Transformation or Death

Romantic Death Incident (5)

Once decided, execution is immediate.

No need for elaborate plans.

Just overwhelmed with force.

Sagittarius drew the bowstring without hesitation.

“…Where should I shoot?”

However, due to not making a plan or even deciding where to aim, despite confidently drawing the bow, the arrow’s tip swam aimlessly through the air.

“The house? Or where that guy is now? Or that cafe? Ah, simply attacking people would be fine too. If he really has future sight, he’ll come no matter where I shoot… Kuhehe, having too many options is a drawback too.”

Where should he shoot now to cause the most damage?

His residence, base, dwelling. Or the street. What should be attacked? Sagittarius pondered deeply, then grinned as he nocked three arrows on the bowstring.

“Ah, why worry? I’ll just shoot them all!”

A feat impossible under normal circumstances. But Sagittarius was overflowing with confidence in his ability to pull it off.

“Alright, I’m feeling it! I’ll shoot those women you talked to before too!”

Ara, Baek Ah-hee, Yoon Seol-hwa. The three people who had associated with him. Might as well shoot more while he’s at it.

Just as more fireworks make for a grander display, more bombardment is better too.

Sagittarius added three more arrows, nocking a total of six, and laughed uproariously.

“Am I a genius?! I must be a genius! Hahaha!”

Bulging veins rose prominently on his arms, which were lumpy with drug track marks. His muscles swelled menacingly like a volcano about to erupt, drawing the taut bowstring to the point of tearing. The maximally contracted string was already as sharp as a blade.

Just as he was about to loose all six arrows simultaneously, he sensed a presence behind him. Too artificial to dismiss as mere wind.

“Who’s there!”

Sagittarius whirled around fiercely, aiming the arrows that had been pointing skyward at the source of the presence.

“Haha, how scary. Could you put that down?”

“What… It’s you? You could have said something.”

“I wanted to surprise you.”

Fortunately, it was someone Sagittarius knew well. He lowered his bow with a slight grumble. Though the hood made it hard to see their face clearly, it wasn’t difficult to guess their identity. ṛä𝐍òβЕs

“You could get hurt doing that. Botis.”

The name of the newcomer was Botis. The strange one of the Boötes constellation. The magical girl who previously used the star Arcturus.

“Hello, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah, it has been. That unpleasant kindness of yours is still the same, damn it. What brings you here suddenly? Without even contacting me.”

“Such greetings are for people who have means of contact. Not for someone like you who’s always moving around, making it impossible to even send a letter.”

“Bullshit.”

Sagittarius retorted sarcastically.

Though Botis wore a warm smile in the shadow of her hood, there was no telling what lay behind that smile.

Couldn’t contact because he moves around? What nonsense.

“Then how did you find my location now?”

The wind blew. The moss on top of the building swayed slightly with the breeze.

“My children are extremely kind, you see. They tell me many things even without me asking. Like your location, for instance….”

“Like hell you didn’t ask.”

Sagittarius clicked his tongue mid-sentence. Botis continued, unfazed.

“…Or what you’ve been interested in lately.”

“Unpleasant woman.”

“You’re hardly in a position to say that about me, are you?”

While Sagittarius’s words became increasingly laced with displeasure, Botis remained infinitely relaxed and benevolent.

“You should probably cut down on talking to yourself from now on. It’s unavoidable for a lonely person to develop a habit of self-talk, but… Like this, you might be overheard, you know?”

“Who was it? Libra? Or those lackeys?”

“All children are equally precious to me.”

A tangential answer. But its meaning was simple enough without needing interpretation.

Who did it doesn’t matter, and she won’t tell.

“Of course, you’re one of them too.”

“Cut the crap! Why did you come looking for me?”

“I told you earlier, didn’t I? The person you’ve been interested in lately. Well, I’m a bit interested too. But that child seems to dislike me. Hiing… His rebellion was so severe that my horn was even cut off before? It still hasn’t grown back.”

Sagittarius didn’t show it, but he was greatly surprised.

He knows her fighting style well.

The Goldilocks zone that can forcibly move anyone, no matter who the opponent is. On top of that, her raw power is so formidable that most strange ones wouldn’t stand a chance.

‘He managed to harm her? That quasi-strange one, human?’

He wanted to tear off her hood right away to verify if those words were true, but he held back. Right now, an even greater desire than seeing the wounds hidden under that hood was welling up.

Han Jae-jung, what on earth was he that so many strange ones were fixated on him?

“So, I was wondering. While you’re fighting, could you relay a message to that child for me?”

“Hehe, so even you have someone you’re afraid of. Scared of getting beaten like a dog again?”

“Oh my. I’m saying the problem is the child doesn’t listen to me well. Anyway, you agree?”

His waning interest was rekindled. Who knows. Maybe he could bring back the age of romance. A glimmer of expectation even arose.

“It’s nothing much….”

However, Botis’s following words quickly extinguished the budding expectation

***

Ippotranslation 

***.

“Ah.”

Drip, drip. Blood suddenly started flowing from my nose for no reason. I immediately grabbed some tissues to hold my nose. Nosebleeds have become frequent lately.

[Tilt your head down and wait until the bleeding stops. Putting foreign objects in your nose carelessly can cause infection or additional injury.]

“I know,” I replied nasally to the belt’s prompt instruction.

“What’s this? Were you thinking dirty thoughts, brother? Ah, you must have had some weird fantasies while hugging senior earlier! I know everything~”

“That’s not it. You think nosebleeds happen from seeing something sexy? And that’s sexual harassment.”

I snapped back irritably as Ah-yoon needlessly teased me. I was already on edge.

Seeming to regret her sharp words, Ah-yoon asked more worriedly,

“…Have I been making you work too much lately? Is it overwork?”

“It’s not that.”

Really, it’s not. It hasn’t even been two weeks since we officially opened. Plus, our business hours are quite flexible – while opening time is consistent, closing time varies each day. We only stay late like overtime when magical girls barge in for drinks. Otherwise, we close around 8 PM.

On top of that, the usual work intensity is so relaxed it’s almost drowsy, so overwork is impossible.

Nevertheless, my body was endlessly fatigued.

It felt as if I was overloaded.

This tendency had worsened since finding the power of Ursa Major.

“I’m just… Tired due to some personal issues.”

“Are you watching weird stuff at night?”

“We don’t even have wifi at home, Ah-yoon. You seem to be getting more and more influenced by Ah-hee lately.”

Though Haru kindly lets me borrow her wifi, I feel bad using it often. Besides, I don’t want to use the internet yet since it’s still troublesome.

“T-That’s not it! I’m not at her level! I just… Read in a book recently that appropriate sex jokes between men and women can have a relaxing effect…”

“That varies from person to person. It just makes me uncomfortable. Besides,”

I sat down next to Ah-yoon with a slight smile. The nosebleed had stopped quickly, but blood could flow again at any time.

“I’m already comfortable with you.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course. Even being alone together like this, without saying anything, I don’t feel uncomfortable at all. I wouldn’t be working with you if I was uncomfortable, would I?”

“I guess you’re right! Then…”

Ah-yoon naturally snuggled up to my arm and rested her head on it.

“Since it’s our day off, let’s just watch movies and lounge around at home! Okay?”

“…If possible.”

“Ah, is it because of that quest again? That damn ball… Just ignore it!”

“If only I could…”

The price for refusing a quest is death. Though occasionally rejectable quests appear, they’re mostly mandatory quests that can’t be refused.

Ah-yoon doesn’t understand this about me. Of course not. The quest system doesn’t exist for her.

Whether it’s because her sense of purpose is weaker and her targets are broader, or because she contracted for simple injury healing rather than death as payment, or just because she’s special…

No, in fact, I’m probably the special case.

From what I’ve seen so far, everyone related to the belt has been a magical girl.

The legendary magical girl, two former magical girls, and Ah-yoon who contracted because it suited her.

Perhaps the belt’s original purpose was for magical girls, or those who used to be magical girls. It’s just speculation, but I felt strangely certain about it.

“Oh, by the way, Ah-yoon. Don’t you get tired when you transform?”

“Huh? Not really…? Why suddenly?”

“No, just… Worried about you.”

Actually, I had a hunch about this body overload too. None other than starlight.

The human body can’t handle unrefined starlight. That’s probably why all starlight drug addicts look so terrible.

In the case of magical girls, they can refine this starlight and use its power as a resource called magic power. That’s why they can eliminate all the side effects unique to starlight and only gain benefits.

The reason Ah-yoon has no side effects is probably the same. Though her transformed form is that of a strange one, the light she uses is similar to that of magical girls.

Bright, brilliant, and radiant starlight in beautiful, soft pastel tones.

She must be using starlight refined to be very close to magic power.

In contrast, the starlight I use is crude and deeply colored, identical to that of strange ones. There’s no need to beat around the bush. It is strange one starlight.

It was less burdensome with the Big Dipper, but now that I’ve lit up Ursa Major and have more stars, it’s becoming quite taxing. So I’m trying to finish work as quickly as possible.

Of course, there’s also the reason that encountering magical girls is awkward, and I especially don’t want to meet Orange Altair and Blue Sirius.

Anyway, Ursa Major is as powerful as it is burdensome. Cold lightning that can use both scorching heat and freezing cold simultaneously, movement speed matching this lightning, and even short-term future sight on top of that.

Each ability alone would be dangerous, but having three combined puts a heavy load on the body. It’s also a power I’m reluctant to use except against strong enemies.

Day by day, the amount of intense fatigue on my body increases. Fatigue accumulates gradually, like interest. Still, I was fortunate. At least fatigue can be resolved with a bit of patience.

‘…But is this really fatigue?’

Even if I feel doubtful, there’s nothing I can do. If I go to the hospital, they won’t know the symptoms and will just repeat the same things, and the belt won’t give me any answers either.

I sighed and worried about the future. What can I do, when I haven’t really achieved anything yet.

Ah-yoon reacted to the sound of my sigh. She briefly moved away from the shoulder she was leaning on and examined my expression.

“… Brother, take breaks while you work.”

I knew that the work Ah-yoon was referring to now wasn’t related to the cafe. I briefly turned my gaze to look at the steel ball. My belt that Ah-yoon couldn’t see. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

“It’s not just me who’s tired right now.”

I’ve heard people say they’re tired two days in a row now. I might well hear it again tomorrow if things go on like this.

Rookies and veterans alike are all tired of this hopeless world. There’s no end to the villains, and expectations that life will get better someday have faded. Heroes have become too close to people, and people are both excited by and envious of the heroes who have become close to them.

People live for today rather than looking to tomorrow, and optimism is treated as nonsense while pessimism is accepted as fact.

There’s certainly no romance.

How can a hero spread their wings in such a world?

Suddenly, I recalled what Ah-hee had told me yesterday.

‘How to create a world without magical girls….’

It’s good for heroes to be able to spread their wings. But I hope for a world where those heroes who spread their wings can land comfortably, and where no one needs to fly into the sky again.

I’ve gained the power to achieve this. I succeeded in gathering all the fragmented power.

The question is how to implement it.

Is it enough to simply complete quests? How long can I continue this mission in the first place?

Just as I was pondering these things, I heard a sound from the belt.

[Quest generated.]

“Ah.”

The timing is quite interesting, isn’t it? Ah-yoon seemed to have guessed something and held onto my arm even more tightly, not letting go.

“Ah-yoon, that’s my….”

“Then I’m coming with you too.”

“….”

“I know what I know. That no matter what I say, you won’t listen to me. That your dream is more important than my words. After all, the reason I got this power in the first place was all because of you. Take responsibility. Give me the right to protect your dream.”

“…Alright.”

“Yes! You’re allowing it?”

Ah-yoon smiled brightly and rested her head on my shoulder again. I stroked her hair while continuing to listen to the quest details.

[An attack will occur at the Magical Girl Headquarters. Guardian, go to that location and protect Blue Sirius. However, even if you don’t help, no one will die.]

What, where and who? I couldn’t believe my ears.

[Do you accept?]

It’s not even a dilemma problem. I swallowed a bitter laugh.

[There is no penalty for non-compliance.]

***

Ippotranslation 

***

Yoon Seol-hwa’s footsteps were infinitely light and lively. Passersby who knew Yoon Seol-hwa looked at her with puzzled expressions, but Yoon Seol-hwa couldn’t care less about their curious glances.

‘Hu, hug! I got a hug! He, he hugged me! Wow, wow!! A hug! Jae-jung’s hug!’

What does it matter if it’s selfish or self-satisfying? He hugged her. Feeling recharged and oiled up like a machine that had all its joints greased, she entered the Magical Girl Headquarters with a happy smile.

The unmanned robot in the lobby welcomed her. She greeted the robot with a spirited voice.

“Unicorn is here~ Now, let’s quickly discuss yesterday’s matter….”

At that moment, a loud alarm sounded throughout the building.

[Currently, an unidentified flying object is approaching! Warning! Warning!]

“Huh? Right as I arrive?!”

The sudden call to action slightly dampened her enthusiasm that had risen to its peak.

[Collision expected in 1 minute! Ah, object identification successful! We will display it through the building monitors!]

Following the voice from the speaker, Yoon Seol-hwa shifted her gaze to the monitors hanging from various points on the building’s ceiling. On those screens, a blue sky and a rapidly moving dot were displayed.

The screen zoomed in on the dot, and everyone in the headquarters was shocked.

“A villain… Riding an arrow and flying?”

A villain was indeed flying towards them, riding an arrow like a skateboard.

“…Is it an idiot?”

That seemed certain.

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