The only beings I can trust right now are Jiguppa and James.
There aren’t many people around me.
First of all, at the orphanage, I’m treated like a half-troublemaker.
I’ve never caused any trouble inside the orphanage, but I’ve spent a lot of time outside, coming back late without following the designated times the orphanage set.
From the perspective of the orphanage teacher, I’m probably seen as a delinquent student who’s out late at night doing who knows what.
The teacher has tried their best to discipline me and has had various counseling sessions with me, but my behavior never improved, and now they’ve almost given up.
I wonder how the atmosphere at the orphanage has changed since I disappeared.
Is Ji-hye doing well? I can’t even contact Ji-hye, who is one of the few people I know well, so my current situation is, to put it strictly, like teaming up with people I can’t fully trust.
Jiguppa is at least okay.
Although we don’t know each other’s pasts, our relationship is pretty good despite that.
To Jiguppa , I’m the ‘friend who safely takes you home when you’re drunk,’ and to me, he’s ‘not exactly suspicious.’
I’m not sure why he helps me without complaining, though.
Maybe it’s because I’m a magical girl? But I don’t think he’s ever looked at me the way Hayoon used to.
James…
If I had to pick the most untrustworthy person I’ve interacted with in my life, it would be James.
At least with Jiguppa , we don’t know much about each other, but James has one-sidedly held information about me without ever sharing any information about himself.
The problem is, in this situation, it’s completely impossible to not accept James’s help.
And the condition for that help was ‘revenge.’
If I could, I’d want to get revenge too. I’ve had people in both my past and present lives that I wanted to punch in the face.
But every time I’ve held back from doing so, it’s because reacting like that would bring huge social disadvantages.
It’s not just me; everyone else would feel the same.
Who in this world can live without holding back?
Even though I’m a magical girl, I can’t imagine what would happen after I get my revenge, considering that I’m being chased by the most powerful people in this country.
“You’re only thinking of revenge in a narrow way, and that’s why you’re coming to that conclusion.”
James said this in a terribly annoying voice, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“If getting revenge means chasing after the person who hit you and hitting them back the same way, then yes, that’s revenge. Some people think that beating someone or even killing them is the ultimate form of revenge. If it were a barbaric era, it might have been a good method. It’s a straightforward way to show that whoever messes with you can end up the same way.”
I stared at James.
Maybe he was so full of himself that he didn’t even notice my gaze.
“But in modern society, that’s not possible. There’s something called public authority. If you beat or kill someone in the name of revenge, what comes after is the police. And the ‘government’ will take revenge on someone who breaks the law for ‘personal reasons.’”
“So, what are you trying to say?”
“Naturally, you should use the very power you have right now as a tool.”
“Isn’t that just saying the same thing?”
Using my power means beating or killing someone, right? Of course, I never intended to kill anyone, even if I didn’t mind beating them.
Like other magical girls, I didn’t want to become a murderer.
“It means you need to be very careful in choosing your target. Right now, it seems like both the Galactic Federation and the company are in disarray because the plan has fallen apart, but if you give it a little more time, they’ll probably start clashing again.”
James said this with a very wicked expression on his face, chewing on sunflower seeds.
“The most important entity in the next research was supposed to be handed over, but that entity disappeared. The Galactic Federation, on their side, can’t help but suspect the company’s betrayal. The government, on the other hand, has been framed as incompetent for not even catching the terrorists. And on top of that, they’re probably terrified that the truth about you will be exposed to the world.”
“So, you’re saying that soon they’ll all be in a frenzy, trying to blame each other for everything?’”
“It’s needless to say. They were never that closely connected in the first place. The government doesn’t want the Galactic Federation interfering too much. The company needed to quietly finish the business succession, so this issue had to be resolved quickly. The Galactic Federation, on its side, had to find another way. The number of magical girls is too limited.”
I had heard that other countries also have magical girls, or similar entities.
Of course, the numbers are small. In fact, compared to the population, South Korea might actually have a relatively high number.
That’s why it’s been called an important region even in webtoons.
“It’s just that once, the interests aligned perfectly.”
“There was a fool who wanted to take over the company’s management, and the government probably wanted to use that fool to create a foothold for interfering with the company. The Galactic Federation, in the process, tried to find another way out.”
Just once.
How the story unfolds from here depends on how they move, but in any case, they cooperated just once to create an opportunity that would turn the situation in their favor.
And the result is this mess.
If we’re talking about the cause of this chaos, naturally, I was at the center of it.
I’m glad I ran away.
Even if I hadn’t, my life would have been in the gutter anyway.
A cramped gutter is still better than a narrow one, and at least in the bigger gutter, there’s a little space to lie down.
“Isn’t this too unfavorable for the company?”
“The company probably only intended to pass on one technology. It’s referred to as ‘circuit,’ and aside from the emotional aspect, the basic technology itself is almost the same… but ‘the technology for efficiently extracting a small amount of energy from an ordinary person’ is a separate matter.”
They might think that as long as they don’t pass on that part to the Galactic Federation, they can somehow protect the company, since they hold the core technology or equipment in other areas.
“But in the long run…”
If they only have the core of the technology, applying it depends entirely on time and budget.
Optimizing equipment and improving productivity can be solved by other companies given enough time.
Of course, it’s unclear how many obstacles they’ll face along the way.
“There are people in this world who become blinded by short-term profits and throw away long-term gains. Or maybe what he sees as ‘long-term profits’ is something else entirely. It might be that, decades from now, he’ll run for office, perhaps as someone who contributed in some way to solving Earth’s environmental destruction.”
“And as I mentioned, the two circuits share too many similarities. On the other hand, if they spent time and budget, repeating failures, eventually the Galactic Federation would have been able to create their own ‘circuit.’ The next president might have seen that. But, even so, yes, as you said, it’s a foolish thing to do.”
“Right, let’s set aside the interests of the two of them. What about the government? They’ve been profiting from the conflict between the two sides, haven’t they?”
“The government’s prestige has been tarnished, but it’s not like the country is on the verge of collapse because of it. If the administration changes, though, that might be a different story.”
That’s true.
After all, there hasn’t been a war or anything.
“Not preventing the terrorist incident can be blamed on the company’s mismanagement, and the failure to capture you can be attributed to the lack of the magical girl’s abilities.”
“What about when I was captured? That’s exactly what I planned for from the start.”
“The company doesn’t intend to hand over all the technology for now, but if they start supplying equipment to the Galactic Federation using the facilities they’ve already set up, the situation will change. First, as someone who knows the ins and outs of all the incidents, they’ll be able to exploit that weakness. Second, the government, while turning a blind eye to the Galactic Federation’s facilities, still applies South Korean domestic laws to manage the company’s equipment with a certain level of strictness…”
The reason the company can move to South Korea and profit outside the jurisdiction of the Galactic Federation’s laws is because it’s paying the price by transferring technology to the South Korean government.
Therefore, the facilities and equipment of the company, listed as ‘Noir Corporation,’ are subject to South Korean law.
Since they have to transfer the technology used in the products made by the facilities, they will likely be keeping a close eye on things as well.
In other words, supplying equipment to the Galactic Federation is impossible without the South Korean government’s approval.
This means that the state of ‘profiting in the middle’ is still maintained.
…Truly, everyone is just loyal to their own desires.
“Now, finally…”
I looked down at James and said.
James, perhaps feeling a bit nervous, set down the sunflower seeds he had been eagerly munching on since earlier.
After all, his body size was completely different from mine.
“So, what was the reason you betrayed the company? If selling the technology was your goal, there must have been multiple ways for you to survive.”
“Well, of course, it’s because I didn’t want my technology to be used for something as petty as a power struggle.”
“Isn’t that a bit too idealistic?”
“Technology that can turn ideals into reality shouldn’t just be used to launch a few ships. That would be a waste.”
…If the technology is just about launching ships, it’s still incredibly important.
“I want to reverse the entropy of the universe. I’m looking for technology that can create something from nothing, or a method of development where the energy output exceeds the energy input.”
“Is the universe really suffering that much from an energy shortage?”
I’m not sure, but it seems like the Galactic Federation already knows how to launch warships while minimizing environmental damage.
“That’s a misunderstanding.”
James stated firmly.
“Being able to go into space just means resource extraction is more accessible. In reality, we are constantly using the limited energy available in space. And the rate of consumption is accelerating.”
“How long will that last?”
“Probably only a few billion years at most. We haven’t even begun researching how to extract energy from other galaxies yet.”
At the thought of this, my mind went blank for a moment, and I sat there, dazed, before speaking again.
“Does the lifespan of the Zikzik species last for hundreds of millions of years or something?”
“They’re not much different from humans.”
“Then, if that’s the case, the Galactic Federation might not even last that long, right?”
“That’s exactly why we’re trying to make it sustainable.”
I think I understand now why he couldn’t last in that company.
“Could it be that the president also had the same idea?”
“It’s the company’s founding philosophy. To ensure that life can continue, even when there are no stars left in the sky.”
So, that’s why it’s called ‘Noir.’