Chapter 15

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a car.

“Are you feeling okay?”

Silver hair tickled my face. What happened? I kept blinking my eyes.

“The detox is complete.”

A blue-eyed girl was looking down at me with an apologetic expression. It seemed I was lying on her lap. I could see the car’s ceiling. The girl leaned her face into my field of vision.

“Are you okay? Is there anywhere that feels strange or uncomfortable?”

“Who… are you?”

It seems my habit of mispronouncing things at critical moments has stuck. I meant to say, “Who are you?” The girl looking down at me suddenly laughed.

“I’m Eve.”

Feeling awkward just lying there, I sat up. The car, which had been moving for a while, was still quiet with no noise or vibration.

As I sat up properly, Eve stared at me with her blue eyes.

“Magical Girl Association, Association Head. I’m Eve.”

“I see. The Mother-Body.”

“Nice to meet you. I didn’t want our first meeting to be like this.”

“Did something happen?”

I remember drinking wine, feeling hot all over, and Prilly approaching me. After that, I don’t remember.

“Aphrodisiac, no, no. A love potion.”

“Huh?”

“So, Prilly gave you a love potion.”

“Love potion? You mean… an aphrodisiac?”

“Yeah, that. An aphrodisiac.”

So, it wasn’t a joke. I really was in danger of losing my chastity. A cold sweat ran down my back. Ugh… I leaned back, but something poked my butt.

“Ah, that’s a thermos. I brought it because it looked like yours.”

“Right. My adjutant, Dusik, prepared it for me. I was worried I’d lost it.”

A pink body with a pink holder. It had a strap to carry on your shoulder or around your neck, a design that even an elementary schooler might like, but I hugged it tightly.

Of course, it’s precious. My first adjutant, Dusik, prepared it out of concern for me. Losing it would be a disaster.

“Sorry. As the head of the Magical Girl Association, I’ve been lacking in managing my subordinates. I feel ashamed that you had to go through such a rough experience right from our first meeting.”

“Yeah. I almost lost my virginity before I could even lose my chastity.”

“Virginity?”

Oops.

“Ah, no. That came out wrong. By the way, I should have shown you the estimate.”

The estimate. I brought it, but where did it go?

“Estimate?”

“Do you know Priqu?”

“Must have caused some trouble.”

No matter how absurd the situation, just mentioning Priqu’s name makes people understand. What kind of trouble does she cause to get this kind of reaction?

“She destroyed our base’s entrance.”

“Yeah… We’re on our way back to the base, so I’ll pay in cash there. You don’t need to give me a receipt.”

“Okay.”

Refusing wasn’t an option, considering the state of our base’s entrance.

After that, we were silent for a while. Thanks to that, I could sneak glances at Eve, the magical girl.

She must be around twenty. There are still traces of youth here and there.

Long silver hair. It looks even longer than mine.

Snow-white skin, reddish lips. Her features are delicate, and her face is slightly sharp.

Overall, she has a Western beauty look.

“By the way, how’s Dusik doing?”

“Dusik…”

Right. Dusik was originally a magical girl. She must have known the Association Head too.

“She’s doing well.”

“She’s such a kind girl, I was worried about how she’d fare after transferring. The last Mogmog boss was too fragile. Too soft-hearted, so Dusik had to take on the boss role and must have struggled a lot.”

“What kind of person was she?”

“She worked at a flower shop. Never been in fights or anything.”

“Well then…”

It must have been tough. In a place full of men like the minions, a fragile girl would have had a hard time. As for me, I was originally a man, so I don’t think much of it.

But she’s been using informal speech since earlier.

“Your name’s Eve, right?”

“Huh?”

“Eve.”

“Yeah, that’s right. Eve.”

“I’ll start using informal speech too. Is that okay?”

“Ah, sure. Yeah.”

You were using informal speech, so I will too. I can’t be the only one lowering myself. Mogmog may be poor, but we’re not without pride. If I lower myself, Mogmog lowers itself. That can’t happen.

“We had all sorts of things happen before even greeting each other, but anyway, let’s get along from now on, Eve. To Keru… um.”

My gaze turned to the driver in the front seat. Eve, noticing this, lightly waved her finger. A translucent barrier spread out, forming a dome around us.

“Now no sound will get through.”

“Yeah. I heard about Keru. I understand why magical girls and the Mogmog Group have to fight moderately.”

“I see. Keru is a capable guardian. On my side, there’s Karin, but I didn’t bring her today. I’ll introduce her next time.”

“Yeah. We both have it tough.”

“Can’t be helped.”

Eve’s hollow laugh made her look very tired.

“Wow, this is bad…”

Half of the stairs leading underground were destroyed, and there was a small crater at the entrance.

“Goodness.”

The entrance door was bent, with almost half of it crumpled, so even when closed, you could see inside.

“Priqu did this.”

“That girl, really…”

Eve held her head as if a headache was coming on, and I chuckled.

“First, we need to get it repaired quickly. I’m really sorry. It’s my fault for not being able to control my subordinates.”

“Yeah, do better.”

“…”

Eve glared at me, but she’s the one who messed up. What’s she going to do by glaring?

“Anyway, keep what happened a secret from the others. It’s embarrassing.”

“Got it.”

After getting Eve’s promise, I forced the entrance door open with a twist.

“Keru, Dusik. I’m back.”

“Oh, welcome back…”

“Big sis is here…”

The two, or more accurately, one person and one creature, stopped in their tracks upon seeing Eve behind me.

“Keru, Dusik. Long time no see. Have you been well?”

“Eve, big sis!”

Dusik ran over and jumped into Eve’s arms. Eve hugged her tightly and spun her around.

“Dusik looks healthy.”

“Yeah, Mother-Body has been really good to me.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Eve seemed genuinely happy. Despite her poor management, she seems like a kind boss.

“Keru… wow, you’ve grown so much. You’re Keru, right?”

“Yeah. Long time no see, Eve. Is Karin doing well?”

“She’s doing fine.”

“I see. Mother-Body, did you eat well?”

“Big sis, did you eat a lot of meat?”

Well, I ate a lot of meat. And other things too. I almost got eaten myself.

“Yeah, I ate well. Anything happen?”

“Nope!”

Keru came up to me and rubbed her head against my ankle. She’s acting more and more like a cat.

“Good timing. It’s a bit late, but since Eve is here, how about we test the production device?”

“Is it okay for Eve to watch too?”

She’s technically an enemy. We don’t know what will come out of the production device, so is it okay to show it to the enemy? Sensing my doubt, Keru purred at me.

“It’s fine for Eve to watch. It’s actually better. If something goes wrong during production, Eve can help. And since the minions are the ones the magical girls have to deal with, it’s good to show them beforehand to prevent casualties.”

“Well, if you say so. Alright.”

The production room, which I hadn’t been in for a while, was quite clean. It used to be a structure where I would enter a coffin, but now it’s different.

“Place your hand here, focus your energy, and feel like you’re pouring energy into it.”

Following Keru’s instructions, I placed my hand on the orb that fit snugly in my palm. A slight tingling sensation was felt. The feeling of pouring energy into it.

‘What does that even feel like?’

I get that it’s hard to explain, but it’s too vague.

‘Pouring energy…’

I took a deep breath and focused.

A tickling sensation started again near my lower abdomen.

This time, I pushed that tickling sensation into my hand.

“Hey, hey, Mother-Body, don’t pour too much in!”

Keru was saying something, but I was too immersed to hear. I was completely focused on pushing that tickling sensation into my hand.

“Whoosh!”

-Whirrrrrrrr…

The operating sound faded, and I don’t know when it started, but the operating sound faded. Then, smoke was emitted from the exhaust at the end of the process.

Like a rice cooker. Steam will be emitted shortly.

The smoke billowed out. Me, Keru, Dusik, and Eve cautiously approached the exhaust.

“I think you poured in too much magic power. Will it be okay?”

“The machine didn’t explode.”

Since it didn’t explode, something proper must have come out. And since it’s my first production, I’m curious what came out. As the smoke slowly cleared, the shape of the product began to appear.

Keru and Dusik, excluding me and Eve, spoke simultaneously.

“Mini Mother-Body…?”

“Mini big sis…?”

An appearance that looked about eight years old, still very much a child.

Vertical pupils, deep red eyes.

A cold, expressionless face at first glance.

Black hair.

And a black gothic lolita dress.

To anyone, it was a smaller version of the Mother-Body… in other words, me at eight years old.

Slowly, the girl moved her eyes.

Looking at Dusik,

Looking at Keru,

Looking at Eve, she smiled slightly.

And finally, looking at me, she smiled brightly.

Thud, thud, thud, the sound of footsteps as the girl ran towards me. She clung to my thigh and rubbed her face against it.

“Mom!”

What?

Then, she let go of me and hugged Eve.

“Dad!”

What??

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