episode_0021

Watching Arin’s battle through the relay.

In my eyes, Arin was weak.

If I had met Arin on the battlefield, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered to consider her strength and would have just focused on the main forces.

That’s how weak Arin was.

Still, she was at a decent level for a first-year magical girl.

It’s not easy to focus on just one magical girl like before, given the environment.

However, if she struggled against mindless monsters that only rely on instincts and destruction, it was clear that she would have a hard time in a battle against an intelligent villain.

I heard that she was training hard, but even just watching the relay, I could see her shortcomings.

If she just charges in without even considering the preparation time for long-range attacks…

Yes, that’s how openings for counterattacks are created.

This shouldn’t be happening.

“Redhead. Are you really training Arin well? I doubt if she is receiving proper training.”

“Yes, we are following the Association’s manual and training her to pass the grade-level tests.”

Is that even making sense?

Even in regular society, it’s important to properly assess individual abilities and emphasize utilizing their strengths. In a society of magical girls with distinct characteristics and personalities, is uniform education really the way to go?

“Does that actually work? Shouldn’t individual training courses be established?”

“Yes. Individual training schedules based on abilities are provided. But that’s for magical girls who already have a certain level of basic skills. Arin is still practicing her basics.”

“Then she hasn’t done any one-on-one training yet.”

“No. For now, she’s training in real situations to get used to her abilities.”

“I see a lot of issues in her performance.”

“If you criticize her like you used to, she’ll end up crying.”

“Right, I see. I guess I can sit her down for at least three hours and talk about the problems and improvements.”

“Yes, she’ll cry. Just tell me. I’ll help with Arin’s training, so I’ll soften the feedback.”

“You should focus more on your own test.”

“Oh, right. But I don’t want Arin to get hurt.”

“Ah, the current screen is not a close combat situation.”

“That’s right.”

“I’d like to point out her movements. It’s standard to target weaknesses from the corners of your vision. Right now, is she just charging in due to excitement?”

“True. And?”

“Her defensive movements are too exaggerated. She’s using overly elaborate defensive techniques and making overly large evasive maneuvers for attacks that could be easily blocked with simple defenses and dodges. This ultimately leads to physical and magical exhaustion.”

“Hmm, we’ve trained Arin not to get hurt.”

“Actually, it’s more dangerous if she loses her balance and can’t cast a simple defensive spell.”

“Hmm, what else?”

“There are unnecessary movements in each attack. She’s swinging wildly even when it’s not necessary. With a scythe-like weapon, weaknesses are exposed in those moments.”

“I see. So, if you were facing Arin, how would you attack?”

“I would make her swing the scythe at me, then strike at her vulnerable spot when she can’t move due to the recoil, or there are many other ways.”

“Right, you always found a gap to attack. Ugh, she was such an annoying opponent.”

“Indeed. You were a very straightforward enemy. It was really easy to deal with you.”

“Haha… was it?”

“Well, I’m not good at lying.”

With that, the redhead stopped talking and focused on her own issues again.

I also watch the relay again.

During the brief conversation, how much of the monster has been dealt with?

Arin was almost single-handedly pushing back the monster.

If you look closely at the relayed screen, you can see a protective figure watching over Arin.

Seems like they are subtly educating on this side as well.

Even in situations where Arin was in danger, they just watched without helping.

Well, each magical girl has their own philosophy of education, so it’s nothing.

And so, some time passed.

In the end, Arin pierced her dagger into the heart of the monster.

Watching the monster fall and disappear, the protective figure approached Arin.

Well, that’s about it. Arin watches the protective figure with a confident expression.

Yeah, well. As long as she’s not hurt.

I wonder if I can participate in the training.

I want to help Arin.

* * *

“Haa, haa… I did well, right? Hye-won unnie?”

With a proud face, Arin approached Hye-won, dragging her tired body.

“How was I? I think I did really well today, right?”

“Yeah, you did well. In the end, you defeated it on your own.”

“I yelled at Bine unnie before going out. I hope I didn’t make any mistakes?”

Arin remembered the words she exchanged with Bine before going out to catch the monster.

To reassure Bine, who was watching her with worried eyes.

To let Bine, who still sees her as a child, know that she is also a capable magical girl.

“Arin, are you really okay? If it’s too hard, you can pass it on to the protective figure behind you. Come back without getting hurt.”

“Come on, Bine unnie. I’m a capable magical girl too. I can easily catch that kind of monster!”

To Arin, Bine is not just a simple housekeeper but already like a senior, like an older sister. She has become a family member.

At first, it was awkward.

She used to treat her in a business-like manner.

Why did she start to trust her, who could have been hostile like Seo-hyun, Yuri, and Hye-won? Maybe it was because of the delicious food. Arin is not a simple child to say that the reason she trusted Bine was just because of the delicious food.

Arin was more picky than anyone else when it came to dealing with people.

She was already old enough to distinguish the fake kindness of the adults coming out of the association.

Perhaps because she was a child, she couldn’t filter out that fake kindness more purely.

So Bine’s kindness and consideration.

The moment she felt that it came from the person’s sincerity, Arin was already drawn to her.

That’s why Arin started to get to know her.

To the magical girl senior next to her.

And she also looked for videos from the past.

The information Arin initially had about Bine was just an old crime organization that disappeared. A high-ranking member of the secret society Eden.

She put in this much effort just to get to know Bine, the only person she knew.

She even studied harder than she did at school.

Indeed, it was not easy to reach the truth about Bine.

There were overflowing materials on the internet because she was a famous villain.

The appearance of Bine that could be found in those materials was completely different from the current appearance of Bine.

‘Bine unnie, you’ve really changed a lot…’

Because that appearance was similar to the magical girl animation she watched while doing magical girl work, where the magical girl ‘realizes the true meaning of justice, leaves the evil organization, and becomes an ally,’ was it because she liked that appearance that she fell for it even more?

Was it because the appearance of her showing herself, who was originally wicked, was good?

That’s how Bine became an important person to Arin.

“Don’t worry and trust me. Unnie!”

So she shouldn’t show a clumsy appearance with a confident face.

That’s why she worked even harder.

Faster, stronger.

The battle was fought to a degree where one could call it more perfect than any battle before.

Truly, to the extent one could call it their best.

“Unni, haa… haa… let’s go back now…”

“Arin, should I carry you? You look very tired.”

“No, it’s okay… just, a little… support…”

With those words, Arin, drained of strength, eventually returned to Hyewon’s embrace, falling asleep.

Seemingly exhausted, like a baby squirrel burrowing into Hyewon’s arms.

* * *

Arin had returned.

Perhaps pushing herself beyond her limits, she slept peacefully in Unni’s arms.

Unni tried to transfer Arin to the bed to rest, but was rejected due to anxiety.

No, even if my body is like this, my strength is still strong…

Following Unni who insisted on laying Arin down herself, I entered Arin’s room to check on her condition.

It seemed there was an accumulation of fatigue due to a lack of magic power, so I was about to go downstairs to make a simple fatigue recovery tea.

But Arin grabbed my arm and pulled me to her bed.

“Nee Unni… please don’t leave and stay with me… okay?”

“Arin, I heard that there are tea leaves good for magic recovery. I’ll prepare a cup with honey for you.”

“I think having Nee Unni by my side will help me recover better than that tea.”

“Haa, Arin.”

“Unni, please let me act a little spoiled. Okay?”

…

And so, she laid me on her bed.

While doing so, Arin whispered to me.

“Unni, I looked you up because I was curious.”

“I mean, the Unni from when you were in Eden.”

“The Unni from back then, she’s really different from now. Do you know?”

“The Unni now… she’s really a good person. The Vine from Eden that I’ve come to know, yes.”

“I like that kind of Unni. Really.”

“Our mom always said that people make mistakes.”

“But those who sincerely repent and find themselves in the midst of those mistakes are truly good people.”

“You’re really a good person, Unni. Hehe…”

Unni is truly a warm person.