Ch.280IF Side Story: From the Beginning (48)

# No One Had Proof

Yet at the same time, none of the Magical Girls had any doubts.

At the very least, the entity who planned this whole affair clearly belonged to Noir Corporation.

An operation designed to shake Jieun’s mental state, whether the person called “Mom” was her real mother or not.

“……”

During the silence, Hayun was the first to speak up.

“Right now, Seo-hee and Chaeyeon are on an operation.”

At Hayun’s words, Ju-a and Yeonwoo’s eyes widened.

“Ah, right! Who’s the executive leading the Combatants this time?”

In response to Yeonwoo’s question, Hayun had already pulled out her communicator from her bag.

All three quickly stood up and started walking.

“Seo-hee!”

After a brief silence,

[Oh, yes? Sorry. I was just about to throw a punch.]

“Were you fighting with Combatants? Wait, that’s not what’s important right now!”

Yeonwoo had somehow already taken out her communicator and was speaking into it.

“Is there an executive there right now? Who is it?”

[Executive?]

Then, as if checking something, the sound cut off momentarily.

The first to answer wasn’t Seo-hee but Chaeyeon.

[……2:8 side part. That foreigner.]

“……”

The three exchanged glances.

[Why?]

“We need to capture that executive. We have questions.”

That’s what Hayun said.

“We’re coming right now.”

*

I was staring blankly at the ceiling when I reached for my bag beside the bed and took out my circuit.

There was no damage anywhere. It had plenty of scratches here and there, but nothing was broken or shattered.

It would have been better if it had been damaged, but unfortunately, the test results were normal. In other words, my inability to transform was entirely due to something in my mind.

Hope, huh.

To think that hope would disappear just because a family member showed up.

Was I really a person with such weak mental fortitude?

I thought this as I put the watch-like circuit back on my wrist.

“……”

And I stared at it intently for a while.

The watch hands trembled slightly and seemed to move a little before returning to their original position.

“……”

I tried to think about the reason. I thought if I knew the cause, I could sort things out one by one and get my mind straight.

But—there were too many reasons.

The biggest reason was that if I continued doing this, “Mom” would be heartbroken.

If she really was my birth mother, I didn’t want that. Yes, let’s admit it. At least she was worried about me.

And if I ignored all those feelings and continued working—there was a significant chance that our relationship would become irreparable.

If she was the family I’d finally found.

I’d be fine without her. I’m okay. No matter how many times I tried to think that, I just couldn’t bring myself to abandon her now that I knew she existed. If I said I hadn’t longed for this all those years, it would simply be a lie.

I sighed deeply, running both hands over my face.

Ah, they say continuing to dwell on problems you can’t solve is very bad for your mental health. But I couldn’t think of any way to resolve this.

Knock knock.

As I was staring blankly at the ceiling, the door opened and someone came in.

It was her. The person claiming to be my mother.

Every time this person came, my hope diminished. And reality pushed its way into my life.

That reality was cold, yet at the same time, difficult to push away.

She didn’t demand anything from me. She didn’t completely deny my being a Magical Girl, and it seemed like she would try to do anything I asked.

Isn’t that what a “mother” is supposed to be? Not all mothers in the world can be said to be devoted, but still.

This person wasn’t particularly devoted when I was young either.

Perhaps because she knew my gaze toward her wasn’t too sharp, her expression was softer than before. At least, she seemed less tense.

“The weather is nice today.”

“……Yes, it is.”

When I answered, a smile spread across the woman’s face.

What was she so happy about?

It was just a single response.

I hate this.

At the same time, I miss it.

With such contradictory thoughts, I blankly watched what the woman was doing.

First, she put down the reusable shopping basket she was holding. Then she took out some fruit from it.

She even took out a tray and started peeling the fruit.

Goodness, she was really persistent. It was impressive how hard she was trying to become close to me.

“……”

As I was blankly watching her peel an apple.

Woong, my phone rang.

No, not my phone but my communicator. The Magical Girl communicator.

One of the Magical Girls was calling me through the communicator.

When I turned my head, the woman was staring at me with wide eyes.

“……I need to take this call.”

I said that and pressed the button on the communicator.

*

The Magical Girls who had been poised to fight suddenly changed their target.

As if they didn’t care at all what happened to the antenna in front of them, Delphinium first jumped high into the air.

Her magic changed. The ice that could freeze everything around in an instant all gathered in one place and became an enormously transparent, large lens. Several such lenses lined up in a row by type.

Would it become a telescope?

Had they received new orders—

Rose, who had raised her fist, put her hand to her ear and muttered something to herself.

A call.

She was talking to someone—

Rose suddenly looked up at the sky. And Delphinium looked down at Rose.

“Alright.”

Rose muttered that and then said to Pang Pang.

“Hey, we have something else to do today. We don’t have much time. So don’t waste time and go home. ……We’re letting you off because of Jieun.”

“……”

Pang Pang blinked. Of course, these Magical Girls couldn’t see that expression.

And Rose lifted off from her spot and flew far away. Together with Delphinium—

In the direction from which Pang Pang and the Combatants had come.

“……Huh?”

It was just for a moment, but it felt a bit strange.

Magical Girls basically didn’t harbor killing intent. It was just that their attacks were so strong that they could hurt someone, but they didn’t fight with expressions that genuinely wanted to kill their opponents.

However, Rose’s final expression was a bit frightening.

She was smiling, but it was the kind of expression that suggested she might break anyone who crossed her right now.

“……”

Pang Pang trembled.

Naturally, any thought of destroying the now unguarded antenna disappeared. Delphinium could attack from a very long distance. Or they might face retaliation the next time they met.

Though that had never happened before, the atmosphere somehow suggested it could.

But.

Beyond that, something felt strange.

The Magical Girls—it felt like they might do something un-Magical Girl-like if they weren’t careful.

And somehow, if they did such a thing, Jieun would be very sad.

That’s what Pang Pang thought.

“……Ugh.”

So, despite trembling, Pang Pang turned around.

And started running hard in the direction they had come from.

Right.

All personal belongings were there anyway. To go home, they had to return to the complex first.

So, just check once on the way. See what’s happening.

If the Magical Girls seemed like they were going to make too big of a scene—

……

Then what?

Was there anything Pang Pang could do? At least, Pang Pang didn’t think so.

But still, Pang Pang ran.

While running, for some reason, Pang Pang was imagining Jieun lying alone in the hospital.

*

The word “hope” was usually used positively.

That is, hope for achieving dreams.

Hope that the situation will improve from what it is now.

Like that.

But depending on what goes into that dream, what kind of situation it is, Hayun thought that the meaning of hope might change a little.

Hope for achieving dreams.

Getting closer to Jieun… That was possible. If only Jieun remained a Magical Girl. If only Jieun didn’t lose hope and continued to fight alongside Hayun, it was possible.

Hope that the situation will improve from what it is now.

It could improve.

At least, they had found circumstances suggesting Noir Corporation had staged this. And who was behind it.

Thinking about it again, if the results had truly shown they were “parent and child,” there would have been no reason for a Noir Corporation executive to visit.

So, if only Jieun could know that fact for certain. If only they could show her clear evidence—

Probably no one missed seeing Hayun flying through the sky, drawing a pink trajectory. It wasn’t a common sight, after all.

But there were probably very few people who saw that pink trajectory almost landing right in front of them.

“……!”

Unable to even scream properly, the person who saw the ground cave in rolled back once, and as he got up from his spot, he stammered.

“Ma-Magical Girl—”

“……I have just one question.”

But before he could finish, Hayun raised her head to look straight at him and spoke.

The Magical Girls standing behind her were all angry to the tips of their hair.

“……Was it you?”

Hayun asked.

The staff in her hand glowed threateningly.

A beam that could split anything.

“Was it you who put Jieun… in such a trap…?”

James, the Noir Corporation executive who always confronted the Magical Girls, thought that perhaps this was the first time he had seen Magical Girls “angry.”

Indeed, it was a sight difficult for others to see.

Perhaps, this time, it was a first even for James.