“…We’ve arrived. This is where the entrance ceremony is taking place.”
In the auditorium, there was a particular spot where an unusually large number of people had gathered. It was towards this that Lee Tae-hwa spoke.
I replied to him.
“I see. Thanks for the effort.”
“…Then, I’d like you to let me go now.”
“Guess I should. But before that…”
“Before that?”
“Will you promise not to blab about me?”
The kid pondered for a moment. Though he held no malice, objectively speaking, the situation was one where an individual with strange abilities had infiltrated the school grounds.
Whether he was a villain or an unregistered person was unclear, but even so, it was quite a threatening situation.
After a brief deliberation, Lee Tae-hwa spoke.
“…First off, why are you doing this…no, could you tell me what your relationship with Noah is?”
The crux of the matter was indeed Noah.
Noah and Lee Tae-hwa shared a rather peculiar relationship.
When they were younger, they were friends who played together at the same children’s center. Noah was such a good friend that he helped Tae-hwa, even at the cost of his own suffering, when Tae-hwa was being bullied.
However, strangely enough, their relationship soured after that. What exactly happened remains unknown.
But there’s something I do know.
“I…uh…am Noah’s friend? No, maybe more than that?”
“Uh?”
“Just think of me as a guardian. Yeah, that fits perfectly.”
“…Well, even if that’s true, you do realize this is illegal, right?”
“I know, I know. That’s why I’m offering you a deal. I’m not heartless enough to ask for something for free.”
“…I’ll hear you out.”
“You don’t want to reconcile with Noah? I think I can help with that.”
In the game, Tae-hwa wanted to reconcile with Noah. The way to increase intimacy with Tae-hwa involved reconciliation, conversation, and spending ordinary time together.
By continuing these interactions, eventually Noah would fully reconcile with Tae-hwa, becoming comrades.
The only downside is that this usually happens towards the very end.
Having a reliable comrade and another magical girl join early on would make the game easier, which isn’t surprising.
But this is reality; there are no such constraints here.
“…With Noah?”
Slurp.
Tae-hwa took the bait.
As I observed his reaction, I gently loosened the tendrils. Thin threads snapped, and Tae-hwa regained his freedom, turning to look at me.
“Is that really true?”
“Of course, you can trust me.”
“…It’s hard to believe someone who came dressed in a school uniform.”
“That’s fair. To be honest, I’m nervous too, right now.”
“Why?”
“Because I might get caught by Noah. If that happens…well, I doubt it’ll just end with being called a pervert.”
Even though it’s unlikely I’ll get reported now, it’s still scary. Do you like uniforms? Should I wear one every time we meet from now on?
“Why do you do this even though you know better?”
“What can I say? It’s for Noah’s sake.”
“…So what exactly does that mean?”
“Don’t dig too deep. Just…I have some information, and I plan to use it to help Noah. Remember that much.”
Faced with my stubborn attitude, Tae-hwa sighed, seemingly giving up. Instead, he asked about the threads from earlier.
“Was that…a thread?”
Thankfully, Tae-hwa didn’t seem to realize it was a tentacle. Taking inspiration from his words, I nodded.
“Yeah. My ability allows threads to come out of my hands.”
“Can you also control people with those threads?”
“I just tried it for the first time, but somehow it worked. Why would someone like me need such a thing?”
“…Did you report it?”
“I will soon. It hasn’t been long since this ability appeared.”
Tae-hwa still eyed me suspiciously.
This won’t do. I didn’t want to resort to this method, but…
I pulled out my phone and dialed Noah.
Ring-ring…ring-ring…
[Hello~]
“Noah? What’s that sound?”
[Just kidding, just kidding. This is Noah, I’ve answered the call.]
“Two jokes in a row? You’re gonna give me a heart attack, kid.”
[Hehe, what’s up all of a sudden?]
Switching to speakerphone, Noah’s voice came through loud and clear.
Tae-hwa’s eyes widened.
“No, I just thought I’d reach out.”
[Hm.]
“Why?”
[That line just now sounded like something a boyfriend would say shortly after starting to date.]
“Boyfriend? What—”
[Hehe.]
Ignoring the dumbfounded Tae-hwa, the conversation between Noah and me continued.
About five minutes passed.
[Alright, I’ll hang up now.]
“Okay, see you later tonight.”
[Yeah! I’ll buy you something delicious!]
“Sounds good. See you then.”
[Alright, see you later.]
Tae-hwa still looked dazed. After a while, he muttered softly.
“…Is that really Noah?”
“Yeah. You can tell by the voice, right? Surely you haven’t forgotten your friend’s voice?”
“H-How could I! It’s just…I never knew he could sound so cheerful…”
After hesitating for quite some time, Tae-hwa finally sighed, nodding at me.
“I’ll trust you.”
“Thanks.”
“In return, please definitely arrange for me to meet Noah. It’s been over a year since we’ve even talked.”
“Of course, I promised, didn’t I.”
Tae-hwa still looked uneasy.
But reluctantly, he sent me off.
“Phew.”
Even though I haven’t started anything major yet, it feels like I’ve just added unnecessary work.
Ultimately, it’s something I’ll have to do eventually anyway.
+++++
“Everyone attention. Salute towards the principal.”
Hello.
‘…I never thought I’d be doing this again.’
A small laugh escaped me. When I was in high school, I used to count down the days until graduation, never imagining I’d willingly come back to a place like this.
And I certainly didn’t expect to endure another session of the principal’s boring lecture.
The balding principal droned on. Everyone looked visibly bored.
‘Some things never change.’
Maybe it’s a universal rule that the principal’s speech is always dull. Sitting on the second-floor seats gave me a view below, so I decided to watch Noah instead.
Noah sat listening to the principal. For a few minutes, he seemed attentive.
‘Taking a nap right in front of the principal?’
Soon, Noah began to nod off.
Bold move. Not everyone can pull that off easily.
His head bobbed forward.
Bang! His forehead slammed into the seat in front of him.
Only then did Noah wake up, awkwardly apologizing to the student in front.
What can I say?
‘…He looks so much like a teenager at this age, it’s nice.’
Noah tries to act as mature as possible given his responsibilities. Lately, he’s relaxed a bit, but before it was almost impossible to even talk to him.
I just hope Noah’s day goes peacefully today.
My expectations were quickly dashed as the incident began.
A blood-curdling scream “Ahh!!!” and a loud crash “Boom!” echoed.
A female teacher’s scream from the lower floor.
The bloody body of a male teacher rolling on the ground.
Suddenly, silence fell, followed instantly by screams.
Interrupting them all was a roar.
“Silence!!!”
Heavy footsteps approached as a demon entered. A face I recognized, one burned into my memory that I couldn’t forget.
To begin with, it’s almost impossible to forget someone with such a strong presence.
“There are many young ones here.”
Height easily exceeding 2 meters. Blue skin. A pig-like face and a wildly gripped massive axe.
Noah’s first boss and the enemy that must be escaped from for the story to progress.
The Orc Lord ‘Bag’.
The brute surveyed the frozen students and grinned, showing his tusks.
“Good. By the Demon King’s will. Grow our army and train soldiers. Turn the men into meat and ravage the women.”
Following Bag’s words, three orcs entered the auditorium from behind, grinning unpleasantly in anticipation.
“…”
Seeing this brought back memories of a bad ending I’d seen before.
+++++
[Kraaaagh…!]
As Iris rolled on the ground, everyone present understood.
Iris had lost.
Those who couldn’t escape watched helplessly, their faces filled with despair.
“The magical girl has fallen…”
“So what does that mean for us…!”
Despair spread.
Some knelt down, others cried, and some even wet themselves.
Under the weight of overwhelming despair, Iris struggled to rise once more.
But that was her limit.
“Haa…haa…”
Her legs trembled, saliva dripped from her chin.
I feel like dying. I just want to collapse right now.
But she couldn’t betray these expectations.
“To charge again…”
The girl stood up.
And this is what the world calls…
‘A futile effort.’
“More tears.”
“Cough!?”
Iris dropped to her knees again after a powerful blow to the stomach, feeling her strength drain away.
“Huff…huff…”
“…Do you wish to protect them?”
“What…do you mean?”
“I’ll give you a chance.”
Slowly, Bag’s pants slid down.
“If you help me, I’ll let the rest live.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. So hurry.”
“…Tch. Guess I have no choice.”
+++++
Iris had no choice but to have relations with Bag to save the people…and naturally, the promise was broken as he took her back to his lair.
That’s the bad ending related to Bag.
Early on as Iris, there was no way to win, making it mandatory to avoid this fight.
Twitch.
I could feel a black tentacle stirring within me.
Thinking of his disgusting face while toying with Iris made me want to punch him right away.
‘…Hold on.’
But my role right now is merely to observe. I should intervene only if Noah seems like he’s about to lose.
What’s important is for Noah to overcome this and grow stronger on his own. While I may be able to help now, it would be problematic if I couldn’t in the future.
‘…Why did I put myself through all that hardship for a year?’
Let’s trust Noah here.
In the span of a year, while I became an S-rank villain, Noah grew equally strong.
All fueled by his determination to defeat me.
Perhaps the current Noah can achieve victory against Bag.
Rushing somewhere urgently, Noah likely went to transform.
And during that time…
“I’ll hold them off! Everyone evacuate!”
A magical girl with blue hair reaching her waist and wearing a black maid outfit appeared first.
‘That’s dedication for you.’
This was Tae-hwa’s magical girl form, ‘Stella.’
As Stella chanted her spell, starlight sparkled around the magic circle and shot out.
It was a technique that fired shooting stars like arrows.
While Iris was a close-range tank-dealer, Stella was a long-range dealer. This was why they complemented each other well.
The starlight pierced through the orcs’ bodies as they stumbled back.
“Idiots!”
Bag cursed at them and took all the starlight hits with his body.
Stella was shocked.
“He blocked it with his body!?”
“Tsk.”
Whish.
With a slicing sound, Bag disappeared. It seemed Stella, with less experience, missed his movement.
But I clearly saw it.
‘From above.’
Bag’s figure descending from above.
Whoosh.
A massive axe swung down, barely dodged by Stella.
If they kept fighting like this, Stella’s defeat was certain.
No matter how much distance she kept while attacking.
“Weak and slow.”
“Grrr…!”
“Disappointing. Perhaps it suits you better to join us?”
“Shut up!”
If attacks don’t land and you’re quickly caught, there’s no winning.
It’s not that Stella is weak.
Born with the qualities of a hero, with proper training, she could probably reduce Bag to rags in an instant.
Simply put, Bag is currently stronger than Stella.
With light steps, Bag grabbed Stella by the neck.
“Grrr…!”
“Got you.”
“Cough…!”
“Brothers, I’ll throw this one to you. Let her realize her true nature!”
Stella was in danger.
I briefly considered transforming. After all, Stella is Iris’ best partner.
Thinking long-term, keeping her alive would be several times more helpful.
Just as I was about to contact Kkomkmu to transform,
“Get your dirty hands off! Smelly uncle!”
Iris appeared from afar.
She crouched low, encircling her fists with a magic circle.
“Another magical girl?”
“Yeah. Even I was surprised to meet a comrade here.”
“So what?”
Bag’s hand gripping Stella’s neck tightened further.
“Before you get here, this woman will die.”
“…”
“You seem to be a striker type…can you reach me in time?”
Bag’s path was blocked by the smaller orcs.
It was obvious Iris wouldn’t reach in time.
Facing the crisis of losing her comrade.
At that moment.
“I don’t necessarily need to go there.”
Instead, Iris smiled calmly.
“I fought a villain called Kraken and tried all sorts of things. Just punching…throwing firebombs from afar. Then I realized having a couple of ranged attacks wouldn’t be bad.”
“Ranged attacks?”
“Encircling my fists with a magic circle isn’t my only ability.”
“What—”
“See for yourself. It’s pretty exhausting, but the effect is definite.”
“…! Block him quickly—”
“Take this and scram.”
The speed was too fast to react.
The force too great to counter.
Iris threw a punch into the air, releasing a beam of pure energy.
Like a masterful brushstroke, the straight line carved through the air, smashing through one orc’s head.
“…Grrr!”
It forced Bag to release Stella due to the shockwave.
Thrown by the impact, Bag collided with a wall, creating a large hole.
Truly impressive power.
I felt proud.
That the kid had grown so strong.
“…Finish him off, Noah.”
Now, it’s time to show the fruits of the past year’s efforts.
