone to end the call, then immediately pressed the call button to connect with Iris.

[Blossom?]

Iris sounded a bit surprised when she answered.

“Ju-a. Can you herd that person a bit?”

[Ah, that’s a good idea.]

Pew.

With a noise almost inaudible to others, a magic bullet landed next to the right foot of the Kaijin running ahead with a thud.

The magic bullet didn’t leave any trace. However, the alien criminal must have felt its power immediately, as they quickly turned and started running frantically in the opposite direction from where the bullet had come.

[Where should I herd them?]

“That main street from earlier. Jieun seems to have a plan.”

[…Your friend?]

She seemed quite doubtful.

It was understandable. Of course, Magical Girls hadn’t been active in Korea for very long.

Two years. A long time in some ways, short in others. Besides, being a Magical Girl wasn’t a constant job. Unless there was an incident, a call from the Galactic Federation to deploy, or she found and dealt with an incident preemptively, Hayun was just a high school student.

It was enough time to have completed military service with time to spare, but this was different.

Iris thought of herself as a professional, but in reality, Hayun judged that she wasn’t.

The Magical Girls often opposed each other, and in combat situations, they worked independently far more often than they cooperated. Still, they hadn’t lost so far, and most of them tended to comply with Blossom’s requests as she tried to be friendly with everyone, but—

Well, Hayun thought that if a much stronger enemy suddenly appeared, they might be the ones to suffer.

“It’s fine. Jieun is smart.”

Her grades were nearly top-tier. So much so that other students were jealous. In terms of ranking, she was slightly behind Iris and Hayun, but maintaining such grades without attending academies meant she was that intelligent.

Plus, she was good at finding her way around.

[Are you trying to put a civilian in charge right now?]

“I’m not putting her in charge, I’m following her advice.”

…Above all, Hayun didn’t think anything Jieun said would be bad for her.

Even when other kids approached Hayun wanting something, Jieun would just sit beside her, silently watching with eyes that seemed to be wondering what Hayun might want.

And she provided the necessary help when needed.

Yes, to be honest, Hayun trusted Jieun’s words more than Iris’s.

…Whether that was good or not, she wasn’t sure.

[Well, alright. There’s probably no immediate danger. The opponent doesn’t seem to be armed.]

“Yes.”

Hayun nodded at Iris’s response.

And she increased her speed slightly.

It wasn’t as fast as when she transformed, but the gap between the Kaijin and Hayun was gradually closing.

*

Good. We’ve managed to get them back to the main street, but how can we know which alley they’ll emerge from?

…Actually, it wasn’t that difficult.

Quite problematically, social media is incredibly developed in this world.

Plus, people’s field of vision is wider than you might think. While they might miss something passing directly over their heads, if something is flying around in the distance, their gaze naturally follows it.

In this world, there are many people with purple or pink hair.

But that doesn’t mean those colors don’t stand out.

They might not stand out among people with similar colored hair, but a girl with purple hair jumping across buildings was extremely noticeable.

No, what is she thinking, jumping across buildings like that? If she’s going to do that, she might as well transform into a Magical Girl.

…Well, thanks to that, I could roughly tell where Hayun was.

“Um… um… Ah, that way, I think it’s that way!”

I agreed with Jihye’s words, but I didn’t have time to respond verbally.

I ran while looking at my smartphone.

#MagicalGirl #Blossom #Iris

Those names were rising in social media hashtag rankings.

Videos taken by people were being uploaded everywhere. Including videos of the distinctive pink straight hair and purple ponytail.

Plus, Iris was even shooting at the Kaijin.

…Their teamwork is quite problematic. Well, it was like this in the original webtoon too.

Anyway, thanks to this, we were able to get to a suitable place first and wait. It was good that we had wandered through the alleys earlier. I couldn’t memorize all of it, but I had memorized landmarks and locations to some extent.

The alleys seemed extremely complex with many intersections, but in reality, if you memorize the layout of a few main streets, you can roughly infer where they connect.

If they only moved through narrow alleys, it wouldn’t matter much.

Though they seem to wind around in a complex way, even such alleys eventually lead to main streets if you follow them to the end. Even people living in alleys need to go to areas with shops for daily life.

Plus.

Despite appearances, Noir Corporation is serious about dealing with Magical Girls. They’re a thorn in their side.

The smartphone I carry is an ordinary one, but it has a Noir Corporation employee app installed.

At a glance, it looks like just a navigation app, but it’s actually a service using Noir Corporation’s geostationary satellites.

A tracking system that uses specific energy waves emitted only by Magical Girl circuits.

It’s not exactly illegal. It’s a function that measures “energy,” not one that tracks “people.”

In a situation where you need both coincidence and luck to catch someone, the reason I could confidently speak to Hayun was because of this. Despite barely providing explanations, they meticulously equip us with necessary functions, which is absurdly amusing.

Well, this is likely something they created for other purposes and are now sharing. In that sense, it might not be different from a real navigation app.

Still, I swear I don’t use this function normally. Really. I only have it installed because it’s an employee function. Why would I need to track someone I can meet at school anyway?

…Saying it like this makes me sound even more like a stalker.

“Ah, there!”

Jihye pointed toward the top of a building.

I saw it.

In the distance, I could see purple hair jumping. Her hair was almost as long as Blossom’s, making it visible even from quite far away.

I held the frying pan I had bought for five thousand won on the way here.

And I waited in position beside the alley.

Waiting for the footsteps to get closer—

Clang!

I swung the frying pan and hit the alien square in the face.

“Gack!”

The Kaijin took the frying pan to the face and fell backward.

Thud!

I heard the sound of their head hitting the ground.

Oh, was that too harsh?

“…”

Besides, though I ended up participating enthusiastically, isn’t this person a fellow employee?

Well, if they’re accused of stalking, the photos they’ve taken might be quite malicious, so they’re probably a bad person…

Am I going to be okay?

As I trembled with belated fear, something heavy suddenly clung to my body.

“Hayun!?”

For a moment, I thought Hayun had recognized my identity and rushed to handcuff me.

But that wasn’t it.

“Jieun, that was amazing! How did you do it?”

“…”

I used an app that can track you—I obviously couldn’t say that.

Fortunately, the Magical Girls don’t know what kind of energy our “circuits” use. Otherwise, I would have been tracked by them long ago.

In the distance, Iris lightly jumped down from a building.

She seemed to have given up on hiding now.

Her gaze looked at me quizzically.

…Did I show off too much?

I thought, trembling slightly.

*

…Is she unusually perceptive for a civilian?

Iris stared at Blossom’s “friend” while thinking.

Some image seemed to overlap, almost but not quite.

Ah, right.

Come to think of it, there was one combatant she often saw who had a chest that protruded like that.

Especially noticeable because of the tight-fitting “combatant” outfit.

Even if she recognized them, she couldn’t say it was by their chest, so she used the helmet as an excuse, but unlike other combatants, this one was a strange person who emanated fighting spirit.

Always messing up at crucial moments—

“…Haa.”

What was she thinking, looking at a civilian?

Iris let out a small sigh and turned her attention to the fallen stalker.