Ch.331IF Side Story: From the Beginning (99)

[Hey guys!]

A desperate voice came through the pager.

The pagers that magical girls use are like radios that utilize a type of magic, so while they don’t need relay stations, distance is still important.

Judging by the static, whoever was calling us must be at the very edge of communication range.

Since it was “magic,” the communication distance was naturally much longer than ordinary radios. Just looking around with the naked eye might not be enough to find us.

It seemed the Federation’s ship had arrived.

[Girls, please answer me!]

Cherry called out desperately.

Ah, right.

The station where we should have been was shattered to pieces. I’m not exactly sure what state it was in. After realizing we had all survived, we were so drained of energy that we just collapsed wherever we were.

…

No, not just anywhere, actually.

Hayun was pressed close beside me.

And Ju-a was next to her.

Seo-hee and Yeonwoo, who had followed behind us a bit later, were fuming for some reason before eventually lying down wherever.

The other girls were all taking care of the chairwoman.

So apparently, the spaces on either side of me were highly coveted positions that people would definitely want to occupy if there wasn’t another reason.

I still couldn’t guess why.

…Well, fine.

At least everyone survived. We were all sore and aching, and it would take a while before we could get up again, but we survived. Everyone was safe without any major injuries.

Collapsed on the floor and groaning, I finally managed to move my hand to grab the pager on my shoulder.

“We’re all fine…”

Hmm, my voice doesn’t sound particularly fine.

[Jieun?!]

The speaker on the pager rang with a high-pitched sound as Cherry shouted loudly. Or rather, it was the translation device that made the loud sound. Squeakeans can’t make human sounds, and humans can’t understand Squeakean language. With microphones and other things attached, it’s no wonder it rang out.

“We escaped… and we’re a bit away from there.”

[I’ll come find you right now! How’s the situation?]

“…”

I tried to organize my thoughts.

Okay. First, this ship carries the culprit behind this whole mess. And that culprit probably had those artificially created kaijin on board, along with us and the original Noir Corporation chairwoman.

The generator has been pulverized, our circuits have been pulverized, and our clothes have returned to normal, so energy should no longer be coming from our bodies. Yet strangely, the “ventilation system” that isn’t even a “generator” is still running.

To summarize, I could probably simplify it, but…

“…I think it’s better if you come and see for yourself.”

In truth, I just didn’t have the strength to say more.

[I’ll be right there!]

And the communication cut off briefly. Oh, but I didn’t tell her our location.

…

Well, she must have said that because she has some way to find us. Radar or something like that, I guess?

Right now, I just wanted to rest a bit.

As the tension in my body and mind completely relaxed, my eyelids grew heavy.

When I put my hand down, the girls on either side of me snuggled closer. Hayun and Ju-a.

How on earth did they end up liking me so much?

…And it’s not just those two.

“…”

Alright. I’m really going to stop thinking now. If I think anymore, my head might explode.

No, maybe I should say my heart might explode.

It’s such a strange sensation.

My heart is pounding like it might burst.

Yet I found this warmth surrounding me so comforting.

*

When I came to my senses, I saw a clean white ceiling.

We weren’t inside the ship that we had wrecked all over.

Probably a hospital.

It seems we had arrived back on Earth in the meantime.

It wasn’t a private room.

“Ugh.”

I still had muscle pain here and there, but my physical wounds had been completely treated. There were some parts that felt a bit tight, like when you sleep in a bad position, but not so bad that I couldn’t move.

When I sat up, I saw that the room itself was an ordinary multi-patient room.

However, all the girls in this room were ones I knew.

Starting with me by the window, Jihye was lying in the bed next to mine. Next to her was Seo-hee, and next to her was Yeonwoo.

Across from me was Hayun, and next to her was Ju-a. Naturally, the remaining bed was Chaeyeon’s. One bed was empty.

Pang Pang was nowhere to be seen. Well, she was probably healthy enough that she didn’t need to be hospitalized. But for some reason, I had just assumed that Pang Pang would have stayed by our side. She probably just stepped out for a moment.

The chairwoman… wasn’t visible. She was probably in some intensive care unit or something like that.

I don’t know how involved the chairwoman was in running the company or how much she had done to make Noir Corporation what it is today, but judging that isn’t our job.

Jihye’s mother wasn’t visible either. After what she went through, she would naturally need intensive treatment. …I believe she’ll be fine. I didn’t want to see Jihye sad.

And Pungpung might be in this hospital too. Or maybe she’s already been transferred to prison? She didn’t die, after all. Well, I don’t care. Whatever happens to her. Should I care what happens to someone who tried to do that to us?

I snickered slightly, thinking this might be a bit inappropriate for a magical girl.

All the girls were asleep. Warm sunlight was coming in through the thin curtains.

It felt like a lie that just recently—I don’t know the exact time, but at most a day ago—we had been fighting so fiercely. Such peacefulness.

And finally, I realized it.

One of the things I had to do was finished.

“Things I had to do…”

It’s funny.

I didn’t become a magical girl because it was something I had to do. And becoming the center of the magical girls just happened somehow.

Catching Noir Corporation’s eye and becoming a target, or fighting against enormous power. None of it was because it was something I had to do.

I just ran toward that distant hope, and that’s how it turned out.

Is this the fate of a magical girl?

I smiled wryly.

“…Jieun.”

I heard a voice.

Hayun, lying in the bed across from me, was looking at me with somewhat dazed eyes.

“…”

We stared at each other for a while.

The distance was a bit far. The beds weren’t right next to each other. Jihye, lying in the bed next to mine, was actually much closer.

But for some reason, I felt like I could reach Hayun if I stretched out my hand.

It must all be because Hayun arbitrarily pressed her lips against mine. That kiss, which I still couldn’t understand the reason for.

“Are you okay?”

Hayun, perhaps still unable to sort out her complicated thoughts, finally asked me that.

“I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

I answered.

“What about you, Hayun?”

“I’m fine too.”

Our conversation repeated once more in response to my question.

After looking at Hayun a bit longer, I smiled.

That smile seemed to release something in me. It didn’t end with just a single puff of air escaping; soon my shoulders began to shake slightly.

It didn’t take long for it to turn into proper laughter: hahaha.

“Hmm?”

Making a sleepy sound, Jihye rose groggily from her bed.

And stared blankly at me laughing.

Jihye had also taken my lips.

And one by one, the other girls who had taken my lips opened their eyes. Seo-hee and Yeonwoo. Ju-a and Chaeyeon.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

Pang Pang rushed into the hospital room, asking breathlessly, as if she had really just stepped out for a moment and heard the laughter.

Seeing her like that made me laugh even more.

Ah, that’s right.

Without even realizing it, I had been receiving the love of so many people.

I had been trying to make an effort, but I never expected it to be this effective. Too effective, actually, which is the problem.

It’s overwhelming to think about, and I still don’t really understand how everything works.

…

Should I be honest?

I don’t dislike it.

I have to say I like it. With so many girls liking me, how could I not?

Of course, I can’t come to a conclusion right now. I don’t know how our future will unfold.

“…Haa.”

By the time I stopped laughing and caught my breath.

All the girls were looking at me.

Feeling like I should say something, I scratched my head a bit, then:

“Is everyone feeling okay?”

I repeated the same conversation I had just had with Hayun.

They all looked at each other and nodded. Various uniquely individual responses came back.

Alright then.

We’ve resolved one issue.

“When we get discharged, let’s go somewhere and eat something delicious.”

That’s right. On a successful day like this, we should definitely have a team dinner.

The kind of team dinner we can have is just going to a restaurant and eating, but adult team dinners aren’t really that different. They just add alcohol.

At my words, the girls made somewhat subtle expressions.

Right now, even those subtle expressions felt good.

Like I was getting back at them for the embarrassment they caused me on the ship.

I smiled brightly once more.

The girls, as if finally letting go of something in their hearts, followed my lead and smiled radiantly.