Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

8 – Magical Psychological Counseling (3)

Jin So-ah’s mind churned, a turbulent sea.

“I’ll ask again.”

“You already heard it.”

Any initial interest, any satisfaction gleaned from the Association’s reply, had long since evaporated.

“Once isn’t enough to confirm the truth.”

“If you insist, then whatever.”

It wasn’t because the other party used informal speech, and it definitely wasn’t because he was someone special.

Man, 33 years old, high school graduate, unemployed.

No family, not even a single relative.

Effectively an orphan.

A textbook failure.

But.

All of that was completely irrelevant, utterly drowned out by the incredibly convoluted story Jin So-ah had just heard.

“Where were you during your desertion?”

“I told you, I didn’t desert. I was discharged ten years ago. I can even give you my military ID.”

An incomprehensible answer, repeated again and again.

“Didn’t we already confirm that the ID doesn’t exist? That’s what I was informed.”

“That’s what’s so damn strange! Why does it say I deserted, for Christ’s sake?”

Not only did he stubbornly deny ever deserting.

“Anyway, assuming you were discharged, where were you all that time?”

“Another world.”

And what in the world was this “other world” nonsense?

“How did you get there?”

“I don’t know. I just bought a cheap phone, and suddenly I was in another world. I slaved away like a dog.”

“Don’t you think your clothes and phone are in comparatively good condition, considering?”

“When I got to the other world, all my clothes turned into something from that world. My smartphone disappeared too. I thought I’d have a smartphone in the other world, like in those light novels.”

And going for such a ridiculous reason, too.

“What did you do there?”

“A hero. As I said, a Lunar Hero.”

And to top it all off, he claimed he was a hero.

That too, a lunar warrior.

“…Then, proof you’re a warrior?”

“I told you, there isn’t any. I used all my power at the very end. My sword was destroyed in the process.”

“…”

Yet he had no way to prove it.

“Hah.”

Jin So-ah let out a deep sigh.

She was in disarray. Not even the most unhinged lunatic would spout such drivel.

However.

She couldn’t dismiss it as a mere delusion of a madman. It was, in the truest sense, genuine.

She couldn’t help but know it wasn’t a lie. This wasn’t a conclusion she was drawing based on some vague intuition.

Because the chair the man, Kim Si-yul, was sitting on looked ordinary, but possessed a special function.

A function that measured the seated person’s heart rate and displayed it in real-time, showing the results.

To put it simply, a magical lie detector.

The result screen was visible only to the counselors. So the client couldn’t see it, each counselor’s desk surface had a screen attached.

And the result was.

‘Truthful, huh…’

She couldn’t believe it.

She had deliberately asked again this time, and in a bit more detail, but nothing had changed at all.

His story remained the same, and naturally, so did his heart rate and the results.

Then there were two possibilities.

Either he was a master of acting who would astound the world.

Or he was so deeply immersed that he even deceived himself.

Or.

Everything he said was true.

‘This is maddening.’

Jin So-ah bit her lip, her gaze scanning the faces of the magical girls.

The expressions on each of the magical girls were no different from her own. They were all genuinely bewildered.

Naturally, even Lee Seo-bin, the purple magical girl who was Jin So-ah’s long-time friend, was the same. Her usual relaxed demeanor was nowhere to be found.

Jin So-ah contemplated earnestly.

At first glance, she didn’t believe he’d deserted with malicious intent. Though unsure, leaning on her magical girl instincts, she figured there were extenuating circumstances.

“What do you think?”

[For now, I don’t think it’s the side Soah was worried about!]

“So, you think what he said is true?”

[I’m not sure! But it feels like… maybe?]

Even her mascot partner shared a similar opinion. Usually unreliable, but when it mattered, they pulled their weight.

If that was the case, then perhaps, contrary to her initial thought, there was no need to beat him to a pulp.

However.

‘This is ambiguous.’

It wasn’t an easy decision to make.

Truthfully, she wanted to disregard the Association’s will and have him exempted or assigned to Magical Public Service.

Being a man, even if they took him, he wouldn’t be able to use magic, making him useless. And, simply because he was different, he was bound to suffer amongst the magical girls.

Jin Soah knew better than anyone the pain of being different.

But.

Actually exempting Kim Siyul or assigning him to Magical Public Service, she lacked any real excuse.

His physical exam was normal, and he wasn’t mentally ill to any extreme. Regardless of whether what he’d said so far was true or not.

Magical girls were always chronically understaffed. Thanks to that, the standards for defining mental illness were incredibly high.

In other words, even someone borderline insane would be used as a magical girl.

In that sense, Kim Siyul – gender aside – possessed ample qualifications to be a magical girl.

“What are you two whispering about so secretively?”

“Ah, just asking him a few questions.”

“Ask away.”

He used casual speech now, but initially he’d definitely used honorifics. In other words, he possessed the intelligence to adapt his speech to the other party.

“Can you read and write?”

“Hey, what do you take me for? I’m offended.”

He could communicate properly through speech, and read and write without issues.

“What’s twenty-five plus thirty-six?”

“Seventy-one, duh. Why are you asking me this stuff?”

He could even proficiently perform arithmetic. Without using his fingers and toes.

Perfect conditions for becoming a magical girl.

It was just that, when she felt displeased, she charged headfirst without a second thought – which was a slight problem, if it could even be called that.

Frankly, even Jinsoa was taken aback just now.

Each and every magical girl here was truly an overwhelming force. Beings capable of single-handedly realizing the metaphor of ‘one versus a hundred’.

Yet, even against them, she showed no signs of intimidation, instead, she provoked one of them to a boil.

What’s more, even after nearly dying in the process, the first thing she did upon revival was to taunt her opponent.

If Jinsoa hadn’t intervened, she would have been hit directly by magic this time and died.

Although the green magical girl was not Jinsoa’s favorite, even Jinsoa had to admit her skill in killing monsters was considerable.

And that’s not all. She was even able to converse normally, standing before Jinsoa, the strongest magical girl.

Did she truly have no fear at all?

‘Or is it…’

Was her emotional state already severely broken?

Either way, it wasn’t enough to disqualify her as a magical girl. If anything, it might be a bonus.

‘What should I do?’

Jinsoa’s mind was filled with anguish.

She already passed the mark as a magical girl. It hadn’t been long since they met, but based on what she’d shown so far, it was safe to say she possessed intelligence in the upper echelons.

However.

Accepting her as a magical girl as is carried a considerable risk.

It wasn’t simply a risk to Jinsoa alone. It could even be said to be the opposite.

Kim Siyul becoming a magical girl was a monumental risk. Naturally, Kim Siyul was a being utterly detached from the concept of a magical girl.

Finally, Jinsoa reached a conclusion.

‘I need to investigate further.’

Exemption or Magical Public Service was an impossible judgement in the current circumstances. More information was needed to create a plausible excuse somehow.

If absolutely necessary, she’d have to send her off as a magical girl, but only.

However, this was only the story as long as Kim Siyul was completely innocent.

‘If.’

It was unlikely, but if all of this was a lie, and she was actually deserting with malicious intent, just as she initially thought.

‘Then.’

She would pay the price dearly.

The weight of the blood shed by the magical girls and Jinsoa’s younger sibling was not something to be taken lightly.

Anyways.

There was a need for a bit more conversation, at least.

Jin So-ah opened her mouth immediately.

“What was this Otherworld like?”

“Horrible, disgusting. And a complete shitshow.”

“Really?”

Jin So-ah offered a wry smile.

He seemed to be speaking sincerely, and the lie detector’s results confirmed it was the truth.

But, in Jin So-ah’s personal opinion, it couldn’t have been that bad. No matter what this Otherworld was like, it couldn’t possibly compare to here.

During the monster invasions, this place had truly been hell.

And Jin So-ah had seen that hell, more than enough.

Who was he to talk about sheer brutality in front of *her*?

Meanwhile, Kim Si-yul must have taken Jin So-ah’s wry smile as mockery. His voice rose slightly.

“You laughing? Hey, you laughing at me?”

Jin So-ah responded impassively.

“Honestly, even if I concede that this Otherworld exists, I don’t see how it could be *that* bad.”

“Have you even been there? Some know-nothing running their mouth? You haven’t even seen this Otherworld.”

This time, Jin So-ah bristled.

“And what exactly did *you* see?”

A dry, monotonous tone, with a simmering rage slowly coalescing beneath.

“Just how bad it was here.”

“Go on, tell me.”

It wasn’t just the things the monsters did.

People killing each other over a mud-covered snack was commonplace; there were plenty who ate corpses; and there were even cases of people being torn apart and devoured alive.

All of it was just everyday life.

“Thanks to that, it was an era when people feared other people more than the monsters.”

That’s what the world was like, back then.

“That kind of thing was common even in the Otherworld.”

“Ha, here we go again with this Otherworld.”

By this point, it was starting to get annoying.

Everything was the Otherworld. He’d seen it all in the Otherworld, apparently. Like kids bragging about having treasure at their house.

Meanwhile, the lie detector stubbornly declared the truth.

Which only stoked her annoyance further.

Now, what was false, and what was real? She couldn’t tell anymore.

“What you’ve told me is just the tip. There were horrors beyond counting. Could *you* even name horrors beyond the ones you’ve seen?”

Jin So-ah snapped, then immediately regretted it.

Wasn’t this just petty posturing?

Objectively, they were both in a sorry state.

If there was any relief to be found, it was that Kim Si-yul answered her impulsive question dutifully.

“I saw my grandmother having s*x.”

The answer came strangely skewed.

And with eyes that seemed to have utterly withered.

“Are you going to claim you saw that in the other world too?”

“No, that was here, in this reality.”

Jin So-ah grit her teeth at Kim Si-yul’s response.

Beneath her impassive mask, a murderous intent writhed and spread with fervent energy. A chilling foreboding settled in her arid, orange eyes.

“Hey.”

“So-ah, calm down a little. We don’t know for sure yet.”

Lee Seo-bin, Jin So-ah’s longtime friend and fellow purple magical girl, hastily intervened.

As her friend, she had registered Jin So-ah’s growing displeasure faster than anyone else present.

But Jin So-ah ignored Lee Seo-bin’s plea.

“Hey.”

She was too busy staring daggers at Kim Si-yul with those bleak, orange eyes.

“What is it?”

“You better answer me right. Did you see it… in person?”

“Online.”

Thankfully, the lie detector confirmed the truth.

Jin So-ah’s murderous intent subsided, just a fraction.

But it didn’t vanish entirely.

The revulsion remained, unchanged.

*That goddamn Magical OnlyFans.*

Magical OnlyFans.

A wretched collaboration born of the supply of old b*stards pimping themselves out disguised as magical girls, and the demand of dog sons who cheer it on, throwing money like it’s nothing.

One of the things Jin Soa despised most.

“What do you think of magical girls?”

Jin Soa glared at Kim Si-yul with a ferocious intensity.

Kim Si-yul responded calmly, and with sincerity.

“Heroes.”

The lie detector’s result, again, was truth.

The moment she saw that result, something snapped in Jin Soa’s head.

Then, she spewed out a viscous emotion, a blend of rage and murderous intent.

“Hey!”

“Soa-ya! Control yourself!”

Lee Seo-bin tried to stop Jin Soa once more.

But Jin Soa didn’t listen this time either.

At least, she didn’t want to listen, not now.

Until now, she’d maintained an emotionless state as much as possible, but she couldn’t restrain herself any longer.

“How can a guy who says that even *look* at that garbage?!”

How could someone genuinely believe magical girls are heroes, and yet seek out videos of beings defiling them? What was he thinking?

Kim Si-yul’s statement was a contradiction. A blatant contradiction.

It would have been better if it were a lie.

At least then she wouldn’t feel this betrayal.

“Do you even know how much blood has been spilled because of those dog sons you’re so gleeful about? Do you?!”

This wasn’t just about magical girls, but about ordinary people who weren’t magical girls as well.

Did Kim Si-yul even know about the inner workings of it all?

He couldn’t.

That’s why he did shit like that.

No, even if he knew, he might have sought it out anyway.

Because he’s the same kind of guy. Just like those b*stards.

“If you truly respect magical girls, the very least you could do is not watch that crap!”

As Jin Soa spoke, she was certain.

Everything Kim Siyul has said until now, it’s all a lie. I don’t know what she did to the lie detector, but it’s certainly false.

Because, if that weren’t the case, she wouldn’t be spouting such self-contradictory nonsense.

“No, why are you doing this? What’s wrong?”

Even so, Kim Siyul shows no remorse whatsoever. Instead, she even asks back with a look of utter bewilderment.

Truly, it was sickening.

Truly, it was hateful.

“Shut up! You liked watching those damned old geezers in magical girl disguises, didn’t you? You liked it that much, you son of a─!”

I truly wanted to tear her apart and kill her─

“What magical girl?”

“…Huh?”

─but suddenly my mind went blank.

I don’t quite remember what I was thinking about a moment ago. No, that’s not what’s important now.

Just now, something was said that transcended comprehension.

“What… what are you talking about?”

“The grandmas I saw, they weren’t magical girls.”

“Ha…?”

Jin So-ah clutched her head again.

This time, the throbbing was more intense than before.