Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

38 – A Clue, Discrimination, and…

Late at night, in Magical Lieutenant General’s private quarters.

Two magical girls were in conversation there.

“Aish, you dim-witted girl. You promoted *her*?”

“B-but…”

“You know that if Kim Shi-yul gets Magical Sergeant, it’s really over, right? We haven’t even made any real progress, how could you already let her become a Magical Private First Class?”

“That’s…”

Truth be told, to call it a conversation was a misnomer. It was more like one side unilaterally berating the other.

The one doing the berating was Lee Seo-bin.

The one being berated was Jin So-ah.

Of course, Jin So-ah had her own grievances.

In the first place, Jin So-ah had never promised such extravagant rewards. Her mascot had suddenly acted on its own accord, and she had merely been caught in the wake.

Lee Seo-bin was well aware of this fact. That was why she didn’t push Jin So-ah too hard.

Presently, Lee Seo-bin sighed.

“Alright, So-ah, I guess you couldn’t help it. You couldn’t just renege on a promised reward. When you get down to it, it’s all the mascot’s fault anyway.”

Jin So-ah silently nodded.

Lee Seo-bin grinned brightly.

“You properly educated your mascot this time, right?”

“Yeah…”

And immediately, Lee Seo-bin’s smile froze.

“…”

Because of her mascot, which Jin So-ah quietly pointed to.

It was a truly pathetic sight.

Even if I were making Dakdoritang, I wouldn’t butcher it like that. To slightly exaggerate, it would be more pleasing to the eye to just blend it in a mixer.

“…Is it okay to make a mascot look like *that*?”

The words “Magical Girl” were omitted before Lee Seobin’s sentence.

“She’s a phoenix anyway, so she’ll come back to life.”

“No…”

*That’s not what I’m talking about, So-ah.*

Lee Seobin swallowed the rising words down her throat, forcing a smile.

“…Yeah, good job.”

Well, it’ll be fine if she comes back to life. Or so she thought.

“Anyway, So-ah, are you going to get to the point now?”

“Right.”

The orange glow in Jin So-ah’s eyes, which had been dulled until now, slowly began to sharpen.

Of course, the reason Jin So-ah had urgently called Lee Seobin at this late hour wasn’t to be reprimanded.

“Seobin, did you receive the investigation results of the Magical high-profile criminals our side captured?”

It was because of the Magical high-profile criminals Jin So-ah’s unit had apprehended this time.

Lee Seobin nodded.

A slightly troubled look in her eyes.

“They had dicks attached…”

“So it seemed…”

Jin So-ah’s reaction wasn’t much different.

It couldn’t be helped. To see that enormous phallus, not in a picture but in reality, it was impossible not to be shocked.

However, the important thing wasn’t the existence of the phallus.

“How on earth did they attach something like that?”

“They attached it with magic.”

How they attached the phallus.

That was what mattered.

“There’s magic that makes a phallus grow? Wait, can it make it bigger too? Please, just once, no, twice for my husband—”

“It’s magic that materializes imagination, to be precise. It’s impossible to be that high-level, though.”

“Oh?! So-ah, that…”

If someone else had seen it, it would be a strange situation. They can do so many things with magic, surely attaching a phallus isn’t a big deal.

But, Lee Seobin and Jin Soah saw it differently.

“If my memory serves, that’s the magic of that magical girl in your unit, Soah. Pretty sure she was touted as a Magical Prospect.”

“That’s right. Retired not long after joining, though.”

Because what Jin Soah just said meant one of two things.

The magical girl betrayed them, or…

“Don’t tell me she became a Magical Felon?”

“No way. She definitely retired because she couldn’t use magic. I confirmed it myself.”

Or…

“…Another magic being stolen.”

“Looks like it.”

Magic stolen.

Honestly, it was an absurd notion. How could someone steal the unique magic each magical girl possessed?

Jin Soah knew it well.

At first, she didn’t believe it either.

She just thought the magical girl couldn’t use magic due to something like her condition.

But…

“If I recall correctly, the previous one was probably the magic to control direction. It was a while ago, so it’s hazy.”

“More accurately, the magic to impart direction.”

“Ah, right. I remember now. The fire burned downwards at the scene. The Magical Sprinkler sprayed water sideways the moment it activated.”

She couldn’t disbelieve it anymore.

Several magical girls had retired because they couldn’t use magic, yet traces of their magic remained.

“Roughly how many is this?”

“In our unit, it’s the third time.”

“At least we’re better off. Only happened once on our side.”

If it was in the presence of the person involved, maybe. But even at a completely unrelated time, in a place where it should be impossible, traces are discovered.

Not just once or twice, but multiple times.

And even continuing to occur.

“Soah, the Magical Aptitude test results for magical girls who can’t use magic are normal as ever, right?”

“Yep. Perfectly normal.”

Even the results from the Magical Aptitude Tester were normal. A perfect normalcy, almost unnaturally so.

Thus, Jin So-ah reached a conclusion.

The magical girls were being robbed of their magic.

‘Just what…’

…is happening? Jin So-ah bit her lip.

Everything was shrouded in mystery. Who was doing this, how were they pulling it off, what was their purpose?

“Did you get anything out of the Magical Interrogation?”

“No, they didn’t remember anything? They didn’t even understand why they were being held.”

Of course, the interrogation hadn’t been effective.

The only two answers gleaned were this:

I don’t know. Or, I don’t remember.

“Was there anything recovered from the scene?”

“There was a Magical Camcorder, but it was broken. Severed, more precisely.”

Even so, no special clues had been recovered from the crime scene.

Just a camcorder, broken for some inexplicable reason.

That was it.

“That’s a shame.”

“But, instead…”

However.

“I found something. That’s why I called you.”

A lead had been found.

After the magical girls’ main force thoroughly searched the place where the Magical Criminals resided, they barely managed to salvage a diary containing significant information.

That diary continuously mentioned a specific word.

The Informant.

“They had an informant?”

“It seems that way after reading the contents. Circumstantially, it seems that person used the magic of a retired magical girl from our side this time.”

That entity was surely the source of this whole mess.

Even if they weren’t, they were at least connected.

Lee Seo-bin quickly perceived what Jin So-ah wanted from her.

“What you want to tell me, So-ah, is to find that Informant, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll organize the details and send them to you separately.”

“Still, seems manageable enough, if they’re using magic, they’re definitely a magical girl.”

Lee Seobin flashed a confident smile.

“It said they didn’t seem to be a magical girl.”

“Huh?”

Of course, the smile didn’t last long.

“So-ah, does that even make sense?”

Frankly, Jin So-ah didn’t think it made sense either.

How could someone use magic if they weren’t a magical girl?

It was impossible.

But, the more she organized the informant’s characteristics noted in the journal, the more certain the conclusion became.

“They said they couldn’t estimate anything like build, gender, age, or appearance, but they didn’t think they were a magical girl. Most likely, they’re right.”

The informant wouldn’t be a magical girl.

“To have to find someone who uses magic, but isn’t a magical girl… this isn’t going to be easy.”

“Sorry, but I’m asking you. I’m not good at this kind of thing.”

“It’s fine. This is the kind of thing I’m good at anyway. It’ll just take some time this time.”

Even though she was saddled with a bothersome task, Lee Seobin waved it off with a nonchalant smile.

“By the way, So-ah. Why do you still look so worried? The work should be done with this.”

“Just, well…”

Jin So-ah trailed off.

Lee Seobin grinned teasingly.

“It’s Kim Siyool again, isn’t it?”

“…Yeah.”

“What’s worrying you so much, that our So-ah’s like this again?”

Jin So-ah hesitated for a moment, then looked at Lee Seobin and quietly spoke.

“There are too many differences. That’s why I’m worried.”

“Ah.”

Though the words were concise, Lee Seobin understood.

She grasped exactly what Jin So-ah was worried about. This was also a concern Jin So-ah had when Kim Siyool first became a magical girl.

“Afraid they’ll be discriminated against?”

Jin So-ah nodded.

“True enough.”

Humans, truly, are laughable creatures.

Before the emergence of aberrant beings, and even after, their ways remained stubbornly unchanged.

Discrimination.

Were there grand reasons, some righteous cause, perhaps it would be understandable. But the reasons people discriminate against one another are trifling, insignificant.

Simply because of a differing gender.

Because their personalities clash ever so slightly.

Because they are deemed outsiders, unable to fully integrate.

That’s all there is to it.

And yet, people discriminate against others with unwavering confidence. As if the mere difference is justification enough.

Open whispers are commonplace, along with insidious tactics like passing off unpleasant tasks, or even resorting to outright violence.

The bare minimum of civility expected of a human being is utterly absent when directed at those they discriminate against.

I know this.

Especially Jin So-ah, more than anyone.

“What if she ends up being tormented like I was?”

Because once, she too was a victim of such discrimination.

A fragile physique, unbecoming of a magical girl.

Just an ordinary person, lacking wealth or connections.

Of course, Jin So-ah’s talent was unparalleled, historically so. But that was before said talent had fully blossomed.

She was, in essence, the perfect prey for discrimination.

And so, the discrimination she faced at the hands of other magical girls was excessive, far too excessive.

“I had such a hard time back then.”

Not only did they refuse to associate with her, but they launched personal attacks invoking her family, and even staged what they termed “training,” which amounted to collective beatings.

They even cast magic at Jin So-ah.

Not with training wands, but with their personal wands, wielding magic meant to slay real aberrant beings.

Not just once or twice, but dozens, hundreds of times over.

“Honestly, I wanted to kill them all.”

“But you didn’t.”

“That’s…true.”

Though she may have longed for retribution, Jin So-ah never acted on it. Her nature simply couldn’t bear the thought of causing harm to another.

There was also the cruel reason that those who tormented Jin-Soa had even discovered her younger sibling’s whereabouts.

If she dared rebel, they’d kill her sibling.

That sort of threat was commonplace.

And so, Jin-Soa endured the discrimination in silence.

If she just endured this once, if she just endured a little longer, someday everything would be alright.

That’s what she thought, enduring as best she could.

“Aish, our Soa is too kind for her own good.”

“…Shut up.”

Lee Seo-bin offered a wry smile, gently pinching Jin-Soa’s cheek.

“Still, if you help me out this time, like I did before, wouldn’t it be alright?”

“Easier said than done.”

Even now, thinking back, Lee Seo-bin was a lifesaver. Thanks to her, all the bullying directed at Jin-Soa had vanished.

She didn’t know how she’d managed it.

It was just that one day, Lee Seo-bin had found Jin-Soa crying alone and said all of three words.

— “Soa-ya, everything will be alright now.”

Rumor had it, those who tormented Jin-Soa all met unpleasant ends.

She didn’t know the specifics.

Nor did she care to.

She simply knew that Lee Seo-bin had done something…unsavory for Jin-Soa.

For Jin-Soa, that was enough.

‘If…’

What would have happened if Lee Seo-bin hadn’t been there? The thought alone was horrifying.

She probably would have killed herself.

Or gone mad and killed them all.

Either way, a devastating ending.

“Seo-bin-ah.”

“What?”

“Thank you.”

“Knowing that is enough, you little punk.”

The two magical girls shared a moment of silly laughter, before Jin-Soa returned to the original topic.

“Anyway, I’m worried Si-yul will face discrimination.”

“Still, try not to fret too much. If things get rough, I’ll step in again, no problem.”

“Thank you. But I’ll do my best, really.”

“I know you will, our So-ah is capable, I believe in you.”

And so, the two magical girls exchanged smiles. Each wishing for Kim Si-yul’s well-being.

And, at that very moment.

Kim Si-yul, who, being different from the typical magical girl, was undoubtedly facing discrimination from them…

“Magical girls of all nations, unite!”

…was inciting everyone.