Chapter 25 : When Magical Girls Cry

Leaving behind the frustrating anxiety that eats away at me, the weekend has arrived.

A peaceful weekend morning, without any monstrous alerts sounding.

In that golden hour, what I’m holding onto is…

“Ugh!”

Not a bear torture, but cleaning.

“Stay still, you little brat.”

I grabbed the flailing arms and body of the bear, which was struggling to find a way out of the water, and moved it back to the center of the basin.

After scrubbing it vigorously with soapy water and washing away the muddy residue, I filled it with clean water again to make more soapy water for a good thirty minutes.

I pulled the water-dripping teddy bear out of the basin and carelessly sent the soapy water down the drain with my other hand.

Finally, I leaned in closely, sniffing.

Ultimately, I successfully covered the concentrated trash smell deeply embedded in the cotton fluff with the scent of fabric softener and soapy water.

“Ugh, bleh…”

“Okay, pass.”

“Ughhhhhh…”

As I gripped the teddy bear’s body tightly, holding it like a mop, a sound of discomfort or nausea escaped.

From its mouth, a fragrant liquid drooled out, revealing a belly full of soapy water and fabric softener.

After clipping the still-dripping teddy bear to the bathroom laundry pin, I rolled my pant legs back to their original state.

“Can I use the bathroom now?”

As I stepped out of the bathroom, Siyeon paused the video and asked.

“Uh-huh.”

I replied, hastily taking off the bathroom slippers as I prepared to head to the store.

Thinking about the picnic day, it would be better to finish preparing as soon as possible.

The lunch box should arrive today or tomorrow, and I need to plan how to pack it in advance…

‘Being an elementary school parent is tough.’

Seeing myself acting like Siyeon’s parents, I realized just how much a parent has to worry about…

I shoved my feet into the sneakers, shuffling a bit.

Just in case Siyeon might look for me while I’m out, I told her from the other side of the bathroom door.

“I’m going to the mart.”

“Okay!”

With her cheerful voice filtering through the half-closed door from the hallway, I confirmed she heard me and stepped outside without any worries.

‘What ingredients will I need for fried rice…’

After arriving at the mart, I checked the ingredients.

For fried rice, I would need eggs, canned ham, and some flakes to sprinkle on top.

I picked up a carton of 10 eggs, one can of ham, and a pack of four flakes.

Also, I grabbed a pack of instant rice that can be microwaved since the amount usually increases while frying it together.

‘For side dishes, some sausages and quail eggs…’

Even though it’s a lunch box, it doesn’t need to be overly filling for a first-grade girl.

I didn’t have to prepare that much.

I thought I would have to go back and forth multiple times, but once was enough for grocery shopping.

A pack of 120g sausages came in pairs, and there are many ready-made options for quail eggs.

I just need to buy a pack of cherry tomatoes and about two bunches of Shine Muscat grapes.

The total should be just under 20,000 won. It seems like even after packing all the lunch boxes, there will still be plenty left over, so for the time being, breakfast will consist of instant rice made into egg rice, with sides of sausage and quail egg soy sauce simmered.

After finishing my calculations, I left the store.

“Why does it feel so empty…?”

Carrying a bag that I could barely lift, I felt an inexplicable emptiness as I returned home.

Did I forget something?

Clicking the door open, I noticed that Siyeon’s shoes were missing.

Normally, I’d hear the sound of animations coming from inside.

But now, there was only a quiet stillness.

“ I’m here!”

“What the hell?”

“How could you leave me behind? The monster came out and Siyeon went off alone!”

Only then did I realize the source of my emptiness and rushed to the bathroom, separating the teddy bear from the clothespin before grabbing it.

The still-damp moisture from the teddy bear soaked my hand.

I tossed the bag into the living room haphazardly and, bewildered, began to interrogate the bear.

“Hey, why didn’t you stop that?”

“Do you think I could have stopped it just like that!?”

Caught off guard by the teddy bear’s reasonable argument, I was momentarily speechless. Frustration bubbled up inside me as I let out a mix of annoyance and concern.

“Ugh… where is it? Tell me quickly.”

“Heading towards the subway station. There are still monster signals nearby.”

I quickly dashed down the stairs, searching for a less populated area that was still nearby.

The reason why magical girls don’t transform and head out from home is to avoid being tracked to their residence.

Recently, I had transformed in several different locations and flown over, so it should be fine to transform and fly from this apartment this time.

“Sun.”

With a brief and straightforward transformation command, I jumped powerfully enough to create a dent in the ground of the garden behind the apartment.

The monster alarm, barely audible from the direction of the store, grew louder as I approached the subway station, scratching at my ears and indicating that the monster was getting closer.

As people evacuated, the loud alarm subsided somewhat. While moving closer to the battlefield, I asked it,

“How long has it been since it came out? Monster.”

“About… 13 minutes.”

13 minutes.

That was enough time for the outcome to have been decided.

In a world where even elementary school students can become magical girls and defeat monsters,

this meant that the magical girls were overwhelmingly stronger than most monsters, making the battle heavily one-sided.

Still, the fact that monster signals remained implied a rather obvious reason.

“They probably still can’t kill it, right?”

“Most likely. Not every elementary school student is as ruthless as you, Sun…”

“What did you say?”

I felt annoyed at the blatant belittling and glared at it.

“Um… they aren’t very mature.”

In an instant, he managed to eloquently retrieve his words and express them in a more palatable manner.

Cruelty and maturity—aren’t they, in some ways, the same thing? It’s a bit off-putting, yet it’s not entirely wrong, leaving me to tilt my head in contemplation.

No matter how I think about it, I feel like I’ve been caught up in something.

As expected, the situation itself was already over. In front of me stood a medium-sized monster that looked like a frozen chicken, its entire body stiff and immobile.

Still, I thought to myself that for someone who had come out alone, she did well. I deliberately descended to the ground, making my footsteps loud as I approached from afar, just so Siyeon could hear.

Even as I got quite close, it seemed she couldn’t hear my footsteps, only showing her back, tightly gripping her staff with both hands.

“Moon.”

“?!”

I placed a hand on her shoulder and called out to her. Startled,

she finally turned to look back at me, panting as if she had just finished some intense exercise, her shoulders rising and falling. She appeared frightened, and her eyes seemed smaller than usual. It was clear that Siyeon had tried her best, but it was still evident that this was something inappropriate for her age.

Surrounding Siyeon was a wide fan-shaped area of frozen ground. It resembled a gigantic chicken monster that seemed to have been frozen mid-roar.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Even though I had completely won, I embraced the trembling Siyeon from the front, gently patting her back.

Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, I smiled softly and wiped her tears with my fingers, then wiped them on my own clothes.

Even though she was a magical girl or whatever, Siyeon’s heart was still far too tender. This was why I didn’t want to send her out alone.

“Hey, were you really that scared?”

Given our similar heights, it felt a bit awkward to say I held her in my arms, but regardless, Siyeon silently nodded in response, confirming with just a slight nod.

After wiping away her tears, I sat her down at a nearby bus stop and told her not to look over here.

“You really take it easy, huh? Be glad it’s not me.”

The monster stood frozen, unable to hear or speak. Approaching it, I muttered meaningless words as I hit it with my staff.

They say the technique for freezing humans is still far from possible, right?

I wished I could roast that frozen chicken as punishment for making Siyeon cry.

But it had taken too long already, and it would be a nuisance to the evacuated people, so I decided to handle it quickly.

Compared to the usual pace of five minutes, I had already taken too much time.

“Ugh, you bastard!”

Gathering strength in both arms, I leaped and brought my weapon down.

The chicken monster shattered into ice fragments as it broke apart.

The cross-section of the broken pieces revealed the monster’s flesh, which didn’t look much different from that of a muscular native chicken.

Could a monster be deep-fried too?

Thus began my uncomfortable holiday, marked by Siyeon’s tears. She turned off the magical girl anime she loved so much and headed to her bed.

“…Hah.”

Seeing that, I scratched the back of my head, feeling a bit down, realizing that I couldn’t help but say something about it.

I didn’t intend to mess with someone else’s mascot.

“Hey, Bear.”

I urgently called for Bear, and it floated over to me right away.

“Yes?”

I pointed towards the bed, making sure Siyeon couldn’t hear, while leaning against the wall near the entrance.

“Go tell Siyeon that defeating monsters is originally difficult and naturally scary… Anyway, say that I’m the weird one.”

“Ah, okay. I will.”

Bear flew off towards the bed.

I could already imagine it gloating about me with its cheeky tongue.

Then, I saw Siyeon sobbing on the bed, and I noticed Siyeon’s mascot, which had no limbs, flailing around in a panic.

“Ha…”

A long sigh escaped me as soon as I saw it.

To be honest, it was the original culprit that sent Siyeon out to confront the monster before I even returned.

“Hey, Sea Snake.”

I blurted out a word that I had kept inside my heart and stared directly at it, as if pointing.

Siyeon’s mascot looked at me with a somewhat fearful expression.

“S-Sea Snake…?”

“Come out to the rooftop with me.”

It would be clearly strange if such a creature were flying in the sky, so I told it to follow me while grabbing its neck.

I headed outside, holding onto the wriggling creature like a plastic toy.

The place I was going was the rooftop.

After opening the unlatched rooftop door and walking on, I leaned my back against the railing and released the creature in front of me.

Scratching the back of its head in frustration, it asked me a question.

“Why did you go out alone? You should ask that.”

“The, the monster appeared, right? Sun wasn’t home either…”

That was an opinion only a mascot could have.

A monster appeared.

So, the magical girl must fight.

“Did you even know what would come out? Are you crazy?”

“Well, still! You and siyeon have similar magical powers! You can fight the monster anytime!”

“Hey.”

I grabbed the neck of the creature that was fluttering around in front of me and pressed it down to the ground.

Its head, which had just been in a flower garden, seemed to sink in an instant, and its eyes shrank.

With a serious expression, I asked it again.

“Are you scared right now?”

Its gaze shifting around was showing a glimpse of that fear.

Looking at the mascots’ usual behavior, their mental age isn’t very high.

These creatures, which should understand the perspective of children, are in such a state.

“Siyeon knows that the monster is filled with thoughts of harming her.”

I had to make it clear with this incident.

As if it were ridiculous, I continued speaking.

Right now, not even the monster, but you, trembling in fear while being caught in my hands, in the situation where Siyeon is alone in front of the monster…

“Do you think you can fight properly?”

“B-but, Sun is…”

“It’s not me.”

Cutting off the words that the sea serpent was about to retort, I poked the indented area between our chests with my left index finger and continued speaking.

I moved that index finger along my long body and added, “What you need to see is the demonstration.”

A word from the author (author’s note)

Thinking about it, I have a strong mental fortitude.