LIGHTNOVELONLINE The two mascots looked in bad shape.
In a hurry, I filled a washbasin with cold water and tossed in a pile of ice cubes I had stored in the freezer.
“Ugh, I’m alive.”
“Huah…”
After slowly placing them in, it wasn’t long before they regained their senses.
I knew it wasn’t only humans suffering from the heat, but I never expected these guys to end up like this.
Considering that the only fan we had was typically monopolized by either Nana or Siyeon, I could understand their pain to some extent.
With a long sigh, I squatted down and looked sadly at the basin, hoping for the day to come when we could have some relief.
“Ugh… let’s just all hang in there until the air conditioner arrives.”
Both of us were in similar positions, suffering together.
Just as I was about to get up from my squatted position, feeling some sympathy for them, Gomteng raised his hand.
“Maria, I have a question…”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Couldn’t we just ask someone else for help?”
“Should I just go with three hundred cash, give them the address, explain the plumbing structure, and demand help like that?”
I firmly rebutted Gomteng’s question with a splash in the water.
A person under fourteen can’t do much beyond what they imagine.
This card we are currently using isn’t even under Nana’s or Siyeon’s name.
It’s just a card for magical girl activity expenses, meant for checking balances and making direct payments.
Not only can we not transfer money online, but due to some outdated rules nobody understood, using messengers among magical girls is also prohibited.
The only means of communication between magical girls is through the mascots.
I thought that was a sufficient answer, but as I was about to get up, another question came.
“Also, isn’t this supposed to be a residence provided for magical girls? Why isn’t there an air conditioner…?”
After hearing that question, I let out a short “Ah.”
From the perspective of the mascots, who likely didn’t know the circumstances of this house, it wasn’t an unreasonable question.
After all, the mascots provided during the process of becoming a magical girl wouldn’t know about this.
“There are complicated circumstances involving humans.”
Slave qualities… That means discovering the qualifications for a magical girl.
From the start, this first process is about finding a successor when a magical girl in the area is nearing retirement.
Next comes the second process. This is where it gets tricky.
Some of the vacant homes are bought by humans with ‘connections’ in the government, which are then gifted to the successor magical girl.
Afterward, the senior magical girl retires, and the new magical girl is introduced to the public.
Typically, to become a magical girl begins as early as elementary school, or even late as middle or high school, but rather than buying an empty place left behind by the former, they buy entirely unoccupied properties.
In other words, it means a brand-new house with no traces left by the previous owner.
And then comes the third process.
During their student phase, as long as their meals and living situations are somewhat sorted, there’s little spending going on.
They know this well, so they could furnish the house by deducting portions from the activity expenses they’re later provided.
However, how could they know what furniture was needed?
They were in the process of filling the house using the activity expenses for washing machines, beds, wardrobes, TVs, and other items, but they completely forgot about the air conditioner in a massive blunder.
“No, but it couldn’t be helped, right?”
Thinking back to the winter of that chaotic kindergarten era, I rationalized to myself that it really was unavoidable.
I was reborn as a girl, but suddenly found myself in a world with magical girls.
Suddenly, two elementary school students were given a house and told to choose furniture, how fast could my brain possibly process that?
Moreover…
“Back then, the selection available was quite limited compared to the activity expenses.”
The furniture I selected with much contemplation while enduring the pain of deducting from my activity expenses is everything in this house, except for the air conditioner.
After going through all those steps, I finally arrived at the last fourth stage, the assignment of mascots.
It’s only natural that those two wouldn’t know what processes this house went through.
As I recalled all those steps, I wondered if I really needed to explain it and just let it slide.
“I don’t feel like explaining it.”
“Yuck.”
The day’s short conversation ended, leaving Gomteng still curious.
The extermination of the monsters returned to normalcy smoothly.
For myself, not the monsters, I aimed to lower the intensity of torture in this sweltering summer heat and rush home just a second faster to enjoy the fan.
Behind those fulfilling days, the long-awaited air conditioner installation day was approaching.
“Are your parents not here?”
“They told me to install it here!”
With the now-adept lies that comfortably fooled the adults, I was smoothly getting what I wanted.
The imaginary concept of nonexistent parents was surprisingly convenient to exploit.
Parents who sent the kids off to buy electronic appliances before going shopping for clothes.
This time, they left only the two elementary students in the house while going out somewhere.
Neither side could be said to have any concept, but I was feeling deeply grateful to that fictional existence.
Naturally, the technicians who came to install the air conditioner got right to work without needing any extra requests.
They dismantled the back of the air conditioner, connected the piping, and hooked it up to the outdoor unit.
Once the installation was perfectly done, they handed me the remote and briefly explained how to use it.
“This is the temperature control, and if you want it on for just a few hours, just press the clock button and check.”
There’s no need to worry about catching a cold from air conditioning; even without airflow, the surrounding area felt way cooler than a fan.
With my eyes shining brightly, I could feel the hot room transform into a pleasant coolness.
I felt the air conditioner’s functionality was worth the seven-digit sum that vanished in an instant.
Covering my mouth with both hands as if in tears, I whispered that grand name.
“Thank you, Willis Carrier…”
“Will…?”
“No, you don’t need to know yet.”
Despite Siyeon tilting her head in confusion at my muttering, I moved my hands that were covering my mouth to pat her back.
Ah, creator of the air conditioner.
By the time Siyeon learns of him, she too will naturally worship him.
With an abundance of relaxation in life, thoughts finally began to surface.
“Perhaps I should start on my homework.”
I opened my school bag, which I hadn’t thought to open for days, and took out the summer assignments.
A first grader’s summer homework that could be finished by investing just a day or two.
With dates that hadn’t even arrived yet scrawled down, I hastily filled in the diary.
“The reading assignment is the problem…”
Of all the homework, that was the one obstacle I could mention.
The only books at home are textbooks.
In other words, I now needed to get my hands on some actual books instead of comic books.
You know, something educational, types of recommended reading for kids and whatnot…
“I don’t even want to read those.”
While Mari was unusually wracking her brain over her elementary school summer assignments…
Meanwhile, aboard the monsters’ ship, regular monster training was in progress.
The instructor was not some monster visible from the ships near Earth, but a renowned monster professor invited from an outer planet of the solar system named Altedah.
With a body as flawless as metal, he had defeated magical girls ten times throughout history.
Though he had moved beyond his role as a combatant heading to Earth, by the standards of monsters continually invading Earth, he was nonetheless a remarkable creature.
After standard combat methods were briefly explained based on species…
A designated free question period much longer than the actual training time arrived.
“Now then, do any monsters have questions about Earth?”
In response to such a query, Altedah pointed to the monster at the front of a vast sea of others.
“Go ahead.”
“Why can’t we touch humans other than magical girls?”
“Ah, very good question!”
With his answer, a loud clanking sound echoed as metal parts collided.
It was just the sound of Altedah’s body making contact with itself.
Having received a good question, he was about to properly explain why we shouldn’t touch ‘humans other than magical girls’ with thorough detail.
“Collisions between planets might seem like a given, but if a civilian monster gets attacked during that process, even if the planet is conquered, they will surely bear a grudge. Even the weakest monster can cause a catastrophe if they band together, as we can see from the case of planet A-7221.”
His first explanation was that if we harm civilian monsters during conquest, the flames of revenge would spiral out of control and cause issues even after the conquest.
And then, the second explanation was critical for him.
“We have to mention Earth’s magical girls, right? Actually, there was only one occasion in the past where a human other than a magical girl was harmed. And the consequences were horrific.”
The weakest magical girl on Earth, upon witnessing the death of a civilian, immediately ‘permanently obliterated’ a high-ranking monster on the spot.
This incident was etched into the history of monsters and became the first and last case that rendered recovery devices useless.
“They’re still researching that case consistently; according to the situation at that time, it’s presumed to be a trigger activated upon seeing the blood of kindred, yes indeed.”
That was professor Altedah’s hypothesis.
In any case, until the reason behind it is revealed, the orders from above to the monsters are clear.
‘Absolutely’ do not touch Earth’s civilians.
Using that terrifying magic capable of rendering recovery devices useless and the short-term explosive power of magical girls as examples, it is regarded as an event that must never happen again.
“If, for example, Sun, who has been a hot topic aboard this ship lately, were to meditate on that magic…”
“……”
A chilling hypothetical that could make even monsters, who usually express their emotions through their skin, turn pale.
The monsters listening widened their eyes in horror.
Permanent obliteration of a monster? That, from Sun?
That wasn’t just a nightmare; that was the nightmare.
“We’d all be going to, um, reproductive organ status, ha ha.”
Professor Altedah chuckled with a joke in local style.
However, the monsters aware of the ramifications of the dark zone couldn’t bring themselves to laugh.
Instead, various fluids simply swallowed down their throats.