The Virtues of a Magical Girl (10)

The Virtues of a Magical Girl (10)

“I declare, what you’re trying to do is by no means a light matter.”

Fluffy, who had no room to interfere with Renée’s actions, barely managed to speak with a trembling voice.

In fact, if simply compared, the Taquilas incident caused an even bigger ripple. Taquilas’ actions were like an uncontrollable disaster.

However, Taquilas had only acted on impulse here, following his whims.

And that too, for his own modest desires.

Unlike the current Renée, he never even thought of attempting to overturn the existing system itself. That’s why it was somehow possible to clean up after Taquilas’ rampage.

“E-even if our company allows it, other companies won’t sit still.”

“That doesn’t matter. According to regulations, the current fairy companies are merely representatives of the world tree Yggdrasil. Before belonging to a company, magical girls are contractors of Yggdrasil, and as long as they don’t violate the rules set by Yggdrasil for magical girls, you have no justification or ability to control them as you please.”

Fluffy tried his best to shake and persuade her, but Renée, who had already exploited the loopholes in the standard contract that had been passed down like a custom, didn’t budge an inch.

Literally, fairy companies are just representatives and have no right to control or handle magical girls in a way that differs from Yggdrasil’s intentions.

The ongoing ideological education and gaslighting have divided the magical girls, turning them into mere mercenaries and making the company an absolute authority. However, with the will and power to clash with and reform the existing order, it was always possible to tear it apart.

And Renée, at least at this moment, is one of only two beings who can escape that system along with Tequilas.

‘It’s ruined. Is there only one thing left? To get a satisfactory result.’

Fluffy, having failed to persuade her, finally gave up thinking. Of course, there was still one last move left to overcome this problem, but Fluffy, with some experience of the world, didn’t particularly expect much.

Renée, who had landed on the rooftop of a nearby building at this time when the bluish dawn was about to break, was silently staring at one place.

It was a high school, still enveloped in quiet stillness.

*

“Sigh, what’s all this about…”

“Don’t worry too much, Principal. I’ll talk to the police chief about it.”

“Is that the problem? These days, strange things like the internet and SNS keep spreading false rumors.”

Early morning. Principal Kim Chan-seok, who had arrived at his office, sighed as soon as he sat down. The vice principal, who had been waiting in advance, tried to smooth things over, but his face remained dark.

It was because of what had happened the day before.

“Just tell me this first. Is everything I heard true? It’s not just simple bullying, but verbal abuse, physical violence, extortion, sexual harassment, threats… These impudent brats, do they think it’s still the 80s or what?”

“W-well, it seems to be true… Chief Oh stopped everything and informed us right away.”

“It’s unbelievable. Stupid fools.”

He sighed and sank into the plush chair. In fact, he didn’t care about the truth of the matter. What was important to him was the school’s reputation and his own performance, not the victim’s pain or justice.

“Is it difficult to just cover it up?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem impossible. Kang Jin-woo from the first year? He’s from an unremarkable family, an unremarkable kid. And the country is noisy about other things right now.”

The vice principal nodded with an awkward smile.

As he said, Kim Chan-seok recalled the news he had seen this morning. The One Road, which had become a hot potato due to experiments on magic power and definite research results. The news and internet have been buzzing with their stories for days.

He concluded that even if some stupid reporter asked about this, the public wouldn’t pay attention.

“Then do it that way. Tell Oh Chief that it’s difficult to punish them, just forgive them, say something like ‘What did you do right to report this?’ and cover it up well. Let’s just handle it with some internal school disciplinary action like community service and move on.”

“Ahem. Understood.”

Although he was annoyed, Kim Chan-seok, who didn’t think it was a big deal to begin with, delegated the follow-up to the vice principal and quickly erased this thought from his mind.

“You can’t, can’t catch them? But we have all the evidence videos and photos!”

“We’re… sorry. So maybe you should get a lawyer instead…”

“Ah, if it can’t be done, then it can’t be done.”

The young police officer, with a face full of guilt, lowered his head, and his middle-aged superior blocked him and shook his head. He had just received a call from above.

With the pretext of orders from above, he blatantly refused to investigate, putting on a brazen face.

“Why would you report such a thing to the police in the first place? Huh? We’re busy people. We’re not here to waste time on kids fighting. Go and take it up with your teachers.”

Kang Jin-woo, a victim student who had received help from Ren and had mustered up the courage, was eventually kicked out of the police station with a hardened face.

‘As expected.’

The despair he felt now was immeasurable.

Although he was still a high school student, he wasn’t completely ignorant of how the world works. He knew well why he had become a target, and why he couldn’t escape from situations like this.

‘Because I’m weak.’

His physique is small. His grades are mediocre and his personality is ambiguous. He has a good relationship with his parents, but the economic situation of his divorced parents is poor.

These things are usually called weak in this society.

He knew that to overcome this, he should have been strong from the beginning without being intimidated at that unlucky moment he had been dreading.

“Ah…”

Kang Jin-woo, who had been walking dejectedly, stopped and trembled as he looked at his vibrating phone.

Somehow they found out, and amidst the frantically vibrating phone, mockery, insults, and threats from the perpetrators who had been silent for a day were pouring in.

And with that, the heart that had barely been holding on finally crumbled.

The sense of betrayal that no one in this world was on his side, the guilt of causing harm to those around him with his existence, and the pressure and fear of future retaliation.

‘No more.’

Staggering, Kang Jin-woo ran not to school but somewhere else. Then he recklessly climbed to the rooftop of a nearby building.

The sky is clear, and the big city below looks peaceful.

His eyes wavered at the thought that even if he died here, the world would never change.

“If I had known it would be like this.”

He let out a hollow laugh and muttered blankly.

The day before, when he received help from a magical girl for the first time.

That blonde magical girl, somehow mysterious and fatally beautiful, whispered to him like this.

‘Will you judge directly? Or will you trust the laws of this land?’

Renée whispered in his ear, giving him a choice. And it was he who chose to trust the law.

The reason wasn’t Aria’s cries for order and trust. He was simply afraid of even that.

‘Idiot.’

Feeling extreme regret, he cursed himself for being a coward both inside and out. Then, he took a step forward on the railing he had climbed.

Along with self-loathing for not having the courage to take this step earlier.

“Ah…”

In an instant, his body lost balance and tilted forward, falling. For a moment, he tried to open his eyes wide and scream, but his words were caught in his throat.

Regret rushed in all at once, but his body wouldn’t stop.

Ironically, what came to mind at this moment, along with his parents’ faces, was a pair of blue eyes that had looked straight into his own, framed by blonde hair fluttering in the wind.

“Haa…”

“You eventually tried to take your own life because of them.”

However, that flashback wasn’t just a simple imagination.

Shaking uncontrollably, Kang Jin-woo instinctively clung to the body of the woman who had caught him as he was falling, and took a breath.

The fragrant scent emanating from her quickly calmed his mind.

“I’ll ask you once more.”

The Magical Girl, Rene, looked down at him with unwavering eyes as she held him and spoke.

“Do you want them to be judged? For all the wrongs to be set right?”

“I, I…”

Rene, who had caught Kang Jin-woo despite his similar build to hers, set him back down on the rooftop. His face instantly turned red, and he fumbled about, unable to meet her eyes.

In fact, Rene, who was quietly seething with anger, had even forgotten the fact that she had made such close contact with a man, skin to skin.

“I, I want it. A proper judgment for their wrongdoings!”

“…You were prepared to die because of them, and actually attempted it. Therefore, the punishment they receive shall be the same.”

Kang Jin-woo, having regained his senses, made a different choice this time. Rene nodded as if she had expected it.

“To realize justice. I will fulfill my duty as a Magical Girl.”

And with that, she left Kang Jin-woo behind and flew up into the sky in an instant.

“Are you really, really going to kill them all?!”

“They shouldn’t have any reason to feel wronged. After all, when one tries to kill others, it’s only natural that they should be prepared to forfeit their own life.”

Fluffy, perched on her shoulder, raised its voice, but she didn’t stop. Her destination was Kang Jin-woo’s high school.

The targets for judgment included not only the perpetrators but also the entire system that failed to function properly and all those involved.

Unlike Tachylas, the chaos of purification has now begun its full-fledged activity in this moment.