Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

93 – Anticipated, Yet Beyond Reach

Truth be told, there was a sense of unease.

Didn’t I say that, day after day, Whitey’s actions remained perpetually unchanged?

Indeed. There was truly no alteration.

Ordinarily, as leave approaches, one would prepare something, anything. Plan for the leave, or get all excited and blab about what they’ll do during their time off.

But Whitey hadn’t done any of that.

Of course, I hadn’t paid it much mind either. It wasn’t my leave, after all.

Then, now that it was almost time, I thought to casually bring it up to Whitey…

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

“No. I’m, uh, not going on leave.”

Suddenly, he tells me he isn’t taking leave.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Having served myself, I know just how important leave is.

From the moment you can’t go, you start to go crazy. Even an A-lister like me couldn’t handle it, reaching for a gun and kitchen knife again. Imagine what it must be like for him.

Surely, even a Magical Girl is no different. That’s how vital leave is to everyone.

And so, I was doubtful. I couldn’t understand it.

How Whitey’s leave could be canceled, of all things.

And why the person himself seemed so unconcerned.

Was this not only my feeling? Octopus looked utterly incredulous.

“Something is off. Aren’t Magical vacations based on a set rotation? Without Magical deployments, how can they be cut, y’know?”

“Ah, this isn’t a Magical Vacation Rotation thing. I’m trying to use extra vacation time I had before.”

Whitey responded lightly, fist clenched tight.

“But couldn’t you just trade Magical Vacation cycles with the other inferior species for just one cycle?”

“Everyone says it’s hard to get them to swap. They all have plans this time.”

“Hmm… is that so? I understand.”

At Whitey’s response, Squid finally nodded in reluctant agreement, though his eyes still held a hint of doubt, for now.

To be sure, there wasn’t anything particularly strange about Whitey’s words.

I heard it myself during Magical Moral Training, or whatever that class was. A Magical Girl’s vacation is long and generous, but it only occurs according to a fixed cycle.

So, if you want to take a vacation when it’s not your turn, there are only two options.

Use separate vacation time.

Or temporarily switch vacation slots with someone else.

Of course, it’s not always possible. In the latter case, if the Magical Girl who’s supposed to go on vacation in that slot doesn’t want to switch, there’s nothing you can do.

However, the former is odd.

Vacation time earned separately can be used freely, regardless of your vacation cycle. Whitey has that separate vacation time.

There’s a limit to the number of people who can take vacation at once, but that’s usually a problem when applying urgently, a day or two before.

Which means, if you apply in advance, it’s not an issue.

So why can’t she go?

Whitey would have applied a long time ago.

Just then, Les addressed the very thing I was thinking.

“Hetero Mutt, didn’t you apply for this quite a while ago? I think I remember you doing that.”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe that Vacation Management b*tch forgot? That Cunt’s got Magical Dementia creeping in, and she keeps missing vacation requests and shit. I went through it myself just recently.”

“That’s not it. I definitely confirmed it, all the way to getting it recorded.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Well… it’s just….”

Whitey clenched her fist and trailed off slightly.

Les picked up on Whitey’s hesitant words.

“Just?”

“A little while ago, that vacation-managing Maho Shojo suddenly said there was a higher-ranking Maho Shojo who wanted to go in my place, so I couldn’t help it.”

“No, but who is it?”

Lez narrowed his eyes. Whitey, fist clenched, cautiously eyed him before blurting out a word.

“…Magical Sergeant Mint Turtle.”

“Ah, that magical old bat.”

I knew the magical girl too.

Probably a dickhead, if I had to guess.

She used to share food at the mess hall, so I thought she was alright, but now she just seems like a son of a b*tch.

Hearing it now, it’s basically like she used her rank to cut Whitey’s leave short.

Meanwhile, Lez contorted his face as if still unable to comprehend.

“No, even if she’s a magical sergeant, why take someone else’s leave? That damn b*tch.”

“Don’t be so hard on her. Sounds like it was urgent, something about meeting Mom.”

“No, still! You’ve been looking forward to this day!”

“Come down. If I can just endure a little, everyone’s fine, right? What’s the big deal?”

Whitey chuckled, replying that way. His fist was still clenched tightly, as if he’d made a resolution.

On the other hand, aside from the whole wall thing, Lez wasn’t a total train wreck of a guy, so he channeled all his anger instead of letting Whitey stay peaceful.

“I just can’t believe it! How can someone be like that! Hey, am I the only one who thinks this?”

The last remark was closer to a lament than a question, but I nodded in agreement with Lez.

“I know. I can’t believe it either.”

“Oh, right? I like you, except for the whole being a guy thing. You think exactly like me.”

Satisfied with my answer, Lez suddenly slung an arm around my shoulder, grinding his teeth again.

“I still can’t believe it. A sergeant with ‘Magical’ in front of their name pulled this crap just because they couldn’t wait for one measly leave.”

“Yeah. I really can’t believe it.”

Lez was right, for sure.

I couldn’t believe it in the slightest.

“That son of a b*tch has a mom.”

“Ah, is that so?”

I was sure they didn’t.

Meanwhile, Squid, instead of being swept away by blind fury, remained calm and offered some advice.

“If it’s a meeting with a Half-Inferior Species, that sounds like an important event. How about declaring a Magical Emergency and taking a Magical Petition Leave?”

“It’s alright. It’s not like I absolutely have to be with Sora. Besides, even if I requested a Magical Petition Leave, the timing wouldn’t work.”

“Ah, yeah, it’s too late now, is it? If things get really bad, how about trying to get leave for even just a day or two?”

“Even that’s a hard no. Major Magical said the battalion commander shut it down at his level.”

“Truly, both are wretched inferior specimens, you know.”

But in truth, there wasn’t a sharp solution to be found.

Practically, it was a ‘don’t even think about leaving’ situation.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Lez shot up from his seat.

“This is just bollocks, damn it. I’m gonna go have a little chat with that turtle b*stard.”

“What exactly do you plan to do?”

At my question, Lez adopted a grave expression.

“Gonna crack his skull with the Magical High-Pressure Water Cutter.”

“Good intentions, I guess, but what’s with the weapon of choice, you dolt.”

Well, the content of his words was a bit far from grave, I suppose.

“Please, I beg you, don’t start any more of your nonsense, you know.”

“No, this thing works! It even cut the edge off my Magical locker the other day!”

“So *that’s* why my freaking maidenly locker had its corner sliced off, and the culprit was this inferior Lez specimen?!”

“Ah.”

While Lez was getting unilaterally pummeled by Nakji, I turned to Heuindung.

“Hey, are you really okay? Should I do something?”

“Yup! I’m fine! No problem!”

Heuindung clenched his fist tightly, smiling brightly.

It was Heuindung’s usual smile, but perhaps because of the cut vacation, it somehow felt like he was holding something back.

Was this really the right thing to do?

Should I say *something*?

I racked my brain, trying to think of words that might offer some comfort.

At that moment.

“Hoook. aaah.”

A broadcast suddenly blared.

“Private Kim Si-yul, report to the Magical Visiting Room immediately.”

And it was calling *me*.

Nakji, after planting one more fist into Lez’s skull, turned his head towards me.

“Young one, do you perhaps possess a mother or a father, you know?”

“Octopus, I get what you’re trying to say, but I’m feeling strangely pissed?”

“Then, do you have a clue who came for this Magical Visit?”

“No.”

Truly, I had no idea.

I had barely any friends, and my parents’ whereabouts were a mystery, so who on earth would visit me?

“Attention, please. Private Magical Kim Siyul, report to the Magical Visiting Room immediately. That is all.”

Judging by the repeat announcement, it couldn’t be a mistake that someone was here.

Anyway, I’d have to go to find out.

Not that I could just refuse.

“Well, I’ll go check it out.”

I waved a dismissive hand and left the barracks.

What a novel experience, though. Never once had I received a visitor during my time in the military, and now I was about to have my first visit as a magical girl.

“Who could it be?”

I carried that faint question with each step forward.

*

Before me was a spread of food.

A diverse array of relatively unfamiliar dishes, the kind hard to come by while living the magical girl life.

But.

The person who had come to visit me wasn’t unfamiliar. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Eat up, Senior.”

Indeed. It was Sora.

She was supposed to be on leave, yet here she was, visiting me.

“It’s going to get cold at this rate.”

Sora scolded, but I didn’t lift a finger, just gazed intently at her.

“What are you thinking about?”

I couldn’t understand it.

Why would Sora, who should be enjoying her vacation, suddenly come to visit me?

Especially since there was so much food.

Even for a visit, it was excessive. It was just the two of us, after all. Yet the amount of food laid out before me was far too much.

There was no way the two of us could finish it all.

The entire dormitory wouldn’t be enough to finish this.

“You sure you can eat all this? Just so you know, there’s no way I’m finishing it.”

“I just didn’t know what *sunbae* liked, so I bought a little of everything. It’s fine, you can leave some.”

Sora just smiled at my words about leaving some, as if they were nothing.

Which only made me wonder even more.

It might not be much to me, but objectively speaking, it must have cost a pretty penny.

Was it really okay to waste money like this? Sora didn’t exactly live frugally, but she wasn’t one to throw money away either.

“You have something you want to ask, don’t you?”

“Haha, well, the thing is…”

Sora wore a sheepish smile for a moment, before adopting a serious expression.

” *Sunbae*, please, just help my sister, just once.”

She said it with a sincerity that surpassed even her previous smile.