Joo-ah had something on her mind lately that she couldn’t quite ignore.
She didn’t view the situation overly pessimistically, though it wasn’t entirely optimistic either, as Jeong Jieun had pointed out.
Would she be able to return to school and start anew as a second-year student? Would she be able to graduate on time and attend university?
No matter how much she thought about it, coming to a positive conclusion about those questions felt like seeing the situation through rose-colored glasses.
Even so, despite her worries about the future—well, who knew?
Looking at what the five of them had accomplished here, it wasn’t all bad.
Even without the hopeful circuits handed out by the federal government, Joo-ah—no, Iris—was able to create functioning devices.
It wasn’t as though they’d done it entirely without the help of civilization, but there was a way to survive.
Somehow, she felt like she was realizing this for the first time.
Here, no one was pressuring Joo-ah to do this or that.
There were no opponents to defeat.
Since everyone was in a situation where they couldn’t survive without doing something, they naturally took on tasks.
The more they helped each other, the better the situation became, and life grew slightly more comfortable.
Of course, if someone were to tell her she had to live here forever, she’d probably start thinking about escaping somehow.
“…Not here again today,” she muttered, stepping out of the shower and drying her hair.
Making a hair-drying device wasn’t as hard as she thought.
There were motors and power sources, heat sources, and all she had to do was assemble it to avoid breaking.
Without the need for wiring or batteries, there were fewer parts, and the device became more stable.
This too was something Joo-ah and James had created together.
All the women here had relatively long hair.
Even Rose, with the shortest hairstyle, had hair too long and thick to dry naturally.
Moreover, James, who was covered in fur, had clear use for a device that blew warm air.
“They probably went out for a walk,” Rose replied lazily.
Each magical girl had her own way of dealing with the current situation, but as beings who always fought with hope, none of them had completely succumbed to despair yet.
Even if there were traces of anxiety, they moved about as if they somehow found this time to be comforting.
Though Jeong Jieun, who had been here the longest, was a bit different.
Even now, Iris felt a strange sensation whenever she saw her.
The first feeling that came to her was guilt.
She didn’t think it was entirely wrong.
Combatants often did things not much different from hired thugs, and she had little hesitation in stopping them.
But that didn’t mean she felt nothing when faced with someone she had beaten up.
Especially since Joo-ah often recognized Jeong Jieun.
Because of her distinct figure, it was easy to spot the “annoying one.”
Even when there was no chance of winning, she would always fight until the end.
Knowing it was impossible, she would still charge forward and swing her fists.
Jo-ah still couldn’t understand those feelings.
Their situations had been entirely different, to begin with.
If she had taken that kind of job to send money to the orphanage she lived in…
After drying her hair, Jo-ah put down the handmade hairdryer.
She thought for a moment, then stood up.
“Are you going to look for them?” Rose asked knowingly.
“…I just want to get some fresh air.”
Joo-ah replied as she stepped outside.
Finding the two of them wasn’t all that difficult.
Unless they went into some crumbling ruins, there weren’t many places to hide.
If they entered the forest, it might have been harder, but it was unlikely in the middle of the night.
Spotting the two sitting near the village entrance, Jo-ah quickly hid nearby.
It wasn’t entirely necessary, but…
Under the moonlight, the two sat close together, exuding an atmosphere that made it feel wrong to interrupt.
There was no conversation.
There was no laughter.
Hayoon was simply leaning on Jeong Jieun’s shoulder with her eyes closed.
Not far away, hiding crouched against a wall, Jo-ah held her pounding heart and kept silent.
Why?
She had no idea why she was feeling this way.
To Jo-ah—no, Iris—Hayoon was an important figure.
Not just as a friend but also as a wall she needed to surpass.
There were senior magical girls who had started a year earlier, but Hayoon was somehow different from them.
It wasn’t just about her skills.
She had an innate brilliance, as if she could shine without even trying.
Hayoon’s “hope” was different.
The hope of magical girls usually stemmed from a sense of purpose tied to their role.
For them, being a magical girl was both a profession and a mission, carrying a sense of duty but also pride in their position.
Iris’s disdainful attitude toward combatants stemmed from this mindset—being strong, righteous, and admirable was inherent to her role.
Hayoon’s hope, however, was far less concrete than that.
Yet it always burned bright and fiercely.
Iris remembered the moments when that burning hope had faltered:
When Jeong Jieun went through that ordeal.
When she was hospitalized, unconscious.
When she was chased by the police.
And when they infiltrated the corporate building.
Hayoon’s hope had dimmed so noticeably that even the other magical girls could see it clearly.
Iris was curious about why.
She peeked out again to look at the two.
She couldn’t see them clearly—only the side of Jeong Jieun’s face.
Her expression wasn’t bright.
The emotions Iris felt were new to her.
It wasn’t jealousy, nor was it confusion—she had already experienced too much blatant confusion to mistake it for that.
Blossom’s hope.
A person with the courage to never give up, even while cycling through emotions that seemed destined to be dark.
Someone who never succumbed, no matter how consuming those emotions became.
Someone who clung to the cliffside with relentless tenacity, refusing to let go.
Maybe Hayoon saw Jeong Jieun as “hope” because of that.
Iris thought back again.
The combatant who had charged at her with desperate determination, even coming up with strange tactics to land a single blow on Iris’s face.
If their positions had been reversed, could Iris have done the same?
“…”
The conclusion was, “I don’t know.”
Whether it was because she didn’t want to accept and understand the situation or because her arrogance made her think she could, Iris wasn’t sure.
If she hadn’t thought of herself as “a person who fights evil with circuits,” would she have broken?
The thought of answering that question terrified her.
It felt like admitting she was lesser than the courage of a single combatant.
And then, recalling the type of emotion she had felt, Iris was struck by a new wave of bewilderment.
Envy.
Envy of the blazing light of hope that leaned on its trusted companion.
Even knowing how rude and cruel it was to feel “jealous” of someone in such a situation, Iris couldn’t deny her feelings.
Hearing the two getting up, Iris quickly moved.
Hiding her footsteps wasn’t hard.
It seemed they hadn’t noticed her.
It didn’t take long to form a plan.
If she were to lose all sense of reason and strike first, there was only one target she would go after—the current chairman of Noir Corporation.
“Perfect.”
And it was a plan she had longed for deeply.
Though people told her to think rationally, humans were creatures that couldn’t completely ignore their emotions.
After all, the very people here were driven by despair and hope.
The source of their movement wasn’t reason but emotion.
Even if hope was futile, it could still be grasped.
Despair is something you can create even in tolerable circumstances.
Whoever designed this world, isn’t it overly unkind?
“So, all I have to do is storm into the chairman’s house?”
“It’s not that simple,” James replied, sitting cross-legged on the ground with his arms folded.
“We know where the chairman’s residence is, but it’s hard to believe that coward would just stay there,” he added.
The former chairman had fled and abandoned his subordinates when things got dangerous, but there was no need to bring that up and irritate James.
“Still, it’s a valid assumption. Yes, he’s not exactly a ‘rational’ person. If the goal is to make the enemy doubt us and prioritize self-preservation, then storming in and causing chaos might work.”
“Oh.”
I smiled for the first time in a while.
“Will there be a monster there?”
“Probably.”
“Then there’s no need for us to fight, is there?”
“Correct. Monsters don’t distinguish friend from foe. Even if controlled through resonance, issuing specific commands is impossible.”
James said this, then looked at me, grinning.
“Do you have any questions?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of question?”
“How much valuable stuff will be there?”
James let out an exasperated sigh.
“That was the former chairman’s residence. Naturally, there won’t be much of value belonging to the current chairman. In fact, the current chairman keeps that house partly out of jealousy for the former chairman.”
“Ah, that’s disappointing.”
I did have some grudges against the former chairman, but at least he never directly hit me.
He threatened Wisdom verbally but never actually acted on it.
Then again, thinking back, Wisdom ended up in trouble because the former chairman investigated me.
So I don’t think I’ll feel guilty about smashing some of his stuff.
“What’s with that smug expression?”
“Nothing, just feeling good about starting our counterattack.”
James squinted at me.
What? Why?
You’re the one who came up with the idea of storming the place. It’s not like your glare will change the plan.
“So, am I going alone?”
“No.”
Hayoon cut in firmly.
I turned my head to see her looking at me with a hardened expression.
“Why? Afraid I’ll get caught again?”
“Yes.”
That was too quick of a reply.
“Isn’t this about showing them I’m moving on my own? What if you come along and ruin that?”
“I’ll just say I followed to stop you.”
I stared at Hayoon for a moment before speaking slowly.
“Even if you don’t come, I’m not going to destroy anyone else’s house.”
Hayoon looked stunned for a moment, her mouth slightly open.
…Why does she look so shocked?
Didn’t we already settle this last time?
“What about the others? Any ideas?”
When I asked, Iris raised her hand high.
…What now?
Wasn’t she supposed to be the least emotional of the magical girls?
Sure, Delphinium could be like that too, but in the original story, Iris’s role was to stop reckless plans.
Ah, is she going to call this plan reckless?
“Going alone is too reckless,” she said.
So, I wasn’t entirely wrong.
Didn’t we already finish discussing this?
“There’s no such thing as being completely done with planning,” Iris added.
“If there’s a flaw, we should address it thoroughly.”
Rose chimed in beside her.
If this were back when I had just arrived here, I probably would’ve ignored their words.
Back then, I thought they were more of a burden than any real help.
However, after receiving so much help, ignoring their opinions entirely was impossible.
Besides, the magical girls had fought alongside me several times already.
If they pointed out “flaws,” there was a good chance they were sincere.
“…Fine, let’s hear it.”
In the end, I couldn’t dismiss all three of them and nodded.
“What’s flawed about it?”
“All of us should fight together. Even if we try to avoid it, you know monsters don’t just stick to one-on-one combat, right? How are you so sure you won’t get caught?”
“Well, I have the Black Hole.”
“And if you get knocked unconscious?”
“If you’re unconscious, you can’t use magic. If your circuits are taken or destroyed while you’re unconscious, you won’t be able to come back. You’d be captured. Or should I say, ‘taken alive’?”
…That’s quite a grim way to put it.
But they weren’t wrong.
What if there were multiple monsters? As a magical girl, my reflexes were much sharper, and I was confident I wouldn’t be taken down in one hit.
But my magic was still immature compared to the others.
If there were as many monsters in that house as there were in the broadcast station, it could be dangerous.
“If we’re just talking about possibilities, it’s not entirely impossible,” I admitted.
“Reasonable point. So, Jeong Jieun, what do you think?” James asked, a sly grin on his face as if amused by my hesitation.
“…What if you all follow me? Then what?”
“I can provide support fire. And my support includes ‘warping.’ It’s a bit painful, but I can teleport you somewhere else if necessary,” Iris explained.
Having experienced it before, I wasn’t thrilled about going through that again.
“And I can pretend to restrain you. You know how flashy and noisy it is when you warp, right? If we magical girls act like we’re trying to stop you, wouldn’t it seem strange if we didn’t get involved?”
I had no rebuttal.
James looked between me and Iris as though thoroughly enjoying my predicament.
I grabbed him and began fiddling with him out of spite.
James squirmed and squeaked as if trying to escape, but he couldn’t overpower me, especially with my circuits active.
His bites didn’t even scratch me.
…For some reason, Hayoon shot me a cold glare, so I reluctantly let James go.
These magical girls might perceive this as some kind of prejudice.
Still, she glared at my hands, not my eyes, so it wasn’t too intimidating.
“…Fine.”
I’d bought myself some time by tormenting James, but I couldn’t come up with a counterargument.
“I’m going too!” Hayoon raised her hand like Iris, her voice filled with determination.
“It’s not bad to have someone guarding your back!”
“…Aren’t you coming to stop me?”
“It’s fine. We can create some confusion ourselves,” Hayoon replied cheerfully.
I stared at her.
Meeting my gaze, she fidgeted nervously, her bright face somewhat endearing yet frustratingly stubborn.
Has Hayoon ever been this insistent before?
For a moment, I considered the situation.
If she’s this adamant, could it mean the situation is more dangerous than I thought? That’s why she’s so determined to come along.
Maybe I’ve been too confident and underestimated the enemy.
Underestimating or overestimating both lead to trouble, but underestimation causes the most damage.
“…Alright.”
I finally agreed.
Seeing Hayoon’s face light up made me feel like I’d made the wrong decision.
“Will we be okay? Should we follow too?” Rose asked Hayoon before we left.
“Of course! We’ll be fine!”
This wasn’t a field trip.
Still, it wasn’t a bad feeling to have them think positively about me, though I didn’t know what to say to
Hayoon’s enthusiastic reaction.
It felt like going back to before we arrived here.
While my instincts screamed that this wasn’t entirely a good thing, a part of me welcomed it.
While Hayoon looked bright and eager, Iris seemed slightly stiff.
“If it’s going to be too hard, you can stay behind,” I suggested.
“Do you think I’d back out after saying all that?” Iris replied sharply.
Perhaps it sounded like I was provoking her.
Given our dynamic, I supposed that was understandable, but I didn’t want to waste energy getting caught up in it.
I raised both hands slightly in surrender.
“Alright, then. Are we ready? Circuits charged?”
I nodded, slipping into the habits of my former work.
“…Then, let’s go.”