“Ah… I want to go home…”
I muttered as I lay sprawled on the bed.
Even my phone was boring.
This stupid job.
No, it wasn’t even right to call it a job.
It was just something I was forced to do.
I wanted to quit, but if I did, there would be too much backlash.
If I disappeared, it would only create more chaos, and in the end, the trouble would come right back to me.
So, rather than staying because I wanted to, it was more like I couldn’t leave.
“When will this damn organization finally let me discharge?”
“My discharge date has already passed…”
“I agree… But what can we do… Without you, this country is doomed. This is the job you chose…”
“Shut the hell up.”
Seriously, this was ridiculous.
“But hey, how come you’re not nagging me today?”
Before, if I lay around in my military jacket, cursing, this idiot would always say that magical girls had to be cute.
But now, even he was lying down, completely worn out.
“Eh… Even when I did nag, it was just a word or two. Why are you asking now, like a rookie?”
“Because you’re not even doing that today.”
“I replied in a baffled voice as I watched the teddy bear on the floor flailing its arms.”
Just request to go off-duty already.
Why are we pulling night shifts at our level?
“As if.”
Whenever the dimensional field became unstable, we had to be on standby for immediate deployment.
We had some freedom when things were calm, but whenever these events occurred, it was nothing but a pain.
At least, unless it was an especially unstable period where high-tier monsters might appear, we didn’t have to be on duty or even stay on base.
“Even if fast response is important, it’s really too much that they make you and me take night shifts. Other countries are desperate to recruit us.”
“They make you do it because your only job is to wake me up when monsters show up, but you sleep all the time. At least no one nags you for sleeping, right?”
Even if we had to stay at the base.
“A mascot has feelings too…”
“Bullshit.”
“I had long since abandoned my so-called “mascot duties.”
After all, I had been doing this job since 20 years ago, before the constitutional amendment that placed magical girls under the Ministry of Defense.
But honestly, should I really be taking night shifts at my rank and experience?
Maybe I should have accepted when they offered me a promotion….No, on second thought, that would’ve been a terrible idea.
That would mean becoming an officer.
I absolutely refused to be a career soldier.
No way in hell would I accept a commission.
“Whatever, just 10 minutes left until I’m off duty. Time to go home and play League.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier to just emigrate? Can’t we leave the country?”
“Too much hassle.”
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
“Ah, shit.”
Why the hell did the alarm have to go off when I had only 10 minutes left?
“At this point, it felt like the whole world was out to get me.”
“Ha… Where’s the location?”
“Songdo, sir…”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Nine minutes until off duty.
I had to kill the monster within that time.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
“Hey, get moving already!”
“A mission just before I clock out… Fuck this…”
“Why the hell is this happening at this hour…”
“Mom, I wanna go home…”
The 17th Division’s Special Anti-Entity Unit was thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of a monster.
“Sir! This one’s classified as a C-rank entity, with a monster-type form!”
“What? Goddammit, why does this always happen on my shift?”
The high-pitched shriek made the lieutenant flinch.
C-rank.
Normally, entities that appeared were F-rank or E-rank, sometimes D-rank at most.
Considering that, a C-rank monster-type was highly unusual.
From F to E ranks, military personnel or the Lightning Squad magical girls could handle it.
D-rank required backup from the rapid-response unit.
But C-rank was a different story these were monsters that could cause significant damage.
That meant this had to be taken seriously.
“Where’s the Lightning Squad?”
“They’ve already been deployed.”
“What about the rapid-response unit?”
“Ah…! Just got a report. The whole unit has been dispatched.”
The officer glanced out the window.
Dozens of magical girls were flying toward the reported location.
Seeing them, the commanding officer frowned.
“A C-rank? They won’t be enough.”
“Uh… Then what should we do?”
The lieutenant glared at him as if he had just asked something stupid.
“We call in Sergeant Min, obviously.”
The only magical girl who could cover the entire country.
C-rank and above were Sergeant Min’s territory.
But.
“Ser-Sergeant Min is in danger…!”
“What? Have you finally lost it from being on night duty?”
“No, I mean it! Sergeant Min is really in danger! She’s on duty today, but she’s about to go off shift!”
“…Oh.”
“If we activate her just before she clocks out… Songdo is going to get leveled to the ground!”
“Haa… So what do you want me to do? The alert already reached her since it’s in the Gyeonggi region.”
Even though Incheon wasn’t technically part of Gyeonggi Province, it was close enough for the alert to have reached her.
Of all places, why did the monster have to appear in Songdo?
All they could do was pray for the C-rank monster’s soul.
At that moment…A young magical girl trailing behind the group screamed in shock.
“C-C-rank?!”
“Keep your head straight, rookie. If you lose focus, you’ll get hurt.”
“Wow… She’s really unlucky. First mission, and she gets a C-rank?”
The rookie’s face twisted with worry.
“Why was I born with talent…?”
“Well, what can we do? Without us, the country falls apart.”
Yoon Seon-ah, the senior-most soldier, sighed, and the others nodded along.
“Since it’s the rookie’s first mission, let’s make sure she doesn’t get hurt.”
They tried to sound reassuring, but their faces were tense.
After all, facing a monster meant preparing for injury or even death.
Unlike regular soldiers, who had to charge into battle in their human bodies, magical girls had superior physical abilities and magic.
Still, they were only human.
F-ranks could be destroyed from a distance.
E-ranks were tougher but still manageable with bombardment.
But D-ranks?
That was where the injuries began.
And C-rank?
That was where the real horror started.
But.
“We just have to hold on. Sergeant Min is on the way.”
At those words, everyone’s expressions brightened.
“R-Really?!”
“Whoa, no way…”
“Kyaaah!”
Sergeant Min.
To the 20-something magical girls who were drafted against their will, she was a living legend.