Chapter 82

“…There they go again.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

The busy Halloween party ended, and we returned to our daily lives. It’s a relief that nothing annoying happened like last time.

“If they were just some cult, I’d let it slide, but for a major religion to act like that is just disgusting.”

“Right…”

“That’s why I hate people who believe in religion. Religion is supposed to be a means to teach and guide people, to unite them and help them live morally. It’s not about worshiping delusions or twisting history and reality to fit their worldview.”

Speaking of which, religious fanatics have been really noisy lately. They keep trying to tie magical girls and mascots into their religious nonsense, calling them apostles of God or angels. It makes me want to wipe them all out. If there really was a god managing Earth, they would’ve stopped the Demon Realm’s invasion themselves instead of forcing their creations into a desperate war. And if you look at what their so-called god has done, it’s like reading the actions of a psychopath. If such a being really existed, they’d be an enemy of humanity, not something to worship. Just the thought of being associated with that makes me sick.

“…If we’re talking about gods, the Fairy Queen seems more like one.”

“It’s impressive that you’re on such casual terms with the Fairy Queen, unnie…”

“Well… she’s usually the Queen of Slackers. When she’s in Fairy Queen mode, she’s incredibly capable, but when she’s in Slacker mode, she’s basically a NEET.”

“Eek…”

The Fairy Queen is truly… something else. I kind of want to hit her for always hiding things unnecessarily. Speaking of which, what exactly is the “Child of Heo”?

“Ah, unnie. Even so, since they’re not really doing anything, we can’t touch them, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. We should just ignore those idiots spouting nonsense. If we act rashly just because they annoy us, we’ll be the ones in trouble.”

“Ah…”

But… I can’t seem to find her. Diamond Dust suddenly said she wanted to eat out, so we’ve been wandering around, but how do you even find Turkish food here… Oh, speak of the devil, we found it. And the person cooking inside is actually Turkish.

“Um, I’ve always been curious about Turkish food.”

“Really? It’s definitely famous worldwide and known to be delicious.”

…But it feels weird to have peace like this without any dispatch requests. I mean, it’s something to be happy about in many ways, but why does it feel so unsettling…?

“Unnie, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… it’s just that with no dispatch requests, I feel kind of floaty.”

“Ah~… Isn’t that a good thing? It means everyone’s gotten stronger.”

“That’s true. But… we used to have at least 2-3 emergency dispatches a week, and after years of that, suddenly having none…”

“Occupational hazard…”

Sigh~… I guess it’s a side effect of getting used to all those emergency dispatches, killing demons and monsters, thinking it’s just part of the job. Now I can’t even enjoy peace and feel anxious instead… But the war with the Demon Realm isn’t over yet, so I can’t let my guard down. It’s so ambiguous…

“…Oh, I forgot to check on the hero’s condition.”

“Huh? The hero?”

“He’s a guy who returned from another dimension. While fighting a superpowered criminal, he got hit by a monster transformation medal, so we had no choice but to turn him into a magical girl to save him.”

“Ah, so then…”

“Luckily, the monster transformation didn’t stick, but he’s stuck as a magical girl for life.”

“A guy turned into a girl… That’s so sad…”

“……”

“…Unnie?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

For some reason, memories of the past are replaying in my mind… That feeling of gradually becoming more feminine without realizing it… He’ll probably go through the same thing. Before I knew it, I started paying attention to fashion, striking feminine poses, and worrying about my chest…

…Hang in there, hero. You can endure it. Living as a girl… it’s not that hard…! Anyway, it’s not that hard…!! Oh, but I hope you suffer during your periods too. I can’t be the only one.

“Should we go check on him since we’re thinking about it?”

“Can I come too?”

“Huh? Sure… do as you please.”

By the way, the kebab is really delicious. The bread is great too, and the kaymak… It’s not buffalo milk, so it’s not the best, but it’s quite rich, and with the honey, it’s sweet and really tasty. Sigh~… It’s a shame that my appetite has decreased since becoming a girl. I want to eat more, but I’m too full…

…Tsk, I should get up and go check on the hero. I wonder if he’ll be awake this time.

“How’s the hero’s condition?”

“He woke up yesterday. He’s sleeping again now.”

After finishing our meal, Diamond Dust and I went to the Fairy Realm. We headed straight to where the hero was, and surprisingly, we heard he woke up yesterday. But unfortunately, he’s sleeping now…

“……”

“What’s wrong?”

“…His chest is big.”

Is this kid jealous of his chest size…? Diamond Dust’s chest isn’t particularly small either, does she really need to be jealous? …Well, I was a bit annoyed by her height too, so I can’t really say much…

“Hey, don’t touch a sleeping person’s chest.”

“Seriously… naturally… this size…”

“…Don’t wake the sleeping kid.”

“Ah, okay.”

Why do girls obsess over chest size? Oh, maybe it’s because of that theory? I don’t know if it’s true, but the theory that chest size has no real meaning and only evolved to attract men. …Honestly, that sounds like a lie.

“He’s sleeping, so there’s nothing to do. Let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

I came here to tease him as someone who became a girl first, but if he’s sleeping, there’s nothing I can do. Besides, he’s tall and has a big chest… Honestly, I kind of want to touch it. Of course, since he’s a guy inside, I’ll stop at teasing. No matter what, since I know he’s a guy and his original form, there’s no way I’d get excited. If I didn’t know, maybe, but knowing his original form… that’s just…

“Do you want to do anything else?”

“Huh?”

“We’re out already. Did we just come out to eat Turkish food?”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, it’s a bit disappointing to just come out for food…”

She really seems to feel disappointed, so maybe I’ll let her think about it for a bit. Speaking of which, the police cleared out those religious fanatics giving speeches earlier. They’re probably trying not to provoke the Fairy Realm, but the Fairy Realm doesn’t care about that kind of thing. Well, it’s a relief they cleared them out. Normally, they can’t do anything about obvious extremists, but since it’s related to the Fairy Realm, they act quickly… Instead of worrying about that, they should focus on catching the spies scattered throughout the government. There’s even a blatantly corrupt department…

“…Religious groups are such a headache.”

“That’s why the separation of church and state is important.”

“Separation of church and state?”

“It’s about keeping religion out of politics. The moment religion interferes with politics, it’s doomed. It’s a terrible bomb that rots and makes people stupid.”

“Ah… But didn’t religions handle politics in ancient times?”

“That was back then. They were necessary for the development of civilization, so they shone brightly at first. But once civilization reaches a certain level, they quickly rot and become disgusting. That’s the limit of religion. Stories filled with illusions and delusions are all like that.”

“But you really hate it. Don’t religions do a lot of charity and donations?”

“That’s just following teachings to do good deeds. Following teachings to live well is completely different from sincerely believing in a fictional story and spreading a strange worldview.”

“I see…”

“And most religious people are the latter, not the former. True saints who belong to the former are rare worldwide.”

Sigh… I don’t even understand why people believe in religion. In reality, the only thing you can rely on is your own strength. What’s the point of relying on illusions? It’s just escapism, and nothing changes. You just need to become stronger yourself. …Yeah, I need to become stronger too… to kill Pandora. The only thing I can trust is my own strength.

“……”

“Ah, unnie. Let’s get ice cream at 31 before we go.”

“…Huh? Oh, sure.”

There’s an ice cream specialty shop here… I’ll get the one with chocolate balls, the one with chocolate chips… and the one with almonds sounds good too.

“Unnie, you only get the ones with chocolate…”

“Chocolate is the best.”

“…I’ll get the cheesecake and strawberry flavors.”

Come to think of it, I heard girls often go to ice cream shops like this and share a tub of ice cream. …Am I now part of that group too? Sigh~… I’ve really become a girl… Well, at least the ice cream is delicious. And since I can’t go back, I’ll have to adapt to all these things.

“Is the cheesecake flavor good?”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite.”

“Let me try… Oh, it’s better than I thought. Should we stop by a café on the way back and get some cheesecake?”

“Sure!”

Diamond Dust really loves cheesecake. Her voice immediately perks up at the mention of buying cheesecake.

“Ah~ that was good.”

Eating ice cream at a specialty shop like this isn’t bad. The atmosphere of eating at a store is important too.

“Alright, let’s go buy some cheesecake.”

“Okay~.”

After finishing the ice cream, we went to a café and bought a cheesecake. Of course, we ordered a whole cake, not just a slice. On the way back, Diamond Dust’s eyes were glued to the cheesecake, and she didn’t even think about moving. How much does she love cheesecake, this kid…

Anyway, we got home, and as soon as we did, Diamond Dust unwrapped the cheesecake. Did she plan to eat it as soon as we got back…? Well, I’m curious about the taste too, so I’ll let it slide.

“Wow, what’s this? Cheesecake?”

“When did you get back?”

“Just now.”

“Then have some too. We bought a whole cake, so there’s plenty.”

“Yay~!”

Yura came back earlier than expected. Thanks to that, she got to eat some cheesecake too. Lucky her.

“…Oh, cheesecake really tastes like this when it’s made properly.”

“Mmm~! So good~!”

“As expected from a hotel café’s cheesecake…”

Maybe I should eat something other than chocolate-flavored things once in a while. This is really delicious… Oh, an emergency dispatch signal just came in.

“Marquis-class demon spotted! Emergency dispatch requested!”

“Got it. You guys, leave some for me.”

“Okay~.”

“Sure~.”

Of all times, an emergency dispatch now… I need to hurry. Marquis-class demons cause massive destruction with their strength, so if I don’t go quickly, the damage will be huge… Sigh… I wanted to enjoy the cheesecake slowly.