Chapter 74: The Gathering of Magical Girls

“I’m home—”

“I’m home—!”

Words spoken upon returning to a home where someone is waiting to welcome you back.

Walking down the unusually long hallway for a mere part of a room, I entered the living room, where Ji-eun unnie was once again stuffing greens into her mouth with a crunching sound.

Unlike our lively voices, her voice was weak.

“Mm… you’re back?”

A plastic container filled with fresh-looking green vegetables.

But in contrast, Ji-eun unnie’s face, as she chewed her salad, looked like it was decaying.

Even from a man’s perspective, she doesn’t seem particularly chubby, so I have no idea why she’s been so obsessed with dieting lately.

After putting down our school bags, Si-yeon and I washed our hands in the bathroom.

Then, as usual, I lay on the floor, absorbed in a smartphone game.

Si-yeon naturally sat down in front of the computer.

At this hour, other kids would be busy being dragged to piano lessons, taekwondo classes, or English academies—forced into packed schedules by their parents’ educational fervor.

But Si-yeon and I don’t have to attend such academies!

Why? Because we have a guaranteed career path after becoming adults.

In other words, no matter how badly we mess up our grades, as long as we gain the right experience and develop a proper way of thinking, school studies don’t really matter!

Si-yeon is still too young to understand this system, but maybe when she reaches middle or high school, she’ll come to appreciate it?

While I tilted my smartphone sideways, placing my thumbs on the attack and movement buttons, the house was filled only with the lively, bouncing sound effects of the game for a while.

Finally, the crunching noises stopped, and Ji-eun unnie’s voice rang out.

“Oh, the next gathering spot is Daejeon, apparently.”

“That’s quite far…”

Daejeon—a city quite a distance from Incheon.

Even a quick search on a map app showed that public transportation would take at least two hours and forty-five minutes to three hours.

Since this magical girl gathering is entirely voluntary, no transportation support is provided.

That’s why, as a general rule, they try to hold the meetings near the youngest magical girl’s location.

Just like a few years ago, when Si-yeon and I only had to take a few bus stops to reach the meeting place.

“Well, now you have juniors, so it’s different.”

Ji-eun unnie countered my complaint about the distance while hanging laundry on the drying rack, as if it were obvious.

“But they’re just sixth graders.”

Still, there seemed to be some contradiction in her reasoning, so she added those two short sentences.

That’s right.

The so-called “proper age” for magical girls supposedly starts from the early elementary school years, but our case is an exception.

In reality, magical girls usually start from grades five or six—when they’ve gained some skill in lying to their families.

So even if we get new juniors, chances are, they’ll be older than us.

A junior who’s actually older than us?

It’s like having a thirty-year-old private in the military—there’s no way you can treat them as a subordinate!

You’d end up unconsciously using honorifics and feeling awkward about asking them to do things…

Right now, Si-yeon and I are like twenty-year-old corporals with twenty-five-year-old subordinates.

Yeah, that’s exactly what it feels like.

And now, to accommodate our older juniors, we have to travel all the way to Daejeon.

As the youngest, I wanted to enjoy more privileges, so I suddenly brought up Confucian values and complained about the already decided gathering location.

“Shouldn’t the youngest be determined by age in the Land of Courtesy?”

“If you hate it that much, you don’t have to go.”

Jieun unnie shot back with a solid argument in response to my murmured complaint.

If you hate it, don’t go—she had a point.

Still, there would be older sisters at the gathering who would dote on me, and Siyeon liked that.

“But how can a person be like that?”

It felt a bit rude to completely cut off the gathering just because it wasn’t in a nearby area.

It wasn’t like there were monsters appearing in our region, so there was no need to be on guard.

Would it really be that hard to spend three hours traveling a bit farther?

“Are you really sure? I don’t think I can help you that day.”

Jieun unnie asked again with a worried expression.

Not having her accompany us on the weekend was one thing…

But now, all of a sudden? That was my first thought.

I had already spent years living without an adult around.

Even if I were told to go to that villa in Sokcho, I could get there using public transportation if I really wanted to.

All thanks to advancements in technology and navigation apps.

“I just have to follow the directions, that’s all….”

Even as I answered, I zoomed in and out on the map to check the route in detail.

The distance was quite far: one hour on the subway, two hours on the high-speed train.

After that, just a short walk would lead to the destination—a café.

Did every region have a dedicated café for gatherings?

With that odd thought in mind, I switched to satellite view to check the destination.

Wait a minute, this place was called Star Café…?

Hold on, was this a franchise?

No matter how I looked at it, the signage and building design were exactly the same as the café I had seen nearby.

After spending my weekdays full of questions, the day of the gathering finally arrived.

For some reason, due to Jieun unnie’s personal matters, it was just the two of us and our mascots at home.

We stuffed our mascots into the thick pockets of our coats and set off on our great journey to Daejeon.

“Got everything? Let’s go!”

“Let’s gooo!”

Since I rarely traveled far, I hardly ever used the subway or high-speed trains.

Even when heading to other regions, I usually took intercity buses.

So, to Siyeon and the current me, the subway and high-speed trains felt unfamiliar.

The last subway station I remembered had metal bars at the gates, looking like a sideways camera tripod stand.

But now, they had changed to sponge-like barriers that automatically clicked open when I tapped my card.

Before, I had to push my way through.

So, at around nine o’clock on Saturday morning, I boarded the subway.

Worried about being late, I had left home early.

Our meeting time was at one in the afternoon—maybe I had left too early?

Still, arriving early was better than being late.

Especially since the route was unfamiliar, and there was a chance of getting lost.

Thanks to the subway map and announcements that I had been staring at intently, I didn’t end up boarding in the wrong direction.

Of course, the excellent assistance of the map app also played a role.

Taking advantage of the discount system for those under 14 years old on the high-speed train, heading frugally toward Daejeon.

Passing by an incredibly long line at a famous bakery, finally arriving at the promised location.

Even though I had planned to leave early to account for any delays, I arrived at the Star Café more than an hour ahead of schedule.

‘Came way too early.’

The inside of the Star Café showed no signs of life.

Just as I was wondering whether I should wait in another café until this one opened at the promised time…

“Oh? You two are here already?”

A familiar voice came from behind.

When I quickly turned my head, I saw the café owner, whom I had previously met at the Star Café near my house, standing there for some reason.

Both hands full of bakery bags…

“…???”

What? A twin?

No, but the way they spoke showed that they recognized me and Siyeon.

Did they really come all the way here just to open the café for this gathering? Seriously?

My mind became tangled with countless thoughts, leaving me confused.

While I was lost in my thoughts, the café door opened nonchalantly.

Now, in the empty café, it was just the owner and us sitting there.

Since we had arrived early and ended up skipping lunch, the owner kindly handed us some freshly bought, warm bread.

I had heard countless times that Daejeon’s bakeries were so famous that people traveled long distances just to buy their bread.

“Marie! This is so good!”

“It’s delicious…”

I responded as I followed Siyeon’s lead, taking a bite.

It was a croquette-like bread.

Maybe because I was hungry, or maybe because it was a combination I had never seen before…

Broadly speaking, it was a croquette, but instead of meat or seasoned glass noodles inside, there was red bean paste.

A fried bread filled with sweet red bean paste—something familiar yet at the same time, a unique experience that couldn’t be found in other regions.

As I let the crispy surface cool in my mouth, the thick red bean paste mixed with milk, and the crunchiness quickly disappeared, leaving behind an intensely strong sweetness.

Fried bread with sweet red bean paste felt odd at first, but it wasn’t bad at all.

It was almost lunchtime.

Having eaten nothing since the subway and train ride, this high-calorie indulgence was something even my taste buds couldn’t resist.

“Wow, you two are really enjoying that.”

Watching Siyeon shove bread into her mouth along with milk in a trance, the owner playfully poked her cheek and spoke with amusement.

But I couldn’t hold back my curiosity any longer.

I had definitely seen this café owner at the Star Café near my home during a previous gathering.

Why were they here at the Daejeon Star Café for this gathering?

After swallowing the lingering sweetness in my mouth and wiping my lips with a napkin, I asked the owner.

“Why are you here, boss?”

“Hm?”

The owner, who had been fondly watching Siyeon, turned to me with wide eyes, as if the question itself was unexpected.

Then, after finally understanding my question, they let out a sigh of realization.

“Oh, Sun, you didn’t know?”

It turns out that the owner of this Star Café…

Owns land and buildings in central shopping areas across various regions.

On each piece of land, they built cafés they had always dreamed of running.

And having been a magical girl in the past, they used their experience to provide safe gathering places for retired magical girls while making a steady profit.

A place where magical girls could relax, with the security to maintain secrecy, and with someone who understood and supported them.

Apparently, the only person who could provide such an ideal space was still just them.

As expected, to run a business, you need starting capital and a good head on your shoulders.