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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Magical Psychological Counseling (3)
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Jin Soa's mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
"Let me ask again."
"You've already heard it."
The initial curiosity and the satisfaction from the Magical Association's response had long since evaporated.
"One time isn't enough to verify the facts."
"Well, if that's how it is."
It wasn't because he kept using informal speech, and it certainly wasn't because he was someone special.
A man, 33 years old, high school graduate, unemployed.
No family, not even any relatives.
Essentially an orphan.
The epitome of a loser.
But.
None of that mattered right now. What Jin Soa had just heard was far too complicated to brush off.
"Where were you during your desertion?"
"No, I told you, I didn't desert. I was discharged ten years ago. I can even give you my service number."
The incomprehensible answers kept repeating.
"We already confirmed that service number doesn't exist, didn't we? That's what the report said."
"That's why it's so weird. Why does it say I deserted, damn it?"
He insisted he hadn't deserted as a Magical.
"Anyway, assuming you were discharged, where have you been all this time?"
"Another world."
And what the hell kind of other world was this?
"How did you get there?"
"No idea. I bought an air conditioner, and the moment I did, I ended up in the other world. Worked my ass off like a dog there."
"For someone who's been through that, don't you think your clothes and phone are in pretty good shape?"
"When I got to the other world, all my clothes had turned into other-world style. My smartphone vanished too. I thought it'd be like those light novels where you get to keep your smartphone."
And the reason for going there was just as absurd.
"What did you do there?"
"Hero. Like I said earlier, Hero of the Moon."
He even claimed to have been a hero himself.
The Hero of the Moon, no less.
"...Then what's your proof that you were a hero?"
"I told you, I don't have any. I used up all my power at the end. My sword vanished in the process."
"..."
Yet he had no way to prove it.
"Ha."
Jin Soa let out a deep sigh.
Her head was spinning. Even the craziest Magical with mental issues didn't spew nonsense like this.
But.
She couldn't just dismiss it as the delusions of a Magical lunatic.
It was genuine sincerity.
There was no way it was a lie. This wasn't some vague intuition; it was clear-cut.
The Magical chair Kim Siyul was sitting in looked ordinary, but it had a special function.
It measured the occupant's Magical heartbeat and displayed the results in real time.
In simple terms, a Magical lie detector.
Of course, only the Magical counselor could see the results. The screen was embedded in the Magical desk's surface, so the client couldn't view it.
And the result was.
'Truth...'
She couldn't believe it.
She had asked again deliberately, even more meticulously this time, but nothing changed.
His words remained the same, and so did his heartbeat and the readout.
So there were two possibilities.
Either he was a god-tier actor who could fool the world.
Or he was so immersed in his delusion that he fooled even himself.
Or.
Everything he said was true.
'This is insane.'
Jin Soa bit her lip and glanced at the Magical Girls around her.
Each one's expression mirrored her own confusion. They were all genuinely baffled.
Even her longtime friend, the purple Magical Girl Lee Seobin, was no exception. Her usual relaxed demeanor was gone.
Jin Soa pondered seriously.
For starters, it didn't seem like malicious desertion. She wasn't certain, but her gut told her there were unavoidable Magical circumstances.
How about you?
[For now, it's not the thing Soa was worried about!]
So you think what he's saying is true?
[Not sure! But it feels like it probably is?]
Even her mascot shared a similar view. It wasn't always reliable, but it came through when it counted.
In that case, there was no need to execute him as she'd first thought.
However.
'It's ambiguous.'
It wasn't easy to decide.
Honestly, she wanted to ignore the Magical Association entirely and grant him a Magical exemption or public service duty.
He was a guy to begin with, so even if they drafted him, he couldn't use magic and would be useless. Plus, being different would make his life hell among the Magical Girls.
Jin Soa knew better than anyone the Magical suffering that came with being different.
But.
Granting Kim Siyul an exemption or public service required a solid Magical justification, and she didn't have one.
His Magical physical exam was normal, and his mental issues weren't that severe—not even counting whether what he'd said so far was true or not.
'What to do...'
Magical Girls were perpetually short-staffed.
As a result, the bar for what counted as a Magical mental illness was absurdly high.
In other words, they used anyone who wasn't a total basket case as a Magical Girl.
In that sense, Kim Siyul—as a male aside—had all the qualifications to be a Magical Girl.
What were you two whispering about?
Just wanted to ask a few things.
Go ahead.
He was using informal speech now, but he'd started with polite Magical honorifics. Meaning he had the Magical intelligence to adjust to his audience.
Can you read and write?
What do you take me for? Ridiculous.
He could communicate verbally in Magical language and read and write without issue.
What's twenty-five plus thirty-six?
Seventy-one. Why ask something like that?
He was even proficient in basic Magical arithmetic.
Without using fingers or toes.
Perfect qualifications to become a Magical Girl.
The only slight issue was that when he was in a bad mood, he charged ahead without thinking.
Honestly, even Jin Soa had been shocked earlier.
Every Magical Girl here was overwhelmingly powerful. Living embodiments of the "one against a hundred" cliché.
Yet he didn't flinch against any of them, even scratching one enough to piss her off.
And after nearly dying from it, the first thing he did upon reviving was provoke her again.
If Jin Soa hadn't intervened, he'd have been blasted to death by magic next time.
She didn't like the Magical Girl Green Blofish personally, but even Jin Soa acknowledged her skill at killing Monsters.
And not only that—he was holding a normal conversation right in front of Jin Soa, the strongest Magical Girl.
Did the guy have zero fear?
'Or.'
Was his emotional control already completely broken?
Either way, it wasn't enough to disqualify him as a Magical Girl. If anything, it was a plus.
'What to do.'
Jin Soa's mind filled with anguish.
He already passed with flying colors as a Magical Girl. At the very least, what he'd shown indicated top-tier Magical intelligence.
But.
The Magical risk was huge.
Too risky to just accept as a Magical Girl.
And it wasn't just Jin Soa's risk. If anything, it was the opposite.
Making Kim Siyul a Magical Girl posed an enormous Magical risk to him.
Unfortunately—and naturally—he was worlds apart from being a Magical Girl.
Finally, Jin Soa reached a conclusion.
'I need to dig a bit more.'
Neither exemption nor public service was possible in the current situation.
To justify it somehow, she'd need more information to fabricate a plausible Magical excuse.
If worst came to worst, she'd have no choice but to send him as a Magical Girl.
But this all assumed Kim Siyul was completely innocent.
'If.'
Not likely, but if it was all lies and he'd deserted maliciously as she'd first suspected.
'Then.'
He'd pay the Magical price in full.
The blood spilled by Magical Girls and Jin Soa's little sister wasn't light by any measure.
Anyway.
She needed to talk a bit more first.
Jin Soa spoke up immediately.
What was this other world like?
Hellish, disgusting. And fucking awful.
I see?
Jin Soa gave a wry smile.
He seemed sincere enough, and the Magical lie detector confirmed it as truth.
But in her personal Magical view, it wasn't that bad. No matter how bad the other world was, it couldn't compare to here.
During the Monster invasion, this place had been true hell.
She'd seen that hell more than enough.
Yet here he was, preaching horror to them.
Meanwhile, Kim Siyul mistook her wry smile for mockery. His voice rose slightly.
You think it's funny? Hey, funny?
Jin Soa responded flatly.
Even skipping the existence of this other world, was it really that bad?
Have you been there? Talking out of your ass when you know nothing? You've never even seen the other world.
This time, Jin Soa bristled.
And what have you seen to say that?
A dry tone laced with simmering anger began to build.
Do you know how bad things got here?
Tell me then.
It wasn't just the Monsters' atrocities.
People killed each other over mud-caked snacks, there were plenty who ate corpses, and some even tore into living people.
All of it was everyday normalcy.
That was the world back then.
People ended up fearing humans more than Monsters.
That kind of shit was common in the other world too.
Ha, that damn other world again.
By now, irritation was building.
Everything was "other world this, other world that." It wasn't like kids bragging about Magical treasures at home.
And yet, the Magical lie detector steadfastly read truth.
Which only made her more irritated.
She couldn't tell what was real anymore.
What you described is just a fraction. There was way worse stuff everywhere. Can you even name something that horrific besides what you've said?
Jin Soa regretted snapping a little even as she did.
Wasn't this just petty Magical pissing contest? Objectively, they were both in pathetic situations.
Fortunately, Kim Siyul answered her impulsive question faithfully.
I saw my grandma having sex.
With a somewhat odd answer.
And dead-fish eyes that somehow looked utterly defeated.
That from the other world too?
No, that was here in this world.
Jin Soa gritted her teeth at his response.
Beneath her stoic face, killing intent writhed passionately. A chilling glint sharpened her stark orange eyes.
Hey.
Soa, calm down a bit. We don't know yet.
Her longtime friend and fellow rank, the purple Magical Girl Lee Seobin, hurriedly stopped her.
As a friend, she'd sensed Jin Soa's mood sour faster than anyone here.
But Jin Soa ignored Lee Seobin.
Hey.
She was too busy glaring at Kim Siyul with those stark orange eyes.
What.
Answer carefully. Did you see it in person?
Online.
Thankfully, the lie detector read truth.
Jin Soa's killing intent eased just a fraction.
But it didn't fully subside.
The disgust remained the same.
'That fucking Magical OnlyFans.'
Magical OnlyFans.
The ugly Magical collaboration born from old hags selling their bodies in Magical Girl forms and the bastards eagerly paying top dollar to watch.
One of the things Jin Soa despised most.
What do you think of Magical Girls?
Jin Soa glared ferociously at Kim Siyul.
He answered calmly and sincerely.
Heroes.
The lie detector confirmed truth again.
The moment she saw it, something snapped in Jin Soa's mind.
She spat out a sticky mix of rage and killing intent.
Hey!
Soa! Hold it in!
Lee Seobin tried to restrain her again.
But Jin Soa didn't listen this time either.
She didn't want to, at least not now.
She'd maintained emotional neutrality so far, but she couldn't hold back anymore.
A guy who says that jerks off to that?!
How could someone who truly saw Magical Girls as heroes seek out videos degrading them?
Magical contradiction. Blatant Magical hypocrisy.
It would've been better if it was a lie.
At least then she wouldn't feel this Magical betrayal.
Do you have any idea how much blood has been spilled because of bastards like you getting off on that shit? Do you?!
It applied not just to Magical Girls, but civilians too.
Did Kim Siyul know any of this?
Probably not.
That's why he indulged in such Magical garbage.
Or maybe he knew and watched anyway.
Same breed. Just like those bastards.
If you truly respect Magical Girls, you wouldn't touch that crap!
As she spoke, Jin Soa became convinced.
Everything Kim Siyul had said so far was fake. She didn't know what he'd done to the lie detector, but it had to be lies.
Otherwise, he wouldn't spout such illogical bullshit.
Why are you freaking out? What's the big deal?
Yet Kim Siyul showed no remorse. He even looked puzzled as he shot back.
Infuriating.
Despicable.
Shut up! Did it feel good watching those old hag bitches masquerading as Magical Girls? That good, you son of a—!
She genuinely wanted to rip him apart—
What Magical Girl?
...Huh?
—but her mind suddenly blanked.
She couldn't quite recall what she'd been thinking up to now. Not that it mattered.
Something beyond comprehension had just come out of his mouth.
What the hell... do you mean?
The grandma I saw wasn't a Magical Girl.
Ha...?
Jin Soa clutched her head again.
This time, it throbbed even harder.