Chapter 21 : Sincerity (2)

“What exactly are you planning to ask…?”

Han yujin’s eyes grew serious — but there was also a flicker of disbelief, as if she never expected me to go this far.

She looked at me, her gaze trembling slightly.

Honestly, I hadn’t wanted to push it this far either.

But this was something that had to be made clear.

There was no other choice.

“How much do you know about the Special Anti-Abnormalities Unit? You’re aware that the magical girls who become my apprentices are listed under their magical girl names, not their real ones, right?”

“That’s…”

My question left Han yujin momentarily speechless.

Seeing that reaction, a small sense of suspicion crept into my mind — but she still hadn’t given an answer.

For now, it was best to wait.

“Of course, this space only exists for the truth to be spoken. If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to.”

This space had no power to force anyone to speak.

I could make it happen if I really wanted to — but I wasn’t willing to go that far.

If I really wanted to push it, I could — but I didn’t want to go that far.

Right now, I wanted to believe in this person.

That’s why I stopped at creating a space where only the truth could be spoken.

“…Alright. I’ll tell you.”

Contrary to my expectations that she’d hesitate longer, Han yujin opened her mouth more easily than I anticipated.

“Let me say this upfront — I don’t know much. I only know… that this unit’s plan isn’t something ordinary.”

And with that, she began explaining everything, as if she were finally letting out a burden she had been holding in.

It all started with an order she received from her father, Director Hanshinwo.

“Wait… your father is Director Hanshinwo?”

“Y-Yes, that’s right…”

Is this for real?

My hands shook slightly as I picked up my phone and opened the KakaoTalk chat window.

Director Hanshinwo’s contact information was right there in my phone.

“Man… Korea really is a small place, huh?”

No wonder she had such a strong military vibe.

It seemed she discovered her talent as a magical girl and fully committed to this path.

For that resolve alone, I genuinely wanted to praise her.

It was definitely not an easy choice.

“Do you… know my father?”

Han yujin asked, looking curious at my reaction.

If you ask whether we know each other… yeah, we do.

We ran into each other quite often in the previous unit.

“We crossed paths a lot in my old unit.”

“Ah… wait, sorry, just a second… huh?!”

Yujin took out her phone, checking something — and then her eyes went wide as if something had finally clicked.

“W-Why didn’t my dad tell me you guys knew each other…?”

“…”

Huh?

What did I just hear?

“And—oh my god—I’m actually a huge fan of Min Hayul… W-Wait, what?!”

Han yujin froze, clearly panicking over her own words — as if even she didn’t understand why she’d said them out loud.

Ah.

Well, that happened.

This space I created… it doesn’t allow lies.

Not for me, not for her.

It’s an absolute space of truth — and any attempt to lie gets interpreted as falsehood, pushing the speaker to reveal the truth instead.

And apparently, her truth was that she’s… my fan.…Well.

That’s one way to break the tension.

I stared at Han yujin, who was still frozen in shock over her own confession, and let out a quiet sigh.

Then, with a small gesture, I dispelled the magical space.

After glancing around the space that had now returned to normal, I called out to her.

“Um… Yujin-ssi?”

“Y-Yes?”

Well, I guess it’s only natural — she is still pretty young.

She rose through the ranks so fast it’s hard to believe someone her age made it to battalion commander already.

She might seem a bit too pure for someone in that position… but maybe this is just a side of her she only shows to me.

Still…”Listen… I wasn’t trying to pressure you or anything. It’s just that what I wanted to ask was something simple, but something I had to confirm for sure.”

At this point, I couldn’t help but trust her.

She did just admit to being my huge fan — there’s no way she’d lie to me, right?

And honestly, if this was some kind of act — if she was using her supposed admiration as a front — she should quit the military and become an actress.

The way she’s completely falling apart right now… well, it doesn’t seem like there’s any need to use magic to get the truth out of her.

She’d tell me the truth anyway.

After a long moment of hesitation, she finally lowered her head.

“I will do my best to answer…”

It was a satisfying response.

***

But in the end, the conclusion was clear — Han yujin knew nothing.

While she was well-informed in her role as the deputy commander, even she didn’t know why all of my students were listed under their magical girl names.

Even her father, Director Hanshinwo, had admitted he didn’t fully understand the details of this special unit.

The orders they had received were simple: assign my students to the Anti-Abnormality Special Forces, place me in the same unit, and have me train those girls.

That was all.

Han yujin truly knew nothing beyond that.

However, she did mention that she had her own suspicions about the situation.

In the end, I decided to share the information I had about the girls — at least a general overview.

As she listened, her face slowly contorted in shock.

“If… if that’s really true, then this is insanity…!”

“Of course, nothing is certain yet. That’s why I’m just quietly gathering information for now. The reason I called you here today was to see if you might know anything about this.”

Honestly, I hadn’t really expected her to know.

If they were keeping this information from me — someone they promised to treat with general-level privileges — there was even less chance they’d tell her.

It was unlikely she’d know anything.

I just didn’t want to resort to more extreme methods unless I was absolutely sure.

“Hmm…”

Han yujin hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke with a determined expression.

“I don’t know if this will help… but I’ll start by digging up every bit of information I can with my current access. I’ll also ask my father. If there’s one thing I know about him… it’s that he’ll answer honestly, as far as he knows.”

I doubted Director Hanshinwo knew the full story either — but just hearing her offer was enough.

That alone was reassuring.

Feeling like the conversation had reached a good stopping point, I stood up, ready to leave.

I was about to get up and leave.

Or at least, I tried to.

“Um… Min Hayul-nim?”

She called out to me with a worried expression.

“Are… are the kids doing okay?”

She looked quite anxious after hearing everything I’d told her.

Well, I couldn’t really blame her.

If those kids really were minors — and quite young ones at that — it wouldn’t be much different from sending child soldiers to the front lines.

In the distant past, kids like me had no choice but to transform into magical girls and fight against monstrous threats.

But times were different now.

At least in Korea, with someone like me around, there was no reason for children to be sacrificed anymore.

Of course, there still needed to be capable successors to take up the mantle eventually… but not like this.

“They’re doing well. They’re… a pretty unique bunch, I’ll admit.”

There was still a long way to go.

At least I’d gotten closer to Leaf — that was progress.

But when it came to Blaze… well, that was another story entirely.

She treated me with the utmost respect and had a very childlike side, so I wasn’t too worried about Blaze.

The one I was most concerned about was none other than Icicle.

Of the three, she was the most unstable.

If I could only uncover the identity of one of them, I wouldn’t hesitate to choose Icicle.

That’s how serious her situation felt.

Her obsession with strength wasn’t something you could just brush off.

There had to be some huge event in her past that shaped her into who she was now.

But…”They’re okay. For now.”

I suppose that was something to be grateful for.

So far, there hadn’t been any major problems, and they were getting by without too much trouble.

Hearing my response, Han yujin looked visibly relieved.

“That must all be thanks to you, Min Hayul-nim… I feel so guilty that I’ve risen to this position and still haven’t been much help.”

“…There’s really nothing for you to apologize for.”

What exactly was she feeling so sorry about?

Maybe it was just because I was the one she was speaking to — that seemed like the most plausible reason — but I couldn’t entirely hide my surprise.

Still, seeing how seriously she responded, I was relieved.

It didn’t seem like I had misjudged her character.

“Well then… I’ll be going now.”

“Ah, y-yes! Um… Min Hayul-nim?”

“Yes?”

“I know it might be a bit forward of me to say this, but… if you ever need my help, please call on me. I’ll do my absolute best.”

I wasn’t sure what kind of help she could offer, but it wasn’t a bad thing to hear.

Even though I was treated like a general, it was still just a form of respect — my position was a bit ambiguous.

Having someone in a clearly high-ranking position like her openly declare their support?

There was nothing bad about that.

“Thank you.”

I smiled softly as I answered.