Finally, 8:30.
“Time to go home!”
“Finally off duty.”
The time had gone a little over, but I wasn’t an amateur who’d get angry over something like this.
Working beyond duty hours was a common occurrence, after all.
“So, what was the enemy this time?”
“Eyeball monster.”
“Ah… A Cyclops? Must’ve destroyed a few buildings, huh?”
“Yeah. I already restored them.”
Normally, magical girls defeat monsters and use the magic contained within them to restore their surroundings.
Even if people had died, as long as the monster was defeated, they could be brought back to life.
That was the power of the fairy tale kingdom the one that granted this world the power of magical girls.
Anyway…”Hey, you dumb bear.”
“Corporal Min Gomteng, reporting!”
“What kind of mascot just crashes the moment their master gets back?”
This bastard was knocked out cold when I got back.
“I swear I wasn’t sleeping! I just closed my eyes for a second! Please, just let it slide this once!!”
As I grabbed Gomteng by the scruff and lifted him up, the flustered bear desperately made excuses.
If he was going to lie, he could at least do it properly.
He hadn’t even noticed I was back and had been sprawled out snoring.
“Your phone is confiscated.”
“Noooo! Not my phone!!! Guh!”
After tossing Gomteng away, I stepped outside the duty station, where the officer on duty, looking dead tired, greeted me.
“Good work, Sergeant Min Hayul.”
“Ah, yes. Captain Kang Suyeon, you too.”
I waved in response, and Captain Kang gave a strained smile.
“Um… There was a real incident in Songdo just now. Are you okay?”
“It was ten minutes before I was off duty, so I was a little annoyed, but I handled it before clocking out, so whatever.Honestly, you had it worse, right?”
“Haha… Not really. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be able to rest so easy.”
She smiled bitterly, then cautiously asked,”But… are you really not considering commissioning as an officer? I heard you’d be treated as a general-grade officer right away.”
“Too much of a hassle.”
I was already getting more money than I knew what to do with.
The government was practically begging me to commission, but I kept refusing.
By constitutional law, all magical girls had to be affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense, yet because I refused to commission, I had been living as a sergeant for ten years.
“Honestly, I just want to get discharged. Captain Kang, you’re planning to discharge soon, right?”
“Haha… I’m starting to feel the strain, and my magic is getting weaker.”
As magical girls age, they weaken.
The more abundant one’s heart is with childhood innocence and love, the stronger they are.
Naturally, as they age, those feelings tend to decline.
Captain Kang spoke with a conflicted expression.
“To be honest, I’m worried. Right now, the entire country is relying on you.”
“Well… yeah, that’s true.”
Ever since strange creatures started appearing decades ago, humanity had struggled to fight back.
Because these creatures were enveloped in magical energy, conventional modern weapons couldn’t penetrate them.
Just by coating themselves in magic, these monsters could drastically weaken the effectiveness of traditional weaponry.
It wasn’t impossible to take them down, but the efficiency was terrible.
As humanity was gradually pushed back, a new kind of being capable of wielding magic emerged: magical girls.
“I’m just saying, even though you’re holding the line now… there’s no guarantee that will always be the case.”
“Hmm.”
“Even though it’s better to conscript talented women in their 20s and 30s as magical girls rather than forcing young children to fight these monsters… the reality is that magical girls in their 20s and 30s are all weak.”
Countries like China, where human rights were barely a concern, were already forcing 8- or 9-year-old girls into battle.
Since young children lacked judgment and an awareness of danger, they rarely refused but fatalities still occurred.
Democratic nations with actual human rights condemned such practices, but how long could they hold out?
The dilemma between ethics and survival.
It was a complex issue.
“C-rank monsters alone are enough to flatten a city, and even they are a struggle for adult magical girls to handle.”
C-rank monsters didn’t appear frequently, but they weren’t exactly rare either.
However, adult magical girls struggled against them.
The U.S. had the overwhelming power to manage these threats, but other, less wealthy nations had no choice but to use young girls or burn through the lives of adult magical girls.
Compared to that, South Korea was an incredibly free country.
Thanks to one particular anomaly.
“Well, for now, I’m here. But yeah, we need to start planning for the future.”
This country had a problem.
It relied on me too much.
Because of that, people didn’t really understand how terrifying these creatures were.
“Sergeant Min, you really are a hero. It’s amazing.”
A hero, huh?
That wasn’t something you usually called a magical girl.
“That’s right! A magical girl is someone who brings hope to everyone! And my contractor is the pinnacle of magical girls!”
“Shut up, you.”
So damn loud.
I fanned my flushed face and turned away.
“You must be exhausted after your deployment. You’re heading home now, right?”
“Yeah, I should get going.”
“Oh, and, Sergeant Min? At least fix your uniform before clocking out, please?”
Ah, right.
She was one of those by-the-book officers.
Screw it.
****
Home.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted. I just wanna throw myself onto my bed and pass out like I’m dead…”
“Why are you acting like you’re hibernating? Should I make sure you never wake up?”
“Why are you like this ? You’re gonna sleep too, aren’t you? You can even cuddle me if you want! I may be a bit rough from duty, but I’m still the highest-grade teddy bear!”
“Gross. Get lost.”
Not like I was actually sleepy anyway.
A magical girl’s stamina was insane.
A single night of duty wasn’t enough to physically exhaust me.
It was just mentally draining.”Oh… You’re home, sis?”
As I opened the door, my younger sister, Min Hayun, greeted me with a yawn and a stretch.
“Call me ‘bro.’ Not that you ever will.”
I sighed.
It had been a long time since I’d been stuck in this form.
“Did you stay up all night?”
“Yeah, had to finish my assignments. Just wrapped them up.”
She pulled out a pot and a pack of ramen, filling it with water.
“Wanna eat?”
“Nah, I’m good. After duty, I don’t really feel like eating.”
“For real? You sure? If you ask later, I’m not giving you any. I’ll call Mom if you try. Got it?”
Why was she so stubborn?
I waved her off while changing clothes, and she seemed relieved, focusing on making her ramen.
It was done in no time.
As she sat at the table, looking at her phone while waiting for the ramen to cool.
Now’s my chance.
I snatched the pot in a flash.
“Hey!”
Hayun screamed in horror, but it was already too late.I picked up some noodles with magic chopsticks and took a bite.
“Hmm… curly noodles, huh? A bit disappointing.”
“YOU SAID YOU WEREN’T GONNA EAT!!”
“Still… yummy.”
“YOU BASTARD!!”
How could I resist freshly cooked ramen after a long shift?
I took another bite it was too good to stop at one.
“What do you think, Gomteng?”
The bear, who had somehow managed to sneak a bite, adjusted his sunglasses.
“The water ratio is off. While the use of black pepper and crushed garlic enhances the broth’s depth.”
“Shut up, you’re disqualified!”
“GAH!!”
Oh no.
She finally snapped.
“Gomteng, it’s time.”
“Huh? Time for wha—”
“Hoiyah!”
I grabbed Gomteng and hurled him at Hayun.
“Waaahhh ?
“GET OUT!”
With a solid smack, she sent him flying.
Ignoring his groans, I sprinted to my room.
“OPEN THE DOOR, YOU COWARD!!”
Hayun’s furious voice echoed through the hallway.
I locked my door.
“Thanks for the meal.”
“ARGHHH!!!”
Slurp.
Truly delicious.