Chapter 54

“What? Does that even make sense?”

We had our company dinner, everyone split into taxis, and returned home in high spirits, only to wake up the next day to news that was anything but pleasant.

“Violation of operational policy…?”

“Yes…”

The camcorder broke, and just as I was wondering how much of the broadcast had gone out, Dusik brought the news.

“So, the account got suspended…?”

“That seems to be the case… Luckily, the video was saved.”

Direct broadcasting from within the Dark Realm violates the terms of service, and as a result, the Mother-Body channel we worked so hard to set up has been suspended.

“Sigh… I really thought it was a good idea…”

Apparently, the first 10 minutes of the broadcast went out. So, right after gathering the minions, declaring the start of the battle, deploying Dusik and Sohee, and just as the battle was about to begin—that’s when it got cut off.

Thinking about it, it’s no wonder no one else had tried this before.

Sure, the previous Mother-Bodies didn’t go out to battle, but those money-crazed magical girls would have definitely tried to use battle footage from within the Dark Realm if they could.

But no matter where you look, there’s only footage shot from the outside, never from within.

So that’s why.

“Ah, whatever. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. So, did we get any donations during those 10 minutes?”

“Yes, we did get some.”

Dusik hesitated, looking at me, unable to bring himself to say it. His expression wasn’t great, so the donation amount must not have been impressive.

“How much did we get?”

“57,000 won.”

“How much did the camcorder cost?”

“113,000 won.”

We lost money.

Damn it.

“Fine… Sigh. Well, we can’t blame people for not donating. We’ll just have to accept it.”

But luckily, the footage was saved, and it captured up to the moment Aquamarine was forced to retreat.

Thinking about it, it’s probably better that the broadcast didn’t go out.

If it had, the Magical Girl Association would have been in serious trouble, and the attacks wouldn’t have been just on Aquamarine personally but on the entire Association, which would have made things incredibly difficult for Eve too.

I’ll keep this as my trump card.

It’ll definitely come in handy.

I can use it to silence Aquamarine, who knows about my past.

I went to the mirror and pressed my earring.

With a whoosh, I transformed into my uniform, but it was still a mess.

It’s weird that it’s not repairing itself.

“Keru, why isn’t this repairing?”

“It’s because of high-level magic. Even if you reverse-summon, it won’t repair if it’s beyond the repair limit.”

“High-level magic, huh.”

Well, it did seem like it.

Aquamarine’s chant, which wasn’t even that long, summoned a rain of water droplets that covered the sky. That image is still vivid in my memory.

“Hmm.”

“But if you leave it in reverse-summon for a long time, it should repair… Huh? Mother-Body, what are you doing?”

What am I doing?

Ugh, there are so many buttons and strings.

Looking in the mirror, I tried to undo the strings and buttons on my uniform top, but it’s not easy.

If it were within my line of sight, I could manage, but my chest is so big that I have to use my hand to undo the buttons below my chest…

“This is annoying.”

“Older Sister, should I help you?”

“Ah, Dusik. Yeah, help me with these buttons. I can’t see below my chest, so it’s hard to undo.”

“Sure, just a moment.”

Dusik’s hands reached my chest.

He fumbled for a while, slowly undoing each button.

“Dusik, are you feeling okay?”

“…Huh?”

“Your face is red.”

“Ah, no. I’m fine.”

“Why are your hands shaking?”

“No, it’s nothing…”

His hands were trembling, and his face was bright red. I was worried he might be sick, but he said he was fine.

“Mother-Body, what are you trying to do?”

“What do you mean? I’m going to get it fixed.”

“Where are you going to get it fixed?”

“There’s a laundromat on the second floor of the building across the street.”

“What?”

Both Dusik and Keru looked at me with disbelief.

What?

Did I say something strange?

If it’s about fixing clothes, then a laundromat, right? Why are you looking at me like that?

I folded the clothes and changed into a tracksuit.

“I’ll tie your hair for you.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I should practice tying my hair myself. Whenever I do it, it ends up looking like a wet dog, which isn’t great.

It’s also a bit awkward to always have Dusik help me.

“Where’s Kabe?”

“She’s playing with Sohee.”

“Really?”

Surprisingly, Sohee gets along well with Kabe.

She doesn’t seem like the type to be friendly with kids, but she plays well with Kabe, even giving her piggyback rides, which is surprising.

“Where’s Bedel?”

“Bedel’s with them too.”

Since there’s no battle, Bedel doesn’t have much to do, so she’s out in her child form, playing with Kabe.

Hmm.

Come to think of it, there’s a snack shop on the first floor of the building across the street.

Maybe I’ll take the kids there for lunch.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

“Older Sister, it’s me.”

Who’s that?

“You told me to come get my allowance yesterday…”

Ah.

It’s the one I told to come get their allowance.

“Ah, come in.”

A minion with a somewhat youthful appearance hesitantly entered.

They must be wondering if it’s really okay to come in.

“What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Number 27.”

Why the number?

Well, I can’t give names to every minion. It’s not that I think of them as expendable, but minions are essentially like pawns in battle, so I can’t name and remember each one.

“Alright, you answered well yesterday. Come here.”

I took out my wallet from the handbag by the bed.

A 10,000-won bill, two, three… Hmm.

I took out ten bills.

Honestly, this is quite a big expense.

“Take this and go treat your friends to something good.”

“Thank you, Older Sister!”

“Call me ‘Older Sister,’ not ‘Older Sister.'”

“Yes! Older Sister!”

“Alright, go on.”

“Yes!”

I watched the minion run off happily and couldn’t help but chuckle.

*

“Wow, these clothes are really damaged.”

The laundromat.

Steam from the washing machines filled the air, making the place feel damp.

“Yes, so I was wondering if you could fix them?”

The owner, an older woman, felt the fabric of the uniform and the pants’ billows, then smiled at me.

“Ah, if I can’t fix this much, I should just close the shop. Come back the day after tomorrow.”

“Okay!”

Take that, Keru, you punk.

“Hey, kids, come here.”

“Yes!”

While I was in the laundromat, Kabe and Bedel, who had been playing in the hallway, came running when I called.

“Walk slowly. If you run and fall, you’ll get hurt.”

“Okay, Mom.”

Come to think of it, I keep postponing taking Kabe to the dentist.

I should contact Eve about it.

While I was at it, I sent Eve a message asking about Kabe’s status and patted Kabe and Bedel’s heads.

“Should we have lunch together?”

Honestly, I want to be a mom to Kabe, but from the outside, Bedel and Kabe look the same age.

Having one call me “Mom” and the other “Mother-Body” isn’t a great look.

It reminds me of my childhood.

I wanted someone to call “Mom,” someone who could be there for me.

“Bedel, from now on, just call me ‘Mom.'”

“Huh? But Mother-Body, that’s…”

“Just do as I say. Kabe calls me ‘Mom,’ and if you, who look about the same age, keep calling me ‘Mother-Body,’ it’s weird.”

Well, I did give her a hard time.

I even used her as a throwing weapon.

I feel bad about it.

I took Kabe and Bedel’s hands.

“Let’s go eat something delicious.”

*

Even if it’s just a snack shop, it still has its own charm.

I ordered a bowl of jjolmyeon and a roll of kimbap for myself.

Kabe got pork cutlet, and Bedel…

“Wait, your true form is a gun. Can you even eat food?”

“I can eat. Even though I’m a mimic, my body functions aren’t much different from a minion’s.”

“Really? What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t really know what’s what…”

No wonder she’s been staring at the menu. She doesn’t know what the dishes are.

“Hmm. Then just get the same as Kabe. Is that okay?”

“Yes, yes! Mother-Body…”

“Call me ‘Mom.'”

“Uh, Mom.”

Bedel’s face turned red. She couldn’t look me in the eye and kept looking down. Finally, she bowed her head, and a faint voice came out.

“Mom.”

“Good job.”

I patted Bedel’s head.

*

“What on earth did you do?”

“You’re picking a fight as soon as you call?”

It was Eve.

After taking the kids out for lunch, buying them ice cream at the convenience store, and letting them play at the playground while I sat on a bench, Eve called.

“Fight? What are you talking about? You can’t just shoot someone in the head at close range like that!”

“What are you even talking about?”

You should be glad I ended it with a headshot.

If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have shot them in the limbs and made them suffer before finishing them off.

“Come on, no matter how angry you are, you can’t do that.”

Look at this?

“Hey, do you even know what they did to Kabe? Do you? And you’re defending your subordinate now? Are you out of your mind?! Huh?! Do you even know what they did to the kid?! Are you serious?! Do you want to die?!”

“Hey, hey, Yoon-Woo. Calm down.”

Calm down? Really?

A parent defending their subordinate after what they did to the kid?

“Hey, forget it. I’m hanging up.”

“Wait… Yoon-Woo, I’m sorry. Don’t be mad. Okay?”

“What are you sorry for?”

There was no response for a while.

“Ugh. Fine. I’ll let it go. Come over tonight if you have time. There’s something I want to show you.”

“Okay, I should be free. What do you want to eat?”

“Get some beef intestines. And some pork belly for Kabe.”

“Alright, see you tonight.”

“Got it~ Hang up!”

After hanging up, I sat there blankly, watching the kids play, and felt at peace.

*

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