Ch.61Chapter 11. Group Life (2)

Hayun’s reason for answering that way wasn’t purely emotional.

That’s not to say there weren’t emotional reasons involved. If she were to list her reasons in order of importance, emotions would certainly rank quite high.

But beyond that, Hayun had her own rationale.

Hayun… fought for justice.

She was too old to believe in the existence of perfect, flawless justice in this world. But even so, there must be second-best options.

Standing against the unjust and trying to fix what’s wrong with the world.

Even with these powers, it might be impossible to make the world a perfectly good place, but she would always keep trying and moving forward.

However, the Federation wasn’t an organization she could choose as that “second-best option.”

“I’d like you to help me with my revenge.”

She could see Jieun’s face as she said those words.

Close enough that she could feel Jieun’s breath with each word.

Those black eyes were like an abyss.

Hayun had seen Jieun’s eyes after she transformed into a magical girl. Stars were engraved in her pupils. Though they weren’t brightly shining stars, it was like looking at that light.

A black hole is also a celestial body. This celestial body, formed when a star’s life ends, also shines. Although it doesn’t emit light itself but rather collects other light, if that weren’t considered shining, then the moon couldn’t be described as shining either.

Hope is a power one can have by not giving up.

Even if Jieun’s power didn’t originate from hope, she hadn’t given up. That was what mattered.

After maintaining eye contact for a while without looking away, it was Jieun who left first.

Jieun turned and walked away from the house.

Should I follow her? Hayun considered it briefly, then turned away.

Not yet, not yet.

She would need time.

They could talk. At the very least, Jieun didn’t hate Hayun.

So, there was still hope.

…Hayun would have to explain well to the others who had followed her. At least so that Jieun wouldn’t feel uncomfortable about other people being here.

*

After getting some fresh air for a while, my body started to shiver.

The wind especially came in through the holes in my clothes. I eventually couldn’t bear the cold and returned home.

How would I get through tonight?

Though I had wrapped plastic around the inside of the house to block the wind, it wasn’t a complete solution against the cold.

There were no blankets for the children, and they weren’t wearing thick clothes either.

I really didn’t want to worry, but I also didn’t want to wake up to find someone frozen to death. Again, I’m not a murderer.

I was thinking of ways to drive them out as I entered the house—when I felt the warmth inside the room and was a bit surprised.

“Jieun!”

Hayun peeked her head out from the kitchen area, apparently having heard the sound of the poorly maintained sliding door opening.

…Had she made a fire?

Well, I had made fires too. Though it produced smoke, I hadn’t been caught yet.

Just as I entered, Iris followed behind me. The other three people were fidgeting nervously inside the room.

I suppose five people don’t need to move around when making a fire, but in this situation, not helping must have felt awkward.

“…”

I stared at the kids for a while before opening my mouth.

“…What about dinner?”

No answer came.

Those kids must have followed me on impulse, clearly having no idea what to do. They hadn’t brought anything with them.

Forget dinner—they didn’t even have spare underwear for tomorrow.

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

…Alright.

I gritted my teeth, went into the tent, and opened my bag.

I do have emergency rations.

I picked up a half-eaten can of spam, then silently put it back down. I thought for a moment.

Canned food was among the better things I had. Whether it was tuna or pork, at least they could be called “meat.”

Plus, they were heavy and relatively expensive for their weight, so I couldn’t pack many.

Instead, I had packed things like hardtack. Actually, I didn’t buy these as a main dish but rather to fill my stomach when I had nothing else to eat, or when I got tired of just eating canned food.

Dry crackers, hardtack, nuts…

“Hmm.”

Seeing me seriously contemplating, James snorted.

“It seems you don’t want to share your food after all.”

“…”

I silently glared at James for a moment.

Yes, I know it’s a selfish thought. But wasn’t this originally packed for me to eat alone?

It felt rather unpleasant to have my plans disrupted.

But… what could I do?

In the end, I picked up the hardtack. It was a large bag full of barley hardtack that didn’t look very tasty.

I went outside the tent and put it down, and the kids’ eyes turned to me.

“This is all I can offer.”

I said, plopping down in my seat.

“Make do with this today, and from tomorrow, think about what you’re all going to do.”

I placed the lantern down and looked around at the children’s faces.

Their faces looked pale in the light shining from below. Why, are you already regretting it?

I opened the hardtack bag, pushed it in front of the children, and put one in my mouth.

…It’s hard and dry. Honestly, it’s difficult to eat without water, but there wasn’t any boiled water at the moment.

At least I was used to living like this for quite some time, but these kids weren’t. Until just yesterday, they probably slept in luxurious homes on soft beds.

Dinner time was quiet.

The kids couldn’t eat much of the hardtack. Even though they must have been hungry after fighting without eating.

But what could I do? There was nothing else to eat.

I hoped they would beg to leave after spending just one day here. Then I could just take them somewhere else and be done with it.

I would move to a new place.

And while I’m at it, I’d use what little money I had left to replenish my food supplies.

Until I went into the tent after dinner, the kids just kept eyeing each other nervously without much conversation.

“Good night, Jieun.”

I heard Hayun’s voice just before entering the tent.

I paused very briefly, then entered the tent without answering.

Even with the zipper closed, it’s impossible to completely block out sounds from outside the tent.

But even after lying down for a while, I didn’t hear any conversation. Were they conscious of that too? Afraid I might eavesdrop on their conversation?

…Don’t worry about it.

Despite having slept during the day, I was still tired.

It didn’t take me long to fall asleep.

*

After some rustling sounds from inside the tent, regular breathing could soon be heard.

The breathing was so deep it was almost snoring, as if she was extremely tired.

Listening to that breathing, Rose clutched her head.

“…What should we do?”

Iris asked.

Her face was also full of worry.

“It’s much worse… than I thought.”

Dahlia said with a groan.

“…”

Delphinium silently looked around the house again, then at the tent.

The light inside had gone out, making it impossible to even see who was inside. Only the breathing sound from beyond indicated that Jieun was still alive.

So, that girl.

Has she been living here… all this time?

It was a conclusion shocking enough to stun the girls.

They knew that Jeong Jieun was being pursued by the government, the company, and the Federation. But they hadn’t imagined she would be living like this.

How much time had passed? It had been well over a month. Though it was somewhat warm during the day now, until just recently, the weather had still been close to winter.

“She probably didn’t stay in one place.”

Hayun said.

“She must have avoided detection by hiding in places like this, out of sight…”

“…”

A heavy silence.

There had been some discussion during Hayun’s process of persuading the magical girls.

But none of the girls had thought it would be “like this.” They had assumed she was somehow concealing her identity and moving between saunas, PC rooms, or various accommodations.

“So that’s why she never appeared on CCTV.”

Rose said with a voice tinged with a sigh. Her voice sounded somewhat lamentable.

“From the beginning, she only moved through places where she wouldn’t be seen.”

“My goodness…”

Delphinium and Dahlia each added a comment.

Tattered clothes. Indeed, it made sense. The magical girls had only seen Jieun after she transformed. Whatever clothes she wore, they naturally became pristine once she was enveloped in magic. They might get torn and tattered during fights, but by the next meeting, they would be intact again.

After fighting, getting tired, and injured, this is where she returned to. Or perhaps somewhere even worse than this.

In an abandoned house—no, a ruin that couldn’t even properly block the wind, she had set up just one tent and entered it as if it were her sanctuary.

If someone passing by had bad intentions, Jieun might have suffered something terrible.

With that thought, Hayun’s heart grew heavy.

That was also why none of them had left.

It was guilt.

If only they hadn’t gotten involved—if only anyone here had spoken up and said that Jieun hadn’t done it, there would have been no reason for that girl to be living like this.

She might still have been a combatant, or she might have been fired, but at least she would have been living normally, going to school with proper protection.

The five people here had driven that girl to this point.

“…”

Hayun placed her hand on her chest.

A pained expression that she couldn’t show in front of Jieun appeared on her face.

Yes, there was hope. She could talk with Jieun. Jieun hadn’t given up on everything yet. Hayun was relieved by that fact.

At the same time—

—there might have been other ways too.

Jieun is pretty. Her figure is incomparably better than other girls her age. So, she might have been able to use that.

Of course, Hayun didn’t want that. Objectively, it would be considered immoral. It would violate several laws.

But it would have been much more comfortable than now. At least physically.

Why hadn’t Jieun chosen that option?

Because she hated it that much. Or because she couldn’t trust even the people she might meet that way.

Jieun is smart. Perhaps she thought ahead. Maybe she thought living this way would cause fewer troubles.

But even so, Hayun was… truly grateful to Jieun.

For not giving up. Even in this situation.

“…”

Iris silently reached out, picked up one of the hardtack pieces still in front of them, and tried it.

It was her first time eating such a thing.

It was dry and somewhat nutty, but it couldn’t even be compared to cookies made with butter. Some might like the taste, and there might even be enthusiasts—but it seemed unlikely that Jieun had chosen this simply because she liked it.

“My goodness.”

Iris muttered again.

To think she had survived for over a month with this as her main food.

Her determination was almost frightening.

And—

“What can we… do?”

Rose murmured.

“Jieun asked us to help her with revenge.”

“Are you really going to do it?”

Dahlia asked. This time her voice was a bit frightened.

“I will. If we leave Jieun in this situation, it could lead to truly irreversible consequences.”

Everyone fell silent at those words.

Indeed, that was true.

If she had continued living like this, she would inevitably feel rage toward those who had driven her into this situation.

And all five people here were among those who had driven her to this point.

Jieun’s combat style was already becoming increasingly aggressive. Especially when fighting those who were hostile to her, she showed almost no mercy.

In such a situation, what would she think if she directly met those who had driven her to this state?

“…It’s my responsibility.”

Hayun said quietly.

The situation had gotten this bad because Hayun had known everything but had done nothing.

She couldn’t excuse herself by saying she hadn’t known it would get this bad. Things had already come this far.

As Jieun had said, it was too late. They had come too far.

So, before it gets even later, before they drift even further apart.

Hayun would do what she could.

“…So, if you don’t want to stay, you can go back. I just wanted you to understand what I’m trying to do.”

Hayun raised her head with a somewhat determined expression and looked at the other girls.

“Jieun has said it several times. As long as you don’t interfere with what I’m trying to do—”

“…You really know how to make people feel bad.”

Rose said with a furrowed brow.

“Having come this far, I can’t just pretend I didn’t see anything.”

“…”

Hayun looked at Rose.

“Well, I shouldn’t be the one to talk, since I was advocating for maintaining the status quo until we came here…”

Rose looked up at the ceiling.

Despite having a lot of plastic, they had stopped short of covering the entire ceiling as they lacked the tools and it would have required too much effort.

So, that part remained exposed concrete wall without plastic.

It was a depressing atmosphere just looking at it.

“…I’m not heartless enough to create this situation and then leave on my own.”

Iris nodded too. Though she didn’t speak up separately, it seemed she intended to stay.

Delphinium and Dahlia also nodded with pale faces.

“Thank you.”

Though they still didn’t know what they could do—

“Truly touching friendship.”

Someone interrupted the conversation.

It was James.

Slinking slowly from the darkness, James sat down next to Hayun and looked up at her.

“I might be able to help a little.”

“…You.”

“What’s wrong? I don’t believe you really think that girl survived in this world all alone in this situation. Without solid technical support, she would have looked for ‘other methods’ long ago. Or even if she didn’t know herself, others might have implemented them for her.”

Hayun looked down at James, but James didn’t seem intimidated at all.

“I’ve heard that voice before.”

Hayun said.

“You’re that executive. From where Jieun belonged.”

“My, my, I’m honored you recognize me.”

James bowed his head slightly and then said.

“While the situation is regrettable in many ways, I still have a give-and-take relationship with Jeong Jieun. Though it’s not exactly smooth, we’ve maintained a cooperative relationship of sorts.”

“…”

“In that sense, I can offer help to you all as well.”

“Help?”

“Yes. If you could use magic, couldn’t you help with living conditions? Jeong Jieun has barely used firewood for fear the smoke would give her away.”

Hayun’s shoulders twitched slightly at those words.

The room was warm now. And Jieun hadn’t seemed particularly concerned about Hayun adding firewood.

Or was she just turning a blind eye to it?

James seemed pleased with this reaction and rubbed his small hands together as he spoke.

“Your circuits are complex and need a lot of work, so I can’t give them to you right away. But I do have spare circuits like the ones Jeong Jieun uses. Though they’re inferior to what she uses, they should work quite well assuming you’ll be using Jeong Jieun’s ‘energy’.”

“…”

The children’s gazes focused on James.

“Ultimately, hmm. I’ll provide you with circuits that have had their tracking systems completely removed.”

“You seem to trust me.”

“Well, let’s say I trust magical girls.”

James replied as if he’d heard something amusing.

“No, actually, rather than magical girls in general, it’s better to say I trust you, a magical girl.”

James looked up at Hayun and said.

“I think you can somewhat guess what the government was planning to do with Jeong Jieun.”

Hayun kept her mouth shut.

And glared at James.

But James, again, didn’t look intimidated at all as he spoke.

“And I am the only one who can properly empower Jeong Jieun. Do you plan to hand her over to the Federation’s technicians? Or to the company?”

“…”

“Yes, at least you, who likes Jeong Jieun very much as a friend, cannot give up on her. So I can’t give up either. I need to be here for Jeong Jieun’s advantage. Above all, do you think the current Jeong Jieun would trust you more, or me more?”

Hayun couldn’t answer that question.

She bit her lip.

“Well, there’s no need to worry too much. I have my own ideas about how to survive here. If you cooperate, I’ll help you hold out a little longer.”

Hayun thought for a moment, then looked at the magical girls.

Rose finally nodded. The other girls followed suit.

“Good.”

Looking at James smiling as he said that, Hayun felt very uneasy—but for now, no better solution came to mind.