In the midst of her retirement news, there was someone right next to her.
A middle school girl who looked completely out of place.
“Who is that person next to you…?”
I was already almost certain, but I wanted to hear it from her, so I asked briefly.
Venus shrugged her shoulders, seemingly unbothered by the title of magical girl, and candidly said,
“From now on, she’s the one who will take my place as the new Venus.”
“Oh, hello!”
As Venus placed her hand on the shoulder of the stiff student, she bowed politely like a newly arrived private, greeting Siyeon and me.
Seeing that clumsy demeanor, Venus chuckled and formally introduced the new magical girl who would bear the name Venus to the two of us.
“Her surname is Kim, and her name is Minji. Technically, you two are her seniors, so be kind to her from now on!”
“U-um… nice to meet you.”
And then there was a brief silence.
An awkward silence.
Instead of us not knowing what to say, the student named Minji continued the conversation.
“But do you two always transform…?”
“Uh? Ah~”
Venus tilted her head, realizing she had gotten used to it and letting out a sigh of understanding.
Siyeon and I looked far too young to be the original forms anyone could imagine.
Calmly, Venus explained to the student Minji, who seemed to be in some kind of delusion.
“That’s not a transformation.”
“Whaaaat?! Really?”
“Yep, I’m scared I’ve gotten too used to it….”
Minji’s surprised reaction contrasted with Venus, who seemed to be self-deprecating.
During the meeting, everyone had gotten used to it, so nobody realized, but that was the normal response.
When magical girls who are accustomed to child exploitation gather, a common sense gap emerges when they encounter ordinary people.
“Whoops.”
Suddenly hugging both Siyeon and me with both hands and lifting us up to chest height, Venus smiled kindly while patting our bottoms like we were babies.
“You two must have had a tough time for two weeks because of us; thank you, my babies.”
Anyway, what brought Venus here today?
The time she transferred all the processes of being Venus the magical girl to Minji, she wanted to express gratitude for us taking care of the monster-hunting job in Sokcho.
I proudly said, curling my thumb and index fingers into a circle,
“It’s okay; we took care of our part properly.”
“Thorough! Very good!”
After a round of formal thanks and reassurance that everything was fine, the conversation continued in a familiar atmosphere, just like during our meeting.
“So the vacation is ending, right? When are you going back?”
“The public official uncles are going to give us a ride….”
“Really? But they are busy folks, so they might not be able to give you a ride, so keep that in mind.”
Gradually, our conversation led to transportation when returning from Sokcho.
In the conversation among the magical girls, which I found hard to interrupt, Minji was busy playing with Siyeon.
The way she was lifting Siyeon high in the air, like a big sister with a significantly younger sister, felt quite amusing.
“Got it. But my memories are still….”
“Ah, that….”
Bringing up something I couldn’t interrupt during the meeting made her expression darken a bit.
Since she had already shared everything about being a magical girl with the student Minji, the time for her to replace her memories was approaching, as she said herself.
“Back then, I spoke confidently, but… honestly, I’m still debating it.”
“Why?”
From her demeanor during the meeting, it looked like she was ready to erase her memories and leave the café immediately.
That wistful smile didn’t seem fake, and her words about having found precious people felt genuine.
Now, I’m not a lie detector, so I can’t gauge the truth, but at least, that’s what it seemed to me.
After a struggle, Venus let out her thoughts as if she didn’t mind since she was still just a kid.
“I’m wondering if the memories of when I was a magical girl are what made me who I am now.”
“Who I am now?”
“Yeah… how do I explain this?”
With a sigh of contemplation, she seemed to find a good way to describe it and continued.
“If all those memories of being a magical girl disappear, can I really call that me? The me sitting here talking to you right now wouldn’t exist anymore.”
“…….”
I couldn’t clearly respond to her profound dilemma.
Especially since I’m not the one involved, I wouldn’t dare give her an unmeasured assurance.
It was a struggle she had to face on her own.
Noticing that the conversation was taking a darker turn, she tried to change the topic to something brighter.
“What am I talking to a kid about? Sun, it’s okay; just forget what I just said.”
“Wait a sec.”
Though I couldn’t provide an answer to that question, I wanted to show the present magical girl Venus something.
I pulled out my smartphone, opened a website, and entered a gallery that might be somewhat unfamiliar to girls, searching for that post.
[Thank you, Venomone… -from the magical girl gallery all members- (1308)]
The heartwarming content in this notorious community had already received over a thousand comments.
Instead of providing her with a clear answer to her dilemma, I presented her with something containing thousands of grateful words.
“Here you go.”
“What’s this?”
“Just take a look.”
As she tilted her head, Venus accepted the smartphone.
From her first mission to the declaration of her retirement, all the many monsters she defeated were documented.
Her fingers moved steadily and slowly as if she were trying to take in as many of those black letters as possible.
At some point, her fingers stopped abruptly.
She hunched over on the couch, and I could sense her quiet sobs.
Without saying a word, I had no choice but to lead both of us away from the spot.
What a grown-up magical girl needed most wasn’t necessarily immediate money or dear ones—
It might have just been a few sincere words of gratitude from the uncounted many.
“Ugh, this kid is making a full-grown adult cry….”
Before long, Venus found her way back to the spot we were hiding.
Her eyes were red, as if she had cried quite a bit, and her makeup was slightly smudged.
The screen of the returned smartphone bore evidence of hurriedly wiped tears.
The bits that weren’t fully cleaned glimmered with a rainbow sheen.
“Thank you, that helped me sort out my feelings a bit.”
Though traces of her sorrow lingered in her voice, she smiled brightly.
It seemed as if the worries about her memories had flown away.
At that moment, while Venus earnestly expressed her gratitude, Siyeon and Minji had grown considerably closer.
“So you’re staying here, right?”
“Yeah, where do you live, Siyeon?”
“I came from far away!”
Instead of Siyeon, who offered a vague answer, I revealed the area we had come from, and with that, a magical girl’s dilemma was resolved, and that day came to an end.
Later, when I thought we had enjoyed everything we could in Sokcho, I began preparing to return home.
After having a relaxed last night at the villa, longing for a pleasant life, it was time to contact the public official uncles for our last night in Sokcho.
Rrring, rrring.
The long ringing tone didn’t seem to want to stop.
‘Why aren’t they answering? Are they busy?’
“Hmm.”
Lying on a sofa that wasn’t even home, enjoying the dwindling plushness, I let out a perplexed sigh.
They’d likely see the missed call and call back later, I thought, stretching out my body.
Just as I predicted, not long after giving up on the call, my smartphone lit up with a familiar number.
“Hello?”
“Ah, uh… Sun, no. Is it Mari?”
“Yes, what’s up?”
“Sorry, but… I don’t think we can drive you home tomorrow, I’m really really sorry! A bus… no, a taxi works, just let me know how much your fare was! I’m really really sorry!”
Their frantic voice abruptly cut off the call.
There’s no need to bother understanding the complex matters of adults.
I could just take a leftover bus at the terminal.
However, I overlooked two things.
First, Sokcho, in mid-summer, is famous as a vacation spot.
Second, since military personnel are also on leave during this time, it’s usually tough to find extra seats.
“I can’t find an extra ticket….”
‘Oh no.’
At the moment when even the 50% child discount for a highway bus became useless, I sat blankly at the terminal when I heard the ding of a message on my smartphone.
What’s this? I checked my smartphone and saw a new message.
[Since costs related to magical girls can be charged to public funds anyway, you can take a taxi if you can’t find a bus ticket.]
It was an eye-opening message that seemed like it was sent just in case by the public official uncle.
Without hesitation, I picked a taxi from the long line in front of the terminal and got in the back seat with Siyeon, closing the door.
The cab driver greeted us with a gentle voice.
“Welcome. Where to?”
“First to Incheon.”
“Huh?”
With my abrupt reply, the taxi driver’s flustered voice rang out.
That day, we experienced an unbelievable 450,000 won just for taxi fare.
Taxes are melting away.
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