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But the thing is, I had no idea where to move.

For now, I’m not allowed.

So, right now, it’s not possible. After I part ways with Ha-yoon, I could at least manage to put her to sleep in my room, but in front of Ha-yoon, that would be awkward.

I don’t want to mention living in an orphanage.

Honestly, after becoming a Magical Girl, I felt my inferiority complex starting to ease up a bit.

But now that I feel that way, it seems too late to say anything. It feels like there’s something stuck in my throat when I try to bring it up now.

Fortunately, Ha-yoon hasn’t suggested taking me to her house either.

I guess that’s something she wouldn’t even consider because of her family situation. Just like how she’s never visited where I live, I’ve never been to where she lives either.

She probably doesn’t want to show the gap between her parents and herself. I’ve heard about her parents since childhood.

“…a karaoke room?”

“Do you think that’ll be okay? I have no idea how long it’ll take for her to wake up.”

Ha-yoon said this seriously.

“Besides, being so young and drunk… wouldn’t we have to take her to the police station?”

Maybe she’s either fearless or just that kind of person who enjoys having fun, so she might have ended up drinking something she shouldn’t.

Unless she ages slower than humans, or… someone forced her to drink.

There are no signs of torn clothes. I guess she just rolled around on the floor and got dust and dirt on her.

“Thinking about it again, I feel like wherever we take her, we are gonna get suspicious.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

After a brief silence,

“Should we move her to the park for now?”

I suggested that.

There’s a park that Ha-yoon and I often visit nearby. It’s a bit small to be called a park; it’s just a place with a pavilion.

During summer nights, old folks who don’t want to turn on their air conditioning come out and stay there all night, but it doesn’t get too crowded when it’s a little chilly.

We first brought the blue-skinned Alien to that pavilion and laid her down.

Ha-yoon took a knee blanket out of her bag and covered her with it. It wasn’t very thick, and of course, it was too small to cover her completely.

Well, she at least has the clothes she’s wearing.

Leaving the Alien’s shoes in front of the pavilion, we sat side by side.

“…”

Hmm.

Now that we’re sitting like this, I realize it feels like ages since Ha-yoon and I sat together like this.

It’s nice to finally be sitting alone together again after so long, but we don’t really have many topics to talk about.

We’ve been hanging out quite a bit lately, so it’s not like Ha-yoon has just been attached to me alone.

Still, ever since becoming a Magical Girl, Ha-yoon has shared less and less about her parents. It’s something I’m thankful for. It means she’s at least being treated much better at home.

I don’t particularly want to study, and I’m not sure what I really want to do, but anyway, I’ve managed to acquire the proud title of Magical Girl, so it’s natural that I feel brighter.

However, even without much conversation, it wasn’t too bad.

“Cough, cough.”

Ha-yoon cleared her throat slightly and leaned a bit closer to me.

“Even though it’s spring, it’s a bit chilly.”

Is that because the Earth’s temperature is dropping?

It’s not due to abnormal temperatures; it’s because they are working hard to restore the deteriorating ecosystem. You see, the fact that just a few months without human activity can clear up the beach ecosystem to some extent, and the air becomes much cleaner just by not running factories for a few months, is remarkable.

Magic is that convenient. It can’t completely erase human footprints everywhere, but at least it has eliminated the smoke from burning fossil fuels.

Though it’s said it’s still far from normal temperatures, there are already signs of recovery.

“Um, wait a second.”

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a blanket.

In fact, I don’t often use a blanket. Even if it’s a bit chilly under my skirt, I thought it wasn’t enough to be unbearable.

However, the blanket itself was the same color as the one Ha-yoon got me, so I always carried it around in my bag.

I unfolded the blanket and draped it over both Ha-yoon and my lap. Indeed, having a blanket on my lap made it feel much warmer.

We just sat there waiting for a while again.

Waiting aimlessly without knowing what to do wasn’t particularly boring. In fact, maybe this is the kind of relaxation I’ve been wanting.

Maybe about an hour passed.

“Cough!?”

The blue-skinned Alien, who had been snoring, suddenly made a strange noise as if she was choking and sat up straight.

After a few more coughs, she finally seemed to regain her composure.

“Haah… huh?”

She looked bewildered, as if she had no memory before getting drunk, wondering why she was lying there and where the blanket over her body had come from. Her gaze finally met ours, sitting at the entrance of the pavilion.

“…”

For a moment, she stared at us with a blank expression.

“Eek!?”

Then she jumped back in a somewhat exaggerated surprise.

Hmm.

I’ve heard that many Aliens find Earth’s culture quite fascinating. There are actually quite a few tourists wandering the streets.

If that’s the case, it makes sense that an Alien could end up drunk and pass out.

Now that she woke up and saw two people who helped her, of course, she’d be a bit more surprised.

“Are you okay?”

Ha-yoon stood up and asked, and I got up too.

“Uh, um?”

The Alien seemed to struggle to get her words together.

Ha-yoon and I looked at each other, tilted our heads, and approached the Alien again.

“Do you want to go to the hospital? I thought it would be a little ambiguous to just take you to the police since we have no idea where you live.”

“Uh, no, um, I’m fine!”

The Alien abruptly sprang up from her spot and stumbled around.

We quickly went over and supported her on both sides.

“…”

Her body went rigid again. She was even sweating cold.

I hope she’s not hurt? Then it’d be right to take her to the hospital.

I thought she was just drunk, but now that I think of it, I don’t smell alcohol from her.

“Then, maybe to the hospital—”

“No, no! I think I’ll be fine at home! I’m just a bit tipsy!”

The Alien exclaimed while shaking.

Well, she really was drunk, then.

“Well then, we’ll take you home. Just tell us where it is.”

Is it really that serious for a minor to be drunk?

But aren’t we also minors?

Unless we committed some huge crime, we could probably just brush it off. To be honest, I had a couple of classmates back from high school who smoked since they were in high school.

“I-I didn’t drink alcohol…”

So she’s tipsy but didn’t actually drink alcohol?

Then what the heck? Did she eat chocolate with alcohol in it? It doesn’t seem too different, though.

As Ha-yoon and I stared at her, the Alien shut her mouth. It seemed she realized she was talking nonsense.

No, more than that.

Even knowing it’s not acceptable, I wonder what could drive someone to drink so much and get wasted.

*

“…Coffee?”

We took her home for now.

Seeing that she lives in a semi-basement, I figured she might actually not be a student, but nope, she really was one.

However, that doesn’t mean she’s an adult, either.

“Yes, in our hometown, caffeine’s like alcohol on this planet.”

I tried to just leave her there, but seeing her insist that she hadn’t really done anything wrong, Ha-yoon and I ended up being caught in the entrance, listening to her story.

There were various posters related to Earth in the room. There were celebrity posters, but oddly enough, there were also posters of Earth’s spaceships and rockets that seemed quite behind the tech of the Federation.

“So, you drank coffee, right? Not alcohol. You’re not even of legal age to buy it in the first place.”

“…”

I rubbed my temples.

“So in your country, you just sell things that minors can’t drink from your planet, and out of curiosity, you drank it and found it enjoyable?”

The Alien nodded vigorously.

“Ah, yes, also, my name is Pang-pang.”

Pang-pang.

Hmm, how should I put it?

It’s a name that feels a bit awkward to say out loud. It sounds like the name of a character friend from a children’s cartoon show. Of course, it’s probably not a person’s name.

“Well, fine. I can’t really complain since it’s not illegal, but be more careful next time. Don’t sleep on the streets or anything.”

“Ah, yes, thank you! …Ah, wait a moment!”

Just as Ha-yoon and I were about to turn to leave, she grabbed us.

“C-Could you please give me an autograph!?”

“…”

Ha-yoon and I exchanged glances and turned back.

“Ah, well, I guess we have no choice.”

I scratched my head and replied.

If a fan wants an autograph, then I guess we have to oblige, huh?

 

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