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Mr. Magical Girl
[Translator – goguma]
[Proofreader – ilafy]
Chapter 18: Is That What Your Teacher Taught You? (2)
In the end, Sihyeon was unable to amplify her mana before the training session ended. “I feel like if I just try it a little bit more…”
“You can go slowly. We have more than enough time.”
‘You’ve done months worth of training in a single day. Personally, I’d prefer it if you took it a bit slower.’
While martial artists typically took months to detect and use their dantian, my amazing disciple, so talented, did it all in just a single day.
T/N: Dantian is the ki center where ki is stored, typically located right below the belly button, often appearing in murim fantasies.
My original plans for the day were to break Abin’s magic wand and have a light spar with Sihyeon, but they had gone way off track.
‘What am I supposed to teach tomorrow?’
“It’s good to grow stronger quickly.”
“Why? Do you want to retire so soon?”
It was quite unique, given that most people wanted to retire as late as possible after becoming heroes.
Not only did they want to gain popularity, but they also wanted to make as much money as possible during the prime of their lives. Most heroes retired after they were somewhat satisfied with their earnings, but it seemed my disciple was different.
“The Black Marauder is still out there. They’re probably ambushing someone right now…”
‘Don’t worry, Sihyeon. The Black Marauder is right next to you.’
“So you want to defeat the Black Marauder as quickly as possible, right?” I asked.
“Yes!”
“If you do that, you’ll retire immediately. Are you sure you won’t have any regrets?”
“I’m fine with that! Defeating the Black Marauder is more than enough.”
‘So she prioritizes defeating Black Marauder over money and fame. I can’t tell if she’s an idiot, overflowing with justice, or both.’
“You won’t get stronger by pushing yourself too hard. When it's time to rest, you need to rest properly. Go take a shower, and let’s head home.”
“Okay!” Sihyeon responded energetically before heading to the showers.
Left alone, I leaned against the exit while gazing at the silent training room. Moderately soft green mats and shock absorbers were scattered along the walls.
Not only was the sound insulation perfect, but it also had showers and storage rooms; it was a well-equipped training space.
Though the mats were turned into a mess on the first day, the training center's shock absorbers functioned perfectly, holding up under my strength.
‘This training ground can even handle me lifting my limiter for a short while, huh?’
"We're using this room exclusively for the foreseeable future, right? They must be itching to burn money," I mumbled.
According to what I heard from Hyunseok, the branch manager, they spent a week renovating an abandoned underground air-raid shelter for us. Not only that, they also installed a creation device and a repulsion field. We could hold out for weeks there.
“I wonder how much this place costs.”
Even if the Black Marauder was an O-Rank monster, I didn’t expect them to give us a training room that good. Hyunseok apologized for not finding a better place, but… I honestly doubted there’d be anywhere better.
Perhaps the Association had a better facility.
"Maybe they can create artificial enemies to fight… or something like that?" Thinking to myself that it just might be possible, I pulled out my phone.
Beep beep—
Ring ring ring—
“Yes, Gun Expert Hero, Danger Rifle, speaking.” A woman's stern and rigid voice entered my ear.
“It’s me.”
“S-Sir? What is it?” Her voice weakened in an instant.
“I ordered you to find information on Taejoon Kim’s location. Have you found it?”
“Yes, I obtained information on the places he frequents, as per your orders.”
“What about the wiretap?”
“I haven’t been able to do that.”
“…Why not?” If she, someone who could snipe from a distance that even I have trouble detecting, failed, there must’ve been a valid reason for it.
“He stays in the Association's internal dormitory and also uses the internal store and gym to shop and exercise. There hasn't been a situation where I could—”
“I understand. Send the information to the number I’m calling you from.”
‘I suppose this is another issue I’ll have to handle myself.’ As I was about to hang up, I heard her faint voice come through the phone’s speakers.
“E-Excuse me, sir…”
“What is it?”
“Isn’t Taejoon Kim a representative of the Hero Association…? Why did you want information on his loca—”
“He was unheroic.”
“What? What do you mean by that, si—”
Beep—
I hung up.
There was no reason to share more information than necessary. Even if she was a hero who resonated with my ideals, she hadn’t earned my trust yet. Maintaining that level of distance was appropriate.
I closed my eyes, preparing myself for what would happen that night.
After some amount of time passed…
Creak—
The shower room door opened, and my student's voice echoed through the underground training room. “Master, you waited for me! You didn’t have to. You could’ve just gone up on your own!”
“Don’t worry about it. Rather than letting something happen while leaving you on your own…” I was at a loss for words. Her appearance wasn’t much different from her magical girl form. The only change was that her gray hair had returned to its original black color.
Unlike me, her transformation only affected her hair color, so her face looked exactly the same.
The only other difference would be…
“What are you wearing?” I asked.
“I normally dress like this!” A large, baggy t-shirt fell all the way to her thighs over a pair of stretched, oversized jeans. She used a strap instead of a belt to hold the jeans up.
I was uninterested in fashion, but not even I would call those ‘clothes’.
“…You should’ve just worn your school uniform.” Since she was 18, she would probably be in her senior year of high school. A normal navy school uniform would have suited her better.
“I already graduated high school. I also graduated college!”
Seriously, what the hell was she?
“I can understand high school, but college as well?” I asked.
“I was in graduate school, but I took a leave of absence because I awakened as a hero!”
Was she… smarter than I thought? But judging by her actions…
“For now, let’s head up.”
“Okay!”
I pressed the elevator button.
“Do you not need to shower, Master?” she asked.
“I didn’t sweat.”
“Are you not going to undo your transformation?”
“I can’t.”
Ding—
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Translator - goguma
Proofreader - ilafy
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We stepped into the elevator when the door opened. Whether it was due to the timing of the elevator or my brief answers, Sihyeon kept her mouth shut.
An awkward, heavy silence flowed between us. To break it, I tried asking her a few questions. “You said you graduated from college, right?”
“Yeah, I did!”
“What was your major?”
“Nuclear engineering!”
Of course, it had to be a major that became useless after the Otherworld Invasion. I was at a loss after seeing both her smart and less sensible sides.
‘I suppose I’ll find out more with time.’
* * *
The elevator doors opened with a ding, revealing the house I had glimpsed earlier that morning—a typical two-story home.
I’d thought the Association would simply provide us with an apartment, but seeing as they built a house right on top of the training room, they must’ve really been overflowing with money.
“Ah, are you done with training for the day?”
“Welcome back.”
“Yeah.”
Two creatures immediately flew towards us as we exited the elevator: Unho, the white furball—who had been losing weight—and Rin, a fairy with wings that resembled stretched-out kites.
“Rin, I learned a lot today!” Sihyeon leaped out of the elevator and clung to her mascot.
“Calm down, Sihyeon. Don’t hold onto me.” While Rin’s response seemed cold, the fact that she calmly interacted with Sihyeon suggested their relationship wasn’t bad at all.
It was good to be close with your mascot. They could become a magical girl’s shield in dangerous situations.
More importantly… was Abin not back yet?
“Abin’s not back yet.” Noticing that I was looking for Abin, Unho answered my question before I even had to ask.
“When did she leave?”
“Around 11.”
So around seven hours had passed. ‘She should be back soon.’
“Let’s eat first.”
“I’ll make it!” Sihyeon released Rin from her grip, allowing her to fly away, and dashed toward the kitchen.
“It must be tough for you.” I tried to console Rin, who had been tossed aside by Sihyeon.
“I’m used to it now. It’s fine since I have wings anyway.”
“If you got used to it in just a week… is she usually like that?”
"She is. She never considers her surroundings and always charges headfirst toward her goals."
So she was the type to blindly charge at her surroundings if given an objective without taking the time to look around.
I was gradually learning more about her. One of the reasons I agreed to become her teacher was to understand her better. While I would make her stronger, I also intended to learn her weaknesses and fighting style so I could exploit them.
Eventually, I figured I should be able to mentally simulate battles against her.
“Rin, what was your criteria for choosing her?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t act like you don’t know. I know that, unlike other heroes, magical girls aren’t chosen but selected by their mascots.”
Unlike other heroes, who suddenly awakened to their powers one day, magical girls were granted their abilities by mascots, each with their own individual criteria.
“For example, Unho told me that he chose me because of my heart of justice.”
“You said that you wouldn’t tell anyone!”
“Shut up.” I nudged the white furball clinging to me with my foot and looked at Rin.
“Unho, you shared that? That’s against the rules.”
“Lalalalala, I can’t hear you. I won’t get punished! I’m not going back anyway.” Unho blocked his ears and curled up into his usual furball self.
I kicked him, looking like trash rolling on the ground as he usually did, out of the living room before continuing my interrogation of Rin. “Let’s forget that white furball for now. What was your criteria for choosing her?”
Rin glanced at the kitchen, as if she were looking at Sihyeon through the wall. “I won’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Because I would be exposing my contractor’s feelings. I respect her privacy and the Magic Kingdom’s laws.”
‘The Magic Kingdom?’ Despite being a magical girl for thirty years, that was the first time I had ever heard of it.
“The Magic Kingdom? What’s that?”
“…Did Unho not tell you?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it.”
“…It would be a breach of regulations to discuss it. Please pretend you didn’t hear anything.”
Did all mascots have a screw loose or something? Despite acting like a government employee, strict on regulations, she had spilled extremely important information.
I scowled at her, hoping she might get scared and spill more details like Unho usually did.
Instead, we simply stared at each other for ten or so seconds. Unlike Unho, Rin coolly met my gaze without even flinching.
As expected, she was different from my white furball. Although I couldn’t tell how she felt internally, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to squeeze more information out of her.
I didn’t want to incur any more ill will from someone I’d be living with, so it was probably best to end it there.
“Rin, let me ask you one last question.”
“What is it?”
“Are you a traitor?”
“…So you’ve already seen mascots betray their contractees.”
“Yeah.”
A magical girl who’d fallen from the sky after having her powers suddenly taken away…
A magical girl who’d been betrayed in her final moments and had her body stolen from her…
A magical girl who’d transformed into a monster from the Otherworld the moment she received her powers…
They were all victims of mascots.
“I have no intentions of betraying her.”
“You better make sure to keep your word. Though I can’t do anything about the Black Marauder, one or two mascots is nothing.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Like before, she did not flinch at all. I honed my senses to check her facial muscles and heartbeat, but… I couldn’t detect any signs of deceit.
‘Shouldn’t she at least act a little scared? She’s way too bold.’ I turned away and buried my face in the sofa. “I’m sorry for threatening you. There’s just been a lot going on.” While my voice was muffled by the sofa, Rin definitely would have heard it.
“It’s completely fine. Traitors are an issue for us as well.”
There was some kind of connection between the mascots, likely the Magic Kingdom thing she referenced.
I began organizing my thoughts while burying my face in the soft sofa, and Rin asked me a question. “More importantly, why aren’t you undoing your transformation, Mr. Lee? I’m sure it takes a lot of stamina to maintain it.”
“I can’t undo it. Unho said that I was a unique case.”
“What do you…?”
Badump—
For the first time, I heard the small fairy’s heartbeat. I glanced up and saw her usual expressionless mask, but I could clearly sense a shift in her emotions.
“From what Unho told me, my essence has been consumed by the magical girl.”
Badump. Badump—
Her heart began to beat faster. She knew something about it, maybe even more than Unho did?
A heavy silence fell between us.
Despite knowing something, she continued to feign ignorance. I kept my face in the soft sofa, pretending not to notice the shift in her emotions.
“It’s time to eat!” Sihyeon charged into the living room, breaking the weird tension.
“It’s been a while since I had rice,” Unho said as he rolled into the dining room.
“Why did you make yourself so round?” Sihyeon asked.
“Just a hobby.”
Seeing his strange behavior, I felt stupid for remaining so serious.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yes.”
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