Ch.122Chapter 20. Love……? (2)

“First.”

Jieun responded to Jihye’s words.

“Well, it was my first.”

Jihye looked at Hayun after hearing her response.

“I mean, the kiss.”

“…”

Whether she had lost her words or had nothing to say, Jihye looked toward Hayun.

Looking at that expression made me feel a pang of guilt. I had already felt several times how precious Jihye was to Jieun.

In terms of gaining strength from a kiss, Jihye must be at least as important to Jieun as Hayun.

But I didn’t want to lose.

“Jieun, well. I know she’s never kissed anyone before. So the kiss she happened to have with me became her first kiss.”

I blurted that out without any context.

Still, I wanted to make this fact clear.

That kiss wasn’t something I did thoughtlessly without any consideration.

How could I kiss someone I didn’t like?

“She’s never dated anyone else.”

“I see.”

But surprisingly, Jihye accepted my words calmly.

“It doesn’t matter.”

Jihye said.

“At least I’ve never hurt Jieun.”

“…”

Hayun closed her mouth at Jihye’s words.

“What does it matter who Jieun kisses or dates? It would be nice to be her first, but that’s all. In the end, what’s most important is who’s there at the end, right? If you had to choose between dating and marriage, wouldn’t marriage be more important?”

That was a reasonable point.

“Not many people marry their first love. And if the other person is just someone you’ve kissed rather than loved, it’s even more uncertain.”

“But there’s no rule saying you can’t marry such a person. There’s even a saying that childhood friends can be difficult to see as romantic partners because they’ve seen everything about each other, both good and bad.”

“…How did you two spend your time? Weren’t you stuck together for over a month? You weren’t staying in some spacious place, were you?”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

Come to think of it, that was true. Though not as long as Jihye, we had stayed close enough to show each other everything if there was anything to show.

Hayun had even seen Jieun’s body, though only her back.

…That back had bruises here and there. Bruises that Hayun might have caused.

“…You’re right. It might be too late already. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up now. Since I realized it late, I need to work harder.”

“That doesn’t mean the person who was ahead should stop.”

This kind of conversation felt awkward to Hayun.

Fighting with someone—emotionally fighting—wasn’t something Hayun was used to.

She had always found it easier to just laugh off negative comments from others.

“Besides, we don’t even know that.”

Jihye said in a sulky tone.

That voice reminded me of Jihye walking with Jieun before.

When the three of us went out together. That energetic voice.

“We don’t know who was ahead in the first place.”

It sounded like something she was saying to herself.

Hayun hesitated for a moment and opened her mouth to make some kind of rebuttal, but—

“Here you are.”

She quickly closed her mouth at the voice from behind.

Jihye also quickly composed her expression.

Probably because she didn’t want to show Jieun that they were fighting.

“Were you getting some fresh air?”

Jieun said as she poked her face between the two.

“Everything’s cleaned up inside, so let’s head back in.”

“Okay.”

Jihye stood up first.

“Got it.”

Hayun did the same.

“…What’s going on? Did you two fight?”

“It’s nothing like that.”

Hayun spoke first. Jihye nodded, seeming to go along with Hayun’s statement.

That’s right. They weren’t fighting.

If anything, it was more like clarifying their positions.

“Well… if that’s the case, then it’s fine.”

Jihye linked her arm with Jieun’s, who was tilting her head as if sensing something between them.

And she pressed her body right against Jieun.

Hayun, not to be outdone, embraced the arm on the opposite side.

Jieun’s face turned red instantly. She still didn’t seem to have much resistance to this sort of thing.

Despite being so good at pushing others against walls.

Perhaps she had no resistance to being pushed back?

“…”

But Hayun needed to be careful about taking action.

After all, she had hurt Jieun several times already.

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under Jihye’s piercing gaze, Hayun turned her head slightly away.

*

I thought the peace would last a little longer. Or rather, I had been hoping it would.

But perhaps the chairman had sensed something when he handed over the equipment to us.

The pager rang the very next day.

I jumped up from my seat. Ignoring the glances coming from around me, I turned on the pager.

[Girls! Danger!]

The voice coming through the pager was Cherry’s.

[You need to move right now! Otherwise, it might be too late!]

Hearing her speak as if there was no time for a calm explanation, Hayun and I quickly turned and ran out of the classroom.

No one tried to stop or block us.

The corridor outside the classroom, which should have been quiet during class, was already noisy with the sound of someone running.

Judging by the sounds coming from the lower floor, it seemed the three third-year students had also received the warning.

We met in the corridor. Without needing to exchange words, we immediately ran up toward the rooftop.

“Jieun!”

As soon as we reached the rooftop, Hayun called out to me. Naturally assuming she meant we should transform into magical girls and take off, I immediately looked toward Hayun and responded.

“Yes! …Huh?!”

The reason I made such a sound was because Hayun, as if it were the most natural thing, grabbed my cheeks with both hands and pressed her lips against mine.

There was no time to close my eyes or savor the soft sensation. Once again, I was forcibly transformed with my eyes wide open.

Not that I’m complaining about it.

Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium were all looking at us with incredibly dumbfounded expressions.

“This is much faster.”

Hayun said, placing one hand on her chest as if it were obvious.

Hayun was already wearing her magical girl outfit. Despite being a bright pink color, it suited her perfectly.

“And it helps me too.”

The power of love.

Or the power of desire.

There’s no time to think about which one it is right now.

Looking back, I saw Rose, Dalia, and Delphinium’s clothes shining and changing. After confirming that all three had completed their transformation, I nodded, then made eye contact with Ju-a.

Ju-a’s face was pale blue.

And she wasn’t wearing magical girl clothes.

She was still in her school uniform.

“Ju-a?”

When I called her name, Ju-a tapped her circuit on her wrist with an even paler expression. The way she looked at her wrist without making eye contact with me couldn’t possibly be an act.

No, she was never good at acting in the first place.

“What’s wrong?”

“The, the circuit isn’t responding. I don’t know why.”

Ju-a’s voice trembled.

“Wait. Calm down.”

I placed my hand on Ju-a’s shoulder.

At first glance, it seems natural for a magical girl to transform into a magical girl. After all, a magical girl is someone who sees a ray of light even in desperate situations.

But even so, if you lose that light of hope, it’s over. If the circuit doesn’t turn, you can’t transform.

Hadn’t Hayun’s power weakened considerably because of me?

“What happened? Did something happen yesterday?”

“No, yesterday was…”

Trembling eyes looked up at me.

Seeing eyes almost gripped by fear, I realized.

“…Once despair takes hold, it’s over.”

I said.

[Girls?]

“Just a moment. Give me a little time.”

I don’t know what situation is unfolding on the other side, but at least being able to communicate like this means the orphanage is still safe.

The incident itself might be happening far away. Last time, we also set out after hearing about an incident at the warp point.

[Alright. But you need to resolve this as quickly as possible.]

[Yes. If we’re not careful, they might cross the ‘line’.]

I heard James add a comment, but I looked at Ju-a again as calmly as possible.

“I don’t know what despair you’re feeling. But we need your power now. You’re the one who can best keep distant enemies in check.”

At my words, Ju-a’s circuit glowed just a little.

I see.

Rather than something happening yesterday, perhaps Ju-a’s hope had run out as the situation became complicated.

“You’re the one who can blow enemies away when they’re about to kill us, and you’re the one who can make calm judgments even in such situations.”

I don’t know how my praise could help, but if it could bring Ju-a back to normal, I’d do it as much as needed.

In fact, the situation was urgent, and what I was saying was true.

But although Ju-a’s circuit was turning, it still seemed insufficient for transformation.

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again.

Ju-a was still looking at me with eyes that seemed afraid of something.

“What are you so afraid of?”

I asked Ju-a.

“What are you so afraid of that it’s blocking your hope?”

Ju-a’s trembling eyes looked around.

“…Becoming useless…”

“You heard what I said.”

Is she lying?

“We need you.”

I looked back. Come on, say something if you’re watching.

Hayun was just looking this way with a very confused expression, and Dalia and Delphinium were holding their foreheads.

And Rose surprisingly seemed to know something.

“Sorry, but I don’t think we can help.”

“What do you mean?”

I asked in disbelief at Rose’s words.

“No, I mean exactly that. It seems to be… because of you. Or… well, this is a bit awkward to say.”

For some reason, Rose’s gaze seemed to briefly shift toward Hayun.

We couldn’t argue here. Adding one more person would only create more conflict.

I looked at Ju-a again.

“…Tell me.”

I asked Ju-a directly.

“What can I do to restore your hope?”

“…Ah.”

Ju-a seemed to have made that sound without realizing it.

“Well, you see.”

Ju-a looked away, then looked at me once before squeezing her eyes shut.

“E-evidence!”

“What?”

“I need evidence that I’m important!”

My mind went blank for a moment when I heard her shout.

Evidence?

What kind of evidence? Do we need a video recording of our past battles? James is far away right now.

“I, I did that kind of thing for you too!”

“That kind of thing?”

“The warp gate!”

Ju-a shouted again.

“At the warp gate!”

“Ah.”

For a moment, my brain stopped again.

Wait.

Is she?

To me?

Why?

Well, thinking about it again, I guess you can’t just kiss someone unless you’re quite close.

“Really? No, really? Is that true?”

I asked, but Ju-a just kept her eyes tightly shut.

“…Ah, I really don’t know.”

Finally, I pulled Ju-a’s shoulder closer.

“W-wait, I’m not mentally prepared!”

What are you saying now?!

You’re the one who asked for it!?

Besides, I’m already moving, so I can’t stop.

And it’s urgent!

Thud.

Not even a smacking sound, just a light touch of lips on the cheek.

But at that touch, Ju-a’s eyes flew open.

And in an instant, there was a bright light before my eyes.

After the light passed, there was a purple magical girl in front of me.

Though her face was red. Maybe the name Rose would suit her too?

I let go of her and quickly turned around.

Then I ran, trying my best not to make eye contact with the other magical girls.

“Let’s go!”

After shouting that loudly on purpose, I flew up into the sky.

I don’t know exactly how things are unfolding, or why my circuit started turning at the same time.

But let’s just say it’s all good.

Friendship between friends. Let’s think of it that way. There seems to be that kind of love too. If Ju-a’s situation was similar to Hayun’s, it’s natural that she would crave such emotions.

“So, what’s the situation?”

[It appears that a group, presumably including the current chairman of Noir Corporation, is trying to cross the ceasefire line.]

“You should have told us earlier!?”

[I thought you had your own important matters to attend to.]

James replied as if he found my panic ridiculous.

Well, it is important! Extremely important!

Damn, but I couldn’t leave Ju-a behind either.

“Location?”

[I’ll send it to your smartphone!]

Cherry answered.

[If you can, go there directly! Oh, Jihye is already on her way in a police car! Don’t worry too much!]

Good.

Then I can relax.

Moving shouldn’t be that difficult anyway.

Right? My circuit was spinning more vigorously than usual, receiving this unidentified power.

*

The fact that I served in the military at the front line in my past life wasn’t much help.

Even if I was stationed in Gangwon-do as a soldier, could I memorize the entire terrain of that long ceasefire line? Moreover, although I learned where the guard posts and outposts were, they didn’t really form a “map” in my head.

So honestly, what I saw from above looked like nothing more than a thin line drawn in the middle of a vast mountain range.

That endless line must be the ceasefire line. The path leading up to the hill peak had trees cleared quite widely around it, revealing the bare soil.

Fortunately, it seemed the chairman hadn’t reached there yet.

Even if the Kaijin use circuits, they’re still not comparable to real magical girls. We’ve always been able to subdue Kaijin despite their greater numbers.

Besides, military weapons are effective against Kaijin.

The reason they struggle so much to capture aliens is for capture purposes; if the fully armed military decided to kill them, what would happen?

Moreover, technology always goes to the military first.

Smoke was already rising near the ceasefire line. Something seems to have tried to fly across but failed. Whether they tried to create aircraft using circuits, such things had already fallen here and there on the mountains, emitting smoke.

Would it cause a forest fire in this dry weather? But the soldiers don’t seem to have time for such concerns.

I hear gunfire aimed at the sky. Though the flying objects had fallen, the Kaijin hadn’t been subdued yet. Unlike airplanes, human bodies can almost ignore the laws of physics when flying, making it very difficult to hit such beings with live ammunition.

Even if they fired missiles, it’s uncertain whether they could lock on, and it’s probably almost impossible for missiles to hit targets that fly around erratically like flies with 100% accuracy.

Pa-pa-pak!

That’s not to say they couldn’t hit them at all.

I saw machine gun shells colliding with a Kaijin flying in the sky. Unable to hit each one individually, they seemed to have created a wall of fire.

But the Kaijin didn’t fall from just that.

When I saw one of the Kaijin flying toward a Gatling gun emplacement, I moved my body.

Bang!

Using my body like a shell, I collided with the Kaijin and fell sideways.

Thankfully, I pulled down the Kaijin that blocked my path and fell into the forest. Branches broke and grass hit my body.

Due to the sound of wind in my ears, I couldn’t hear what sounds the Kaijin was making, but judging by how it was scratching my face with its nails, it was probably howling.

I grabbed the Kaijin’s fingers and twisted them backward.

Thud, thud.

By the time I had landed a few punches on the Kaijin’s face.

Bang!

A heavy impact hit my body. The Kaijin’s back hit the ground, and the remaining impact struck my body.

I’m fine. The Kaijin didn’t even pass out immediately.

“Not a chance.”

Before the Kaijin could get up again, I struck its solar plexus with the hammer I was holding.

Crack.

The circuit attached to the Kaijin’s solar plexus broke and exploded slightly. The Kaijin’s body went limp as black smoke poured from its chest.

…Did they mass-produce these?

It’s frustrating. How many of these does the chairman have hidden?

Moreover—

I hear fighting sounds from far away. Something crashing in the sky. Gunshots. Occasional explosions.

How long will that person continue doing this before being satisfied?

As I got up holding the Kaijin’s arm, I gritted my teeth.