LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 59
I finally snapped back to reality after taking in the musty smell typical of abandoned places.
Ha-yoon, holding me from behind, smelled lovely. Maybe it was due to magic, or perhaps it was the special wand she had in her hand.
Or maybe it was just my imagination.
We’ve known each other for a long time, but we didn’t often engage in physical contact. If anything, Ji-hye was the more proactive one. She would casually link her arm through mine, and if she was in a good mood, she’d give me a light hug.
As for me and Ha-yoon… well, how should I put it? We’ve been friends for a long time, yet there was a certain boundary between us.
I felt a bit hesitant.
Not that Ha-yoon disliked it. Objectively speaking, she was an incredibly charming girl. Like everyone around her, I often felt a human attraction to her.
But at the same time, we were friends.
I couldn’t predict what kind of person I would become if I crossed that line, so I didn’t want to hurt my friend Ha-yoon.
Above all, Ha-yoon had a knack for sensing when someone wanted something from her.
So, we maintained some distance.
That’s why I was able to snap out of my thoughts only upon smelling the musty odor of this house.
“…!”
Startled, I let go of Ha-yoon’s hand.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much strength in her grip. As I pulled away, her hand easily slipped from my side.
When I turned around, I saw Ha-yoon with a slightly shocked expression on her face.
Was it because I let go?
Looking at her gaze, it didn’t seem like it was.
During the past week spent here, I tried to make this place somewhat livable in my own way.
No, that’s not right. I wasn’t trying to make it pretty. I merely removed what I found bothersome as much as possible. After all, no matter how much I tried to decorate, it wouldn’t look like a place where people lived. And that would have been problematic.
I tore down all the moldy, shredded wallpaper and burned it in the fireplace. What Ha-yoon could see was a concrete wall with patches of mold in places where the wallpaper had fallen off.
Even if it looked worse before, in Ha-yoon’s eyes—who didn’t know how bad it had been—it was probably just in a terrible state.
Most of the windows were broken.
Whether someone had come to this place or if hail had fallen during the time of neglect, it was hard to tell.
It’s possible a beast had come and gone; either way, there weren’t many intact windows. Still, I thought it was better to set up a tent inside than to face the cold night air outside. At least there’s a roof here.
I swept the dust from the floor as best as I could, but the only cleaning tools I found were a neglected, worn broom and mop. The mop was too filthy to be of any use, and the broom was missing bristles in places, making it hard to use effectively.
Without a dustpan, I had no choice but to sweep the dust out the open door, which left patches of dust stuck between the sliding door’s frame.
To Ha-yoon, who’d probably never even seen a place like this, let alone somewhere resembling a boarding house, this must have been a shocking sight.
Well, to me, it certainly didn’t look like a place where anyone could live.
“…What are you thinking?”
I spoke to Ha-yoon.
She still appeared as a magical girl.
The pink light sword that had burst forth from her wand was nowhere to be seen, and even her magic-infused outfit had some torn parts. There was also a faint scar on her face.
Nevertheless, she looked noble even with that pitiful expression in such attire.
Was it simply because I felt that way, similar to the lovely scent I picked up earlier?
“Ji-eun.”
Ha-yoon called my name.
I took a step back — suddenly realizing there was a sound of footsteps behind me.
Looking around, I saw it wasn’t just Ha-yoon and me here.
All the other magical girls had followed me.
They all looked shocked. There was no sign they wanted to attack me, but something in their expressions felt like an attack.
Sympathy mingled with their gazes as they looked from the dilapidated house back to me.
I disliked that feeling.
“What are you doing…?!”
I shouted without meaning to, then quickly closed my mouth.
I felt the circuits vibrating.
My heart raced, and my breath became ragged. I didn’t know how to process this situation.
If I had taken Ha-yoon to the orphanage, would she have been this shocked?
The fact that they were shocked was shocking in itself.
I thought I was dignified here and confident in myself after coming to this world. Of course, there were many embarrassing aspects. Due to my dual feelings toward Ha-yoon, I got involved with the evil organization. At one point, I got so deep that I was just used and couldn’t easily escape.
I hadn’t accomplished a single thing perfectly.
But still— I was me. Even if I felt embarrassed, I thought I’d accepted that about myself.
Even after coming here, I felt confident. Rather, I thought it was refreshing to be away from the things tormenting me.
Was that genuine? Or was it just a lie I concocted to avoid facing myself?
Either way, with Ha-yoon’s presence here, those two aspects of me shattered completely.
Just as I had never taken Ha-yoon into the orphanage, I had a psychological barrier surrounding this place.
Someday, I would leave here.
I would get out, and everything would be alright.
So that even when I spoke to Ha-yoon— even if she discovered the truth someday, I didn’t want her to suffer—
Well, in the end, both the orphanage and this dilapidated house were destined to be exposed, so it was probably irrelevant now.
“…”
My body felt drained of strength.
The hammer I was holding fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The clothing of a magical girl had returned to everyday wear. That everyday wear was rather tattered. It was my only outfit.
I must’ve lost my mind.
Well, I had to become a magical girl. It seemed too excessive to change into a full dress made of magic alone.
Having become the magical girl I wanted to be, I still felt miserable.
After seeing my appearance revert, Ha-yoon also shone briefly before returning to her original self. She looked as tattered as I did.
Yet, simultaneously, she was incomparably better off than I was.
She had brought along a few outfits. But I, having just woken up, was still in the same state. My hair was all tangled, and unlike what Ha-yoon was wearing, my clothes were quite bedraggled.
I hadn’t even been able to wash properly for days. Where could I wash myself here?
I found a small stream to wash my face, hands, feet, and legs, but that was all. I wouldn’t have had the courage to wash myself naked at the riverside; it was no Joseon-era story.
“…I’m sorry.”
Seeing my reaction, Ha-yoon whispered an apology.
As if embarrassed — as if she’d done something extremely shameful, Ha-yoon bowed her head to apologize to me.
“I’m sorry…”
I mumbled that back.
What should I say?
What can I even say?
My head couldn’t comprehend this situation. My throat felt tight as if blocked by something. It was probably emotions. Various emotions were trying to burst out from my heart but got tangled together and couldn’t break free.
“U-um.”
But I wasn’t the first to speak.
James had climbed out of his drone and was now perched on my shoulder.
“First, I’d like to say I’m glad that we’re able to have this conversation.”
He spoke in an overly pompous tone, as if he were the head of a meeting.
“Now, could you all, please, hand over the circuits? Thanks to the device I prepared, we can hold out for a few minutes, but if you all continue wearing those circuits, the Federation will notice this place in no time. I take it you wouldn’t want to be moved to a worse location, right?”
“….”
The gazes of the magical girls shifted nervously.
“We—”
Rose opened her mouth first, but before she could finish, Ha-yoon moved first.
Ha-yoon removed the circuit from her wrist and handed it to me.
Her expression was blank.
As if it was something that simply had to be done, Ha-yoon wiped all expression from her face.
“Here you go.”
James told me.
I reached out, dazed, to receive the circuit.
“Ha-yoon.”
Rose started to speak but Ha-yoon quietly told me without taking her eyes off me.
“Please do as I say.”
“Yes. I sincerely hope you’ll do just that. Otherwise, I regret to inform you that we won’t be able to welcome you any further.”
James paused briefly.
He looked around. I could feel his feet meandering on my shoulder.
“Well, considering the situation, you could always rush in together and find a way to win, but I don’t think you all came looking for us to report our location to the Federation. Or am I mistaken? Did four of you come to this place to trap just a single reckless girl and hand her over to the Federation?”
“…”
At James’s words, Rose couldn’t offer a reply.
“…Seo-hee, please.”
Ha-yoon didn’t demand anything of me.
She didn’t require the magical girls’ safety nor did she ask for surrender.
She simply seemed to be saying she wanted to stay here.
Why?
What could those girls do in this place?
If they took off their circuits to avoid detection, those girls would simply be ordinary minors.
Earthlings can create magic through their emotions, but that only happens when circuits are in place. Without them, they’re just regular people with bodies that would crumble if an alien squashed them with a fingertip.
There’s just one tent. And it’s a cramped one-person tent too small for two. I wasn’t about to give it up, leaving the others to sleep in this filthy, damp ruin.
Even so.
Click.
Iris removed her circuit from her wrist.
“…!”
The gazes of the other magical girls turned to Iris.
Their eyes shifted between me, Ha-yoon, and Iris.
Iris still looked a bit uneasy, but she hesitantly approached and handed me her circuit.
I took that as well.
Having received circuits from two people, next was Rose. Rose still wore a look of uncertainty, but she too handed her circuit to me. It must mean she trusts Ha-yoon.
Delphinium and Dalia eventually conceded too, handing their circuits to me.
I ended up with five magical girls’ circuits in my hand.
“Alright then.”
James said with a cheerful tone.
“There’s a blocking device in my bag. You must have seen something like a lunch box made of aluminum, right? Just drop them in there. That way at least the Federation won’t notice this location.”
“…”
I nodded and drifted past Ha-yoon.
Bending down, I entered the tent.
Carrying my bag, I had of course checked what was in it. The thick aluminum box was just that, an aluminum box, and it had been packed with miscellaneous items to save space.
I dumped the circuits haphazardly into the box, treating them like dirty things.
After closing the lid, I let out a light sigh.
“Were you expecting this?”
“No.”
James responded to my question.
“I knew the magical girls would come looking for me, but I never expected they would come after us like this. She might have been an important person to Blossom.”
He wasn’t buttering me up or anything… that was purely a statement of fact. Just that my friendship with Blossom was a factor.
“Originally, it was designed to be used temporarily for communications, but I never expected it to be used this way.”
“Does magic communication get blocked this way?”
“It’s not made just for blocking transmissions. Don’t worry. Even though I look like this, I am a Squeaky Adult. Being a resident of the planet that made those circuits, do you think I wouldn’t know the basic principles?”
While he called himself ‘Squeaky,’ when pronounced, there seemed to be some tonal variation that shifted slightly. It’s probably not just a different accent but a unique pronunciation among Squeaky Adults. The variety of sounds they can produce is distinctly different from ours, so to Earthlings, it sounds merely like a series of squeaks.
I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply.
This won’t do.
I kept wanting to escape.
I didn’t want to step outside the tent like this. I didn’t know how to face those five people outside.
Especially Ha-yoon.
Now that she’d come this far, and with the circuits taken, there was no way for those five to return unless I let them go.
I might as well create a Black Hole and drop them anywhere in Seoul right now.
It would be possible. At this point, with Ha-yoon in sight and circuits revving up, the energy is sufficient.
“Don’t even think about sending them back.”
James spoke.
“Didn’t you take a look at the place? Even without circuits, they might be able to find their way back.”
A dilapidated house I couldn’t even identify where it was located? You have to go quite a way into an entrance to even find it. There’s a road that can lead here by car, but come spring, if those weeds grow thick, it’ll likely be erased.
“You normally tend to overestimate the magical girls and now it seems you’re underestimating them. There will always be someone who can identify a location just by looking at the background of a picture. If they’re experts, they should be able to do that, right? Additionally, if you cross-verify the testimonies of those five girls, it’ll increase the likelihood.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Don’t just stay cooped up here; go outside. And give some orders to those five. This is your territory. You’re the only one who knows where the food is and where to find water, and you have the only usable dilapidated house here.”
James whispered in my ear.
“Also, above all, you are the only one with circuits. Do you actually think five ordinary girls can rush at you and win?”
Just as James finished speaking, a clicking sound came from that seemingly ordinary aluminum box.
It was locked. I had clearly seen it, and it had no locking mechanism.
It turned out James’s words were true; this was not just a box.
“I planned to use it for communication, but what if someone comes in and looks at it while you are away? That would be a huge problem.”
“…”
When I was silent, James let out a big sigh.
Then he spoke.
“If you don’t know what orders to give, I’ll suggest some for you.”
After clearing his throat, James continued.
“First, do a body search. Even without circuits, there are many items that can be tracked. There are phones, and magical girls carry communication devices. Those are made not just through magic but through standard Earth technology, so they can’t be traced within this area, but if they take them further away, they could definitely give away their positions.”
James paused for a moment, listening closely.
“Good. It seems no one’s left yet.”
He listened with his large ears like a fennec fox and spoke.
“Go on. Go out and ensure everyone knows you are above them. More than any other magical girls, particularly Blossom.”
“…”
It would be a lie to say I didn’t react to those words from James.
But still, I didn’t want to win like this.
If I had told James my true feelings, he’d have likely scoffed and rolled his eyes.
But it couldn’t be helped.
I resented it, yet at the same time, I also liked it.
Perhaps I wouldn’t completely act as coldly as James maintained.
So as much as I’d like to pull my hair out right now—
—Right.
James’s words weren’t entirely wrong.
Staying in this tent wouldn’t solve anything.
Gritting my teeth, I stepped out of the tent.
The kids were all still standing there.
They looked somewhat miserable. Unsure of what I might say or what I might instruct.
Even though the sun was out in the sky, this place remained dark and damp, with a strange smell. It seemed like some oddly shaped bugs might crawl out at any moment.
Maybe it was also due to humidity.
Only Ha-yoon was looking straight at me.
As if she was firmly resolved.
As if she’d do anything—
It felt like she was saying just that, so I bit my lip.
Fine. So that’s what it is?
You’d do anything, right? That’s why you came all the way here?
“…You said you were sorry?”
I opened my mouth, looking at Ha-yoon.
Ha-yoon nodded slightly.
“Then, at the very least, follow my orders here.”
This place is nothing.
It’s not even something I can claim. This land surely has an owner. There are no more lands unmapped in this area.
But that doesn’t mean that the owner will rush over right now to claim their rights.
So—
“First, hand over your phones. I don’t want this place to be discovered.”
“So, also the communication devices.”
“The communication devices and phones will be returned shortly. Of course, the communication functions will likely be disabled, so they won’t be of much use either.”
James chimed in next to me.
This isn’t my territory.
But still, I plan to assert it.
Sure, it’s nothing at all.
So, it may as well be like this.
Even if it’s a pathetic self-reassurance—
But still, as I watched Ha-yoon move according to my words, a stirring emotion bubbled deep within me.
It was a dangerous feeling. One that shouldn’t be left unchecked.
But still, for now, I let it be.
“…”
As I reached for the phone, my fingertips brushed against Ha-yoon’s slightly.
I was trembling a little.
Ha-yoon was scared of me.
“…”
Without a word, I turned my gaze over to the other magical girls.