“Right, right, let’s head home—”
“Okay—”
It’s been two hours; if the club advisor had even a bit of flexibility, we could have wrapped things up sooner.
Having efficiently breezed through the club activities like that, I was on my way back home.
Remembering the snacks that the teacher ordered, I stopped by the mart on the way back and bought a box of OX.
Now that I had stopped by the mart, Siyeon’s choice was a bag of corn snacks, not wanting to return empty-handed.
Once home, while Siyeon prepared to go to her academy, I spent my time doing the piled up laundry and cleaning the house.
“I’ll be back—”
“Uh, be careful on the road and have a good time.”
*Click*, as the front door closed, I was granted a bit of free time in the quiet house.
And when I say free time, there weren’t any special activities to do at home.
Let’s just say I had enough time to fiddle with my smartphone that had been collected from school from morning to afternoon?
Other than that, a bit of exercise, basically feeling like a soldier on standby for five minutes.
After finishing my workout, I stretched like a cat, wiped my body lightly, and lay on the sofa, focusing on the smartphone screen.
Lately, I tend to browse the humor section of game cafes or various galleries.
Then suddenly, a post caught my eye on the humor board.
[(Repost) The latest news on the official Magical Girl merchandise resellers.jpg]
I couldn’t resist clicking on the irresistibly titled post, which displayed a large screenshot of a post from the secondhand trading board.
In the photo, there were rows of figures.
Terrifying quantities that could easily cost a few thousand in cash, along with product descriptions under such photos.
[Official figures 300p each; possible to negotiate 50p off for buying two or more]
And beneath the description was the hilarious mockery of the humor board post creator.
[Desperately trying to salvage their principal, huh? LOL]
The internet was still buzzing about the official Magical Girl merchandise.
The comments on that humor post were exactly what you’d expect.
[Serves them right, morons LOL]
[That’s still 300 LOL they’re trying hard, aren’t they?]
[This is so satisfying LOL]
[Who’s threatening them to resell with a knife????]
[Isn’t it possible to report them like this?]
Having the name of official merchandise, it seemed to be drawing attention in terms of quality and price.
Even among sensible folks, many complained about the quality and price, but the fact that most of the stock had gone to resellers gradually started spreading…
Resellers had become targets of ridicule not just for those interested in the merchandise, but even for those who were never interested in Magical Girl products.
Especially those pesky resellers trying to escape the “reseller” label by saying nonsense about it being an investment, their bad behavior and struggles were now gradually revealing themselves like something surfacing from the lake’s bottom.
Moreover, perhaps due to the karma they had accumulated, there were people sharpening their blades, ready to act.
[Report on selling Magical Girl merchandise resellers.jpg]
A manual for reporting people selling Magical Girl merchandise was spreading online, and actual reports were being posted regularly.
In fact, in areas where public power might be unclear in intervening.
As mentioned repeatedly, those goods were officially released by the government.
So, compared to tickets illegally sold at concerts or items bought from other sites…
The legal aspects and procedures for reporting, collecting, and seizing them were extremely simple.
The joking remark that “Maybe they lowered the quality and increased the price just to take down resellers” now held credibility.
With one report leading to the recovery of merchandise worth several hundred thousand, not to mention the method of randomly issuing goods to the reporters.
Thanks to this situation, fans satisfied their fan hearts, while resellers suffered tremendous losses, making this official merchandise venture late bloom to be regarded as one of the “few things the government did right” in the community.
It’s just that only those who managed to buy at the original price after going through a second of fierce competition felt cheated…
“Excuse me? Can’t you hear me?”
“Uh, uh?”
As I was happily engrossed in my smartphone, Gomteng appeared next to me and started talking.
With the way the cub was questioning if I couldn’t hear it, I tilted my head in light confusion.
Apparently, it had called out to me at least once before asking if I couldn’t hear.
Settling down with a sour expression on the sofa armrest, resting its chin on its elbow and fidgeting its legs while looking this way, it asked.
“What’s so funny that you can’t even hear me?”
“The report reviews on the merchandise resellers, why?”
“It sounds like a monster is about to appear; what are you going to do about it?”
“Hah… let me think.”
If a monster appears, it’s only natural for the Magical Girl to spring into action.
So why am I pondering whether to go or not?
‘If I don’t go, it’ll stay where it is, and if I go, it’ll flee… what am I supposed to do with these guys.’
These monsters have been a bit strange lately.
After making the effort to fly to the appearance spot, they usually vanish as soon as they see us.
Starting to do this without any prior agreement or words has made them seem like elementary school kids pressing the doorbell and running away.
As soon as the monster reactions disappear, they treat it as having been defeated, so there’s not much of a problem, but…
It feels like someone threw an eraser cut with nails from the back seat, to put it simply, it leaves a bad taste.
In any case, if I don’t spring into action, the monster won’t run away, so I reluctantly got up.
Without needing to put on anything more, I merely threw my coat over the outfit I was already wearing and tossed a question at Gomteng.
“Should we capture one and interrogate it?”
“Those things usually run away pretty quickly; do you think that’ll work?”
Upon hearing this, the cub seemed doubtful and asked back about my ability to do so.
I’m not fully convinced on my side either, but since the outcome wouldn’t affect much whether it works or not, I figured I’d give it a shot.
Taking the hair tie from my mouth, I tied back my hair that would dance in the winter wind, leaving a few parting words for Gomteng.
“If we can’t catch it, then too bad. It’s been a while since I did some stealth action; just make sure to brief me on the location.”
“Okay—”
At that moment, around an apartment in Incheon, a Magical Girl and a mascot were heading out of the house.
Unbeknownst to what might happen, the monster anxiously scanned the surroundings while tightly grasping the teleportation device as if it were its lifeline.
Reaction speed test.
It was a risky game that had been trending among monsters heading towards the black zone recently.
Although they had been able to mass-produce the teleportation devices, immediately using it to return upon arrival was unheard of.
It’s for the sake of dignity, but it also makes sense that they’d feel uneasy if they returned on their own before even the Magical Girl arrived.
Thus, encountering a Magical Girl within visual range had become a sort of rule they followed.
‘It’d be great if the Magical Girl just showed up quickly….’
The monster anxiously scanned its surroundings.
No matter where it looked, there were no signs of a Magical Girl yet.
As they say on Earth, getting it over with sooner is better, so it wanted to quickly push the button and lay its body on a comfy bed for at least 0.0001 seconds.
The Magical Girl from the black zone shows up at the scene no later than five minutes late.
*Gulp*.
The monster swallowed the tauged mass of nervous saliva down its throat and moved its four visual mechanisms rapidly.
It was moving as if to eliminate the blind spots, like a human turning their head.
Not only side to side but also up and facing front all at once with flexible movements.
The rear was leaning against the wall, so it had no worries there; it felt like a safe zone.
However, that steadfast belief in the safety of the back shattered too easily due to overwhelming force.
The sensation of its body being pulled backward.
A sudden small crack tugged at the monster’s body rearward, causing it to lose its precious teleportation device that it was holding.
With a dull sound, as the debris collapsed while resting its back against them, the monster faced the entity that revealed itself before it with its four eyes.
“Hey buddy, I gotta ask you something…”
“KYAAHH!”
The monster’s consciousness and life system stopped with a scream.
Amidst the screech that twisted its eyes and gaped its mouth, the one who was most flustered was none other than the Magical Girl and the mascot who stood there.
The mascot that slipped out from the pocket barely touched the monster’s carotid area, delivering the regrettable news to Sun.
“It’s dead, isn’t it?”
“Seriously?”
“Real deal.”
After a brief exchange, the monster’s body started to dissipate into mysterious powder, confirming that it was truly dead.
“Isn’t this going a bit too far?”
Sun was bewildered at the idea of having died because of its own face, and feeling worse than just disappearing, scratched the back of her head and timidly kicked at the wall debris.
With a sound of the heavy rock moving, the thin wall debris stirred up dust as it moved about ten centimeters.
“Geez….”
The stealth mission succeeded, yet I didn’t gain any information.
Frustrated, I kicked my leg over the debris.
On my way to return home, while slipping out from the building rooftop…
*Click*, I heard something snag at my foot that grated on my ears.
“Huh?”
Looking below at the sound that was somewhat different from the concrete or stone debris, there was a black machine with just a red button.
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