Chapter 34

As the monsters regained their once vague beliefs firmly once more.

The source of their worries, Sun.

After finishing all her annoying vacation homework….

She was enjoying the coolness allowed to holders of air conditioners, spending comfortable days with her legs stretched out indoors.

At 1 PM, the hottest time of a summer day.

Normally, that would be the time to lie down in her room without any thoughts.

Yet for some reason, during such a time, Mary was getting ready to leave the house, taking care of Shiyeon and the mascots as well.

Turning off the air conditioner, the brightly lit room’s light went out.

Even with the light off, the sunlight pouring in through the balcony window seemed to show how hot it was outside.

Finally, before leaving, Mary checked to see if Shiyeon had forgotten anything.

“Bus card?”

“I’ve got it!”

The strap that extended from her left shoulder to her right waist.

Shiyeon replied while proudly displaying her light pink handbag attached to her right waist.

It’s lovely, fulfilling, and so cute.

Even on a hot summer day, the magical girls’ meetup was happening.

Students were on vacation, and it was the peak holiday season for workers.

There was no better excuse to gather than this.

The meeting place was none other than Star Cafe, where they always gathered during meetups.

After taking the bus and getting off several stops down the street.

While walking hand in hand with Shiyeon, they spotted Star Cafe, its curtains drawn as if it were closed.

It looked closed, but since it wasn’t, they knocked on the locked door and slipped in through the gap when it opened.

Inside the cafe, a warm and reassuring voice welcomed them.

“Welcome! Is it Sun and Mun?”

Only after making sure the door was properly closed and locked did they politely greet with the transformation words.

“Sun. Yes, hello.”

“Mun Power! Hello!”

Greeting the owner, who stood at the entrance, they entered the brightly lit interior and took a seat.

The mascots were taken out from their pockets to talk among themselves, searching for empty seats.

The others who had sat down noticed their transformation and welcomed them by pulling out chairs, motioning for them to sit.

“Sun and Mun! Welcome!”

Time flowed among the girls as they all shared their updates while transformed.

In a place filled with such girls, I felt like I was the only one floating.

It was natural; there couldn’t possibly be anyone here who went from being a man to a woman.

No, there likely wasn’t anyone living a second life from the start.

“Hoo, hoo.”

Just as hot chocolate was placed on the table, Shiyeon grasped the cup tightly with both hands, blowing softly to cool the surface of the drink.

It was still early for us to be sipping coffee.

Of course, two cups of hot chocolate were served.

A warm cup of hot chocolate in an ice-cold indoor environment with the air conditioning blasting.

That dissonance felt oddly pleasant.

It was like being cozied under the blankets while the air conditioner was running full blast, right?

“So, how have you two been?”

“On break, so we’re playing!”

The magical girl with striking pink twin tails, just like Shiyeon’s handbag, Mars.

In response to her question, Shiyeon gave a simple one-dimensional answer.

To provide a bit more detail, I added some elaboration.

“Other than school, it’s the same as usual, fighting monsters… and doing vacation homework.”

“If you’re in elementary school, it’s the 5th period, right? I’m envious.”

Out of nowhere, Mars brought up age, resting her chin on her hand while sipping coffee.

If she was worrying about the number of periods in school, she must also be a student.

This year marked three years since she became a magical girl.

Not knowing her actual age when she started, I couldn’t tell whether she was in middle or high school, but she was most likely around middle school age.

After all, this gathering contained both students and working adults.

With the way that students today could sometimes look much older than high schoolers as they grew, it was difficult to distinguish between individuals when they transformed back momentarily or exited a building.

While they didn’t particularly hide their actual ages from each other, they also didn’t share them openly.

Having envied her short 5th-period life, she seemed to think of another question, releasing her chin and asking again.

“By the way, something big happened recently, right? Are you both okay?”

“Four?”

The recent big event.

Shiyeon tilted her head at that, but for someone like me who was involved in that incident, it was easy to guess which event was being referred to.

It must have been the recent mass monster outbreak.

Just thinking back to that day brought fatigue that had previously been nonexistent.

The sudden wave of fatigue began to transform into words, flowing out as a complaint.

“It was a big deal….”

“How did you resolve it? We might have to do the same, so let us know.”

As I vaguely described that it had been a big deal, I shifted my gaze toward the drawn curtains, and while Mars began to pile on questions without giving me a chance to sip my hot chocolate.

I wondered if it could truly be called resolving the issue.

It was a crude method hardly worthy of the term ‘solution.’

“We just wiped them all out. I guess they figured it was no longer worth going back to normal…”

Excluding the torture, pain, desperate screams, and the chases, that was about it.

“Ugh, then we just have to endure it….”

After hearing my answer, Mars slumped over the table, resting her face on it.

Her voluminous, pink hair spilled across the table.

Seeing her worried about situations that hadn’t even happened yet, I thought, she does seem like the type to worry unnecessarily… and lightly brushed it off.

Even after that, the topic of ‘that incident’ was mentioned several times with questions being exchanged.

By the time my lips were parched, and I was about to take the now-cold hot chocolate away,

“Excuse me?! What does that mean?!”

“…!”

Suddenly, the loud exclamation from one table startled me, causing the hot chocolate I was sipping to catch in my throat.

“Cough, cough….”

As I repeatedly struck my chest with a fist, rapidly coughing out short breaths.

Naturally, the attention of the cafe’s patrons shifted to where the outcry originated.

Once I gathered myself from the unrefined coughing and turned my gaze in the same direction others were looking.

As the variety of voices began to quiet down, the sound from that table could be distinctly heard.

“I can’t produce the same strength as before, so I’m thinking of retiring now.”

“That’s too sudden….”

The retirement of a magical girl.

It was something that made sense with age, and yet some people might not even be considering it at all.

The average age of magical girls is in their 20s.

Considering that the majority of the students here bring that average down, it could stretch to the 30s for this profession.

However, as one fights monsters to protect the city, this role contains the romanticism of girlhood.

Have those who are approaching their 30s or beyond ever thought about their position at least once?

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I feel like I’m going to keep worrying you….”

Venus, with her youthful voice, nervously scratched her short yellow hair, giving a brief apology to Stella, who remarked that it was all too sudden.

Sources of funding that couldn’t be disclosed, a profession that couldn’t be proudly shared with those around them.

Friends who were once of similar ages began to step down from being magical girls one by one.

Generations were changing, while she felt like she alone was aging at that place.

That sensation would deepen the more frequently they gathered and the longer alone time stretched.

“I’ve got someone who’ll be my husband now, and at this age, I can’t just stay feeling like a girl forever. I need a profession that I can talk about proudly.”

As her words continued, the surroundings quieted.

Silence enveloped the atmosphere.

“…What about memories?”

Stella’s word “memories” and her question.

What relevance could that have to the recent conversation? But it wasn’t entirely unrelated.

The retirement of a magical girl implied that the person who knew the truth about magical girls would enter society.

At this point, the choices divided into two.

The first option.

Like the owner of Star Cafe, they could choose to help the magical girls while holding memories of them.

The second option.

To replace all memories related to magical girls with ordinary ones and live as an ordinary person among the populace.

Venus seemed to have already settled on her choice internally and spoke up.

“I’m going to erase them.”

“Why?! Why….”

Stella cried out with a voice like she was sinking underwater, questioning her.

Venus had been active long before any of us had even become magical girls.

Had it been about a decade now?

To decide to alter over ten years’ worth of memories wasn’t an easy decision for her either.

“Though it sounds somewhat selfish….”

She suddenly brought up her apologies while holding her coffee cup.

A girl with a youthful appearance hardly different from Shiyeon’s, with a cheerful yellow bob.

With a mature yet wistful smile that was far removed from her youthful appearance.

“Just that I’ve found someone a little more… just a little more, precious than you all.”

No one would be foolish enough to loudly tell her not to retire given that smile.

Even Shiyeon, who knew little of the situation, tilted her head slightly, yet everyone else remained quiet, keeping their mouths shut and sipping their hot chocolates.

Following that, I took a sip from the now-cold hot chocolate.

Given the manufacturing process, it should have been sweet.

Yet, perhaps due to the subdued atmosphere?

Somehow, the bitterness within the sweetness felt particularly strong.