Chapter 121: S2.5 Does a Butterfly Dream of a Magical Girl - 3

Chapter 121: S2.5 Does a Butterfly Dream of a Magical Girl - 3Gym classes began with a series of quick stretches, followed by a lecture on swimming, and then came a break that the students considered to be tradition. They remained in their swimsuits, swimming or playing in the water as they wished.

Among them was the nightmare of the swimming pool, who managed to both swim and create chaos simultaneously. Kim Ruru had already made it her mission to splash water in every direction, so she had long been the class's common enemy.

“Catch her alive! She’ll pay for the murder of my sunscreen!”

“Pour the water! Drench her!”

"────Slow."

Kim Ruru darted through the water like a dolphin, and mercilessly flung water bombs on the assassins who were chasing her.

Chyaaaat-!!

That barrage struck Ms.Choi (Gym Class Special Student), who had skipped swim class because it hadn’t been long since they got her hair done. This undid the seal on the tyrant of the swimming pool, who then joined the battle.

Thus, the Net of Heaven and Earth to capture the pool’s troublemaker was completed .

“Ahahahahat-!! Sorry! I’m sorry!!”

“Until! You! Cry! The tickling won’t stop!!”

Ultimately, Kim Ruru, ensnared in the Net of Heaven and Earth, was condemned to the depths of tickle hell, and thus, her rebellion came to an end.

And as if turning his back on the commotion.

Float.

There was a single sea otter floating about the swimming pool, and his name was Roderus.

“............Haaah.”

Ms. Oh Dae-Soo sighed as if the world was ending. In the end, he couldn’t reveal the truth—that he was a man—to Kim Ruru.

How can he possibly say that to a kid who said it was going to be extremely hard.

There won’t be anymore drinking Doenjang-Guk1 at Oh Hey-in’s house. It didn’t make sense to live with a completely random stranger. He’d have to leave.

But the preparations for living alone were finished. If he took up part-time jobs and slept in saunas, he would manage to live and eat comfortably.

Yeah, that’s life.. He would return to his original self, disappearing as if the person called Oh Dae-Soo had never existed.... He would just have to disappear from Kim Ruru’s and Oh Hye-in’s lives.

They won’t be able to share crepes or queue ranked together, but he could at least be able to watch from a far away place while working part-time at a convenience store.....

That would be enough. It would.

The sea otter was floating along with the gentle current, eventually drifting to the corner of the pool. A shadow of a person fell above her face.

Looking up, he saw it was Oh Hye-in.

“......Is something up today? Dae-Soo, you usually love the water. You swam like you had motors for legs last time.”

“.....Don’t ask. It’s just that something happened.”

“Sigh, you know if you bottle everything up, you'll end up getting sick later, right?”

"⋯⋯⋯⋯."

The sickness had already come. Last night, he had only slept about 3 hours.

Even in his sleep, the harsh rebuke of “Huh? Oh Dae-Soo you’re a guy? Ew, gross. Why did a guy pretend to be a girl!” had jolted him awake at the crack of dawn with his eyes wide open.

A wound in the heart never truly heals, so all you could do was endure the pain. A whipping would be preferable. Even a hit from Stygian Arrow of Mind Destructi.... Okay, maybe not that far.

That was how Roderus ended up in sea otter mode, trying to make up for lost sleep and soothe his heart.

Peace and harmony. Completely surrendering your body to the gentle sway of the water, maintaining mental peace while just floating. Imagining the sounds of nature that could often be heard in documentaries.....

Oh Hye-in let out a sigh while making a tired smile and threw a surprise hook.

“Dae-soo Oppa.”

"⋯⋯⋯⋯."

“Are you really that bummed about going back? Because if you return, you won’t be able to change in the same room or stare at girls’ swimsuits? If it is...... Do you just like living in a girl’s body?”

“......Cut the bullshit!!”

The peace of mind was shattered, and Oh Dae-soo fell into the water.

===============================================================

Roderus had simply gotten used to life as a woman; he didn't want to remain as one.

Even sitting modestly with closed legs wasn’t because he thought, ‘I should act modestly since I’m a girl,’ but rather, ‘It’s uncomfortable when those guys try to peek’.

Wearing a skirt was because there was no reason for a man to avoid wearing one. It was a traditional outfit in Scotland.

That Munggae guy had said, “It’s common knowledge that men wear skirts in Scotland.” He said that it was actually weird not to. Of course, it was Kim Ruru constantly asking “Why are you wearing pants?” that actually made him wear it.

So, he absolutely did not like being in a woman’s body──

“If you’re embarrassed, you don’t have to admit it.”

“If someone hits your head in the middle of the night, know that it was me, Oh Hye-in.”

As Roderus planned his midnight revenge, Oh Hye-in laughed softly and waved her hand in apology. Then, she spoke more seriously.

“You can keep living there, in my house.”

“.....What?”

“It’s alright. Just say you’re my cousin. Keep the name Oh Dae-soo....”

“......I am a guy.”

He then prepared himself to navigate the minefield he knew he was about to enter, and focused especially on Kim Ruru.

“Listen up, I’m not buying anything, I’m not wearing anything, and I’m not checking how anything looks over my clothes or picking anything out.”

“Eung~ I never planned to ask you to choose for me, Oh Dae-soo~! I’m saying I already decided which one I wanted at home!”

“Ruru, which one are you going to buy?”

“Don’t be surprised! I’m getting ── this!!”

Kim Ruru grabbed a clothes hanger and lifted it up high. Roderus gasped in horror, while Oh Hye-in averted her eyes, unable to look directly.

It was closer to a red string than a swimsuit.

Roderus realized this wasn’t the time for him to be in a daze. What he found was.... Some kind of sense of duty. Among everyone here, only he could stop Kim Ruru.

He had to overpower this reckless girl and make her buy a normal swimsuit.

“Put it back.”

"?"

“Put away that crazy swimsuit, Kim Ruru!!”

“Ah fuck, I said I’m the one wearing it, so why do you care?!”

How could he explain the dangers of a skimpy swimsuit to a kid who hasn’t had any sex education? Roderus didn’t have the words for that. So he used his strength instead. Because if you are strong, you can avoid using your head.

The tug-of-war over the swimsuit between "give it back" and "I don’t wanna" ended tragically when it was ultimately torn in half.

As compensation for Oh Hye-in paying for that swimsuit, Oh Dae-soo was forced to wear a regular bikini, and had to submit in the end.

Then, another argument erupted when Kim Ruru pulled out and displayed a cow-print swimsuit with a spotted pattern.

Apparently, things like this happened.

===============================================================

Beep beep beep beep. Beep beep beep beep.

As the alarm rang, Roderus woke with disheveled hair, facing yet another morning.

A lot had happened. He had defended against a swimsuit attack, defeated a crazy tentacle monster, prevented a tanned blonde ruffian from getting a phone number, and stopped Kim Ruru when she said she also wanted to burn her skin.

After navigating one incident after another, he looked at the calendar... It was his last day as Oh Dae-soo.

He still hadn’t made any decisions for certain yet.

Of course, Oh Hye-in had offered him a place to stay, but he still needed to figure out how to explain this to Kim Ruru and whether or not he would re-enroll in school.

How he would approach her and what he would do on the day of the final battle were all uncertainties.

Above all, his heart wasn’t ready.

Time had flown by far too quickly. Far too quickly.

"⋯⋯⋯⋯."

However, there was still time to get all of it back in control. Roderus had a full day left. As he did his final tasks as a magical girl, he needed to either come up with an excuse or fully explain everything to Kim Ruru.....

He also had to fix Kim Ruru’s tendency to kick with her right foot when she throws a right-hand punch.

If he exerted all he had and defeated two of the Four Heavenly Kings, Oh Hye-in would be able to win the final battle easily. If he could set aside his pride and try to look cute to the citizens to receive Pure Energy.....

Yeah, let’s do that. To put on a decisive finale today.

Steeling himself, Roderus approached the mirror by the sink.

Hisssss──!!

With a static noise, Oh Dae-soo’s appearance began to fade away.

Then, Roderus’ true appearance was revealed. A cold looking man. He worried that he woke from the dream and was brought back to prison, so he frantically looked around.

It wasn’t the prison. There were no damp bricks, nor scurrying cockroaches.

That meant something had happened.

“Munggae, Oh Hye-in! What happened.....?”

Roderus burst through the door, calling out the names of the two people. He then found Munggae and Oh Hye-in who were getting ready to fly.

And beyond them, the giant dark vortex swirled in the sky.

They spoke as though they were caught in an inconvenient situation.

“We were going to give you a bit more time..... It’s a surprise attack, mong. It’s an all out attack, mong. We were fools to believe in the time frame given at the declaration of war, mong.”

“Dae-soo..... Oppa. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this, but you still look cool! However, I’m busy right now, so I need to go. You remember what I told you, right?”

"⋯⋯⋯⋯."

“Cheer for me. When I get back, let’s order some sushi for dinner.”

With that, Oh Hye-in, Magical Girl 『Pure Light』, took flight with her mascot.

Sigh, I can’t with her.

One morning, as Oh Dae-soo looked on in disbelief at the disappearing figure of the magical girl....

It dawned on him that he had transformed back into Roderus.

1. korean soy bean soup