Ch.275IF Side Story: From the Beginning (43)

“……Um, excuse me.”

After pondering for a while, Ju-a raised her hand slightly with a worried expression.

Among the magical girls, Ju-a was the one who followed me the most. So I simply thought she was concerned about magical girl business.

“I was wondering… can we trust this test result?”

But the question that came from Ju-a’s mouth went much further than I expected.

I stared at Ju-a.

And I wasn’t the only one.

Seo-hee looked at Ju-a with her mouth open in shock, while Yeonwoo stared at her with a stiff expression. Chaeyeon didn’t show much reaction, but she was still staring intently at Ju-a.

“Hey, Ju-a.”

Seo-hee spoke first.

“No matter what the situation is, saying something like that seems a bit…”

“Ah, no, that’s not what I… I mean…”

Ju-a waved her hands frantically in response to Seo-hee’s words.

“It’s just that… the article that came out, and this person suddenly showing up… and the company that wrote the article… it all seems too suspicious.”

I blinked.

“Would you mind explaining more?”

Hayun, who had been sitting silently beside me, asked.

Ju-a looked at me with a somewhat pale face, checking my reaction.

Only after I nodded did she swallow hard and continue her explanation in a trembling voice.

“This test result.”

Ju-a pointed to the hospital logo in the corner of the test paper.

“What about the hospital name?”

“While it’s problematic to run hospitals for profit, there are hospitals operated by medical foundations funded by corporations. Noir Corporation also operates hospitals that way.”

I silently looked at Ju-a. She seemed a bit flustered by my gaze but continued speaking earnestly.

“And… this is one of those hospitals. It doesn’t have Noir Corporation’s name directly, but… it’s operated by a foundation created through donations from affiliated companies.”

“……”

Everyone remained silent even after hearing Ju-a’s explanation.

Since I wasn’t saying anything, the others seemed to be getting anxious, so I slowly opened my mouth.

“So… if, just hypothetically… if Noir Corporation wanted to fabricate something like this, it would be possible?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m not asking for an apology. I’m just asking if such a possibility exists.”

Ju-a rolled her eyes around.

She looked like she wasn’t sure if she had spoken out of emotion or for some other reason.

Could it be possible?

When I went to get a paternity test with that woman claiming to be my “mother,” could the hospital actually have been connected to Noir Corporation? Is it… is it possible for someone to plan that far ahead?

“Jieun.”

Hayun spoke up.

“Who suggested going to that hospital?”

“That was…”

I answered blankly.

“It was that person.”

Although I was the one who immediately suggested getting a paternity test, I didn’t really have the presence of mind to think things through.

I certainly didn’t have time to research anything.

Logically, if you want to get treatment at a major hospital, it usually takes a very long time. Appointments are standard.

“……”

This time, the silence had a different meaning.

Ju-a, seemingly having gained a bit more courage, spoke again.

“Genetic testing… became much more widespread only after alien technology arrived. Before that, it was mostly done in research facilities… So, if—and I mean only if—that company is plotting something, that’s what made me think…”

I stared at the test paper and said:

“Would they really go that far?”

“…Jieun.”

Hayun opened her mouth with some difficulty.

“We fight with hope. Our circuits can’t run if hope disappears. They don’t respond to any other emotion.”

I’d heard that’s why it’s difficult to find magical girls.

Conversely, despair circuits can’t overcome hope circuits for the same reason.

If hope circuits move by continuously harboring hope and moving forward, despair circuits similarly move by standing firm in the midst of despair. Usually, people choose to give up when in despair.

“So—”

My voice caught in my throat.

“You’re saying they might have done this to shatter my hope.”

“If! Only if!”

Ju-a quickly exclaimed. Perhaps my reaction was much more intense than she had expected.

“I’m just saying there’s a possibility! A very, very small chance! It just seems strange how everything is connecting!”

So Ju-a brought this up not simply because she was worried I might not be able to continue as a magical girl.

It was another story, a possibility she saw in the “what if.”

That’s why she mentioned it.

“……”

If so, how should I confirm it?

If that woman was really connected to the corporation, could she have acted so convincingly?

“Jieun.”

Hayun called my name and placed her hand on mine.

“It’s okay.”

I shook my head.

“I would have doubted it anyway.”

Yes. I would have doubted it regardless of the test results.

The timing is just too strange to accept without question. Looking at each detail, it seems suspicious.

“I’ll check it out.”

The others couldn’t respond to my words.

They probably don’t know what to say in this situation. I would have felt the same if my friend had reacted this way.

In a situation like this, the way to trust someone is… to verify everything thoroughly, I guess.

I exhaled with that thought.

*

“Mother” came looking for me again.

And I spent more time at the magical girl headquarters, as if avoiding her.

I… I don’t even know what I want to do. To be honest, I’d feel terrible either way.

Even if the other person hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m not that good-natured.

It would be nice if a combatant appeared so I could fight and destroy something excitingly, but strangely, Noir Corporation has been quiet.

Still, since it seemed impossible to never meet her, I did see her a few times, but neither she nor I had any shared memories. Even if our blood was mixed, we were no different from strangers.

No, if we were complete strangers, we might have developed some kind of human connection. That’s how it usually works after meeting a few times.

In that sense, we were worse than strangers.

After saying I would check things out, I spent about a week avoiding the issue—

An alarm sounded in the room where I was staying.

I immediately rushed out of the room.

“It’s a kaijin!”

Hayun shouted. She must have run toward my room as soon as she heard the alarm.

I immediately went back into the room and grabbed my staff—

The staff felt somewhat different in weight than usual, but I didn’t pay much attention to it.

Let’s not think about anything else.

Combatants and kaijin are different.

No matter how many combatants there are, they’re beings we can subdue with a single blow. Naturally, they’re not at all frightening as opponents.

But kaijin are strong.

Strong enough to directly attack the bodies of us magical girls. They actually hurt when they hit us, and they can cause injuries.

No one asks if I’m okay.

Everyone knows that asking such things would only remind me of those thoughts.

And that it would… affect the battle.

Ah, I decided not to think about anything.

I bit my lip as I ran.

And I flew together with the others.

The time it took to transform was a little slower than usual.

*

The police did their best.

Shortly after aliens came to Earth, kaijin began to appear. For unknown reasons, aliens have a certain probability of becoming kaijin on Earth.

One might think we should just expel all aliens, but Earth has gained significant benefits from accepting them. Especially regarding the climate crisis, which was mostly solved with alien technology. If we don’t want to face human extinction again, we have to maintain relationships with them, whether we like it or not.

Besides, just because our country doesn’t maintain relations doesn’t mean other countries won’t.

In fact, it was the less developed countries rather than the advanced ones that accepted these relationships more quickly. Literally, their living standards and national power grew “magically,” so it was natural.

Therefore, almost all countries in this world accept aliens while preparing as much as possible for the danger when kaijin appear.

…Although our activities are technically illegal vigilantism, there are reasons why they can’t completely eliminate us.

Because it’s much safer for us to fight than to risk the lives of police officers.

“…Ugh!?”

Well, thinking about it that way, maybe I shouldn’t be upset about just being a power generator.

BOOM!

In the end, it’s similar—a minor having to get hit by someone to protect the world.

“Jieun!?”

Hayun shouted as she saw me flying sideways after being hit in the shoulder by the kaijin.

I felt something dripping from my shoulder and saw it was blood.

…Usually, that area would be protected by my magical energy, even without cloth.

Has that magical energy somehow thinned?

Looking at my circuit, it did seem to be running less efficiently than usual.

…If that’s what Noir Corporation was aiming for, then they’ve hit their mark perfectly.