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Slowly, like seeping in.

Delphinium—No, Chae-yeon also started to occasionally join and play with us.

Hmm, should I say we played? That was a bit ambiguous. Even though she was among us, rather than joining in the ruckus, she just took up a spot and sat there reading a separate book.

Sometimes, I would drag her into our antics, and each time, Chae-yeon would respond as if it was a bother, but in the end, she would awkwardly join in with us, doing this and that.

The lounge that initially held a few books was gradually being filled with our colors.

Just like how each magical girl has her own distinct color, the variety of items we brought into the lounge was diverse.

I brought my collection of music CDs. Most of them were bought thoughtlessly, just grabbing albums from the bookstore, or I picked them up randomly from a second-hand record shop because they were cheap.

At first, we didn’t have a CD player, but I brought back one I found discarded on the street and set it up carelessly. Since it seemed to be working fine, I figured it would be alright to keep using it.

Yeon-woo brought a few small flower pots. With a pretty little flowering pot placed near the lounge window, the overall atmosphere became a bit livelier.

Seo-hee had various magazines. Mostly related to combat sports, but honestly, I didn’t find the content particularly interesting. To be frank, Seo-hee would just glance at those magazines once and then leave them sitting around, usually opting to watch matches on TV instead. That part did manage to pique my interest a bit, and sometimes I would join her in watching.

In one corner of the lounge became Jua’s workspace. Even when Jua made clanking sounds while tinkering with her equipment, we didn’t say anything. We thought it was more enjoyable to come together like this than to have her locked away in her room fixing stuff all by herself.

Ha-yoon… didn’t bring anything particularly of her own. If I had to nitpick, there was a board game, but that game was something we all contributed to if we found it fun, so it wasn’t really just Ha-yoon’s thing.

However,

“…There’s no CD that I gave you.”

For some reason, Ha-yoon looked at the list of second-hand CDs I had brought and muttered in a somewhat gloomy tone.

“Those are treasures, so they’re at home.”

But upon my response, Ha-yoon quickly sank, her face turning red.

That was genuinely the case.

The gift Ha-yoon gave me, I didn’t want to share with anyone else. If I wanted to listen to the same CD here, I’d rather find another second-hand one or just buy a new one.

Of course, I could listen to it together with Ji-hye, but that’s fine since Ji-hye is like a sister to me. After all, we’re in the same room, and it would be troublesome to kick her out just because I wanted to listen to music.

“Ugh, yeah, it’s a gift, so…”

Ha-yoon muttered something strange, but I thought I’d just brush it off, thinking good things are good.

Well, anyway, that’s how we managed to get along quite well.

To be honest, I still hadn’t been out in the field, so I wondered whether we could really protect each other’s lives, but I guess I’d find out someday.

At least for now, I wasn’t too worried. The combatants we would face were not fundamentally the strongest type.

Originally, it was a work that started as a comedy with weak social satire, and although the atmosphere changed somewhat in the official serialization, it was clearly depicted that magical girls were stronger than combatants.

I wouldn’t pick an alien as my first opponent.

…

But since we’re hitting people, I really don’t know how things will turn out in reality.

“Junior.”

While I was lost in thought, Seo-hee spoke up, pressing down on the back of my chair.

Thanks to her, the comfy chair I was sitting in flipped backward.

I knew in my head it wouldn’t fully tip over, but I couldn’t help but scream.

“Pfft.”

Since I was usually the one bringing the intense atmosphere, it looked like my reaction was quite funny to Seo-hee.

But getting mad about it was a little too much. After all, she just called me, and she probably didn’t think I’d react like this.

“Why?”

As I shrugged my shoulders, full of annoyance, Seo-hee looked down at me with a smirk.

“Are you worried about the real deal or something?”

“……”

That was a pretty penetrating question that cut to the core of my worries, so I fell silent for a moment.

“Not that I have no worries.”

Since I thought Seo-hee wouldn’t let go of the back of my chair if I didn’t answer, I sighed as I spoke.

“Because it’s fighting with people.”

“Why? I was planning on giving them a good beating no matter what.”

“Are you even the same?”

“Wow, are you saying that magical girls aren’t human? You do know that you’re included in that magical girl, right?”

“…You know what I mean.”

Fighting with Seo-hee was a sparring session.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it was a staged fight. It’s just that we were in a situation where we agreed it was okay to hit each other.

It was the same when facing Yeon-woo and Ha-yoon. We knew we wouldn’t cross the line with each other, and I understood well that no matter how hard I charged in, it would be tough to achieve a total victory that would severely injure the other person.

But if the opponent is a combatant, wouldn’t the story change?

“Well, what can you do?”

Seo-hee said that matter-of-factly.

Her eyes briefly glanced up at the ceiling.

She looked thoughtful, but her words were simple.

“They’re also doing a job for pay, and we’re doing a job for pay, right? Ultimately, it means we’re both pros. If it comes to fighting, then fight.”

“Is that how it is?”

“If it’s not, then there’s no reason for us to have become magical girls.”

Seo-hee looked down at me again as she continued.

“Since meeting the Galactic Federation, this world hasn’t just become better. The countries opposing the Galactic Federation have involved the businesses from the galaxy.”

“And some of those galactic corporations are openly riding on the government and causing havoc.”

Seo-hee’s words were echoed by Ha-yoon, who had been watching our conversation from a distance.

The corporations Seo-hee was speaking of were probably referring to Noir Corporation. Among the companies engaging in such activities, they were the biggest fish.

“We’re somewhat the brakes on that. We touch on areas that are tricky to handle by law. It’s more delicate work than you’d think, right?”

Upon Yeon-woo’s words, I shrugged my shoulders.

Until we arrived here, weren’t the magical girls the ones who were reluctantly doing jobs they didn’t want to do? While they talk about having some sense of duty, it’s really just an excuse they attach.

Right now, it seems we happily gather and chat together—but really, at this moment, do Seo-hee and Yeon-woo genuinely want to be magical girls?

Delphinium?

“Well, anyway, we still have a long way to go until it becomes reality. We need to get safety training and learn something like combat regulations. But you guys will probably learn fast, so soon you’ll be fighting alongside us.”

Seo-hee suddenly pulled back on my chair’s backrest and then let go.

My chair swayed back and forth, and I couldn’t help but make a complaint. Seo-hee laughed and quickly distanced herself from me.

Having no desire to chase her down, I just turned my head and looked at Ha-yoon sitting nearby.

“……”

Ha-yoon seemed lost in thought while listening to our conversation.

“Ha-yoon, what about you?”

As I asked quietly, Ha-yoon blinked, seemingly surprised, and looked toward me.

“Yeah?”

“What do you think about being a magical girl? About going out to fight.”

“Ah….”

Ha-yoon fell back into thought for a moment before opening her mouth cautiously.

“I… want to help those in need. So, if a corporation is bullying someone, I’d think about going to help.”

In other words, it’s not just something she’s doing ‘reluctantly.’

At least in terms of this matter, there was a degree of overlap between Ha-yoon and her parents’ goals.

“Is that so?”

I nodded my head.

“Then, I’ll do my best to help as well.”

Upon hearing what I said, Ha-yoon’s face brightened.

Well, honestly, I know some of the facts.

They call it a corporation, but the ones actually fighting aren’t the executives or that kind of people. The truly bad guys are gathered at the top of the company, and in reality, they just pass the buck down, or simply throw money to hire the weak.

People who can operate the despair circuits.

…

Since that had been described in the work, I couldn’t help but feel troubled.

Of course, I hadn’t come to a conclusion.

 

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