A typical working environment for magical girls where senior magical girls exist.
However, we don’t have a senior, a Sun or a Moon from the previous generation.
There was too much information, and it was all something from kindergarten days.
It seems Shiyeon doesn’t fully remember either.
It’s not strange to have fragmented memories; after all, she’s just a child.
Truth spills out as I bite into a jet-black, crispy fried egg.
“That means we’re the first generation.”
“Huh? Really?”
At the explanation, Shiyeon’s eyes widen and sparkle.
Indeed.
There is no previous generation’s Sun and Moon. We are the first and the only ones.
Typically, the life of a magical girl includes the discovery of magical girl aptitude, housing provision by the government, mascot selection, regional assignment, handover, and media introduction.
But for us… that process was a bit jumbled.
Normally, there should have been an existing magical girl or someone to take the role of a senior magical girl in that area, but we just appeared one day out of nowhere.
If the proper order were 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, we ended up going through the sequence of 2, 4, 3, and 6 without anyone discovering us or a handover.
That’s why the department in charge of magical girls was in chaos back then…
Now, I slowly start to understand the irregularities we faced.
It was a few years ago, but there was news about two never-before-seen magical girls suddenly appearing in a certain area.
We had been photographed low-flying under the clouds without a clue.
“Search for ‘two never-before-seen magical girls’ on X.”
With a spoon in her mouth, Shiyeon taps away on her smartphone with both hands.
Not long after hitting the search button, she seems to have found the news article from that day.
She takes the spoon out of her mouth and places it beside her rice bowl, her eyes widening as she speaks.
“Ah, it’s really us…?”
“After that news, we decided to fly over the clouds.”
Either way, that was when we received the most help from the government.
The behavior guideline manual distributed by the government, which managed many magical girls.
It was printed on a bulk of A4 sheets, and since most of the content was similar to unnecessary military warning protocols, we mostly skipped it…
Thanks to that, we somewhat recognized the reality of the world with magical girls.
It was also a big help in determining our future actions.
In the early days when I had just grabbed my magical girl cane, I was often flying around trying to fight monsters in other regions, which led to being among the top magical girls receiving calls from the Minister.
Who keeps track of such stats, you ask?
No one different than the Minister who personally compiled them with flesh and bone.
Looking back at that time, I could understand why the Minister might harbor negative feelings towards me.
“How’s your drawing going these days?”
Leaving behind the old stories, I asked Shiyeon about her drawing status.
It had only been 2 or 3 weeks since she started drawing.
I didn’t ask to see her drawings directly but instead posed a question regarding the overall flow.
The reason I phrased it that way was…
“Kids who draw are all like that.”
It was a consideration that flowed naturally from my past experiences.
Of course, she would feel embarrassed to show it in front of others since she was still practicing.
In middle school… Ah, I mean, during my past life as a boy in middle school.
I remember a friend who aimed for a career in drawing rarely showed his own work.
“Mmm, getting proportions right is hard.”
“Can you show me?”
“…Maybe later when I get better.”
I asked just in case, but as expected.
She seemed to ponder for a moment, then gently declined with a hint of reluctance.
People who draw well tend to sell a single piece for tens of thousands, will Shiyeon be like that too?
But then again, it might be more comfortable to just sit at home, playing on her phone, occasionally going out to fight monsters, and earn 5 or 600.
No, this isn’t a lifelong job.
“What’s important is that she is doing what she wants.”
Compared to Shiyeon, who found what she wanted to do, I live with a mindset that as long as I earn money, that’s enough.
So far, gaming as a hobby sufficed.
As May approaches.
A cruel month for middle schoolers without parents.
Still, regardless of the name, the great red day approaches.
May 5th, Children’s Day brings peace to everyone.
A perfect day for lounging around at home.
It was indeed a day perfect for sitting at home, yet for some reason, we found ourselves seated in the back of Jiun’s car.
“Today is Children’s Day, ne~ the world of children.”
“Neuh?”
“Don’t sing it weirdly.”
As I began to change the lyrics to a popular children’s song I often heard around May, Jiun, sitting in the front seat, harshly scolded me with a few words.
Because I might make Juwon follow along.
In the driver’s seat was Uncle Dae Han, while Jiun occupied the passenger seat.
In the back seat, I was on the left, Juwon was in the middle, and Shiyeon was on the right, just the three of us.
Naturally, we ended up catching a lift with Jiun’s family going to an amusement park for the day.
Nonetheless, the symbolism of Children’s Day, a holiday wedged between weekdays.
Naturally accompanied by worries, I glanced at the passenger seat and spoke briefly.
“But unnie, won’t there be a lot of people?”
“I’m worried about that too.”
Seeing the concern reflected in Jiun’s face, it was clear she was worried about the sea of people expected.
As soon as we got out of the car, that worry materialized and stepped right in front of us.
They say a bad omen is often correct, don’t they?
Rather, it was the kind of outcome that one couldn’t help but anticipate.
But what could we do?
It was a crowd created by workers who could only go out with family on red-letter days, and students swamped in rote education.
An amusement park, a place Shiyeon had never been to when she was little.
This calmness now is thanks to the secret agreement we made with monsters, setting a defined appearance time; otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to come out like other magical girls.
Seeing the amusement park seemed to make Shiyeon a bit excited; is that just a feeling?
“Come to think of it, have we ever begged to go somewhere…?”
Thinking back, an elementary school child is at the age of begging for outings and toys.
Even when together, we spent our time mostly going back and forth between home and school, making me think she has been a rather well-behaved child, staring at her intently.
In that moment, our eyes met.
Noticing I had been staring silently, Shiyeon tilted her head and asked.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, eep-cha.”
I picked up Juwon, who couldn’t untangle his seatbelt by himself and struggled to walk.
When Jiun opened the back seat door, she leaned her head out, noticing Juwon, who was no longer in his seat.
Realizing I had taken the initiative, Jiun shut the back door again.
“Give me Juwon; you need to play with Shiyeon.”
“I’m not that into rides, so how about you two go on a date for a change?”
Gently rocking the Juwon in my arms up and down… for some reason, he was quite happy.
His little legs flopped around in the air as he wiggled them, unconsciously poking me in the side.
Hearing my suggestion, Jiun hesitated for a moment, still holding the carrier.
Her expression didn’t seem entirely dismissive of the idea; she glanced back and forth between Uncle Dae Han and Juwon, revealing an air of subtle expectation and awkwardly said.
“Well, is that okay?”
“Either way, you’ll all gather up around meal times… just tie the carrier and enjoy your time.”
I didn’t know how it would be helpful, but it was the right weight for some exercise.
Holding the relatively hefty Juwon, I headed toward the ticket booth.
Nowadays, even this area has become almost fully automated, with kiosks standing in for humans.
Of course, there’s an employee at the entrance for exchanging tickets for use passes; that’s a separate matter.
“Are you really getting a 5-time pass?”
“Yeah, probably won’t be able to ride them all.”
Curious about how much fun they planned to have, Uncle Dae Han and Jiun quickly bought three unlimited ride passes.
Juwon, being under 36 months old, was free, while I received a pass with usage limitations.
The entrance fee casually reached into the tens of thousands.
After exchanging tickets for use passes, I was given an old-fashioned paper bracelet.
So they still use this, huh?
“Well, then I’ll go without worry?”
“Yeah, don’t worry.”
After that, I trailed closely behind Shiyeon, watching her ride the attractions…
Or rather, I just found myself fixedly watching her wait in line.
Yet, it seemed it made her quite happy, as she enthusiastically waved her hands after waiting in line for over 30 minutes, clearly expressing her feelings.
The first ride Shiyeon chose was the bumper cars.
These days, the facilities seem to have improved; it wasn’t the violent, sparky bumper cars of old with cables hanging from the ceiling.
They were just simple bumper cars sitting there like self-driving cars.
Perhaps due to safety considerations, the speed was nowhere near what it used to be, and even colliding with each other didn’t seem to cause significant shocks.
“Mom, mom!”
“Mom will come later; let’s play with your unnie.”
I gently bounced Juwon, who was searching for his mom in the carrier.
His little face turning side to side, trying to take everything in, those little gestures were incredibly cute.
However, taking care of Juwon turned out to be challenging in unexpected ways.
