“Ugh….”
The monster hesitated, making a sound of frustration, unsure whether to charge forward.
No matter how immortal the monster is, it seems that pain and fear are deeply engraved in its memory.
“Well, judging by your futile effort to keep your promise… I’ll let you go this time without much pain.”
“…! Is that really true…!”
The monster, which had been collapsed, slightly lifted its head, and its eyes widened in surprise.
It’s such joy at the mere mention of being sent off without pain.
Indeed, for the immortal monsters, pain and fear are the only correct responses.
“Alright, let’s finish this quickly.”
“Haha! That’s good news!”
The hesitant monster, with my nod, stepped onto the ground boldly without fear and began to growl like a real beast.
It wasn’t a mocking tone; it genuinely seemed grateful with a loud roar.
Is the promise of dying with less pain really such good news?
With a click, I twisted the handle of the cane I held in both hands, splitting the heart ornament at the end of the cane in half.
Then, one half went into the cane, turning it into a hook that was perfect for hanging something.
Seeing the wolf monster rushing in from afar, Shiyeon, who had been scared just days ago, asked me with a bewildered expression.
“What should I do…?”
“Uh…”
I thought about what to make Shiyeon do. Since we also had the purpose of showing our skills to others, it wouldn’t look good if I did it all by myself.
“Remember that freezing thing you do? Why don’t you give that a shot?”
“Oh, okay! Moon Shower!”
With her lively response and chant, Shiyeon’s cane, adorned with a round moon ornament, pointed towards the monster.
If I am the Sun, a symbol of heat, then Shiyeon is the Moon, a symbol of cold.
The Sun is incredibly hot, and the Moon, at its highest temperature, can drop to minus forty degrees Celsius, making it exceedingly cold.
In other words, it simply means that it is extremely cold.
“Grr, ugh?!”
At the moment the wolf monster’s movements became sluggish, Shiyeon swung her cane, gaining momentum from her footing on the paving stones.
The expression “swung” might be a bit inappropriate.
She pierced the creature’s flesh with the sharp hook, spun in mid-air, and used the force of that rotation to throw it high into the sky.
The wolf became a tiny dot in the skies.
To keep the promise of letting it go without much pain in an instant.
Gathering the ultimate heat capable of burning any creature alive, I concentrated it at the tip of my cane.
A blue pillar of flame, which can only be used once a day, boasts extreme heat.
The name of that magnificent spell is…
“Die already!”
In line with my mighty roar, a stream of blue light shot up in an instant.
It pierced through the white clouds above and left a massive scar across the canvas of the sky before vanishing beyond.
Beyond where the flames disappeared, the thrown wolf monster was slowly gaining form as it fell to the ground.
With a loud thud, the paving slabs at the landing point shattered, sending debris flying.
Ignoring the flying stones, I approached to check, finding the wolf monster blackened and unable to even close its eyes properly.
If it had fallen from that height under ordinary circumstances, it would have been scattered into unrecognizable pieces.
If that sort of thing happened in a magical girl story, the age rating would immediately jump to 19+.
“Ah, the situation is over-”
As I announced the end of the situation, the oldest member, Ms. Crystal, clapped twice and smoothly introduced the next agenda.
“Wow, that was neat! Let’s disband and meet again at the café!”
“Yes-”
We transformed back in the corner alley and reconvened at the café.
The café owner hadn’t even thought of evacuating, staying right at her post.
When asked why she didn’t evacuate, she laughed it off, saying, “How many magical girls are here?”
The conversation returned to a peaceful gathering.
The topic of discussion was perhaps spurred by what just happened, focusing on our skills.
“Wow, Sun’s thing just now… isn’t that the strongest among us?”
“True, there’s a reason the monsters don’t come.”
“Skill, skill, huh-”
“Did you see how the wolf monster looked so frightened?”
The conversation flowed smoothly without any words from the parties involved.
The situation was already comfortably misunderstood.
There was no need to say, ‘No? I could just torture them instead, you know?’
Returning to food mode, I took a sip of the neglected hot chocolate, lifting a piece of hardened honey bread to my mouth.
While I wanted to order one more, there’s still some decorum to maintain.
These days, baked goods are quite expensive.
‘Also, three bowls by myself is a bit….’
With that thought, I extended my small hand to clink the empty bowl.
The sound of empty bowls clattering as I wiped the sweet residue from my lips.
Even though I ate something so sweet, it didn’t feel too sweet or heavy; if anything, it felt disappointing.
Youth is wonderful.
Anyway, as we continued chatting, time had crept up to just before evening.
I don’t understand how women can talk for so long.
I was bored to death.
“Wow, has it really gotten this late? I’ll inform the partners about the next meetup.”
Ms. Crystal looked anxiously between the outside and her smartphone clock and got up from her seat.
“Yes-”
“Thank you for your hard work-”
Like the senior members who had just finished their meal, the other magical girls also stood up.
Ah, the partners referred to here are the mascots.
It seems there’s some shared knowledge among the mascots, as they tend to relay such news well.
Is this another flaw in the magical girl universe?
After boarding the returning bus, I guided Shiyeon, who was looking terribly sleepy, as we passed ten stops and the sky began to darken.
Only then could we return to our shabby yet reassuring apartment.
“Phew….”
“Go wash up and sleep first.”
“Okay….”
As soon as we entered, Shiyeon yawned broadly and headed to the bathroom, while I went to the living room with a big yawn.
At the end of my yawn, I caught sight of the sea serpent crawling in the sky.
“Did you come back?”
“Yeah, Shiyeon will wash up and go straight to bed.”
I lightly greeted Shiyeon’s mascot, who welcomed me.
To the bear doing a handstand, legs straight up in the air, I gave a deep bow of respect.
“Welcome back!”
“Yeah, I’m back. Was everything alright?”
“Yes, no unusual occurrences!”
“Good, right away.”
“Phew!”
Upon giving permission, the bear cub let go of its handstand and fell to the ground.
Its belly, gasping up and down, sometimes felt so alive that it was disconcerting.
“Cub… it wouldn’t be hard since you’re all just fluff anyway.”
When I pointed out the truth to the bear, it tilted its head towards me and stopped gasping, responding nonchalantly.
“Oh, you didn’t like this performance?”
“Oh… maybe it’s not bad?”
It looked like it was deliberately reacting, making a round shape with its mouth as it replied teasingly.
At that moment, the bear seemed to realize it had made a mistake, its pea-sized eyes and mouth freezing.
“Oh, no. That’s not it.”
“Let’s practice walking while doing a handstand from now on.”
Just the usual joking.
However, the serious words that followed brought a seriousness back to me.
“Such a….”
“Hey, what did you say?”
“Ah.”
A little while later.
“Yawn….”
When Shiyeon came out of the bathroom, still looking drowsy and yawning.
Counting how many times I kicked the stuffed bear, I was careful not to drop it from the air.
It was my first time playing keepy-uppy with the bear.
Aside from the unpredictably bouncing direction, it was manageable.
“Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four….”
“My brain, my brain is shaking!”
Hearing the pleasantly surprised scream made the drowsiness disappear.
Shiyeon’s sleepy eyes turned towards us as her languid voice followed.
“What are you doing…?”
“Just playing, don’t mind me.”
“Shiyeon! Save me!”
Now the bear cub was asking Shiyeon for help.
Normally, seeing such a scene would have prompted Shiyeon to intervene actively, but….
Shiyeon was terribly sleepy at that moment.
Rather than stopping me, Shiyeon headed straight for the bed.
“Stop playing and go to bed, Mary, goodnight….”
“Okay, you too, sleep well.”
“Shiyeon?!”
Instead of telling me to stop tormenting it, Shiyeon reminded me to do it moderately, bidding goodnight.
After conveniently wishing a good night, I threw the bear back into the air.
The bear’s expression momentarily turned a deep shade of despair.
It didn’t take long for that expression to turn into resignation.
As I recall, once the number hit three hundred, it ceased to make noise when I kicked it anymore.
