NOVEL NEXT Putting aside the burning frustration, the weekend finally arrived.
A peaceful Saturday morning without a single monster alert.
In that golden hour, the task at hand was…
“Urk!”
A bear cub water torture.
No, it was actually just washing.
“Stay still, you little brat.”
I grabbed Gomteng’s flailing arms and body, pulling him back to the middle of the washbasin.
Scrubbing away the muck with soapy water, I went through the process of rinsing and re-soaping for nearly half an hour.
After extracting the dripping bear from the basin, I nonchalantly poured the soapy water down the drain with my other hand.
Finally, I brought my nose close and sniffed.
In the end, I had successfully masked the smell of the concentrated landfill that had deeply penetrated the cotton fluff with the fragrance of fabric softener and soapy water.
“Ugh, yuck…”
“Okay, pass.”
“Urk…”
With all my might, I squeezed the bear’s body as if wringing out a mop, and a sound that could be confusion or nausea came out.
From its mouth, a fragrant liquid dripped out like saliva, revealing a belly filled with soapy water and fabric softener.
I pinched the still dripping bear on the laundry clip above the toilet and rolled my pant cuffs back to their original state.
“Can I use the bathroom now?”
The moment I stepped out of the bathroom, Siyeon paused the video and asked.
“Uh-huh.”
I answered and stepped out of the bathroom, casually kicking off the slippers before immediately gearing up to head to the mart.
Thinking of the picnic day, it’s definitely better to finish preparations as soon as possible.
The lunchbox should arrive either today or tomorrow, and I also need to plan how to pack it ahead of time…
‘Being an elementary school parent isn’t easy.’
Watching myself act like Siyeon’s parents, I realized that there are countless things to care about as a guardian.
I wedged my sneakers back on my feet.
Just in case Siyeon finds them while I’m out, I let her know from the other side of the bathroom door.
“I’m going to the mart—”
“Okay!”
The sound of my shout from the entrance was met with an enthusiastic response from behind the door.
Now that I confirmed Siyeon heard me, I stepped out into the street without a worry.
‘Ingredients for fried rice…’
After arriving at the mart, I checked the groceries.
For the fried rice, I needed eggs, canned ham, and a pack of flakes to sprinkle on the rice.
One dozen eggs, one can of ham, and a pack of flakes with four pieces.
I also grabbed a pack of instant rice to microwave; after all, cooking them together usually increases the quantity.
‘As for side dishes—sausages and quail eggs…’
Even though it’s a lunchbox, it’s meant for a first-grade elementary school girl.
I didn’t have to prepare too much.
I thought I’d make several trips for groceries, but one was enough.
Two packs of 120g sausages, and many ready-made quail eggs were available.
One pack of cherry tomatoes and about two bunches of Shine Muscat grapes would be plenty.
All in all, the price was just shy of 20,000 won.
I’d likely still have a good amount left after packing the lunchbox, so for the time being, breakfasts would become egg rice made with instant rice, alongside sausages and quail egg side dishes.
After finishing the checkout, I stepped out of the mart.
‘Something feels off…’
Holding a bag that I could barely manage, I felt an unspeakable emptiness as I headed home.
Did I forget something?
With a clack of the door, I entered and noticed Siyeon’s shoes were missing.
Usually, I could hear the sounds of animation coming from her room.
But now it was only silent stillness.
“Maryyy!”
“What is it, jerk?”
“How could you leave me behind!? The monster came out, and Siyeon was all alone!”
Finally realizing the root of my emptiness, I dashed to the bathroom, detached the bear from the laundry peg, and held it up.
The still-damp bear’s fur made my hands wet.
I tossed the bag roughly into the living room and, feeling incredulous, interrogated Gomteng.
“What were you doing, not protecting her, you piece of trash?!”
“I was totally blocking her in that state, okay!?”
Caught off guard by Gomteng’s reasonable logic, I quickly switched to annoyance, spouting out mixed feelings of frustration, irritation, and concern.
“Geez… where did you go? Quickly tell me.”
“Towards the subway station. There are still monster signals.”
I quickly bolted down the stairs, searching for a secluded spot nearby.
After all, the reason magical girls don’t transform and depart from home is to avoid pinpointing their residence.
Recently, I had transformed and flown from various other places, so this time it would be fine to transform and fly from this apartment.
“Sun.”
After a short and concise transformation incantation, I leaped powerfully, causing the ground in the apartment’s rear garden to cave in slightly.
The monster alert, which had barely been heard near the mart, was now overwhelming my ears, indicating a monster was drawing closer.
As people evacuated, the loud alarm gradually quieted down, and as I neared the fight site, I asked the little guy.
“How long has it been since it emerged? Monster.”
“About… 13 minutes.”
13 minutes.
By this time, the outcome was surely already determined.
A world where even elementary students can defeat monsters while acting as magical girls.
This meant that the magical girls were overwhelmingly stronger than average monsters, making it a one-sided fight by far.
Nevertheless, the remaining monster signals had an obvious explanation.
“They probably still haven’t killed it, right?”
“Most likely. Not every elementary student is as ruthless as Sun…”
“What did you say?”
My mood soured at the blatant dismissal, and I looked at him.
“Well, she’s not really mature yet.”
With incredible quick thinking, Gomteng immediately refined what he had just blurted out into a more palatable expression.
Ruthlessness and maturity. Are they not the same thing, in a way?
Though it irked me, it wasn’t entirely wrong either, so I merely tilted my head slightly.
It felt like I was being mocked.
As expected, the situation itself had already ended.
Before me stood a medium-sized monster resembling a chicken, completely frozen.
Still, considering it had gone alone, it did well, I thought, as I intentionally landed a distance away, making sound as I approached.
I was close enough now that Siyeon, who had kept her back turned, hadn’t even heard my footsteps as she gripped her wand tightly with both hands.
“Moon.”
“?!”
As I placed my hand on her shoulder and called her, she jumped in surprise and looked back.
Breathless as if she had just completed an intense workout, her shoulders were heaving.
She looked frightened, her eyes smaller than usual.
It was clear Siyeon was trying hard, but I realized once again this was an ordeal not fitting for her age.
Around Siyeon, the area was frozen in a wide fan shape.
It looked like a giant chicken monster that had roared and then turned into a statue.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Despite having completely won, I enveloped the trembling Siyeon in a hug and patted her back.
Looking at the tears glistening at her eye level, I gave a slight smile, using my fingers to wipe away the tear streaks on her cheeks and then dabbed them on my own clothes.
Even as a magical girl, Siyeon’s heart was still too tender.
That’s why I hated sending her off alone.
“Were you really that scared?”
Even though it was ambiguous to say I encompassed her due to our similar height, Siyeon merely nodded silently in my embrace.
After wiping away the rest of her tears, I seated her at the nearby bus stop and told her not to look this way.
“You really must be careless to be this relaxed. Be glad it wasn’t me who got left behind.”
“……”
The monster, completely frozen and unable to hear or respond to anything.
I approached it and mumbled pointless words while I smacked its shoulder with my wand.
They say the freezing technique is still way out of reach, huh?
If I could, I wanted to roast the chicken as punishment for making Siyeon cry.
Still, the delay had gone on long enough; the evacuated people must have been inconvenienced, so I decided to handle it swiftly.
Compared to the usual speed of five minutes, I had really slowed down.
“Darn it, you jerks!”
Focusing all my strength into my arms, I leaped and struck downwards, scattering the frozen chicken monster into pieces.
The bits of chicken visible from the broken shards looked not much different from some muscle-bound native chicken.
Can monsters be fried and eaten as well?
This holiday started off on a sour note with Siyeon’s tears.
She even switched off her beloved magical girl anime and headed to bed.
“…sigh.”
Seeing her like that made me scratch the back of my head, feeling heavy-hearted, and I thought I couldn’t let this go without saying something.
I hadn’t intended to mess with someone else’s mascot.
“Hey, Gomteng.”
In a hurry, I called for Gomteng, and he floated over right in front of me.
“Yes?”
Immediately, leaning against the wall so Siyeon wouldn’t hear, I pointed toward the bed.
“Go tell Siyeon that monster extermination is originally tough and can’t help but be scary… anyhow, say it’s my fault for acting weird.”
“Ah, okay. I’ll do that.”
Gomteng then flew off toward the bed.
I’m sure he would enthusiastically slam me with his tongue about how clueless I am.
And as he glances at Siyeon sniffling in bed, I can see him flailing despite not having any limbs.
“Ha…”