Chapter 79

“This way.”

Guided by a magical girl whose face didn’t look the least bit friendly—probably because of the chaos I caused at the Association Building earlier—I sat down at the desk assigned to me.

The barrage of cameras and flashes was already insane.

“Please stop flashing the cameras.”

“Speak informally!”

“Stop flashing the cameras.”

“Wahhh!!”

What the heck? Why do they like it more when I speak informally? Weird taste.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

I was already seated, but Eve, who was supposed to join me for the autograph session, was nowhere to be seen. Just as I was about to ask the helper magical girl standing next to me if Eve wasn’t coming, the auditorium suddenly went dark.

Literally, all the lights in the auditorium turned off at once. The room was plunged into pitch-black darkness, and I could hear people panicking. I was also looking around, wondering what was going on, when—

*Click!*

*Click!*

*Whoosh!*

The sound of spotlights turning on lit up the ceiling. And within that light, something with a faint blue hue…

“Mom, look! It’s the Ice Queen!”

The Ice Queen, the protagonist of a famous animation that recently caused an explosive demand for blue dresses among young girls.

Something that looked exactly like her was floating gracefully near the ceiling.

“Ice Queen!”

As if responding to the girls shouting her name, the dress slowly came to a stop in the center of the ceiling.

Only then did I see what that dress was.

“…Did you really have to go this far to win?!”

*Grind.*

I could clearly hear the sound of teeth grinding.

It was Eve.

That blue dress, undoubtedly conjured by magic, fluttered in the breeze as it slowly descended from the sky.

And somehow, a cold wind that wasn’t actually cold swept through, creating the illusion that the Ice Queen from the animation had come to life.

“Children, for you…”

Eve descended until her figure was clearly visible. The dazzling white smile on her face was unbearably annoying.

“The Ice Queen has come to see you.”

You’re a magical girl! A magical girl obsessed with advertising!

“Everyone, who’s your favorite magical girl?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the girls shouted her name in unison.

“Eve!!!!”

This is cheating. This is really cheating.

As soon as Eve appeared, the girls holding their parents’ hands started begging to move to Eve’s line for her autograph.

Even the kids in my line started leaving.

The balance of the lines was completely shattered as Eve’s line rapidly grew.

I didn’t expect Eve to go this far. Seriously, did you really have to cheat this much to win… Eve!

*Snap.* I looked down to see the pen in my hand had broken. Ink was staining my hand black. Something dark was staining my heart too.

Is this… jealousy?

I wanted to expose Eve’s true nature right then and there, but I had no means to do so.

Just looking at the autograph session, the families in my line were gone. The length of my line had shrunk by nearly a third, while Eve’s line had grown by the same amount.

If this continues… I’ll lose. Maybe if I ask nicely, we can call it a draw…

I shook my head to clear those thoughts. No, I can’t give up yet.

“Now, let’s begin the autograph session!”

With a flourish from the helper magical girl, the autograph session began.

—

The schedule was divided into two-hour sessions starting at 11 AM, with a lunch break from 1 PM to 2 PM. Then, from 2 PM to 4 PM, another session, followed by a one-hour break, and a final session from 5 PM to 6 PM.

An hour after opening, the score was my defeat. I wanted to make excuses, like who knew she’d make such an entrance, but Eve probably didn’t want to lose either, so she went all out.

“Most families with kids went over there, unnie.”

I know, Dusik. You don’t have to whisper like you’ve discovered some great secret.

“Hey, Mother-Body.”

“Yes?”

A boy who had just received an autograph cautiously spoke to me. As I finished signing and looked up, he nervously continued.

“Um, can I take a picture of you and Kwak Dusik together?”

What’s this about? Wait, could this be…?

“What nonsense are you talking about…!”

“No, no, it’s fine. Like this?”

I stood up, wrapped my arm around Dusik’s waist, and pulled him close. The height difference made it look like Dusik was nestled against my chest, and gasps could be heard from all around.

How’s that? Two beauties! Well, one beauty and one cute girl, but who cares! Two flowers in one hand!

The downside of Eve’s line is that. If there’s one child, there’s at least one guardian, usually two. If there are siblings, that’s three people per girl. So the line physically grows. And it’s noisy.

Plus, in my line, you have one beauty and one cute girl creating this two-flowers vibe? Can’t resist that.

Look, there are already a few boys sneaking glances and moving to my line. Eve must’ve noticed too, as she kept glancing at Dusik and me with a displeased expression. There’s no rule saying I can’t bring someone, so I’m justified.

Honestly, if Eve hadn’t gone that far, I would’ve just gone with the flow. Eve… you made me do this.

“Any poses you want?”

“Princess carry!”

“That’s too much.”

“Aww… then a hug!”

“Hmm, that’s doable.”

Though some requests were a bit over the line, I accommodated reasonable ones and posed with Dusik. They took photos along with the autographs.

Dusik, who initially looked reluctant, seemed to have given up and was smiling awkwardly, playing along.

While I lost most of the family audience, I managed to pull in quite a few solo male attendees. Some girls also quietly moved to my line.

Not sure why.

—

Lunch was a lunchbox. In the personal waiting room set up at the back of the auditorium. Of course, not everyone got a personal waiting room—it was Eve’s, but Dusik and I were sitting there with her.

As soon as the first autograph session ended and we entered the room, Eve quickly changed out of her dress into a tracksuit.

And then she yelled at me.

“Are you really going to be this sneaky? I thought you weren’t into yuri!”

“What yuri? Out of nowhere with the flower talk.”

“No, you said you’re not a lesbian! But you’re totally giving off lesbian vibes! And with Dusik of all people?!”

Her words are really weird. What’s so lesbian about that? I was just trying to give off a two-flowers vibe for the photo. And what’s wrong with Dusik?

“I’m not a lesbian. But that doesn’t mean I like men either. And what’s with ‘Dusik of all people’? Would it be okay if it wasn’t Dusik?”

Eve paused for a moment at my words.

“Well, that’s not what I meant.”

“Whatever, let’s eat. I’m hungry. I moved around too much.”

“Ugh… The first-round scores will be announced soon, so wait a bit. Here’s the lunchbox.”

“Ooh, the lunchbox is still warm. As expected of the Magical Girl Association’s technology!”

“It’s magic. Get it right.”

The pre-prepared lunchbox was a beef bulgogi lunchbox. They must’ve remembered that beef is my favorite. I’m grateful for that, but still.

“Unnie.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t just pick out the meat, eat some veggies too. Do you know how painful constipation can be?”

Dusik was nagging me again about eating only meat, but I didn’t really care.

“Dusik, in my opinion, eating beef or pork is like being vegetarian.”

“Unnie, what nonsense… I mean, what are you talking about?”

She was about to say nonsense, but maybe I misheard.

“No, listen.”

“Dusik, don’t listen, just eat. She’s spouting nonsense again.”

“No, Eve, you listen too. This is a perfectly logical argument. No one in the world can refute this, okay?”

Eve, intrigued by my confident tone, put down her lunchbox and rinsed her mouth with green tea.

“Go on.”

“Look, cows eat grass, right?”

“Right. They’re fed with feed too, but mostly.”

“Anyway, that’s plant-based feed, right?”

“Right?”

“Dusik, you understand up to this point, right?”

“Yes, cows are typical herbivores.”

“Right? So cows eat grass. They’re herbivores. So if I eat a cow that ate grass, that means I ate grass too. That makes me a vegetarian.”

“Oh, is that so…?”

Dusik’s mouth hung open in awe, while Eve looked at me in disbelief.

“Yoon-Woo, by your logic, every carnivore in the world is a herbivore.”

“Exactly! You’re so smart. You’d make a great Association President.”

“…Let’s just eat.”

Well, is my logic wrong? It’s perfect vegetarianism.

—

After finishing lunch and enjoying a cup of coffee, I returned to my desk.

The score announced just before the second autograph session began was Eve at 238, me at 126. My defeat.

I overlooked it. I didn’t consider that when kids went to Eve for autographs, their parents and siblings would follow. The score was almost double, and I couldn’t think of a way to catch up.

I had to win this round to keep the match going. If I lost this one too, it’d be two losses out of three, and the third round wouldn’t even matter.

The key to the second round was who could attract more male attendees. With most family autographs done, the majority of the remaining audience was male.

Men, men.

—