Chapter 42: Passing the Torch: A Farewell to Venus

In light of her retirement news, there stood someone right next to her. A middle school girl, looking completely out of place.

“Who’s that person next to you…?”

Although I was almost certain, I still asked the question, wanting to hear it directly from her.

Venus shrugged her shoulders, as if she had no lingering attachments to the name of a magical girl, and spoke openly.

“She’s going to sit in the new Venus seat in my place from now on.”

“Oh, hello!”

As Venus placed her hand on the tense student’s shoulder, the girl bowed politely, like a new recruit fresh out of training, greeting Nara and me.

Seeing her awkward demeanor made Venus chuckle, and she formally introduced the new magical girl who would carry the name Venus to both of us.

“Her last name is Kim, and her first name is Minji. Since she’s technically your junior, please take care of her!”

“Um… nice to meet you.”

Then came a brief silence.

An awkward stillness lingered.

Not knowing what to say, it was the student, Minji, who broke the ice.

“But, do you two always transform…?”

“Huh? Oh~”

Venus tilted her head, realizing she had become accustomed to the situation and let out a sigh of understanding.

With my and Siyeon’s youthful appearance, which was hard to believe as our original forms, it was clear that Minji had some misunderstandings. Venus explained calmly.

“That’s not transformation.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, it’s scary how accustomed I’ve gotten…”

Minji was taken aback, while Venus reacted self-deprecatingly.

During our group meeting, everyone was so used to it that they didn’t notice, but this was indeed the normal reaction.

When magical girls who are accustomed to child exploitation gather, a disconnect in common sense occurs with ordinary people.

“Oops.”

Suddenly, Venus lifted both Siyeon and me into the air, hugging us around our chests.

Patting our bottoms like we were babies, she smiled kindly.

“You’ve all had a hard time for the past two weeks because of us. Thank you, my little ones.”

Anyway, the reason Venus had come today was to hand over all her duties as a magical girl to Minji.

It was a time to express her gratitude to us, who had been taking care of the monster subjugation in Sokcho during that period.

I formed a circle with my thumb and index finger, wearing a proud expression, and said,

“We took care of our share properly, so it’s fine.”

“Thorough! Very good!”

After a brief exchange of formal thanks and reassurances, the conversation continued in a manner similar to our usual group meetings.

“So, vacation is almost over, right? When are you heading back?”

“The public servant uncle said he would give us a ride…”

“Is that so? But those guys are busy too, so they might not be able to pick you up, so keep that in mind.”

The conversation gradually flowed into transportation back from Sokcho.

Even I found it hard to interrupt the magical girls’ conversation.

Minji was busy playing with Siyeon.

Seeing Siiyeon soaring high into the sky like that reminded me of a sister and younger sister with a significant age gap.

“I understand. But I still can’t remember…”

“Oh, that…”

As I mentioned the topic that I couldn’t jump into during the group meeting, her expression darkened a bit.

Since she had told a student named Minji everything about being a magical girl, as she herself said, the time to replace her memories was approaching.

“I spoke confidently back then, but… honestly, I’m still thinking about it.”

“Why?”

Based on her demeanor during the group meeting, it seemed like she was ready to erase her memories and leave the café at any moment.

That wistful smile from that time didn’t seem like a fake expression, and her words about having precious people felt genuine.

Well, I’m not a lie detector, so I can’t tell the truth from the falsehood, but at least that’s how it appeared to me.

After some hesitation, Ms. Venus finally opened up, perhaps thinking it didn’t matter since she was just a kid.

“I wonder if the memories of being a magical girl are what made me who I am now.”

“Who you are now?”

“Yeah… how should I explain this?”

With a sigh of contemplation, Ms. Venus continued, as if she had come up with a good explanation.

“If all those memories of being a magical girl were to change, could I really call that person me? The me who is sitting here talking to you right now wouldn’t exist anymore.”

Faced with such a serious concern, I couldn’t provide a clear answer.

Since I wasn’t the one experiencing it, it was a dilemma I couldn’t speak on lightly.

It was a struggle that only she could truly grapple with.

Realizing that the conversation was heading in a darker direction, she tried to steer it back to something lighter.

“What am I even talking to a kid about? It’s fine, forget everything I just said.”

“Wait a minute.”

While I couldn’t answer her question directly, I wanted to show the current magical girl, Venus, something.

I took out my smartphone, opened a website, and entered a gallery that might be somewhat unfamiliar to women, looking for that post.

[Thank you, V-Money… -From the Magical Girl Gallery Collective- (1308)]

In this ominous community, a rare warm post had gathered over a thousand comments by now.

Instead of providing a clear answer to her doubts, I offered her the heartfelt gratitude expressed in the thousands of words contained in that post.

“Here.”

“What is this?”

“Just take a look.”

As she tilted her head and accepted the smartphone, I let her read about all the monsters she had defeated, from her first mission to her retirement announcement.

Every single piece of news about her achievements was recorded without missing a single detail.

Her finger moved steadily, almost desperately trying to absorb as many of those black letters as possible.

At some point, her finger stopped abruptly.

As she leaned forward on the couch, I sensed her beginning to tremble.

I could only silently take the two of them and leave the place.

What a grown-up magical girl might need most, surprisingly, isn’t immediate money or precious people, but perhaps just a few heartfelt words of gratitude from a multitude of strangers.

“Cough, you’re making a grown-up cry…”

Not long after, Venus, who had found her way back to the place we were hiding, arrived. She seemed to have cried quite a bit, her eyes red, and her makeup slightly smudged. The screen of the smartphone I got back had traces of hurriedly wiped moisture. The parts that hadn’t been wiped completely shone with a rainbow hue.

“Thank you, I feel like I’ve sorted out my feelings a bit.”

Her voice still carried traces of her earlier sobbing, but she was smiling brightly. It felt like all her worries about her memories had been neatly swept away. In this moment, as she sincerely expressed her gratitude, the students, Siyeon and Min-ji, had grown quite close.

“Are you staying here, then?”

“Yeah, where do you live, Siyeon?”

“I came from far away!”

Instead of Siyeon’s vague answer, I mentioned the area we had come from, and with that, one magical girl’s worries were resolved, and the day came to a close.

Later, when I thought I had enjoyed everything I could in Sokcho, I began preparing to head home. After spending a leisurely last night at the villa, missing the comforts of home, I made the calls to the public servants as planned for the final night in Sokcho.

Riiing, riiing.

The prolonged ringing tone showed no signs of stopping.

‘Why aren’t they answering? Are they busy?’

“Ha.”

Lying on a sofa that didn’t even exist at home, I sighed in confusion, enjoying the remaining softness. I thought that they would call me back later if they saw the missed call, so I stretched out.

As expected, not long after giving up on the call, my smartphone lit up with a familiar number.

“Hello?”

“Uh, um… no. Is this Mari?”

“Yes, is there something wrong?”

“Um, we… we won’t be able to drive you home tomorrow. I’m really, really sorry! Please send me how much the bus… or a taxi would cost to get you home! I’m so, so sorry!”

The call abruptly ended, accompanied by a flustered voice.

Let’s not bother trying to understand the complex circumstances of adults.

I figured I could just take a leftover bus at the terminal.

However, I overlooked two things.

First, Sokcho, during the height of summer, is famous as a vacation spot.

Second, during this time, soldiers also come on leave, so finding spare seats is quite difficult.

“There are no leftover tickets…”

‘Damn.’

Eventually, even the 50% children’s discount on the express bus became useless.

Sitting despondently at the terminal, my smartphone chimed with a new message.

What is it? I opened my smartphone to find a message that had arrived.

[Anyway, since the expenses related to magical girls can be charged to public funds, if you don’t have a bus ticket, you can take a taxi.]

It was a message that felt like it was sent out of hope by the public official, and it was a dazzling revelation. We immediately picked the first taxi from the long line in front of the terminal and got into the back seat with Siyeon, closing the door behind us.

The taxi driver’s gentle greeting floated in lazily.

“Welcome. Where to?”

“Incheon, for now.”

“Excuse me?”

The taxi driver’s surprised voice rang out at my impulsive reply.

That day, we experienced the unheard-of amount of 450,000 won just for the taxi fare.

Tax money is melting away slowly.

• Author’s Note (Author’s Afterword)

In Hell Joseon, if a fire breaks out and you break in through the door, they’ll sue you for damages.

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