Chapter 121 – The Essence of Magical Girls (1)
“Are you angry?”
“Me? Well, not really angry.”
“I thought you were angry at their ugliness and pettiness.”
“Weaklings will do anything to survive. I don’t blame the actions themselves. But if they try to evade responsibility, they deserve to be killed.”
Initially, the one I met, Rene, thought I was angry. I wasn’t particularly impressed. From the standpoint of the opponent who had fallen victim to my well-crafted killer, self-detonation before information leaks was the best option.
I always believed that struggling to survive, no matter what it took, was preferable to giving up and surrendering. I was just annoyed by the fact that I hadn’t been able to extract information.
“Anyway, I achieved my goal. That girl, a Magical Girl, died, so they gave me quite a performance record.”
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. A Magical Girl died, and yet the performance record came out?”
“That’s exactly why it becomes more convincing. Some Magical Girls colluded with local powers and even monsters. Didn’t your company catch wind of this?”
Rene’s incredulous words gave credibility to Director Lee Min-hyung’s claims.
An alliance between Magical Girls and monsters that seemed absolutely impossible. Ironically, the enemies they were teaming up to kill were none other than their fellow humans, other Magical Girls.
“I see my snowball has grown quite large.”
I chuckled.
If you think about it, the root cause of this whole situation was me.
Because of me, Rene appeared, and Casilena was organized. Thanks to that, the Magical Girls confirmed that they could act independently from the Fairy Company.
Also, my involvement had greatly intensified the sense of crisis among the enemies. They even resorted to the extreme measure of teaming up with monsters to find some way to survive.
“Did you only just realize that?”
When I mentioned this, Rene looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it and clicked her tongue.
“It’s quite a solemn atmosphere, isn’t it?”
The promised meeting place was on the roof of the Management Bureau building. After all, the defensive barrier Rene had set up refracted light and blocked transmissions, ensuring perfect security.
There were also a few foreigners I hadn’t seen before, including Lee Min-hyung, whom I had quickly come to meet again.
“I just heard the news. You’ve quite spectacularly made a mess of things again.”
“Don’t misunderstand. That was self-defense, and they blew themselves up.”
I frowned at his previous statement. Perhaps because of the notorious reputation I had built, he assumed that I was the one who caused the explosion.
“Self-detonation… crazy bastards.”
He believed my words. And he was enraged by the idea of self-detonation. To be fair, one could consider it a cruel act based on common sense.
“So who are these gentlemen? I recognize this one, the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, Christopher Paulo.”
“Indeed. Takilas. He’s the ambassador from the U.S. Embassy collaborating with the Frontier.”
I shifted the topic of conversation. The surprisingly relaxed Lee Min-hyung and Jali were visibly tense, their discomfort palpable.
“Well then, the reason they conveyed this must be linked to your side. The information must have come from them, right?”
I had a rough idea. The U.S. representatives seemed startled by my casual deduction, whispering among themselves.
“Correct. The information you received through Rene was also collected by U.S. intelligence agencies, and they wish to make you a proposal.”
“A proposal? What kind of proposal?”
I was slightly taken aback by Lee Min-hyung’s affirmation. I hadn’t expected the mention of a proposal.
“Ahem! I believe it’s a proposal worth serious consideration. Takilas, we’re willing to fix your arm.”
“Oh?”
And as expected, the scope of the proposal was beyond imagination for an American. Fixing my arm would be a quick job, but I wanted to hear more.
How could they fix an arm that even Yggdrasil couldn’t mend?
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. So what do you, or rather the U.S. government, want from me?”
“It’s nothing grand. We simply want to establish an improved relationship with you. The President even expressed it like this: If we could recognize Takilas as a national-level entity and form an alliance with our United States, that would be great.”
The ambassador spoke smoothly, even in a stiff state, as a veteran would. At the same time, I couldn’t help but smirk. It seemed my influence was beginning to stretch around the globe.
“It’s a highly interesting proposal, but I see a few flaws. First of all, you can’t fix my arm.”
“W-What do you mean? The ability of our Magical Girl, Adela…”
“I know. I’ve seen the data and footage; it simply converts her magical energy into regenerative properties to reconstruct the body without burdening the patient, right?”
I was well-versed in the structure of Magical Girls. I knew what powers they possessed and how they were used.
It seemed they couldn’t keep up with the conversation when the topic got a little complicated.
“Rene, you know what I mean?”
“…The body of a transformed Magical Girl consists of magical particles, forming a magical tool. To regenerate that, a counterpart made of the same level of magic is needed, so Adela’s ability can’t regenerate a higher-tier Magical Girl’s body.”
Rene was also knowledgeable and explained the impossible reasons through her words. The U.S. representatives looked dumbfounded, their mouths agape, unable to say anything more.
“Then, can I ask if there’s anything you want from us? I’m willing to listen to anything.”
“Nothing at all. I’ve always been like this. I don’t particularly wish for anything from you. Therefore, you needn’t offer anything. If I were to say just one thing as a Magical Girl, it would be: please don’t make the world noisy. It’s a hindrance to my survival.”
Though I couldn’t comprehend why they were so fixated on me, the U.S. ambassador kept pushing. It seemed he had received firm orders from above.
“Ever since Mamute, we’ve become very vigilant! There could be strong opponents we can’t resolve with our power! Without you, what would’ve happened?! We might have suffered greater losses to Mamute! Korea could have been destroyed under Smalillian’s rule! Therefore, protecting you and getting close to you is just our way of ensuring our own survival. We’re weak!”
In the end, the ambassador couldn’t contain himself and poured out everything he had been holding back. His words were quite poignant and carried an urgency.
“It’s natural to be eliminated if you’re weak.”
However, all that was beyond my understanding.
“I admit that holding onto me is one survival strategy. But if I refuse, you should look for another way to avoid elimination.”
“H-How can you say that? Like those using monsters to conduct horrific human experiments?!”
“At least those guys seem more desperate than you, right? Do you honestly think it’s impossible for you to grow stronger? No, not at all. From my perspective, you’re definitely growing stronger.”
Eventually, they were improving in one way or another. Compared to when I first appeared, even ordinary citizens had become tougher and more accustomed to the situation.
“And if someone like Smalillian shows up, of course, I will step in. I’m a Magical Girl. So don’t make excuses. You just wanted to get stronger, plain and simple.”
There was nothing more to say.
Ultimately, the U.S. ambassador left, deflated like a wilted spinach, without achieving any results.
“My guess is you anticipated that from the beginning. So, is the cooperation with the U.S. over?”
“I already had some intel. And I guess we’ll continue cooperating until we deal with the enemies.”
As I initiated the conversation, Lee Min-hyung shook his head.
“However, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”
“Ask away. Such opportunities are rare. My time is more valuable than gold.”
I chuckled and showed some kindness. It was my way of repaying the consideration he had given me in the past.
“You definitely said this before. You wouldn’t act unless directly challenged or harmed.”
“That’s correct.”
“You handled today’s ‘challenge’ well, but aren’t there still those who wish to challenge you?”
He smiled while bringing up the topic. The intent behind it was so obvious that even I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I think it’s cocky. But I also wondered. If I made a guy who was utterly useless reach near S-rank, wouldn’t it be interesting to wait and see? Maybe someone amusing will emerge, surpassing SS or even SSS!”
“In that process, countless people will be sacrificed. They’ll brainwash innocent, clueless young Magical Girls with rotten, outdated ideologies and turn them into weapons. I don’t understand how this differs from catastrophes like Smalillian.”
“Let’s say I crush those bastards myself. Can you all handle that?”
I clicked my tongue and shook my head. I wanted to avoid any bothersome situations, and dealing with political matters was truly the worst.
“Then, I’ll be honest. Just buying time is enough. We need time to find our own method.”
“…Huh.”
Having failed to test the waters, he outright stated his demands.
One thing that caught my attention was his proposal was oddly enticing.
After filling in the remaining records just a bit, having them fix my arm and revive Aria while ensuring the monsters wouldn’t act in the meantime could end up being a surprisingly good deal.
“Should I give it a shot?”
I felt my mind starting to lean slightly in that direction.
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