NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 24
July 25th
[Celebration Interview with the Magical Girl Cheerleading Team for All Patients Discharged from A University Hospital ICU]
[Special Team for Responding to Magical Girl Crimes Set to be Established]
[Special Law Regarding the Group of Supernatural Ability Users Passed Unanimously by Both Parties]
[Temporary Restrictions on the Overseas Movement of Magical Girls]
The media seems to consider it NG to mention the incidents that happened in Kabukicho, which were originally deeply linked to violent groups, regardless of the side.
The issues surrounding Kabukicho were downplayed, overshadowed by reports on the multi-vehicle pileup accident that occurred the next day.
It was merely referenced as one of the specific cases where the powers possessed by Magical Girls could be confirmed.
‘They are hastily pushing for changes to actively absorb the Magical Girls into the social system.’
Unlike the original work, which consumed blooming magical girls according to an already established social system, the current acknowledgment of the possibilities possessed by the Magical Girls showed a degree of respect.
“When are you going to stop just staring at the newspaper, Leader!”
“Even if we move, it’s to the next apartment, and excluding my phone, charger, and clothes, there’s nothing to move anyway.”
“Ah! That’s too much! Moving is one of the major events of the household, and it should be done on an auspicious day!”
“When I see three or more kanji words in what Kyoko says, it really feels rare.”
“Leader! That’s hate against Kyoko! Even if she says silly things most of the time!”
“…What the captain said hurts more.”
The landlord allowed Ichika and Kyoko to move.
I wrote on the rent envelope, the only communication channel with the landlord, saying, “Two females living on the 3rd floor,” and the next day, the key to the next room was left at the door.
“Huh! Now I’m a proper homeowner.”
“Exactly! We’ve finally got our own territory!”
“…But it’s a rental. More importantly, we already moved all the stuff since there isn’t much to bring—are you planning to go furniture shopping?”
“Well—I’m not in immediate need, but I’d like a kotatsu or something by this winter.”
“That’s right! Having a nabe party gathered around a kotatsu has been one of my long-held dreams!”
“I want to call everyone from Sato and Busujima and have a noisy time.”
“…Yeah, that would be nice.”
After chatting for a while about the winter kotatsu nabe party, Kyoko seemed to hesitate for a moment.
“I-I’d like to have something like a vanity table…”
“Huh?”
“Y-Yeah?”
“Ah! I-I was just thinking it would be nice to have one, even if it isn’t expensive… Hehe.”
“Is it really necessary? I mean, I just go to your café and the part-time job at the loading and unloading place.”
“That’s too much!”
I didn’t particularly wear makeup either, but I felt Ichika’s comment might sound careless to a girl in her prime.
‘Now that I think about it, Ichika is also a girl in her prime, how can she be so relaxed about it?’
I comforted Kyoko, who seemed a bit discouraged by Ichika’s words.
“Is that so? Then let’s stop by a furniture store and buy one. We might as well get some other stuff we need on the way.”
“L-Leader…!”
“Let’s just go out and take a look.”
“Captain…!”
The moment we decided on our course of action, we gathered our phones and wallets and stepped outside.
The streets of Tokyo were filled with the blazing sunlight as the intense heat began.
We walked, searching for shade in the mean time.
“Ugh, even being inside the house felt hot, but being out here feels even hotter.”
“Spending time at the café with the air conditioning hitting us is the best.”
“I think we should get a fan on the way too.”
Beeep beep
Beeep beep
Beeep beep
While waiting for the traffic signal at the crosswalk, we could no longer hide in the shade and fell silent, simply walking quietly.
“Oh, but Leader.”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t you feel hot? Seeing you zipped up all the way from earlier, it makes me feel hotter just looking at you.”
“Are you trying to lose weight or something?”
“Ah.”
I slightly unzipped my training jacket to show the t-shirt underneath.
As I unzipped, the two hills that were tightly packed inside burst out from the pressure.
Sweat pooled under my chest, leaving a clear mark, and the t-shirt, damp from the sweat, clung to my skin, vividly showing the shape of my chest.
The shadows emphasized the curves of my upper body due to my slender waist, creating a rather embarrassing sight.
“……..”
“……..”
“Every summer I just keep everything zipped up anyway. I end up wet with sweat either way.”
Since both Ichika and Kyoko were wearing denim shorts and tank tops, I secretly wished I could dress light like them, but didn’t want to experience an embarrassing situation, so I wore an extra layer.
After hearing my words, the two of them quietly stared down at their own tops, fiddling with them.
“……..”
“……..”
“What’s wrong? Let’s go.”
“…Yeah.”
“…Okay.”
After walking in silence for a while, we arrived at a nearby large furniture store.
Inside, the latest songs (2011) were playing, and the cool air conditioning pleasantly dried up our sweat.
“So, what should we buy first?”
“Since the vanity table is our main item, let’s check that out first.”
“Ah! Thank you, Leader!”
I walked briskly along the clean white floor toward the escalator in the center of the store. Just as I was about to head up to the third floor, Ichika and Kyoko were standing in a line on the left side of the escalator, quietly moving up behind me.
Oops
My inner kimchi soup soul couldn’t help it.
“…It’s been a while since I came out shopping and got excited.”
“Even with that aloof face, it’s hard to believe.”
“You’re always walking around with your eyes closed, so we can’t guess what you’re thinking.”
“…I just squint.”
Anyway, the 5th floor was mainly filled with women’s wardrobes, vanity tables, and decorative antique furniture. While we were exploring for quite some time, Kyoko spoke up.
“Um… The prices seem higher than I expected.”
Looking at the real items and comparing them, it seemed like signs of exceeding our budget, as Kyoko, who was excited opening things, began to mumble in a deflated voice.
“Is that so? If we work hard unloading for a week, it should be fine, right?”
“That’s our living expenses too… Sigh…”
Kyoko, feeling guilty, quietly started organizing the various vanity tables she was looking at.
“I’ll chip in too.”
“Huh, Leader?!”
“Yeah! Just a few more shifts unloading shouldn’t be a problem, so go ahead and buy it.”
With Ichika and me boosting her confidence, Kyoko seemed touched and twirled around in delight.
“Leader… Captain…!”
Kyoko hesitated and immediately walked toward the first vanity table she had been drawn to and lovingly stroked it.
The vanity had simple storage spaces that could be used as wardrobes with easy assembly on both sides.
“Thank you so much, hehe.”
“Just think of it as an investment since I’ll also be coming over to use it sometimes.”
That’s a lie.
Honestly, I had no intention of applying makeup.
“Wow, Kyoko, good for you.”
Ichika grinned and approached, and the three of us called a store employee to purchase the vanity table.
After paying, the staff asked us to wait a moment and then went to get a large paper box containing the product from the warehouse connected to the first floor.
“Wow, this is going to be tough.”
“Hiiing…”
Once all the cushioning was done, the massive paper box, big enough for our three bodies to ride on it like a raft, was brought out. Kyoko once again bowed her head apologetically for the trouble.
There was no need for her to feel sorry since we had already planned how to handle a bulky item.
“Let’s leave this here and go get the rest of the items.”
“Oh, are we going to request delivery service?”
“Ugh, I feel too bad to ask any further! I’ll carry it one by one…!”
“It’s okay, Kyoko.”
Convincing the fidgety Kyoko, we bought the cheapest fan, tissues, a folding table, and cushions from nearby stores.
“Oh! Speaking of which, I need to buy some ramen; I totally forgot!”
“Ah, ramen is important.”
Since I already had an electric kettle and rice cooker from the Master, we headed to the grocery store to buy food items last.
After buying everything we needed, when we returned to the furniture store, it had really piled up to the point where we needed to call a small truck.
“Should we call a delivery vehicle, Leader?”
“No, more importantly, we secured everything tightly in the cardboard box, right?”
“We even bought extra cushioning materials and wrapped them up.”
“Great, then how about both Ichika and Kyoko use their psychics to protect themselves and stay close to the cargo?”
“Huh.”
“No way.”
Over the past month, I had figured out how to control the psychic output with Ichika, so I wouldn’t injure anyone. And with the know-how I had gained from logistics transportation in preparations for the apocalypse over the past two years, I decided to take on the challenge of moving people plus their belongings for the first time.
I covered the mountain of cargo along with Ichika and Kyoko with the Illusion Curtain and slowly levitated them all through my psychic ability.
“Uwooooooh… Th-this feels really weird.”
“Wait, this is pulling my stomach! I think I’m going to crap myself?!”
“Hikari Express is now departing.”
“W-Wait, Leader! Just a moment?!”
Whoosh
Waaahhhh
With Ichika’s scream echoing, I struggled to control the altitude while floating.
I never expected that someone who jumped around high-rise buildings would be this scared.
＊
“Why are you being so dramatic?”
“Did that seem dramatic?!”
We safely arrived at the apartment, unpacked our belongings, and as I boiled the ramen I mentioned our housewarming plans.
“I guess it’s going to be hard to call the ones who went to Hokkaido or the ones at welfare centers in other regions, but I still want to reconnect with people living nearby.”
Among the girls captured as test subjects, the ones who ended up in the Saitama workshops would be living in what corresponds to Gyeonggi-do in Korea, so it’s plausible to invite them under the pretext of moving.
“Haha! By the time they see that the period we were captured is longer than the period we’ve worked in the factory, they’ll be shocked!”
While eating the ramen and chatting, we all heard the sound of the radio playing in the background.
[The government has formed a special task force for the group of supernatural ability users commonly referred to as Magical Girls…]
[A site has been trending due to a ranking event for Magical Girls…]
[Foreign governments are increasingly paying attention to the movements of the Magical Girl Cheerleading Team…]
“Speaking of which, the Magical Girls from [Start] seem to have been forgotten by now.”
“Huh?”
“Yes?”
“It’s tough for sudden appearances of monsters to garner attention, right? But I’m relieved everyone seems to be accepting the powers and existence of Magical Girls just as they are.”
“Uh…”
“Um…”
“Hehe, even if it’s a bit sad, the goal was to help Magical Girls be naturally accepted as members of society.”
“L-Leader…”
“Let’s work to ensure incidents like Kabukicho never happen again in the future.”
Ichika and Kyoko cautiously broke the silence, seemingly worried.
“Looks like the Leader doesn’t read the internet much?”
“Uh… I don’t have a computer at home or use a smartphone, but I do read the newspaper and listen to the radio every day.”
“No wonder the Leader, who is usually keen, didn’t say anything about that.”
Ichika’s phone screen showcased a community site filled with madness.