Ch.165Epilogue: Forever (1)

I did my proposal in my own way and returned to Korea in high spirits.

To be honest, it was lacking in many ways to call it a formal proposal. I didn’t even have rings yet.

Rings, huh.

Hmm, did I have some money saved up?

I pondered a bit while organizing my things in my room.

I’m not sure of the exact reason, but I felt that I should be the one to propose. Rather than saying the girls liked each other equally, it would be more accurate to say all three of them were looking at just me.

On top of that, I have memories from my past life, so, how should I put it?

It might be a bit strange to say this now, but I wanted to be the one holding that opportunity. Maybe that’s also why I try so hard not to lose even in bed.

Some might call it an outdated way of thinking… but well, this is just me thinking to myself anyway.

“…Ah, so I’ll need twice as much money as a normal couple.”

I think it would be better if all four rings had the same design. There’s only one pinky finger on the left hand, after all. I can’t wear all four rings on one finger, and it would be weird to put the others’ rings on different fingers.

I didn’t want to get something too cheap either.

We’re not celebrities. To be honest, I don’t want to appear in the news either.

But we’re still active. We’re still pretty, and our figures are still good. If anything, being called magical girls at this age might attract even more media attention.

There’s talk about selecting the next generation of magical girls, but people’s reaction is mostly “Why now?”

That makes sense. No more kaijin appear anymore. The main culprit, the corporation, used their own money to handle the aftermath and completely changed their business direction.

Fortunately, it seems they’re still applying the technology they gained during that time in other areas.

I received severance pay.

Of course, not as a magical girl. I’m still a magical girl, after all.

It was severance pay from when I worked as a combatant.

All the salary I received during that time went to the orphanage as donations. When the children and I left the orphanage, the teacher tried to return the remaining money, but I firmly refused. No matter what, it didn’t feel right to take back money I had already donated.

And the most decisive reason I could do that was because I received proper severance pay processed by Pang Pang.

The pure amount of severance pay accumulated over several years of work was quite substantial. Adding the compensation and settlement money quietly handed over by the government made it a huge help.

Jihye, Hayun, and Ju-a, who are living with me now, also contributed.

“It might just be enough.”

I can’t afford anything too expensive, but they’ll probably be happy.

As I was smiling to myself, imagining ring designs in my head—

Knock. Knock.

Someone was knocking on the window.

Even though we lived on the 20th floor of an apartment building, I wasn’t particularly surprised. There are quite a few beings in this world who can fly.

I’m not sure if this is good or bad, but ghosts and birds are no longer the only beings who can knock on a 20th-floor apartment window.

When I turned my head, there was a familiar cherry-colored alien.

Looking like an alien straight out of a cartoon, riding a UFO with the top part visible and holding two control sticks in its hands, it was cute in many ways.

A true “mascot,” you could say.

“Cherry.”

As I opened the window with a welcoming smile,

“Jieun!”

Cherry also smiled happily and came through the window.

…But couldn’t she have just come through the front door? No one in this house would mistreat Cherry anyway.

During my hysterical phase, I did lump Cherry together with James and treat them like hamsters, but it’s different now. At least with Cherry, I treat her as an equal.

As for James, well.

At least now I treat him as about three-quarters of a person.

Actually, I haven’t seen James that often recently.

He bears almost no responsibility for the clone incident. James didn’t know those kaijin were clones either.

It seems that the production of kaijin was known only within close family members. And that became the catalyst for that incident.

Well, Pang Pang had run away from home because she hated her family, so it made sense that she knew nothing about it.

But even so, James held quite a high position in the company and had many responsibilities.

After being imprisoned, he was temporarily released to deal with the tremendous aftermath brought on by Noir Corporation, and he’s still cleaning up the mess.

Still, it seems that his role in helping me resolve the situation was taken into consideration. Though that doesn’t completely erase his crimes.

“Did you enjoy your honeymoon?”

“We’re not even married yet, what honeymoon are you talking about?”

I laughed incredulously.

“But… it seems something good happened?”

I gently pushed Cherry’s UFO with my finger. Cherry laughed and spun around in the air.

“By the way, why did you come through the window? You could have just come through the door.”

She had done so before.

“Ah… well.”

Cherry tilted her head left and right as if pondering something.

“Do you have something you want to tell me secretly?”

I asked half-jokingly while continuing to organize my things, but Cherry didn’t answer.

Looking again, Cherry was still spinning around me. My gentle push wouldn’t have broken her flying device, so this must be similar to fidgeting.

“Well, you see.”

Watching Cherry hesitantly open her mouth, I stopped organizing my things.

After some deliberation, Cherry finally spoke.

“Um, if you’re not married yet, do you plan to get married?”

Similar conversations had come up a few times when we talked among ourselves. I had always been vague about it until now, but during this trip, I had completely made up my mind.

Cherry seemed to be talking about that.

I had a feeling I knew why Cherry had secretly come to find me.

Suppressing a smile, I asked with the most serious expression I could muster:

“You’re worried about proposing, aren’t you?”

“…Yes.”

Whether Cherry wants to propose to a woman or a man, I’m ready to support her. Even if that person is James.

However, while James uses a male voice, he’s actually female, so Cherry’s situation was surprisingly similar to mine.

Just as James was busy handling the aftermath, Cherry was also busy helping James with the cleanup.

The two had already become quite close while working with us, and it seemed they had grown even closer while bickering during that time.

“Hmm.”

It seems Cherry thought I had already proposed and came to me for that reason.

I did propose.

I did, but…

I considered that proposal as just seeking initial consent. This might sound a bit vague, but I believe a proposal should have its own romance.

It’s a once-in-a-lifetime proposal with my girlfriends, so shouldn’t it be a confession that will remain in our memories forever?

I heard this in my past life too—a proposal isn’t just about asking for permission; it’s like a goal celebration between two people who already have an implicit promise of marriage.

Well, in my case, including myself, there were four of us.

“To be honest, I haven’t made a proper proposal yet. Various things happened, and all four of us have made up our minds, but…”

“I see…”

Perhaps she had come to get some hints from me, because after hearing my story, Cherry drooped her large ears and landed on the desk.

Seeing her so deflated made me want to do something for her.

The appearance of Squeakeans is truly unfair. Even I, who had so despised James, softened my heart after seeing his true appearance.

“…”

After being lost in thought for a moment, I said:

“Well, I could use someone to exchange ideas with too.”

“Really?”

Cherry lifted her head abruptly.

But still, a proposal is a proposal.

Even if all the marriage promises are already settled, the event should have some element of surprise.

I don’t plan to make it embarrassingly dramatic like in TV shows, but still somewhat romantic.

…But I have three partners.

Thinking about it again, the risk of coming up with ideas on my own seemed a bit high.

…

No, that’s really true.