Chapter 140

After delivering a bouquet of fresh carnations to Senior Jiun’s place, I returned home.

The Gomtaengi flew out from my pocket without a word, darting into the room.

“Hey, are you still sulking? I said I was sorry; there were so many people…”

Feeling uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, I spoke towards the back of its head. I tried to justify the situation, but received a curt reply from the Gomtaengi.

“I’m not sulking.”

“You little brat, you’re so petty…”

With a tone that anyone could tell was pouting, I muttered back in a similarly blunt manner. Of course, it was true that I was in the wrong this time…

But still, it wouldn’t look good to say I was looking for a doll after going to school on a weekday, taking the bus and subway all the way to the amusement park.

And it’s unfortunate that I was mistaken for prey by a kestrel on the way back.

Anyway, in the end, I did come back safely, right?

Just as I finished rationalizing this in my mind, I heard Shiyeon and the sea serpent’s voices following behind.

“This time, it’s Mary’s fault…”

“Yeah…”

The self-justification I had built up crumbled in an instant.

Looking at the Gomtaengi that had already entered the room, I scratched the back of my head. At this rate, I might just end up giving it a good scolding to cheer it up.

That day, I think it was the first time I asked Shiyeon for advice.

“What should I do?”

“Hmm, how about buying something delicious?”

“Do you think that would actually work…”

Shiyeon’s suggestion popped out without a moment’s hesitation. Well, considering how it was always eyeing takeout food, it wasn’t entirely useless advice…

But if buying food could lift its mood, wouldn’t that be a bit too simple-minded?

Still, having no better ideas, I trudged into the room and called out to the sulking figure.

“Hey, is there something you want to eat?”

“……”

‘This brat…’

It seemed to have some interest, glancing back for a moment before turning its head back down and burying its face. I wanted to kick the whole situation, but since it was my fault, I couldn’t do that and pressed on.

What could I do?

After clearing my throat awkwardly a couple of times, I finally spoke up with a word of apology.

“Um, today, order anything you want.”

“…! Really?!”

Was that really the same Gomtaengi that had looked so drained just a moment ago? It sprang up energetically.

If buying food cheered it up, that really would be a simple-minded way to fix things.

And that thought came back to me like a boomerang.

Yeah, it really was simple-minded.

Anyway, dinner that day turned into a veritable feast of takeout under the Gomtaengi’s leadership.

The Gomtaengi, firmly seated at the dining table, started joyfully pressing on various stores to order what it wanted.

Then, suddenly stopping, it glanced over at me and asked.

“Do we have to order from just one place?”

“Order whatever you want, whether it’s one or five.”

“Yay-!”

The food ranged from the Gomtaengi’s favorite Kung Pao shrimp to the hamburgers ordered by Shiyeon, and the chicken I had ordered.

There were also pizza, toast, pasta, fried snacks from the street vendor…?

I thought we were about done with the food by this point, but the intercom for the shared entrance kept ringing, seemingly never-ending.

With the sheer volume of food surpassing a day’s worth of meals, I couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Hey, how much did you order?!”

Food had piled up on the table to the point where it was insufficient space.

After placing the fried snacks from the street vendor on the table, the Gomtaengi, with an air of completion, said proudly.

“Oh, it’s all here now.”

“Are you sure you can finish it all?”

“I don’t know!”

All the food was ordered with the assumption that there would be leftovers.

Even after eating to the point of being stuffed, the chicken, pizza, pasta, hamburgers, and the fries that came with the set, as well as the fried snacks from the vendor all remained untouched.

Leaving behind the evenly distributed leftovers, I settled onto the sofa, turned on the TV, and waited for the food in my stomach to digest slowly.

“Mary, it looks like a monster is coming!”

“Ah… Has it really gotten that late?”

I was absentmindedly fiddling with my smartphone without the tension now.

It was 7:43 PM; I had lost track of time because I had eaten so much.

As I was fiddling with my smartphone with a weary expression, I heard Shiyeon’s voice from where she was lounging on the sofa.

“Is the monster out? I want to go too!”

Today was a day off from art school, so both of us were home.

I wasn’t sure if she felt bad for having left me to handle the monsters alone, or if she was just excited about fighting monsters after a while.

Regardless of the reason, she started putting on her clothes, saying she would go with me.

Since I hadn’t been taking care of monster fight duties lately because of art school, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to go out together and we headed to the entrance.

As we were going down the stairs, an alarm began to sound from quite close by.

Unfazed, we continued down the stairs and then recited the transformation spell at the right spot.

“Sun.”

“Mun Power, transform!”

Right after transforming, I flew up to take in the view from above.

The dark buildings were glowing with the light emanating from the street lamps.

It was one of the rare moments during my time as a magical girl that I thought, “This is beautiful.”

Seeing the scenery with my own eyes rather than just in photographs.

“That way!”

“I know, do you think I’m deaf?”

For a brief moment of admiration, I had to hurry in the direction pointed out by the fidgeting Gomtaengi.

Without needing the mascot to point the way, we accelerated towards the sound of the alarm.

More than the alarm, I was distracted by the lingering smell of food wafting through the air.

What was that smell? Flying around and sniffing, I found the source of the aroma was closer than I had expected.

I brought the stuffed animal I was holding in my left hand close to my nose and sniffed.

The scent of chicken, pizza, and a mix of other delicious smells wafted through the air.

The source of the odor was none other than the Gomtaengi itself.

“…? What’s wrong?”

“You might need to do laundry when you get home.”

This guy seemed oblivious to its own smell, and was looking a bit messy from rolling around at the amusement park.

Right after letting that thought linger, we arrived near the location of the monster sighting.

With tall buildings surrounding us and a dark sky overhead, and the monster still unaware of us, we landed on a rooftop to discuss strategy.

“How do you want to tackle it?”

“Uh, with an ice spear?”

“Isn’t that a bit too predictable?”

If Shiyeon meant the ice spear that she often used, it was that Ice Pierce.

While mastering one technique is good, having a variety of offensive options is also a smart strategy.

Besides, unless she was going to impale the opponent with an enormous size, it seemed that the one struck would be in significant pain.

“And that hurts, right?”

That countered our unspoken agreement of sending the monster off without pain.

Pointing out that aspect, I suggested she learn some alternate attack methods as well.

“What should I do then?”

“Remember the time you were alone and were really scared while fighting?”

“Huh? Ah… yeah.”

That time when I had called the sea serpent to the rooftop and managed to scold it a bit.

Shiyeon initially reacted like, “What is that?” but soon bowed her head as she recalled that memory.

I felt bad for dragging out a bad memory, but the only explanation I could think of that she would understand was that.

“No, no. I didn’t mean to scold you… I think the attack you used back then is a good idea.”

Waving my hands at Shiyeon, who was hanging her head like a sinner, I referred to the attack that froze the giant chicken whole back then.

“Ah… really?”

“Really, or do you think I’m lying? The brain would freeze too, giving it no time to feel any pain.”

“Okay! I’ll try it!”

With that declaration of confidence fueled by my assurance, Shiyeon made a show of determination and jumped off the rooftop to approach the monster from behind in the darkness.

I sat there on the rooftop railing, quietly watching.

If she could freeze it in an instant, that monster would definitely be walking the road to oblivion before it felt any pain.

However, I overlooked one crucial detail.

That time when Shiyeon had frozen the monster instantly, she had been in a state of shock in her youth.

And now Shiyeon, despite being calm enough to approach the monster, showed no signs of anxiety.

It was like comparing an emergency brake when startled to a slow application of the brakes.

“Ugh, Aaaaaah-!”

Contrary to my prediction that ice would cover the road in less than a second, a massive chunk of ice slowly enveloped the monster’s body.

And then, screams from the monster echoed up to the rooftops.

“Huh?”

I couldn’t help but let out an exclamation filled with surprise.

With a scream so terrifying, the Gomtaengi’s face froze in shock as it floated in mid-air…

It looked at me and mocked my beautifully flawed assumption.

“What did you say about not having time to feel pain?”

“This isn’t my fault.”