Chapter 34 : Immigration Inspection

I read Korean newspapers on the plane and couldn’t help but chuckle.

In Japan, I could only get somewhat distorted or reduced information about foreign news.

Moreover, because I had been busy for the past few months to closely watch the situation in Korea, the Korean situation I had researched since deciding to go to Korea two months ago was just laughable.

[Cybercrime reduced by over 70% since the appearance of the magical girl of [Cyberbrain]]

[The country of quiet internet, the Eastern country of courtesy in the virtual world]

[Should we acknowledge the existence of a ‘benevolent Big Brother’?]

[Magical girl of [Cyberbrain]: “Fully recognize the autonomy of the Supernatural Ability Countermeasures Team and magical girls.”]

[Members of the National Assembly silent before the ruler of the internet]

The magical girl of [Cyberbrain], Kang Dorim.

An ability user who can physically dive into electronic spaces to read or track information.

‘In the original work, there was no mention of awakened ability users in Korea except for [Sea] and [Dream], who were supposed to awaken while fighting invading plunderer magical girls.’

Similar to how I isolated Japanese magical girls from Fujimoto through domain declaration, Korea also did not consumptively deal with magical girls due to the overwhelming power of awakened magical girls.

In Korean society, where most things are computerized, and CCTVs are plastered nationwide, [Cyberbrain] would exert influence comparable to a domain declaration.

‘In a society before the advent of [War] that completely destroys infrastructure, this ability is almost invincible.’

It seemed that due to this girl who appeared after the debutante, they had adapted to the era of magical girls in a different direction from Japan. And there was another newly awakened magical girl who was presumed to have healing-type abilities.

[White Wing Unit successfully completes nationwide rounds of treatment for long-term inpatients.]

[Loyalty! We gathered at the nation’s call! White Wing Unit magical girls’ resolution ceremony.]

[Medical magical girl Park Saebyeok, White Wing Company Commander, sheds tears while singing the White Wing military song.]

Supernatural Ability Countermeasures Team and the White Wing Unit.

Korean magical girls were forming groups centered around two awakened magical girls.

“Really a country full of fighting spirit.”

Unlike the situation in Japan, where they tried to form a huge faction centered around Fujimoto due to the overflow of magical girls, Korea’s situation of operating relatively fewer magical girls like some kind of state-affiliated official heroes was truly full of spirit.

‘Still, it’s fortunate they’re maintaining a more stable balance than I expected.’

I had prepared to coordinate as much as possible and leave if Korea also had problems with magical girls.

But at this level, it seemed I could quietly execute my plan to recruit [Sea] and [Dream], then secretly declare a domain in a corner of Seoul, and then leave for Russia.

[We will be landing at Incheon International Airport soon, so passengers please…]

I felt my heart becoming more excited as I walked from the landing plane to the immigration inspection area.

“Oh my, President Kim! I just got back from Japan! Let’s go for a drink today!”

“Oh, oppa. I’ve arrived.”

“Eunji~ Dad’s plane just arrived; let’s meet at exit 5.”

“Let’s eat some kimchi stew on the way.”

Familiar language.

Familiar atmosphere.

Familiar air.

The moment when a stranger who had flown into the world of a light novel approached the homeland of another world was thrilling.

Even while understanding in my head that this was Korea in a different world, not the world where my mother was, I was gradually overwhelmed by the familiar atmosphere, and my heart started beating rapidly.

[Passport please.]

“Ah.”

Japanese.

The Korean airport security staff spoke to me in Japanese.

This was not my hometown, and I was still a stranger in this world.

“Here.”

“…”

The staff member who checked my passport while expressionlessly flipping through it looked at the screen in front and stamped the entry permit.

I checked the carelessly stamped foreigner’s mark, put the passport in my pocket, and followed the automatically opening door out.

[Welcome.]

I tried to walk towards the airport exit after passing through immigration.

But urgent footsteps from behind.

“Just a moment! Wait!”

“Yes?”

A middle-aged man in a black suit came running, sweating profusely, and hurriedly stopped me.

A nameplate was dangling on his chest.

[Supernatural Ability Countermeasures Team Leader Oh Sanghyuk]

“Huff… huff… d-damn… at my age…”

The man who had followed at full sprint to the point of dripping sweat made desperate gestures, waving his hand and asking me to come to a corner while breathing roughly, and I could only blankly watch.

“No, just, just a moment…”

The man caught his breath and fumbled to take his phone out of his breast pocket. Then, in a small voice, he began reading a memo.

“A, anata wa… uh… ma, mahoo… shojoo… desu ka?”

-Are you a magical girl?

“Mahoo shojoo!”

-Magical girl!

I felt my mind go blank for a moment.

When I acted as [Beginning], I always used perception-hindering magic, so my appearance was never revealed.

Even Fujimoto, who had manipulated all of Japan, accepted the era of magical girls while failing to catch my tail.

But how did this mister recognize me as a magical girl?

“Hey, Dorim! I can’t speak Japanese! Come out quickly!”

Oh Sanghyuk said while looking at his phone, his face red from embarrassment.

Zzzzt

In the direction of that phone’s flash, ash-gray noise interfered and a translucent girl wearing VR goggles walked out.

All sorts of stickers were stuck on her loose T-shirt, and she was an impressive girl with extremely long ash-gray hair covering her skinny body.

Zing-

A laser came out of the ash-gray girl’s VR goggles and quickly scanned me.

[Cyberbrain] Magical Girl’s Unique Skill

Cyberbrain Swimming

“You. You’re the magical girl of [Beginning].”

The magical girl of [Cyberbrain] quietly said while pointing at me.

* * *

In the end, they desperately persuaded the girl from Japan using a translator.

Oh Sanghyuk, who had brought her to a quiet place, asked Kang Dorim to come in person. He felt his mouth dry up and his stomach churn.

‘We pushed ahead because Dorim insisted so much, but if we’re wrong this time, it’s really over…’

Since the ‘Garden’ was established in the neighboring country, Kang Dorim had been obsessively claiming that [Beginning] would visit Korea and secretly checking the identities of female entrants from Japan using her ability.

It was a serious overreach and illegal act, so Oh Sanghyuk, who was the only one in the countermeasures headquarters who knew what Kang Dorim was doing, had been anxious to the point of raising his blood pressure from stress for the past two months.

“Dorim, logically, when magical girls are overflowing in their own country, would [Beginning] come here?”

“Originally, when the arena is completed, it’s the instinct of troublemakers to leave for the neighboring area.”

“I’m going crazy. What kind of dog-like logic is that.”

“Aren’t you curious, mister? Why magical girls appear in the first place?”

“…”

Honestly, he was curious. Plus, it was the first time he had seen Dorim tracking something with such a serious expression.

“From what I see, she won’t be scared even if we talk to her. Rather, she’ll be like, ‘What’s with these guys?’”

“…What if that girl’s eyes flip, and she causes trouble in Korea?”

“If she were that kind of person, Fujimoto would have been destroyed first.”

“Hey, I’m really nervous; let’s not do this.”

“Just trust me. Anyway, if we can’t talk to [Beginning], we’ll always be debris swept along by the situation.”

Dorim said earnestly while looking at him with anxious eyes.

“You’re actually dying of curiosity too, right, mister? What the purpose of this game is, how magical girls should coexist with society.”

“…Damn.”

For two months, the two of them had secretly been doing this: Dorim would use her ability to compare passport photos of all girls entering from Japan and catch a signal when a candidate similar to [Beginning] was entering, and Sanghyuk would rush to airports or ports nationwide to persuade them.

“Wh-Who are you?!”

“I’m going to report this!”

Naturally, most girls reacted with fright or hostility.

Even then, Dorim, suspecting it was an act, would appear directly through cyberbrain swimming, and scan while comparing with hologram video records. This was now the 4th time she had been disappointed.

‘People pointing out that the countermeasures team’s strange movements are gradually increasing.’

At this rate, it could even develop into a serious diplomatic issue.

Glance

Sanghyuk looked at the girl while hiding his anxious feelings.

Silver hair fluttered in the wind between her black baseball cap, and below that was a girl with a mysterious atmosphere and doll-like appearance.

‘Is she… closing her eyes?’

Snap

Sanghyuk flinched at the cheerful finger snap sound.

“Seeing how you’re staring so intently, it seems you’re about to say something.”

“Uh…?! Korean…?”

Zzzzt

Dorim appeared with ash-gray noise.

“The main body is coming urgently now, but I’ll get to the point first.”

Dorim’s translucent avatar looked at the girl and said.

“You’re the magical girl of [Beginning], right?”

Nod

“R-Really?! Be… [Beginning]? Herself?!”

Sanghyuk stepped back from the girl while breaking out in a cold sweat.

A monster who created the ‘Garden,’ a law-like magic similar to natural phenomena, establishing a magical girl society.

The empress of magical girls who command countless 2-star girls who even make nations bow their heads.

A girl who made the world move by awakening the true abilities of magical girls worldwide in just 5 months.

The Faceless King.

A divine being who could answer the ‘What are magical girls?’ that Sanghyuk and Dorim had endlessly pondered for the past few months was right here now.

The girl they had barely met through a near-gambling level of force was now in front of him.

“Then I have something I want to ask.”

Dorim’s ash-gray avatar said while looking earnestly at the girl.

“What exactly do magical girls exist for?”

The girl quietly turned her head towards Dorim with her eyes closed.

“Why did the red broadcast guide magical girls with such wordplay?”

Sanghyuk started to get goosebumps as he listened to that conversation.

“Why do you want magical girls and society to coexist peacefully?”