Chapter 2

Becoming the Mother-Body didn’t change who I was.

Becoming a woman didn’t change who I was.

Sure, my body changed, but I’m still me. And even if I became a woman, I don’t plan on falling in love or anything like that.

Even if I became a woman, and even if I became the Mother-Body of the Mogmog Group, and even if I had to go to the Mogmog base, there were still all these procedures to deal with.

Like canceling the lease for the room I was living in, or quitting my job. But for some reason, people still saw me as a man.

“It’s magic. If you suddenly turned into a woman, it’d cause a huge uproar in society. So I cast a spell to make you look like a man for now. Normally, a mascot like me—”

But I can’t use magic. That’s what Keru told me.

Oh, Keru is the name of that black cat mascot. Keru is going to be my mascot from now on, and even though I’ve become the Mother-Body, I’m technically an evil magical girl—the successor to the Mogmog Group’s lineage of evil magical girls.

Somehow, the whole “successor” part doesn’t sit well with me, but Keru didn’t explain it in detail. I guess it just means they picked someone like me to take on the role of Mother-Body.

“I don’t have enough magic power to use magic. As you can see, my body’s this small. If I really need to use magic, I have to borrow my master’s magic power… Normally, that’s not possible, but your magic power is so ridiculously high that it worked. I borrowed some of your magic power. Anything feel weird?”

Nope. My body feels light as a feather, and I feel incredibly refreshed.

“Seriously, I don’t know how you have this much magic power. If you were a girl from the start, you might’ve already become a magical girl. If you had, it would’ve been a disaster for the Mogmog Group.”

******

About a month has passed since I became a woman. I’ve taken care of all the necessary procedures, including registering my new identity.

I thought it’d be complicated, but when I went where Keru told me to go, everything went smoothly, as if they already knew.

After taking care of all that, Keru and I headed to the Mogmog base.

“Is this it?”

“Yeah.”

It was just a building. A five-story building on the outskirts of Seoul. And Mogmog wasn’t on the ground floor—it was in the basement.

“Originally, the base was in downtown Seoul, specifically Gangnam, but…”

Keru continued explaining.

“It got destroyed by magical girls, and while rebuilding, we couldn’t afford the maintenance costs and rent. With our current funds, this is the best we can do.”

This feels oddly realistic. I mean, magical girls live in luxury apartments without paying rent, right? This doesn’t add up.

“Is Mogmog really an evil organization?”

“Yes. We’ve caused destruction, haven’t we? You almost died once, remember?”

Well, that’s true, but it feels like good and evil got flipped somehow.

Whatever. Following Keru’s lead, the basement had a lot of rooms. I could hear machines running everywhere, and there were a bunch of “somethings” in black tights glancing at Keru and me.

They looked human, but also not human. Like those villains from that famous detective manga…?

For convenience, I decided to call them villains. They fit the image. Some were tinkering with machines, while others were whispering among themselves.

Keru fluttered ahead of me and called out to someone. How does that cat fly without wings? Weird.

“Dusik.”

At Keru’s call, a fairly large man came running from behind the machines. His last name must be Gye. It just feels like it should be.

Dusik hurried over and bowed to me and Keru. He’s taller than me and twice as wide, so seeing him bow like that made me feel awkward.

“Keru-nim, you’ve arrived.”

“Yeah. Say hello. This is the new Mother-Body.”

At Keru’s words, Dusik’s face lit up.

“Ah, the Mother-Body has finally arrived! So, what’s your alias?”

“Ah, we haven’t decided that yet… Hey, what do you want your name to be?”

“My name? My name is Lee Jun-woo…”

“No, no, no, not your real name. If you say ‘Lee Jun-woo, boss of the Mogmog Group,’ it doesn’t sound cool, you idiot. I’m talking about an alias.”

“I haven’t decided on that yet.”

This is the first I’m hearing about it.

An alias, huh? Like the ones magical girls shout when they appear? I guess it’s better to come up with something cool.

“Can I change it later if I want?”

If I accidentally pick something dumb, I should be able to change it, right? Keru tilted his head and answered.

“You can change it, but it won’t have the same impact as the first one. If you announce a new alias in front of everyone, it won’t have the same effect.”

That makes sense. Once you announce it, changing it later would take time and lose impact.

You should’ve told me sooner. I could’ve thought about it earlier. I frowned, deep in thought.

“Prequ…”

After thinking for a while, my answer was cut off before I could finish. So unfair.

“No.”

“But isn’t that the essence of magical girls…?”

“Copyright issues. The licensing fees are too high. No. Absolutely not.”

Why are you being so law-abiding? Are you really villains? I’ve never seen villains care about copyright before.

“Then, Blaze…”

“Too common.”

“Then, Darkst…”

“Ah, that novel was fun. Too bad it got discontinued. I wonder if the author will come back.”

“Lyrical…”

Keru started glaring at me with narrowed eyes. Isn’t it your fault for not giving me time to think of a name? Huh?

“No. That’s even more expensive than Pretty Cure. It’s serialized on a subscription site, you know. I pay for it every month.”

“Angelic…”

“We’re an evil organization.”

Every magical girl name I came up with got shot down. I was getting annoyed.

“Ugh, forget it! Nothing works.”

“Then decide later. Anyway, this is Gwak Dusik. He’s your lieutenant for now. He’s a brainy guy, despite his looks.”

So his last name isn’t Gye.

“Mother-Body, I’m Gwak Dusik. Nice to meet you.”

He extended his hand for a handshake, so I shook it. While shaking hands, Dusik’s face turned slightly red.

Is he blushing because he’s holding a girl’s hand? He’s surprisingly innocent. I thought about holding his hand longer, but he let go first. Too bad.

With me in the middle, Keru and Dusik continued their conversation. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, so it was frustrating.

“Anyway, she’s an unusually strong magical girl. Don’t mess around and let’s start with production as a test. Are the facilities all checked?”

“Yes, Keru-nim. Everything’s been checked, and as long as the magic power is properly injected, production won’t be a problem.”

“Then, Mother-Body, come here.”

“Okay.”

Finally, it’s my turn.

I followed Keru into one of the many rooms.

When Keru flew in and turned on the lights, the room was filled with tangled hoses, a glass tube big enough for a person, and several test tube-like things connected to the hoses.

There were also a bunch of villains busily working in the room.

“There are people here. Couldn’t you turn on the lights?”

“They have good night vision.”

Fair enough.

“Let’s take it easy. No one succeeds on the first try anyway. Mother-Body, go stand in that tube.”

Keru pointed to the glass tube.

“That’s the production pod. Just stand in it. You might feel a bit weird, but don’t worry—it’s just drawing out your magic power.”

“Uh, okay.”

I followed the instructions and stood in the tube. I saw Dusik pull a lever, and the tube sealed shut. Pink smoke started filling the tube.

“Hngg…?!”

A ticklish sensation surged up from my lower abdomen. It spread throughout my body, and a strange heat began to fill my chest.

“What, what is this magic power?!”

I could hear Keru’s panicked voice, but I didn’t have the luxury to care. The tickling sensation spread through my body, and my mind started to feel weirdly twisted.

“Haaahhh—”

A strange moan escaped my lips.