Chapter 10 : Is this real ? (6)

It took quite a while, but we finally arrived at the beef restaurant and were able to eat.

A few things happened along the way, but since we arrived safely, that’s what matters, right?

This is our Hayul.

If you say they’re somewhere between F-rank and E-rank, they might seem weak, but they definitely won’t die that easily.

Even if soldiers fire their guns wildly, an F-rank won’t go down so easily.

To take down an F-rank, you need powerful modern weapons like grenades.

The fact that modern weapons without magic-infused power are only half as effective makes a huge difference.

With that in mind, should I be impressed that the U.S. military managed to hunt D-ranks?

“What’s with all the fuss over something like this? Just grill the meat.”

At my words, the bear-like guy responded like that and flipped the meat with tongs.

That’s why you need to teach them well from the start.

“I think this is the first time I’ve seen you take down a monster, sis.”

“It probably is. What are the odds that a monster appears right in front of us when we’re just out for a family meal?”

I should’ve bought a lottery ticket.

“Thinking about it like that makes me kind of uneasy…”

“These days, should we call them monsters? Anomalies? Why are they appearing so often?”

Usually, we call them anomalies.

If they have a human or animal form, we call them monsters.

If their form deviates from normal animals, we categorize them as anomalies.

“Exactly. If you look at the news these days, it’s all about monsters.”

“Well, our country is actually in a pretty good situation. After all, we have a national hero sitting right here.”

Dad smiled as he looked at me.

“My daughter, I always love you. And I’m always grateful.”

“Me too~”

“Stop saying embarrassing things and just eat…”

Maybe because they saw me take down a monster firsthand, they were saying cringeworthy things without hesitation.

I fanned my face, which had grown warm for no reason.

The meat was ready.

Today’s MVP, Hayul—When I silently pointed at Hayun, the quick-witted bear-like guy swiftly changed his words.

Hayun, you should eat first.

“Oh, is that okay? Isn’t my sister the one who worked hard?”

No, the reason we came out to eat today was to cheer you up, wasn’t it?

At his words, Hayun accepted the meat without arguing and thanked him.

“Oh my, what about me?”

O-Of course, I’ll serve you some…!

Busy, busy.

I chuckled as I watched the guy diligently grilling meat, then glanced out the window for a moment.

‘I have to start teaching the recruits tomorrow.’

This won’t be easy.

I turned back to Dad.

“Dad.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“You’re a professor, right?”

“Hmm… yeah?”

“Do you have any good methods for teaching someone?”

“Teaching methods…?”

Dad frowned slightly, as if he didn’t get what I was asking.

Oh, was that too vague?

“They want me to teach recruits in a newly established unit. But all I know is how to take down monsters , I’ve never taught anyone before, so I have no idea why they’re asking me to do this.”

“Hmm… So basically, my daughter is going to be training rookie magical girls?”

“Yeah, they asked me to work as an instructor.”

“…”

I originally planned to refuse, since it sounded like a hassle.

But then I thought—if I teach them well, I won’t have to step in myself anymore, right?

If that means less work for me, enduring a bit of inconvenience now will make things easier in the long run.

That’s why I accepted this weird request to train rookie magical girls.

“Hmm… “

As you know, research is the most important thing for a professor.

But since we don’t just do research, I have taught quite a few students.

“Still, teaching magical girls will be different from regular education, so I’m not sure how much help I can be.”

“I wasn’t really expecting much, to be honest.”

“…That stings a bit.”

Dad muttered with a sad look, then cleared his throat and continued.

“Hmm… The most important thing when teaching is giving appropriate rewards and punishments. In a military context, that might mean granting leave when they do well.”

“Rewards and punishments? Like the carrot and stick approach?”

“In psychological terms, it’s called operant conditioning. Schools also use a reward-and-punishment system with merit and demerit points.”

“He added more explanation.”

I’m telling you this because teaching magical girls isn’t like teaching a normal subject.

“You can take this advice lightly and use it if you think it’ll be helpful.”

“Yeah, well…”

He threw in some fancy terminology, but at the end of the day, it’s just the carrot and stick.

‘But I don’t even know what they like.’

Of course, it’ll be effective.

Since I’m more of an instructor than a teacher, I probably shouldn’t expect normal teaching methods to work anyway.

But still…

“Can a regular soldier even become an instructor?”

I thought only officers could do that.

Must be another one of those weird exceptions the Defense Ministry likes to make.

The way they handle things is something else.

“Just eat already.”

Before I realized it, Hayun had wrapped a ssam and stuffed it into my mouth.

“Mm? Mmph! Mmmph! (Hey, it’s too big!)”

“Pfft…”

“Oh my, look at those puffed-up cheeks~”

“Haha.”

For an 8- or 9-year-old’s mouth, the ssam was simply too big and glorious.

As I struggled to keep it from spilling out, my parents chuckled like they found me adorable.

“Hehe, I guess I made it too big. Sorry~”

Hayun giggled as she said that, then started making another ssam—this time, for herself.

Oh, you little brat?

So this is how you return the favor after I bought it for you?

Pfft!

“What the—!?”

Without hesitation, I turned to Hayun, who was right next to me, and burst the food in my mouth toward her.

A perfect act of revenge.

***

“Ugh, I don’t wanna go…”

In the end, the day of my deployment had arrived.

Looking back now, wasn’t this a crazy decision?

I could have just quietly continued hunting anomalies, so why did I agree to this whole “teaching” thing?

Back when all I had to do was take down anomalies whenever they appeared, I could just skip work if I didn’t feel like going.

But now that I had students to train, I had no choice but to report for duty.

Isn’t this basically overtime?

Wait, no—I’m a soldier.

During work hours, I’m supposed to wear the military uniform made specifically for magical girls, but since no one really cares whether I wear it or not, I usually just throw on whatever’s comfortable.

Hoodies are divine and undefeated.

Nothing is comfier than this…Thud!

With my camouflage magic activated, I landed in front of the guard post and released the spell as I approached.

The magical girl standing guard flinched in surprise at my sudden appearance, instinctively gathering her magic.

For a moment, she hesitated.

“… A kid?”

“…”

Her face twisted in confusion, as if her brain was struggling to process what she was seeing.

Meanwhile, the soldier next to her freaked out and immediately snapped to attention.

“Ch-Chungseong!”

(Loyalty!)

“Uh, yeah, yeah, loyalty. Do I need to go through a security app check or something?”

“N-No! You can go right in!”

Luckily, they let me through without hassle.

In hindsight, dropping my camouflage right there probably wasn’t the smartest move I had basically revealed myself in full view of the guards.

But hey, at least they let me through without a fuss.

I silently thanked the junior officers at the guard post for their sacrifice as I made my way to the Special Unit.

Even the guard post here is manned by officers.

This really is a legendary unit.

Well, I guess that makes sense.

There aren’t any regular soldiers here.

As I walked inside, I quickly spotted the Special Unit.

Starting now, I’d have to train the three recruits in there.

‘I wonder what kind of kids they are…’

I had already met them once before.

I didn’t know them well yet, but one thing was certain—they were all incredibly unique individuals.

I wasn’t sure if they were “precious little gems” or not,but I had a strong feeling they were going to be a handful.

‘This is gonna be tough…Seriously tough.’

I wasn’t sure if I could train them properly, but…Since I took on this job, I had to see it through.

For the sake of my own future, too.

Clatter!

“At ease! Loyalty!”

“You don’t have to do that.”

The moment I entered, Blaze immediately snapped to attention just like yesterday.

I could already tell this wasn’t going to be easy.

Icicle simply nodded in my direction, while Leaf remained glued to her bed.

Watching them, I started to worry—Could I really teach these guys properly?

At the very least…

“You’re Leaf, right?”

“Yeees?”

“If you don’t get up, you die.”

The moment I channeled a bit of my magic—Pop!Leaf immediately leapt off the bed and sat up straight.

“Wow…”

Blaze let out a breath of admiration as she watched.

Yeah…

Brats like that only learn their lesson after getting a good scare.

One way or another.