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The training continued for a while after that.

Actually, there wasn’t much we could call training. Weren’t we just the best opponents for each other?

No matter how wild the combatants got, they weren’t stronger than us.

The real problem was the monsters, but there was no way they could suppress us with this number.

“Yeah, sounds good.”

And it seemed Cherry thought the same way.

Before Jua and I made our wands, all the wands the other kids used were made through magic. Cherry nodded after inspecting our wands closely one more time.

“Awesome. I saw it right after it was completed, but now it’s even sturdier. Looks like Jua had a few more touches.”

“Jua really is skilled.”

“Hehe…”

In the original story, she wasn’t someone so unfriendly, but seeing her scratching her head and wriggling her body like this felt odd.

Not in a bad way. If Jua had a personality like Happy Iris from the original, I probably wouldn’t have been able to bear her.

“It seems you three can start participating in real fights soon.”

Cherry looked at the three of us in turn.

“However, it will be quite different from training. You won’t get seriously hurt like that, but the combatants are different. Though they have circuits protecting their bodies, their abilities aren’t on the same level as yours.”

Only Earthlings can handle the circuits. They can’t directly manipulate magic but generate it using the circuits.

Circuits that operate on human emotions.

By the way, the magical girls still don’t know what emotions are driving the circuits of the opposing combatants.

Reading the original, I obviously know. The circuits used by the combatants, that is, the people led by Noir Corporation, operate on the emotion of “despair.”

Naturally, I haven’t mentioned that fact yet.

If I said I’ve picked up on combatants I haven’t even met yet—well, for now, I’m classified as a martial artist alongside Seo-hee here.

Yeon-woo had once given me a run for my money when we sparred, so it’s a bit odd to make excuses for thinking too hard about this.

…

But hey, that’s just unfair. I really do study hard. I put in enough effort that if my grades drop a little, I feel down all day.

Aren’t magical girls judging just by appearances too?

“What do you think?”

“I guess I won’t know until I go out there.”

I opened the door to my room.

That’s right. Exactly as it sounds.

Just thinking alone here won’t get me anywhere. Sometimes, what I think I can do easily turns out to be hard when I actually try it, and conversely, things I think I’ll mess up can go surprisingly well.

Just like I am now.

“Okay. So, we’re all in agreement to go out?”

Seeing the three of us nod, Cherry looked a bit relieved.

“Then next time we deploy, you three will join too.”

We nodded once more.

*

Opportunities come fast.

Noir Corporation is a company that has only been established in this world for a short time.

The Earth coming into contact with alien civilizations has only happened recently too. Before that, I didn’t even know Ha-yoon’s real role. I just thought it was a parallel universe with diverse hair colors.

So initially, Noir Corporation was somewhat clumsy in establishing internal bonds and adapting to national laws, but lately, it has been speeding up its activities.

The scale is still a bit sketchy, though. There are situations where citizens in redevelopment zones are being displaced or something like that.

Or things that may not be an issue now but could harm the country at some point.

It can’t be solved through law, so it gets left alone. Instead, groups opposing it are restrained. Also, it maintains a somewhat stable relationship with the Galactic Federation.

…That’s the country’s stance right now.

Well, “facilities” haven’t even appeared yet. They say there’s an industrial complex under construction somewhere in Gyeonggi-do, but it’s still too early for issues to arise there.

So the opponents we meet are—

BANG!

“What the—what is happening!?”

“Why is the magical girl using that kind of weapon!?”

Well, they’re just minions.

Are six magical girls really necessary to handle such weak subordinate combatants?

Thinking back, it was like that in the original story too, and in this world, not every senior would rush out together either. They sometimes held back one person.

There were issues with relations not being that good in the early days, but hey, it’s still combat. If we keep going out, there’ll come a time when we’ll hit a snag.

Since there are six of them, we could even send a separate team to another place now.

However, today was the first deployment for the three juniors.

Someone needed to supervise, right? Naturally, all three seniors and Cherry came along.

I thought there might be a bit of danger, but…

“You’re dressed absurdly!”

“And what about that gun over there!? We can’t even get close to them now!”

Even those that were already powerful had doubled their power.

Yeah, I think I might be in a pretty ridiculous situation.

I mean, it is kind of absurd, but—

“What!? Lily!? Where in the world is there such a yuri character!?”

“……”

“Are they just lazily naming things based on colors!?”

“……”

“How can someone wielding a hammer be called Lily!? It should be White Hammer!”

“……”

“What’s with that outfit!”

“……”

“What’s with that outfit!”

Okay.

The last one to say that.

I’ll make sure to take him out.

As I charged forward with my hammer raised, everyone scattered in fear.

I think this is a bit excessive, but then again, it might be pretty scary to see someone charging at you with a hammer clutched tightly in both hands.

“Well, it is my first time facing an opponent. Plus, the numbers have increased suddenly.”

Seo-hee said, as if to comfort me.

Still, I feel like those who joke about my outfit will keep existing around me.

I’m still growing. I grew taller this year. My figure should be improving smoothly too.

What kind of comments will I hear next year or the year after?

…

Well, still, winning the first fight without much fighting can be considered a success, right?

If making the opponent scared and fleeing is the best outcome, then—

“……Huh.”

As I thought the fight was over, Seo-hee let out such a sound.

At the end of her gaze, there was one combatant.

A combatant who was blankly staring at me. I couldn’t see their face due to the helmet, so I couldn’t tell what expression they had, but.

Were they trembling out of fear? Or was it pride?

“Hey.”

I spoke up a bit loudly to the combatant.

“The fight’s over. You should be heading back now, right? You can’t take us on alone, can you?”

“……”

But for some reason, after hearing my words, that combatant continued to stare at me. It felt like they were looking me up and down.

“Oh, right. You’re back again.”

But before I could figure out what that look meant, Seo-hee spoke.

“Back again?”

Ha-yoon asked.

“There’s always one who likes to stick around until the end. Their clothes are all the same, but you can tell roughly. Among combatants, women tend to stand out quite a bit.”

Ah, I see. Their body lines definitely look feminine.

It could just be Earthling prejudice. For aliens, such an appearance might be common among males.

I don’t see a circuit on their wrist. So, that one is definitely an alien.

The combatant continued to stare at my face intently.

“……”

In silence, they balled their fist and raised it.

I stared at that combatant for a while.

Seo-hee and Ha-yoon looked back and forth between me and the combatant, and the sporadic gunfire from behind came to a stop.

“What are you going to do?”

Ha-yoon asked.

“I guess I should accept the challenge.”

I said, gripping my hammer and stepping forward.

Because I did the same.

Charging at Seo-hee like that, and charging at Yeon-woo like that once too.

I have no idea how far an alien combatant, who can’t even use a circuit, can go, but still.

I took a step closer, gripping my hammer.

The combatant seemed to be trembling a little.

It’s just a hunch, but I don’t think it was fear.

You know, there are those romantic types, right? Like a one-on-one duel.

If our seniors hadn’t accepted such duels before, well, I guess.

Moreover, they say magical girls are kind of in the position similar to idols. If a fan were here… oh, that might feel a bit unpleasant.

“Then, let’s do this.”

I smiled and got my hammer ready.

The first one to charge was the combatant.

The fight ended in a flash. It was so quick there really wasn’t anything to explain.

But if the combatant, who had fallen to the ground, quickly got up and looked somewhat relieved—was that just my imagination?

 

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