Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

56 – The Easy Path and the Hard Path

Suddenly, the world had vanished altogether.

In its place, two paths abruptly unfurled.

Frankly, it made no sense.

Why had this phenomenon manifested so suddenly? Was it some sort of inner world, like you sometimes see in novels? Or simply the illusion one is supposed to see right before death?

But.

What kind of paths were these, laid out before my eyes? That much, at least, I could say for certain.

The Easy Path and the Hard Path.

Hearing those words alone, it’d sound odd, I’m sure. I understand completely. Truthfully, I was only trying to express it by wringing out every ounce of knowledge I possessed.

But I had no other way to phrase it.

The Easy Path truly *was* easy. Truly wide, straight, and true. It looked as though one could advance along it with little difficulty, no matter how they walked.

And, at its end, I existed.

Depicted as a perfect, full moon.

I myself, cleaving the neck of Whitey.

In contrast, the Hard Path was different.

It was so narrow, convoluted, and twisted that even setting foot upon it seemed difficult. There were holes and cracks everywhere, making it feel as though one might fall at any moment.

What’s more, the path abruptly ended midway.

Beyond that, there was nothing.

Only emptiness existed. That was all.

In that instant, the Easy Path shimmered.

As if beckoning me to come hither.

As if questioning what I was agonizing over.

As if arguing there was no need to take the difficult route.

And so, perhaps, it was. Without realizing, I took a step onto the Easy Path. It was closer to an act driven by instinct than a decision reached through deliberation.

However, once I’d taken that step, I couldn’t turn back.

That single step was too comfortable, too serene.

I didn’t want to abandon the familiar sensation.

I admit it. It’s undeniably the easy path.

As I am now, I’m standing on the precipice. To survive, all I need do is cut down Whitey.

Whitey’s a magical girl, after all. With her strong constitution, she might not even die, if luck is on her side.

And then…

Honestly, I was just tired of it all.

The goal of subduing Whitedog, Sora’s plea to be careful not to hurt Whitedog, enduring until Sora and Nakji returned…

I just wanted to let it all go.

To find a little more release here.

With that thought in mind, I was about to take another step toward the easy path.

In that moment, a hero from a novel came to mind.

I don’t know the exact reason why.

Just vaguely, suddenly, out of the blue.

That hero was different from me.

Even with an easy path laid out before him, he wouldn’t take it, and despite countless shortcuts, he wouldn’t reach for them.

That hero always walked the difficult road.

A road painful with every single step.

A thorny path filled with countless calamities and losses.

But that doesn’t mean that hero was some flawless superman who easily walked the difficult road.

He was a hero, yes, but also human.

Sometimes failing, sometimes despairing, sometimes afraid – just an ordinary human being.

However.

Even so, that hero walked on, steadfast.

Even if he fell, he rose again.

Even in moments of despair, he never gave up.

Even the smallest, most negligible possibility, that hero clung to it and kept moving forward.

Not towards a lesser evil to avoid the worst.

Not compromising with “This is good enough.”

But toward the best possible ending that would satisfy everyone.

Was it because of this sudden train of thought? Suddenly, I couldn’t bring myself to step onto the easy path.

It felt like there would be no turning back, my feet felt strangely heavy, and it felt like if I actually took that step, I would regret it and suffer for the rest of my life.

Hesitantly, I looked at the easy path.

And then, the easy path shone even brighter than before. Whispers echoed from within the glittering light.

Were you really not going to come this way?

“Wouldn’t it be better to resolve this comfortably?”

“Why foolishly take the long way around, when there’s a simple, shortest path right here?”

Instead of answering, I looked towards the difficult path.

It seemed even more treacherous than before. As if it would crumble the moment I stepped onto it, and even then, the path was too dark to see clearly.

Instinct screamed a warning.

Intuition frantically cautioned me.

*Please*, don’t do anything reckless. There’s no need to court danger. Absolutely do *not* go there.

If you do, you’ll die.

At the crossroads of choice, on the border between life and death, I gazed at the two paths one last time.

The easy path, just a few steps away from the end.

The difficult path, where even a single step felt insurmountable.

And then, I took a step.

Not towards the easy path, radiating with an almost blinding light, gently enveloping me with a comforting warmth.

But towards the difficult path.

I knew.

It wouldn’t be easy.

I couldn’t be sure I could even walk properly. I didn’t know what awaited me at the end of this road. There was no guarantee I’d even reach it in the first place.

Even so, I took another step.

I knew it well.

I couldn’t become.

Just because I walked the difficult path now, that didn’t mean I could become the same hero as the one in the novels.

Even so, I took another step.

At that moment, the difficult path spoke for the first time. Its voice laced with worry, tinged with a desolate plea.

Why are you trying to walk this arduous path?

Is there any need to do something so unprofitable?

It had a point. Just one magical girl, someone I’d barely even met. It was hard to argue she was worth walking such a difficult path for.

Frankly, I didn’t know if this was the right choice. There was no assurance it would be the best. I might regret this decision to the death.

And, I was different from the heroes in the novels.

I wasn’t a hero like them, nor a follower trailing in their wake, and certainly not a companion walking alongside them.

But.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be so wrong, to merely gaze upon his back.

That Hero, he would have chosen the difficult path.

Always, invariably, just as he always did, this time too.

And so.

I wanted to try, at least, walking while watching the Hero’s back.

Yes.

Simply, it was what *I* wanted to do.

Just as when I saved that girl from ending it all.

─ “There’s no particularly special reason.”

─ “Simply, it’s just what I wanted to do.”

And then.

Though I couldn’t speak it then, a single, special reason I can add now.

Because he is the Hero.

Wouldn’t that be enough?

Therefore, I advance.

One step, and then another.

In that instant, the world returned to its original state.

Of course, time was still frozen. Everything fixed in its place.

But this was only for a moment.

Presently, time began to flow once more.

Everything moved according to its original rhythm.

Whitey frantically clutches their magic staff. My entrails, sliding from my side, hit the ground with a wet thud. My arm fully swung.

But, there was one thing different from the original flow.

The Moonlight Sword in my hand vanishes.

Along with the full moon that manifested along the path of the blade.

“Uh…?”

Whitey utters a hollow question.

Well, it’s a perfectly natural reaction. They couldn’t have known they’d squander their last chance so futilely.

But, it doesn’t matter.

I pay it no mind.

While Whitedog still wore that vacant expression, I grasped something other than Moonlight in my hand.

And, with swiftness, fastened it around Whitedog’s wrist.

– *Click.*

The Magical Handcuffs I had taken care to pack separately at the beginning.

Magical Handcuffs might prove useless against a true monster, but against a Magical Girl, it was a different story altogether.

She would be unable to wield magic, ultimately rendered powerless.

I had seen them work wonders before, and I had every expectation that they would prove fruitful once more.

Yes. This was my choice.

I would not die.

But neither would I allow Whitedog to perish.

This was the arduous path I had chosen to tread.

For a time, I would be unable to summon Moonlight again, but there was no help for it. This was a sacrifice I had to accept.

Momentum had seized her, and stopping was, for all intents and purposes, impossible. If I were to avoid killing Whitedog, summoning Moonlight back to my side was an inescapable necessity.

Just then, Whitedog seemed to grasp my gambit, and a subtle expression crossed her face.

“Ha.”

She must have realized it, then.

That soon, she would be helpless.

But, a sneer followed close behind.

“You actually *think* this is enough? Even if I can’t use my magic, I can still *move*, you know?”

Admittedly, that was a problem I hadn’t quite anticipated.

Either it hadn’t been calibrated to the same degree as before, or the effect of complete incapacitation would require a period of time to take hold.

“You really are a moron without an *answer*, huh? Throwing away your *last chance* like that.”

In other words.

“Die.”

I had to hold out until that moment arrived.

– *Ta-aang!*

No sooner had the gunshot faded than two new sensations erupted from my wounded side.

First, a searing heat, and then, emptiness.

A part of my side had vanished entirely.

Perhaps a third of my abdomen, roughly.

Well, at least that’s something. Instinct made me slap the gun away, so instead of my heart, it was just my abdomen that got shredded.

That instant, Whitedog leaped back, leveling her gun.

“Just die already, please for real!”

This time, aimed right at my head.

Desperate, I lunged toward her, trying to knock the gun’s path aside.

But, I failed.

Too far to close the distance.

All I could manage with my ruined hand was a feeble block of the barrel.

Then, the blast.

– *Ta-aang!*

My hand and arm exploded into fragments, leaving behind a mess of bone and flesh. Even with that, the blast had less force, but small metal pellets stole away a piece of my vision and hearing on one side.

Still, it’s alright.

That shotgun’s no good anymore.

And with the Magical Handcuffs preventing any magic use, trying to turn the shotgun into a magic wand would be pointless anyway.

Barely a beat later, I reached Whitedog and embraced her. More like clung to her, truth be told.

Some of the shot must have hit my spine, because I just lost all feeling below it.

But it’s not so bad.

At least even if my lower half’s injured, it won’t hurt.

At the same time, I reached out with my still relatively intact arm. I meant to snatch the revolver from Whitedog’s holster and throw it away.

“This Magical Ant is a real pain, has been since the start!”

However, I couldn’t.

Whitedog saw it coming and drew her revolver before I could react. My bad condition, slowing my hand, played a big part too.

Weakly, I let out a forlorn sigh.

“Too bad….”

Thought I wouldn’t get shot again.

Ignoring my disappointment, Whitedog aimed her final weapon, the revolver, at me.

And.

– *Tang!*

She pulled the trigger.