Are they still living in that house? I haven’t heard of any news about soldiers being deployed lately.
They might still be working on-site to make a living, but losing a major source of income might have tightened their finances.
From the lack of special news reports, it doesn’t seem like they’ve been caught, but I’m still a little worried.
I can’t contact or visit them, which makes it worse.
As I was lost in thought, Iris, who seemed to be in a similar state, finally spoke.
“You were the only one who, no matter what, kept charging in, determined to land at least one hit.”
Was that… true?
“And, in your own way, you achieved results too.”
“Is that what you’re curious about?”
“Yes, I’m curious about your reasons. I think understanding them might help me understand you better.”
“You want to understand me?”
“Like it or not, we’ll have to spend time together for a while. Shouldn’t we at least understand each other to some extent?”
“Why does that matter to you?”
“I just found it interesting that you even think about understanding others.”
The sound of water splashing reached my ears. Was Iris turning to look at me?
“What do you mean by that?”
Her tone was a bit sharp. It seemed I’d hit a nerve.
“Nothing much,” I replied.
Even if I mentioned she was somewhat at odds with the others, that was a matter among magical girls, something I couldn’t fully grasp.
If I admitted I knew about it, Iris would likely think I’d heard it from Hayoon.
After a moment of tense silence, Iris let out a long sigh and turned away again.
The sound of water splashing confirmed it.
“I don’t always act prickly, you know,” she said.
It seemed she was aware of her sharp attitude.
“So, are you saying you won’t answer my question?”
Should I?
Just a few days ago, I probably wouldn’t have answered such a question.
If anything, I might have been even pricklier than Iris is now, throwing out deliberately annoying responses.
When did my edge dull? Maybe it was because Hayoon, now boldly seated next to me, distracted me from other things.
“I just… wanted to win,” I finally said.
“You wanted to win?”
“Yeah.”
I let out a long breath.
“Losing all the time gets frustrating, you know.”
Iris didn’t respond immediately.
Was she baffled? Maybe she found it ridiculous that I kept charging in, knowing I couldn’t win.
But her eventual response wasn’t what I expected.
“I see.”
“I see?”
That’s a strange reply.
“Looking at how you’re still fighting now, doesn’t it mean you feel the same way? No matter who or what your opponent is, you hate living as if you’ve already lost.”
It seemed Iris had misinterpreted my words in a strangely optimistic way.
“Isn’t that why you haven’t given up?”
“That’s not really what I meant in such a positive way.”
“I know.”
Does she really know but still choose to spin it positively?
I tilted my head slightly, staring straight ahead.
I waited, thinking she might say more, but Iris didn’t.
In the end, that day’s conversation ended there.
Is Iris also truly a magical girl?
As I waited outside for the others to finish their baths, I found myself lost in thought.
The conversation started likely because Iris wanted to shake off some of the awkwardness.
It was her way of showing consideration, in her own way.
Magical girls are strong individuals with diverse personalities, often finding parts of each other’s behavior displeasing due to differing viewpoints.
From Iris’s perspective, I might have been someone incomprehensible.
Perhaps even someone she disliked.
I understand, though, considering some of the things I said to her during my time as a soldier.
Although she didn’t press further about her real reason for asking, it was better than sitting silently facing away from each other.
It’s a strange feeling.
It almost feels like the start of a school term, when you try to strike up a conversation with the people seated in front and behind you to get to know them.
Talking with Iris had that same vibe.
As I sat hugging my knees and spacing out, I heard a clinking sound from the side.
Turning my head, I saw Cherry fiddling with some mechanical parts.
Noticing my gaze, Cherry looked up at me and smiled widely.
It was probably a smile—her facial muscles moved similarly to James’s when he smiled.
But her expression seemed far more innocent than James’s.
“What are you doing?”
It felt a little awkward to just stare without saying anything, so I asked.
“I’m improving the radio.”
True to her word, Cherry was holding a radio.
She had opened the back panel and appeared to be tinkering with the circuits.
“If I improve the sensitivity, the sound quality should get better.”
“The sound quality is already clear enough, though.”
“No, I can make it even better.”
Cherry responded to James’s skeptical remark.
“Are you implying that what I built is imperfect?”
“I never said that. But why do you keep nitpicking everything I touch?”
“You’ve been tampering with every single thing I built. Do you even understand how these circuits work?”
“Well, you didn’t build them all by yourself, did you? Even Iris has worked on them, so why can’t I?”
That’s true.
While Iris didn’t fully understand how the circuits worked, she could repair and create devices that used them.
If Cherry had learned the basics, it wasn’t surprising she could do even better.
“Are you trying to extract more information about the circuits?”
Did she just click her tongue? I tried to seriously interpret the sound Cherry made.
It didn’t seem like she was cursing, but James’s slightly trembling soft body suggested it wasn’t a compliment either.
“If I understand the principles, I can build it myself. Don’t treat me like an idiot.”
“Idiot? That translates, huh.”
“I’m the one who designed the circuits for magical girls, you know. They’re far stronger than the ones you guys use. If the circuits soldiers use had to handle someone like her energy-wise, they’d have broken several times over, right?”
Cherry looked up at me.
Well… she’s not wrong.
James had claimed the circuits were pre-built, but…
“We didn’t make circuits capable of harnessing rare, near-impossible energies like you did.”
“But five people’s energy was enough, wasn’t it?”
The two continued to argue passionately.
To me, it looked like two talking hamsters having a serious fight.
The content of their conversation was important, sure, but watching them somehow made it all seem trivial.
Come to think of it, is Cherry female?
Her voice is feminine, and she looks the part too.
If James is male… wouldn’t they be capable of having babies?
Or should I call them children?
James noticed me staring.
“What?”
“Your gaze is making me very uncomfortable.”
“Now even a kid younger than you is saying that?”
“You don’t know how vile that woman is. Do you know what she said to me?”
“What could a kid like her possibly say that’s so bad?”
James seemed genuinely upset, his chubby body trembling.
Good job, Cherry. Dismantle the villain with sheer logic.
But wait, “kid”?
If she’s saying things like that, could Cherry actually be older than me?
An older hamster… something feels off about that.
Amused, I continued to watch as Cherry relentlessly berated James.
At one point, he asked me to say something, but I just kept smiling and watching in silence.
Their fight only ended when Hayoon and Dahlia, both finished with their baths, emerged from the kitchen.
Hayoon didn’t seem to be in a good mood, and both of them immediately fell silent upon noticing her.
What’s with her?
Why does she look so upset again?
Could this be my fault too?