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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Stranger from Another World (3)
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What is a Magical Girl?
A hero who confronts great evil armed with nothing but a single magic wand.
An indomitable soul who never gives up, no matter the hardship.
A guardian of happiness who sings songs of dreams and hope.
And.
The one and only existence capable of facing Monsters.
"Thanks to them, we drove out the Monsters and managed to restore Korea to this Magical state."
But.
"Is that really true?"
"Why? That's just how it happened."
Something felt off.
For an incident on that scale, the number of invading Monsters must have been enormous. Could a tiny handful of Magical Girls have handled it?
In my opinion, absolutely not.
Even if they could, the aftermath would have been devastating.
A national crisis isn't something you just shrug off like a scrape or a cut.
However.
"The current state looks way too pristine for that."
The world I'd seen firsthand was far more advanced than before I'd been dragged to another world.
In other words, they'd long since repaired the damage and moved on to the next phase.
Did that even make sense?
"Even for Magical Girls, is that possible?"
Masses are a simple, primal, yet incredibly effective form of violence. I've experienced it myself, so I know better than anyone.
"I haven't seen it myself, but there must have been a ton of Monsters, and each one probably massive."
"Ah, yeah. It was no joke."
I knew it well.
Even I had crossed the line between life and death countless times fighting against groups.
Especially when the individuals making up that group were highly skilled. Unfortunately, every group I'd faced was always one of two things.
Either on my level.
Or a step or two above me.
If it was just one opponent, maybe. But once it was a group, I couldn't just steamroll them.
To gain something, I had to sacrifice something else.
A kind of equivalent exchange.
A fluid transaction where the price changed every moment.
And.
Always with scales tipped unfairly against me.
To advance one step, I had to give up my left arm.
To land one thrust, I had to take three stabs.
When I severed one arm, my guts spilled out.
Of course, I didn't die. I survived somehow.
It just hurt so much—really, unbearably so—that there were more than a few times I wished I could just die.
That's why I couldn't help but have questions now.
"So how did the Magical Girls beat that many Monsters?"
No matter how amazing Magical Girls are, they're not invincible or absolute. Facing a horde of Monsters, they'd hit a limit eventually.
Just like I had.
"Well, there were a massive number of awakened Magical Girls, that's how."
"How many are we talking?"
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
How many Magical Girls could there possibly be?
"Every single one nationwide."
I couldn't even laugh.
I must have misheard.
No novel, no matter how stupid, would include a setting like that—let alone real life.
A world like that would just be insane.
"Ah, to be precise, only biologically adult women. But yeah, all women anyway."
Thinking about it, the world had always been a bit mad.
In that sense, every woman becoming a Magical Girl wasn't all that strange.
Anyway.
"So that's how it was possible, right?"
"Well... yeah, I guess."
Even if North Korea sent Monsters south, could they match the number of adult women across the nation?
There might have been casualties from the invasion, but women wouldn't have been in short supply.
Plus, if North Korea targeted only South Korea, fine—but they spread worldwide? They'd be outnumbered from the start.
So the Magical Girls repelled the Monsters.
"Of course, many sacrificed their lives, but the Magical Girls did drive the Monsters out."
To sum it up.
First, Monsters invaded South Korea from North Korea, and women nationwide awakened as Magical Girls to overcome the disaster.
That led to another inference.
"So the Monsters are up north now."
Their current location, first off.
I based that on the police constantly using the phrase "driven out."
If they'd wiped them all out, they'd say something like "exterminated" or "annihilated."
Plus, just dumping them on another country would cause backlash later. The best option would be sending them back where they came from.
"Mostly, yeah."
"Mostly?"
"Some countries with bad relations stubbornly sent Monsters to others."
"Ah."
Surprisingly, humans sometimes ignore the best choice out of sheer malice toward their enemies.
Whatever.
Plus, with that many Magical Girls, they'd inevitably form groups.
That organization that pops up often in Magical Girl stories—not always, but frequently—with slightly varying names but always the same purpose.
Yeah.
"With that many Magical Girls, there must be a Magical Girl Association, right?"
There had to be a Magical Girl Association.
"Yes, just like you said, Kim Siyul. There's an association for Magical Girls. Official name is the Magical Association. Though everyone just calls it the Association."
Now, sprinkle in two facts.
One: Government agencies, especially the Ministry of National Defense and Military Manpower Administration, had collapsed, leaving those roles vacant.
Two: When they vanished, a group with equal or greater firepower suddenly appeared.
So, one conclusion.
"The Association must have taken over the roles of the Ministry of National Defense and Military Manpower Administration. With Magical Girls instead of soldiers."
The only way to stop Monsters from the north was Magical Girls, so they'd naturally inherit those duties.
"Yes, exactly."
The police nodded.
Correct.
Then.
"That's why everything gets 'Magical' slapped on it, since they solve it all with magic?"
This should be right too.
"No, Magical is just Magical, okay?"
"Fuck, seriously."
Nope.
My head throbbed a little.
Anyway.
"Hoo."
"Hoo."
I let out a sigh without realizing.
They say ten years changes mountains and rivers, but I never imagined the world would transform this much in the ten years I was gone.
There must have been plenty of conflicts, incidents, and accidents to reach this point. And probably still were.
The flood of info made my head ache.
A little breather would be nice.
"Anyway, the explanation's done, so let's get to the main Magical event, Kim Siyul."
But the cop across from me didn't seem inclined to give me even that.
"Do you know what kind of disposition you'll face going forward, Kim Siyul?"
"No clue."
That's why they dragged me here, asshole.
"Ah, right. You're going for the 'I don't know' act?"
"Hey, you fuck."
One more name added to my complaint ledger. This dogshit right in front of me.
"Anyway, as a Magical deserter, Kim Siyul, you're obviously headed to the Magical prison."
No matter what I thought, the cop just kept saying his piece.
"You've been on the run for 12 years, so the severity means a long sentence."
That explained why the police hadn't been aggressive so far.
Normally, they pressure people whose crimes aren't confirmed yet. If the pressure makes you confess, it becomes an easy stat boost.
But with confirmed criminals, they play nice. No point in squeezing more out of someone who's already guilty, and no need to sour the mood.
I fell into the latter category here.
It was so unfair. I was on the verge of going mad with resentment. Felt half-mad already.
"No! Hey! Fuck! Even so, this is—!"
"But."
The cop cut me off abruptly.
"But...?"
"The world's gotten so much better—even deserters get special exemptions now."
"What kind?"
The world really had gone mad.
I'd spent ten years post-discharge rolling in hellish otherworld shit, only to come back to forced choices.
Quietly go to prison branded a deserter.
Or, if I didn't like that.
"Finish your service as a Magical Girl."
"..."
Become a Magical Girl.
"What'll it be?"
In the end, I had one choice.
"Prison."
That's a Magical Girl? It was basically reenlistment.
I'd already been discharged—sending me back to the military? No way. Once was enough for that nightmare.
No matter how I thought about it, prison beat the military by miles. They'd respect human rights, good food, everything.
Sure, the sentence might be long, but whatever.
How long could it be?
Way shorter than my ten years in the otherworld. Even if similar, living conditions would be better.
Plus, I had money.
Major shareholder in Top□ and No□pia.
So, prison it was.
"Magical Girl military it is. Got it."
"Hey, I said prison."
"We'll escort you to the Magical Judgment Examination Hall."
"No! I said prison, you fucking prick!"
Of course, my choice didn't mean shit.
It was a choice in name only—a notification.
"What can I do? I'm just following orders from above."
No, even asking earlier was just a farce.
"Then why the fuck did you ask!!!"
"Why? Well."
At that moment, the cop—who'd worn that typical bureaucratic deadpan face and dull eyes the whole time.
For the first time, he flashed a bright smile.
"Because it's fun."
"I'm filing that complaint for real, you fuck!!!"
And just like that, I got dragged off again.