63 – Back again… but?

When I opened my eyes, I was in the Magical Capital Hospital.

I heard I had been unconscious this whole time, but seemingly they had finished all the treatment during that time, as all my wounds were gone.

It was strange, honestly. I was sure I was dead, but they managed to bring me back.

Truly Magical.

It meant, quite literally, like magic.

That a wound could heal so flawlessly.

While other things get ‘magical’ slapped on without good reason, the Magical Soo-Do Hospital’s “magical” actually deserved the name.

Still, just in case, the current situation was to stay a few more days for a check-up.

Thanks to that, I had the time to parse my questions, separating them into two categories.

First, who knew about my information?

Whether intentional or not, the magical girls don’t know that I can use magic.

Whether the futanari didn’t confess, or if their confessions lacked credibility so they weren’t believed, the result was that no one knew.

But the monster had clearly said this:

*Just gotta stop him from actually swinging it,* or something close.

Meaning, someone told ‘someone’ about my information.

The more I thought about it, the stranger it became. Knowing the precise workings of my magic, which no one else knew, and even being able to connect with a rare monster who could speak.

So I was curious.

Who the hell was that b*stard?

And just as puzzling as this first question, the second was equally perplexing.

Second, just who *was* that guy who possessed him?

The monster used a curse to possess Whitedog with someone unknown.

And that possessed someone was a being that gave off a uniquely sickening feeling of déjà vu because of how they talked.

But who on earth was it?

Someone I met in another world?

Some deadbeat that gave me grief during my part-time job?

The divisional commander and staff who gave me hell when I was an A-rank?

Frankly, I didn’t know. Not even a little could I guess. Despite living a decent life, I met so many trash people that I couldn’t possibly narrow it down.

The questions remained unanswered.

Sorting them out only seemed to make things more tangled.

I felt lost about where to even start.

“Mr. Kim Si-yul, are you there?”

At that moment, a voice pulled me from my reverie.

I turned my head and there was a magical girl.

“Yes, what is it?”

“You can return to the Magical Brigade now. Change your clothes and depart immediately.”

Finally, my stay at the Magical Capital Hospital was at an end.

A welcome development.

Frankly, just remaining idle had been terribly dull.

I wondered if the others were doing well in my absence. Though, I hoped they weren’t doing *too* well.

However, upon further consideration, something felt a little off.

“Just a moment.”

“Why?”

I tilted my head, meeting the magical girl’s questioning gaze.

“Am I just… allowed to leave like this?”

There’s supposed to be at least some semblance of procedure.

But I can just… go?

“Ah, is it the Magical discharge formalities you’re worried about?”

“Yes.”

Even though I phrased it terribly, thankfully, the magical girl understood me perfectly.

“I took care of it magically, with a little… fudging.”

“…….”

Though the work itself was done terribly.

“Why so concerned? Are you worried? It’s fine, I’m a master of Magical fudging.”

“……Ah, right.”

I considered arguing, but decided to let it go.

Any being with the intelligence to say something like that so openly is utterly worthless. Reasoning with the worthless will only frustrate me.

No, I correct myself.

I shouldn’t even *think* of conversing.

The very notion of considering a conversation with the worthless is wrong to begin with.

“Anyway, then I’ll change my clothes and be on my way.”

“Yes, come again!”

Leaving those words behind, the magical girl departed.

I, too, changed my clothes and stepped out of the hospital room. Seriously contemplating whether telling someone to “come again” at a hospital was really appropriate.

Then, I paused in my stride.

“Huh?”

It was because a familiar figure was visible inside the passing hospital room.

The White Magical Girl.

She was in plain clothes, wearing an uncharacteristic, wistful smile, speaking to a man lying on the hospital bed.

“Do-joon, have you been well?”

To the man connected to a respirator, silently with his eyes closed.

Was it because his expression was too peaceful?

Or was there some other, special reason?

The man seemed to be simply asleep, without any problems. He looked far too healthy, to the point that it wouldn’t be strange if he got up from his spot right away.

At that moment, the White Magical Girl opened her mouth.

“Your sister is here.”

Sister… so, an older woman/younger man couple, then?

Well, the image isn’t bad.

Even setting aside the fact that the White Magical Girl looked very young and that the two had similar features, they were, literally, a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

Just then, a familiar voice was heard.

“Today too, Magical Girl White Phoenix-nim has come for a magical bedside visit.”

It was that useless woman from earlier.

She was watching the scene inside the hospital room with interested eyes. Actually, more than interest, it was a slightly sticky gaze, making me feel inexplicably unpleasant.

“Who is that man?”

“That’s Magical Girl White Phoenix-nim’s younger brother, Jin Do-joon.”

“Ah, I see.”

Her brother, huh.

Almost turned an innocent person into an incestuous pervert.

There was a reason their features were similar. Even if they themselves didn’t acknowledge it, they were siblings, so of course their features would be similar.

Meanwhile, the useless woman, without me even asking, was chattering away as if she were excited that something she knew had come up.

“Do-joon was injured during the monster invasion and has been in a magical coma ever since. Magical Girl White Phoenix-nim comes to visit once every week.”

Thanks to that, I obtained all kinds of information about the White Magical Girl, without even intending to.

That she had a family member injured during the monster invasion.

And that the family member was still in a coma.

Now I understood why the White Magical Girl had looked at me so disapprovingly during my first psychological consultation.

“His family gets dragged away, turned into walking corpses, and this deserter gets to live? Frankly, I can’t bring myself to sugarcoat anything.”

Of course, I didn’t actually desert, but still, I could understand his position a little.

It was a wonder his eyes hadn’t gone completely blank.

Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I’d have killed him.

Well, doesn’t really matter now, does it? Seems like he doesn’t hate me anymore.

But what’s this good-for-nothing doing here?

Shouldn’t she be working?

Just then, the useless thing grinned, a nasty little smile, and murmured.

“Our Do-jun, could he be any more handsome today?”

Meaning she was skipping work to ogle a patient’s face. Truly the bottom of the barrel.

Then, as if noticing my gaze, the airhead suddenly turned to me, eyes sparkling.

“Isn’t our Do-jun handsome? Isn’t he?”

Wordlessly, I stared at the man on the bed.

As a fellow man, I hate to admit it.

I have my pride, you know.

But damn it, he really is too handsome.

If I looked like that, I wouldn’t have been humiliated with confession pranks, and I wouldn’t get stabbed with a knife in another world for being ugly.

Why on earth did the heavens slap me together haphazardly while crafting this guy with painstaking care?

I was envious.

Truly.

My heart heavy, I retorted gruffly.

“Well, he’s definitely handsome, I’ll give you that.”

“Right? See, that’s our Do-jun.”

Having thrown away any pretense of social awareness long ago, the airhead just kept grinning, no matter what I said.

Her reaction just irked me for some reason, so I gave her a dazzling smile.

“But I’m still better looking, right?”

“Hey, are you out of your mind?”

“…My apologies.”

I didn’t even come out on top, just ended up apologizing right away.

That, that, that b*tch.

A magic wand, no less.

My lot seemed the same in this world as it did in the other. Treated as less than human.

At that moment, the voice of the white magical girl reached my ears.

“Dojun, please wake up soon.”

She forced a smile while holding her brother’s hand, then buried her face in the bed.

“We need to go greet Mom and Dad.”

She whispered the words, soaked with moisture.

Watching any longer felt wrong, so I quietly started heading back the way I came. The aftershocks would be terrifying if I got caught.

Only, before I turned away, I took a quick look at the man and felt something strange.

Objectively speaking, he seemed perfectly fine, nothing obviously wrong, but something felt off.

I didn’t know why. Just…

Not in the realm of reason, but in the domain of instinct.

Not from knowledge and judgment, but at the level of intuition.

A sudden feeling of disgust and revulsion washed over me.

*

Entering the unit, my mood soured with each step closer to the barracks.

I hadn’t thought much of it while moving, but the moment I arrived, irritation bloomed.

By the time I entered the barracks building, I even felt an urge to flee.

I can’t bring myself to care for this place, after all.

Whether it’s the army or magical girls, it’s all the same.

If I’d known it would be like this, I should have deserted on the way. I could have just claimed I got lost later – why didn’t I?

Still, I couldn’t do anything right now. Half resigned, I trudged on.

Whatever it is, I just need to get through today. Thinking that, I reached for the barracks door handle.

Then quickly pulled my hand away.

“Hngh…! Ahhn…!”

A moan was coming from behind the door.

“What the hell.”

Something strange had happened while I was gone.

Just what is this?

It sounded like something I shouldn’t be hearing.

Two questions bloom in my mind.

Has Sora, who was merely lesbian in word only, finally awakened as a true lesbian? Or is she, unable to find satisfaction in the privacy of her room, resorting to self-pleasure here?

“So-raaah! Ahh! There! Right there! That’s, that’s good!”

Well, hearing Sora’s name suggests the latter isn’t the case. Meaning it must be the former.

If so, who could her partner possibly be?

The moment that thought materializes, a sharp curse cuts through the air, like a lash.

“That, that, that b*tch is at it again! Seriously!”

The voice’s owner is none other than Sora herself.

“Please, don’t make me crave Magical Cigarettes so badly!”

Right as the door to the barracks is kicked open.