The voice of the Minister, crawling from the other side of the smartphone, was raising my temper.
“So, it’s not every day… just Wednesdays and Saturdays, after school, I slowly prepare at home? From the fire station or the nearby police station.”
“No, what the hell are you talking about?”
I never said I was okay with it, yet things were progressing at full speed in places I didn’t even know about.
Using my slightly growing permanent teeth, I let out a proper curse with clear pronunciation.
They used to tell me just to deal with the monsters, and now they’re telling me to catch criminals and put out fires?
Are you kidding me?
“Why, right now is a break when there are no monsters, right?”
“Should I fire the entire server management team just because the server is fine?”
What do you mean we’re on a treaty? Are you saying you want to pull all the soldiers from the front lines?
No normal person would make such statements, and even sitting under the air conditioner, sweat was summoning heat all over my body as I rubbed my forehead, lifting my hair.
“No, that’s different…”
“What’s different, damn it? You’re saying you’ll disband the monster response team because there are no monsters!”
“True, but because there are no monsters, it’s being said that it’s a waste…”
“Politicians aren’t doing their jobs and just fighting over which team is on their side, yet they’re united when it comes to raising their own salaries—that’s a waste!”
An argument I couldn’t compromise on went back and forth endlessly.
If I allow this even once, it would never end.
This isn’t just my problem; it could affect every magical girl in this world.
Naturally, it would also focus on the police and fire stations, which at first look quite serious.
If we slowly allow one thing after another, they will eventually stretch the scope mentioning some unbeatable ability or another.
Accepting this proposal itself would mean I’m saying I’m always ready to be a lackey.
Why is it not just my problem, you ask?
From the moment this is accepted, when suggesting it to other magical girls, it would come with excuses like, “Well, someone else is doing it.”
When there are no monsters for all the magical girls, it’s only a matter of time before we become bodyguards for politicians or mere playthings.
This absurd proposal should be dismissed outright.
“Cut down the lawmakers’ salaries and hire more people, it’s not the job of magical girls.”
“Sun! Hey, wait a minute…”
A decisive firmness interrupted the anxious voice of the Minister.
Clearly, it seemed I was the only one they contacted right now.
Of course, it would be; the monster appearance rate is currently zero only in our Incheon.
Ironically, when called a demon realm, this place has a monster appearance rate of zero.
“Hey, Gomteng.”
“Yeah?”
The mascots, enjoying the sense of betrayal, were snuggled under the cushions while basking in the cool air.
Calling for the Gomteng, who was easy to talk to, I motioned him to come closer with a beckoning finger.
Before that filthy movement could spread to the other magical girls, I decided to take precautions.
As the Gomteng approached, looking puzzled, I spoke, lying sideways on the bed with my chin on my hand.
“Signal the other mascots, if you hear any nonsense from the political circles about supporting the police or fire stations, ignore it immediately.”
“Uh? Why police and fire stations? Got it.”
“This isn’t just a matter of goodwill from one person; once one person starts doing it, others will too, so make sure to add that.”
“Okay, I’ll spread it right away.”
Just like that, the proposal for magical girl support for fire stations and police stations ended as a mere incident.
As soon as the rainy season ended, our school was hit with a physical education event.
Even though the rainy season had passed, it was still summer.
This means it was the perfect weather for someone to collapse.
“So hot…”
“Here’s some ice water.”
Half melting but still gathered with Siyeon.
We might not be as much as the other kids with their parents, but it was a warm scene nonetheless.
Nowadays, there’s no division between the white team and the blue team in elementary school sports days, so there is no need to gather by class.
Since there are no teams, there are also no scores.
Yes, the communist training meta has arrived at the elementary school sports day.
Honestly, what do you get for winning anyway? And even if you lose, you won’t be scolded for not being able to run; I think it’s a good change.
Since there’s no competition, there’s no reason to participate in specific class events, and if you think about it, you could just sit there and go home.
The only complaint is that since it’s an outdoor activity under the name of “sports day,” there’s no place to enjoy the air conditioning.
As lunchtime approached, I checked my smartphone a bit earlier than scheduled.
On days like this, there are always adults thinking about ordering out, so I should call ahead to eat and rest on time.
“What do you want to eat, Siyeon?”
“Hmm… Tonkatsu!”
“Tonkatsu, huh…”
Siyeon chose tonkatsu.
Since I couldn’t eat hard foods because of losing my front teeth recently, I was craving fried food just at this point where my permanent teeth had just started coming in.
However, surprisingly, I was looking for a Chinese restaurant.
Despite the twist in actions and words, most Chinese places nowadays also serve tonkatsu, so that’s what I picked.
If you think of fast delivery, it’s definitely a Chinese restaurant.
On a day like sports day when orders pile up.
I thought ordering from anywhere wouldn’t get it to me on time, which is why I chose a Chinese restaurant.
I didn’t even use a delivery app to place the order but called a number I found for an open store directly.
“Hello, is this XX restaurant? I’d like to order two old tonkatsu and one fried dumpling for OO elementary school back entrance.”
“Okay, two old tonkatsu and one fried dumpling… Remember 21. Would you like your tonkatsu cut or whole?”
“Cut it, please.”
Just like that.
Since it was a nearby shop, they must have heard the rumors about the sports day; they even gave me the number to remember.
Such behavior was only possible through a phone order.
I wondered how it felt to only have tonkatsu and fried dumplings from a Chinese restaurant, but my underdeveloped permanent teeth wouldn’t allow me to tear through juicy noodles just yet.
“Let’s head over early.”
Hand in hand with Siyeon, we strolled around the playground.
Just behind the back entrance, we spread a mat on the grass and settled down to wait for our food, which was due to arrive right as lunchtime hit.
In accordance with the foresight of parents, delivery workers started arriving one after another shortly after lunch began.
“Customer number 21!”
Our delivery worker mixed in with others.
Since Chinese restaurants are likely to use their own delivery staff rather than those supported by apps, they showed some experience even in this chaos.
While other delivery workers were bustling about, the one delivering to us approached normally.
Recalling the number to remember, I raised my hand high and said.
“Here!”
“Oh, that’ll be 25,000 won.”
“Thank you!”
The wide dish containing tonkatsu popped out of the silver delivery bag.
Instead of the round white rice and brown sauce typical of Western-style tonkatsu, there was a small, adorable portion of Chinese fried rice with a touch of black bean sauce.
And the thick ketchup drizzled over the tonkatsu showcased the uniqueness of Chinese restaurant tonkatsu.
The fried batter looked dampened in ketchup and appeared small and cut up, making it seem far from appetizing at first glance.
However, that was only at first sight.
Of course, they put the batter over the meat and drizzled ketchup, so how could it possibly taste bad?
Memories of the sports day?
Memories during a sports day with no competition and no prizes.
Honestly, I didn’t care about that; the tonkatsu from the Chinese restaurant was delicious.
Once the sports day ended, the heat, which had been blazing down, started to recede as if it had never been that strong.
Even though these days felt like only summer and winter existed, a very brief autumn came swiftly, as if to say turn off the air conditioner.
After being cursed again by the lateness of my cleaning duty, I headed to the market without even putting down my bag, with some inexplicable sentiment lingering.
“Oh, sweet potatoes.”
Typically, my steps would stop in front of kimbap shops, snack shops, or places selling various fried foods.
I didn’t particularly have a reason to be at the market, but strangely, my steps stopped right in front of the sweet potatoes.
“One basket of sweet potatoes, please.”
As if enchanted by something, I returned home with a bag full of sweet potatoes.
At home, the large air fryer I had purchased not long ago stood proudly in the kitchen.
I neatly washed off the dirt from the sweet potatoes I had just pulled from the bag, dried them, and without overlapping, placed them directly in the air fryer to whir to life immediately.
Siyeon, who had been using the computer in the back room, poked her head out at the sound of the air fryer running and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Roasting sweet potatoes.”
This is a delicacy when made like this in season.
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