Chapter 83: The Beginning of Ruin (1)

“…Fool.”

Every time I saw the adjutant’s increasingly gaunt appearance, my heart ached as if it were being torn apart.

There was no other way but to hold onto her drying hand and cry endlessly.

Even when I asked Hojoon, he only said, ‘I’m doing my best.’

As for asking ‘Teacher’… after what happened last time, I didn’t even want to speak to her.

In this situation, the only ones I could trust were myself and Han Byeolhwa.

I didn’t know what Han Byeolhwa was thinking these days, but at least recently, she hadn’t used her powers, so the magical girl’s madness seemed to have subsided just a tiny bit.

To be honest, whenever she asked me to sleep with her, my spine tingled.

My body was showing a rejection reaction, naturally pushing Han Byeolhwa away.

I don’t know the reason.

Simply, if I shared a bed with Han Byeolhwa, I felt like I would lose something precious.

The adjutant’s empty space is felt even more keenly, but.

“Haa…….”

Above all, I haven’t entirely forgiven Han Byeolhwa for making the adjutant like this.

I intended to get a proper apology.

Han Byeolhwa was old enough to take responsibility for her actions.

That being said, I couldn’t just force something on Han Byeolhwa.

A magical girl’s mind is more profound than an adolescent girl’s; even a slight touch could twist her psyche.

In short, it meant there was a high possibility of her going berserk.

Even at a glance, Han Byeolhwa was almost dependent on me.

She was craving the affection she couldn’t receive from Hojoon.

In this situation, there was no option to antagonize Han Byeolhwa.

Because a Han Byeolhwa whose eyes had gone wild would surely tear me to pieces.

Even if I regretted it later, a dead person doesn’t come back.

A truly catastrophic choice.

The best thing to do was to humour Han Byeolhwa, coaxing and soothing her gently.

Who could speak harshly when a madwoman with a knife (she really had one) was pushing their wheelchair from behind?

I had no choice but to hide my dissatisfaction, conceal my emotions, and meet Han Byeolhwa at her eye level.

Frankly, Han Byeolhwa’s social skills were worse than those of the three brats.

Though I was asserting adult dignity and acting as I did when I took care of my younger siblings in childhood, there were some difficult parts.

“Teacher…! What story are you going to tell us today…!?”

“Oh, today’s not a story….”

When I arrived at a space resembling a giant hangar, the three brats were sitting side by side, waiting for me.

The official name of this place was the ‘Training Center.’

It was where magical girls honed their skills.

Of course, being underground, there were limitations to movement, but it was still a rather useful space.

Ianna, too, once trained her Lemegeton, which resembled a claymore, and polished her skills here.

It could be seen as a space filled with a kind of nostalgia.

‘…How many years has it been?’

Memories related to the place flowed in, and I became immersed in quite a wistful recollection.

I could only come to my senses after the brats, unable to bear the wait, pushed my wheelchair and knocked me over.

“Today… we’re going to… d-do… mobility practice… Prepare from summer.”

What Hojoon had asked of me was to relentlessly train these three brats to make them helpful to Han Byeolhwa.

‘…However.’

To put it bluntly, most third-generation artificial girls usually lacked reason.

These three could be considered quite unusual cases.

I couldn’t tell if they were experimental artificial girls created by Hojoon’s simple whim, or if there was some other hidden intention.

Even if they were for Byeolmu-ri’s support, there was no reason to leave their reason intact.

‘He probably couldn’t bring himself to take it away.’

‘Even Hojoon must have had a reason to back down.’

“You’re not telling us a story today…?”

“You don’t want candy?”

The brats, their faces showing disappointment, came right up to my nose.

I hurriedly hid behind Han Byeolhwa.

These too are a kind of magical girl; if they so much as lift a finger, I’m dead.

At times like this, Han Byeolhwa was helpful.

The appearance of Han Byeolhwa, with her hair shining under the light, was quite imposing.

Magical girls can each create something like clothes by enveloping themselves in Aether energy.

It’s an item heavily imbued with each magical girl’s preference, and in Han Byeolhwa’s case, it was the armor of a jet-black knight.

I hastily suspected Han Byeolhwa’s age wasn’t 15, but fortunately, Han Byeolhwa wasn’t that young.

‘…Should I call this fortunate?’

“Manifest.”

Han Byeolhwa slowly lowered the sword-shaped Lemegeton she held high and aimed it at the brats.

Han Byeolhwa was confronting the children with her characteristic exaggerated pose.

It was embarrassing even for me to watch.

“Oh, ooh!”

“…Tch, she’s pretty good.”

Except for Yeoreum, who somehow felt a sense of defeat, the children seemed to like Han Byeolhwa’s appearance.

Han Byeolhwa, excited by the attention, began to emit Aether energy around her.

A black aura formed around Han Byeolhwa, who held her sword aloft in one hand, and the children stared blankly at her, even drooling.

“Dark Knight… is it.”

Yeoreum, with black hair like Han Byeolhwa’s, swept it back once and murmured softly.

I thought of a billionaire muscleman cosplaying as a bat, but the children seemed to be thinking of other things.

The sight of Han Byeolhwa, overjoyed to the point of trembling, caught my eye.

So, she was simply happy to receive attention.

Clutching my head, which was starting to ache, I became lost in thought for a moment.

The foundation of a magical girl is mobility.

It’s okay if they’re not good at fighting, but they must at least be able to move without being caught by the enemy.

I thought it would work out somehow since Byeolmu-ri, who boasts the fastest speed among magical girls, was right in front of me.

Just then, as Byeolmu-ri emitted a black aura and swung her jet-black sword around in the air, the children also took out their respective Lemegetons.

Light concentrated in one place, and flamboyant armaments began to appear.

Among them, the most peculiar was Yeoreum.

The scene of her emitting purple flames from both hands, covering one eye, and extending her arm towards Byeolmu-ri.

It was as grand as to rival Byeolmu-ri.

Despite the difference in physique, the two seemed intent on having a go at each other.

“The flames of karma, that burn everything. Can you handle it?”

“Oho, interesting. You, on the other hand, will you be able to withstand my sword dance… Let us ask the goddess of fate.”

Though only two of them spoke, I didn’t know why my face was burning up so much, but my instincts were signaling.

To sort out the situation before it got even messier.

It was a kind of effect, just like the black aura Byeolmu-ri emitted.

Byeolmu-ri couldn’t even dance properly, let alone perform a sword dance.

Her entire tactic was just to use her speed to get behind the enemy and stab them with her sword.

There were many other things to nitpick, but I didn’t want to get involved in their conversation, so I bit my nails and watched.

‘…Perhaps a sparring match instead?’

As I absentmindedly watched the scene, the thought of having a mock battle instead occurred to me.

It wasn’t unusual for magical girls to have mock battles.

Rather, it was one of the frequently recommended, regular training methods.

Seeing Byeolmu-ri, her chest puffed out excessively, randomly swinging her sword in the air, and Yeoreum, covering one eye and chuckling “Keukkeuk,” I just wanted to make them fight each other.

Of course, Byeolmu-ri, being a named magical girl, would be stronger than the three of them, but.

‘Still, surely she wouldn’t kill them?’

It seemed like a good idea to have them spar under the rule that Lemegetons were forbidden, and victory would be achieved by getting the opponent’s declaration of surrender through hand-to-hand combat only.

Ianna, too, had often engaged in physical exchanges with other magical girls before her body became like this, so there shouldn’t be a big problem.

Thinking so, I opened my mouth.
“U-Um…”

“The god-slaying flames that burn even goddesses are in my hand. You’d better surrender.”

“Don’t use such strong words. It makes you look weak.”

“…Don’t provoke me. Don’t you know what’s inside me?”

I tried to speak, but no one was listening to me.

Byeolmu-ri felt like her mental age had regressed to middle school second grade, and Yeoreum just felt like

Yeoreum.

The other brats, too, were gaping blankly, focused on the two, which seemed utterly hopeless.

It was the first time I realized how difficult the role of an adult managing four brats was.

Now, tears were welling up for no reason at all.

“Uuu….”

Just then, my eyes met Gyeoul’s, the girl with ultramarine hair.

Gyeoul, as if understanding my intention, winked confidently and shouted loudly.

“Everyone!!! Anna has something to say…!!!”

As everyone’s gaze focused on me, a single tear streamed down my cheek.