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I’m really simple-minded.

Is there really a magical girl who transforms by getting kissed by those around her?

…Well, if this is the kind of worldview we’re in, there could probably be one somewhere in the world, especially in a country that’s making heroes under the name ‘magical girl.’

I’ve heard that there are magical girls in Japan too; there must be at least one among them, right? Or maybe she transforms when her boyfriend kisses her.

Even if it’s a different country, they’d still use the Hope Circuit.

I looked at Ji-hye, who was smiling.

Considering her earlier words about ‘using me,’ that smile seemed genuine. The Ji-hye in my memories wasn’t particularly good at acting.

The deeper I thought, the more complicated it became, so I decided to cut off the thread of thoughts for now.

“Are you planning to wait here?”

“Huh?”

It seemed Ji-hye was a little flustered by my question.

“Bringing it—”

“Every time you looked away, they quickly ran out of sight. That’s not something an ordinary person could do. The fact that I suspected them of being aliens was because of that.”

I spoke while staring at Ji-hye intently.

“If I leave you behind, I’ll be anxious.”

Thinking back, it made me anxious that Ji-hye was attending school separately. Even though the police were helping, unfortunately, I wasn’t someone who could be reassured just by that. If things went wrong, Ji-hye might end up being taken hostage.

Hadn’t there been an attempt at that already?

If that happened, it would be tough for both Ji-hye and me.

…Maybe I should consider other options.

And besides, although there are police around when we go to and from school, right now it was just the two of us out for a stroll, with no police in sight. There might be plainclothes officers waiting, but I couldn’t see them.

“So, for now, wouldn’t it be better to move together?”

“W-wait a moment, Ji-eun—!?”

As I jumped with all my might, Ji-hye’s words were cut off. The end of her sentence rose in pitch, becoming something like a scream, but it didn’t really sound loud; rather, it was a bit like a metal scraping sound.

Everyone around us looked up at us.

Ji-hye was wearing a skirt. It wasn’t a school uniform, but it was a short skirt that barely reached above her knees. On top, she wore a shirt with a fluttery cardigan.

I lowered my hand that was tightly hugging Ji-hye’s waist a little. With my other hand, I wrapped around the outside of her right thigh and held the skirt down from below her thigh.

The position was a bit strange. It resembled me carrying her like a princess, but it felt more like I was wrapping her up in a burrito, considering the situation. I couldn’t afford for her skirt to fly up if I actually did hold her like a princess.

Even if the posture was slightly odd, it might look a little romantic to others.

Without being able to bear to look down, Ji-hye pulled my neck close. Seeing her bury her face in my shoulder, she must be tightly closing her eyes.

She seemed completely unconcerned about how we looked.

It was a bit mischievous, but honestly, I thought Ji-hye looked a little cute in that state. She might get a little angry if I took her down, though.

“Don’t worry. I won’t drop you, okay?”

As I spoke softly into her ear, Ji-hye made a sound similar to a whimpering puppy and nodded.

Well, if she’s just closing her eyes, she probably won’t feel like she’s up high.

That’s what I thought, and I looked down to survey the area beneath us.

I could see people pointing their smartphones in our direction.

Whether they were people who had read the news or not, by now, it was a fact I couldn’t hide that I was out and about kissing girls.

I think I somewhat understand what Rose meant when she said that. If I kept being conscious of my surroundings, it would just end up exhausting me.

So, right.

I’ll deal with the alien following me.

Taking candid photos and selling them to a newspaper or broadcasting station? I certainly have no intention of fattening the pockets of others without getting a dime back.

The sound of a shutter came from the direction we’d just come from.

When I rose up, I couldn’t hear the shutter sound, but I could still spot a person in that direction.

There was a camera pointing my way. I could see a bit of sunlight reflecting off the camera lens, catching my eye.

Did I make eye contact with him through the camera? As soon as he realized, the man quickly lowered the camera and began moving frantically.

His outfit was nothing special.

Still, the camera he held was an ordinary camera, devoid of any peculiarities. At least, he hadn’t modified his body for the sake of the camera.

The sound of the shutter meant that the camera was just a regular one made on Earth, which—well, let’s catch him first and figure that out later.

Looking at him, I started to understand how he managed to stay out of sight. His movements were quick. From a distance, he looked like an Earthling, but in reality, it seemed he wasn’t.

However, in a situation where I had to dodge the obstacles in front of me at full speed, I had a distinct advantage. After all, I was flying in the sky. There were no obstacles like an airplane in this sort of low-altitude flight.

“Eek!?”

…Eek?

As I began flying toward the moving alien, Ji-hye let out that strange sound. Apparently, feeling the wind made her realize even more that we were flying in the sky.

Even with her eyes closed, she’d still feel the air and hear all the sounds from below.

She might scream genuinely when we go down.

I’m sorry, but I hope she’ll hold on for a little while longer.

Even hugging her like this, I could feel the power flowing from my body. Didn’t Ji-hye herself say that I should use any resource available?

“Yikes!?”

As I moved downward, Ji-hye made another sound like that, clinging even tighter around my neck. Her face drew slightly forward, causing her nose to brush against her hair.

It smelled nice. After all, she had spent quite some time washing up in the morning.

I hope I don’t smell odd.

Even while slightly worrying about something trivial at this moment, I descended until I stood before that stalker.

A somewhat loud sound echoed. It wasn’t the type of noise magical girls make when they fell from a high place and hit a car, but it was loud enough to be heard clearly as a person landing.

Ji-hye didn’t even scream at that noise.

“Ugh!?”

As I landed, that reporter—or perhaps it would be fair to call him a stalker—let out a sound and froze.

He immediately turned around, trying to run, so I focused all my strength and leapt in that direction—

Ah, I’m still holding onto Ji-hye.

Having used my arms and shoulders a bit, I spun my body around and gave him a shove with my back.

With a loud thud, the man rolled on the ground, the camera flying from his hands. If that had been a smartphone, the lens wouldn’t have been damaged, but I figured that camera would be difficult to fix.

Well, I didn’t particularly feel sorry about it.

“What the hell is this!?”

Rolling on the ground and realizing he couldn’t escape, the man shouted at us.

“Do you know how much that camera costs—”

“I don’t know. Maybe about five million won?”

Cutting him off, I released Ji-hye from my hold.

I let her stand upright, making sure to smooth out the parts of her that were crumpled during my grip. Well, unless it was an iron, I couldn’t do much about the creases.

“Are you okay?”

“I-I was scared.”

Seeing Ji-hye answer so honestly, I did my best to suppress a laugh.

Otherwise, she might really get angry. Still, it seemed her old personality was returning from spending time with me.

“Five million, huh! The lens alone—”

“What about the whole thing?”

Cutting off his words, I turned around, and the reporter flinched, stopping mid-sentence.

Seeing my expression, it looked like he realized I was beyond just annoyed.

“Is it really that important in this situation?”

“What did I do wrong?”

“If you did nothing wrong, then why are you running?”

As I asked, astonished, the reporter growled back.

“It’s not common for someone like you to charge at someone with a camera. Since this isn’t cheap, you ought to protect it.”

“Really?”

I tilted my head and replied.

“Then, it’s not wrong for you to be following two minors and taking pictures of them kissing?”

“People have the right to know, and of course, they ought to know what kind of being this newly emerged magical girl is.”

“So, you want to say I’m a guy who wanders around kissing three girls? Or that magical girls can gain power from kisses? Really, both of those concepts are pretty meaningless, aren’t they? It’s not for the sake of the public’s right to know; you’re just looking for the best-selling article, right?”

I stepped closer to the reporter while speaking.

“If you were really thinking that way, you should have been looking for the chairman of the Noir Corporation with your nice camera. No one knows what that person is doing with Earthlings or if they’re creating Earthlings. Magical girls are risking their lives fighting against such beings, and you’re just taking pictures and selling them. Isn’t that a bit much?”

I spoke with a furrowed brow.

“What does it benefit anyone for me to do whatever with whoever? Who benefits from taking pictures of me kissing? Is it just you and your media outlet that gain from that? If the wicked company says they’ll pay to take the article down, they’ll surely do so, won’t they?”

The reporter seemed quite angry at what I said, almost as if he wanted to refute, but—

“Moreover, you.”

I approached the reporter, grabbing him by the neck.

“What are you doing!? This is violence—”

“If that’s your skin, then sure.”

As I said that, I forcefully tore at his neck.

“I’m no expert, but I’ve seen artificial skin a few times.”

The human robot that James was driving had artificial skin, too. At a glance from afar, it looked like a person, and it was hard to tell whether it was real or fake until I touched it.

But still, no matter how realistic it looked, artificial was still artificial. According to James, there are ways to create something indistinguishable from real protein; however, that also means it requires tremendous care.

The texture of this neck felt slightly rubbery, but it wasn’t thick. They’d have to wrap it thin on the surface for it to look real.

Thus, it’s pretty easy to tear. Even if it might be difficult for an ordinary person’s grip, as a magical girl, it was more than enough to tear apart.

In the end, I held something like torn human skin in my hand. It looked somewhat gruesome, but it didn’t feel horrifying since there wasn’t any blood on it.

And the revealed skin of the reporter was yellow.

Not just lightly yellow, but a bright yellow that you wouldn’t see on a human face.

For some reason, Pang-pang came to mind. Of course, Pang-pang had blue skin, but was this person from a similar background?

“Are you from Noir Corporation? Or did you just hide like this because it’s convenient?”

“Of-course it’s convenient to hide!”

The man answered my question, clearly terrified. At least he seemed to have a hint of awareness.

“Really? Then should we head straight to the police station?”

“Th-that…”

“Sorry, but you’ve only got two options. Either go to the police station to get interrogated and expelled, or have a separate interview with me. If you’re someone sent by Noir Corporation, there’s quite a bit I want to ask.”

“……”

“Ordinary reporters wouldn’t need to hide their identities as aliens. Just walking around looking like an alien tourist with your alien camera would be commonplace. But slapping artificial skin means that you need to present yourself as an Earthling.”

I said with a smile.

“You’re an illegal immigrant, aren’t you? You were originally affiliated with a subsidiary of Noir Corporation, but your visa probably hasn’t been renewed since the company is almost out of business.”

I know almost nothing about alien visas. After all, I’m not an alien. But I do know that if someone came to ‘work,’ the company should be doing fine.

In this country, unless you’re a tourist, aliens are often treated as targets of discrimination. Trying to make money in Earth means you must be doing something illegal or that there’s no way for you to get a job in your society.

Even a person who generally doesn’t care about anything outside of Earth knows that much.

In that sense, Pang-pang was also in a somewhat precarious situation, but the government knows very well what would happen if Pang-pang were just sent out of Earth like this. They wouldn’t let her go easily, even if she woke up again.

Anyway, the reporter seemed slightly flustered by my words.

“I’ve dealt with someone like you before. It’s not like you are unique.”

I had been chased by a stalker when I was with Ha-yoon.

“So, let me say it one more time. You’re in a totally disadvantageous position right now. Who cares if your camera is broken? Don’t you think the illegal immigrant taking pictures of minors kissing is in a far worse position?”

“…What do you want?”

“To leave Earth.”

“…What if I don’t want to?”

“Then I’ll take you with me.”

“No matter how illegal you are, torture is illegal in this country.”

“Who said anything about torture? I’ll just hand you over to the proper investigating agency. You’ll probably end up in prison or something.”

Of course, I had no certainty about that.

As much as the current chairman of Noir Corporation doesn’t regard Earthlings as human, there are often Earthlings who also don’t regard aliens as people.

…I hadn’t treated James as a person for quite some time.

Torture? Naturally, that’s illegal. In a standard situation, touching an alien civilian is akin to a modern nation that hasn’t transitioned from imperialism torturing the citizens of an imperial power.

But the Federation isn’t foolish.

Once they find out that an Earthling is of great assistance to their Federation, various discussions will arise within the ‘modern society’ that is this Federation.

It seems the current chairman of Noir Corporation went out to seek partnerships with the places in the Federation that might need help, but the other parts of the Federation wouldn’t necessarily think that way.

“However, I believe that anyone with even a little knowledge of Noir Corporation would think it’s quite interesting within the Federation.”

“……”

Just like how every nation on Earth can turn a blind eye to the death of an ordinary person, the Star Federation that encompasses the whole galaxy wouldn’t hesitate to commit such acts.

“As far as I know, the Federation is hoping that countries hope to join the Federation.”

The apparent silence suggests that. If not, they would have treated the entire country as terrorists long ago.

“I can’t say for sure what the two nations and the Federation would think about encountering someone from Noir Corporation who would dramatically worsen the situation.”

“……”

“So—”

“Are you planning to hand me over to the police?”

Ah, things were going well, but then someone else interrupted.

Turning towards the direction where the voice came from, I saw a large man in a black coat standing there.

From the look of his outfit, he seemed like someone from a noir film set in the late 20th century. A black trench coat, and beneath it, a suit. These days, even salespeople wouldn’t dress that suffocatingly.

However, he didn’t give off a vibe of a genuine salesperson. Instead, he looked more like someone who didn’t know how to dress appropriately for the era.

The reason I thought that was simply that this person was not an Earthling.

But unlike this person, he didn’t wander around wearing artificial skin. The man before me had skin of a dark red color.

How should I put it? He looked like the characters referred to as ‘devils’ in live-action films.

His two antennae on his head were immensely out of place.

“Who are you?”

He was someone I hadn’t seen before, but given the atmosphere and origin, he seemed to be related to Pang-pang.

As I spoke with a hint of caution in my voice, the man smiled slightly at me and then pulled out a piece of paper from his coat to hand to me.

That was… a business card.

“……”

I didn’t want to call this person by any name that would remind me of Pang-pang. It definitely didn’t suit his size and impression.

“I serve the chairman. It seems that a contact is needed, so I was sent here.”

He wasn’t referring to the ‘current chairman’ who was currently in hiding; I quickly realized that.

Well, although ‘former chairman’ isn’t exactly incorrect either.

“……”

I stared silently at the man.

Squinting slightly, the man bowed politely to me.

“I went to your usual place, but since you weren’t there, I searched for you separately.”

I wondered how he found his way here.

But asking that would be irrelevant considering the situation.

“Did you come because of Pang-pang?”

“I could say that.”

“Really, Pang-pang…?”

“She’s the granddaughter of the chairman.”

The man raised his head again and looked at me as he spoke.

“Thanks to Jeong Ji-eun sorting the situation, the chairman can move again. First, he asked me to extend his gratitude. Thank you.”

It seems things are about to get complicated.

I glanced back at Ji-hye.

Ji-hye was just blankly staring at the situation, her eyes glazed over.

…Today’s schedule is completely ruined.

I exhaled a long sigh as I thought about it.

 

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