“Nh…Noah?”
Noah appeared.
The kid was standing there holding chocolate. On his arm were numerous bandages that looked ominous.
“Brother.”
“…Uncle.”
“Brother!”
The kid came over, throwing a tantrum.
Then he handed me a piece of chocolate. It was heart-shaped.
“I worked hard on this. If you eat this, we’ll be together forever. Now we can truly become one.”
Noah, what do you mean by that?
But my next words didn’t come out. Noah had forcefully shoved the chocolate into my mouth.
Having no choice, I bit into the chocolate and detected an odd metallic taste…
+++++
“…Huh!”
I bolted upright in bed.
“Was it a dream?”
It seems the previous experience was just a dream. What kind of strange dream was that?
Making chocolate with one’s own blood? Noah wouldn’t do something like that.
They say dreams are mirrors reflecting hidden inner desires. So does that mean I have such desires inside me?
For Noah to injure himself and consume the byproduct of that?
“…Impossible.”
It’s driving people crazy.
It’s probably just from being overworked, between part-time jobs and villain work. There’s too much to do.
“Coffee.”
The nearby Kkomkmu crawling around offered instant coffee.
“Here.”
“Alright, thank you.”
Taking the coffee, I opened my notebook. It contained information about Team Athena.
There were names of magical girls listed.
-Iris
-Stella
-Natalia
-Blackheart
In case Noah fails at bonding, I need to step in and make amends.
Take care of our Noah.
‘Stella reconciled well with Lee Tae-hwa, so let’s move on.’
A checkmark appears next to Stella.
‘Natalia is friendly enough despite her straightforward character…’
A question mark goes next to Natalia.
Natalia is the healer of Team Athena and takes on the eldest sister role. With her good nature, she doesn’t require much affection.
However,
‘When Noah accumulates bad karma.’
For example, when doing illegal activities or excessive responses. Or when ignoring citizens asking for help, etc.
In those situations, Natalia, real name Seo Jin-a, becomes hostile. The look from the once gentle older sister who now wants to kill you is bone-chilling.
‘Still, Noah doesn’t seem like someone who would do that. And…’
I’ll just eliminate anyone who might cause Noah to do such things.
I’ll make sure Noah doesn’t cross the line. If I do that, Natalia will remain a reliable healer and ally.
Though, since she’s not completely an ally yet, I’ll keep the question mark.
“…Sigh.”
“Why so glum?”
“This guy is the biggest problem.”
I kindly wrote next to Blackheart: (crazy woman).
Closing my eyes, I slowly recall memories. They’re bad ending memories related to Blackheart.
[Did I…lose…]
[Get a grip, Blackheart! Gah…there are too many enemies!]
[That’s impossible…something’s wrong! Why am I losing to such a weakling?!]
[Blackheart…! Focus and fight!!]
With shock from defeat, half of Blackheart’s mind is gone while fighting the army alone.
An ending where they fail to withstand the overwhelming numbers and end up in a terrible situation.
The scene where all the boasting and arrogance break down and tremble is quite satisfying.
Except for Iris getting dragged into it.
‘…It’d be better to break her pride early.’
No joke, this is actually the method.
Attacking Blackheart with Iris, gaining the upper hand, then forcing submission through strength. This is the most commonly used method.
But I’ll take a slightly different approach.
‘Strong Iris saving Blackheart in a crisis.’
A method that makes one acknowledge the power difference while also instilling gratitude.
Considering reality’s Noah probably wouldn’t beat up someone younger like a dog, I’ll have to do the dirty work.
“Hm…Kkomkmu.”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to have more work.”
“What’s new about that? As long as you keep delivering the promised romance novels regularly, I’m fine.”
I gently patted Kkomkmu’s head.
“It’d be nice if Kkomkmu became human someday.”
“Why?”
“So you could meet a good person.”
“Denied.”
“Huh?”
“That’s a cliché line. When the male lead says ‘you should meet a good person,’ the female lead blushes and says ‘but I already have…’ meaning you…”
“…”
“You and Noah should get along well…”
“Young man, I think I need to confiscate your books for a while.”
“No!”
Quickly rushing to hide the books in his nest.
My head hurt.
Lee Tae-hwa and Kkomkmu, why can’t these kids stop trying to pair us up?
“Sigh…”
As I sighed, the doorbell rang.
Opening the door, a girl with white hair greeted me.
“Uncle, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah.”
It was Noah.
The kid was dressed up nicely, ready to meet teammates.
“You look good.”
“Hehe, don’t I?”
Noah twirled around, a pleasant fragrance carried by the wind.
…This is.
“I see, you used the perfume I gave you.”
“Yes! I love the smell!”
“That’s good then.”
I prepared lunch for Noah. One of the reasons I called him here.
And the other reason is…
“Noah.”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to check your fortune before you go?”
“Yes?”
You know how to read fortunes?
Yeah, I learned a little.
Of course, I don’t really know how. It just came to mind while looking for a way to warn Noah.
I took out tarot cards and began shuffling them. Cards scattered across the table.
Noah thought for a moment before picking a card.
“This one!”
The card Noah picked was Death. A card showing a white skeleton riding a horse.
Noah’s expression darkened after seeing the card.
“Hmm…it’s a bad card, right?”
“It is, but it can change depending on your efforts. See that rising sun on the right end?”
“Yes.”
“Things might get tough, but if you endure, new changes may come.”
“Endure…”
“Yeah, if tough times come, just endure a bit. That’s probably what you should do today.”
Noah nodded.
“Yes. Endurance is my specialty.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
I patted the kid’s head. Today will be tough for him dealing with Blackheart.
At least let him relax while he’s with me.
He smiled widely.
Soon, he handed me a box as thanks for the lunch.
“What’s this?”
“Chocolate.”
Creepy!
Goosebumps ran down my body.
“Ch…chocolate?”
“Yes. I thought about you while…”
“…”
“…buying it.”
“…Phew.”
Thank goodness. I thought it was another ‘Noah-added’ chocolate. But maybe I misunderstood because Noah started hesitating.
“Maybe…are you disappointed it’s not homemade?”
“Huh?”
“Next time, I’ll definitely give you homemade.”
“No, I’m happy to receive anything. It’s the first time I’ve received chocolate from a girl.”
Thinking about it, it’s funny. I sort of had girlfriend-like relationships, but we never exchanged gifts.
Why was I even following someone like that?
“My first time giving chocolate to an uncle…”
“Yeah, congratulations. Thank you, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes! Please enjoy! Then I’ll go now. I don’t have much time…”
“Alright, be careful.”
With such a cute younger sister around.
I waved goodbye to Noah and opened the package. Inside were small, adorable chocolates.
I chewed on a sweet chocolate and made a wish.
Please Noah,
‘Don’t hit Blackheart with bread rolls…’
To get through today safely.
+++++
“Noah! Over here!”
“Tae-hwa!”
Where Noah met Tae-ha. It was in front of a large building.
A place that never gets familiar no matter how many times you visit.
Going from a tiny dorm room to here feels like developing agoraphobia.
“Huge…”
“Our restaurant is big too…but this place seems even bigger.”
Hero Association.
Looks like an ordinary mid-sized company, but it actually manages heroes.
Noah and Tae-hwa are also registered magic girls here, receiving their first team gathering.
“I wonder what kind of people they are.”
“We won’t know until we meet them directly, right?” “Still, it’s nerve-wracking.”
After hesitating for a while, Tae-hwa noticed something. A large bundle wrapped in cloth.
“What’s that?”
“A lunch prepared by Uncle.”
That was Noah’s lunch.
Just by looking, it was a huge size.
“Are you going to eat that alone?”
“Nonsense! We’ll share it.”
“Indeed…so Noah also takes care of people and scores points…”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. What’s inside?”
Like that, the girls chatted for a while. By the time they finished talking, their tension had eased somewhat.
Noah extended her hand to Tae-ha.
“Let’s hold hands like we used to. We always did this when we were scared, remember?”
“Should we?”
“Then, it’s been a while.”
Remembering the old days of going on adventures together, the girls giggled and took a step forward.
And a man greeted those girls.
“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Yudali from the reception department.”
The neatly dressed man led the two to the conference room.
Following the guidance, the two sat down and soon started chatting.
“The manager is handsome…”
“Is he?”
“Yes. But why aren’t you reacting?”
“Isn’t Uncle better?”
“…Severe case. Go on, tell me more. What’s good about that uncle? What makes your heart race?”
“It’s not like that!”
Unaware that someone was listening to their conversation.
“Hey, what are you talking about? Can I join in?”
Something softly pressed against their heads. Feeling the soft texture, the two hastily stood up and saw.
A giant marshmallow mass.
No.
“Hello. Aren’t you cute? Are you magic girls too?”
The red-haired woman waving happily at them.
Her tall stature, sturdy figure, and slightly tanned skin exuded healthiness. Anyone would feel the strong vibe of ‘older sister’.
Seeing this, Noah spoke up.
“Magic Girl Natalia…no, is Ms. Seo Jin-a correct?”
“Yes, but calling me Ms. Jin-a feels awkward.”
“Then…”
“Call me sister.”
“Yes, Sister.”
“Heehee, I’m glad to have cute younger sisters. Why are you together? Are you friends?”
“Yes, we’ve known each other since we were young.”
Tae-ha greeted with a “Hello,” and Seo Jin-a warmly accepted it with a smile.
What should I say?
“She seems like someone who’d be popular.”
Bright smiles, easy-going personality, and excellent looks.
She’s cool enough to make one slightly envious.
“Did Uncle make a mistake?”
The fortune told me today would be tough, but the atmosphere has been good from the start.
Perhaps that Blackheart person is also a nice person.
Such expectations of Noah were shattered.
BOOM!
“Shut up already.”
“…”
“Who’s crying like a baby bird asking for food?”
“…”
“And you, aren’t you that Magic Girl Natalia or something?”
“…Me?”
“Magic girl at twenty-five? That’s not a girl, but…”
Rude Magic Girl Blackheart’s entrance broke everything apart.
“Chicken…stew!”
