Chapter 5 – Guide

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It was nice to be immersed in the afterglow of the explosion, but I figured it was time to do something more practical, so I restored the lance to its original state.
Then, I casually sat down nearby and observed the researcher’s condition.

Hmm, it didn’t look like she was in any life-threatening danger.
More than anything, she wasn’t whining about being in pain, so she was probably fine.

…Though, she might just be too dazed to even complain. But that wasn’t something I needed to consider.

I retrieved the rope that had been binding the researcher and then took the bundle she had been clinging to like a treasure chest, opening it up.

Despite all that chaos, it had survived intact. The researcher, who seemed to value this bundle more than her own life, appeared somewhat admirable.

Normally, I would have just left at this point, but I decided to at least take her to the city.

Raising my evaluation of the researcher slightly, I examined the contents of the bundle.

This was a watch, this was a certificate, and this was… whatever. Not particularly interesting.

Sorting through what was important and what wasn’t, I realized that about three-quarters of the items were things that could be discarded without issue.

Looking at it positively, she still managed to pack about 25% useful items despite the rush.

For example, documents that seemed to contain information on “Zodiac,” a high-ranking villainous organization under the Monster Association.

There was a wealth of valuable information—each piece alone would be considered a luxury to obtain.

Honestly, I had been feeling lost about how to live from now on, but with these, I could at least maintain an above-average standard no matter what I chose to do.

…So, what should I do now?

I had only been focused on escaping the lab, and now that I thought about what came next, I felt stuck.

I had no desire to live as a monster. From the start, my way of thinking wasn’t like a monster’s.
As for continuing as a magical girl… my body was in no state for that.
Living quietly? That sounded boring.

After going through all this trouble to possess this body, I refused to live a dull life.
If I had ended up with a weak body, maybe I’d accept it, but I had possessed such a strong body—there was no way I would just sit around quietly.

The world of “I Picked Up a Magical Girl” had a bright atmosphere, but the setting was completely messed up.
Living as an ordinary powerless human would be too difficult.

On the other hand, as long as I had power, this world offered a great deal of freedom.
I could hide my strength and live leisurely, become a dark hero… or, though unlikely, even join Zodiac.

Not that I had any intention of joining them.

One reason was that they were villains.
But more importantly, it just didn’t seem fun.

If I joined them, wouldn’t it become too one-sided?

A fight is only fun when it’s desperate and evenly matched. Sure, for the ones fighting, a one-sided battle might be enjoyable, but who cares?

Helping the protagonist’s group wasn’t a good option either.

The whole reason Radiant White and the protagonist got together was because of my body—specifically, Shining White.

Even if only traces of Shining White remained in this body, Radiant White had become a magical girl due to an almost obsessive love for her.
If she saw me like this, she might realize that I was the monster created from Shining White.

If I stayed close to them and got found out, she might not end up with the protagonist properly.
That would cause a lot of complications.

As I debated how to proceed, a thought suddenly struck me like lightning.

…Then, why not meet them as an enemy?

The protagonist’s group was going to suffer immensely anyway. Adding a little more hardship wouldn’t make much of a difference.

And honestly, I wasn’t planning to torment them for fun—I intended to spar with them, acting somewhat like a mentor.
They were going to struggle in the future, and without real combat experience, they’d be in trouble.

So, I would beat them up just enough to help them grow.
Half the tragedies in the first half of the story weren’t even necessary, in my opinion.

Above all, I would “test them to see if they were worthy or not!”

…What was that just now? That felt like a weird thought.

…Oh well, doesn’t matter.

At least I had decided on one thing: I would fight the main characters under the guise of an enemy while secretly helping them grow.

As for the rest, I’d figure it out before I got to Korea.

Right now, I was in Romania—the land of vampires.

If I had been anywhere else, I would’ve immediately headed to Korea, but Romania was different.
This place was home to many beings like me.

There was still some time before the main story began, so I had enough room to study vampires—what they were exactly and what traits they possessed.

I wanted to investigate vampires because I didn’t know much about them.

In the original work, they were just a passing element, so there wasn’t much detail about what they actually were.

From what little was shown, they didn’t seem too different from vampires in other media, but there were some unique aspects.

I couldn’t risk overlooking a potential weakness I didn’t know about, so I planned to research them and gain some common knowledge.

…Come to think of it, I remember seeing some documents about vampires in the research lab.
Should I have taken them with me?

Well, I couldn’t go back for them now. Too bad.

Accepting what was done, I decided to focus on what I could do now.

Head to the nearest city and get a grasp of the situation.

For that, I’d need a local guide.

“Hey, girl. I have something to ask. Oi, I said I have something to ask.”

I snapped my fingers near the still-dazed researcher’s ear, and only then did she come to her senses.

“Y-yes?!”

That’s better. First, her name.

“What’s your name?”

Considering I might be seeing her often, calling her “girl” all the time would be annoying.

“N-Narae! It’s Narae!!”

She’s Korean? I thought she was a foreigner with that distinctive look.

“Do you live around here?”

She hesitated, rolling her eyes, then closed them tightly before answering that she had been staying in the lab’s dormitory.

“So, you don’t know the geography of this area?”

“…No.”

Well, she didn’t look like she was from around here anyway.

“Then, do you at least know the local language?”

I had hoped she could act as a guide, even if she wasn’t fluent, but she just shakily pulled out her phone and opened a translation app.

“Hah.”

So, she wouldn’t even be useful as a guide.

“B-but if you give me a chance…!”

Her desperate plea for survival was amusing enough that I decided to humor her.

“I have high expectations for you. You understand what that means, right?”

Smiling brightly, I said that, and she trembled, clutching her head as she begged for her life.

“Hmm? I’m trying to let you live, you know? If you start acting pathetic already, it’s going to be troublesome for both of us.”

Half of it was a joke, but half of it was serious.
She was smart enough to be a researcher, meaning she had intelligence.

She might lack wisdom, but she had knowledge, so I planned to extract every bit of useful information from her while I stayed here.

Weaknesses of monsters, the common sense of this world—things like that.

As she sobbed pitifully, I tied her up again and told her to get treated first.

We weren’t close enough for me to carry her myself.

Sorting through my belongings, I threw away anything unnecessary and packed only the essentials.

That’s when something caught my eye.

A choker-like item embedded with a crimson gemstone that radiated an ominous aura.

But seeing it only made me smile.

I knew exactly what this was.

In the original story, it was simply called a ‘suppressor.’

Unlike the transformation items of magical girls, which harnessed starlight to trigger their metamorphosis, this device did the opposite—it suppressed starlight to forcibly lock one in human form.

Judging by the size, it was clearly custom-made for me.

It seemed they weren’t joking when they said they had reserved the Dragon’s Seat of the Zodiac for me. They even prepared something like this.

…This was a relief.

I had been wondering how I was supposed to live in this form, but I worried for nothing.

After all, people who punish villains always receive rewards, right?

Just as I was about to take off, I suddenly remembered—I was practically naked.

Yeah, I couldn’t go to the city like this.

If I could create weapons using blood magic, I should be able to make clothes, too.

With that in mind, I tried to manipulate my blood to form garments on the spot.

It didn’t go as smoothly as I had hoped. The result was something that barely qualified as clothing.

A bit too revealing…

But, well, this would do for now.

 

Fortunately or unfortunately, Romania didn’t seem to have any magical girls.

If they did, there was no way nothing would have happened when I flew across the city, scattering red dust everywhere.

Thanks to that, I was able to drop the researcher off near a hospital without any resistance, but it still felt weird.

I had assumed magical girls were a given. But apparently, that wasn’t the case.

Considering that vampires ruled this place, it made sense for there to be no magical girls, but I hadn’t expected there to be none at all.

I had been looking forward to seeing one in person—to witness how dazzling they were.

While memorizing the researcher’s phone number, I wandered the city, looking for a place to stay during the daytime.

That’s when the scent of blood invaded my nose.

Following the trail, I found a hidden underground passage that practically screamed ‘vampires live here.’

Inside, I saw a vampire sinking its fangs into a woman’s neck, greedily sucking her blood.

“Hah… How many times do I have to say it? Have you lost your mind after losing your master? This is our territory. You lowlifes don’t even have an elder, yet you dare intrude on our family’s—huh?”

The vampire, too focused on its feast, finally noticed me and looked up with an irritated expression—until it realized I wasn’t who it was expecting.

It spoke.

That meant we understood each other.

There was no way it knew Korean, and even if vampires had their own language, I wouldn’t know it.

Magic, maybe? Well, I was about a third magical girl, so…

Whatever. I could figure that out later.

“This is your territory?”

Judging by its face, it had no idea what I was.

“Who… are you?!”

“No need for you to know.”

It didn’t seem interested in talking.

Then, I suppose I should start by grinding it into the wall.