Ch.201IF Side Story: Somehow, Everyone Seems to Like Me (2)

“Um, so I was thinking.”

Rose, who had been watching the children play for a while, spoke softly.

“How about we go on a trip during summer vacation?”

“A trip?”

“Hmm… not camping. Don’t worry.”

I burst out laughing at her words. It had been a really long time since I’d laughed so freely. Perhaps drawn by the sound of my laughter, Hayun glanced in my direction and promptly collided with a child charging straight at her. I laughed at that too.

“Why? I thought you might dislike it after everything you went through.”

Hmm.

During my military service, I did remember shivering in a tent and thinking I’d never go camping again.

Well, after being discharged, I realized that camping in the military and camping outside were different things, so I eventually went a few times with friends.

“Sleeping in a tent in that kind of place and sleeping in a tent at a proper campsite are different things,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.

“Really?”

“Yeah. At least there’ll be plenty of food. No need to worry about malnutrition.”

“Well, I was planning to bring lots of meat anyway.”

“I like sausages too.”

“Sausages are meat too.”

“Are they?”

After that exchange, I felt a bit strange.

The person sitting next to me was none other than Rose. Even after defeating Noir Corporation, we were still magical girls. We had the ability to cleanly resolve various minor issues, even if they weren’t kaijin-related.

Rose was the one who had been a magical girl the longest. The weight carried by the name “Rose” wasn’t actually that light.

How did I end up being able to talk so comfortably with Happy Rose?

…

Thinking about it again, it was probably because I acted rudely and did whatever I wanted.

“Hey, Rose.”

“Come on, is that how you’re going to address me?”

At my call, Rose lightly hit my arm and said:

“Not Rose, call me Seo-hee.”

“Seo-hee.”

Calling her that felt even stranger. When I called her “Rose,” it felt like addressing a magical girl colleague, but calling her “Seo-hee” by name oddly felt like speaking informally to a senior.

Not that there’s a law against speaking informally to seniors.

“Is the way I talk to you okay?”

“Huh? What do you mean by okay?”

Seo-hee looked at me as she was about to take a sip of her drink.

“No, I just wondered if it’s okay for me to speak informally to someone older than me.”

“You’re asking this now?”

Seo-hee looked at me like I was being ridiculous. Somehow, receiving that look made my face flush a little.

She’s right, why now?

“We fought together risking our lives. We even delivered that amazing final blow together. Besides, if I didn’t like it, I would have said something back then.”

That was Seo-hee’s answer.

“…And we have things to reflect on too. We were so quick to divide everything into good and evil and fought so hard.”

I was the one on the wrong side.

Well, even if that wasn’t exactly wrong, it might be a bit uncomfortable to talk with someone you once fought so fiercely against. Just like how I feel a bit awkward speaking informally to Seo-hee.

“Then let’s call it even and move on.”

When I said that, Seo-hee laughed.

“Thinking about it again,” she said.

“Tents really aren’t great. We just lived like that until recently, right? It was honestly cold. It’ll probably be just as hot in summer. And there’ll be lots of bugs, won’t there?”

That’s true.

I couldn’t help but agree with that.

*

Summer vacation.

So, our destination ended up being a pension, not a campsite.

We agreed to split the cost. No matter what, I didn’t want to feel like I was just tagging along on someone else’s trip.

It was a bit expensive for my allowance, but fortunately not impossible to afford.

Since none of us knew how to drive, we packed our bags and plastic bags full of stuff and set off. After riding the bus for about an hour and a half, we bought lots of meat and drinks at a nearby supermarket—

“Alright, let’s fly.”

When I seriously suggested this, tired of all the luggage, the magical girls nodded seriously.

Since Pang Pang couldn’t fly, I carried her on my back, and the rest divided up the luggage and headed toward the pension.

“This feels strange,” Pang Pang commented with a laugh.

It is strange to be transported by flying people rather than a private helicopter.

And transforming into magical girls just to hang out at a pension was strange too.

The pension owner knew magical girls were coming, but clearly hadn’t expected us to arrive flying, as they stared at us with their mouth hanging open.

“…”

For some reason, the kids stepped forward to block me.

…Well, my outfit is a bit embarrassing to look at up close. I accepted that internally.

After unpacking briefly, we sat inside the pension building to rest from the journey.

There wasn’t much conversation. Or to be honest, it was a bit awkward.

Hayun, Jihye, and I have a lot to talk about. But that’s a past that only we share.

And if we strictly categorize those memories, only the memories between Jihye and me could be discussed as pleasant reminiscences. The memories between Hayun and me were… more personal and heavy.

But I don’t know the pasts of all the other magical girls either, nor are we close enough to share enjoyment.

Tsss.

While I was awkwardly trying to figure out what to talk about, I heard that sound from beside me.

Looking over, I saw Pang Pang opening an energy drink can.

“Wait.”

I grabbed Pang Pang’s arm, barely preventing the drink from entering her mouth.

“You’re drinking that already?”

“Huh? Can’t I?”

“Of course not. You’ll get drunk if you drink all of that.”

“Come on, one can is nowhere near enough.”

But it definitely looks like the drink that usually makes her drunk after just one can.

“Drunk?”

Hearing our conversation, Seo-hee asked curiously.

“Did you bring alcohol? I heard a can opening. Or is it beer from an energy drink company?”

“…No.”

I shook my head.

“Pang Pang gets drunk on caffeine.”

“Drunk on caffeine?”

Even magical girls can’t know everything about all aliens. There are an incredible number of different alien species in this galaxy.

“She usually drinks it instead of alcohol.”

“Is it okay to drink that? Won’t it damage her body?”

I wondered about that too, but Pang Pang had insisted there were no major medical issues. Of course, on Pang Pang’s planet, caffeine was a substance minors couldn’t consume.

“Wow.”

Seo-hee exclaimed in surprise.

“I’m a bit jealous. We can’t drink alcohol.”

“No, she shouldn’t be drinking it either. It’s just that there’s no law in this country prohibiting minors from consuming caffeine.”

“…So you’re circumventing laws from another country?”

Hayun asked cautiously.

“That’s right.”

As Rose said that, she naturally brought the drink to her mouth again, and I grabbed her arm once more.

The kids laughed a little.

The atmosphere seemed to lighten up a bit, which was fortunate.

Oh, but I didn’t let Pang Pang drink the soda. I eventually took it from her hand and placed it on the table.

“The carbonation will go flat if you leave it too long…”

Pang Pang looked at me with pitiful eyes, which made it a bit difficult, but rules are rules.

If we came to have fun, we should at least have fun properly.

Besides, I only realized after arriving that our relationship was much more awkward than I thought.

I hoped that at least one person I knew would stay awake as long as possible.

Even I disliked that kind of awkwardness.

*

The smell of grilling meat filled the air.

Time passed well as we ate and chatted.

Even though we didn’t share memories, we could form a connection by talking about what happened back then.

In fact, since I had been sulking for quite a long time during that period, it was in some ways like a parade of my embarrassing past… but well, I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s all in the past now.

The time we’ll know each other in the future will be much longer than the time we’ve known each other so far. So I need to adapt.

I don’t have many friends as it is, and I don’t want to narrow my circle of acquaintances even further.

But even so, it was inevitable that people who were close would stick together.

Me, Hayun, Jihye, Pang Pang, and Ju-a.

And Seo-hee, Dalia, and Delphinium.

Hmm.

Just looking at the numbers, it seems unfair.

Seo-hee and the other two were looking up at the stars a little distance away from us.

Seeing them quietly talking about various things, I got up from my seat.

“Jieun?”

“I’ll go over there for a bit.”

When I said that, feeling a bit concerned, Hayun nodded with a slight smile on her lips.

With a carbonated drink in one hand, I approached them, wondering what I should say.