Ch.240IF Side Story: From the Beginning (8)

For about a week, I challenged her daily and kept losing, but gradually I started to develop some techniques.

Actually, these techniques aren’t anything special.

Hope changes in size depending on your mindset.

There’s no reason to attack again after failing anyway. Our sparring sessions usually ended after one exchange. So, I had no reason to despair during those matches.

The important thing was believing I could land a hit after my first dodge.

When my circuit spins faster, my strength increases, and with that strength, my chances of dodging again improve. As long as I maintain the ability to dodge and move, my next movement becomes faster than before.

Dalia seemed surprised, probably not expecting me to approach things this way.

That’s right. My strategy was simply to dodge with all my might and attempt to strike back.

It might not mean much in a real battle, but I decided to think of it as building stamina.

Besides, sparring with Dalia didn’t mean I stopped practicing with Rose or Hayun. While Hayun was reluctant to hit me, making serious sparring impossible, my fights with Rose and Seo-hee were becoming more intense each time.

I still couldn’t gain the upper hand. But my skills were improving. I decided to consider that my “hope.”

And today, for the first time, I threw a punch at Dalia’s face.

Bang!

My fist didn’t actually connect. Something exploded just before my fist reached her face. My advancing fist naturally bounced back, and I fell flat on my back.

“Ah, so close!”

As I lay spread-eagle on the floor shouting, Dalia gave an incredulous laugh. But today, her expression wasn’t purely mocking.

“Did you catch it from Seo-hee?”

Dalia extended her hand to me. When I grabbed it, my body was pulled up swiftly.

Clearly, magical girls have enhanced physical abilities even if they primarily use spells as their main attack method.

I recall reading that gentlemen in the 20th century carried canes partly for self-defense. If that’s the case, Dalia’s large staff could certainly be a threatening blunt weapon. I should keep that in mind for my next strategy.

“…You really want to win, don’t you?”

“I’ve told you that many times already.”

“You seem to enjoy the research.”

I blinked at Dalia’s words.

Is that so?

Certainly, it’s not boring.

What kind of feelings did I live with before?

Right, inferiority. I was drowning in feelings of inferiority.

Still, I didn’t experience such severe inferiority until I learned what kind of world this was. I was jealous of Hayun and didn’t tell her about my life circumstances, but that was a bearable inferiority. After all, not everyone in the world can live well.

But after learning what this world was like, after discovering that Hayun was the protagonist, my feelings changed.

If we’re talking about being a “protagonist,” shouldn’t I qualify too? Didn’t I transmigrate to another world? In all transmigration stories, the person who transmigrates becomes the protagonist. No matter how much they insist they’re not the main character, they inevitably become the protagonist of the narrative, and the original story becomes mere background.

Yet, I was conspicuously placed in the role of an extra. A nameless extra who never even appeared in the original work.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm?”

When I nodded to myself and made that sound, one of Dalia’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“You’re right. It is fun.”

That was my conclusion.

I couldn’t completely let go of the inferiority in my heart. I’m a bundle of inferiority complexes. I still felt inferior about not being able to beat Dalia, not having skills like Hayun, and not being as strong as Seo-hee.

But at the same time, this inferiority was bearable for now.

That’s because I’m by Hayun’s side.

Not just Hayun, but I’m in a position that doesn’t fall behind compared to the other magical girls.

It’s unavoidable that I can’t be number one here. But at least there’s a stepping stone I can climb through effort.

That was why my circuit was spinning.

It’s fun to research ways to win against someone. It’s enjoyable to feel myself getting stronger. It’s exciting to figure out strategies and implement them.

“That’s right. I think I enjoy this fight.”

“Even though you lose every time?”

“Even if I lose, I’m still a magical girl, right?”

Well, I haven’t fully attained magical girl status yet, but anyway.

“How could I not enjoy exchanging blows with the most famous people in this country? This isn’t a position just anyone can reach even if they wanted to.”

Maybe Dalia and Seo-hee could. But at least I couldn’t. No matter what anyone said, I intended to stay firmly in this position.

Because I’m a bundle of inferiority complexes.

Because I’m someone who needs to hold onto something visible to feel secure.

“…”

Dalia stared at me blankly.

“…Right. Well, keep at it.”

Would it be strange to say that Dalia’s response seemed a bit more serious?

Dalia turned and left the training room. I looked toward Hayun, who had been silently watching our conversation.

Hayun also had a somewhat contemplative expression.

Hmm, I don’t think it was a conversation that required such serious consideration.

Still, I feel a bit proud.

At least it seems my efforts are being recognized.

Looking at the circuit on my wrist, I could see it spinning well.

*

The following Monday.

I entered the break room as usual, but Dalia wasn’t there again. Like last time, I went up to the rooftop and found her there.

Since she had finished repotting last time, Dalia was now looking at the flowers. As I noticed before, it’s a well-maintained flower bed. Does she manage it alone?

Thinking about it, the person who first planted flowers here might have been Dalia.

“Wait.”

Dalia said as I approached.

“Let me enjoy the flowers for a moment.”

Well, at least she’s not telling me to leave today, which is fortunate.

“You like flowers, huh?”

“Do you dislike them?”

“It’s not that I dislike them.”

Are there people who dislike flowers? I don’t think they’re the kind of living things one would actively dislike.

“I’m just not particularly interested in them normally.”

“I’m very interested. They’re pretty.”

“Is that so?”

Dalia gazed down at the flowers.

The weather was truly chilly now. Come to think of it, I can hardly remember seeing vibrantly blooming flowers during this season. It’s a time when even weeds growing between paving blocks are rarely seen.

“Are these flowers grown with magic?”

“Yes.”

Dalia answered.

“It’s nice to be able to see flowers even in the dead of winter. There are flowers that bloom in winter, but there are also flowers you want to see year-round.”

True, I also feel disappointed when cherry blossoms fall too early. The yellow flowers in front of Dalia were being maintained very freshly in that sense.

“Actually, I wanted to become someone who researches this kind of thing.”

I blinked at Dalia’s words.

“Just like you enjoy researching ways to fight and win, I enjoyed using magic to grow various plants.”

“I see.”

I thought for a moment before speaking.

“It suits you.”

“Huh?”

My response seemed unexpected, as Dalia turned to look at me with a slightly puzzled expression.

“It suits me?”

“Well, you know.”

All magical girls have flower names. Rose, Dalia, Delphinium. Even Iris, who isn’t a magical girl yet. And Hayun is Blossom.

But… when I think of flowers, one of the first colors that comes to mind is yellow. I’m not sure why. It’s just the image in my head.

Plus, among all the magical girl outfits, Dalia’s looks the most flower-like.

“That’s how it seems to me.”

“…Really?”

Dalia tilted her head.

“Well, that’s the story. When I first received the circuit, I thought it was just given to me to research various things with magic, but it turned out I was supposed to become a magical girl and fight evil. Because of that, I had to put this kind of research on hold.”

So Dalia also didn’t particularly want to be a magical girl. Similar to Seo-hee, who wanted to box.

Perhaps her parents pushed her into it.

“If you want to research, why not just do it?”

“…Huh?”

“Hayun and I have joined now anyway. I mean, you’re stubborn about it, but if we divide the roles, we just need to handle our assigned parts properly. Can’t you research in your remaining time?”

“…Is it that easy?”

“From watching you fight, it seems easy. You always beat me effortlessly. Even when I charge at you with all my might.”

“…”

Dalia’s expression went blank.

Why?

Had she not been conscious of this until now?

It was actually described that the pressure felt by the magical girls decreased significantly after Hayun joined. With Hayun serving as a central connecting role, they began fighting with better coordination and won much more easily.

When Iris joins too, there will be more people providing support from a distance, and I can either stand at the front line or at the very back to protect the rear.

Doesn’t that mean we can relax a little?

I think Dalia’s skills are more than sufficient.

“…Haha.”

Dalia laughed briefly and took a deep breath.

After exhaling deeply, she looked at me.

“You came for sparring anyway, right? Let’s go. The sooner we finish, the less troublesome it’ll be.”

Wait, where did our previous conversation go?

Well, this is what I wanted anyway, so it’s fine.