Under the Lamp? (4)

Under the Lamp? (4)

“Magical Girl Tequilas, once again, dozens of people…”

“We must capture and control her at all costs…”

“Magical Girl? No, Demon Girl!”

From morning until now at lunchtime, the TV news in the restaurant has been broadcasting only my news all day long. Somehow, the content was all about criticizing me.

Only old geezers like doctors and professors appeared, flapping their lips and pointing out how evil and wrong my actions were.

Of course, the actual public opinion seemed a bit different from the thoughts of those noble individuals.

I didn’t care at all. However, Kim Su-jung, who was sitting next to me staring intently at the TV, seemed a bit different.

“Still… she killed bad people. There must be people who like her.”

“They say they dislike her because she disrupts order.”

“Order…? That order, in the end, only favors those who support it.”

She chewed her food and sighed with a gloomy voice.

Despite not knowing my identity at all, she kept subtly defending me, seemingly truly believing that I was right.

“How interesting.”

I chuckled with a spoon in my mouth. Most of the people who liked my actions and found them satisfying were young people.

Ironically, kids like her tended to view it rather negatively.

“So, what do you think, teacher?”

Intrigued, I asked our homeroom teacher Lee Seon-young, whom we met after lunch, about me, or rather, Magical Girl Tequilas.

After all, this institution itself is related to Magical Girls.

“Huh?”

She flinched, seemingly surprised by my sudden question. Then she rolled her eyes slightly. It looked like she was pondering her answer.

“Ahem! While she’s clearly a Magical Girl punishing evil, murder is wrong. So, um… she’s doing the wrong thing.”

“But if not, bad people will just commit bad deeds again.”

“W-Well, that’s… No! There are many people who go to prison, reform themselves, repent, and ask for forgiveness.”

Kim Su-jung, who was sweating nervously, hurriedly tried to appease the kid. Anyway, this was a good opportunity to understand an educator’s perspective.

“Why don’t you try being a bit nicer? You can rack up achievements just fine without killing, you know.”

Ren took the bait and started scolding me. I kicked him when the two weren’t looking and smirked.

I admit I might have gone a bit overboard.

But being criticized from all sides like this just makes me want to resist more. After 100 years of living in the Demon Realm, my values had changed, and now every action in this society felt like a challenge to me.

“A-Anyway, today we’re going to talk about your future treatment. The administrative processing is all done.”

Lee Seon-young cleared her throat, redirecting our attention, and finally got to the main point of why she came to meet us.

“First of all, you’ll be going to school.”

“What about taking the equivalency exam?”

School? As soon as the topic of school came up, I brought up the idea of taking the equivalency exam that I had thought of beforehand. After all, I couldn’t go to school with middle schoolers at my age.

“…Middle school is compulsory education. And according to facility policy, you must attend school. School isn’t just a place for studying. It’s a place to socialize with friends and develop social skills.”

Lee Seon-young, her eyes widening slightly in surprise, shook her head. I clicked my tongue inwardly. I had a feeling it wouldn’t work, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. And I wondered if I was being too hasty in settling in. This wasn’t the kind of freedom I wanted.

“The middle school you’ll be attending is nearby Sewon Middle School, and you’ll commute with other children, so make sure to prepare on time from now on.”

“…Okay.”

Kim Su-jung’s voice was small. She was clearly showing her dislike for going to school.

“Jina, how about you?”

“Of course.”

But Lee Seon-young’s arrow was somehow aimed at me. It seems I was really singled out. So I nodded with an exaggerated smile.

Satisfied with this answer, Lee Seon-young told us to stay put and left the room.

“School…”

“Why? Don’t you like going to school? I don’t like it either.”

“Really?!”

I casually threw out that comment with a slight smile, but Kim Su-jung grabbed my shoulder with excitement. Slightly taken aback, I removed her hand and changed my expression to a serious one.

“I don’t like going to school because I hate that noisy and childish space. But it seems that’s not the case for you?”

“Well…”

“Come on, be honest. Did something happen at school?”

I reluctantly asked about her story. After all, we were going to be roommates from now on, so I had to show at least this much concern.

Eventually, Kim Su-jung, who had been hesitating and mumbling, opened up about past events.

“They bullied me, hit me… I couldn’t fight back. If I fought, the parents of the kids I fought with would come and slap me repeatedly. But I didn’t have parents who would come to protect me and get angry on my behalf.”

“What about the teachers? No, never mind. You really have met some terrible people.”

What’s the best ability to have? Money? Looks? Luck? I didn’t think it was any of those. The best thing is to meet only good people.

“Honestly, I didn’t learn much either. Things like proper laundry methods were more helpful than addition and subtraction.”

“That’s a short-sighted view, but I guess you couldn’t help it back then. Anyway, go to school.”

After hearing her story, I stated firmly. Setting aside the bad memories, you need to have at least minimum qualifications to survive in this society.

“Okay. I’ll go. It’ll be fine this time because you’re here.”

However, contrary to her words, Kim Su-jung nodded obediently. My eyebrows twitched when I heard that response.

“But I’m smaller than you?”

“Still, you seem… really strong. And it’ll be okay if I have a friend.”

She said that without any hesitation, her innocent eyes sparkling. I was so surprised that I was at a loss for words.

“…Sometimes, pure innocence can penetrate through everything. That’s quite a sharp insight.”

Ren, sitting on the bed, muttered.

“Aargh!”

Knowing he was just trying to look cool by muttering, I playfully threw myself on the bed, squashing him with my bottom.

“These are your school uniforms. Take good care of them, okay?”

Lee Seon-young, who had disappeared, came back with some clothes. I received them with a slightly disgruntled face. Even though I was used to wearing revealing outfits that exposed my legs and stomach, something about this bothered me.

Urged by her to try them on quickly to check the size, Su-jung and I, who had been hesitating, took off our clothes and changed into the uniforms.

“The sizes fit well. They both look good on you.”

A plain white blouse with a red vest and a red checkered skirt.

Along with a red ribbon, this was the school uniform. Lee Seon-young checked a few things and left the room again.

“We’re really going to school, huh.”

“That’s why you should go to bed early. So you can wake up refreshed like today.”

I said with a smirk. This morning, Kim Su-jung, who had slept soundly thanks to my power, had marveled at how she had never slept so comfortably before.

Of course, I couldn’t sleep tonight either. The ledger we stole last night. I need to go back and check that place.

The list contained illegally operating businesses, with detailed information about them. For example… the names of the girls working there. I found a familiar name on that list.

I couldn’t understand why I had such an uneasy reaction before, but now I knew for sure.

“Are you really going to kill that girl too? Didn’t you say the sellers and buyers are the same?”

[But there seems to be a difference in the visible malice… I should at least hear her story. No, why should I be considerate in the first place? If I want to save her, I’ll save her, and if I want to kill her, I’ll kill her]

I snorted at Ren’s words. It’s not like I’m an executioner or a judge who needs to strictly adhere to standards for killing or saving.

I’ll just do as I please.

So that night too, I flew up into the sky.

The thumping music was echoing through the late night sky.

A street solely for pleasure and indulgence. In this perfect and beautiful street, unfortunately, it was full of those who had to die by my hand.

“Ugh, aaargh! A Magical Girl!”

“Code Red! It’s Tequilas!”

Unlike yesterday’s unintended infiltration, I drew aggro like crazy from the start. As I landed on the ground, screaming people began to flee in all directions.

Seeing that made me feel a bit wronged. I don’t kill innocent people.

“Or is it that they have too much to feel guilty about?”

Smirking, I swung my hand, scattering shadow blades. Three idiots who tried to stop me fell simultaneously, their bodies and necks split in half, spraying blood.

“I told you I don’t kill if you’re not guilty!”

Moving the shadows, I broke through the door and entered inside.

Inside was already in chaos. People crowded towards the only narrow emergency exit, trying to escape.

“I could wipe them all out at once…”

“Haaah!”

Just as I was about to extend my tentacles towards them, someone lunged at me from the side.

“Kuk!”

“What are you? Your strength… is not at a normal person’s level.”

The one who tried to punch my face but was blocked by the shadow enveloping my body was a scrawny-looking young thug. Gritting his teeth, he withdrew his fist and launched a kick.

The kick that landed squarely on my chest had enough power to create a shockwave.

If I had been an ordinary child, it would have been powerful enough to crush all my ribs and burst my internal organs.

“How strange?”

“Aaaaargh!”

I pierced the creature’s limbs with my tentacles and pinned it to the wall.