Ch.295IF Side Story: From the Beginning (63)

# Enhanced Translation

I haven’t slept without dreams in a long time.

It probably hadn’t happened since the day I woke up after challenging the Magical Girls to a duel and getting beaten.

My body was tired, but my head and heart were even more exhausted. I had no idea where to start or how to solve anything.

“……”

I woke up without an alarm going off or the sound of children running around outside my door. As the season gradually approached summer, the lengthening daylight was already brightening the sky.

Maybe because I’d slept like I was unconscious, my body felt strangely light despite not having slept that long. Sometimes falling asleep while exhausted isn’t such a bad thing.

I could hear birds chirping outside the window. I thought I could also faintly hear cars passing in the distance, but not very clearly. After all, the orphanage was located almost at the top of an already steep neighborhood.

The view was nice, but that was about it. In summer, climbing up and down made you sweat like rain. In winter, the snow made everything dangerously slippery.

There was one road in the alley wide enough for trucks to come up, but no buses ran there. Every morning, we had to walk about 10 minutes to reach the bus stop.

I suppose that’s how I was able to meet Hayun.

The bus stop was on a main road. Facing our neighborhood like a mirror across that main road was a wealthy area. It had buildings stacked like steps on an equally steep hill, and similarly, the roads weren’t particularly wide.

But that neighborhood was where important foreign diplomats, high-ranking officials, and company owners lived. Unlike areas where expensive apartments create commercial districts with busy people walking around, that neighborhood was exceptionally quiet with nothing much besides residential buildings.

It was a high neighborhood, but because the people living there were also “high,” they didn’t need to worry about the elevation. Ironically, it was because Hayun lived in that neighborhood that we were able to meet.

So, I… thought that was fortunate.

I got up from bed. My mind felt awake, but my body still seemed a bit tired. I stretched thoroughly to work out the stiffness, put on some clothes while leaving Jihye asleep, and headed out.

Thankfully, today was the weekend. Otherwise, I would have had to worry about going to school.

Once outside, I headed for the cleaning supply closet.

I took out a broom and dustpan. Then I walked slowly down the corridor bathed in bright sunlight.

I was looking for any glass fragments we might have missed yesterday.

Unfortunately, I don’t know how to use that kind of practical magic. I’ve heard there are aliens who are particularly good with magic and sell household tools, but for some reason, they don’t export to Earth. I wonder if the usage environment or conditions are different?

I thought we had cleaned thoroughly before going to bed, but looking around now, I could still see small fragments. It was definitely good that I put the children to bed first.

Walking alone down the empty corridor while focusing on one task made my mind wander. And that was good.

My method for not losing hope is simple. I just need to think about Hayun. I need to remember that Jihye is still by my side. I need to remember that my other friends care about me.

The circuit is still running. I can still work as a Magical Girl.

I seriously pondered the reason. Perhaps I didn’t care about Pang Pang that much? If Hayun couldn’t work as a Magical Girl anymore, or if Jihye got seriously hurt, I would definitely be too heartbroken to continue this work.

“…No.”

That doesn’t seem right.

To be honest, yes. I’m not as close with her as I am with Hayun. I don’t consider her family like I do with Jihye. But Pang Pang was still my friend.

This is what I think about Pang Pang:

I want to talk with her.

That’s it.

That was my goal.

I know nothing about Pang Pang’s backstory. All I know is that she’s cheerful, loves Earth culture, is a fan of Magical Girls, and occasionally gets drunk on caffeine that she’s not supposed to drink on her planet.

Just because a friend hides certain aspects of themselves doesn’t mean that those hidden aspects are their true self.

I believe that the open-hearted side she showed me was also genuine.

Even if it wasn’t real, it doesn’t matter. Then I would need to confront her about it.

Noir Corporation hid Pang Pang. I don’t know why. Or why they deployed her for that operation at that specific timing.

I’m going to hear everything.

With that, I set a short-term goal.

That alone was enough to keep my hope from breaking.

*

Either she heard me cleaning, or she woke up a little later than me and came out when she realized I wasn’t there.

Jihye quickly grabbed a broom and dustpan and started sweeping around me.

By the time we finished another round of thorough cleaning, my back was soaked with sweat. I had been bending and straightening repeatedly, and the sunlight coming through the windows was getting increasingly warm.

“Phew.”

When I made a somewhat refreshed expression, Jihye finally smiled as if relieved.

Around that time, children started poking their heads out of their rooms. A few kids around our age, more younger children, and the very young ones who made up more than half of our orphanage’s population.

Some stay here until they grow up like us, while others get adopted and leave. Very occasionally, parents come to take their children back.

Perhaps Jihye might end up like that?

Not yet, though.

By the time we put the broom and dustpan back in the cleaning supply closet, it was breakfast time.

While eating, I checked the news articles.

In chronological order, the earliest article was brief. Just a photo with a single line of text below.

It showed me fighting the Kaijin. And it highlighted Noir Corporation’s achievements. The photo clearly captured combat personnel hurriedly evacuating children.

When I saw it in person, they seemed quite frantic, but in the still photo, they looked as competent as firefighters doing excellent work. That was natural. Without video, you couldn’t see their trembling with fear or startling at loud noises.

Besides, what they did was right. If people got criticized for helping, no one would try to help others.

However.

Scrolling down further, there was a more detailed article with photos of me attacking the combat personnel. They cleverly included “reference material” showing moments from previous fights.

The combat personnel uniform doesn’t have any particular distinctive features. It could look like “special effects show fighters” or just riding gear depending on how you see it.

In contrast, a Magical Girl’s appearance is difficult to see as anything more than cosplay. And there I was, swinging a hammer and sending combat personnel flying while wearing that not-so-serious outfit.

You know how some people cheer for the villains instead of the protagonists when watching special effects shows or anime? This article was probably for those people.

“The Magical Girl attacked combat personnel right after receiving their help. It was a different situation, but still.” Of course, the “different situation” part wasn’t explained in detail. Even if they wrote it in detail, it would be disadvantageous for us. Are they hiding their cards?

“…Jieun.”

“I don’t really care about this stuff.”

I said while scrolling up and down on my phone, reviewing the content.

Right. I don’t care. Wasn’t the original article from a source funded by Noir Corporation anyway? I expected this when we fought yesterday.

Are they trying to steal public support? Unfortunately for Noir Corporation, the Federation isn’t as easy to deal with as they think. People who don’t understand the situation might view us negatively, but at least they can’t shake my inner circle.

Why would the Federation maintain friendly relationships with influential people in this country? And why would they place their children in Magical Girl positions?

At least we don’t have such weak bonds that we’d crumble over something like this. The fake mother incident from before was actually a much stronger blow.

Rather than that…

“Found it.”

I muttered without realizing.

It was a photo of Pang Pang. A picture taken among combat personnel, captured in the moment she briefly removed her helmet.

Even though it’s a subsidiary of Noir Corporation, they probably don’t know all the headquarters’ operations. They might not have received proper information.

What mattered was that I was swinging my hammer at numerous combat personnel.

“……”

A blurry photo.

But her body language showed complete bewilderment. Even in this still image, Pang Pang was looking in a different direction from the other combat personnel, as if trying to escape from me.

And even in that blurry photo, Pang Pang was just staring at the ground. As if she couldn’t lift her head from shame.

When a villain’s lieutenant reveals themselves, they usually say things like “playing friends was fun.”

Pang Pang couldn’t bring herself to say such things to me and ran away. Even until the moment she disappeared, even in a situation where I couldn’t properly see her, Pang Pang showed confusion and shame.

That was enough.

If it wasn’t just play but real friendship, that alone was reason enough to go find her.