Congratulations on Your Magical Girl Duties

96 – A Moment to Breathe

Magical Girl Mint Turtle.

Real name: Seiki.

She was in a very good mood.

Or, to be more precise, her mood had soured slightly, then rebounded.

The reason for the initial dip? Peanut butter on the Magical Menu for the day.

‘Magical allergy, you dumbasses, why are you serving this garbage?’

As someone with a severe magical allergy, her mood naturally plummeted.

However, the thought of attending the Magical Vocaloid concert in just a few days was enough to lift her spirits again.

She hadn’t made any preparations, hadn’t even booked a ticket, but that hardly mattered.

Because thanks to that psycho calling himself a hero, she could get her hands on a magical scalped ticket today.

‘Well, if it really comes down to it, I can always just snatch the ticket away.’

He couldn’t help but feel good.

This so-called Magical Ikusa Battle was just magical tribute, pure and simple. Sorting out the magical hierarchy in the dead of night, and making money doing it?

Truly, a magical one stone, two birds.

A magical win-win.

And so, Seiki’s attention wasn’t on Kim Si-yul in front of him, but solely focused on his vacation.

‘I wonder if that b*stard actually registered it properly.’

The magical girl in charge of vacation requests was utterly useless.

He’d heard whispers of magical dementia setting in, and judging by how often she forgot things even after being told repeatedly, it seemed all too true.

To be honest, he was still a little anxious.

Her record was spectacularly spotty, after all.

‘Well, she probably registered it correctly.’

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be making such a fuss. Seiki nodded slightly, shaking off his worries.

The truth was, Seiki hadn’t even planned on taking a vacation.

Going to the Magical Vocaloid concert on his days off was a lucky coincidence, something he stumbled upon while browsing after suddenly deciding to take time off.

Seiki had a different, real reason for his sudden vacation.

The magical girl Magenta Eagle.

She used to work with Seiki, but had been temporarily separated from him while taking on the role of Magical Messenger.

She had lost her damn mind was the reason.

‘To lose it over something so trivial, what a fucking idiot.’

Of course, Seiki wasn’t planning on getting revenge for Magenta Eagle.

He and Magenta Eagle weren’t particularly close. To him, she was a magical girl perfectly expendable if the situation called for it.

Just not in normal circumstances.

To Seiki, Magenta Eagle was a decent magical girl. She did everything he asked, and she was a big spender when it came to magic. In other words, a magical sucker.

However.

With Magenta Eagle losing it, Seiki had lost that useful magical cash cow.

The culprits were the Magical Living Quarters where Rei and Sora resided.

More precisely, it was Kim Si-yul’s fault, but Seiki just targeted Rei and Sora with his magical ire.

He’d disliked Sora and Rei from the start anyway.

Kim Si-yul, he didn’t so much dislike as feel…fucked up about.

Anyway.

It was for this reason that Seiki was biding her time. Magenta Eagle’s absence provided the magical justification she needed to finally act.

To put it plainly, retribution for the ever-increasing magical Engel coefficient.

As Seiki waited for the opportune moment, she happened to overhear an intriguing rumor.

Something about Rei taking a day of leave to meet Sora outside of work.

She vaguely heard it was for something truly important, but Seiki couldn’t care less.

‘If they’re so aggrieved, they can pay for my goddamn magical cigarettes.’

Compared to her ballooning magical expenses, those things were utterly worthless.

‘Perfect, you b*tches.’

And Seiki didn’t stop there.

Deciding to thoroughly torment them, she sought out the Magical Company Commander and made a request.

To completely block Rei’s leave.

Of course, it wasn’t easy. The Magical Company Commander was even more of a scoundrel than she imagined.

‘Why does that b*stard have such a thirst for magical bribes?’

Still, after sufficiently lining his pockets, things proceeded smoothly.

The Magical Company Commander warned the other magical girls scheduled for leave to not swap with Rei, and completely blocked Rei’s request for time off.

Just in case, he even threatened them, claiming it was all under the Magical Battalion Commander’s orders.

In other words, he was name-dropping the Magical Battalion Commander.

Which, as far as Seiki was concerned, was perfectly fine.

She even briefly contacted him today regarding the Magical Ikusa Battle, and he said he’d cover for her on this as well. Again, under the Magical Battalion Commander’s name.

‘At least he’s worth the money I fed him.’

Moreover, judging from the conversation between Kim Si-yul and Rei, the Magical Company Commander seemed to have greatly hampered Rei’s plans at the very end.

To make her spend that much of a fortune on such a meager magical pipe.

The Magical Company Commander may have simply been thinking of his own gain, but it was a boon for Seiki.

Because even if Rei did manage to get leave, she’d be severely restricted due to lack of funds.

Not that she’d even be getting leave in the first place.

‘Glad I met her.’

Magical Girl Yellow Lion, real name Raina.

She’d casually sought her out for advice, as she had previously clashed with Kim Si-yul during a Magical Mock Battle, but she’d received an unexpected answer.

A most crucial answer.

─ “Memory’s hazy, but it was like… he was wielding a sword. That’s the only thing you need to watch out for.”

True to those words, Kim Shiyul conjured a decidedly strange sword. Out of thin air, like a sudden manifestation.

Just in case, I’d practically begged the Magical Platoon Leader for a standard-issue magic wand, and barely managed to get one. It seemed my preparations were worthwhile.

Now all that remained was to suitably crush him.

‘Seriously, what’s this guy thinking?’

Thinking it over again, Kim Shiyul was an enigma.

Even if Seyki was slacking off on her Magical duties, she was still a Magical Sergeant. A magic girl who, one way or another, had clawed her way up to that rank; possessing a certain level of skill.

And yet, what confidence did he have, to pick a fight?

It made absolutely no sense.

He called himself the Lunar Warrior, but could he actually believe that nonsense, and just be acting reckless? Or was his already severe mental illness flaring up extra bad?

Kim Shiyul brought to mind the Magical Kotowaza: “Act like a madman, become a madman.”

“Because I am a warrior.”

See?

Even now, he was proudly spewing that garbage.

‘Doesn’t this dude feel embarrassed?’

So pathetic was he, a sliver of pity even began to poke its head up from a corner of my heart.

– Chyarururururuk.

“Huh?”

At that instant, the sudden sound of chains rang out.

Just for a moment, a mere flicker of time, as the sound of chains echoed, goosebumps erupted on my skin.

A chilling sensation, unlike anything I’d felt even when facing countless monsters, flashed through me.

Not within the realm of reason and judgment, where perception reigned.

But in the territory of instinct; yearning for life.

For an instant, it felt like I was standing on the precipice of demise.

‘Wh-what?’

Seyki quickly scanned her gaze left and right.

Of course, outwardly maintaining a facade of utmost ease.

But there was nothing to be seen.

There were no chains, nor were there any magic girls who appeared to have heard the sound of chains being released.

‘Was it just my imagination?’

The only iron to be found here was the Magical Iron Pipe gripped in Kim Si-yul’s hand.

‘Well, shouldn’t be a problem.’

In the end, Seiki decided to casually brush aside the uneasy feeling.

It couldn’t be that important, anyway.

Just then, from behind Kim Si-yul, who was drawing closer, Taishi and Muyong suddenly blurted out.

“Be careful, dear! That inferior one is specialized in defense and uses a Magical Shield, making her nearly impervious to physical attacks!”

“Ah, that’s right! That b*tch can block almost any kind of magic with an element, too! The shield changes color to match the element, so keep that in mind, Hetero!”

“Oh? Thanks.”

Suddenly having her magical traits exposed like that, it wasn’t exactly a significant move.

Seiki smirked with derision.

“How pathetic, you imbeciles.”

Just as they said, Seiki could block physical attacks and one type of elemental magic with near perfection.

‘Unless it’s on a completely different level, of course.’

At least, not even a Staff Sergeant-level magical girl could hope to do anything against her.

There was a reason Seiki was a Magical Sergeant.

A magical girl representing the front lines.

She was more confident in her defense than anyone else.

‘Not that I’m helpless in attack either.’

If she had been just a little more diligent, Seiki figured she would have been in the position of Magical Major. And that wasn’t entirely wrong, either.

‘It’s not like my skills are lacking in the first place.’

Besides, all Kim Si-yul had was a measly Magical Iron Pipe. And a rusty one at that.

Even if it was a bit of a nuisance, a magical girl’s strength wouldn’t find it too hard to break the pipe.

So, what could Kim Si-yul, a mere ordinary person, possibly do to Seiki with that commonplace Magical Iron Pipe, even if he thrashed about? Not even a scratch.

Impossible.

There simply weren’t any variables to consider.

At that moment, Seiki wore a thin smile.

‘Might be okay to make a little ‘mistake’ this time.’

Turning this event into an opportunity to give that psycho a little Magical Education wouldn’t be so bad.

“So, that’s why you’re acting up, you dickhead.”

“Hey, you piece of shit. What do you think you’re going to achieve anyway?”

Behold. A magical greenhorn, daring to spew informalities at a magical senior as high as the heavens.

This is, in every sense, a magical *kejime* incident.

‘You are dead.’

Seiki vowed.

To grind Kim Si-yul’s limbs to a pulp right here, right now. To laugh as he crawls around, sobbing tears, without arms or legs.

“Even if you recognize my magic, what are you going to do about it?!”

And to further ignite Rei’s guilt, and ultimately, to drive Sora completely mad.

Tension? Worry? Doubt?

None. No need for any.

Because an insurmountable difference in class exists.

Thus, Seiki was truly confident.

“You can’t do anything anyway, you crippl─!”

“Red Moon.”

And, that confidence was severed at once.

“…Huh?”

Along with her one side of the world, dyed crimson.