LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 34
I was reading Korean newspapers on the plane and couldn’t help but chuckle.
In Japan, news about foreign countries was often distorted or minimized.
Besides, I had been too busy to keep an eye on the situation in Korea for the past few months, so the information I collected about Korea two months before deciding to go back made me laugh.
[Cybercrime reduced by over 70% since the emergence of Cyber Magical Girls]
[A quiet internet nation, the virtuous land of the Orient in the virtual world]
[Should we acknowledge the existence of a ‘benign Big Brother’?]
[Cyber Magical Girl “Recognize the full autonomy of the Supernatural Ability Response Team and Magical Girls.”]
[Members of parliament silent in front of the rulers of the internet]
[Cyber] Magical Girl, Kang Dorim.
A wielder of supernatural ability who can physically dive into cyberspace to read or track information.
‘Aside from needing to bloom the [Sea] and [Dream] while fighting against the invading looting Magical Girls from the original work, Korean blooming users had never been mentioned.’
Just like I isolated the Japanese Magical Girls from Fujimoto through Domain Declaration, Korea was avoiding a drain on their Magical Girls due to the overwhelming power of blooming Magical Girls.
In a Korean society where most things are computerized and covered with CCTV, [Cyber] would exert a level of influence comparable to a Domain Declaration.
‘In a society just before the descent of [War] where infrastructure collapses, this ability is nearly invincible.’
This girl, appearing after the debutante, seemed to have adapted the age of Magical Girls in a different direction than Japan. And there was another new blooming Magical Girl presumed to have healing abilities.
[White Wing Unit successfully completes rounds of treatment for long-term hospitalized patients nationwide.]
[Loyalty! We gathered in response to the nation’s call! The resolution ceremony of the White Wing Unit Magical Girls.]
[The White Wing Company’s medical Magical Girl, Park Saebyeok, shown in tears while singing the White Wing military song.]
Supernatural Ability Response Team, and the White Wing Unit.
Korean Magical Girls were forming a group centered around two blooming Magical Girls.
“What a truly energetic country.”
Unlike Japan’s situation, where they tried to form a massive faction centered around Fujimoto due to an overflow of Magical Girls, Korea’s situation, where relatively fewer Magical Girls were operated as state-certified heroes, was quite invigorating.
‘It’s lucky that they’re maintaining a surprisingly stable balance.’
If Korea was indeed facing troubles due to Magical Girls, I was prepared to coordinate as best as I could and then leave.
But at this point, it seemed smooth sailing to covertly implement my plan to encompass the [Sea] and [Dream], then quietly execute a Domain Declaration from a corner of Seoul before heading to Russia.
[We are about to land at Incheon International Airport, so passengers, please…]
As the plane landed and I walked towards immigration, I felt my heart racing more and more.
“Oh goodness, Mr. Kim! I just came back from Japan and I’ve arrived! Let’s grab a drink today!”
“Oh, hey big bro. I’m here!”
“Eunji~ Dad’s plane just landed, let’s meet at exit 5.”
“Let’s eat some kimchi stew on the way.”
Familiar words.
Familiar atmosphere.
Familiar air.
The moment an outsider transplanted into the world of light novels approaches the homeland of another world was incredibly thrilling.
I understood that this was not the world where my mother lived, but as I was swept away by the familiar atmosphere, my heart began to race faster.
[Your passport, please.]
“Ah.”
Japanese.
The Korean airport security officer spoke to me in Japanese.
This was not my hometown, and I was still an outsider in this world.
“Here you go.”
“……”
The expressionless officer rifling through my passport glanced at the screen in front of him and stamped approval for my entry.
After apathetically acknowledging the mark indicating I was an outsider, I pocketed my passport and followed the automatically opened door out.
[Welcome.]
I tried to walk out of the airport after passing through immigration.
But then, hurried footsteps echoed behind me.
“Excuse me! Wait!”
“Yes?”
A middle-aged man in a black suit came running, sweating profusely, and hurriedly stopped me.
A name tag dangled loosely on his chest.
[Supernatural Ability Response Team Leader Oh Sang-hyuk]
“Huff… Huff… Damn… At my age…”
The man, who had run with all his energy to this extent, was panting, desperately gesturing for me to come to the corner, and I could only watch blankly.
“Wait, hold on…”
He caught his breath, fumbled to pull out his phone, and began to read a memo in a small voice.
“Uh, ah, are you… Um, ma, magical girl…?”
– Are you a Magical Girl?
“Magical Girl!”
– Magical Girl!
I suddenly felt my mind go blank.
When I was active as [Start], I had never revealed my appearance with any recognition-inhibiting magic.
Even Fujimoto, who manipulated all of Japan, failed to catch my tail and welcomed the era of Magical Girls.
But how did this guy recognize me as a Magical Girl?
“Hey Dorim! I can’t speak Japanese! Hurry up and come out!”
Oh Sang-hyuk, face flushed with embarrassment, spoke while looking at his phone.
Zzap!
A grayish noise flickered from the direction of the phone’s flash, and a translucent girl appeared, wearing VR goggles.
Her oversized t-shirt was plastered with all kinds of stickers, and her extremely long gray hair draped over her skinny frame was quite striking.
Riing~
From the VR goggles of the gray girl, a laser emerged, scanning me.
[Cyber] Magical Girl Unique Skill
Cyber Swimming
“You. You’re the [Start] Magical Girl.”
The [Cyber] Magical Girl quietly pointed at me.
*
In the end, I desperately used a translator to persuade the girl from Japan.
After bringing her to a quiet place, Oh Sang-hyuk asked Kang Dorim to come as a main body, and I felt my mouth dry and my stomach churn.
‘Dorim pushed so hard for this, but if this goes wrong, it’s really game over…’
Since the establishment of the ‘Garden’ in the neighboring country, Kang Dorim obsessively argued that [Start] would visit Korea, surreptitiously checking the identities of female entrants from Japan using her ability.
It was a serious abuse of power and a legal offense, so Oh Sang-hyuk, the only one who knew about Dorim’s actions at the response headquarters, had been stressed to the point of raising his blood pressure for the past two months.
“Dorim, logically, Magical Girls abundant in their own country wouldn’t come here, right?”
“Normally, once the arena is complete, it’s instinct to migrate to the neighboring town.”
“This is insane. What kind of nonsense logic is that?”
“Aren’t you curious? Why on earth are Magical Girls even being born?”
“……”
To be honest, I was quite curious. I had never seen Dorim with such a serious expression while pursuing something before.
“I think she wouldn’t be scared even if we talked to her. Instead, she’d probably think, ‘Who are these guys?’”
“…And what if that girl flips and causes chaos in Korea?”
“If she were that kind of girl, Fujimoto would’ve been wiped out by now.”
“Dude, I’m really getting the chills. Let’s not do this.”
“Just trust me. If we can’t talk to [Start], we’ll always be the trash being swept around in these scenarios.”
Dorim said seriously while looking me in the eye.
“Don’t you also feel like you’re going crazy with curiosity about the purpose of this game, or how Magical Girls are supposed to coexist with society?”
“…Damn.”
Using Dorim’s ability to compare the passport photos of all female entrants from Japan, if a candidate similar to [Start] was spotted, Sang-hyuk would rush to airports or harbors across the country to persuade them; that was what the two of them had been secretly doing for two months.
“W-Who are you?!”
“I will report this!”
Naturally, most girls reacted with panic or hostility.
Having also suspected acting, Dorim herself emerged in Cyber Swimming, compared with a holographic video record, and scanning for the fourth time ended with disappointment.
‘More and more people are pointing out that the movements of the response team are strange.’
If this continued, it could genuinely escalate into serious diplomatic issues.
Nudge~
Sang-hyuk glanced at the girl, hiding his anxious heart.
Silver hair blew in the wind peeking from beneath her black baseball cap, and beneath it was a girl with a mysterious aura and doll-like features.
‘Is she… keeping her eyes… closed?’
Snap!
Sang-hyuk trembled at the cheerful sound of a finger snap.
“Since you’re staring at me so hard, it seems like you’re ready to talk now.”
“Uh…?! Korean…?”
Zzap!
With a gray noise, Dorim appeared.
“Right now, the main body is hurrying over, but let’s get to the point.”
Dorim’s translucent projection looked at the girl and said.
“Are you the [Start] Magical Girl?”
Nod!
“R-Really?! Is it… [Start]? Is it you?!”
Sang-hyuk took a step back from the girl, breaking into a cold sweat.
She was a monster that created the law-like magic ‘Garden’, establishing the Magical Girl society.
The queen of Magical Girls who commanded countless 2-star girls and made the state bow its head.
In just five months, she made the world realize the true power of Magical Girls and moved the world.
The faceless queen.
The divine being who could answer Sang-hyuk and Dorim’s endless pondering of “What is a Magical Girl?” was right here.
The one they had barely encountered was standing before him.
“Then I have something to ask.”
Dorim’s gray projection earnestly looked at the girl and said.
“What does it mean for a Magical Girl to exist?”
The girl quietly turned her head towards Dorim, keeping her eyes closed.
“Why did the Red Broadcast provoke the Magical Girls in such a ridiculous manner?”
Sang-hyuk began to feel goosebumps listening to that conversation.
“Why do you wish for Magical Girls and society to coexist peacefully?”