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I made my own proposal and returned to Korea feeling good.

To be honest, it was quite lacking in many ways to be considered an official proposal. I didn’t even have the ring yet.

A ring.

Hmm, did I have some saved up money?

While sorting my things in the room, I pondered a bit.

I don’t know exactly why, but I thought I should be the one to propose. It’s more accurate to say that all three of them are looking at me rather than the children simply liking each other.

Moreover, I have memories from my past life, so, how should I put it…

It’s a bit strange to talk about it now, but well, let’s just say I want to hold onto such moments. Maybe that’s why I tried not to give up even while struggling on the bed.

Some might say it’s an outdated notion, but… well, it’s just me thinking alone anyway.

“…Ah, so that means the money doubles up for regular couples.”

I think it’s better if all four of us have the same design. After all, there’s only one left pinky finger on the left hand. I can’t wear four rings on the same finger, and it seems a bit off to put everyone’s rings on different fingers.

I didn’t want to go too cheap either.

We aren’t celebrities. To be honest, I don’t want to be in the news.

But, even after that, we continue to be active. Our faces are still pretty, and our bodies are still good. If anything, I’m still called a magical girl as I age, so the media might pay more attention.

It seems they’re starting to talk about selecting the next generation of magical girls, but people are mostly saying, “Now, of all times?”

And it makes sense. Monsters aren’t appearing anymore. The biggest perpetrator company has been managing aftermath with their own money and has completely changed its business direction.

Still, I’m glad to hear the technology gained during that era is being applied elsewhere.

I received a severance package.

Of course, it’s not a severance package from being a magical girl. I’m still a magical girl, after all.

It’s the severance package from my time as a combatant.

All of the monthly salary I received back then went to donations for the orphanage. When the children and I were leaving the orphanage, the teacher tried to return the remaining money to me, but I firmly rejected it. It just didn’t feel right to take back money that I had already donated.

And the most decisive reason I was able to do that was because I received a proper severance package handled by Pang-pang.

Even so, the pure amount of severance I accumulated over the years of work was quite large. Plus, combining it with the compensation and settlement money quietly given by the government turned out to be a big help.

Ji-hye, Ha-yoon, and Jua, who live with me, also contributed.

“It feels like it might be cutting it close.”

I can’t buy anything too expensive, but I’m sure they’d be happy.

As I tried to picture the ring design in my head, I found myself chuckling.

Knock. Knock.

Someone was knocking on the window.

Even though we lived on the 20th floor of an apartment, I wasn’t surprised. There are plenty of beings in this world that can fly around.

Whether this is a good or bad thing, it’s no longer just ghosts and birds that can knock on the window of a 20th-floor apartment.

Turning my head, I saw a familiar cherry-colored alien.

Riding the UFO that looked like it came straight out of a cartoon, with two joysticks in hand, it was quite a cute sight.

It really was ‘the mascot,’ so to speak.

“Cherry.”

I cheerfully smiled and opened the window.

“Ji-eun!”

Cherry also smiled happily as it entered through the window.

…But isn’t it fine if she just came in through the front door? After all, no one in this house would treat Cherry badly.

Back when I was in a hysterical phase, I even treated Cherry like a hamster along with James, but now things are different. At least with Cherry, I’m treating her as an equal person.

As for James…

Well, at least now he gets treated like 3/4 of a person.

Actually, speaking of James, I haven’t seen much of him recently.

At least with that clone business, James had no responsibility. He wasn’t aware that those monsters were clones.

It seems producing monsters was something that was known only in families where blood flowed, and that set off the catastrophe.

Well, considering that Pang-pang had already run away from home because she didn’t like the family, it’s no surprise that she wouldn’t know.

But even so, within the company, James held quite a high position and bore a lot of responsibility.

After being jailed, he was temporarily released to deal with the enormous aftershocks caused by Noir Corporation, and he is still handling the aftermath.

It seems that the fact he helped me sort things out has been considered as mitigating circumstances. However, that doesn’t mean the crime itself has completely disappeared.

“Did you have a good honeymoon?”

“We’re not even married yet, so what honeymoon.”

I said, laughing in disbelief.

“But… it seems like something good happened?”

I lightly pushed Cherry’s UFO with my finger. Cherry spun around in the air, smiling.

“By the way, why did you come through the window? It wouldn’t have mattered if you just came through the door.”

She had done so before anyway.

“Ah… well, that’s…”

Cherry tilted her head back and forth, seeming to think for a moment.

“Is there something you want to say secretly?”

Half-jokingly asking that while I resumed sorting my things, Cherry couldn’t respond.

Looking again, Cherry was still spinning around me. It seems that a light nudge wouldn’t break the flight device she was on; it probably just resembled a twisting motion of her body.

“Um, you see…”

Watching Cherry hesitantly open her mouth, I stopped tidying up.

After a moment of hesitation, Cherry finally managed to speak.

“Um, you’re not married yet, but are you planning to get married?”

Such similar topics had come up a few times in our conversations. Until now, I had been quite vague about it, but during this trip, I had completely made my mind up.

It seems Cherry wanted to bring up that topic.

I had a feeling I knew what reason Cherry had for sneaking over to find me.

I suppressed my laughter and asked as seriously as I could.

“Are you thinking about proposals?”

“…Yeah.”

I would cheer on Cherry whether she proposed to a guy or a girl, even if that guy happened to be James.

However, considering that James sounds like a guy, but is actually a girl, Cherry’s situation was surprisingly similar.

Just like James was out there working hard to clean up, Cherry had also been working hard alongside him to do the cleanup.

Since the two had gotten somewhat close while working with us, it seemed like they had become even more friendly during that time with some teasing.

“Hmm.”

It seems Cherry thought I had already proposed, which is why she came to find me.

And I did propose.

But to me, I thought that proposal was just the process of getting initial consent. This might sound a bit vague, but I believe a proposal should have its own little romance.

Since it’s a once-in-a-lifetime proposal with my girlfriends, wouldn’t it be good to make a confession that stays in memories?

I’ve heard this in my past life, that the proposal itself isn’t about asking for permission but rather is a ceremonial process between two people who have implicitly promised to marry.

Well, in my case, there were four of us if I include myself.

“To be honest, I haven’t really made a proper proposal yet. There have been various things going on, and even though we all set our hearts, it hasn’t been formalized.”

“I see…”

Perhaps Cherry had come to me looking for some sort of hint, and after hearing me, she drooped her big ears while landing on the desk.

Seeing her in such a deflated state made me want to do something for her.

I mean, really, the sight of a squeaky adult is unfair. I had initially hated James that much, but the warmth in my heart thawed once I saw what was underneath.

“…”

I paused for a moment in thought and then spoke.

“Um, actually, I do need someone to exchange ideas with.”

“Really?”

Cherry perked up instantly, her head shooting up.

No, even so, a proposal is still a proposal.

Even if we’ve solidified our marriage promise by now, the event should have some degree of surprise.

I don’t plan on making it embarrassingly dramatic like in the dramas, but it should be somewhat romantic.

…But then I remembered, that included three people.

Thinking back, it seemed a bit risky for me to come up with ideas all by myself.

…..

Yeah, that’s true.

 

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