Chapter 34

Having 24 minions isn’t a huge number, but when that many minions are swarming around, it’s suspicious in itself.

Because of that, Dusik had to make six round trips between the hotel and the association, leading groups of four or five minions each time.

Kabe was left at the kindergarten inside the association building.

For a moment, she struggled not to leave my side, but soon she was completely absorbed in the videos playing at the kindergarten, letting go of my hand and heading straight for the TV. I couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded.

“Doesn’t the association have regular staff?”

“Of course they do. Why wouldn’t they?”

In some kind of magical feat, Eve and I were sitting across from each other, sipping coffee on the 28th floor, which was designed to replicate the cityscape.

Convenience stores, hospitals, supermarkets… It was a perfect replica of an ordinary city. The convenience store even had tables and chairs set up outside, so Eve and I could sit comfortably.

“But is it okay for minions to come and go like this?”

“It’s fine.”

Eve sipped her coffee through a straw and grinned.

“Once you leave the building after work, you forget about anything unrelated to your duties. There’s so much weird stuff in here—if you remembered it all, it’d be a disaster.”

“You’re manipulating people’s memories?”

“Yep. You just thought we’re the bad guys, didn’t you?”

“Bingo.”

“It’s not like there are side effects, so it’s fine.”

Is it really fine? Even if there are no side effects, who knows if that’s even true?

“Keru, come here.”

“What’s the matter?”

“What’s the matter, you ask?”

I pressed my foot against Keru’s face, squishing it until he made a weird noise.

“Why are you doing this?!”

“Why? You little brat, you need to explain some things. The battle simulation is about to start, and you’re the mascot here.”

“S-stop stepping on me! I’ll explain, okay?!”

I got up from my seat, took off my boots, and started stepping on Keru’s face with my bare feet. Watching him squirm flat on the ground made me feel oddly satisfied.

*Click.*

A camera shutter sound. I turned to see Eve grinning, holding her smartphone.

“What did you just take a picture of?”

“You tormenting Keru.”

“Why would you take a picture of that?”

“I think I can sell it for a good price.”

“What?”

“Never mind, forget it.”

What’s she talking about? Anyway, I lifted my foot off Keru, who was still coughing, and poked his nostril with my toe.

“If you’re going to call me the Mother-Body, you should’ve explained everything earlier. Why do you only talk when I ask or when it’s too late? Are you slacking off? Living life half-heartedly?”

“S-sorry, Mother-Body! Please move your foot!”

“Get up and explain. How does this all work?”

Finally, Keru staggered to his feet, rubbed his face with his front paws, and cleared his throat.

“First, let me explain from the beginning. When the battle starts, you or the Mother-Body will declare the start with a countdown—”

Countdown. Literally, the start of the battle.

The minions of the Mogmog Group are essentially pseudo-lifeforms born from the Mother-Body’s magic power, so they share the same magical wavelength as the Mother-Body.

What does that mean?

“When you declare the countdown, or the start of the battle… you’ll share the senses of the minions. You’ll see where they are, share their vision, receive their thoughts, and your commands will be directly transmitted to them. You can choose to send commands individually or to all of them at once.”

“That’s amazing.”

“It’s amazing, but it also means the burden on you increases.”

“Hmm.”

You’ll understand once you try it. That’s why simulations are good.

“You’re the worst for only explaining when I ask, you know that?”

“S-sorry, Mother-Body!”

*Squish squish.*

—

All the minions have arrived.

Lined up in formation, the minions were all smiling brightly, looking at me standing in front of them.

They call me Boss, but according to Keru, they’re like my children.

Even though they’re not made from my magic power, if they’re going out to fight and their mother is with them, they must be really happy. That’s why they’re smiling like that.

“Are you ready?”

“Ready or not, I’m not sure yet.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

Eve, who had approached, patted my back.

“We—well, the Mother-Body—your enemies, the magical girls, are set to average specs. There are four of them. Since it’s your first time, we’ll keep it easy. The exchange rate with the minions is 6:1, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”

“Even if you say that, I don’t really get it. I’ll figure it out as I go. Keru, do that countdown thing or whatever. Let’s see.”

“Alright.”

I felt something slightly flowing out from my abdomen. I didn’t notice it before, but now I know what it is—Keru is borrowing my magic power.

Keru’s black fur began to shine even more brilliantly.

“Warriors of the Dark Realm—a glorious battlefield now unfolds before you! Fight with purpose, win with glory, and seize with pride!”

*Thud.*

There was no sound, but a low, intense vibration echoed. And at the same time, before my eyes—

—

Now that I think about it, I’m pretty good at real-time strategy simulation games, or RTS for short.

Galaxy Craft is a representative RTS, and I had an outstanding record even among amateurs.

I’m not the type to get easily excited, and I’ve often been told I have a good eye for assessing situations.

I haven’t played much since entering society, but I still enjoyed a game or two with a can of beer during my free time.

The reason I bring this up is that the map unfolding before my eyes now looks just like the one from Galaxy Craft.

Moreover, a few mysterious messages popped up in the bottom left corner.

:: Countdown confirmed.

:: Battlefield activated.

:: Mother-Body of the Evil Magical Girls, confirmed deployment.

:: Minions’ combat power increased.

:: Mind sync confirmed.

:: Voice sync confirmed.

:: The battle will now begin.

The map spins with the movement of my fingers. Spread my thumb and index finger, and the map zooms in; pinch them, and it zooms out.

“Boss, please organize the teams.”

“Whoa, you scared me.”

I was startled by the sudden voice in my ear. Looking around, the minions were still smiling brightly, waiting for my instructions.

“You can do it on the map or give verbal commands.”

Geez, you scared me.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Dusik in his transformed form, so his sudden appearance startled me even more.

“Did I surprise you?”

“Ah, no… Anyway, I can do it on the map?”

Dusik smiled awkwardly at my reaction and explained.

“Yes. If you’re not looking at the map, it might be inactive, but if you look at it or touch it with your fingers, it’ll activate. To do it on the map, you can tap the units one by one or drag to select them…”

This is just like a game system.

So, to form a team, you either tap each unit or drag to select them and then group them into a team.

It’s a game. Except for the fact that the units are moving right in front of my eyes, it’s exactly like a game.

“Can I summon magical girls?”

“Wait a second.”

Despite Eve’s urging, I paused for a moment… There are four magical girls, right? So, divide the minions into six per team and make four teams.

“Let’s do it.”

Let’s start. You’ll understand once you try it.

—

A noticeable red marker is on my position. As I move slightly, the marker moves with me, so it must be indicating my location.

And 24 small red markers. These must be for the minions. Above each marker, there’s a number: 1, 2, 3, 4. Must be the team numbers.

After numbering them, I tapped their positions on the map. The six markers started moving to that location.

“Can we start now?”

“Yes.”

At Eve’s voice, I nodded. I roughly understood the controls. Now it’s time to get into the real thing and learn as I go.

As Eve muttered something, four blue markers appeared on the map, smaller than mine. Those must be the magical girls.

Team 1, to Magical Girl 1.

Team 2, to Magical Girl 2.

Team 3, to Magical Girl 3.

Team 4, to Magical Girl 4.

Team 3, which was nearby, started engaging Magical Girl 3. At the same time, green gauges appeared above the minions’ heads.

The green gauges started decreasing slowly. That must be their health.

I tapped one minion whose gauge was decreasing rapidly.

“You, fall back. Number 5, attack instead.”

-Understood!

At my command, the markers started changing positions.

:: Teams 1, 2, and 4 have started engaging.

I’m already watching. The map was now filled with green gauges. The blue markers for the magical girls didn’t show health gauges. That’s to be expected.

“Keru, let’s go.”

Team 1 wasn’t doing well. The magical girl had gone into a narrow alley.

From our perspective, we needed to lure her out into a wider area.

As I started moving, Keru followed.

The engagement area wasn’t large, so I could probably get there quickly by running, but I kept alternating between running and walking as I adjusted the minions’ positions on the map.

“Team 1, I’m here.”

-Boss!

-Mother!

-You’re here!

-It’s dangerous!

Some weird words were mixed in, but whatever. I raised my left hand, and dark magic started flowing out.

What should I do? At this distance… The magical girl had gone into a narrow alley, forcing the minions into one-on-one combat. To lure her out, it’d be best to destroy the alley itself.

I placed my hand on the magic. Tearing off a chunk of magic, I recalled the image of a spear from the Six-Armed Combat Manual I received from Karin last night.

I stretched the magic into a long, thin shape, shaping it into something easy for me to throw. The tip was sharp for better flight. Though crude, it looked like a spear. Holding it in my left hand, I threw it with all my might toward the magical girl.

My original intention was to collapse the wall where the magical girl was, but being right-handed, my aim and strength control were off. The spear hit the magical girl directly, causing an explosion that shook the surroundings.

“Oops, I guess I killed her.”

The magical girl’s marker disappeared from the map. It seemed my attack had eliminated her, so I split the remaining team members to support the other teams.

—

“Sis, you worked hard!”

“Yeah, I did.”

After completing the fifth simulation, I returned to the convenience store—fake, but still—and plopped down on a chair. Dusik handed me a coffee.

“Whew.”

“Let me massage your shoulders!”

“Sure.”

Dusik’s hands started kneading my shoulders. They were stiff from all the tension, and his touch brought a slight pain.

“Ow, ow.”

“Ah, sorry, Sis! Should I go softer?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just right.”

“Sis, you don’t seem as tired as I thought you’d be.”

Tired? Why would I be? There’s nothing tiring about it.

“I can’t handle synchronizing with more than ten minions…”

What? Is it really that hard? It was way easier than Galaxy Craft for me.

Ah.

“Dusik, do you play games?”

“Games? No, I haven’t. I don’t really like them.”

That’s the problem.

This RTS-style stuff must be tough for someone who’s never played it. I’ve played a ton of these games and was pretty well-known, so it’s easy for me.

“You don’t seem tired at all?”

“Not even a little.”

While Dusik was massaging me, Eve walked over, sipping her coffee.

“Mother-Body, so how was the battle—”

“Sis, want more coffee?”

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

“Your thoughts on the battle.”

“Sis, tilt your head a bit. Let me massage your neck.”

“Mo—”

“Oh, your neck’s really stiff.”

…What is this situation?

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