Ch.269IF Side Story: From the Beginning (37)

I thought it was quite strange, so I tilted my head.

Even so, developing intimacy with a Combatant?

Isn’t that a bit odd?

I know that most Combatants are actually just ordinary people with nothing particularly special about them.

Of course, the people who end up becoming Combatants for a company like this are those who’ve been driven here for various reasons.

Especially those who came here because they urgently needed money, somehow managing to get by while saving what they can from the salary Noir Corporation pays them.

The reason Noir Corporation is in this country is quite simple. Earth’s developed nations offered various benefits to secure the technology of alien companies.

Almost to the point of being illegal by Galactic Federation standards.

The most notable benefit is tax advantages. What’s known as a tax haven.

There are many other perks they’re given and things overlooked. Being on the edge of illegality ultimately meant that in people’s perception, it was quite close to rock bottom.

But in the end, the people who appear in comics are either married men with children, or those in extreme poverty struggling to make ends meet day by day.

Their stories are diverse. Earth’s stories used to be limited to Earth itself, but now that the background has expanded to a galactic scale, there are those who went bankrupt on a planetary level, or space refugees whose mother planets were destroyed because they couldn’t prevent meteor collisions… The person next to me is probably like that too.

Even so, this person always stays until the end.

Standing there, they held out their fist to me.

“…”

As I stared at the person who seemed like they absolutely wouldn’t get up until I got up first, they shifted uncomfortably.

Their height was similar to mine, and their body lines were somewhat slender for an adult male. Not just slender, but to the point where they couldn’t hide that it was a female body type.

Though not as obviously curvy as mine.

“How did you end up doing this kind of work?”

I asked, but of course, they didn’t answer. They just stood there, shifting uncomfortably.

“Do you want to beat me that badly?”

When I changed my question, their helmet turned toward me.

It looked like a motorcycle helmet, but if you looked closely, it had a few more detailed aspects. Seeing what looked like circuits drawn on it and small antenna-like protrusions, it probably had communication functions too.

“…”

After staring at that helmet for a while, I said:

“…Does that thing have some kind of black box function?”

I immediately regretted asking.

Magical Girls fight without such things. Come to think of it, I’m not sure why Magical Girls don’t wear body cams like police officers do.

Only after I said that did the Combatant panic and fumble around tremendously.

Could they be showing consideration for me?

Or were they secretly recording and got flustered because I caught them?

Well, it doesn’t really matter either way.

I let out a small sigh and stood up.

“Well, never mind. Thanks to you, I got to think for a bit. You’re not completely hostile toward me, are you?”

After saying that, I turned away, leaving behind the Combatant who seemed dazed by my words.

…I hope that video doesn’t cause any fights later.

Well, it’s not like I’ll see them again anyway.

*

I visited Pang Pang’s place quite often.

After my first visit, I wondered if I’d have a reason to go back, but Pang Pang turned out to be quite cheerful and a good listener.

Plus, she was extremely happy whenever I brought coffee or something similar.

It might be a bit strange to feel this way, but it felt good to be so warmly welcomed.

It’s not like I went there secretly behind anyone’s back.

I just mentioned it to Jihye, and she said she wanted to make an alien friend too, so I asked Pang Pang who nodded with sparkling eyes, and after that, I occasionally brought Jihye along.

Jihye and Pang Pang got along surprisingly well.

I should say their personalities were similar, as they both enjoyed having fun.

Plus, since Pang Pang lived alone, Jihye seemed to feel a sense of freedom when in her room.

“So then, Jieun spectacularly blasted that executive away!”

“Yeah, that was amazing.”

When Jihye spoke with sparkling eyes, Pang Pang nodded in agreement.

There was actually nothing spectacular about it. I just wrapped my hammer in mana and hit with all my might.

Well, I suppose the way they flew could be called spectacular.

Pang Pang had already opened two cans of energy drinks I’d brought and looked quite tipsy.

“When gathering mana, so much mana gathered from the surroundings that it even swirled around…”

“Oh, did it?”

Jihye blinked and looked at me.

“Did that happen?”

While gathering mana, my eyes were focused on the executive, not my hammer. During a fight, there’s not really time to observe whether my magic looks flashy or not.

“Huh? Didn’t it?”

“I don’t think I saw that in the news footage.”

They do film me, but basically, battles between Magical Girls and Combatants end quite quickly. It’s not like we’re fighting in a designated area like a ring.

Usually, Chaeyeon’s magic is the flashiest. She rarely gets to unleash it fully, but capturing that full display would be a scoop in itself, so cameramen typically focus on filming her.

In the first place, battles don’t happen with announcements like “There will be a fight here at this time,” so there’s not much time to bring multiple cameras.

Besides—well, how should I put this.

Compared to other Magical Girls, my outfit is far too revealing in many ways.

Rather than filming my body and having to blur it out, it’s easier for them to film something else and produce stable footage.

There might be videos taken by my personal fans, but my techniques are rarely properly captured from start to finish on the news.

Jihye was indignant about this situation, but she would quiet down whenever I pointed out my transformation outfit.

“Um, well.”

After Jihye’s not-quite-criticism, Pang Pang’s head seemed to freeze.

I spoke up indifferently from the side.

“I guess some fan must have filmed me and uploaded it.”

“Ah, yes. That’s it.”

Hmm.

Maybe I shouldn’t bring coffee too often?

Pang Pang said she wouldn’t get addicted to caffeine, but honestly, I’m not sure how much to believe.

Come to think of it, people who drink alcohol say similar things. The most dangerous person is a drunk person who claims they’re not drunk.

“I, I think I saw it on the internet.”

“I see. Well, Jieun does have quite a few fans in that area.”

Jihye looked at me with a grin. Are you drunk too?

“…My outfit doesn’t change according to my wishes.”

I lamented.

“It’s formed by mana.”

“Jieun, aren’t you just imagining it that way too much?”

“…”

I closed my mouth.

How should I refute that?

Jihye laughed out loud. Pang Pang just smiled awkwardly beside her.

“By the way, aren’t the Combatants who charge at Jieun in that outfit amazing? Especially the executives. They don’t even blink!”

“What do you mean by ‘that outfit’?”

I protested, but Jihye continued as if intoxicated by the atmosphere.

“Fighting in what could be considered a risqué outfit, yet they don’t even pay attention to it and throw punches—they must be quite insensitive.”

“They’re aliens to begin with, so they probably aren’t interested in Earth people.”

I said, putting a snack in my mouth.

“But most of those aliens don’t look that different from Earth people, right?”

“That’s just the Combatants. They have to wear combat suits. There are probably many non-Earth people inside those suits.”

As for the executives… well, maybe extremely small aliens piloting human-shaped robots?

Or maybe they walk around with holographic faces. There must be some method.

“Or maybe you actually have a fan?”

Jihye said with a smile.

“Maybe they’re desperately charging at you just to touch you a little, yeah.”

“…Why? That Combatant I mentioned?”

“You can’t see their expressions anyway. The fact that they stand until the end wanting to fight you might be because they’re actually your real fan!”

“Come on.”

The thought briefly crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it.

Jihye doesn’t know that I sat with that Combatant for quite a while that day.

That person seemed so uncomfortable with me then.

I thought I had developed some internal connection, but the other person didn’t seem to feel that way at all.

They might have sat next to me thinking they’d get hit otherwise.

“…”

“Pang Pang, are you drunk? Hayun said she’d be here soon.”

Looking at Pang Pang who was strangely quiet, I saw her face was bright red.

“N-no. I’m not drunk at all.”

“…Then either stop drinking coffee or stop saying such things.”

“Oh, okay.”

Somehow, Pang Pang obediently accepted my words. Usually, she would just say “I’m not drunk, I’m not drunk,” and continue drinking.

Well, maybe the intoxication hit her faster today.

And Hayun is much more famous as a Magical Girl than I am.

Being an Earthaboo, Pang Pang might be trying to hold out to see one more Magical Girl’s face.