Chapter 80 : The Price of Peace and the Holidays

“Kwaaaah—!”

In just three short years, we’ve become accustomed to the method of violence.

When we first started as magical girls, Siyeon, who was repulsed by such methods, now seems much less bothered by it.

Perhaps it’s because we’ve been seeing so many bears being beaten, but she doesn’t seem to mind as much when we’re brawling with wolf monsters.

Sometimes, she even asks me to help by casting magic, and since it’s been a while since she used magic, she struggles to control it, and the ice she casts covers the monster’s body.

Of course, every time that happens, I melt it away and let the monster experience the hellfire once more.

Seeing Siyeon intently staring at the alligator’s snout as it gets roasted, I feel a sense of pride, though at the same time, I wonder if this is really right.

After going through the process of skinning the beast alive and burning its flesh, the alligator monster finally turns to dust, scattering away.

Siyeon looks at the spot where the monster disappeared, gazing at it with a somewhat apologetic and sympathetic expression, and says, “Do we really have to go this far?”

“Yep, this is the only way so that bad monsters won’t dare to hurt people again.”

I understand if she feels pity, but in the end, a monster is a monster.

Monsters don’t care about people’s schedules—holidays, class time, or even special occasions—they appear unpredictably, so we don’t need to care about their situation.

In that sense, the octopus monster, who tried to negotiate, was quite wise.

Honestly, if I had dealt with it the same way other magical girls would, would that octopus monster have come to us?

The answer is NO.

“Ah, I see…”

“Yeah, that’s how it is.”

I nodded to Siyeon, who was beginning to understand, and decided to slowly pass on the methods for a more comfortable life as a magical girl.

But even the easier ways of monster hunting just mean choosing the simple option of “maximum suffering for the maximum number.”

Only after the alligator monster completely disappeared did we fly into the sky, heading for a quiet alley to undo our transformations.

“We’re really late, so let’s head back quickly.”

“Okay!”

The monster hunting took a little longer than expected since I was teaching Siyeon so much.

The media would likely stir things up over just a few minutes of delay, but the bigger issue wasn’t with that.

“Ugh, it’s a mess.”

[“I thought it would be safe…” Sudden monster alert]

[Monster appears on the first day of the holidays, is the promise a lie?]

[“I knew it,” Monsters disrupt the peace.]

Just minutes after the monster alert, the internet was in chaos, stirred by the broken peace agreement with the monster.

The monster alert in a supposedly safe zone on the first day of the holidays had already triggered anxiety in people and provided plenty of fodder for the media.

But regardless of all that, we were on our way back to Seoul by car.

Anyway, the monster was dealt with, so we should enjoy the holidays, right?

While I was reading articles filled with the absurd fantasies of reporters on my smartphone, Ji-eun, who was driving, subtly asked me a question as she turned a corner.

“Mari, didn’t you hear anything from the monster?”

I thought about the conversation I had with the monster.

It had mostly been words about cowardice and a few bold phrases at the beginning.

After that, all I remembered were screams of pain and desperation, and pleas for mercy.

There wasn’t anything particularly strange about it, so I responded to her question with a calm expression.

“Well, all I could hear was ‘Please save me.’”

“Considering the way Mari usually acts with the mascot, it’s a bit scary…”

Jieun unnie suddenly mentioned how Mari behaves with the mascot, and I wasn’t sure if she was thinking of how the monster-slaying process might look in her head or if she was just saying it’s scary.

Is there a connection between that and monster-slaying?

‘Is there?’

It seemed like there wasn’t, but maybe there was…

Just as I was lost in this thought, I unbuckled my seatbelt as we were almost at our destination and simply concluded,

“Maybe it’s just one of the ones who broke the command?”

“Maybe…? I don’t know. If Mari felt that way, then maybe that’s the case.”

With Jieun unnie’s indifferent remark, the car stopped, and as if nothing had happened, she and I got out of the car and headed toward the restaurant.

From outside the building, the strong scent of oil tickled my nose.

“Well, I’ll come pick you up when the event’s over.”

After confirming that we had completely gotten out, Jieun unnie started the car again.

Since the wedding is just two months away, and she needs to make a good impression on her in-laws, she didn’t say anything unnecessary. We just waved goodbye to her and wished her to drive safely.

“Drive safely!”

“See you the day after tomorrow!”

Looking at her hand waving from the car, we slowly walked into the restaurant from the parking lot.

Sure enough, as soon as we opened the door, the strong scent of oil hit us.

I held the door for the following Siyeon, and after she came in, I gave a quick bow to the magical girl seniors who had already arrived.

“Hey, have you ever fried jeon (pancakes) in your life?”

The seats farther away, where the food smell was faintest, were taken by those who arrived earlier.

While looking for a nearby seat, I naturally ended up near the kitchen, where a few years ago, the beginners had now become experts managing the kitchen.

There’s an old saying, “You forget the past when you’re successful,” and right now, that’s exactly what’s happening.

If I think back to the Chuseok about two and a half years ago, my mouth starts to water, but I tried not to say anything unnecessary to avoid causing friction during the holiday.

“Uncle, you couldn’t even make a proper dish.”

Despite my efforts, a sarcastic voice came from a far-off table.

The uncle who had criticized me for never having fried jeon before snapped at the senior sitting with her phone.

“Hey?! When did I ever say that! I’m still better than them!”

“You were spanked by the Minister until your back hurt.”

“Ugh…”

The uncle couldn’t respond to the fact-based statement.

If only everyone had seen that satisfying back smack about two and a half years ago…

Anyway, since the uncle couldn’t counter the truth, other uncles started asking him if that was really true, as if confirming the facts.

“Really, was that the case?”

“Shut up, just fry the jeon!”

In the end, the uncle, who couldn’t get away with his lie, tried to shut down the conversation with his loud voice.

I could see the seniors laughing quietly at the far table.

It looked just like a family gathering during the holidays, throwing little jokes and laughing while cooking.

A peaceful holiday day.

It was quite different from when the minister was in charge, as we ate together with the older men. Every year during the holidays, the kitchen was the minister’s domain. But when that familiar figure was nowhere to be seen, one of the magical girl sisters, who found it odd, asked the group of older men gathered around.

“Where did the minister go?”

“He had to rush up to Incheon because a monster suddenly appeared there.”

‘So that’s why….’

I, too, found it a bit strange, but I didn’t feel the need to ask. After hearing the response from one of the older men, I belatedly understood and felt that even though it seemed like we were getting a free ride, the minister still worked hard, as I chewed on a piece of galbijjim (braised short ribs).

“Incheon…? Oh, isn’t Siyeon and Mari from that area?”

“Yes!”

A question directed at Siyeon, whose mouth was busy with galbijjim, and me.

Siyeon, whose face was completely covered with the brown sauce.

“…It’s all over,” I said, laughing.

I quickly grabbed a few pieces of tissue from the tissue box, wiped Siyeon’s face, and answered the question.

“Ugh…”

Siyeon muttered something incomprehensible, but didn’t pull away from my hand. I crumpled the stained tissue and placed it gently beside the large bowl.

“What happened?”

“Well, you’re asking what happened, but… it just suddenly came up.”

“Ah… I guess you wouldn’t know the reason.”

The conversation awkwardly trailed off as we continued eating. I thought to myself that the cooking skills of the older men were getting better each year. This galbijjim was much easier to tear apart than last year’s.

“……”

“……”

In the silence, the only sound was the clinking of cutlery against the bowl.

We, the magical girls, only gathered for occasions like this. Surprisingly, when we were together during the holidays, there wasn’t much to talk about.

“My daughter is starting middle school this year, and she never listens to me.”

“Ah, that age is like that for everyone. My son was the same, so why would your daughter be any different?”

The conversation was more lively among the older men, who saw each other every day, so they had plenty to say. Since it wasn’t easy to see the holiday foods, I quickly grabbed an empty bowl and headed towards the tray filled with food.

As expected, galbijjim was the most popular holiday dish.

I filled one corner of a large bowl with white rice, added about four pieces of galbijjim and a ladleful of its sauce, then slowly poured it over the rice.

‘This is the right way.’

In the remaining space, I piled on skewers of colorful grilled meat and dongtae jeon (pan-fried fish cake). When I returned to my seat, a few others got up and headed for the tray again.

They eagerly scooped up galbijjim sauce and mixed it with the rice, quickly devouring it. One bite of jeon, one bite of well-mixed rice, one bite of galbijjim.

They emptied their second bowl in no time.

Finally, feeling satisfied, I finished my meal.

‘That was good…’

To show how full I was, I gently rubbed my stomach. It felt like it was slightly sticking out.

‘…Did I gain some weight?’