LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 55
It’s tough to completely control the media in a modern democratic state where no one can maintain permanent power unless a coup occurs.
You can attempt it, but for that attempt to work, several preconditions need to be met.
First, those running the broadcast stations must be connected to the issue. The leaders of any group that has grown beyond a certain size often prioritize their own survival, so if they think they might lose their position because of an issue, they’ll actively try to suppress it.
Unfortunately for the government, the Black Magical Girl was not significantly tied to the media in this case.
She had no parents. Not that she lost them in an accident; she had never had them in the first place. It’s not like there were lots of acquaintances either. Even if there were, those acquaintances wouldn’t have any connections to people in high places at the broadcast station.
Prior to this, there had been instances where the broadcast news characterized the Black Magical Girl as a villain, but changing the content of news is a common occurrence. There are always easy excuses ready to cover such facts.
In particular, in this case, the federation, government, and company were all hiding the truth.
The second condition is that the news topic must not be money-making.
If the information being reported doesn’t have any financial value, the media won’t bother touching it. That’s just common sense.
The government holds regulatory authority over broadcasting, the federation is likely to be the ‘higher-up’ of that government, and companies sponsor the broadcast stations with advertisements.
However, this issue was certainly not one that lacked potential revenue.
If it aired in the news, the ratings would surely be decent. Moreover, there isn’t just one company in this country. Even if Noir Corporation pulled its advertisements, the slots before and after the news with high ratings would still be expensive.
As a result, the appeal of the Black Magical Girl filled the main news slots of the broadcast station.
In fact, that content even made it overseas. Particularly, foreign news stations, which had no reason to be cautious of the Korean government, thoroughly tore into the facts.
The federation denied all interview requests.
While requests for interviews came from places other than Korea, representatives from other countries showed reluctance and said this.
“The Federation spans the entire galaxy. Therefore, just because some part of the federation causes an incident does not mean that it reflects the will of the entire federation.”
So, the fault of those responsible for Korea was placed squarely on them.
However, such a story couldn’t easily quell public opinion.
Magical Girls, or heroes, or special forces—there were organizations around the world that contained those who could operate the Hope Circuit. All of them were under the federation, and most of the members tended to be younger or adolescents.
Thus, it was only natural that, after this incident occurred in Korea, some people would start thinking like this.
“Could it happen to us too?”
The ‘good image’ that the federation had been trying to cultivate over the past five years took a significant hit due to this incident. They pushed one minor into being labeled a terrorist and missed capturing the ‘real terrorists.’
Even on planets that are not states of Earth, there is a longstanding division between ‘minors’ and ‘adults’ in any relatively civilized society. Stories about treating a ‘minor’ this way spread among the member states of the galactic federation.
The identity of Magical Girls is quite well known even outside Earth.
The federation wasn’t the only one in trouble.
Similar organizations in other countries also voiced criticisms regarding that day.
Most of them tended to speak up first before they were pointed at themselves.
All those words couldn’t be completely ignored. Responding in any way would quickly expose gaps.
To calm the situation, there needed to be ‘countermeasures.’
There were divided opinions among the government about what those countermeasures should be.
Of course, amongst the federation, government, and companies, the hardest hit was the corporate side.
The reputation of Noir Corporation took a nosedive with this incident and buried itself into the depths of the underground.
It wasn’t that they already had a good image, but the public became so agitated that discussions of boycotting Noir Corporation even surfaced.
Perhaps that was a backlash from previously treating the Black Magical Girl as a complete villain.
Before this, public opinion leaned heavily toward wanting to catch that Magical Girl and put her on trial.
Since they were the ones who advocated for that, it was only natural to yell for the ‘punishment of those involved’ more vehemently when contrary evidence emerged.
There were also plenty of discussions about the ‘Magical Girls.’
Those girls still hadn’t expressed any opinions. I wanted to ask what they were doing until the situation turned out like this, but even the federation stayed quiet on that matter.
Three days had passed since the broadcast, but the world was still in upheaval.
And what the world was most curious about was the exposé from that ‘Black Magical Girl.’
Where on earth had that girl disappeared to?
*
On the first day, I camped in the hills.
No joke, I was literally camping.
Wearing a mask on my face and having my hair tied up differently while dressed in casual wear, I didn’t really know where to hide my body.
I had saved some money, but not that much, so I decided on this place after looking for a spot to stay for one night as cheaply and safely as possible.
In truth, it did involve some risk. Setting up a tent just anywhere rather than in a camp would attract people’s attention.
I’d picked a spot that was at least somewhat far from people.
To be honest, I didn’t even know where I was. Based on the mountain behind me, it didn’t seem like a camping site at all.
“What the hell would you have done if it weren’t for me?”
“Want me to roast some for you too?”
Seeing the arrogant James, I asked him nonchalantly, and he closed his mouth.
Obviously, James had also changed his appearance.
Fortunately, it seemed there were some squeaky adults in this country. Most were employed by the company and appeared to have related networks, but James, true to his character, didn’t really seem to fit into those communities.
Supposedly some tourists came sometimes, but I had never seen one. If you just wandered around the streets, you’d probably get stepped on by someone.
Nonetheless, James’s uniquely colored fur made it too easy to identify him, so he concealed his body with a skill similar to the one I used for my own face. Now, he had brown spotted fur.
Even in that situation, James was still inside the bag. After all, it was probably best not to stand out.
I answered James’s remark and quickly looked around.
Fortunately, there was not a single person nearby.
It was a weekday, and it was close to the mountain. Even if today happened to be the day that the owner of the coffin passed away, it seemed safe enough judging by how high the grass grew around the grave.
“…I can’t stay long.”
“Of course. I was only looking for a place to crash in a hurry.”
The tent was prepared by James.
To be honest, it wasn’t meant for use at a camping site but was a lightweight tent prepared for case we had to sleep rough in the hills. It was light enough that it would fit in a bag for just me.
If it ever felt heavy, I could just dump it into the pocket dimension.
…I wonder if I could live in a pocket dimension? I guess I can’t because it won’t let me in.
“But seriously, don’t you ever eat meat?”
“There’s really no need for me to.”
“If I have to, I’d prefer insects like worms to any meat.”
“Got it. I’ll eat for you.”
It wasn’t like I was asking if he wanted some.
And I definitely didn’t want to handle any mealworms.
“…”
I silently watched the meat sizzle.
What a luxurious escape I was living.
My body still hurt. To be honest, I just wanted to collapse and sleep right there.
But at the same time, I was too hungry. After pitching the tent, the first thing I did was pull out the canned goods from my bag.
By the way, James was munching on sunflower seeds from inside the bag. I had brought those for him when he was hiding in Pang-pang’s place. So I wasn’t worried about James’s food. He could sustain himself with that for a while.
…I was a little envious. If I could just find a corner to hide in anywhere, that would just be escaping. Of course, out in the wild, I might end up as someone’s meal, but still.
Listening to the sizzling sound, I picked up my chopsticks.
I could see the surface of the well-cooked canned ham.
What should I say? Should I appreciate the rustic charm of roasting ham over a camping burner or lament my misfortunes in life?
It’s certain that it’s illegal.
…It reminded me of Pang-pang’s house.
Though spring was supposed to be just around the corner, it was quite cold outside. I had no idea how long I could survive with just a tent and a sleeping bag.
Plus, long-term stays in places like this would be impossible. Should I move about the hills and just pitch the tent wherever? That would draw way too much attention.
It probably wasn’t possible to go back into Pang-pang’s house.
Even though the meat was beautifully cooked and gave off a delicious aroma, my thoughts were already gloomily wandering into those areas.
*
The next day.
I left the campsite.
I packed the tent up neatly and stuffed it into my bag, slinging that big bag onto my back.
I really wasn’t fond of the fact that I could hear James speaking from behind my head, but there was nothing I could do about it.
The communicator that Ha-yoon lent me was already disassembled and turned off by James. I planned to modify those parts into a pure paging system without tracking capabilities.
When I put the bag on my back, the top part of the backpack rose right to the back of my head, making it seem almost like a small lab akin to James’s.
In other words, I was nothing more than a moving shelter for James.
That notion made me quite uncomfortable, but as someone who needed help, I had no other choice.
…Still in pain.
Moreover, there weren’t even any paths around here. There were no clear paths at all, just indications that people had passed nearby.
I didn’t even know where I was.
The Black Hole had definitely brought me to a place where no one knew about me. An even more unknown place, to boot.
Luckily, there was a road nearby, so I thought following that road could lead me to somewhere.
“What now?”
“For now, I need to look for a place to stay. Somewhere that doesn’t require ID.”
“…”
Where could such a place even be?
I wondered if I’d have to keep moving between mountains, and then I suddenly lost strength.
“How about a guesthouse?”
“Those kinds of places are likely to be more expensive than their facilities. If a week passes, I might run out of all my money.”
Well, if I only stayed for a night, I could stretch it longer than a week, but I still needed to eat.
Plus, since individuals owned those places, I’d inevitably run into the owner frequently.
That would naturally increase the chances of my identity getting exposed.
…I’d prefer to avoid that.
“I wish there was an abandoned house or something.”
That would be better than having nothing.
“Should I rather try asking the Magical Girls for help?”
“Are you out of your mind?”
James retorted my mutterings.
“Don’t you think the Magical Girls are the very subject of surveillance now? The fact that they helped you this time was definitely reported to the federation! No, there’s no reason to even report, because they clearly failed to stop you the moment you got that far. It wouldn’t be strange at all if they couldn’t keep being Magical Girls after this.”
“…”
If Ha-yoon were to stop being a Magical Girl…
Would that really be okay? She would surely be greatly disappointed.
I rubbed my face with my hands.
Ji-hye.
I was worried about what happened to Ji-hye too. The last I saw was when she got taken to the hospital.
Here, I couldn’t read any news or papers. I had no idea how things were turning out.
I stood up again from my seat.
Regardless of what had happened, I had to start walking.
Should I walk along the road or should I change direction? I turned my feet around; if another car spotted me while I was walking down the road, it could complicate things.
I decided to walk a distance that made it visible to the road but far enough for cars not to spot me. I probably wouldn’t be able to maintain that distance for long after all. Mountains are meant to be rough terrain.
If that happens… I guess I’ll have to walk down the road then.
Resolving myself, I kept walking hard.
*
Should I say I was lucky or not?
“Hmm.”
James was resting his chin on his hand as he looked up at a shabby old house.
While walking near the road, I discovered another path that seemed to continue on to the road leading to that graveyard as if it wasn’t paved well at all, just a road with traces of people having passed by.
This road was much rougher than the path leading to the grave, though.
Even though it was only early spring, the path was overrun with weeds. The height had nearly reached my ankle, and by summer, it seemed like it would be up to my waist.
After having walked for several hours, I was feeling quite fatigued and was looking for a place to rest.
I was just planning to go in and take a seat by any tree stump or something along the way.
“This might be a decent place to rest temporarily,” James remarked while looking at the desolate village.
Yeah. It was a village.
It was quite wide. There were about six houses.
I wasn’t sure if six houses could be called a village, but some seemed to be nothing more than the remnants of an old house, showing signs the residents had left one by one, eventually abandoning the last six.
“If we pitch a tent inside one of those houses, it might be a bit bearable.”
“…Are you serious?”
“You really are not being genuine when you question that, are you? If we’re talking about accommodation that doesn’t cost money and doesn’t require ID, then this is about all that’s left here.”
“…”
I glanced at the house and then looked around.
Even in broad daylight, it was strikingly desolate. Out of the six single-story houses, the one at the very top looked the best maintained. Most were half-collapsed.
At least this one seemed to hold its shape…
With an unwilling gait, I approached the house.
There was a rusty sliding door above a porch where just about one person could squeeze in. Luckily, the windows weren’t broken and were still attached.
Usually, such abandoned houses tend to be vandalized by enthusiasts. However, this one seemed too remote to be found.
As I opened the door, a chilling creaking sound welcomed me.
And a musty smell wafted out.
The inside of a house where no one had lived for a long time was in a state that was fit to hide from monsters or something.
“…”
Wouldn’t it be better to stay near the grave?
“Even so, if we pitch a tent in here, we won’t freeze to death. Even if we light a fire indoors, the chances that someone would spot us are significantly lower. Well, that is, if we block the windows. As for the mold… well, let’s just slowly sort that out while we’re living here.”
“Shouldn’t I be the one doing that?”
“Of course! The Zero Robot has officially become your equipment.”
“…”
I wanted to contest many aspects of that statement, but there was nothing I could do.
With a deep sigh, I examined my surroundings.
At least it seemed a bit wider than Pang-pang’s place.
…Well, fine.
“Can you make things like a radio?”
“If you apply the circuit, you should be able to create something that functions well enough for your daily use. In that sense, this place might be fitting. After all, to open a pocket dimension, at least some energy is required.”
The reason I carried the bag to here was that too.
With the thought that no one else knew that I was here, a certain calm settled within my circuits.
Perhaps it was because I felt reassured that Ha-yoon didn’t hate me.
At the very least, that meant I had reduced the number of potential enemies.
“…”
Though I had to admit that James’s words still irked me a little.
If I got hungry with nothing to eat, I might consider James as my source of sustenance.
“You were having some extremely uncivilized thoughts right now, weren’t you?”
“Honestly, I’ve learned to read human faces pretty well by now.”
It seemed that when he was an administrator, he didn’t understand my expressions well.
I sighed again while putting down my backpack.
James scurried over and vanished inside the bag. That must be his tent.
I opened the zipper and took out the tent.
I didn’t drive the pegs into the ground, but I figured the wind wouldn’t blow it away.
After setting up the tent, I glanced around the ‘abandoned house’ itself.
…I didn’t know how long I’d stay, but if it was a place like this, I could probably manage for a few weeks, right?
In that case, it would be better to have the inside clean at least.
I exhaled deeply.
My body hadn’t even healed, and I already had to do hard labor, which was quite off-putting, but—
Well, it can’t be helped.
I needed to stay hidden until Ha-yoon called for me.
…Thinking that made my heart race; I must really be hopeless.
*
I heard a lot of stories.
The most frequently asked question was “How could that happen?”
The adults all spoke the same words.
No matter what had happened, they should have captured Ji-eun.
If there was any injustice, they should have expressed it properly.
“…It’s a lie.”
Ha-yoon muttered.
“Even if they said that, once Ji-eun was captured, they’d probably say that they couldn’t do anything about it.”
Should I have just run away then? If I had fled far away with Ji-eun…
“…”
But, in the end, Ha-yoon couldn’t make that choice. In this situation, sticking by Ji-eun would only amount to teasing Ji-eun further.
Still…
Still, I wanted to see her.
Since I knew Ji-eun didn’t genuinely despise Ha-yoon, I continued to want to see her.
Was it the wrong choice that I made back then?
Should I have knelt down and begged to leave with her?
I hated everything. Truly.
The Circuits were recovered.
They didn’t seem to have been taken forever. If necessary, they would probably call Ha-yoon and return it just for that moment.
Just like handling a tool.
“Ha-yoon…”
Cherry called out to Ha-yoon, who was lying on the bed, blankly staring at the ceiling.
But there was nothing more to say.
I knew it wasn’t Cherry’s fault, yet emotions can’t be easily controlled.
Ha-yoon turned away.
I could see the communicator resting beside her head.
The backup communicator I had received before.
…At least, having that made me believe I was still connected to Ji-eun.
A single thin beam of hope.
Perhaps the reason why Ha-yoon hadn’t completely gone off the rails was due to that one reason.