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But hey, isn’t this an opportunity?

Honestly, I was kind of at a loss about how to charm Jua once she came in.

Seo-hee and Yeon-woo weren’t completely on my side from the start either. Both of them got closer to me while I was suffering in various ways.

Thinking back, I didn’t really approach them with the intention of becoming close, but hey, good things are good, right?

In the manga, Jua had quite a prickly personality. I suspect she came in really serious about being a Magical Girl and was shocked by the worn-out state of the seniors she found.

Jua, who was very earnest about justice, probably clashed frequently with other Magical Girls who treated missions like just a job.

…And in the end, Jua herself became a worn-out Magical Girl.

So, I think this could actually be seen as an opportunity. Jua is still filled with passion to become a Magical Girl and her personality is much brighter than in the manga.

Though, I’m a little concerned about her flowing purple hair. When will she start wearing a ponytail? After Ha-yoon becomes a Magical Girl?

Well, anyway. To explain why I consider it an opportunity a bit more…

For some reason, Jua kept following me around like a little duckling. Even though there are three real Magical Girls roaming around and not just a trainee like me.

“I want to give it a try too!”

And after Seo-hee and I had a little spat, she shot her hand up and shouted that.

Unfortunately, there was quite a gap in skill between Jua and Seo-hee. Even I was a step up from Jua when I first fought Seo-hee.

After knocking Jua down a few times, Seo-hee, for some reason, looked at me with a really pitying expression.

What the heck?

Didn’t she feel that guilty when she was hitting me?

…

Thinking back, I guess I did provoke her a lot. Jua kept getting up with a smile every time she was knocked down.

Even if I only hit her enough not to actually hurt her, it still must have hurt. Obviously, it did for Jua too. Seeing her struggle to get up… well, let’s just say I could feel sorry for her since she didn’t carry much muscle.

“…Hey, Jua.”

After about four days of training like this, seeing Jua with a face that looked happy to learn something, I made a suggestion.

“Why don’t we train together from now on? I think starting with the basics would be good, like how to use the Circuit.”

“Really?”

Iris, filled with dreams and hope, was way more burdening than I imagined. Not in a bad way, though. You know that feeling when a kindergarten kid looks at you with awe? Like you have to do everything perfectly in front of them and succeed at everything right away? That kind of pressure.

But strangely, it wasn’t entirely unpleasant, which showed I was hopeless in various ways.

Looking over at Seo-hee, she was almost prayer-like thanking me with her hands together. Anyway.

So, from then on, I practiced teaching Jua for several days.

Unfortunately, Jua’s fighting ability wasn’t just a matter of lacking skills. Her body wasn’t awkward or anything, but her punch power just wasn’t that great. It would be good if she trained hard for a long time, but I didn’t want to see her wasting time when there was a more efficient method available.

Above all, I had something in mind.

“Jua.”

After beating Jua for about four days like I did with Seo-hee, I spoke to her with a serious expression.

“Is there a specific position you want to have as a Magical Girl?”

“Huh? No, not really… Do I have to decide one?”

“Great to hear that.”

I said this a bit exaggeratedly and wiped my chest in relief.

“Jua, you have way more magical power than I do, so I think training to utilize that pure magic would help you a lot.”

Honestly, I wasn’t really good at judging such things. Anything like that aura looked hazy to me, and I wasn’t sure if it was particularly impressive. It wasn’t really something that could be categorized that way anyway.

But I already knew about Jua’s specialty.

She could concentrate her massive magical power all in one place. The Wand she carried was a weapon she made herself while studying magic. It was designed to fire a suitable amount of magic at a distance by loading a fuse that delicately sliced the magic like a bullet.

It shortened the time needed to chant spells, which was Jua’s specialty.

“…!”

For some reason, Jua straightened her back upon hearing my praise. Sitting on her knees, she looked just like a student receiving lessons from a master.

Why so much?

I felt a bit awkward since I had a rough idea of the future, so I briefly considered canceling what I just said and just let her learn naturally.

However, the excitement in her expression made it impossible for me to take back my words.

I hesitated a moment before speaking to Jua who was waiting for my next words.

“Jua, why do you want to be a Magical Girl?”

“Oh, that’s…”

Jua blinked and, seemingly embarrassed, looked around as she spoke.

“Because there are too many bad people in the world.”

It was a very simple answer.

But at the same time, I felt like I understood why she said that. It matched up very well with her character in the original plot.

“I see.”

I nodded and stood up.

“Well then, for now, come follow me. There’s someone who can teach you to handle magic even better.”

“Okay!”

Wait, she’s not seriously treating me like a senior, is she?

Seeing Jua being oddly formal, I started to genuinely consider whether I should take it seriously.

*

“So, you wanted me to teach you how to handle magic?”

Yeon-woo, who had been giving nutrients to a flower pot, looked at us and said.

“Hmm, how should we go about it?”

“Please.”

Even though I had initiated the conversation with a slightly playful tone, Yeon-woo chuckled when I spoke quite seriously.

“Well, I thought you’d fit better in this area than in martial arts. Sounds good.”

Yeon-woo looked at Jua and asked.

“Do you have a Wand?”

“Huh? Ah, I haven’t… is a Wand not something provided to us?”

The topic of Wands wasn’t common knowledge yet, even among ordinary people. It was actually a little weird that I knew about it so well even before joining the Magical Girl group. I had the knowledge thanks to the manga.

“Nope. It’s not just anything. It’s something made purely through magic. It’s an object that embodies something cherished from one’s childhood or a memory. It’s created by running a Circuit through Hope.”

Saying this, Yeon-woo created a Wand to show us. A solid-looking wooden Wand.

I still hadn’t heard how that Wand had become a thing from a memory yet.

“Something like that, huh…”

“Seems like the image doesn’t just pop into your head right away?”

“Uh-huh…”

Seeing Jua look a bit deflated, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Don’t worry too much. We weren’t able to create these right from the start either. You haven’t been here long, so take your time and make it.”

Seeing Dalia, who was so prickly in the original work, teach her junior so gently shocked me, but then Yeon-woo kicked my leg from under the table. I quickly fixed my expression.

“Well then, should we practice moving through the Circuit first?”

Yeon-woo suggested as she stood up.

“Ha-yoon should be around there too, and Ji-eun, do you want to come?”

“Sure.”

Anyway, I didn’t have anything else to do today.

I got up and followed Yeon-woo, walking with Jua.

*

Beyond the usual training room Seo-hee and I used frequently, this place was filled with tons of facilities. There was even a shooting range and a place perfectly set up for practicing magic.

We headed to one of those places.

Ha-yoon primarily fought using a knife, but she was also skilled in magic. The Wand itself wouldn’t mean anything unless the “magic” was manifested.

“Wow…”

Jua gasped in admiration as she looked at Ha-yoon’s Wand. Ha-yoon, who’d been practicing with her sword, seemed a bit embarrassed by Jua’s expression and paused her training.

“Told you she’s the ace.”

At Yeon-woo’s comment, Ha-yoon’s face turned even redder, and I playfully slapped Yeon-woo’s arm. Yeon-woo chuckled and turned back to Jua.

“Alright. Let’s practice a bit. I’ll start from the very basics.”

I stepped back a little. Ha-yoon slyly slid over and sat next to me.

Jua, with her outstanding magical power, followed Yeon-woo’s guidance pretty well.

I silently cheered her on in my heart.

That’s right. Once Jua gets to the point where she can study magic and create her Wand, then I’ll be able to ask her to make one for me too.

Well, I don’t plan to just ask for it for free, but… you get the idea.

So, Jua’s following me closely meant that in a way, it was an opportunity for me.

…Is that thinking too small?

 

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