Chapter 41
Reina let out a sigh and got into the car, looking exhausted after dealing with the aftermath of the battle. It was the second day since she arrived in Busan.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking at her.
She nodded and replied, “Many people were directly harmed by the monsters, so I can’t complain about being tired. Honestly, the situation isn’t great… but we have to keep going.”
She rarely showed signs of struggle, so her words indicated just how dire the situation was. She blinked wearily while sitting in the car seat before suddenly remembering something.
“Oh, right, there’s somewhere we need to go,” she said, making me raise an eyebrow in curiosity. She shrugged and continued, “Ha-eun invited us over. She said she wanted to treat us to a full-course meal in Busan as thanks for doing a good job. She specifically asked for you to come too.”
I frowned. Ha-eun, inviting Su-hui? It wasn’t impossible, but in the original story, she never acted that way. And inviting me as well? It didn’t make sense. I couldn’t think of a reason why she’d want me there too.
…There had to be something more to this. It didn’t seem like Ha-eun would do this alone.
With that in mind, I drove towards the location Su-hui mentioned. After navigating the busy streets and traffic, we arrived at a sundae-gukbap restaurant.
“Uh… is this the right place?” I asked.
“Yeah, Ha-eun said we had to try gukbap if we came to Busan,” Su-hui replied.
Why would we need to eat sundae-gukbap in Busan, of all places? Though skeptical, I let her out of the car.
“Come on, Seung-hyun, you need to come in too. She asked for both of us,” she insisted.
Sighing, I pressed my fingers against my temples and followed Su-hui to the restaurant door.
“…It says it’s closed today,” Su-hui said, confused.
“Wait, what?” We both stood baffled at the entrance until the door suddenly opened.
“What are you doing? Get in already,” said a voice.
It was Ha-eun, the A-rank magical girl of Busan, whose real name was Park Su-rin. She held the door open, ushering us in.
“Oh, I guess this is the place after all,” Su-hui remarked as we stepped inside. Park Su-rin quickly sat down and turned to me.
“Wow, being the boyfriend of such a popular magical girl must be great. Tall, handsome, you’ve got it all. Take a seat, take a seat,” she said with a teasing tone.
Feeling awkward, Su-hui and I sat down. Park Su-rin called out to the middle-aged woman in the kitchen, “Auntie! Four bowls of gukbap, please.”
Four bowls? I raised an eyebrow. Noticing my expression, Park Su-rin chuckled.
“I’m not eating two bowls. Someone else is joining us,” she explained.
“Oh, I see.”
While I was wondering who that might be, Park Su-rin turned to Su-hui. “You’ve done a lot since you arrived here. And, you have quite an unusual track record. Despite being a B-rank magical girl, you’ve performed better than some of our company’s members.”
“Ahaha… it’s really nothing,” Su-hui replied modestly.
By “our company,” Park Su-rin likely meant Mirinae. I began considering the implications of her words.
It was true that Reina stood out compared to Mirinae’s B-ranks. But to compare her to Ha-eun? That was a stretch. There was a vast gap between A-rank and B-rank.
Still, saying such things suggested that Park Su-rin had some motive behind her words, perhaps wanting to gauge Reina’s abilities.
“If it’s nothing, you might have been better off joining Mirinae. We may not be the best in other areas, but when it comes to fighting monsters, we’re top-notch. They say Mirinae is the place for magical girls to grow.”
That saying did exist in the original story—if you want popularity, go to Yeom-yeong; if you want to make a global impact, choose Mureong-do Garden; but for growth as a magical girl, pick Mirinae. It was almost a proverb in the magical girl community.
However, Su-hui seemed a bit uncomfortable with her comment.
“…My manager is right here, you know,” she pointed out.
“Oh, right. Sorry about that. I just meant that Reina is an exceptional magical girl,” Park Su-rin quickly apologized.
Looking at her, I shook my head. “No worries, it’s fine. I wasn’t offended.”
“Really? Well, that’s a relief. Anyway, our other guest should be here any minute… Ah, here they are.”
As the door to the restaurant opened, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the person who entered.
“What took you so long? We’ve been waiting.”
A woman with a familiar face sat down on the chair—Bing Seol Hwa, or Jung Ha-yeon. She was now sitting right in front of me.
I almost flinched, feeling the instincts of Baek Seung-hyun wanting to take over, but I held back. At this moment, I wasn’t here as Baek Seung-hyun the person but as the manager of the magical girl, Reina.
“Hello, Bing Seol Hwa,” I greeted her.
“Oh, hello…!” Jung Ha-yeon hesitated briefly before slightly bowing her head in response.
“I’ll get straight to the point. I’m here to recruit the magical girl Reina,” she said directly.
Hearing this, I couldn’t help but clench my fists.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
It was quite bold of her to bring up such a thing in front of Reina’s personal manager. Judging from Ha-eun’s expression beside her, it seemed this was not something they had coordinated beforehand.
Lee Su-hui let out a sigh, then looked directly at Jung Ha-yeon. “I have no intention of joining Mirinae.”
Jung Ha-yeon nodded, poured some water into a cup, and took a sip before speaking again.
“I know. I know you don’t want to sign with Mirinae, especially since they’ve treated you poorly before.”
“…!”
Ha-eun glanced at Jung Ha-yeon with her mouth agape. Mirinae’s attempts to manipulate public opinion against Reina were something they had tacitly agreed not to bring up. The fact that Jung Ha-yeon mentioned it now clearly had an ulterior motive.
“But my proposal isn’t for you to stay with Mirinae indefinitely. Just one month—a short-term contract. You don’t even have to give up your personal manager. I need you for the current crisis.”
“…This crisis?”
“The S-rank monster, Unicorn. As for the Black Knight… it’s unfortunate, but right now, Korea’s magical girl forces have no way to contend with him. Even if we tried, it wouldn’t be worth the cost.”
“Is it okay to say that? Especially from someone like you, Bing Seol Hwa…”
“I can say it because I am who I am. The Black Knight is beyond our reach, but the Unicorn is a different story. Unlike the Black Knight, the Unicorn causes significant damage, and defeating it is within the realm of possibility. We have a reason to take it down, and we have a chance to do so. It’s crucial to deal with it quickly.”
“That… makes sense.” Su-hui nodded in agreement.
Jung Ha-yeon continued, glancing between Su-hui and me as she spoke.
“But right now, the magical girl forces in Korea are… not in a great position, to put it mildly. Ha-eun is essentially tied up in Busan, and Hong-ryeon and Artilleri are stuck at the North Korean front. The magical girls of Mureong-do Garden… aren’t particularly strong in direct combat.”
“…So then?”
“I see potential in you. Or rather, Mirinae sees potential in you. Mirinae excels at forming effective combat teams out of magical girls. You’ve been doing well on your own, but with Mirinae’s support, you could achieve even greater results and grow stronger.”
Su-hui furrowed her brow, listening intently as Jung Ha-yeon pressed on.
“So, just one month. A short-term contract solely for dealing with the Unicorn. Your current magic power already seems to be at the upper tier of B-rank, right?”
“…Yes, that’s true.”
“If you sign with Mirinae, they can help you progress even faster. If you achieve significant growth in your magic power within the month, they’ll assist you in taking the A-rank examination.”
Su-hui looked at me, clearly conflicted. Internally, I couldn’t help but feel surprised.
…It was an objectively excellent offer. It was clear that joining Mirinae, even temporarily, would provide better opportunities for Su-hui’s growth than what I could offer as her manager.
“But, even if we defeat the Unicorn before the month is up, you’ll still need to complete the full month with Mirinae. Naturally, you’ll have to be apart from your personal manager during that time. And when the month is over, if you want to stay with Mirinae, you can. If not, you can walk away. What do you think?”
It was an outstanding offer from an objective standpoint. Su-hui looked at me with uncertainty in her eyes. Without hesitation, I spoke up.
“Let’s do it.”
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