Chapter 2

Ah… All the applications I submitted got rejected…

Life really sucks… How am I supposed to live like this…

“Not doing your morning training?”

“Shut up. I’m not in the mood.”

“Okay…”

……Come to think of it, how am I supposed to face my family?

I’ve been hiding everything from them.

“…Oh, I just thought of something. What about my parents?”

“Huh? Are you talking about your parents?”

“Yeah, my family doesn’t know I’m a magical girl. But now that things have gotten this bad… Just imagining it is terrifying.”

I did tell my friends after I became an adult, but it’s different when it comes to family.

Especially parents. Even considering the generation gap, they’re old now, so they don’t accept new things well and tend to think everything’s wrong.

That’s why I didn’t tell them, but now that it’s come to this…

“Then how about cutting ties with them completely?”

“Don’t say crazy things.”

…Well, I’ll think about that later. For now, I need to figure out how to make money.

But all my applications got rejected… Maybe I should take a break for a while?

Trying to force something that’s not working will just exhaust me.

“Alright. I’ll just be unemployed for about three months.”

I still have some money to get by, and if I live frugally, I’ll manage somehow.

Or maybe I should buy some lottery tickets?

If I win first prize, I won’t have to struggle anymore.

…Nah, there’s no way I’d win first prize.

What kind of stupid thought is that?

“…Maybe I should go buy some clothes…”

I forgot, but those mascot guys have terrible fashion sense.

They don’t even wear clothes, so how would they know about fashion?

So for the future, I need to buy my own clothes.

Let’s see… Should I buy 10 sets of underwear and outerwear?

I heard girls get weird looks if they don’t have a variety of clothes.

With this body, I’ll need at least 10 sets.

Even though I’ll probably only wear 2 or 3 regularly.

So I quickly put on some decent clothes and dragged myself to the department store.

I stood in front of the women’s clothing store for about 20 minutes, hesitating before finally taking a step inside.

Who would’ve thought the biggest challenge of my life would be something like this?

I need to buy clothes, but now that I’m here, the resistance is real…

But, well, my current appearance is that of a girl, so…

“Welcome~.”

“……”

Uh, where… are the clothes that would suit my current appearance…

…Ah, my heart’s about to explode from how weird this feels.

And unlike in manga, the staff isn’t coming over to recommend things, so I’m on my own…

“Customer? You don’t look so good. Are you okay?”

“Huh?! Ah, yeah… I’m fine…”

Ugh… That startled me…

Why’d they suddenly talk to me like that…

But well, it did help me relax a bit.

So, uh… this… and this… should be fine… Haa~…

“……Not bad. At least my sense is better than those mascot guys.”

After going in and out of the fitting room, I finally bought 10 sets.

Now all that’s left is… underwear…

I don’t know my size, so I’ll have to measure first, then just buy a bunch in one color.

Or maybe I should buy sports bras?

It’s not like anything’s showing anyway.

…But in manga, they always measure.

“……”

Anyway, I have to buy them, so I stopped overthinking and headed to the women’s underwear store.

I thought I’d feel more at ease this time, but… for some reason, I’m even more nervous than when I was buying outerwear.

“…Hey, Chubby.”

“Yes!”

“Do you know my three sizes?”

“Uh, uh… It’s written here!”

“Right… You sure know my three sizes well.”

“I was involved in setting up Rampage’s body!”

“Ugh, you pervert…”

“I-I’m not a pervert!”

Well, teasing Chubby aside, I’m more relaxed now, so I’ll go in confidently.

Plus, since he knows my three sizes, I don’t have to get measured here…

…But how do I find underwear that fits my size?

Whether I know it or not, I still have to ask the staff for help…

“Excuse me…”

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I… know my three sizes, but how do I find underwear that fits?”

“Ah, I’ll help you with that.”

In the end, I asked the staff for help and somehow managed to buy 10 sets of underwear.

Of course, the bras are sports bras.

It’s not like anything’s showing, so this is the only option.

“Ah~ Finally bought everything…”

“Good job!”

By the way, it feels like 3 hours have passed, but it’s only been an hour and a half.

Should I stop by the convenience store on the way back and buy some beer…

And it’s been a week since I last had chicken, so I should get some soon.

I heard there’s a new menu item.

Not the usual weird seasoning, but one with basil… I’m curious.

“What do you think of basil chicken?”

“Wouldn’t it be tasty?”

“Wrong person to ask.”

“Why, why…?”

I can’t trust someone who says it’ll be tasty without a second thought.

At least pretend to think about it for 3 seconds.

“…Ah! There’s a demon reaction! We need to move out!”

“There are other magical girls here besides me. Let them handle it. And besides, that’s a Baron-Class signal. Why are you sending that to me?”

“Eh…”

“What’s with the ‘eh’? If I handle everything, when will they grow? They need to fight demons and monsters to grow stronger.”

There’s a reason why stronger magical girls don’t usually get signals for Viscount-Class or Baron-Class demons and monsters.

It’s to let the new magical girls grow stronger.

If the stronger ones handle everything, there won’t be anyone to protect the city when they retire.

There are already places without proper protectors, and if this keeps up, the city will quickly fall to demons and monsters.

So unless it’s an emergency dispatch or urgent signal, we ignore Baron-Class or Viscount-Class signals.

Even if it causes some damage.

The Mascot Headquarters will cover the damages, so it’s not a problem.

“But… it’s near your house? There’s a regular chicken place you go to…”

“Let’s move.”

“Huh?”

…I said that, but if it’s the chicken place I frequent, I can’t let it get destroyed.

They use only thigh meat for their boneless chicken, and it’s delicious and cheap.

I’ll kill it before the chicken place gets damaged.

“It’s a werewolf type.”

“Looks like it.”

“You go home first. I’ll take care of this and bring back some chicken.”

“Got it!”

So I transformed and went to my house, where a black, werewolf-like demon was drooling and growling.

It didn’t seem to know what to do yet, so before any damage was done, I smashed its head.

I didn’t do much, just poked it with my staff.

“Luckily, the chicken place is fine.”

“Huh? Where’s the demon…?”

That voice… Is that Pretty Heart?

True to her name, she’s surprisingly pure for a kid these days.

“What’s up, Pretty Heart?”

“Ah, Rampage unni~!”

Unni… Not really a term I want to hear.

But well, if I don’t say anything, she won’t know, so it can’t be helped.

Even though magical girls can’t be fooled by identity distortion, male magical girls are completely different before and after transformation.

Our identities before and after transformation are separate.

More importantly, this kid, as always, has ridiculously big breasts for a middle schooler.

I’m glad I didn’t end up like that when I became a magical girl.

I heard the bigger they are, the more uncomfortable it is.

Well, from a viewer’s perspective, bigger is better.

But I’m not into kids.

“Where did the demon go?”

“It was causing trouble near my house, so I killed it.”

“Aw~ That makes my dispatch pointless…”

“Blame it for showing up near my house.”

It’s not like we get paid for defeating demons like in other countries, so I don’t get why she’s so upset.

No need to get so down over passion pay, right?

Guess it’s because she’s so pure…

“Why? It’s not like we get paid anyway.”

“…Huh? Unni, you… haven’t heard yet?”

Huh? What’s she talking about?

What haven’t I heard?

“Starting this year, our country is paying magical girls for defeating demons and monsters based on their rank. If you register at the Support Headquarters, you get a special magical girl account. I even got a card this time.”

“……What?”

Did I… hear that wrong?

Is there something wrong with my eardrums?

“…Are you okay?”

“Huh? No, it’s nothing. I handled the demon here, so you can head back for today.”

“Okay~.”

“……”

……Wait, what? Starting this year, magical girls are getting paid?

So, what’s the scope of this?

Does it include all the demons and monsters I’ve slaughtered over the past 15 years? Right?

I need to check this on the computer right now.

It’s probably obvious, but just in case… Ah, but first, chicken.

“One order of boneless basil chicken, please.”

“Sure~.”

The new menu item, basil chicken…

I waited about 10 minutes to get it, but when I looked inside, something seemed off.

Is… this color… normal?

“Is the color supposed to be like this?”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be like that. But it tastes good!”

“Is that so…”

The owner says it tastes good, but is it really?

The color doesn’t look right…

Well, it’s not like the owner would lie, so maybe I’ll trust him.

Now I should go home and check that out.

“Ah, you’re back!”

“Yeah, I am.”

“…What’s wrong?”

“Pretty Heart told me that starting this year, our country is finally paying magical girls for defeating demons and monsters.”

“Really?! Then… Rampage’s employment problem is solved!”

“Right. Let me check first…”

―Click click.

―Tap tap tap, tap… tap.

But which website was it?

The government website?

No, I didn’t hear that, but if it’s a government directive, it should be on the government website.

…Oh, here’s the policy news.

Here… Establishment of the Korean Magical Girl Support Headquarters? Really?

After 20 years, they’re finally doing what other countries did long ago?

Wow… It took them way too long…

“Where, where…”

Oh, here’s how the support for magical girls is being expanded and what additional support is being provided.

Honestly, I don’t care about the rest, money is what matters to me.

No, money is the only thing that matters.

I don’t need any other support, just the financial support right now.

That’s the most important thing.

“……”

After checking the financial support section, I immediately shut my mouth.

At the same time, anger surged within me, and I almost smashed the computer.

…Why?

Because it only applies to demons and monsters defeated after February 11th of this year, and it’s limited to magical girls with less than 10 years of experience, since they retire after 10 years.

After all this waiting… these damn bastards…!! Do they really see magical girls as fools…!!

“……You…! You!! Damn!!! Bastards!!!!!”