Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

51 – Magical Haeju

– *Shhh.*

Along with a sound like several baby snakes slithering, a gray mist spread with a chilling air.

This isn’t good. If what I heard earlier was right, then being in this gray mist means we’ll be cursed.

But, before I could even try to do anything, the mist swallowed us whole with alarming speed.

I tried to resist as much as possible, covering my mouth and nose with my clothes, but even so, I could feel the acrid air filling my lungs.

I was afraid.

Just what kind of curse would befall me?

I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

If it was pain like a searing burn, I could probably endure it well enough, but I could be afflicted by a curse far more vicious.

Petrification, perhaps.

Or completely losing my memories.

Or even a TS curse that turns me into a woman…

“…No.”

TS isn’t a curse.

It could even be called a blessing.

Of course, I have no desire to undergo TS.

Anyway.

An unpleasant sensation spreads from my lungs. The pain of the curse envelops my entire body, and I should be writhing—

“?”

—but I wasn’t.

Something was off.

Truly off.

I was sure I’d been cursed, but nothing had changed. At best, I had a dusty, dry feeling in my mouth from inhaling the air.

“Tch.”

In that instant, the grotesque creature clicked its tongue.

“Did I single out one girl? I never expected it to turn out like this…”

The creature muttered, a disgruntled look on its face, endlessly repeating its complaints.

Two things could be gleaned from this.

First, even the one casting the curse doesn’t fully grasp the curses afflicted upon their targets.

Of course, they couldn’t be completely ignorant.

They had said “single out” just now.

But it seemed that, as a result of the aftermath, a situation arose that even the curse’s originator couldn’t foresee.

And second, the specific target of the curse was at least not me.

It was an educated guess, but I was halfway certain.

They just said “one girl,” and when I subtly glanced over, Whitey and Sora’s conditions seemed far from normal. But I, myself, felt nothing.

To summarize, it goes something like this:

Either I wasn’t cursed.

Or, even if I was, it hasn’t manifested yet.

Either way, it’s fine. It means there’s nothing hindering me from dismembering the creature right now.

Without hesitation, I charged toward the creature.

However.

“Then, perhaps I’ll push myself a little this time.”

The creature raising its hand was slightly faster than my approach.

A gray mist fiercely surged, carried on the creature’s grin. This time, it targeted only me.

However, the mist never reached me.

“Move back now, you must!”

Thanks to Squid, who had returned after escorting the hostages away.

“May it become a lotus!”

Squid stepped forward, slamming his staff-shaped wand into the ground. White smoke spread from the point of impact.

The moment Squid’s white smoke touched the creature’s gray mist, the gray mist abruptly vanished.

Leaving behind a small lotus blossom in its place.

“What… is this?”

The monster, weary, uttered the words in a daze. As if even it hadn’t foreseen this outcome.

It must have exerted itself considerably, yet only a futile result remained, eliciting such a reaction.

In that instant, Nakji moved toward the monster.

“You underestimated it, didn’t you, just because it’s called a curse?”

And, with a crash, she struck her staff against the ground.

“The Kidnapper’s magic is merely a mist imbued with curses, but the Arahan’s power obliterates even the mist itself!”

Therefore, she declared, aiming her staff.

“An SS-class Arahan and a Kidnapper exist in a complete superior-inferior relationship!”

The wording was strange, but it wasn’t exactly wrong either.

Nakji’s magic neutralized the monster’s curse—or, more precisely, the curse-infused mist—completely.

Truly, an absolute advantage in terms of elemental affinity.

“Hah, crap…”

The monster spat out the word, laced with complicated emotions. Seizing this opening, Nakji raised her staff aloft once more to unleash her magic.

“Buddha—!”

“Even so, I accomplished at least my primary objective.”

At that moment, the monster smiled.

“I placed a particularly troublesome one among those I’ve met so far inside him, you know? A degraded version, to be exact, but even that was enough, they said?”

Not toward Nakji, who was about to cast her spell.

But toward me, who was watching from the back.

“Just don’t actually die, alright? They told me not to let you die too soon. Said it would complicate things or something.”

And then, smashing through the wall, it exited the room.

“Well, if you can manage it, that is.”

Leaving behind words incomprehensible until the very end.

As soon as the monster was gone, Nakji rushed anxiously to my side. Her face was etched with pure worry.

“Are you alright, sir?”

“Yeah, thanks to you. Thanks, Nakji.”

“I’m truly relieved. I came back just in case, and it seems it was worthwhile.”

Nakji breathed a sigh of relief, her red, question-filled eyes turning toward me.

Octopus sought answers to two questions.

“Just what in tarnation is this kidnapper-thing? How is a kidnapper even able to speak?”

First, how the monster spoke.

“And the things it said are just so odd. I can’t make heads or tails of any of it.”

Second, what the monster was saying.

“None of it makes any sense at all.”

Well, it was only to be expected.

While Whitedog and Seashell had encountered talking monsters before, this was Octopus’s first time. It was only natural she’d find it strange.

“Inferior species, do you happen to know anything?”

“Hard to say.”

It wasn’t like I had a ready answer.

Honestly, I couldn’t help it. A monster I’d never seen before was suddenly spouting nonsense – what could I possibly say?

However, there was one thing I could say right now.

“Let’s see to those two first. They were cursed by the monster a moment ago.”

The fact that Seashell and Whitedog were cursed.

I didn’t know what kind of curse it was.

But I could tell their condition was bad.

Seashell was trembling, clutching her head, and Whitedog was staring blankly at the ceiling.

“Are you alright, inferior species?”

“I was cursed too, but I don’t feel anything much. I’m probably alright for now.”

“That is a relief, at least.”

The decision was swift.

“Anyway, I’ll check on Seashell. Could you take the other one, octopus?”

“Understood, inferior species.”

And so, the octopus and I quickly moved.

I to Seashell.

Octopus to Whitedog.

“Seashell, are you alright?”

When I got closer, Seashell’s condition was even more serious than I’d thought.

“No… please….”

Sora clutched her head, a voice soaked with dampness continuously leaking out.

It was a wretched curse.

So much so that even I, watching, felt a sense of desolation.

In that moment, Sora noticed my approach.

“Sunbae… what am I supposed to do…?”

“What’s wrong? Tell me.”

I cast a worried gaze upon Sora.

Tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.

“I… I can’t remember anything…”

“What does that mean?”

I tilted my head, baffled by the cryptic words. Thankfully, Sora elaborated.

“I think… my sense of taste is gone…”

It was indeed a vicious curse.

Taste, one of the five human senses.

Its utter ruin was a grave matter.

There were, after all, any number of people who built careers, or found joy in life, based solely on taste.

Sora seemed to be one of those people.

“The savory depth of a hamburger patty, the crispy texture of french fries, the fizzy refreshment of cola… I can’t remember any of it anymore… I just feel emptiness…”

Indeed, though she was Japanese, perhaps because she was raised in America, Sora openly expressed her suffering by mentioning the hamburger, an American soul food.

“Sunbae, what am I supposed to do now…?”

Presently, a pair of amber eyes, glistening with tears, stared at me.

“Please, do something… I feel like I’m really going to lose my mind…”

Sora’s gaze and words were utterly earnest.

Enough to make a corner of my heart ache slightly.

However, there was one problem here.

“Sorry, but I don’t know how bad it is.”

The fact that it was difficult for me to empathize.

Truthfully, from my perspective, it wasn’t a particularly severe curse. My sense of taste had long been ruined in the other world, and I actually preferred it this way.

Because nothing had any flavor, I could eat ‘anything’ to survive.

“Besides, I’ve never actually eaten that hamburger you’re talking about, so I don’t really know.”

Having lived a life already so distant from anything truly delicious, honestly, this was half fate’s doing. The fact I’d never even tasted a proper hamburger didn’t help.

Well, if you count those things they served in the army as hamburgers, then maybe I had. But that wasn’t what Sora meant by hamburger, not even close.

Sora stared at me for a moment, her eyes filled with such complex emotion, before her lips parted, ever so slowly.

“If you compare it to a Korean person, it’s the same as not knowing the taste of kimchi, or the aroma of garlic, or the taste of *namul* side dishes and *bibimbap* with chili paste and sesame oil.”

I quietly looked back at Sora, then opened my mouth to speak.

“Sora…”

“It’s this serious. What am I supposed to do now? I think I’m really going crazy…”

Sora’s face crumpled in anguish, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

“That’s because you haven’t been to a good place.”

“Ugh, seriously! Are you trying to make me angry on purpose!!!”

Well, she got angry pretty quickly, at least.

Anyway, the curse itself was fiendish.

To steal away a sense so easily.

And undoing it didn’t seem simple, either. She was hurting this much, ordinary words wouldn’t even register as comfort through this mental shock.

Just what should I do?

Should I order her a hamburger to be delivered?

As I mulled over these worries, an unexpected thought came to mind.

“By the way, Sora.”

“Huh?! Did you maybe figure out a way, *sunbae*?”

“No, not that, but there’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Of course, it had nothing to do with breaking the curse.

It was just, simply, a question that had just occurred to me.

“……What is it now.”

Sora gazed at me with jaded eyes. As if her entire world had ended.

“That hamburger you were talking about.”

I met Sora’s gaze with a smile.

“It’s kind of like Lot□ria, isn’t it?”

At my words, Sora narrowed her eyes.

“There are similarities, as expected.”

And then, she grabbed me by the collar.

After that, my memories grow hazy.

The magical girl’s brute strength tossed me around so much my head rattled, leaving precious little room for coherent thought.

What flickers back are snippets like, *Don’t you dare insult real burgers, that’s like saying kimchi and kimuchi are the same thing!* and such.

Of course, I didn’t stay silent either.

I offered a few arguments of my own.

“If you pile kimchi on top of a cake, is that even fucking kimchi anymore?!”

“Sora, seems like you know how to eat?”

“Shut your goddamn mouth!!!”

Though, that didn’t mean Sora was in any state to actually understand.

Anyway.

For how long I suffered, I only have a handful of clear memories.

I only faintly recall the kind of words that should never escape the lips of a magical girl, being uttered again and again.

Still, it wasn’t all bad.

“Oh, Sora. Looks like the curse is broken.”

“…Seems so.”

Because Sora’s curse had finally lifted.

It was just a plain, simple question, but it seemed to have struck Sora with a considerable shock.

I don’t quite grasp the exact principle, but whatever. The important thing is that it worked out, right?

“Aren’t you grateful?”

“Just shut up, please.”

I considered myself truly fortunate.

– *Bang!*

A sudden gunshot.

“W-what is the meaning of this?!”

Until I heard the octopus’s anguished question.