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“Ah, so Ji-eun is really a Magical Girl now…”

Ji-hye said, as if moved by the thought.

Not long ago, she had shown some complicated feelings regarding that fact, but it seemed her mind had eased a bit after meeting the Magical Girls in person.

At first, Ji-hye was quite worried about me.

After all, being a Magical Girl wasn’t exactly an ordinary job. It involved fighting, and it was clear I’d get hit too. Growing up together, there was no way Ji-hye wouldn’t worry about me.

Just a little while ago, she had been concerned about why I hadn’t transformed yet and why I didn’t have a Wand.

“Are you my mom?”

“Maybe I could be. I’ve taken care of you so much.”

What a coincidence. I was thinking the same thing.

Ignoring my snicker, Ji-hye lay there staring at the ceiling.

“If you become a Magical Girl, won’t that make us distant?”

“Huh?”

Ji-hye suddenly brought that up, making me sit up to look at her closely.

“Why? A Magical Girl is… well, like an idol. They have a lot of commitments and are busy.”

“It’s not as busy as you think.”

I replied while recalling Seo-hee, Yeon-woo, and Chae-yeon. Even when we weren’t in the facility, they often had missions. And those missions usually didn’t happen regularly.

But that didn’t mean it was as hectic as being a firefighter. It wasn’t that common for aliens to suddenly pop out or for Noir Corporation to cause trouble compared to regular fires or crimes.

Since we are Magical Girls, it seems like a bunch of laws apply to us to handle serious crimes. After all, we are still minors, and that’s the job for law enforcement agencies.

What we managed was merely a gray area.

It was only possible because we were at the same level as the crimes committed by Noir Corporation.

“Still, even so…”

Despite my answer, Ji-hye fidgeted a bit with her toes and murmured, looking slightly worried.

“Why? You think I won’t contact you if I get busy?”

When I said that, Ji-hye surprisingly fell silent.

Noticing something odd, I raised my body to see her, and Ji-hye kept her lips tightly shut.

“Did you really think that?”

“Yeah, well… someday, we will leave here together. Besides, you’ve been coming home late lately. You’re almost always out on weekends. It’s only natural that I thought we’d end up seeing each other less.”

That struck me, a bit of a shock.

I had no plans to ditch Ji-hye or cut off contact.

Our relationship hadn’t been perfectly smooth all this time. Sometimes it creaked, and especially when we were younger, we fought like crazy.

But now, things were fine. It was thanks to the times we fought as kids that we could consider each other true sisters now.

There was no way I’d sever that relationship now.

“No matter how much time passes, you and I will always be this way. Maybe once we graduate, we can live together.”

I said in disbelief, and Ji-hye’s eyes widened as she jumped up from her seat.

“Really?”

“Well, what do you expect to do otherwise? Rent prices are high. It’s better to share a place to lower the living costs, whether it’s a studio or a two-bedroom.”

Her face lit up at my words.

“Yup, that’s right! Rent can be quite the burden!”

“Right.”

Well, Ji-hye might eventually get a boyfriend and move out, but the opposite was not likely for me. My identity remained firmly planted in that direction even after becoming like this.

…

I still couldn’t figure out why the outfit of a Magical Girl was so revealing, though.

Whether it was due to the image I held or if my mind was just fundamentally messed up in one of the most crucial parts. That was something I didn’t quite know.

“Or, would you like to visit our facility sometime? I can’t guarantee it will be super interesting, though.”

“Huh? Really? Can I go too?”

“Probably.”

Truthfully, I wasn’t sure. I had never seen anyone else come in besides us.

I thought there were some government folks and federal types, but that didn’t mean those people weren’t part of the organization either.

“I’ll ask around.”

But I felt like it wouldn’t be a big deal.

After all, there was almost nothing classified that could be seen inside anyway. Plus, Ji-hye was just an ordinary middle school student.

Would anything big really happen just because she was visiting?

*

And just as I thought, Ji-hye’s visit got immediately approved.

She wouldn’t be able to wander around freely, but she received permission to see the training area and the break room, and use it for a day.

Well, even if we could freely roam around inside, we mainly only used the training area, the break room, and the personal rooms allotted to each of us. The rest was either filled with documents I didn’t need to know or just equipment rooms.

And following Ji-hye around as her guide was Cherry, who was there for that purpose.

“Wow, so cute!”

“Ji-hye, saying someone is cute to a Squeaky Adult is kind of rude—”

“Hehe.”

“…….”

The first time I said Cherry looked cute, I was told it could be seen as rude. Yet Cherry, hearing such praise from Ji-hye, scratched her head and laughed.

“We’re Magical Girls, after all.”

Ha-yoon whispered from the side.

I mean, I get that we’re Magical Girls.

The organization of Magical Girls was politically motivated, but at least they set the public front as something like ‘for world peace.’

So that means we were in a position where we had to care about that aspect to some extent.

“Here, over this way!”

It seemed Cherry really enjoyed making that introduction for some reason.

I supposed she had been feeling quite good lately. The Magical Girl project she was in charge of was going smoothly. The two newly recruited members, Ha-yoon and I, successfully transformed, and we each got our powerful Wands.

Although Jua hadn’t transformed yet, I knew it was just a matter of time. In the original, Jua managed to transform and actively worked as the Magical Girl Happy Iris.

With the surge of good feelings, it felt even more uplifting with a guest like Ji-hye around.

“Actually, you’re the first person to tour our facility like this.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t just Ji-hye who looked surprised. Ha-yoon and I, who were following behind, were equally taken aback.

“Yeah… for some reason, the parents of the kids here don’t come often. While the existence of Magical Girls gets noticed, not many know about this facility.”

If revealed in the media, it might get troublesome in various ways. It was a military facility of sorts. While small, it could produce weapons or armor, or equipment for special purposes. And there were always Magical Girls ready to defend.

…

Thinking about it, it’s a genuinely dangerous place. I can understand why entry required clearance.

The visible entities were the Magical Girls themselves, but behind it, many people were putting in effort. Cherry was one of them.

There’s nothing more delightful than having your efforts recognized by others.

“Alright, this is where the Magical Girls rest. We have pretty much everything we need.”

Listening to Cherry’s introduction, I nodded.

“Except for food, it’s mostly stocked up by us.”

“Wow.”

Though she added that, it was true that they had everything we needed there. There were tons of snacks and ramen for when we got hungry, and even a decent-sized TV. There were computers for each of us to use.

Yet still, it felt a bit bleak. Until we had filled it with things we regularly used.

Now, the break room had become colorful in various ways. If a stranger saw it, they’d immediately guess we designed it.

“Oh, Ji-hye!”

Seo-hee, sprawled on a chair, waved over.

“I heard you were coming.”

And Yeon-woo too.

Delphinium stayed a bit apart, watching us silently, while Jua smiled awkwardly.

Yet considering the overall atmosphere, Ji-hye was definitely welcomed here. She had already become acquainted with the Magical Girls.

I lightly placed my arm on Ji-hye’s shoulder and smiled.

“You’re pretty well placed, aren’t you? Sister to a Magical Girl and friend to others.”

“Is, is that so…?”

Looking at Ji-hye, who seemed stiff as if feeling some sort of dissonance, I couldn’t help but laugh.

 

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