Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

92 – Magical Safety Training (2)

The reaction was immediate.

When I threw the unconscious Company Commander into the fire, the flames subsided slightly, unlike before.

“Kim Siyul, you fucking b*starddddd!!!”

The Company Commander cursing at me as soon as he regained consciousness was also very immediate.

Anyway.

It was certainly as the safety training had taught us.

Who would have known it would be this effective?

I was able to be reminded of the importance of safety training.

And so, I gazed at the Company Commander’s struggles with a satisfied smile.

At that moment, Whitedog suddenly spoke to me.

“Hey.”

“What is it?”

“Why in the world did you just throw Magical Lieutenant into the fire?”

Really, was this what having a dog was like? No matter how much training, there seemed to be a limit. He was so dense, unable to fully grasp what was being taught.

Well, nothing for it.

This time, I’d have to spell it out.

I am a soldier, after all.

“Listen carefully. Didn’t the company commander say that to put out a fire early, you need to use water?”

“Yeah, I remember that.”

“And humans are 70% water, right?”

Round it up, and a human *is* water.

Therefore, the company commander could also be called water.

“So you have to throw the company commander into the fire.”

“Aha!”

Even so, once it was explained to him, Whitey was finally starting to understand. There’s a certain satisfaction in teaching. No wonder the company commander seemed so happy about it earlier.

At that moment, Octopus chimed in.

“But, even so, isn’t 70% water of a person’s size not very much?”

“Why ask such a simple thing? In that case, you just throw in a few more, of course.”

This is why we needed the battalion commander.

A truly unfortunate thing.

At that moment, the company commander flailed wildly, screaming. Completely engulfed in flames, he struggled to get up, finding it difficult to move.

“You crazy b*stard! To actually throw a person!”

“I threw a *human*, I didn’t throw a *person*.”

I smiled and continued.

“And it wasn’t just a random act. I’m simply fulfilling the Company Commander’s dream by following a poem from a famous manga.”

“What the hell kind of poem!!!”

The Company Commander raised his voice.

I smiled even brighter.

“Don’t live as a Lieutenant. Die as a Captain.”

If he died, he’d get a one-rank promotion, and even a useless b*stard like the company commander could finally become a Captain.

Truly, a dream come true.

“What are you even saying, you son of a b*tch!!!”

Well, the company commander didn’t seem to realize it himself.

Anyway.

The temporary measures were done, but the situation was still bleak. The entrance was blocked by the fire shutter, and they hadn’t been able to extinguish the fire completely.

At least they’d opened a window, so they wouldn’t suffocate right away, but holding out like this was just a matter of time. Frankly, he felt a little lost.

“Alright, you two, let’s play rock-paper-scissors. Loser goes in and puts out the fire.”

“Brain broken, you son of a b*tch?”

“Why are you trying to back out alone? Want to die, or what?”

Just then, two voices, filled with confusion, drifted from the other side of the fire shutter.

“Sora, why is this closed?”

“Huh? It wasn’t like this before.”

It was Les and Sora, respectively.

The moment he heard Sora’s voice, Whitey began frantically begging for help.

“Sora! Help! Help!”

“Sister?! What’s wrong?”

“There was an explosion inside, and we’re trapped! No door, so we can’t escape!”

“That can’t be… well, maybe it can. They installed it wrong, so the emergency exit is completely reversed.”

Sora muttered to herself, sounding convinced, then spoke to Whitey again.

“Okay, I understand! Just wait a moment! Transform!”

She must have had her magic wand ready, because Sora transformed right away on the other side of the door.

A moment later, the fire shutter creaked open a little, and Sora cautiously peeked her head through the gap. Probably trying to assess the situation inside.

“Ah.”

Sora’s assessment was quick.

“I’ll take care of it right away!”

Sora threw open the fire shutter and cast her spell.

“Be an ember.”

Blue flames scattered, devouring the other flames. Specifically, only the flames that existed in a straight line from the break room entrance to where they were.

A fairly strong gust of hot air blew.

Strong enough to make him close his eyes for a moment.

Before long, the flames that had been so menacingly raging just a moment ago were now quietly flickering as blue embers.

“I figured if I targeted everything, the magical backlash would be too intense, so I only did this much!”

The fire still raged around us, but Sora, bless her, had at least punched a hole through it—an escape.

Surprisingly, Sora didn’t unleash any specific spell on the burning company commander. Perhaps she thought it too risky, choosing restraint.

Likely. From a glance, it seemed like she was using a spell that would only smother him with more intense flames.

Just then, Sora’s voice cut through the din, urgent.

“Is this enough to get out? Hurry!”

At Sora’s command, we scrambled out of the lounge.

The commander, naturally, was left to his own devices. He was quite literally immolating himself for the sake of becoming a captain, how could we dare interfere with such ambition?

But, Rez wasn’t having any of it.

No sooner had we cleared the lounge than Rez was heading straight back in.

Without even transforming.

“Hey, you crazy Rez! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Where else? To put out the fire, of course. And save Magical Commander.”

Reckless.

Utterly reckless.

Even magical girls aren’t invincible. Especially untransformed. She could easily end up just like the commander.

But Rez chose to press on.

“Rez, you sure you’ll be alright?”

Rez kept walking, only turning her head slightly to give me a wry smile.

“Of course I’ll be alright.”

Rez’s back as she confidently strode towards the inferno…

“A woman who’s always soaking wet wouldn’t be afraid of a little fire, now would she?”

It was the back of a true magical girl.

Afterward, the fire was completely extinguished.

And naturally, the commander didn’t become a captain either.

All thanks to Rez.

“Hnnngh…! N-No more… I can’t…”

Well, the method of dousing was a little… unsavory.

Anyway.

To be honest, I’d always considered Rez useless.

Her name fit the bill, too. Rez. As in, residue. Just a completely useless thing.

However, after today, I’ve shifted my thinking, just a little.

Lezz, who I thought was only good for nothing, wasn’t quite so useless after all.

She extinguished the fire so perfectly.

Literally, water of no use.

Or rather, using something ‘useless’.

Today, Lezz showed us what a true magical girl could do.

This fire, it was entirely the Company Commander’s fault, but he didn’t really receive any punishment.

Probably because it was an accident that occurred during training, the higher-ups seemed to bury it conveniently.

Still, it wasn’t like there was absolutely no change.

Recently, Magical PX reopened, but Magical Cigarettes were specifically banned from sale. The reason, of course, was because this incident was caused by smoking.

Of course, it didn’t last long.

Maybe a little over a week at best.

Cases of trading cigarettes brought in from the outside, with premiums, increased, and there were even cases of people rolling their own cigarettes.

The fact that higher-ranking magical girls were demanding that cigarettes be sold also played a role.

In reality, banning cigarettes was impossible.

It never had a chance to work in the first place.

Anyway.

Today too, the magical girls were peaceful.

*

Today, Sora went on leave.

“Unnie, see you outside! Come on time for the reservation!”

“Okay! Sora! See ya!”

Nothing surprising about it.

Isn’t leave something you take when the time comes?

Speaking of which, meeting Sora outside…, they probably deliberately coordinated their leaves.

Which meant, that Whitedog’s leave wasn’t far off either.

Whether I was the only one who thought this, Lezz pointed it out, just in time.

“Hey, Hetero Woof, are you happy that you’re going on leave soon?”

“Yeah! I wish my leave day would hurry up and coming!”

Whitedog nodded his head roughly.

It meant my guess had been right.

“When was it again? Suddenly, I can’t remember.”

“Just a bit of waiting! It’s right around now!”

Whitey pointed a finger at the date on the calendar, which turned out to be much closer than I thought.

“Ah, that’s right. Well, there’s a little time left, but at this rate, it’ll be here before we know it.”

“Exactly! That’s why I’m so happy!”

Well, it was only natural he’d react like that.

Aren’t vacations always exciting, after all?

It was just that, seeing Whitey so purely happy, I couldn’t help but smile faintly.

At that moment, Octopus suddenly spoke to me.

“Oh, does the mortal also find the inferior Retriever’s smile to their liking?”

“Huh?”

Was he having similar sentiments to me? Octopus had a rather refreshing smile painted on his face.

This was a bit unexpected.

Wasn’t he completely at odds with Whitey?

“Octopus, didn’t you not really like him?”

“It is a little difficult to say that we are completely friendly. But the inferior Retriever’s smile evokes the feeling of a puppy, making the heart feel warm.”

“Ah, that’s true.”

It was definitely a valid point.

Right now, Whitey looked just like a puppy who’d been told it was time for a walk.

“But you said your magical girl name is Black Kitty. Cats are supposed to hate dogs, right?”

“The maiden loves all animals. This of course includes dogs.”

“Ah, really?”

Octopus was definitely a Buddhist. In Buddhism, they cherish all animals except mosquitoes, and sometimes even care for them.

Of course, his words often lead to misunderstandings, but this time, I could assume he was thinking like a Buddhist.

“So, what’s your favorite dog?”

“Naturally, it is the Shepherd. If I were to raise one, I would want to name it ‘Blondie’.”

“Uh oh…….”

But this son of a b*tch keeps making me misunderstand.

You really can’t let your guard down for a single moment when talking to him.

Right then.

So went the days, each one mirroring the last, yet Whitey’s behavior stayed unchanging.

Smiling vacantly, then abruptly spacing out, his lips sealed in a suppressed moan, silently bowing his head, fists clenched tight, only to start all over again.

From the day he told us he was going on leave,

Until now, with leave only a few days off.

And so, I failed to realize.

“Hey, your leave’s in a few days, right? Nice.”

“No. I’m, uh, not going on leave.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

That Whitey’s leave had been cancelled.