Ch.310IF Side Story: From the Beginning (78)

“Sorry. Things turned out like this first thing on Monday morning.”

“Oh, no. You’re a magical girl, right? These things happen. I’ve had to wait for you plenty of times before.”

“…I see.”

Jihye probably said that without much thought, but hearing it made me feel incredibly guilty.

Had I been taking Jihye for granted? Telling her to come here and go there…

If someone asked what the most important thing in my life is, I wouldn’t be able to give a definitive answer.

Jihye is precious to me.

As my family. The teachers are important too, and of course the other children at the orphanage are dear to me. But among them all, Jihye being the most important person to me is simply undeniable.

Jihye and I have always been together. Sisters who have never been apart since the moment I first formed proper memories in this world.

Honestly, at this point, the fact that we’re not blood-related doesn’t matter at all. Even if there were someone in this world who shared my blood, that connection would be weaker than what Jihye and I have. Even if I met them now, they’d be nothing more than strangers to me.

But Hayun is precious too.

Not more precious than Jihye. But, how should I put it? It’s a different kind of friendship. If Jihye is family, Hayun is my best friend. I consider Jihye more important than anyone else in the world, but Hayun… Hayun is special in her own way.

And the other magical girls are important friends too, and Pang Pang has become someone I can open up to now.

If I had to rank them, I could do so after careful consideration. But “could do” and “want to do” are completely different things. I don’t really want to do that.

“It should be fine for now,” Cherry said calmly.

“Considering the distance from school to here, we won’t be late even if we go after they pick this up. We have plenty of time.”

We nodded at Cherry’s words.

To be honest, I was a bit anxious.

Once again, several things happened suddenly. Just like last time when our orphanage duties overlapped with our magical girl responsibilities, this time our scheduled task coincided with an urgent situation.

I tried not to show my anxiety. Because Jihye was right beside me.

Hayun didn’t tell me to calm down or that everything would be fine either. Just having that conversation might make Jihye confused or worried.

Those fifteen minutes felt incredibly long.

One thing I’ve learned for certain during my years as a magical girl is that the Federation’s “schedules” are extremely precise.

I haven’t checked down to the second, but they never arrive even a minute late or early from their stated time.

Something about the peculiarities of space travel. Since the factors they consider are on the scale of planets or light-speed, they’re actually less affected by minor variations, or something like that.

So, the “12-minute mark” was definitely… too early for the Federation to arrive.

Thud.

As we waited at the 12-minute mark, we heard that sound.

Hayun, Jihye, Cherry, and I all looked up at the ceiling. That’s where the sound came from.

THUD!

The sound came again, louder. Following it were other noises. For some reason, in this situation, they sounded exactly like gunshots.

Right. They were similar to the sounds made by the combatants who shot at us when we infiltrated the Federation building.

“Is that the Federation people?”

I asked just in case, but—

“No, that’s impossible.”

Cherry immediately shook her head.

“That’s not the sound of landing. For safety reasons, they’re configured to never land with such a crash—”

The next thing we heard was an alarm, like a fire alarm. Suddenly, all the alarm systems in the headquarters started blaring. A sound that felt like it was drilling into our ears.

“…How could this…?”

Cherry muttered.

“What? What’s happening?”

Before Cherry could answer.

“Kaijin!”

Someone shouted as they rushed toward us. It was one of the regular staff members here.

“Kaijin, armed Kaijin…!”

Armed? Kaijin?

Both terms seemed a bit odd together. Kaijin refers to people who aren’t in a state of mind to use weapons, and above all, they don’t appear in groups at once. The probability of becoming a Kaijin is extremely low to begin with.

But we couldn’t ignore what they were saying.

Hayun and I looked at each other and nodded.

“We’ll go check it out.”

“Okay, got it.”

Cherry responded.

“Jihye.”

I looked at Jihye.

And searching for words, I couldn’t find the right ones and mumbled my response.

“…Sorry.”

It’s my fault in the end.

Isn’t it? I was the one who hesitated, so the others told me to bring her along.

We thought this place… might become dangerous. And if it could become dangerous, it could become infinitely more dangerous than we anticipated.

If that’s the case, civilians shouldn’t have been here. From the beginning.

“It’s okay.”

But Jihye shook her head, not showing any resentment toward me.

“I had fun. I’m glad you invited me.”

I know well, having shared a room with Jihye my whole life, that there wasn’t a shred of dishonesty in her words.

Jihye was genuinely happy to have been with us.

To the extent that she didn’t regret it even in this situation.

“I’ll be back.”

I answered. Jihye nodded.

*

“You two must be really close,” Hayun asked.

“We’re like sisters.”

“I see.”

Hayun paused for a moment, then said brightly:

“Then let’s resolve this quickly so Jihye doesn’t end up late!”

“Sounds good.”

We kicked open the rooftop door.

And the first thing we saw was the ruined flower bed.

It was a flower bed that Yeon-woo had diligently tended for the past few years. Actually, it wasn’t the kind of flower bed you’d expect to find on a building with this function. You never know what might land on it.

But most spacecraft don’t hover by blowing away things below them. That’s also in the realm of magic. And considering that we’re people who work under the Federation, there’s no reason for helicopters or similar vehicles to land here.

…What was floating above was clearly made with alien technology, like those Federation ships.

But it was small. In fact, it looked so small that I wondered if people could even ride in it. If I had to describe it, it was like an unmanned drone, and underneath it was something like a claw from a claw machine, as if it was transporting a container.

And below that, from what had been dropped onto the rooftop—

“…What is that.”

“…Those are definitely Kaijin. Armed ones too.”

They were various types of Kaijin. Four in total. A bear-shaped being. A lion-like being standing on two legs. And a wolf and a wild boar.

What was peculiar was that they all wore white armor, making them look like they were trying to appear ‘robot-like.’ However, parts of that armor had fallen off miserably. The gunshots we heard earlier must have been fired by Federation people at these Kaijin.

“Grrrr…”

The Kaijin seemed to be controlled by that armor. I couldn’t be sure. The joints of the armor were already crackling as if they might break at any moment.

If they were trying to control them, it wasn’t perfect. Just by looking, that armor seemed too weak to contain the Kaijin inside.

“Four of them. Can we handle it?”

“Of course we can. Jieun.”

Hayun answered my question with a smile.

The fact that we could smile while facing four Kaijin, when we usually fight with all our might against just one—it’s because we’re the ones who have to.

We’re magical girls, after all.

There’s something to protect behind us. So we must protect it.

There’s no choice in that.

And—

I clenched my fist. I could feel the circuit activating.

I have power. The power to protect.

That power is proportional to my hope.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes!”

I raised my hammer, and Hayun drew her sword from her staff, and we charged forward with all our might.

*

Hearing a noise incomparably louder than before, Jihye trembled.

She was scared.

But strangely, she didn’t regret coming here. Rather, something emerged from between those fears.

“Jihye, are you okay?” Cherry asked.

Cherry was standing on some strange sphere. Was that the object Jieun and the others were trying to protect?

“Yes. I’m fine.”

Despite being afraid, she answered with a strangely clear voice.

If she showed her fear here, it would obviously hinder Jieun—that’s what she thought.

Moreover, that wasn’t all.

Jeong Jieun, the magical girl known to the public as “Happy Lily,” genuinely cherishes Jeong Jihye, who grew up with her.

She had felt that fact clearly over the past few days.

Even here, among equally famous and important figures, Jieun had eagerly sought out Jihye. Even when talking with the other girls, she would occasionally make eye contact and smile, and she even put grilled meat on Jihye’s plate for no reason.

Each of those actions, each expression, proved that their bond hadn’t been broken.

That emotion was so precious.

The reaction Jieun had shown to Jihye just moments ago was so precious that Jihye could be both afraid and not afraid at the same time.

A contradictory emotion. But at the same time, an emotion that felt inevitable.

“…Let’s move to a safer place.”

Concerned about the ongoing sounds of battle, Cherry suggested.

Jihye nodded.

Ironically, what erased the worry about “school” from Jihye’s mind wasn’t fear, but the sound of Jieun fighting so hard for her.