“Excuse me? Where did you say?”
“Yes, this time there have been observations of movements of monsters in the Arctic…”
I pressed my forehead as the headache-inducing story went on.
I had completely forgotten about the planned schedule, which I thought would surely be canceled.
Unbeknownst to me, that schedule was gradually being planned behind the scenes, and it appeared in the worst form just before the winter break of my third year in middle school.
The Arctic? The place where polar bears I only saw in cola advertisements and textbooks appear?
Why are those little monsters showing up there where there are no people?
Regardless of such questions, the Minister’s words continued over the smart phone.
“Through international cooperation, we aim to hunt down the group of monsters that may be widely distributed in the Arctic and foster cooperation and friendship for subsequent measures. Each country will provide one strong magical girl to assist…”
While the words were lengthy, the content was simple if you stripped away the unnecessary parts.
Putting it simply, if you remove the complicated terms and the parts about cooperation and friendship…
They intend to deal with the monsters in the Arctic decisively, but since they don’t know exactly where in the Arctic, they’re gathering one magical girl from each country to search a bit more broadly.
The elegantly worded sentences were translated easily enough for even an elementary school student to understand.
I understood perfectly with my head, but my unprepared body could only feel flustered.
My body, which was wanting to enjoy the last winter break before high school as a middle school student, was bursting with dissatisfaction without even needing to be prompted by my brain.
I abruptly interrupted the Minister and blurted out my thoughts.
“No, but… is it really so sudden?”
“I sincerely apologize for informing you right before the schedule, but in fact, it was a plan I wasn’t sure would even come to fruition…”
After that, the Minister provided a detailed explanation of why I was only informed so late…
So this plan was for a schedule that had been almost set to not occur.
Starting from China and the United States, who were too busy tearing each other down over trade sanctions, to Germany and Israel, linked with a mustached uncle who fell from some art college.
The relationships between Japan, which got bombed with nuclear weapons after messing around in distant history, and the U.S., along with the relationship between Korea and Japan were all tangled up politically and historically.
There were many situations and various political relationships interwoven, so those involved deemed ‘complete cooperation’ to be impossible.
For some reason, however, it seemed they managed to have good conversations among the countries.
They contacted me only after that schedule, which they thought would be canceled, was confirmed.
Hearing the explanation made the already bitter feeling even more sour.
It felt like when you take a physical examination at the Military Manpower Administration, and you first get a 4th-grade public service classification but then it changes to 3rd-grade active duty due to an error.
Since it was a request tangled with an incident I caused, I couldn’t just outright refuse.
Quickly resigning myself, I selfishly brought up the money, thinking they wouldn’t send me to the Arctic empty-handed.
“Will it cost money to go? Is there extra compensation?”
“Ah, yes, it will be fully covered by the country. The additional compensation… based on the current standards for magical girl pay, it will be double on departure and return days, and quadruple on other days. There may also be incentives based on the results.”
“Ah, I see…”
As soon as the money topic came up, the answers came out smoothly without any hesitation.
It seemed they weren’t planning to exploit me out of obligation.
Alright, what the heck—I’ll just go on a trip to exterminate monsters.
The issue now was how long I would have to stay there…
“Then, how long will I be there?”
“Specifically, it’s a schedule of 16 days. Depending on the progress of monster extermination, it might be longer or shorter, but you probably won’t need to worry about that.”
Since it was the Arctic, it probably wouldn’t be an ordinary ship. Would it be an icebreaker?
Moreover, saying it could be longer or shorter gave a vibe of ominousness…
Wondering if Shiyeon could go with me, I hesitantly asked once more over the smart phone.
“Am I the only one going?”
“Yes, it’s arranged for only one person from each country to go.”
I let out a short breath of disappointment at the firm answer.
It seemed there wouldn’t be any exceptions emphasized on that one person.
It looked like Shiyeon wouldn’t be able to go with me.
“Well, at least it’s during the break…”
Though I was quite taken aback by the sudden announcement that I had to go to the Arctic, I soon processed the situation and accepted it blandly.
If I had been embroiled in such a large plan back in elementary school, I wouldn’t have known what to do because of Shiyeon, but now I’m already in middle school, third year.
As long as someone taught me how to use a rice cooker, I could handle most meals on my own by boiling or baking or frying them in an air fryer.
“Yes, I understand—”
It seemed I wouldn’t struggle too much being away for two weeks, so I sent a reply back through the smart phone and hung up.
“What was that call about?”
From the open crack in Shiyeon’s door, she had overheard the conversation and walked into the living room, her voice cutting through the air.
I summarized the call briefly and explained it to Shiyeon, trying to keep my tone as calm as during the call.
“They’re sending me to the Arctic to catch monsters for two weeks.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Even Shiyeon, regardless of how familiar she was, stared blankly at me as if surprised by the unexpected location mentioned.
The Arctic—honestly, it’s not a place you can casually say ‘let’s go!’ to.
To reassure Shiyeon, who looked like she might be surprised that she had to go too, I brushed off her question and continued speaking.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be staying at home.”
After all, I was the only one going.
There was no need for her to come along in such extreme situations, especially in the winter cold of Gangwon Province.
Certainly, it would be a special memory since it was such a place, but ultimately, it was still work.
“Wait, why?”
Instead of finding comfort in my words, Shiyeon asked again, her face showing further confusion.
Even though I had said it to reassure her, she was looking at me with wider eyes than before.
I was left surprised when she didn’t show a reaction that suggested relief and instead walked toward her room.
With her unexpected response, I stumbled over my words, slowly forming my thoughts.
“Why, uh, I was told that only one person from each country is allowed to go?”
“Then why is Mary going?”
“That’s because…”
It’s like our consequence for negotiating with the monsters.
The appearance time we agreed upon with the monsters was caught exactly by the gallery detectives, so it’s only right that one of us goes.
…Explaining all this to Shiyeon felt a bit too complicated, so I opted for a simpler approach.
“There’s just a reason why I have to go.”
“….”
As I tried to brush things over, Shiyeon’s gaze, which looked displeased, locked onto my eyes.
Why is she being so persistent today?
Though she didn’t seem convinced, she understood somehow.
Just two days after the winter break had started.
“Make sure to eat well, don’t skip meals, only eat noodles once a day, exercise at least once a week, and don’t stay up too late, alright?”
Though it was clearly me leaving, I found myself giving Shiyeon instructions as if I were a mother sending her son off to military service.
Shiyeon, who had come to see me off at the entrance, frowned slightly, looking like she was tired of hearing those kinds of nagging.
“I get it… just worry about yourself, it’s the Arctic after all.”
“I can be transformed there all the time; you don’t need to worry about me.”
I raised my thumb in a gesture to show there was no need for concern, with a smile that hinted I would be transformed anyway.
…Though, considering how harsh the Russian cold is, I was indeed wearing thicker clothes to prepare.
In fact, as long as transformation is allowed at all times, I could fly there transformed, whether it’s the Arctic or Antarctica.
However, since I couldn’t risk it being reported as an unidentified aircraft crossing a border…
I would need to go through the proper procedures beforehand, boarding something on the first day to head toward Moscow.
“Is there anything uncomfortable? If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know right away.”
“Ah, yes…”
The excessively kind uncle sitting next to me was the interpreter and guide.
Each magical girl from around the world had one of such interpreters assigned to them.
Being treated like a child with such consideration, the excessive kindness made me uneasy.
The atmosphere that seemed to imply I had to have something I needed even if I didn’t, was quite burdensome.
As I was internally wrestling with this discomfort…
“XX X, XX, X XX!”
A girl of an unknown nationality suddenly came over and shouted something near us.
I couldn’t quite pinpoint what she was saying; her tone had a certain harshness to it, was it Chinese?
She approached us while her interpreter had left the area and continued to chatter noisily.
Unable to discern what she was saying, I looked over at the interpreter uncle next to me with a confused expression and asked.
“What is she saying?”
“They say that all Koreans are thieves, you know?”
“Hmm.”
At first, I didn’t understand what she was going on about, but it turned out to be the typical accusation from a cultural thief nation that doesn’t even have a separate kimchi refrigerator.
In front of the Chinese magical girl, who stood there as if challenging me to refute her claim, I blurted out a phrase that Korean gamers typically say when encountering Chinese gamers who cheat.
“Taiwan Number One.”
