Ch.256IF Side Story: From the Beginning (24)

“I see, so now you’re really a Magical Girl, Jieun…”

Jihye spoke with deep emotion.

Until recently, Jihye had shown somewhat complicated feelings about this fact, but after meeting the Magical Girls in person, she seemed a bit more at ease.

At first, Jihye was quite worried about me.

Being a Magical Girl isn’t exactly an ordinary job.

It involved fighting, and I would certainly get hurt sometimes. Jihye, who grew up with me like a sister, couldn’t help but worry.

Until recently, she was even concerned about why I hadn’t transformed and why I didn’t have a wand.

“Are you my mother or something?”

“I might as well be. Do you know how hard I’ve worked to take care of you?”

What a coincidence. I was thinking the exact same thing.

Ignoring my snort, Jihye lay down and stared blankly at the ceiling.

“Just because you’ve become a Magical Girl, it doesn’t mean we’ll grow apart, right?”

“Huh?”

Jihye’s sudden question made me sit up and stare at her.

“Well, Magical Girls are… like idols, you know. They have busy schedules and all.”

“It’s not as busy as you might think.”

I answered while thinking of Seo-hee, Yeonwoo, and Chaeyeon.

They were often away from the facility. Unlike me, who was still a trainee, the three of them went on actual missions, and those missions weren’t exactly regular occurrences.

But they weren’t extremely busy like firefighters either. After all, incidents involving Kaijin suddenly appearing or Noir Corporation causing trouble weren’t as common as fires or ordinary crimes.

As Magical Girls, we couldn’t be deployed for serious crimes… there were various legal issues. Besides, we were still minors, and those matters were truly the responsibility of national security agencies.

Our jurisdiction was limited to the gray areas.

We could only handle things that fell into the same category as the almost-crimes committed by Noir Corporation.

“Well, still…”

Despite my answer, Jihye wiggled her toes and muttered worriedly.

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll get busy and stop contacting you?”

When I said this with a smile, Jihye suddenly fell silent.

Finding it a bit strange, I sat up to look at her, and she was pressing her lips tightly together.

“Is that really what you thought?”

“Well, yeah… We’ll eventually leave this place. Besides, you’ve been coming home late these days. You’re almost always out on weekends. With less time to see each other, I thought we might naturally drift apart.”

Those words were somewhat shocking.

I have no intention of abandoning Jihye or cutting off contact.

Our relationship hasn’t always been perfect. Sometimes it was rocky, and we fought terribly when we were younger.

But now we’re fine. In fact, it’s because we fought and came to understand each other as children that we can now live as true sisters.

So why would I end that relationship now?

“No matter how much time passes, you and I will always have this relationship. After we graduate, we can even live together.”

When I said this incredulously, Jihye’s eyes widened and she sat up.

“Really?”

“Of course. What else did you think would happen? Housing is expensive. To reduce living costs, it’s better if we share, whether it’s a studio or a two-bedroom.”

Jihye’s face brightened at my words.

“Right? Rent is so expensive!”

“Yeah.”

Well, Jihye might move out someday if she gets a boyfriend or something.

On the other hand, there’s no reason for me to get a boyfriend. Even after becoming like this, my identity remained the same in that regard.

…

Though I don’t understand why Magical Girl outfits have to be so revealing.

I’m not sure if it’s because of the image I have, or if something important in my head is seriously wrong. I really don’t know.

“Or, would you like to visit our facility sometime? There’s not much to see, but still.”

“Really? I can go?”

“I think you probably can.”

Actually, I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anyone else come in.

There seem to be government officials and people from the Federation, but they’re all related personnel.

“I’ll ask about it.”

But somehow, I didn’t think it would be difficult.

There aren’t many confidential documents to see inside anyway. Besides, Jihye is just an ordinary middle school student.

What could possibly go wrong with her visiting?

*

And as I thought, Jihye’s visit was immediately approved.

She couldn’t move around freely like us, but she got permission to see the training area and lounge, and use them for a day.

Well, even though we can move freely inside, we really only use the training area, lounge, and our individual rooms. The other areas are filled with documents I don’t need to know about, or they’re just machine rooms.

And Cherry was assigned to accompany Jihye and show her around.

“Wow, so cute!”

“Jihye, calling a Squeakean ‘cute’ is actually disrespectful—”

“Hehe.”

“…”

When I first called Cherry cute, I was told it could be disrespectful, but when Cherry heard such praise from Jihye, she just scratched her head and smiled.

“We’re Magical Girls,” Hayun whispered beside me.

I know we’re Magical Girls.

The actual reason the Magical Girl organization was created was political, but they still established the pretext of working for world peace.

So we need to be mindful of such things.

“Now, this way!”

Cherry seemed to quite enjoy giving this tour.

Well, Cherry has been in a good mood lately. The Magical Girl project she’s in charge of has been going smoothly. The two new recruits, Hayun and I, successfully transformed and each obtained powerful wands.

Although Ju-a hasn’t transformed yet, I knew it was just a matter of time. In the original story, Ju-a successfully transformed and worked hard as Magical Girl Happy Iris.

Already in a good mood, Cherry seemed even happier with a visitor like Jihye.

“Actually, you’re the first person to come tour our facility like this.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t just Jihye who was surprised. Hayun and I, following behind, were equally shocked.

“Yes… For some reason, the children’s parents don’t come here often. While Magical Girls themselves are in the spotlight, the existence of this facility isn’t widely known.”

It might be troublesome if the media found out. After all, it was somewhat like a military facility. Though small in scale, it could produce weapons, armor, or equipment for special purposes, and Magical Girls were always on standby, ready for action.

…

Looking at it this way, it really is a dangerous place. I understand why people can’t enter without permission.

While Magical Girls are the visible face, many people are working hard behind the scenes. Cherry is one of them.

There’s nothing more enjoyable than having others recognize your efforts.

“Now, this is the lounge where Magical Girls rest. It has pretty much everything you need.”

I nodded at Cherry’s introduction.

“Except for the food, we bought and stocked most of it ourselves.”

“Wow.”

Despite that addendum, it was true that the lounge had everything we needed. There were always snacks and ramen for when we got hungry, a pretty big TV, and computers for each of us.

But it still felt a bit bleak until we filled it with our personal items.

Now, the lounge was colorful in many ways. Anyone who saw it would immediately know we had decorated it.

“Oh, it’s Jihye!”

Seo-hee, sprawled on a chair, waved at us.

“I heard you were coming.”

And Yeonwoo too.

Delphinium stood a bit apart, watching us without saying anything, and Ju-a smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Overall, though, Jihye was welcomed here. She had already become acquainted with the Magical Girls.

I put my arm lightly on Jihye’s shoulder and smiled.

“You’re in quite an impressive position, aren’t you? You’re both a Magical Girl’s sister and a friend to other Magical Girls.”

“R-really…?”

Seeing Jihye stiffen up as if experiencing cognitive dissonance, I burst into laughter.