NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6 – I Became a Noteworthy Magical Girl (1)
“Just walking around is nice. The murky fine dust, the honking noise, and the endlessly annoying crowd!”
“…What an unusual one.”
Walking through the bustling streets under the clear sky was a joy. This scenery was something I could never see in the Demon Realm or even if I went to the Human Realm.
Once I truly got back, I found it hard to decide what to do, but for now, just wandering the streets felt great.
“Aren’t you going to school? In this Republic of Korea, there’s mandatory education…”
“What school? I probably don’t even have a birth registration.” I paused to think. “That’s a problem in itself.”
Ren, who knows everything, made me stop. I had acquired a human body and returned to Earth, but my current situation was the real issue.
I looked like a teenage girl, barely passing for middle or high school. With this body and no legal guardian, there was almost nothing I could do in this country.
Even office workers passing by cast quick glances at me, a girl alone in the bustling city during the daytime.
“Besides, I don’t have any money?”
That was another problem. The most important thing to live in modern Earth.
Money—I didn’t have a single penny.
“Hey, isn’t there a way? A way to make money.”
Gasp… what do you mean?
I grabbed Ren by the collar, shaking him. To others, I must have looked crazy.
“How about forging an ID? I need to at least get a part-time job! Or isn’t there some kind of support allowance?!”
“W-Why would a magical girl need that!”
“I’m stuck with a useless guy. Well, those who exploit desperation are awful too.”
After tossing Ren aside, I began to think more seriously. I was being foolish.
I was so focused on getting a body and returning to Earth that I hadn’t thought about what to do afterward. Unlike other magical girls, who were regular citizens before transforming, I was a thorough outsider.
“Oh man, this is really exhausting.”
I scratched my head. Honestly, even if I somehow managed to get money, with this identity, I wouldn’t be able to get a home and would have to keep sleeping outside.
“But how do you plan to get money?”
“Isn’t it simple to rob the bad guys? But that’s not the important part. I still need a foundation.”
“Wha… what?”
While pondering, I continued to walk. Sure, enjoying myself is great, but since I wasn’t just on a day trip, I needed a foundation first.
“What kind of guy is this… What do you plan to do?”
“I’m an orphan with nowhere to go. Surely they would help me, right?”
I stopped my steps at the nearby police station. Isn’t this where such things usually happen?
“What’s that girl doing? Did she run away?”
“Lower your voice! It seems… she was abandoned by her parents.”
Sorry, nameless female police officer, but I can hear everything. Of course, I wouldn’t try to correct the misunderstanding.
“Is that true?”
“She came to Seoul with just her mom, but her mom went missing two days ago after saying she’d be right back.”
“Ha…”
The female police officer started embellishing the story with my nudged hints. It wasn’t a bad tale.
I didn’t know my mom’s name, had no contact information, didn’t go to school, etc. I even exaggerated that I couldn’t remember even my name—no one would have an answer either.
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean? We should act according to the manual. It’s unfortunate the girl is in shock and has memory issues, but if she was deliberately abandoned, we can’t help her within our limits right now.”
The middle-aged police officer in charge handled things coolly. Just as I wanted. It was a bit boring, but I waited in the station until that evening.
I accepted snacks that the officers occasionally offered with pitying glances. Though I was worried about having to act gloomy and morose, it was comfortable.
If I were a delicate girl instead of a sturdy adult male, I wouldn’t even receive this kindness. Of course, if I were a guy, I probably wouldn’t have even stepped into the police station in the first place.
“I guess I’ll have to sleep here tonight. But seriously, you really don’t remember your name?”
“…No.”
As night fell, a police officer brought me a blanket to cover up.
“People who will help you are coming tomorrow. If you listen well to them… you might be able to find your mom.”
“…”
I merely nodded silently. There was no way I could find her. Our mother was probably living well in a place that wasn’t in this world.
Even if she were living in a parallel world, she wouldn’t be ‘my’ mother.
“How comforting…” Grrr!
I lay down on the couch, suppressing the complaining Ren, who was invisible to the police.
I didn’t need anything grand. My goal was just to get some identity and enjoy myself moderately.
*
“Is this the child?”
“Yes.”
Early the next morning, while I was comfortably slurping on instant noodles, someone came to visit. It was someone from the welfare facility that the police contacted.
She was an ordinary plump lady.
“What’s with that look? I’m here to help you, okay?”
“Sure, but based on my past experiences, people who dress too flashy are usually empty cans.”
“What is a kid who has only lived a little over ten years talking about…”
Ren reacted as if he didn’t understand, but I was serious. The police officer’s conversation with the lady revealed that she was draped with assorted jewels and luxury brands…
The saying that empty carts make more noise applied even in the Demon Realm.
“Oh my, why would such a pretty child…”
“Um… Director, it seems she has mental trauma to the extent that her memory is affected, so we should take appropriate actions.”
“Of course. We will take the necessary measures.”
She approached me and patted my head, smiling at the police officer to reassure them. I already had a hunch, but decided not to think about it too much.
I willingly took her hand and climbed into the vehicle she had brought.
“Hmm, wait a minute.”
The moment I got into the car, Ren started reacting. I could see his drooping ears twitching.
“It’s faint, but there is an evil energy lingering in this car. Can you feel it? Magical girls can hone their senses to detect evil.”
The outcome wasn’t much different from what I had predicted. I chuckled lightly and was carried away.
Appropriate psychological treatment? It seemed they were not considering that at all. The car that left the city headed toward a secluded building resembling a training facility.
Even the barbed wire fence was towering towards the sky.
“Get out.”
“…”
Her tone had turned coercive. Ren’s reaction signaled that the evil energy had grown even stronger.
“Teacher Park! Come here!”
“Yes, Director!”
“This child needs to be cleaned up and brought inside.”
“So, she’s the new arrival.”
A woman called Teacher Park approached. What she did was immediately grab my chin and lift it up to inspect me all over.
“Oh…”
“She’s quite striking, isn’t she?”
“More than that, her eyes are alive. You were abandoned by your mother, right?”
This Teacher Park, grinning, casually tossed out hurtful words. I had a rough understanding of how terrible people could be, but…
“Come with me. You’d better listen. You don’t want to get hurt, do you?”
One thing I was curious about was, for what purpose were they doing this? Child abuse is one of the common issues, but this place was certainly not the Earth I knew.
Was there a reason to operate such facilities while taking risks?
“The evil energy has become more profound. It’s not explosive, but it’s thicker and heavier. It’s an old energy.”
And as soon as Ren entered the building past the playground, he started rambling again.
“See? They’re all your friends.”
“…Friends?”
“Children abandoned by their mothers and fathers.”
Inside the building looked like a training facility or military barracks, just as it seemed from the outside. One peculiar feature was the barred doors, reminiscent of a prison, locked in some sections.
There were children of similar ages to mine inside there.
“You’re this way.”
But I wasn’t heading towards those kids. Instead, I descended to the facility’s basement. There were rooms here too. The security features were a bit stricter, with bars and locks, but other than that, it wasn’t much different from above.
Things meant to control clumsy children were definitely not present. After taking a photo to show my face, I was forcefully shoved into an empty room.
The door locked from outside.
“…I think I’ve ended up in the wrong place.”
“How foolish. Didn’t I tell you I sensed evil energy!”
I chuckled bitterly from Ren’s words. I never expected to be sent to these kinds of people right from the start.
“Shouldn’t we escape? If we stay locked up here, you won’t be able to live the life you want.”
“Listening to you, there’s definitely something here, but why are you blind to the concerns instead of cleaning this place up?”
“Well, um…”
“You’re ignoring it because you think there’s not enough money involved?”
Ren avoided my gaze. It seemed I hit the nail on the head. After all, they weren’t a charity organization to begin with. They were thoroughly looking out for their own interests. It was time for my rebellious nature to shine.
“I’ll observe for a while and figure out who these guys are.”
“You…”
Grinning, I flopped down on the creaky bed. I wondered why these guys were gathering children like me here. With no connections, and even their identities unclear.
Human trafficking or something serious must be the goal.
Judging by how Ren found it insignificant, perhaps they were brokering children like me to other places.