Ch.221221. Reversed Positions

“Yes. Those two should be able to… yes. For now.”

“For now, that is. To be honest, I don’t think it will succeed perfectly either. I’ve told the higher-ups that the ultimate goal is to purify that filthy core over hundreds or thousands of years, but…”

“What higher-ups? You only have the Association President.”

“…I told the Association President.”

Blanc glares at me for my pointed remark.

“I see.”

“Really… anyway. I did tell her. That we might need to leave the management to them.”

“…If they come over from that side, won’t they all turn into animal forms like that annoying cat? How are they supposed to manage the core in that state?”

It was a perfectly reasonable concern.

All the mascots had crossed over in animal forms.

Plus, those mascot bastards.

They’re so annoying—every time we try to capture them, they’re too busy running away to be caught.

And yet they’re overflowing with camaraderie when escaping, always giving magical girls the advantage.

…Well, that’s all in the past now.

But I must have been so irritated back then to still remember it now.

When you can’t see the mascot, it’s protecting the magical girl from behind.

Even when a magical girl appears to be without her mascot, the moment things get dangerous, it shows up to help her and then vanishes mysteriously—how infuriating that was.

And through it all, they always appeared as animals or, at best, doll-like figures.

I never saw them here in the forms I encountered when I crossed directly into their world.

“Ah. In this world, they focus on supporting magical girls, and opening portals consumes a lot of magical power, so they move around in appropriately small forms.”

“…Isn’t it uncomfortable for humans to go around in animal forms like that?”

“They say it’s actually more comfortable that way. Right, Gabriel?”

“It’s the same to me. Once you get used to it, this form can be more comfortable. Since the body is small, it uses less energy, and not being in a human body means I can enter places humans can’t—it’s quite nice.”

The annoying white cat answers while grooming itself.

Ugh. I can see fur flying everywhere.

Cleaning that up will be…

“See? You heard it. That’s the mascot regulation… as far as I know, there aren’t any particular restrictions.”

“Of course there are restrictions. We agreed to only recruit from magical girls who can manage with reduced support because maintaining that form requires a lot of magical power.”

Magical girls who don’t need mascot support…

“Are you making such a long-winded offer to take charge yourself?”

“Well. As other magical girls grow stronger, they could operate without mascots too. Or we could accelerate the retirement of magical girls who are close to retiring anyway.”

“You know that’s nonsense, right?”

“Well…”

“Let’s not talk about you wanting to retire.”

“I’m still far from retirement, and with Senior Yuri still around, if I left, our combat strength would be too depleted.”

“So you do understand?”

“There’s no one else to do the job besides me.”

“There are plenty of people who could work, just none with your level of power, right?”

“I suppose so.”

“Anyway… that annoying cat.”

“That’s one reason it needs to stay here.”

“If that’s the case, do we really need to provide things like cat towers? Couldn’t we just let it eat and sleep at the Association?”

“Its main job is still being a magical girl’s mascot…”

Blanc continues speaking while looking at the white cat, which is still grooming itself.

Acting small and cute, pretending to be dignified, as if it were the master.

So annoying.

“Even so… *sigh*.”

“I’d ask you to show tolerance rather than irritation.”

“Well… what power do I have? I have no choice but to accept it. Even if that small, annoying mascot threatens me, I have no means to fight back.”

“Um, um… thanks. Love you…?”

“Yes. Me too.”

“Thank you. So don’t worry about the core. If Gabriel isn’t enough, we can add more personnel, and we’ll definitely have magical girls handling the security.”

“…I hate to say this about Arin, but…”

“We can’t entrust it to magical girls of Arin’s level. We’ll deploy several magical girls at Hyewon’s peer level, or Seohyun’s level.”

Blanc strokes my head, telling me not to worry.

When did she get so close?

I noticed her getting closer when she said she loved me earlier.

She comes to my side and shows affection even though Ellie is sitting nearby, watching with displeased eyes.

Well, I find it endearing, but it might not look good to Ellie.

If she thinks about how someone who used to be her enemy is freely stroking her lover’s head while giving loving glances.

Or maybe it’s just pure jealousy.

Hmm…

That seems more likely.

Just pure jealousy.

…Yes.

With Ellie, it’s definitely pure jealousy.

Look. Her eyes clearly say she wants to do it too.

I’ve lived with Ellie for years, how could I not know?

The way she’s fidgeting with her hands.

Just jealousy.

“Well then… that’s fine. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“Try on the tail once… anything else?”

“Let’s head back if not… I’m starting to feel tired in various ways.”

“Well… the examination is done. There’s nothing else to do.”

“Let’s go back then.”

“How about resting for a bit first?”

“…With that cat? I’m allergic to that cat.”

“I know you’re not. I’ll bring the tail, so wait here.”

“Fine…”

Well.

Blanc tells me to lie down and then leaves.

So I just lay down.

Ellie quietly slipped in beside me and took up space next to me, but well.

Both Ellie and I are small in build, so it’s not particularly uncomfortable.

She hugs me, seemingly wanting to do what Blanc did earlier, unable to hide her emerging smile.

“Ellie. It’s hot.”

“I’m cold.”

“Were you that jealous?”

“I wasn’t jealous.”

“You were jealous.”

“I said I wasn’t.”

“If you weren’t, would you let me go?”

I twisted my body slightly to try to make her release her arms wrapped around me.

“Ah, ah! I was jealous. I was.”

“Good. It’s better when you’re honest.”

“Geez… resorting to this kind of blackmail.”

“If I don’t blackmail you like this, you won’t listen.”

“…You’re just unnecessarily smart.”

Ellie’s hand, stroking my head strongly enough to mess it up, doesn’t feel too bad.

As I was enjoying her touch, Blanc returned with the tail.

“Here’s one for now. If there’s anything else, leave it to the Association or Ellie. The doctor might be able to do something with the ones that haven’t been modified yet.”

“Well… Ellie will take care of that, I suppose. Like the things brought here right now.”

“Right. The weapons shouldn’t be a problem, so you can use them.”

“…You’re giving me weapons?”

“You’re going to help, right? With Arin’s training and such.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Then it’s settled.”

“Vil—”

“Villain, yes. So what? She’s our girlfriend.”

“…Hearing the word ‘girlfriend’ makes me a bit…”

“Well, you’re a woman, aren’t you?”

“…That’s true, but.”

“The way you’re sputtering, aren’t you a woman?”

“Why would you say that?”

“Whatever you’re thinking probably won’t happen. Are you going to have a marital spat?”

“What marital spat? We’re not even married yet.”

“Anyway. Put aside whatever reason you’re thinking of. I trust you.”

“…Geez.”

“Well. If you do something strange again like last time, you’ll have to be prepared in a different sense this time.”

Blanc wiggles her fingers as if scratching some wall.

…For the first time, I felt scared.

Maybe I should abandon that plan.

The aftermath seems like it would be too severe.

Really.

I might die this time.

Not socially, but physically.

I might die of dehydration.

…And that anger wouldn’t be limited to Blanc either.

Hmm…

Should I really not do it?

It might genuinely be better not to.

…But then again, who else would deal with Eden’s real remnants if not me?

…Yes.

Who else would do it if not me?

Hmm.

If Blanc finds out about it, would she consider mitigating circumstances?

“Try it on quickly.”

“Ah. Yes…”

I take the tail Blanc hands me, get up, and try it on.

“How does it feel?”

“It’s just… a tail.”

The same feeling as usual.

The moderately heavy sensation pulling from behind.

The slight imbalance felt immediately upon attachment.

Then, once I get used to it again.

I try moving the tail a little.

“Oh.”

“Why are you surprised by this?”

“You never know. The Association might have messed with it and broken it.”

“Well… this tail withstood your attacks and remained sturdy. I know how to do simple maintenance myself, and if it’s serious, Ellie can fix it.”

“It’s not that simple. Anyway, is the movement normal?”

I move the tail a bit more.

I extend the tail fully and wrap it around Blanc.

“Caught you.”

“Ah!”

Like a snake holding its prey.

“Hehehe. Surrender now.”

“Eeh.”

“If you admit defeat to me now, I’ll go easy on you next time.”

“Hmm… really?”

“…What’s with that boring reaction?”

“Hmm. It’s been quite a while since Vine was on the offensive?”

“…What are you saying?”

“Well, lately I’ve only been teasing you, so maybe it wouldn’t be bad to let you have your turn.”

“…This person.”

Blanc’s words somehow make me feel deflated.

I release Blanc, whom I had been holding.

“Hmm… but I think I still prefer being the attacker rather than the attacked. Ah, though with Vine, it might be a bit different.”

“That’s enough. We’ve confirmed the tail works properly.”

I was clearly the one who attacked, but why do I feel like I’m the one who got played…?