If I had more to lose, the plan James and I were crafting would have been more meticulous.
We would have distinguished between what could be lost and what couldn’t, deciding what to sacrifice and what not to.
But in reality, I’ve already lost nearly everything I had.
“You haven’t lost everything yet,” James said.
Ah, yes.
From someone else’s perspective, maybe I haven’t.
I still have Ji-hye, and Hayoon is still around.
“At least they’re both alive for now, aren’t they?”
The fact that someone sitting next to me, saying such words, is someone I shouldn’t give up on for now is a relief.
Otherwise, I might have smashed his skull with a hammer.
“Ji-hye isn’t someone I can meet right now. That’s as good as not having her.”
Right.
I can’t meet her.
If I were to go see Ji-hye for any reason, a host of problems would arise.
My location would be exposed, and people would assume that a criminal like me gave up everything just to see Ji-hye, proving how close we are.
In truth, the relationship is more important than that, significant enough that I wouldn’t meet her if it risked her safety.
“…And Hayoon is a magical girl.”
To put it bluntly, Hayoon is effectively my enemy.
Magical girls always act as if they want to subdue me whenever we cross paths.
When I first infiltrated the company, it was somewhat understandable.
There was an important artifact involved, and competing over it made sense.
But later, even when I subdued a monster, they attacked me.
I saw the magical girls rushing at me, even though I had helped them and gotten shot in the process.
Hayoon, at least, stood still with a blank expression.
Isn’t it strange?
Magical girls should be able to tell I’m not the culprit.
I don’t know how deep into the Federation’s records they can delve, but considering the situation we fought in, they should know.
I’m not a criminal.
“So, are you planning to destroy everything?”
James asked, smirking with his signature “rat-like” expression.
Despite proposing this plan himself, he made it sound like it was my decision.
Well, it is my choice, though there weren’t many options to begin with.
“I’m sick of it.”
I broke out because I didn’t want to be punished for a crime I didn’t commit, and I’ve been on the run ever since.
Yet the magical girls haven’t once spoken a word in my defense.
They tried, or so I told myself.
They’re still kids, after all.
Even Hayoon, and most of them are heavily influenced by their parents’ wishes to play magical girls.
But even so…
Aren’t they supposed to fight for justice?
Do they know how many of my bones have been broken and crushed for their justice?
Do they realize that the people collapsing under their hands were people who came here from distant planets to protect their families?
Probably not.
They wouldn’t care.
I wouldn’t have, either, if I were a magical girl.
If someone became a thief or a thug out of poverty, would they be defended? Likely not.
Even if poverty partly explains a crime, it doesn’t erase the guilt.
But because of that,
A crime I didn’t commit cannot be a crime.
I decided to focus on one thing.
If everything I break in this rampage eventually counts as a crime, then so be it.
But for now, I can’t stop.
At the very least, I need to clear my name.
Even if it ends in despair, it doesn’t matter.
I’ve already lost everything.
“Let’s clarify one thing,” I said.
James, still not entirely trusting me, asked seriously,
“If we go through with this plan, we’ll inevitably face magical girls, including your friend Blossom. If you meet her and have to fight, can you truly fight her? Can you subdue her properly? This isn’t just an emotional question. It’s also a matter of skill—you failing would be disastrous in many ways.”
I thought for a moment.
Could I attack Hayoon?
The answer didn’t take long.
I’ve already crossed paths with Hayoon several times.
Of course, I’ve attacked her before.
Knowing those attacks wouldn’t work, I attacked anyway.
This time wouldn’t be any different.
Hayoon is a magical girl, after all, and in this world, broken limbs can be healed in hours.
Then, can I win?
That conclusion took a bit longer.
“You’re saying this plan might fail, aren’t you?” James said.
I thought the same.
I keep calling James a rat, but in truth, I’m no different—a rat cornered in a trap.
So I’ll bite the cat one last time.
“Didn’t you factor in whether I can win or not?”
I can attack Hayoon.
Could I truly break Hayoon’s arm while looking her in the eye, with my face fully revealed?
That’s a completely different story.
It’s similar to how Hayoon hesitates to attack me after seeing my face.
More than anything, I’m capable of really hurting Hayoon now—this isn’t like when I was a combatant.
I can attack her; I might even manage to break something.
But could I carry it through to the end?
That’s an entirely different matter.
Even though I muddled my response, James, as if expecting it, nodded.
“Well, that’s fine. Magical girls aren’t our target anyway.”
“And you? Are you okay with this?” I asked.
James looked up at me, as if my question were absurd.
“Why?”
“No, it’s just strange that you’re even asking me that.”
“You think it’s strange that I’m concerned about you?”
“That too, but…”
James tilted his head slightly before speaking.
“Let me put it this way—have you ever felt loyalty toward the company you work for?”
“Judging by how you’re genuinely loyal to me as your combatant, that’s quite a touching story. But I’m not foolish enough to feel loyalty to a company. I simply sold my skills for money.”
Hmm.
Would it be okay to hit him once? I think I could do it without killing him.
“Of course, it was more than just a financial relationship—we were cooperating for mutual goals. But now, what’s the point of continuing that cooperation?”
“You’re surprisingly blunt, aren’t you?”
“I’m curious about your intent in saying that, but it doesn’t really matter. As long as the company chairman is alive, my plans can proceed. However, obstacles must be removed decisively.”
So he hasn’t really given up; he’s just latched onto another option for now.
“Have you ever thought about becoming a magical girl?”
I thought his mindset fit perfectly with wishful thinking.
“I have no idea what kind of joke that is.”
James frowned as he responded.
“Well then, thanks for everything up to now.”
“Oh, I never thought of it that way.”
As I was leaving, I glanced back at Jiguppa.
His expression seemed genuinely unbothered, and I almost laughed.
“When we were talking, you just stayed quiet and waited.”
“Well, it wasn’t really a conversation I could jump into.”
True enough.
While I was thinking of what to say, Jiguppa spoke first.
“It’s better than being alone. Having someone to drink coffee with when needed is nice. And the bills are easier to handle when you’re not the only one paying them.”
But it’s also risky.
The Federation might leave Jiguppa alone since he’s an alien, but the company wouldn’t hesitate to act differently.
Besides, Jiguppa lost the job where he could have earned the most because of me.
The company’s situation worsened because of me too.
In this world, there are plenty of people who would get angry at facts like that.
Actually, wouldn’t it be normal to be angry?
Many people direct their misplaced anger at the nearest cause.
…Including me.
“Still, it was fun. Having someone to chat with on the job and, most importantly, being near a magical girl. Isn’t that something only humans can do? A special experience.”
If he puts it like that, I have nothing to say.
Jiguppa is…
Well, he’s “Jiguppa.”
If he’s okay with it, then fine.
“You probably won’t see me around much anymore.”
I haven’t planned where to run yet, and James hasn’t either.
This operation is pure desperation.
The plan is to cause chaos and run as far as we can while they’re busy cleaning up.
That’s what we agreed on.
James thought staying here was too dangerous, and I knew staying would eventually get me caught.
I didn’t want to bring harm to those who had helped me.
“That’s a shame,” Jiguppa said.
“But we’ll still be able to see each other, right?”
I thought about Jiguppa.
How many friends have I made since coming here? I’ve never seen Jiguppa with friends.
I don’t know what things were like on his home planet, but humans generally aren’t keen on befriending aliens.
Initially, many wanted alien friends, but over time, fewer people approached them due to the divide between those who could and those who couldn’t.
Some tourists viewed humans as primitive, worsening mutual perceptions.
Add the monster problem, and you get an abundance of people who send cold stares even without openly protesting against aliens or the Federation.
Jiguppa works manual labor, far removed from the “privileged elite” he’s supposed to mingle with.
Maybe I’m his only friend on Earth.
“…Once it’s all over.”
I replied.
I’m not planning to die.
At worst, I might end up captured or something.
If that happens, maybe I’ll meet him again after getting out of prison—if he’s still around.
Trying not to sound sentimental, I answered casually.
Jiguppa shrugged and extended his hand.
I stared at it for a moment, then reached out and shook it.
“Oh, and if you leak that we were here to anyone, I’ll—”
Before James could finish speaking from inside the bag, I reached in and pinched his cheeks.
“Well, see you next time.”
After a brief pause, I added:
“…Pangpang.”
I called his name like that.
No matter how much I think about it, the name doesn’t feel natural on my tongue.
It might sound plausible on that planet or in that country, but not here.
“See you next time, Jieun,” Pangpang said, waving my hand.
“I’ll buy you a cup of coffee next time we meet.”
With that, I turned away.
I didn’t look back, but I could tell the door closed much later than I had expected.
After walking for a while, taking a bus, then a subway, weaving through paths without CCTV, changing clothes multiple times, we finally made our way into the mountains.
“Let’s go over the plan one last time,” James said, already mounted on his equipment.
The sound of my circuits whirring reminded me of the drone lifting off.
Its propulsion lights resembled the glow of my hammer when I swung it.
Incidentally, I managed to retrieve the hammer from subspace after multiple failed attempts.
James had upgraded it as well, ensuring I wouldn’t be dragged around by it like last time.
“First, we go in and break everything.”
“Splendid.”
“And when everyone’s attention is on us, I’ll say what I want to say.”
“Technically, our first priority is to take over the broadcasting equipment inside the headquarters. Your speech is the backup plan. Not that we have much choice but to rely on it.”
“What about the civilians?”
“As I’ve mentioned, the building complies with government regulations, even if it doesn’t look like it. The fire alarms and sprinklers are fully operational.”
Even though I outright stated my intent to destroy the building, James responded as if it were no big deal.
“Fine.”
There would be plenty of combatants inside, but their loyalty was questionable.
If the company had managed to address that, things might be different.
In any case, we wouldn’t know until we saw for ourselves.
My circuits buzzed incessantly.
Oddly enough, thinking about the high likelihood of failure was comforting.
It even helped to consider the possibility of running into Hayoon.
This so-called “despair circuit.”
It’s reliable in times of crisis, but whether it will help me accomplish anything significant remains uncertain.
I checked the circuits.
98 percent functionality.
Even the knowledge of that was a mixed blessing.
Clucking my tongue at the irony, I shuddered as a dark aura clouded my vision.
While the Galactic Federation hadn’t formally established diplomatic ties with South Korea, exchanges persisted through “citizen representatives.”
The building representing these “citizen representatives” was roughly the size of most embassies in Seoul.
Everyone knew the diplomatic immunity guaranteed inside was just a facade.
Even so, the South Korean government hadn’t joined the Federation yet, leaving the Federation in a position where it had to tread lightly.
The building also served as a gathering space for magical girls.
Though the land was limited, the building managed to provide just enough room for five girls to rest.
Normally, magical girls convened there for meetings—discussions that required utmost secrecy.
…But not today.
“Then, let’s go with this plan,” Hayoon said, exhaling lightly.
The surrounding space wasn’t the sleek white building they were used to but a cozier, warmer location.
Though not particularly stylish, it had a welcoming atmosphere.
Hayoon had never been to Jooa’s house before, nor had the other magical girls.
While the Federation building always had ears, houses were different.
Few people install CCTV in their homes, especially in private rooms.
The magical girls’ parents were all somehow connected to the Federation, leading to irregular schedules.
Discussions like these had to avoid their parents’ watchful eyes, choosing locations where parents were least likely to be home—like Jooa’s house.
Jooa’s room felt slightly cramped with all five of them there, though they managed to find spots to sit.
The conversation wasn’t much different from the one Hayoon had with Jooa previously.
Should they tell the truth or continue pretending they knew nothing?
No one answered Hayoon’s question.
They were all lost in thought.
None of them wanted to give up being magical girls, not even Hayoon, who wanted to hold onto it if possible.
But they couldn’t keep hiding the truth forever.
If they did, it would eventually backfire.
They all understood that much.
“What if they take the circuits… what then?” Dahlia cautiously asked.
“That’s why we’re planning to act first,” Hayoon replied.
“If we stay silent, they could use the circuits to threaten us. But if we reveal the truth first, any attempt to seize the circuits will look suspicious until they respond.”
Her logic was sound.
The Federation worked hard to maintain public opinion, which was why they relied on the magical girl concept—despite how absurd it might seem to some.
Why they remained silent about incidents like these while framing Jieun as the culprit was beyond comprehension.
“I hope it works out,” Rose said.
Delphinium stayed silent.
“Yes, I’m sure—”
But Hayoon didn’t finish her sentence.
A sharp beeping interrupted her.
Everyone flinched, startled.
Given the nature of their conversation, they worried the other side might have caught wind of it first.
Hayoon quickly grabbed the pager, and the others followed suit.
The pager, resembling a vibrating alert device, was typically used to summon magical girls.
[Noir Corporation headquarters is under attack by a dark magical girl. The target’s objective is unknown. Deploy immediately.]
The synthesized voice continued.
[Major media outlets are en route. Cause of the attack is unclear. Secure the scene upon arrival.]
The blood drained from Hayoon’s face.