Chapter 14 : Friendship (1)

Although it was said in a joking manner, it wasn’t a bad idea.

Of course, at first, they said it was confidential and couldn’t tell me, but I am also a person of some importance.

I didn’t need to find out about all three of them.

If I could determine whether one of them was real or not, the others would likely be the same.

And the easiest child to find out this information from would be…’Icicle.’

Normally, one might think of Blaze, but Blaze is the type of kid who strictly follows rules.

If she was ordered to keep it confidential, she would be less likely to tell me.

On the other hand, Icicle seems like a rebellious kid with a lot of grievances against the world.

It would be easier to get information from a kid like that if I became friends with them.

Or maybe Leaf.

This is just speculation… but still.

Of course, it would be better to befriend all of them, but realistically, befriending all three would be difficult.

Besides, I don’t even know how to become friends with them.

“What do kids these days like?”

・Are you still thinking about that?

As I muttered to myself while sitting in front of the computer, Gomteng, who was on his phone, gave me a look of exasperation.

But no matter how much I think about it, it seems like a good idea.

By the way, calling them “kids these days” is a bit off since they’re only about ten years younger than me.

“Hey, ten years is a lot.”

I’m still young enough to say I’m not even a full egg carton old, but it’s already hard to keep up with what kids these days like.

Human generations seem to pass by so quickly.

Feeling a generation gap in just ten years is something else.

I guess mascots are different too.

“By the way, I suddenly got curious—do mascots have kids?”

Why are you asking that…?

“Well, they look like dolls… Do they, you know, engage in reproductive activities?”

Please stop with the sexual harassment using words that belong in documentaries.

Gomteng pleaded with me, embarrassed.

For a doll, it sure gets shy.

.

.

.

It seems like it will take some time to figure out the kids, so the only thing I can do right now is to become friends with the special unit kids.

“But why start with me…?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, I don’t…”

You know how it is, right?

The first thing you do when you meet someone.

Yeah, counseling.

“Can’t you just teach us the skills we need as magical girls and leave? Honestly, you don’t want to stay here long either, do you?”

At Leaf’s question, I rested my chin on my hand and looked away as I spoke.

“Well… that’s true. But since I’m becoming your teacher, it’s not good to be too rigid, right?”

“Is that so?”

Leaf responded while pulling out her phone.

Seeing that, I frowned.

“Even if it’s counseling, wouldn’t it be better to put the phone away?”

“Huh? But I think it’s better not to do counseling at all.”

“Hey.”

Wow.

I’m really angry.

I feel like just giving up on everything.

I wanted to ask what gave her the right to act so cocky, but I held back.

If I did that, any chance of becoming friends would be gone.

For a moment, I wondered if it was worth going this far for a kid like this, but I quickly pushed that thought away because it was truly a thought that would shatter human compassion.

Sigh.

“Then what should we do? Should we just start the training right away? It seems like you’d prefer that over sitting here idly, Leaf.”

“…”

Without a word, Leaf put her phone away and looked up at me.

Compared to the other kids, she looks relatively younger, but the vibe of being utterly fed up with life is so strong that just looking at her makes me think, “This kid is really not going to work out.”

‘Can I even become friends with her?’

Beyond figuring out how to become friends, I’m starting to have reasonable doubts about whether it’s even possible to befriend her in the first place.

What kind of conversation can I have with a kid who doesn’t even want to talk to me?

As I grumbled to myself with these thoughts.

Hmm, first…’Her interests seem to be limited to games, novels, comics, and movies…I feel like she’d be into that kind of stuff.

“Um… do you have any hobbies?”

“…Why are you asking that?”

Leaf avoided answering.

Why would she avoid answering a question about hobbies?

Usually, it’s one of two things.

Either she’s embarrassed about her hobby, or she just doesn’t want to talk.

“If it’s something embarrassing, you don’t have to tell me.”

“Then I won’t tell you…”

She blushed and hung her head low.

It was a reaction I didn’t expect from someone who had been lounging around all day, looking bored, so I was a bit taken aback.

What’s with this kid?

“Do you watch anime? Like Japanese cartoons. People tend to be embarrassed about that.”

“No, it’s not that…”

Her reaction suggests I’m right.

But is it really that embarrassing?

“I watch that stuff too.”

At my words, Leaf seemed to choke up and shouted.

“What, what have you watched!”

Ah, this is getting under her skin.

The moment I heard her answer, I smiled inwardly.

I know how to push the buttons of kids like this.

I, Min Hayul, have been a hardcore otaku all my life, exposed to countless anime and comics.

As the saying goes, the enemy of an otaku is another otaku, so I know exactly what makes otakus tick.

And at this moment, I know exactly what will make Leaf lose it.

“Well, like… Sword Art Online… or Attack on Titan? I’ve also watched Death Note on Netflix.”

“Ah.”

Leaf slapped her forehead.

Oh, that’s a proper reaction.

“I wouldn’t call that watching. The real ones are different.”

“Is that so?”

“…”

Hmm.

What do the real ones watch?

“Then what do you watch, Leaf?”

“I already told you, it’s embarrassing so I won’t say.”

Ehh.

“I really don’t care about that stuff. It might actually help us have a conversation, so can’t you tell me?”

“Leaf hesitated, making a face as if debating whether to say it or not, then muttered softly.”

“I, I watch magical girl shows…”

Huh?

For a moment, my mind went blank.

First of all, I was grateful that she honestly answered my request, considering how she had been acting like everything was a bother until now.

But more than that, I couldn’t believe that she liked magical girl shows.

Isn’t that right?

A kid who acted like she didn’t want to be a magical girl actually likes magical girl shows?

“What, what’s with that look… Is it really that weird?”

I hadn’t even said anything yet, why is she already acting like she’s being persecuted?

“What kind of magical girl shows do you watch?”

“Magical Girl Series…”

“I see…”

I smirked.

“If I had known this would happen…”

“But there are many types of magical girl shows, which ones do you like? Magical warrior types? Like Pretty Cure? Or if you prefer something more traditional, maybe Sailor Moon? There are many genres within magical girl shows.”

As I cheerfully spoke, Leaf’s expression hardened.

Huh, is that not it?

“Huh, how do you know all that…”

Guess not.

“Well, I’ve lived as a magical girl for 20 years, so it’s natural to be interested in magical girl shows.”

I used to be really into them back in the day.

As a kid, I watched magical girl shows from decades ago with sparkling eyes.

It wasn’t for nothing that I made a contract with Gomteng back then.

I never thought something like what I saw in anime would happen to me, so I eagerly accepted the contract.

Back then, Gomteng didn’t know much about humans and his appearance was androgynous, so he just proposed the contract based on my magical potential.

At the time, I wondered if a boy could become a magical girl, but I accepted it anyway.

Eventually, I started living as a girl at a young age.

I’ve seen everything there is to see.

I should have refused back then.

“Then, do you know this one…?!”

“Yes, I keep up with the recent ones too.”

“Then, what about this!”

“Ah, this one? It’s quite dark for a magical girl show, but it has its own charm. I enjoyed it.”

“Then what about this……!”

Realizing that I knew quite a bit, she started testing me with various shows.

Of course, with 20 years of accumulated knowledge, I had pretty much seen them all.

It was supposed to be counseling, but somehow the roles had reversed.

‘Am I becoming friends with her?’

This might not be so bad.

But why is she subtly showing me magical girl yuri shows?

It’s not blatant, but she’s clearly showing a preference for that genre, which makes me feel a bit weird.

I’ve seen most magical girl shows, but Wait.

…

Is that it?

Suddenly, I started to feel scared of Leaf.

I hope it’s just my imagination.