A Little Money and a Place to Live Tomorrow is Enough (7)
The metal ball that had only reflected light from other places began to emit its own small green light. It was like the small LED light that appears when turning on a machine. Following that, mechanical clicking sounds could be heard as if something was moving inside Belt.
“What’s this.”
Han Jae-jung blurted out in surprise.
“What’s wrong, Jae-jung?”
“Ah... It’s just... My body feels refreshed. Maybe because I slept well.”
Yoon Seol-hwa asked curiously. He shook his head while mumbling vaguely.
“Hoho, that’s how it should be normally.”
Seeming pleased to hear he slept well, Yoon Seol-hwa chuckled. She felt endless gratitude toward him for treating her normally despite being unjustly kidnapped. Even while thinking of herself as selfish, Yoon Seol-hwa didn’t lift her head from his shoulder.
While Han Jae-jung took this casually, he continued watching Belt. Belt was still emitting strange mechanical sounds and LED-like light.
[57% until full normalization... 62%....]
Han Jae-jung glanced at the light while keeping an eye on Yoon Seol-hwa. Belt seemed to have definitely started rebooting. Though proper conversation wasn’t possible yet, it would be soon.
This meant he could now receive Belt’s assistance. Things like analyzing surroundings and calculating combat routes were certainly convenient. Above all, Belt could control the quests.
If strange quests appeared before convincing Yoon Seol-hwa, his position would become quite difficult. He needed to prevent situations like leaving her with unstable mental state to catch villains or help other magical girls.
But he couldn’t suppress quests with his own power. In terms of the contract, Han Jae-jung was thoroughly in a subordinate position.
[78%... 82%....]
Belt’s activation would begin soon. As he quietly waited for the percentage to fill, Yoon Seol-hwa slightly moved her head to meet Han Jae-jung’s eyes. Her soft breath tickled his neck.
“Ah... Right. Jae-jung. When do you want to eat breakfast?”
“Should we eat now?”
“Shall we? Is bread and fruit okay for breakfast? Maybe... Have your tastes changed?”
“No, that’s fine.”
Yoon Seol-hwa’s eyes trembled slightly as if anxious. When Han Jae-jung immediately denied it, her eyes regained their vitality. She nodded with a slight smile and stood up from the sofa.
“Okay. Then I’ll prepare it right away.”
“Thanks.”
Normally he would have said something like ‘Should I help?’ but not today. He was waiting for Belt to activate. He also had things to discuss with Belt. Regrettably, following yesterday, he had to let her prepare the meal alone.
As he watched Yoon Seol-hwa putting on an apron in the kitchen, Belt’s voice was heard.
[How patriarchal.]
“You startled me.”
[Given your steady heart rate, you don’t seem very surprised. Full reactivation is complete.]
“I know.”
Belt’s voice was still mechanical and monotone as ever, but its manner of speaking was human-like, just as before it shut down.
[You seem to be in quite a difficult situation.]
“That’s what you say right after waking up?”
[Then is that all you have to say to me who just woke up?]
“Welcome back.”
[Thank you.]
He whispered quietly to avoid being heard by Yoon Seol-hwa. At the same time, his body felt heavier and a sharp pain shot through his left eye.
[Kidnapping is quite unusual behavior for a magical girl. Normally, the mascot would have restrained such actions.]
“Must be a loyal subject like you.”
[Is that a compliment? I’ll accept it gratefully. But it’s clearly strange. Allowing a magical girl to commit crimes... Mascots are like boundaries created to prevent magical girls from going astray. If it contradicts their original purpose at the time of contract, they would never help.] �
Typically, restraint is possible through methods like not helping with transformation or interfering with magic control.
That’s why when magical girls become corrupted, their mascots die. They eliminate the being that restrains them and become truly free. They run wild without regulation.
[However, I don’t sense any signs of corruption from her. I only detect the clear starlight unique to magical girls.]
“...I see.”
What Belt’s analysis indicated was clear. Blue Sirius’s mind was unstable but not insane. Her current actions were not leading down a path of corruption as a magical girl.
Kidnapping and confinement. These are actions that would cause significant repercussions regardless of who does them, celebrity or not. They’re not appropriate actions for a magical girl who requires strong sense of justice both externally and psychologically. Yet Blue Sirius carried them out.
So Yoon Seol-hwa carried out this incident without any malice.
Han Jae-jung felt relieved before feeling puzzled.
“That’s a relief.”
Ippotranslation
***
Jason watched the conversation between Libra and his third Brother with anxious eyes.
“This is betrayal....”
But he wasn’t in a position to say this, having left the organization and now being in the enemy’s stronghold. Although guilt crept up, now wasn’t the time to be consumed by it.
“Why the fuck are you hiding again. Just go instead of being so frustrating....”
“Shh! The conversation has begun!”
Jason hushed the Archer who looked ready to spring up at any moment.
“What’s the matter?”
Third Brother, November, must have also arrived recently as Libra asked him. It was a question about why he came here.
“How dare you ask that?! Huh?!”
November reacted intensely even to his small question and raised his voice. Then he rummaged through his clothes and pulled something out.
“After putting this kind of thing in the money bag?!”
What he pulled out was a ziplock bag filled with powder. Not something like seasoning, but powder packaged in a suspicious way that anyone would question.
Even an ordinary person would suspect it to be drugs, given its appearance. Considering the source of this money bag, it was practically certain that this powder was drugs.
“What were you planning to feed our organization members, you bastard!”
November shouted in excitement. Libra asked without showing any sign of panic.
“Why did you search the money bag?”
“Obviously to burn it! Because I wanted to get rid of such things immediately!”
“I see....”
“Why did you give us drugs! What’s your intention!”
When November demanded answers, Libra inhaled with a ‘tsk’ sound as if puzzled.
“However, if you saw that, wouldn’t it be normal to report to your direct superior and contact them? Looking at how there’s nothing behind you, it seems you don’t even have troops... Why come alone?”
“I’m enough by myself to deal with you guys!”
“Haha, I like your confidence. But that’s not your real purpose, is it?”
Libra stepped forward toward him. Although November stepped back, his steps were so small that the distance closed.
“If you saw those drugs, you must have seen... The memo in front?”
“...!”
“As I said before, what’s in that bag was my gift. I delivered that bag as an apology. Substantial money and... Drugs. Yes, those are drugs. But not drugs for pleasure.”
Doping. Drugs for bringing out stronger power.
“That is a special enhancer. A drug that elevates villain power to the next level. That’s why I attached instructions in front of the drugs to avoid misunderstandings. You must have read it, so why did you ignore it?”
Libra observed the powder ziplock bag that November had taken out while chuckling.
“By the way... The amount has decreased.”
“...!”
“Don’t play tricks like blaming evaporation. Why do you think I gave it in solid form rather than liquid? It was to prevent deterioration during storage. But seeing that state... You used it, didn’t you?”
“...?! No, that’s....”
It must have hit the mark as November’s attitude became noticeably timid. Among the Argo brothers, he was particularly moody and his emotions showed well on his face.
“It’s alright. I’m not criticizing. I gave it to be used, so I’m grateful. Haha, now your purpose is clear.”
A sinister laugh echoed through the cavern.
“Did you want to become stronger?”
If one dreams of revenge, naturally they would first dream of power. Strong hatred leads to strong desire.
“Seems that wasn’t enough.”
November. Among the brothers, he who grieved most over October’s defeat would naturally have been the one most filled with desire.
There had been a harvest when visiting the Argo Family last time. After stimulating their revenge a bit, like this, a test subject came walking in voluntarily.
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