episode_0026

The reason why magical girls weaken rapidly after turning 20.

Simply reaching the legal adult age does not make them weaker.

If that were the issue, some countries would have raised the age at which magical girls become adults to 88, allowing them to live as minors forever.

Once the period of legal protection has passed, becoming an adult.

It means being legally able to come into contact with things that society finds embarrassing or distasteful for children, so-called R-18 content.

Here, R-18, 19+ doesn’t just refer to explicit content.

Alcohol.

Tobacco.

Gambling.

Sex.

And other things that are somewhat restricted for young people with a “do not do” warning.

In reality, some magical girls weaken due to engaging in these activities.

Engaging in such activities doesn’t corrupt a person per se; rather, by coming into contact with these, magical girls lose their innocence by discovering the dark side of society they were unaware of during their pure days.

Someone said that.

If a magical girl can no longer ride a unicorn, that’s when her prime is broken, and she weakens.

That’s true.

If I couldn’t ride a unicorn, if either physically or magically I couldn’t, and if I understood and empathized with the pleasures of being a woman and that world by relying on an institution that could protect me.

I probably would have entrusted myself to an institution that could protect me by now.

The curse binding my body would be lifted, and the rules and laws I’ve adhered to in this world would soon crumble, causing as much damage as when many magical girls suffered at the hands of demons.

Again.

When they become adults, magical girls weaken.

Beyond being quasi-members of society as magical girls, from the point they start becoming real members of society, magical girls tend to weaken as they are engulfed by the sudden darkness around them.

“Himari is an adult and is about to retire. But Karin, I don’t know. Karin has more active years.”

“Oh… I got it mixed up.”

“That’s right. Himari is a case that awakened late.”

4th year, 17 years old.

2nd year, 20 years old.

Everyone has different starting points, and their ending points are also different.

Some may be magical girls for nearly 10 years, while others may disappear without even completing a year.

Me?

Until I return home after 17 years, I’ll continue.

“Karin joining RGB was the decision of the Giant Countermeasure Division team leader. By separating her from Himari, he aimed to foster independence while hoping she would adapt well to the new team.”

“It’s a bit too…”

“That’s right. Because you were relying too much, I had to give you a harsh prescription. That’s why the situation is tangled now.”

Although it may seem like saying this at the time of joining, it seems that she is not someone who simply swallows doubts.

“While the opinions of superiors are important, our team is the most important. If you’re okay with it, we’ll try to bind the team together through one trick.”

“How?”

“As a field support agent.”

Team Leader Misaki pointed at me.

“After retiring as a magical girl and becoming a witch, re-employment as a road manager.”

“Oh, that’s…”

“That’s right. It’s a trick. Your salary will decrease significantly, and you won’t even receive 1/10 of what you used to.”

“I’m receiving slightly more than 200 monthly, am I getting that much?”

Monthly… 2,000?

In terms of annual salary, is that 24 million?

“What do you think of this perspective? It’s no different from what you’re doing with Mumei, but you could transform and provide emergency support on-site.”

“Um…”

“It’s still a plan. If it happens, it’ll become RGBy.”

Not Y, y.

“It would feel like the team is internally splitting… something like that.”

An alarm started ringing on Team Leader Misaki’s smartphone.

“It’s a monster. Good timing. Let’s judge after seeing the parties in action. Whether we go together, or move separately together, or even…”

“Exclude.”

“……”

Team leader Misaki made a call, showing determination to cut off if necessary.

“Karen? This is Murata Misaki from the Comprehensive Measures Department. From now on….”

—

[10:33 AM, Living room of Neo Dongtan City Mo Officetel.]

“Yeah, no! Of course! I’m always on Karen-chan’s side!”

A woman, holding a smartphone, is talking to someone.

“Yeah. Of course. We’ll continue together. Actually, I’m more worried, you know? If I suddenly disappear… Okay. I won’t say such things, so don’t say too much.”

The woman seemed flustered by the attitude of the person on the phone.

Although her expression seemed to be contemplating when to end the call, there seemed to be no immediate reason to hang up.

“Oh, Karen-chan. My break time seems to be ending soon. Yeah. Then let’s contact each other again next time!”

The woman ended the call and briefly raised her smartphone forward.

Expressionless face.

It took about 3 seconds until she pressed the end call button, but there was no sound of the call being disconnected from the other side.

[Hima–]

Click.

As soon as her name, Himari, was called, the woman hung up the phone.

She then leaned back and collapsed onto the bed.

“Sigh….”

Black suit.

The outfit represented a socialite not only in Neo Dongtan but also in any school that did not adopt it as a uniform.

“……”

Whether recently started wearing it or bought it brand new, the woman lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a while, regardless of whether her clothes were wrinkled or not.

“This is bad….”

Himari sighed, placing her smartphone aside.

“If I leave, this one might really commit suicide.”

Suicide.

It was not an easy word to mention casually, but as Himari, it was a delicate issue to address.

“I can’t take care of her, can’t ask a child with parents to leave home, and above all….”

Himari got up.

“I’m not rich enough to support her.”

Himari looked through her suit.

Not a high-end maker or brand, but a cheap suit bought at a large mart with discounts, merely resembling a suit.

“Haha, this is bad. If I retire now, I’ll just collapse, and starting magical girl activities…ugh.”

Himari clenched her shoulders.

Until last year, her body was fine, but now it started to ache in various places.

It wasn’t from getting seriously injured during her magical girl activities.

Even if a magical girl’s body gets hurt or damaged, it ends there, without any damage to the main body.

But ‘memories’ remain.

In the magical girl industry, they call it ‘phantom pain,’ where the pain experienced as a magical girl can still be felt like pain even after transforming.

It’s similar to how men gape in shock watching those who injure their testicles in videos.

Himari didn’t quite understand that, but someone mentioned it that way, so she just recalled it.

“This is bad, really. I couldn’t even go to college because of my magical girl activities.”

20 years old.

-What kind of magical girl are you in your third year of high school! Go study for the college entrance exam!

In Korea, when a magical girl turns 19 and becomes a third-year high school student, they are forced to quit being a magical girl and focus on studying. In Japan, there’s no such rule.

If there were a ‘magical girl admission’ system at universities, Himari would have aimed for that.

Of course, there will be more talented and outstanding magical girls competing against Himari than ever before, but when she thinks about moving on from being a magical girl and advancing into society, Himari is confident in anything she does.

Only within the limits she can accept.

Beep.

A message arrived.

Although Himari immediately checked the message in case it was from someone experiencing anxiety symptoms—

[Hello, this is Hatachi Production….]

“Ugh. Here again?”

Confirming the sender of the message, Himari immediately set her smartphone down beside her.

“I haven’t even revealed my age as CS1, so how did they find me at an adult production like this?”

Himari let out a bitter laugh.

“I almost got that Griva model offer last time. Ugh. Really, until last year, I never received these kinds of emails for work.”

Himari reached towards the ceiling.

“Really, what a predicament.”

Even though she was lying on the bed, could the feeling that the bed was sinking beneath the surface be an illusion?

“I, from now on….”

Beep.

Another message came in.

Momentarily staring blankly at the ceiling, Himari checked her smartphone and then—

“Oh, goodness!”

Clearing her throat, she quickly took off the suit she was wearing and transformed into a magical girl with a flash, shrinking in height in an instant to around 150cm.

“…Yes!”

Glancing at herself in the mirror, Himari smiled broadly and answered the phone on her smartphone.

“Karen-chan, we’re on a mission?! I’ll be there soon! Wait a bit!”

Thud.

“…Ha.”

Ending the call, Himari put her smartphone in a cute bag around her waist, zipped it tightly, and stood in front of the window facing the veranda with an expressionless face.

“…Just one year older.”

Creak.

Today, for some reason, opening the veranda door outward felt unusually heavy.

“No. No, it’s not. Still, I have to stay strong.”

Raising one hand and lifting the corners of her mouth with her index and thumb, Himari stepped onto the veranda.

“Magical Girl Himari, ready to go—!”

Stepping on the orange railing with her orange shoes, Himari leaped over, wearing a bright smile that could light up a room.

* * *

“Poyoohhh!!!”

“Eek!!”

A scene of a rampaging monster.

I saved Seiya and Shiori who were on standby in their transformed state, receiving protection from Misaki, the team leader, and moved them slightly away from the accident scene to a temporary command post in the co-driver’s seat of the car.

‘Oh no.’

This is bad.

‘It seems like we’re here to defeat a corrupted witch, not a monster.’