Chapter 49
Li Meilin, the born 2-star magical girl of [Harmony] wearing a bamboo-colored palace dress, threw her whole body on the floor in a full kowtow as soon as she entered the back room for an informal tea party of magical girl representatives from three countries after the official reception at the Chinese embassy in Hyoja-dong.
Thud
The elegant zither she held fell to the floor with a heavy sound.
Tremble tremble
Her long black straight hair fluttered on the floor like an orchid, and her fragile body that looked like it would break if tapped shook so much that the floor trembled.
Tremble tremble
“Um, now you should get up and talk…”
“Pl-please spare… my life…”
“No, if you’re going to cower and prostrate yourself right away, why did you put on that show?”
“Wh-what happened in the front room was… be-being watched by hi-high-ranking officials on camera…”
The damage caused by this terrorist attack in China was more severe than what was publicly disclosed.
The buildings of the party-affiliated Supernatural Ability Association near Sichuan and Shanghai were all destroyed, and all the civilians inside the buildings, patients waiting for treatment, and even high-ranking party members were all killed.
Along with the persistent, almost obsessive destruction of state facilities carried out by the magical girl of [Sword], two huge cities experienced chaos comparable to wartime conditions due to persistent strikes on infrastructure.
On top of that, they failed to repel [Sword] even after taking the extreme measure of launching missiles while risking friendly fire.
“There was really nothing we could do…!”
Half of the 240 proud magical girls who were rising as the hope of all China died in one night.
The remaining half who were active in Beijing escaped somewhere in flight.
Of course, the operation of magical girls escaping to Korea with American help was kept secret from the public, but China was in chaos as the hope of incurable diseases being cured by magical girls completely disappeared.
In such a situation, Korea and Japan established protection organizations with their own magical girls rising up, but the picture of Chinese magical girls seeming to be subordinate to other countries looked very bad to party members… that was the circumstance of this matter.
“That’s not my business.”
Kang Dorim said, tidying her long silver hair back and adjusting the silver interpreter made with the cyberbrain world that she was fiddling with in her ear.
Of course, I had been wearing that interpreter since earlier too.
“I-I actually don’t know anything about politics at all! I just did what I was told every day, like heal someone or play music… this time too, they made me the representative just because I’m the only 2-star and my face is pretty…”
Hiing
Li Meilin spoke with big tearful eyes.
Indeed, as she said, Li Meilin was a girl with outstandingly beautiful looks even among magical girls.
Her hair that grew straight down to her waist swayed like willow branches and gave off a subtle fragrance, and her body, neither too big nor too small, drew harmonious curves.
Beauty.
If I had to sum it up in one word, she was a girl that the word ‘beauty’ came to mind first.
“The kids who were good at fighting and had cool abilities and received education from the party to be in charge of politics or diplomacy all went to Shanghai and died… they just told me to do it; it’s not really what I thought of! Please believe me!”
“No, I know that, but why did you put on that show that just pisses people off, really.”
“Huiii… Even the Chairman told me to ask to be as understanding as possible behind the scenes! Really!”
Kang Dorim swung her slender arms around angrily, and Li Meilin turned pale white, knowing that Dorim was a 3-star magical girl who had declared (as was known) a domain.
“I’m really just the daughter of a poor musician family, so I have little education and can only do what the high-ranking people tell me to do! Please spare me!”
Rub rub
Li Meilin rubbed her delicate palms together in various ways, begging for forgiveness.
She had enough rubbing power that if given chopsticks and noodles in blackbean sauce, she could easily mix 10 bowls.
To summarize all of this, the attitude of the Chinese Chairman was…
-I’m sorry, I’m in big trouble… please save my face in front of the kids…
…something like this.
Somehow, unlike the arrogant attitude, the content of the diplomatic document that didn’t put forward any conditions other than establishing a self-governing body, and the attitude of beating around the bush looking for justification, didn’t match.
“I understand, so let’s talk about the details.”
I forcibly lifted Li Meilin with brute force and moved her to the table where the tea was cooling.
“Eek!?”
“First of all, I really don’t want anything from China other than the safety of magical girls as [Beginning].”
“R-really…?”
In the first place, Chinese magical girls were mostly born 1-stars and children who barely survived the threat of terrorism, so there was nothing to demand from them.
Li Meilin twisted her body slightly and glanced at me.
“Really really?”
“Yes.”
“Really? I’m going to record from now on, okay?”
Li Meilin took out a recorder from her sleeve, tilted her head slightly, and glanced at me.
Her slender fingers slowly moved up along the recorder, and she slightly parted her moist lips and gently bit her lower lip with her neat front teeth.
“Really no take-backs?”
“…”
“Oh stop with the coquetry, you crazy bitch!”
Bang!
Kang Dorim, who seemed frustrated with Li Meilin constantly twisting her body and testing the waters, slammed the table and shouted.
“Hiing, but… but I’m the official representative, this attitude isn’t right… please maintain some dignity…”
Li Meilin squirmed, twisting her whole body as if a bug had gotten into her clothes.
“You said to do it off the record!”
“So I’m turning on the recorder now…”
Click
Li Meilin cleared her throat and timidly turned on the recorder.
Unlike the timid attitude she showed until now, Li Meilin started speaking with confident pronunciation like a heroine from a martial arts movie.
“…I, the magical girl of [Harmony], as the representative of China’s Supernatural Ability Association, proudly demand that the magical girl of [Beginning] guarantee the sovereignty and autonomy of Chinese magical girls.”
“…Yes, I, the magical girl of [Beginning], recognize the establishment of a self-governing body for Chinese magical girls and swear not to impose any restrictions on any actions other than infringing on the sovereignty held by magical girls of other countries.”
Click
“Wow! It’s done! Time to go home!”
“…”
Li Meilin excitedly jumped around, holding the recorder, then glanced at me warily and hid the recorder in her chest.
Kang Dorim shook her head seeing that.
In the first place, it was about setting conditions for creating a safe zone for magical girls within my ability, which was close to a natural phenomenon, so the informal talks between the representative magical girls of three Northeast Asian countries were successfully concluded with simple working-level negotiations.
The name of the self-governing body established by Chinese magical girls was ‘Bright Moon’, taken from a verse in Li Bai’s poem, containing longing for the dead magical girls and those who disappeared.
* * *
November 3rd
“When we fought together back then, I didn’t notice because it was chaotic, but you speak Korean quite well, [Beginning].”
Park Saebyeok, sitting in the seat next to me, was smiling with her pink hair completely twisted up while wearing the female dress uniform of the army.
It was a hairstyle carefully done so that her hair would be completely covered if she put on her cap.
The reason for trying to completely hide her hair was that her red-series hair would stand out when attending the memorial service for European Union magical girls in Brussels.
I was accompanying her this time as the magical girl of [Beginning], dressed as a magical girl.
“Fufu, you didn’t know? I even have a Korean identity.”
Shrug.
Park Saebyeok, who had encountered me as ‘Kang Eunbit’ several times, noticed my identity and smiled bitterly.
“Is it Kang Dorim’s doing… But Kang Dorim is a talented person who keeps a smart and righteous mind, so she must have done it with a purpose.”
Suddenly, I remembered Dorim at the Supernatural Ability Countermeasures Headquarters just before departing today, habitually calling Park Saebyeok a ‘crazy bitch’ while laughing and talking about her crazy patriotic episodes.
‘Is this the difference in capacity…’
The magical girl of [Beginning], who had been a mysterious person of unknown identity, began to be recognized as one identity after going through the debutante, domain declaration, fight with terrorists, East Asian magical girl talks, and more.
Above all, it was significant that she really didn’t put forward any conditions for providing domains to Chinese magical girls. After witnessing the autonomous operation of Japan, the first direct jurisdiction, she was treated as a kind of supernatural ability totem.
“…Europe, huh.”
Even Japan was the first place I visited in this world, but to think I would end up going to Europe to declare a domain.
I ended up taking a transport plane launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs together with Park Saebyeok, who was invited to the memorial service after promising to allocate the domain expanded by Kang Dorim’s 3-star blooming to Europe, specifically Belgium, where the European Union’s executive committee is located.
Europe, which suffered the most damage from [Revenge] and [Bombing], with 200 deaths and only 42 magical girls surviving.
I was going with Park Saebyeok to meet the representative there, the magical girl of [Unity].
