Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

41 – Preventing Magical Closure

I stumbled upon an entirely unexpected scene.

Mr. Octopus, seized by magical girls and weeping.

And three magical girls, grinning cruelly as they watched him.

“Return the magical girl’s bag!”

“Honestly, what’s with all the fuss? We were just going to take a peek inside.”

There was no other way to describe it but bullying. To use vocabulary I learned during magical ethics training, this was a case of magical injustice.

“Why must you do this!”

“What do you think? We don’t *want* to do it, we were just told to.”

Judging by their words, someone was paying them to torment Mr. Octopus. Why, I couldn’t say.

Though it wasn’t as if I couldn’t guess the reason.

You don’t really need a special reason to bully someone in the first place.

Maybe you just don’t like their face.

Maybe you’re in a bad mood that day.

Maybe they seem weaker than you.

That’s all it takes.

It’s the same everywhere you go. Not just in this world, but in other worlds as well.

Of course, it was entirely possible that Octopus wasn’t an innocent victim.

What sort of magical girl even *was* she, in the first place?

Right. Dead weight.

Unlike me, a grade A, truly dead weight.

If she was so inferior even to a decent, normal person like me, she must have treated the, shall we say, mentally unbalanced magical girls with the same attitude.

In the end, it wouldn’t be surprising if someone, harboring a grudge against Octopus, was now seeking revenge. Entirely plausible.

Still, I wasn’t about to just stand by and watch.

Even without fond feelings, we were fellow roommates. Leaving her to her fate… I could decide after hearing the situation.

Thinking that, I began to walk when one of the magical girls pulled something from Octopus’s bag.

A white envelope, wrapped elegantly.

“Oh, what’s this? Money, maybe?”

“Ah, not that one, I tell you!”

This time, Octopus wouldn’t stay put.

She pushed past the magical girls, quickly snatching the white envelope.

“Anything else is fine, but this one thing, absolutely not, I tell you!”

Octopus’s sudden action began to twist the magical girls’ faces.

“Ah, this b*tch.”

In turn, Octopus’s body twisted violently.

One of the magical girls had kicked her. Without holding back the slightest bit of strength.

“Guh…!”

Octopus let out a groan of pain, but she didn’t yield. Rather, she desperately clutched the white envelope.

But, it wasn’t an effective action.

“Don’t be such a pain in the ass, seriously!”

“We just want to take a peek, why are you acting up!”

“You think you can disrespect us because we’re being nice?!”

Because she became completely exposed to the magical girls’ violence.

Excessive violence, beyond all reason.

For a single magical girl to endure.

It didn’t take long for Octopus to be a mangled mess on the ground.

It spilled over.

Tears streamed from her eyes.

The precious envelope clutched tight in her hand slipped.

The Octopus, head bowed, sobbed with a pitiful wail.

“Huuuh… please, cease this…”

“Could’ve just handed it over from the start. What’s so precious about this thing?”

This, I thought, wasn’t right.

No matter how great the Octopus’s sins may be, there was a line, a minimum, that a person had to respect.

And right now, those magical girls had crossed it, way beyond it. Exactly the same level of shit those otherworld b*stards pulled on me.

I felt I had to step in.

Of course, I didn’t know the specifics of the situation between the Octopus and them. I still couldn’t tell who was right or wrong.

Even so, I felt the need to intervene to some extent. No matter how you looked at it, this was genuinely not okay.

But.

“That is… the manuscript this girl is going to submit to No□pia… Please, return it…”

The moment I heard the Octopus’s words, my thoughts changed.

Intervene to some extent?

No.

I had to intervene as actively as possible.

So those goddamn b*tches wouldn’t dare to harass my (future) little gem anymore.

“This kind of trash? You’re kidding yourself.”

“Just tear it up. No one’s going to read it anyway.”

“Well, yeah. You’re going to drop it halfway through, right? So, we’ll just erase it from here before you do.”

Those, those goddamn b*tches.

What are you doing to my (future) little gem author-chan?

Without hesitation, I walked straight up to them.

“Hey, you pieces of shit.”

“Huh?”

The three magical girls turned their gazes toward me.

Meeting their eyes, I quietly murmured,

“Put it down, and leave quietly.”

These are lunatics who deserve to be torn to shreds.

There ought to be even one more piece of content on Nop□a, yet they’re trying to cut one back.

If Nop□a’s stock price crashes because of this, it’s not like they’ll take responsibility.

Nop□a and I are one and the same. To attack Nop□a’s stock is no different than attacking me. So I couldn’t just let it slide.

Of course, the magical girls paid me no mind.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Hey, that guy’s a nutjob. Thinks he’s some kinda hero, that crazy b*stard.”

“Didn’t he kick an old lady too? Just magical trash.”

“Ah, that was him? Man, he’s sure got a lot of nerve.”

The magical girls sneered at me to their heart’s content.

Instead of reacting, I silently closed the distance.

In that instant, a figure appeared abruptly before me, blocking my path.

“Halt.”

Blocking me was a magical girl with wild, yellow hair. Holding a bubble tea.

Her curt tone was directed at me.

“I suggest you turn back.”

Of course, my answer was already decided.

“Move.”

The other party had no intention of heeding my words, not budging an inch.

“I warned you. Turn back.”

“I said move.”

“I made it abundantly clear.”

Presently, the wild-haired magical girl shrugged her shoulders, her gaze fixed on me.

“This isn’t really your concern in the first place, is it? Turn back while I’m asking nicely.”

As if my actions made absolutely no sense to her.

“Living like that will only tire you out. Who’s going to appreciate you doing unasked acts of kindness?”

Twisting only the corners of her mouth into a grotesque sneer on her otherwise expressionless face was a bonus.

“Last warning. If you come any closer, I can no longer guarantee your safety.”

She even went so far as to produce her magic wand.

It was an implication that she wouldn’t hesitate to resort to violence, or even kill.

“I’ll say it one last time too.”

Of course, my answer remained unchanged.

“Move.”

Before I truly killed you.

The sharp words nearly tumbled out.

That’s how bothersome, how irritating this person was.

Feigning politeness with formal speech, yet not listening to a word anyone said.

Especially the part where they tried to teach, citing fundamental principles, that really grated on my nerves.

I didn’t know the exact reason. Maybe my head wasn’t working properly from lack of sleep.

Only, there was this unpleasant feeling of *déjà vu*.

It felt like I was meeting one of the types of people I loathed the most, all over again.

And so, I felt an unusually strong surge of anger.

“Must you truly see blood before you’ll leave?”

My head was already in a fog and annoyance was rising, when the wild-haired magical girl scraped at my nerves with her irritating voice.

“If you don’t want that to happen, quietly lock your mouth and go home.”

Not once.

But twice, now.

I couldn’t restrain myself any longer.

I slapped the bubble tea right out of the wild-haired magical girl’s hand.

The bubble tea left her grasp, soaking her abdomen and lower body. The little tapioca pearls rained onto the ground with a *thud*.

“What in the world are you doing?”

The wild-haired magical girl glared at me.

I looked at her, feigning a surprised expression.

“Oh, Magical Ovulation.”

“…What nonsensical dri—”

“If it’s ovulation, lock up your crotch.”

And, smiling, I crooked my finger.

“If you don’t lock it, all your pretty little eggs will spill out, you know.”

“Ha.”

The wild-haired magical girl sighed, then glared at me with murder in her eyes.

“…Don’t make me angry.”

“Look at that temper. She must be in heat, for real.”

“Shut your trap.”

“You shut yours first. Don’t want any more leaking out.”

The air between me and the magic girl became razor-sharp in an instant. One wrong move from either of us, and it felt like it’d erupt into a blood-soaked debacle.

I quietly completed my preparations.

Ready to draw the Moonlight Sword the instant the balance tilted.

But, that eventuality never materialized.

“Hey! Everyone, let’s head back!”

It was the magic girl who’d been tormenting Octopus, blurting out those words out of nowhere.

“They’re telling us to wrap things up and return.”

Judging by the phone she was waving in her hand and the words she just uttered, it seemed whoever orchestrated this whole thing wanted them to call it quits.

Looks like things didn’t go exactly as they’d planned.

Or maybe they fully achieved their objective.

In a way, it worked out for the best. This avoided escalating into a senseless brawl.

However.

To be honest, there was an unsettling aftertaste.

I didn’t expect it to end so anticlimactically.

I was half-expecting to dismember at least one limb.

Still, I forced myself to quell the bloodlust. In the end, I managed to secure Octopus’ manuscript, after all. It was badly crumpled, but at least it wasn’t torn.

Ultimately, it was a relief.

The near-death experience of our small-but-promising studio, averted.

And, as an added bonus, the NO□PIA stock price dip was also prevented.

The magic girls who’d been harassing Octopus, sensing something from the atmosphere just moments ago, were glancing at me warily as they subtly retreated.

Well, whatever. Didn’t really matter to me. How they perceived me was the least of my concerns.

Of course, I made sure to memorize their faces.

I didn’t intend to let this slide.

“You there.”

Meanwhile, the magic girl with the disheveled hair was a bit different.

Her tone had reverted back to polite speech, but the animosity simmering in her eyes remained.

“I’ll take this opportunity to make something clear.”

Presently, the wild-haired magic girl glared at me for a moment before starting on her way.

“Before long, you’ll pay the price, assuredly.”

Leaving behind those provocative, dubious words.

Perhaps that magic girl felt similarly to me. Having gone to the trouble of pulling out her magic wand, she likely hadn’t expected it to end so anticlimactically.

Come to think of it, it was a little strange.

I hadn’t fully noticed when the blood rushed to my head, but now, calmed somewhat, my thoughts began to churn, tentatively pulling a conjecture from the recesses of my mind.

It was as if the opponent had deliberately provoked me.

I couldn’t say for certain. It just felt instinctively like she’d been trying to induce me to attack first.

Probably hoping for self-defense.

Planning to attack me under that pretense.

But then, she’d unexpectedly gotten scratched, and the situation had unfolded differently than she’d anticipated.

She was more cunning than she appeared. Trying to secure a ‘justification’ to minimize her disadvantage.

Thanks to that, the ‘déjà vu’ grew even stronger.

Well, whatever.

Now that the situation was more or less settled, I resumed my walk toward Nakji.

“…”

Having been shocked quite profoundly, Nakji remained silent, simply staring blankly.

Having even abandoned the manuscript she cherished so much.

Picking up the manuscript that lay pathetically on the ground, I dusted it off as best I could and handed it to Nakji.

“…”

Nakji gave no reply. She merely gripped the manuscript I offered, wordlessly.

My heart felt uneasy. Even if Nakji was worthless, that definitely didn’t mean it was okay for her to end up like this.

Belatedly, regret washed over me.

If I’d known it would come to this, I should have intervened sooner.

“Hey, you alright?”

Presently, Nakji met my gaze.

Seeing her face, where even the traces of tears remained unwiped, I grew genuinely worried.

I feared she might collapse completely like this.

“Inferior species…”

Goddamn, she had the presence of mind to say something like that.

I’m a fool for worrying.

“You’ve gathered yourself, yes? I’m going to fetch coffee.”

Anyway, if she could say something like that, it seemed like Nakji’s condition had improved somewhat. I started towards the Magical Café.

But.

Nakji’s next words snagged my ankle.

“Why… did you assist this maiden…?”

So strongly, it made my heart ache.

—”Why… did you save me…?”

The past flashed through my mind.