Chapter 9

“There are a lot of kids today.”

“That’s right! The attention is really focused!”

Today, I’m at the Mascot Headquarters again.

The reason, of course, is to decide how to deal with the trash group that interfered with the Magical Girls’ battles.

“Hello, Magical Rampage. What brings you here today?”

“You know Blader almost died because of a human, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware.”

“That’s why I’m here. I have something to discuss about that.”

“Understood. Then, this way… The Fairy Queen is waiting for you.”

It’s been a while since I’ve been in this room…

When I first came here, I was super nervous to meet the Fairy Queen, but she turned out to be such a slacker queen that I was dumbfounded.

But this time, it’s not going to be like that.

After all, a Magical Girl almost died because of a human.

“Have you arrived~?”

“Yeah, I’m here. It’s been a while.”

“Rampage~ Long time no see~.”

“You don’t seem to be in a position to be so relaxed, do you?”

“…Well, you’re right. This is something we can’t overlook.”

Even if she’s rotten, she’s still the Fairy Queen… When the atmosphere calls for it, she becomes more competent than anyone, making me think she’s not just a Fairy Queen for nothing.

So, the Fairy Queen will give a good answer this time too.

At least better than what I thought.

“A group that causes trouble while mentioning Magical Girls… interfered with Magical Blader and died. Because of that, Blader almost died too. What do you think?”

“…Until now, we didn’t care what humans did. After all, there was no reason to intervene in their own problems. But including this incident, recently, many Magical Girls have been harmed by those with malicious intent in various countries. This is absolutely unforgivable.”

“I think from now on, if anyone tries to interfere with a Magical Girl, they should be killed on the spot without mercy.”

“Indeed, interfering with a Magical Girl is an act of betrayal. They should be killed… but can Magical Girls, who are also humans, really do such a thing?”

…I can’t give a positive answer to the Fairy Queen’s question.

In the wild, there are cases of cannibalism, but that’s limited to insects and some animals.

Humans feel serious rejection and stress at the idea of killing their own kind, let alone young girls.

“…No, they can’t. They’re all just kids. Even adults feel a strong aversion to killing unless they’re psychopaths, so it’s strange to think they could do it.”

“That’s right. Expecting them to carry out ruthless executions is nearly impossible. But if we don’t respond, it will only show weakness to the beings of the Demon Realm. No matter what we choose, it’s not good.”

“If we adopt a policy of just killing them all, public opinion could become a problem too…”

“Exactly. Currently, the public’s view of the Fairy Realm and Magical Girls is almost entirely positive. If that changes, it would be a significant loss for the Magical Girls.”

“Then what do we do? We can’t just sit back and watch, can we?”

“I have a good idea. If Magical Girls can’t do it, then we fairies… the Mascots will handle it.”

“…What?”

Having the Mascots handle it? What does that mean?

Don’t tell me… are they planning to become a police force for Magical Girls?

“You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking, aren’t you?”

“I haven’t even said anything yet.”

“Hoho, I can tell just by looking at your face. We’re going to create a protection department to eliminate humans who harm Magical Girls. There aren’t enough fairies to cover everything, so we’ll start with the most urgent areas first… but surprisingly, the calculations show we have enough.”

“Really?”

“Actually, I wanted to start with places much worse than Korea, but since deals couldn’t be made with those areas… we have more manpower than expected.”

Places where deals couldn’t be made… probably parts of Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America?

Places with terrible security, chaotic governance, or outdated ideologies… it’s better to give up on them.

In such places, human rights are already shattered, so there would be countless crimes against Magical Girls.

Looking at it this way, there aren’t many decent countries left.

Who was it that said Earth is peaceful in the 21st century?

“Ah, by the way, how’s the deal with China going? A few years ago, there was a lot of noise about Magical Girls and whatnot.”

“China… despite the deal, they were caught trying to brainwash Magical Girls and restrict their freedom, so they were expelled. But since they can still request dispatch through financial support, the country’s survival is possible.”

“They’re still the same…”

“Other countries aren’t much different. The U.S., on the opposite side, tried to secretly use Magical Girls for military purposes, got caught, and barely avoided expulsion by begging.”

“Just different directions, but they’re all the same…”

Thinking about it, even in Korea, politicians are trying to recruit Magical Girls for their own use… and neighboring Japan has its own problems.

Looking at it this way, I just want to crush all their heads.

“By the way, do the Magical Girls dispatched overseas also have an enforcement team with them?”

“Yes.”

If that’s the case, then there’s no need to worry.

But overseas dispatch… what happens to places that refuse even that?

“I don’t watch the news much, so I’m not sure, but have there been countries that refused dispatch?”

“Yes, there have. Some countries in the Middle East and Africa have been annihilated because of that.”

“Is that so… So that’s why there’s no news about terrorist incidents or organizations anymore…”

I’ve learned some unexpected facts.

I didn’t know this was happening…

Anyway, Africa is one thing, but the Middle East… it’s probably that.

It’s not so much religion as it is an extreme system, treating women like slaves or objects.

Sending Magical ‘Girls’ there… they probably didn’t welcome that.

Then what… they all have to die, right?

They’re just disgusting hypocrites, so I don’t feel any sympathy.

At least the Saudis knew how to bow their heads.

When the Fairy Realm came out with a ‘then get lost’ attitude, they bowed and said, ‘We’ll guarantee full freedom!’

“But what about the demons and monsters left in those annihilated places?”

“The nearest Magical Girls capable of extermination will be dispatched. Since the country is annihilated, it’s a lawless zone, so we can’t receive compensation from the human world, but instead, we provide equivalent rewards in Magical Girl Store points or other forms.”

“Ooh…”

They’re really thorough with this.

But what’s this equivalent reward?

I’m curious, maybe I should request a dispatch too.

…No, if other kids are in danger, I need to be able to go save them.

“Well, that’s enough about that. So, you can deploy the protection department to all countries maintaining the deal, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Basically, we’ll respond with a first stage of magical repulsion, but if things escalate or become a group issue, we’ll move to the second stage of containment in designated areas.”

“…And the isolation facility?”

“We’ve already requested it from each country, so don’t worry.”

“Really? That’s fast… You’ve been preparing this long before I even came, huh?”

“Of course. We don’t have intermediate steps; information comes directly to me, and actions are taken immediately.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“And the final third stage. This is the last resort, but if anyone directly attacks or causes problems for a Magical Girl, they will be killed without mercy.”

As expected of the Fairy Queen, she’s decisive.

If someone not only interferes with a Magical Girl but also resorts to violence, they should be killed on the spot.

They’re not even human.

They’re worse than beasts.

“Additionally, all Magical Girls dispatched overseas will be protected under the third stage without exception.”

That’s only natural.

They’re going to lawless, chaotic countries, so this level of protection is necessary.

Of course, physical attacks won’t work, but the kids are still mentally fragile, and not killing clear enemies is just laughable.

“With this, Magical Girls won’t have to do anything directly, and if the Fairy Realm publicizes this, the perception that ‘those who do such things are wrong’ will strengthen, so things will naturally resolve.”

“Hoho, are you satisfied?”

“Of course. If they’re going to protect us this meticulously, it’s strange not to be satisfied. By the way… when will the protection department start operating?”

“We’ve already notified each country, and now we need to secure the isolation facilities… so it will take at least a month from now. Until then, individuals will have to handle things on their own.”

It’s going to take some time…

But a month is something I can wait for.

And to think she had this all planned out before I even came… despite being a slacker queen.

Well, if she were still a slacker queen after something like this happened, that would be even more unbelievable.

“Ah, right. Just in case, shouldn’t we notify all the Magical Girls? Like a personal response manual or something.”

“That’s already prepared and sent out, so no worries.”

“When did you do that…?”

“Right before Rampage arrived?”

As expected, I can’t keep up with the Fairy Queen…

I didn’t even need to come here.

Well, the fairies aren’t fools either.

So, was I just wasting my time… getting all serious for nothing…

“Since you’ve already done everything, I have nothing more to say. Is there anything else?”

“Not really. There’s something I want to talk about, but it’s not for now, so I’ll save it for next time.”

“Alright. Then I’ll head back. Chubby, open the [Gate].”

“Yes!”

Ah~ When I get home, I’ll lie on the couch and drink some beer.

All this unnecessary worrying has drained me.

“Ah~ feels good…”

And so, after returning home through the [Gate], I checked that there were no emergency dispatches or signals, and immediately lay down on the couch and cracked open a beer can.

…At this point, am I a beer addict?

Ever since I got this body, I’ve been drinking way more often…

Maybe I should quit for a while.

“Rampage!”

“What?”

“Pretty Heart’s Mascot contacted us! They’re coming to visit tomorrow!”

“…Is that so? Then I should prepare to welcome them.”

If it were a game, I’d prepare something to play together, but since it’s a girl, I’m not sure.

And she’s quite a pure girl, so it’s even harder to predict.

At least for food, I can make tteokbokki myself… but I’m not sure about the rest.

My mom would just chat all day when meeting friends, but I don’t have that skill…

“Chubby. What do you think would be good?”

“Huh? Well… just talk about recent happenings and nod along, wouldn’t that work?”

“Taking the position of listening thoroughly while talking casually… not a bad idea.”

And… ah, girls are especially crazy about sweet things, right?

I should buy some high-quality chocolates or cakes.

“…Oh, there’s a dessert shop made by a hotel.”

“Are you going there?”

“Of course. If I’m going to buy something, it should be good. Even if it doesn’t show, she’s from a well-off family, and I’m loaded too, so I should match that level, right?”

“That’s true!”

And so, to prepare for Pretty Heart’s visit, I headed to the hotel’s dessert shop.

There, I bought all kinds of desserts—chocolates, cakes, tarts, you name it.

Even if there’s leftover, I can just store it in the fridge and eat it over a few days, so no problem.

“Next is tteokbokki… tteokbokki… what were the ingredients again?”

First, I remember green onions, rice cakes, fish cakes… ah, my mom told me something.

……Alright, let’s buy these.

Next, I went to the grocery mart to buy all sorts of ingredients.

With this, I’ve got all the ingredients to make tteokbokki, and I also bought proper mozzarella cheese.

Put all the desserts in the fridge… where’s the vegetable drawer?

Ah, here it is.

I’ll put the tteokbokki ingredients here.

“…Ah, I should tell my friends about this.”

“Your friends?”

Those guys, despite being busy, have been visiting quite often.

And unlike me, they’re total gold spoons.

…Is it because I’m a rare friend who’s a Magical Girl?

Well, that’s probably a big part of it.

Otherwise, why would those high-and-mighty guys still be friends with me…

“I should at least send them a message.”

“I’ll start preparing dinner soon!”

“Alright. Today, it’s pork cutlet.”

“If you’re asking for something unreasonable…”

“So, can’t you do it?”

“N-no! I’ll do it!”

Tomorrow, Pretty Heart is coming over, and those guys… I’ll meet them within a month.

It’s about time they use up their accumulated vacation days, so it should be possible.

…Oh, they’ve already replied.

“…They’re still the same, these bastards.”

“What’s wrong?”

“They say they wanted to be Magical Girls too. Talentless jerks.”

“Well, well… surprisingly, there are many adult men who want to be Magical Girls.”

“Really?”

“Yes. According to a credible survey site, high school girls were first, and Magical Girls were second.”

“Crazy bastards.”

The world is going to hell, to hell…