Chapter 33: Magical Girl Misfits: The Heatwave Struggle

The two mascots, who looked like they were in bad shape, were placed in a large basin filled with cold water, and I tossed a pile of ice cubes from the freezer into it.

“Ah, that’s better.”

“Whew…”

After slowly putting them in, they regained their senses in no time.

I knew that suffering from the heat wasn’t just a human problem, but I never expected them to end up like this.

Considering that the one fan we had was usually monopolized by either me or Siyeon, I could somewhat understand their pain.

With a long sigh, I squatted down and looked sadly into the basin, waiting for the day that had yet to arrive.

“Ugh… Let’s just hold on until the air conditioner is fixed.”

Both of us were in a similar position, suffering together. Just as I was about to stand up and head to the living room, I noticed the bear mascot raising a hand.

“Marie, I’m curious about something…”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Couldn’t we just ask someone else to do it?”

“Do you expect me to bring three hundred bucks in cash, give them the address, and explain the plumbing layout while asking them to do it?”

I countered the bear’s question directly.

A fourteen-year-old can’t do much more than this.

The card we were currently using wasn’t even in Siyeon’s or my name.

It was just a card for magical girl activity expenses, which could only be used to check balances and make payments directly.

We couldn’t send money to anyone online, and due to some old rules that made no sense, using messenger apps between magical girls was also forbidden.

The only means of communication among magical girls was through mascots like them.

Thinking that I had given a sufficient answer, I tried to get up, but another question came.

“Besides, isn’t this a house provided for magical girls? Why isn’t there an air conditioner…?”

After hearing that question, I let out a short “Ah.” From the mascots’ perspective, who didn’t know much about our situation, it was a valid question.

After all, there are things that the mascots wouldn’t know about the process of becoming a magical girl.

“There are complicated matters that only humans understand.”

The issue of aptitude… In other words, discovering a magical girl’s suitability.

This first step happens when the retirement period of an existing magical girl approaches, and they seek to find a successor.

Then comes the second process, which is a bit tricky.

Some of the vacant houses are purchased by government officials with connections, and those are then given to the incoming magical girl.

The retiring magical girl introduces her successor to the media. Usually, magical girls start at a very young age, sometimes as early as elementary school, but they can also be middle or high school students.

Instead of buying a house that is already occupied, they purchase completely vacant properties. This means it’s a brand new house with no traces of the previous occupant.

And then, the third process. During their student years, as long as their meals and basic living conditions are covered, there aren’t many expenses.

People who are well aware of this were able to furnish their homes by deducting some of the activity fees given later. However, they wouldn’t have known what kind of furniture, how much, or why it was needed.

While they were filling the place with various items, such as a washing machine, bed, wardrobe, TV, and other essentials by cutting down on their activity fees, they completely forgot one crucial item: the air conditioner.

“Hey, it’s not like I could help it!”

Recalling the winter of my confusing kindergarten days, I couldn’t help but rationalize it, thinking it was something that couldn’t be helped, as if no one was listening.

It felt like I had been reborn as a girl, but suddenly, I found myself in a world with magical girls.

Out of nowhere, two elementary school kids were told to live in a house that was just given to us, with the instruction to choose furniture. Was my brain ever that fast?

Besides, back then, there weren’t many choices compared to the activity fees. The furniture I carefully selected while enduring the pain of having my activity fee cut was what filled this house, aside from the air conditioner.

After going through that series of processes, it was finally time for the fourth mascot allocation. It was only natural that the two kids didn’t know what kind of process had taken place to get to this point.

As I recalled that process, I wondered if I really needed to explain it, so I just brushed it off.

“It’s too much trouble to explain.”

“Eek.”

With that, the short conversation of the day ended, leaving only the bear’s curiosity behind.

The return to normal monster extermination went smoothly.

Not for the sake of the monsters, but for my own sake, I reduced the intensity of the torture in the sweltering summer heat to get back home a second faster and bask in the coolness of the fan.

Amid those faithful days, the long-awaited day of air conditioner installation approached.

“Are your parents not here?”

“They told me to install it here!”

Now, with my skillfully crafted lies, I easily deceived the adults to get what I wanted.

The imaginary concept of parents was surprisingly easy to manipulate.

Parents who would send me on errands to buy electronics, then go off to buy clothes.

This time, they left only the two elementary school kids at home and went somewhere, absent.

Either way, I couldn’t say they had any concept of reality, but now I felt an immense gratitude towards that imaginary existence.

Of course, the technicians who came to install the air conditioner were adept, completing everything without needing any special requests.

They detached the back of the air conditioner, connected the pipes, and linked it to the outdoor unit.

Once the installation was perfectly completed, they handed me the remote control, briefly explaining how to use it and giving me the instruction manual.

“This is for temperature control, and if you want it to run for only a few hours, just press the clock button to check.”

There was no need to worry about cold air sickness; even without the air blowing, the area felt much cooler than just with a fan.

My eyes sparkled as I felt the once stifling room fill with coolness.

It felt incredible, even as the technicians left after receiving their installation fee. I instinctively saluted the proud backs of those heroes representing summer as they walked out the door.

After the heroes departed…

“Ah, this feels great—!”

“Kyah—!”

I immediately let out a satisfied roar and began rolling on the floor near the air conditioner, feeling the coolness.

Siyeon, too, got excited and climbed on top of me without hesitation, even on this hot summer day. Normally, when touching someone in this humidity, the discomfort index would skyrocket.

…But with the cool air, the sweat that had quickly dried up erased even the humidity and high temperature.

The money that had instantly disappeared in seven-digit amounts felt completely worth it for such performance.

Covering my mouth with both hands as if I were about to weep, I whispered that great name.

“Thank you, Willis Carrier….”

“What…?”

“No, you don’t need to know yet.”

Siyeon, who heard the muttering, tilted her head in confusion, but as she moved the hand covering her mouth to gently pat Siyeon’s back, she thought,

Ah, creator of the air conditioner.

By the time she knows who he is, Siyeon will naturally come to worship him.

With life becoming more relaxed, thoughts began to emerge.

‘Maybe I should start on my homework.’

Opening the school bag that she hadn’t thought about for days, she took out her vacation homework.

It was first-grade vacation homework that would only take a day or two of investment to finish.

She had pre-written dates that hadn’t even arrived yet and hastily filled in her diary to complete it.

‘The reading worksheet is a problem, though….’

Among the homework, that was the only real obstacle.

The only books at home were textbooks.

In other words, it was necessary to get her hands on a book that wasn’t a comic.

Something that teaches a lesson, or recommended books that are good for children… that kind of thing.

‘I don’t want to read that either.’

While Mari was unusually troubled by the elementary school vacation homework,

regular monster training was taking place on the monster ship.

The presenter was not a monster that could be seen from a ship close to Earth, but a renowned monster professor invited from outside the planets of the solar system, named Altedah.

With a body like flawless metal, he had defeated magical girls ten times from the past to the present.

Though he had stepped away from the role of a warrior heading towards Earth, by the standards of the monsters that consistently invaded Earth, he was nevertheless a formidable creature.

After the usual species-specific combat methods were introduced,

it was time for the freely allotted question-and-answer period, which took up more time than the training.

“Now, are there any monsters who have questions about Earth?”

At that question, Altedah pointed to the monster at the front of the many gathered.

“Speak up.”

“Why can’t we touch humans other than magical girls?”

“Aah, that’s a very good question.”

With his answer, the sound of metal clashing echoed roughly.

It was just the sound of parts of Altedah’s body touching each other.

Having received a good question, he seemed to want to explain the reason properly, and he slowly detailed why they shouldn’t touch ‘humans other than magical girls.’

“Collisions between planets can sometimes be seen as inevitable, but if a civilian monster is attacked during that process, even if we conquer that planet, they will certainly develop a sense of rebellion.

No matter how weak the monster is, if they band together, a catastrophe can occur, as can be seen from the case of planet A-7221.”

The first explanation was that if they harmed other civilian monsters besides the warriors during the conquest, the flames of revenge would grow uncontrollably and cause problems even after the conquest.

And the second explanation was the key for him.

“Of course, we can’t leave out the magical girls of Earth, can we? In fact, there was only *one* instance in the past where a human, other than a magical girl, was harmed. And the consequences were dire.”

It’s said that one of the weakest magical girls on Earth witnessed the death of a civilian and, in an instant, permanently annihilated a high-ranking monster.

That incident is etched in the history of the monsters, remaining as the first and last case where even the recovery device was rendered useless. Research is still ongoing regarding this case.

Based on what we know, it is hypothesized that seeing the blood of a fellow magical being triggered something within her.

Professor Alteida speculated this as well. In any case, until the reason is fully uncovered, the monsters received a directive from the higher-ups:

“Under no circumstances are you to harm Earth’s civilians.”

The fearsome magic that even nullified the recovery device, and the explosive surge of power from the magical girl, was seen as an event that must never happen again.

“Now, imagine if Sun, who’s become quite a hot topic aboard this ship, were to learn that magic.”

It was a chilling thought that could make even monsters, who usually wear their emotions on their skin, turn pale.

The monsters listening widened their eyes in shock.

Permanent annihilation of a monster… and by Sun?

That wasn’t just a nightmare, it *was* the nightmare.

“We’d all be, well… you know, screwed, haha,” said Professor Altedah, chuckling at his Earth-style joke.

But those monsters who truly understood the ripple effects of such destructive power couldn’t laugh.

Instead, all they could do was swallow hard, their various fluids barely staying down their throats.

**Author’s Note**:

“If anyone messes with little Sun, they’re goners.”

There might be parts where you wonder, “Why didn’t they do this or that?” but those will be explained gradually as the story progresses.

Thank you for always reading!

Oh, and I’ll also be participating in this upcoming challenge, so I’d appreciate your support.

The new story will likely be a classic fantasy dungeon-crawler! See you in the next chapter!