Ch.66. A New Beginning

“Have you ever heard of being caught between a rock and a hard place?

That probably describes my current situation perfectly.

That blade surrounded by magical energy. The White Tiger glaring at me with magical energy around her legs, ready to lunge at me when the timing is right…

Right now, my bet with Blanc is preventing me from running away.

“You, why, why are you here? You should be in Marina. Why, don’t tell me, you escaped? From Marina? How?”

“Yuri unnie, calm down. Put away your magic. I’ll explain everything.”

“Yunseul, do I look like I can calm down? This person, I definitely caught her and sent her to Marina back then, so why is she standing in front of me now?”

“First, put that sword away. I’ll explain.”

“Do you want to stab me with that sword?”

“You, you…”

“Oh come on! Unnie! Just listen to me!!! Calm down!!”

“Yunseul, would you be calm if you were me? Don’t you remember how dangerous Eden was?”

“Unnie, Eden is gone now. We destroyed it together back then. We defeated the boss too.”

“Ah, yes. You destroyed Eden and locked our boss up in Marina.”

“Vinay, you be quiet too.”

“You, are you here to rebuild Eden and corrupt our Yunseul… like you did to me back then? Is that why you’re here?”

“For now, I have no such intentions.”

“Vinay.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll do as my employer says.”

Hmm, I don’t think I said anything to make the situation worse. I was merely trying to change her perception that Eden is still alive, brainwashing Blanc, and secretly working to destroy magical girls from within.

“Yunseul, are you really okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Really.”

“You can confirm it yourself, can’t you? The fact that when a magical girl becomes corrupted, the nature of her magical energy changes, and her body reconstructed with magic transforms. You know that better than anyone.”

“Sigh, that’s true. But you. You should definitely be in Marina.”

“No, I’ve already served my full sentence and was properly released…”

“What? How could a top executive of Eden…?”

“I have this, don’t I?”

I continued speaking while showing her the dog collar around my neck.

Well, it wasn’t so much me continuing as it was Blanc explaining the situation.

Finding me, or rather, even before that.

Honestly, I was a bit surprised. She had known about my past for such a long time.

After explaining everything about yesterday, including our bet, the White Tiger withdrew her magical energy and dismissed her summoned dagger.

After looking at the villain-specific power-sealing device and confirming that even the magical energy I naturally emit is completely absorbed by this collar, she returned to her original lazy demeanor.

“Siiigh, really now… Yunseul, you’ve done something quite ridiculous, haven’t you?”

“But, such a pure child. Being corrupted by Eden’s boss. It’s truly pitiful.”

“Please don’t speak ill of my boss. It’s unpleasant to hear.”

“Sooo, what’s the bet about? Whether that wicked villain becomes good again or not?”

“Yes, she doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing evil now, and I bet on the idea that people can change. That even villains can become good again.”

“Hmm, I’ll keep an eye on her for now… I don’t have any lingering resentment from back then anyway…”

“Someone without lingering resentment wouldn’t point such a dangerous dagger at a weak civilian.”

“Earlier, you were in the wrong… Showing up without warning when there’s someone here who shouldn’t be seen… Of course I had to be suspicious first…”

“You were so strongly suspicious, yet why are you letting it go now?”

“Your magical energy’s nature has changed…”

“Since I haven’t used it for so long, the emitted magic has weakened, so you must have seen wrong. I understand.”

“No, you wouldn’t understand even if I told you. Anyway, I’m fine with it… but I don’t know about the others…?”

“Well, I’ll have to explain everything to them. What about Hyewon?”

“Hyewon went to see her sister and said she’d stay for about a day to help out before coming back…”

“Hmm, then… the ones left are… Arin and Seohyun, I guess…?”

“They said they’d come back after Arin’s special training at the association after school… It would be better to text them in advance…”

“‘Arin’? That’s a magical girl I haven’t heard of before.”

“Yes, she’s a new magical girl who joined a year ago.”

“A year ago, so it makes sense I wouldn’t know her… Well, if we explain things, she won’t pounce on me like this White Tiger did.”

“Hey, Vinay… how long are you going to call me White Tiger…? I’m a proper freelancer now…”

“You know, don’t you? I only call magical girls who can match me in battle by their code names. Given my current state, that won’t be changing anytime soon.”

“I’m not a White Tiger…”

The White Tiger, Plum, whose expression had been so frightening earlier, now wore a tired and gloomy look as she said, “I’m going upstairs… hng…” and returned to her room.

Well, let’s get back to cleaning.

I collect all the laundry scattered around the room and move it to the laundry room. I’ll sort it later.

Even just tidying up a bit makes it so much neater. Now it’s finally starting to look like a home for people rather than an animal den.

I was going to do all the piled-up dishes because they looked unsightly, but…

Yes, I can’t reach the sink properly.

Well, technically I can reach it, but it’s uncomfortable.

“Blanc, do you have something like a step stool?”

“Huh, did you call? A stool? Why. Oh.”

“What? You should really think carefully before saying whatever comes next.”

“Ah, no! Here! This is what Arin uses.”

“Hmm, that’s a bit better. Well, carry on with your business.”

I’m glad there aren’t as many dishes as I expected.

“Vinay, are you washing dishes with bare hands…?”

“There are no rubber gloves that fit my hands, and besides, it’s harder to check if things are properly cleaned when wearing gloves.”

“Where did you learn these household chores…?”

“I learned from Elise at Eden.”

“Elise? That Elise? Didn’t you know this before falling into the gap…?”

“No. I lost all my memories from before. I’ve recovered some now, but before that, Elise helped me a lot.”

“Ah…”

With such a serious face, Vinay just sat at the table watching me work.

In a house this dirty, or rather, neglected, you’d expect a pile of dishes to match.

Surely they don’t just eat delivery food?

No way. Out of curiosity, I opened the refrigerator.

Hmm, completely empty.

All that’s there are drinks, water, alcohol, and eggs?

Is this right? What I’m seeing is a bit serious.

“Blanc, let’s go grocery shopping. We’ve tidied up enough for now.”

“Huh? Shouldn’t you unpack your things first?”

“Didn’t you hire me as a housekeeper? Then I should take care of your meals first, shouldn’t I? Let’s go.”

“Umm, you don’t really need to…”

“It’s my job. Oh, is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?”

“No, not really…?”

“Then I’ll prepare what I want to eat.”

Right, now when I go out shopping… my scarf…

“Blanc, have you seen my scarf?”

“Scarf…? It’s not that cold yet, is it?”

“…I need it to cover my face a bit.”

Hearing my words, Blanc hurriedly took out a scarf from my wardrobe, or rather, box.

The black scarf wraps around my neck again. I bury my face in it slightly, hiding myself a little.

Then, I pull up my hood and wait for Blanc with a shopping basket.

“Even the hood… why do you need to cover up so much?”

“I told you, didn’t I? Since I can’t disguise myself with magic, I need to do this to shop comfortably at the neighborhood market.”

“Sigh, really. Since I’m with you, you could take off the hood. And the scarf…”

“That’s absolutely not happening.”

“Sigh, fine. Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

So we went to a market about 10 minutes away and bought ingredients for today’s meal.

It’s so nice to have money.

Because of this damn money… really… to a magical girl…

Anyway, I decided on braised short ribs for dinner tonight.

I bought short ribs for six people, vegetables, and seasonings, and also picked up some groceries for tomorrow’s breakfast.

Really, there wasn’t a single person who gave me trouble today.

Just because Blanc was beside me.

Humans are so two-faced.

When we returned from shopping, the dusky sky greeted us.

“We’re back!”

And the sky wasn’t the only thing greeting us.

A magical girl with sky-blue hair and another with sun-red hair were sitting on the sofa, staring at me as I stood behind Blanc.

* * *

“Yuri unnie! Did Yunseul unnie come today?”

Arin, whose face was flushed in contrast to her blue hair, perhaps having just finished training, asked.

“Yeees, she brought a guest with her too…”

“Ah, the puppy she said she was bringing! It’s finally here! Where is it?”

“P-puppy… Well, she went out with Yunseul for now…”

“What’s it like? Is it cute? Cute enough to make you want to pet it all over? How small is it? What color is its fur? What breed? What’s its name?”

While pinching Arin’s excited cheeks, Seohyun calmed her down.

“Arin, slowly. Yuri unnie might not have seen it yet. Let’s wash up first and wait until they return.”

“Okay! I’m really excited! You know, my dream has always been to raise a puppy! I’m the youngest at home, and they said no to having another sibling, so I’ve always wanted a puppy at least.”

“I understand, now let’s go in, Arin.”

After washing away the fatigue of training, what greeted the expectant Arin was…

A small girl, perhaps even smaller than Arin herself,

With deep darkness, yet proudly shining with two amethyst eyes.