Late at night, while a Magical Girl was indulging her gluttony in search of her Mascot’s food.
In the midst of a storm of disciplinary action on Earth orbit, aboard the Monsters’ spaceship.
In the Transmission Room, Recovery Room, Maintenance Room, and Control Room, all official work-related activities were completely halted, and conversations among the Monsters took place in the cabin of the spaceship.
While they took a moment to enjoy the atmosphere as if it were a special vacation.
“When does this investigation or whatever end?”
“Dunno.”
That time had extended beyond one Setre to one and a half Setre.
Converted to Earth time, that’s about 90 days.
As the rest period dragged on, even the Monsters, who had been simply relaxing, began to feel a sense of crisis.
If they had something to do, it would be different, but the games they brought back from Earth were beginning to run out.
With investigations into corruption starting, even the information received from other ships and Earth was cut off.
It truly felt like a prison floating aimlessly in the middle of space.
The Monsters in the cabin no longer knew why they were even on the spaceship, repeatedly pondering how to pass the time without being bored while awake.
“If this is the case, why don’t we just go home instead of being Magical Girls?”
“Hehe.”
Their laughter erupted at the casually tossed joke.
The other Monsters in the cabin shared this sentiment.
If it’s like this, why are we even on this spaceship? Such a simple and straightforward question.
One of the Monsters, still laughing, addressed the one who had made the remark.
“Hehe, if you can go anywhere, just go.”
It was a tone that seemed to say, ‘Who hasn’t thought of that?’
Indeed, the ship was under investigation by the Rights Inquiry Department.
The Monsters affiliated with it were prohibited from moving to other planets or ships for any reason.
Even using a small spaceship or transmission device would earn them the mark of a space criminal.
Naturally, the Monster suggesting they go home was well aware of this fact.
If they had been unaware, they likely would have acted on that thought about a Setre ago.
“Damn….”
A frustration-induced joke was all they could muster.
Cursing at the powerless situation, they wrapped up the brief sketch in the cabin.
The position of head of the Recovery Room remained vacant.
Yellow Eye, the parachute head of the Recovery Room, had been expelled from the ship, and there were rumors that high-ranking Monsters from the esteemed headquarters ship had also been dishonorably discharged.
So why, still, were they not allowed any proper work and were instead stuck in an endless loop of boredom?
Some combatants pointed to the vacancy of the Recovery Room’s chief as the reason.
No matter how much the recovery device was like an infinite power source, a certain level of medical knowledge was necessary for the position.
There was no reason for such a capable individual to come all the way to this seemingly busy fringe.
“Hey, but honestly, would you want to be the head of the Recovery Room here?”
“Of course not. Who would want to come all the way here?”
If it were me, I wouldn’t come here either; it’s a simple and natural mindset, an exercise in empathy.
Though the Rights Inquiry Department had issued no formal explanations, vague assumptions that fit neatly into place had solidified as fact.
By now, the Monsters’ wish had shifted from “When will this situation end?” to “When will there be a head for the Recovery Room again?”
At the end of the monsters’ seemingly endless waiting, a small spaceship flew in from the black void of space and docked with the ship.
One of the Monsters, watching the scene through the cabin’s glass, took notice.
As something touched the ship, having seen only space debris through the glass, they stared blankly for about three seconds before reacting.
“What, what just came?!”
Startled, they pointed outside with their bodily organs, addressing their fellow Monsters, but…
The other Monsters, not even looking through the glass, nonchalantly responded once and then resumed their conversation.
“What came?”
“Leave it, they’re probably just seeing things again.”
“I’m looking for suckers to get into snack bet. Only you can come.”
The Monster who typically just stared vacantly out the cabin’s window was finally looked at with pity by the others, who thought, ‘Finally, they’ve lost it.’
“No, I’m serious! A small spaceship just came to the ship!!”
For them, who seemed to have genuinely seen something, it was the perfect scenario that matched the phrase “I’m losing my mind.”
However, due to prolonged hope torture, most others had already given up.
“Oh dear, not you again. Just go to the Recovery Room.”
Then, shortly after, a brief announcement echoed through the ship.
“Attention, all combatants on the ship, please check the new deployment sheet. Once again, I repeat, all combatants on the ship, please check the new deployment sheet….”
It sounded like the flow of time returning to a frozen world, restoring routine.
It was the moment when a small light began to flicker in the eyes of the Monsters, who had believed there was no light of hope during the long days of boredom.
Why suddenly everyone returned to normal duty remains a mystery.
Did the Rights Inquiry Department find some document they had been searching for?
Or had some complicated processing procedures finally reached an end that the combatants were unaware of?
No one knew the reason, but for the Monsters, who were on the verge of losing their sanity as if trapped in a white room, it brought a new vitality as they headed towards their respective duty stations.
However, among the Monsters deployed for work, some displayed a skeptical attitude…
“So, we still don’t have a designated head and this position is still vacant?”
“Nothing was said differently, so… that might be the case?”
These were none other than the Monsters who oversaw the Recovery Room.
Even when Yellow Eye, the head without answers, was still in charge, they had handled the tasks of the Recovery Room without a hitch, but nonetheless, the absence of a chief was considerable.
Even if something they managed might slightly go awry, there was still the presence of a chief to share the load alongside them.
To join in the cycle of duties that must be adhered to, they silently headed towards their workspaces.
The door to the Recovery Room opened with a sound as deflated as the mood of the Monsters as they entered.
Now with even the intensive care room being completely empty, the space of the Recovery Room was cloaked only in heavy silence.
Yes, that would have been the case.
“Thank you for your hard work, Monster friends!”
“Wait…!?”
However, in that space stood an unexpectedly lively guest who had come early.
Medik Tenkl, who they had thought had permanently left for the headquarters ship.
He stood before their eyes, the cluster of tentacles solidly resting on the ground.
The Monsters in the Recovery Room froze for a moment.
Had they finally lost their minds after such a long break?
Thinking perhaps they were experiencing a hallucination, they rubbed their eyes.
But no matter how much they rubbed, prodded, or shouted, what was before them was undoubtedly Medik Tenkl.
“I’m back!”
“U, Uwaaaaaaa!!”
The exclamation of joy echoed long through the Recovery Room.
Startled, the Monsters flinched as the joyful chorus was heard even from nearby cabins.
At the center of this changing tide, he was always present.
After the joyous reunion, they engaged in short conversations before diving into serious work.
“So what happened? We thought you had completely left for headquarters….”
“Ah, about that? Here’s what happened….”
Medik Tenkl gave a brief explanation of the situation.
First, he asked if they knew about the recent incident involving Yellow Eye and her father, the Monster.
For those who had felt the repercussions of that event while going through countless frustrating cycles, it was an issue they could not help but be aware of.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Medik Tenkl continued with his explanation.
It was no surprise that a huge commotion erupted in the headquarters ship and subordinate vessels due to the incident.
The results were exceptionally good, but the maneuvering to position a parachute into the post that had originally belonged to Medik Tenkl was exposed by the Rights Inquiry Department.
Medik Tenkl, a beneficiary but also a victim of the maneuvering, was presented with two choices.
“Would you stay in that position, or would you prefer to return to your original post… that’s what they said.”
Sipping a drink, Medik Tenkl reminisced about the recent events.
The fact that he had made it back meant he had undoubtedly chosen the latter.
Taking a sip from his drink, Medik Tenkl morosely gazed at the space beyond the glass and murmured.
“This is, in Earth terms… you know it, right? It’s better to be the head of a small group than the tail of a dragon….”
It meant it was better to lead a small group than to be the very bottom of a grand organization.
The Recovery Room monsters understood the sentiment, nodding in agreement with a single, appropriately positive response.
“Ah.”
“Honestly, being a head here isn’t exactly ideal either….”
Then, as though the earlier analogy wasn’t perfect, Medik Tenkl scratched the back of his head while adding details about the ship’s environment.
There were numerous heads among the various executives running the ship.
Since they held similar positions with similar powers, no one head could decisively determine the ship’s purpose, so that analogy fell short.
However, overall, the implication that it wasn’t entirely incorrect was apparent.
“It really is better here, even if it’s a bunch of heads rather than a tail that can’t do anything.”
With arms crossed, he tilted his head towards the ceiling, expressing his feelings as though imparting a lesson.
In any case, with his reinstatement, the ship began to operate normally.
To fulfill the quotas that had piled up during the downtime, the Monsters headed towards Earth with clear eyes, ready for a vigorous work routine.
[What was the intention behind the Monsters’ three-month silence?]
[Global Monster re-emergence, ‘Peace has ended’]
[China’s claims of ‘No need for Magical Girls’ amid nationwide monster resurgence, ‘Great chaos’]
[‘Only just paying taxes now’, social media ‘turns’ with the reappearance of Monsters]
Having broken free from the cycle of boredom, the Monsters resumed their vigorous work routine.
Compared to their bright mood, the nations that had not shown up for a long time, even bringing up calls to abolish Magical Girls, were truly in chaos.
A torrent of articles from the press.
And there remained, watching it all nonchalantly, one Magical Girl and her Mascot.
Her Magical Girl life was already on its second digit of years.
Like a veteran, she did not panic at the sudden changes or chaos…
“What? Did they secretly dig up the front yard again?”
“When the next one shows up, let’s catch them and ask.”
“That sounds good.”
Calmly, they were merely exchanging a hint of future interrogation.
