Chapter 200

And weaving in such unnatural elements, the theory emerges that there may have been some sort of deal between the monsters and the magical girls in the Incheon area or that the monsters might be planning together.

The rough conclusion presented by the writer boils down to these two points.

Rather than viewing it as a conspiracy theory, it would be more accurate to see it as reasoning based on results.

The writer identified themselves as a resident of Incheon.

They had hardly encountered any news of monsters appearing during dawn and morning hours, but recently, they began to reappear, causing some discomfort…

Suddenly, they pondered, “Since when did monsters only start appearing in the afternoon?”, and found that fact by searching for the appearance of monsters specifically in the Incheon area.

Anyway, based on that conceptual post, the monster gallery began to ignite.

The magical girls were trending towards posts like “Free the detained monsters” and “Admit that monsters are intelligent beings” being made every three minutes.

In reality, institutions and magical girls already knew that monsters could converse and be considered intelligent beings based on their appearance and personalities.

However, related institutions and magical girls have so far taken a stance denying that monsters are intelligent beings.

While it may not be animosity, there are certainly people in the monster gallery who have repeatedly claimed the monsters exhibit “similar intelligence” while observing their actions.

Regardless of which side is correct, the fact that there is a problem is inescapable.

Everyone is just turning a blind eye.

It is common sense that living creatures capable of advancing into space cannot possibly have intelligence on par with cows, chickens, or pigs.

What’s the difference between that and saying the National Assembly members never accept bribes?

“Why don’t you just move on as if that’s just the way it is?”

After all, the people in this monster gallery merely want it to be ‘officially’ recognized.

I don’t know why.

Is it because they want to publicize it? Who knows.

If one were to ask for a reason, the surprisingly romantic response might come back, “Because I want to.”

Buuuuuh, the smartphone vibrating again on my palm.

Caller ID restricted.

Even without answering the call, the question that would come from the other side was obvious, but…

“Ugh.”

Sighing as if this was my karma, I exhaled and nervously glanced at the green button with an old-style receiver pictogram on one side of the screen.

I pressed it to my ear, delivering a formal greeting.

“Hello?”

“Yes, I wanted to hear the opinion of Mary, the person in charge in Incheon regarding that post.”

Wanting to hear an opinion…

If it were the former minister, they would have directly asked, “Tell me honestly what you did.”

This current minister, although phrasing it quite gently and politely…

The fact that they called me just to ask for feedback on that post conveys the same meaning.

It’s obvious that they think something went wrong on my end, but they only have circumstantial evidence and no concrete proof, right?

It seems I must have passed on the handover from the former minister well, as they contacted me directly without showing any interest in Shiyeon’s contact info.

No, I’m not that much of a troublemaker.

Of course, it’s true that I’m to blame for the monsters appearing only in the afternoon…

“Ah… that’s, um… it ended up happening like that, I guess.”

In any case, having ten mouths wouldn’t provide a proper rebuttal.

Stumbling over my words, I meekly admitted my role in the phenomenon, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment, which must be unseen over the smartphone…

Because wrong is wrong, yes.

Who would have thought that someone with nothing much to do would explore the timing of monster appearances in one specific area instead of retiring as a magical girl?

“Ugh….”

A short sigh reached me from the smartphone.

Though I had grown tired of hearing the former minister’s sighs, this was my first time hearing the current minister sigh.

Sorry about that.

After such a brief sigh, the following words came.

“Well then, we’ll handle it smoothly on our end, so could you please join us for the scheduled plans afterward?”

To smoothly take care of it, they wanted me to join in on the scheduled plans afterward.

I didn’t know what those “scheduled plans” were.

But being in an overwhelmingly submissive position after causing a nuisance, there was no way I could express my displeasure about not knowing what it was.

“Ah, yes… I guess I’ll do that.”

“Thank you for taking the precious time.”

Right after responding with thanks, the call ended.

It felt like I had taken a massive loss, but there was nothing to be done.

I didn’t know what that “scheduled plan” was, but I could only hope it wasn’t a strenuous one.

After that, I witnessed the posts that had been igniting in the monster gallery one by one disappearing right before my eyes.

That “taking care of it” must have meant some form of legal intimidation.

Anyway, since they used public authority to take care of something I caused…

What kind of burdensome task would they assign me? I spent about two weeks fretting and worrying.

Thus, summer vacation, midterm and final exams for the second semester, winter vacation, midterms and finals for the first semester of the third year, summer vacation, high school entrance survey…

Before I knew it, we were approaching winter vacation, the end of our three years in middle school.

By the time the vague sense of anxiety and tension related to the words “scheduled plans” faded from my mind…

It was now the weekend meetup just before winter vacation, which no longer felt particularly special.

I gathered my clothes and finished getting ready to go outside.

This time, the meetup location was in Chungju.

Meetups had always been held at a specific café.

However, due to the owner’s personal circumstances, we couldn’t use that place this time, so it was decided we would just gather at a restaurant to have a meal and then leave.

Given the location, we obviously wouldn’t be able to speak directly about magical girls or monsters, but if it was neat, I preferred it that way.

I left the new magical girls, who were just starting middle school and whose existence I didn’t even know about, in my thoughts.

Considering our ages, it wouldn’t be strange to be at that other table, but since we had built up some experience, I sat at the same table as the older sisters who already looked like adults, playing the role of the one paying.

“You guys are going to be high school students next year?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Wow, time really flies… Have you decided which high school to go to?”

The conversations among those who gathered for the meetup were predictable.

What have you been up to lately? Asking about age, checking if they were studying well, and asking where they were planning to go to school.

Questions that weren’t particularly related to being third-year students; just standard inquiries adults throw out when they have nothing else to say to middle or high school students.

“Yeah, um… I’m thinking about somewhere nearby.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Going somewhere close is good.”

With a clatter, a dish was lightly placed beside me.

As I dealt with the barrage of questions from the older sisters, Shiyeon joined me after bringing a plate filled with food.

This was a buffet-style restaurant located in a large supermarket.

In a gathering of girls who consider their belongings the most precious things in the world, it is unheard of for people to leave their bags unattended as a group while rushing to get food.

As a few people including Shiyeon returned to the table, we followed suit and headed off to get our own servings.

We could work off the food as we ate.

With that light-hearted thought in mind, I didn’t even glance at the vegetables and instead piled my plate high with spicy noodle dishes, fried rice, and a variety of deep-fried items.

After loading up on food, I sat down after adjusting my skirt below my thighs.

On the plates of the older sisters who had gone to fetch food with me were sushi, salad, and things like fruit or soup.

While there were a few fried items, they were typical dishes that tried to avoid fried foods as much as possible.

In contrast to that, on our plate, which didn’t care for such things, we piled on every food we wanted to eat.

Seeing the heap of food on our plates as if we were people who wouldn’t gain weight, the older sisters at the same table looked shocked and asked.

“Are Shiyeon and Mary, like, people who don’t gain weight?”

It was only natural to ask that, as our figures could be described as chubby, even if said pejoratively.

Since we didn’t sit in a way that made our bodies appear excessively plump, we didn’t really look fat.

Seeing us devouring a bunch of fried food as if it were the last meal of a death row inmate, they must have wanted to blame it on our metabolism.

Having lived as a woman for sixteen years, I slowly began to understand things like this conveyed in a womanly manner.

Asking, “Are you someone who doesn’t gain weight?” while looking at a plate filled with deep-fried foods was a loaded question, imbued with meanings like, “Can you manage your weight even if you eat that much? I envy your metabolism. Lucky girl.”

…Well, it’s not like the older sisters at the same table were actually thinking this way, but it was possible that someone could think along those lines.

“If you feel like you’re gaining weight, I’ll take you out to exercise.”

“Exercising is hard…”

“Still, you have to do it! If you just sit at home eating, you’ll gain weight in no time.”

As I popped a fried dumpling, named ‘Maple Croquette,’ into my mouth, I jabbed at Shiyeon, who was sighing about how hard it was.

Sitting at home all day just eating will lead to gaining weight in no time flat.

At least, these days, since we had a clear division for monster subjugation on alternate days, Shiyeon also walked quite a bit.

However, while briefly brushing aside the exercise part, the older sisters turned their interest to other areas.

“Oh, Shiyeon draws too? Can you show us?”

“Uh, yes…”

“Wow, did Shiyeon really draw this?”

In a casual conversation, we accidentally shifted the older sisters’ attention toward Shiyeon.

Thanks to that, a leisurely dining experience unfolded, and everyone began to eagerly challenge themselves to shove as much food into their mouths as possible.

Since it was a carefree meeting without a stop at a café, the parting was lighthearted.

Just when I thought the day of the easygoing weekend with the meetup was coming to an end…

“Hmm?”

Upon returning home, the smartphone in my pocket vibrated at the perfect timing.

The tension and unease surrounding the now worn-out term “scheduled plans” resurfaced.

It seemed the time had come to reap the fruits of that matured scenario.