Ch.36Chapter 7. Enemies in the Same Boat (5)

One thing’s for certain: James is definitely a technician. And not just any technician—an exceptionally brilliant one.

If I were to compare him to someone on Earth, he’d be like an extremely famous figure in power generation. Perhaps someone who researches nuclear fusion?

Modern science and technology have become so vast and deep that it’s impossible for one person to master everything perfectly. At least, that’s been true for Earth’s scientists so far.

Even to build a single generator, you can’t make all the parts alone, let alone the components within those parts. Each process and theory has its own expert domain, and different people research different aspects.

So theoretically, it’s nearly impossible for someone involved in designing nuclear fusion generators to also have specialized knowledge about high-speed communications. The fields are just too different.

But, in true alien fashion, James seems to be different.

“Who do you think made the suit and circuits you wore?”

Well… if you think about it, suits do involve completely different specialties. There’s quite a difference between a generator and an advanced combat suit powered by one.

“Are you saying you made all of that?”

At my question, James snorted and replied.

“This much skill is the bare minimum to be called a Squeakean.”

Ah, I see.

And as a bonus, it seems ordinary Squeakeans consider it taboo to teach others the most basic aspects of their technology.

Of course, even the smartest species has physical limitations and limits to the knowledge an individual can possess. Their knowledge limits may be infinitely higher than humans’, but their physical limits… well, that goes without saying.

If one got caught on Earth without a translation device, they might genuinely end up as someone’s pet.

Anyway, that’s why they ultimately have to share knowledge with others. Getting help from larger species from other planets is important, but more crucially, they can’t face opponents who’ve created knowledge networks like humans do with “individual power” alone.

Forming nations, joining federations, getting jobs at companies.

That’s how Squeakeans survived. And in the process, they showed off their personalities by making certain repairs require someone with a Squeakean-sized body, or by patching important parts with knowledge only they possessed.

Space battleships made by Squeakeans are known for their excellent performance, but they’re also notoriously difficult to maintain—which says a lot about how closed-off they are for a species that’s part of the pan-galactic federation.

James was apparently like that at his company too.

“Didn’t anyone say anything about it?”

“If I don’t do anything, the company is the one that loses out.”

“…So things like kidnapping researchers were actually just things you wanted to do?”

Remembering James waiting alone in the car without any subordinates, I asked, and James shrugged.

“If I need information, I extract it. I had that level of authority.”

“…”

Haven’t you ever thought that this whole series of events is entirely your fault?

Then again, if someone in the company really had been planning to take James down, they would have acted decisively at some point, even if not then. And I, being in “James’s line” from the company’s perspective, would probably have been in danger too, one way or another.

Since I was wrong to join such a company in the first place, I don’t have much to say about that.

However, I couldn’t hold back this comment:

“Isn’t it just that you made tons of enemies at the company because you’re so rude?”

James ignored my words.

Is he unable to deny it?

He glared at me as I sighed deeply, but I just ignored him.

*

We decided to act without the Earthaboo.

Since we were planning our operation in a place with only one room, information inevitably leaked to the Earthaboo, but James didn’t seem particularly concerned.

If anything, his attitude seemed to say, “What could you possibly do with that information?” Perhaps he trusted her because she hadn’t reported us to anyone else so far.

Or maybe he’d given up. After all, he’d been purged from the company and was essentially committing acts of terrorism—the reasons he’d given me might have been completely fabricated.

In reality, he was probably just seeking revenge on the humans who had tried to kill him.

“…”

I wasn’t particularly angry about being used. This was all I could do right now anyway.

That’s not to say I was “okay” with it. It was more like resignation.

“Good,” James said.

We were on a rooftop of a building. We’d gotten up here by normal means.

We were in the heart of Seoul, specifically in the middle of Gangnam. Naturally, it was some distance from Noir Corporation.

Being an important facility, they would have placed it right in the center of Seoul. That way, if its location were discovered, magical girls couldn’t attack it.

The building I was on was a few floors taller, making it relatively easy to enter the adjacent building.

Though if someone told me to jump down, I’d ask if they were crazy—it was that high.

How would magical girls infiltrate? They’d probably think like me and enter through the roof.

“The magical girls are on the move. It seems they don’t plan to use warp points today.”

“Why? That would be much faster.”

“Well, I don’t know everything.”

But after thinking for a moment, James spoke up.

“Perhaps there’s an issue with ‘hope.’ The energy used for warping is truly enormous.”

“…”

I tried to recall the webtoon’s content.

It was from a very long time ago by my standards, so I didn’t remember it clearly. Still, I had relatively clear memories compared to other works. I’d liked it since its blog serialization days, waiting days, weeks, or even months for new installments.

Though I dropped the official weekly webtoon midway.

And this world was the setting of that “official webtoon”—a comedy that twisted clichés for laughs but became too serious.

From what I could remember, the magical girls’ circuits were also powered by Blossom’s overflowing energy. So if something happened to Blossom, the firepower of the other magical girls would decrease. The same applied to Iris.

…Could it be because of me?

I am… Hayun’s close friend.

Certainly, Hayun seemed like the type of girl who would be shocked if a classmate got hurt. If someone as close to her as me was in this state, it wouldn’t be strange if it affected her “hope.”

“Are you actually worried about the magical girls?”

James asked mockingly, but I ignored him.

“Well, fine. Thanks to that, we have more time.”

“By the way, doesn’t that leave access records?” I asked, looking at the smartphone James was holding.

“This is a smartphone made for combatants. Even if access records remain, there won’t be any record that I did it. I also kept it completely powered off while bringing it here.”

I guess access records near the location don’t matter anyway.

“Besides, if we destroy everything properly this time, access records won’t matter either way.”

“That’s true.”

I took a deep breath.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t nervous. I was only doing this because it was all I could do, but honestly, I didn’t really want to. If I could just keep running away forever, I would.

I wouldn’t be able to see Hayun… or Jihye anymore.

…

Yes, I would have done it eventually. I admit that.

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Nothing special. When the magical girls arrive, we’ll smash any equipment we see inside the base. I’ll accompany you and point out the important equipment to destroy first.”

“Alright.”

I nodded.

Then I asked James:

“How do we get inside?”

“That magic you showed last time will be sufficient. Yes… it might even have more than enough effect. If things get destroyed by the black hole as we enter, wouldn’t that be an excellent attack in itself?”

“I see.”

I nodded.

Then I asked again:

“How do I use that?”

James, who had been planning on my palm, suddenly looked up.

“…”

“…”

We stared at each other in silence for a while.

“Wait a minute.”

James put a hand to his forehead and said:

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

“…I don’t. Actually, how do I transform in the first place?”

“You should have known that!”

James stomped his feet on my palm.

Hearing that, I was the one who became flustered.

“Look, even if you say that… I wasn’t even properly conscious when I transformed.”

I just woke up in that situation, the transformation had completed without my knowledge, and the magic just happened instinctively when I thought about escaping.

That’s right. I never consciously did anything in that moment.

“Energy! What about the energy?!”

I showed him my smartwatch.

James stumbled as I flipped my hand, but even in his flustered state, he didn’t fall.

Well, technically he did fall—forward onto the back of my left hand.

From there, he touched the smartwatch.

The compass needle-like thing appeared on the smartwatch again, spinning around. When James touched the screen once more, a number appeared.

81 percent.

“Why is the reading like this?!”

Hey, you shouldn’t be asking me that.

I can… somewhat guess.

These days, I’ve been feeling a bit better inside. The reason it hasn’t dropped below 80 percent is probably because I’m still in a very anxious state.

But I didn’t want to tell James that. If my unhappiness gives us an advantage, he’d just try to exploit it.

“Quickly, think unhappy thoughts! If you don’t, this operation will fail! Do you want to be captured and become experimental material for the Galactic Federation?! After what we’ve done, even the government won’t help you this time!”

They never helped me in the first place.

“Besides, I don’t know how to use the black hole thing even after transforming.”

“Magical girls use it naturally, though?”

You’ve never been a magical girl yourself.

I swallowed my complaints and sighed.

…Well, fine.

James is right anyway. Me being difficult here only hurts myself.

James has already set things in motion, and the magical girls are rushing here. I need to move in sync with that situation.

I carefully placed James on the ground.

Then I stepped back a few paces and closed my eyes.

I thought about my current situation.

It wasn’t difficult. It’s always easier to think negative thoughts before sleep than to calm your mind through meditation.

I forcibly pulled back the worries I’d set aside.

I imagined a future without answers.

Most unwelcomely, the circuit immediately began to vibrate, as if something was spinning powerfully inside.

And that unwelcome feeling pulled me down further.

“Good, that’s good!”

James’s encouragement annoyed me too. How could I possibly welcome someone cheering for my unhappiness? I’m not that much of a masochist.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Heat was rising from the circuit.

Just from that, I felt much stronger power than when I was a combatant wrapped in a suit.

However—

100 percent.

…

I still couldn’t transform.

Why?

“Transform, transform!”

James shouted, but I couldn’t do it.

I recalled that moment. I was in pain from being hit all over, and there was a net draped over me. Not just any net—an incredibly heavy wire net that could seriously injure someone just by being placed on them.

In that situation, facing the crisis of being captured and taken somewhere unknown, I was finally able to transform.

Do I need to encounter such a situation again to transform?

At that thought, the circuit heated up even more. The humming sound grew louder.

But the overflow didn’t happen.

Did James design this circuit with transformation in mind? It seemed that way on the surface, but maybe not in reality.

He probably knew the energy I generated could protect my body to some extent, but the reason he didn’t make a suit was simply because he was in a hurry at the time.

And I needed to be able to hide it too.

So maybe this wasn’t equipment designed for transformation at all, but I forced it to work that way.

Do I need to get beaten up and tormented more?

Will I have to go through that every time I need to solve a problem?

The circuit was hot. It felt like it could warm my entire body with that heat.

But strangely, my body grew colder and colder. I wanted to lie down on the ground and curl up. But I knew that wouldn’t solve anything. The chill was coming from inside my body.

I was cold.

“Good! That’s it!”

I closed my eyes tightly again and clutched my arms.

Then I muttered:

“Transform.”

And—

Nothing happened.

“Transform!”

I shouted again, but nothing happened.

I grew anxious.

Could it be this? Did the webtoon focus so much on subverting clichés that it didn’t follow this particular one?

The circuit was terribly hot, but my body was cold. The humming sound was very loud even without putting it to my ear.

“Please, transform!”

I shouted, but there was no response—

“…Jieun?”

“…”

At that voice, my heart felt like it dropped.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The voice came from above.

Up there were magical girls in various colors.

My clothes were rippling. Black smoke was rising slightly from the circuit. It wasn’t enough to completely cover my body.

Suddenly I felt something tugging at my pants. Something was climbing up my body—

“Transform quickly!”

James shouted from my shoulder.

“If you don’t transform right now…!”

I don’t know what you expect me to do.

Ah, I just want to die.

How hard I tried to maintain my image in front of Hayun. I tried to look cool in my own way. To be honest, that’s why I collected music CDs too. I could have just used streaming services, but showing off like this seems impressive.

But now, it’s all ruined.

Because I shouted about transforming in front of her.

Magical girls don’t seem to have that kind of thing. Well, in the officially serialized webtoon, transformation scenes were all skipped, but in the earlier blog version, there were characters who thought shouting transformations was cringeworthy.

So.

“Jieun!”

Seeing Hayun calling my name and approaching, I squeezed my eyes shut.

In that moment, I felt my body float slightly.

“…Ah.”

How strange.

A power that doesn’t move according to my will continues in ways I never expect.

My vision turned black. The light that normally enters even when eyes are closed suddenly disappeared.

The voice calling my name sounded distant.

Something tight wrapped around my body. The cold inside me responded to it and began to consume me.

It felt like suffocating underwater. I couldn’t breathe properly, and my chest felt tight.

Even when I tried to scream, my voice was completely blocked from escaping. My ears were muffled.

It was like being completely immersed in despair.

The deep sea, an ocean of despair where not a single ray of light enters.

In there, I struggled.

Crack.

I had heard this sound before.

The sensation of the shell surrounding my body falling away.

My previously invisible vision quickly brightened, and my blocked breath suddenly cleared.

I took several breaths. I grabbed my neck with my hand to check if anything was choking me.

Looking down, I had already changed into different clothes.

“Great! Perfect!”

James cheered.

Looking up, Hayun was watching me with an expression too complex to describe.

“…”

Cold sweat ran down my face.

I want to escape from here.

Even knowing it’s meaningless, knowing that what I should do here is talk.

Looking at Hayun made my heart feel constricted.

I don’t know why. I just want to run away from here.

Maybe because she caught me in an embarrassing state? Or—

Am I afraid of being reproached for lying? Because if we talk, I’ll have to explain everything one by one—

Hayun will surely look at me with eyes that see me as a pitiful person.

“…”

The humming circuit momentarily stopped. Perhaps my heart stopped too.

The cold sensation sharpened my mind, preventing me from fainting.

I don’t want that.

I don’t want to be unable to be with Hayun.

“Jieun…!”

Hayun turned toward me. The magical girls nearby rushed to her in panic.

But behind me, a black hole that absorbed the surrounding light had already formed.

I ran away again this time.

Just as I always had.