Chapter 179
Finally, it’s the 10th Anniversary Magical Girl Festival of the Demon Realm War.
Of course, Pretty Heart and I did the sticky magical girl rock-paper-scissors early in the morning that day.
So, something feels… a bit off.
…The Pretty Heart holding my hand next to me has strangely smooth and shiny skin.
This girl, is she getting healthier by fulfilling her desires…? No, that can’t be it.
She’s not some succubus or anything.
“Uuung…”
“…Ame. Stop flying around in the streets and walk properly.”
“Mmm… I don’t wanna…”
“If you don’t, I won’t buy you snacks.”
“…!!”
By the way, Gravity is floating behind us, following along.
When I said I wouldn’t buy her snacks, she got startled, hurriedly landed, and started walking on two feet.
While tightly holding Diamond Dust’s hand.
“…Big sis, you’re really good at handling kids, huh?”
“Handling? If someone hears that, they’ll think I’m some crazy pedo.”
“At the point where you’re sleeping with Pretty Heart… Huh? Wait…”
“…Just so you know, Pretty Heart is an adult now, and her chest is this big.”
“Huh?! Wh-why are you suddenly talking about my chest…?!”
“It’s huge.”
“That’s why I said I’m not that big~!”
Hmm… What is it? Don’t most girls like having a big chest?
Of course, I know that those with bigger chests have their own struggles, like shoulder pain, but magical girls don’t have that issue.
Plus, their Cooper’s ligaments are fine, so there’s no sagging.
…Well, if it’s so big that it’s way larger than their head, it might look a bit weird.
“Wow~… A festival this early in the morning? Isn’t it too early?”
“Mom~! Hurry up~!”
“Taehee, did you sleep well yesterday?”
“Ah! Magical Girl Auntie~! I slept well!”
I thought we kept her out pretty late last night, but surprisingly, she’s fine this morning.
Did she wash up and go straight to bed when she got home?
Or maybe she took a nap during the day or something.
“By the way, Yura. If the kid runs ahead, you need to catch her right away. Even though the security is good these days, it’s not like there are no criminals. If she gets kidnapped, it’ll be a huge headache.”
“I know~! Really, how old do you think I am?”
“A big-headed brat.”
“What~?!”
Whether she’s in her 30s or a mom now… she’s still the same as ever.
Anyway… even if she’s my younger sister, isn’t it a bit too much that she hasn’t changed at all?
It’s good to stay youthful, but why does she still act like a half-brat?
“Taehee~, should Daddy give you a piggyback ride?”
“Yes! Give me a ride!”
“Alright, up we go~!”
In the end, my brother-in-law decided to give her a piggyback ride.
She’ll probably get down soon and start running around again anyway.
Kids under 10 can’t sit still for long.
“By the way, sis. Aren’t you doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Like a festival talk show or something. The Fairy Queen is supposed to do a one-hour talk show on that stage over there.”
“Well… I cut that kind of stuff off at the ‘chubby’ stage, so not really. Besides, even if I did a talk show there, I wouldn’t have much to say. It’d be a miracle if I didn’t punch someone.”
“Ah~ Right~… There are so many rude MCs and reporters!”
No matter where you go, there are always those so-called journalists or celebrities who are clueless and have no manners.
I avoid those kinds of events just to not see those kinds of people.
Even when I allow interview requests, I only permit a select few reporters.
“By the way… what are Ayun and Ame doing?”
Speaking of which, why do Diamond Dust and Gravity have their mouths full of something…?
What are they eating that their mouths are so stuffed?
Both are adults, so why do they act like kids…?
“…? Eat this.”
“Om nom nom…”
“That’s huge… Wait, did you stuff that whole big shrimp in your mouth in one bite?”
“…Yes.”
“…Cough.”
Shrimp this early in the morning…? Wait, there’s a stall selling shrimp at this hour?
…It’s probably frozen, right?
How do they manage refrigeration at a stall?
It’s not like they brought a fridge with them or anything.
“By the way, when does the Fairy Queen’s talk show start?”
“That one? Hmm~ Probably from 2 PM!”
“Really? It’s still morning, so there’s plenty of time.”
The Fairy Queen… she used to be buried in paperwork, but lately, she seems so free…
Plus, her steps seem oddly light, and she’s always running around eating this and that…
“Wow…”
“What’s that…?”
“I wonder…”
“Mmm…?”
While walking around after buying some snacks, we found a really strange place.
I thought it couldn’t be, but it’s really a magical girl cosplay spot…
Wait, you can even try on the cosplay outfits right away?!
“Wow~! Mom, mom! I wanna try that on~!”
“Okay! Let’s try it on together!”
Taehee wants to try it on… Well, she’s a kid, so it’s understandable.
But Yura, don’t you dare try it on too.
A chicken coop magical girl is a bit much, don’t you think?
…Well, her appearance is early 20s, but still…
“Ta-da~!”
“Ta-da~!”
“You two look exactly the same…”
They say daughters usually take after their fathers, but from looks to behavior… she’s just a carbon copy of Yura?
I’m really worried about Taehee’s future…
I hope she at least has a sharp mind… but it’s hard to tell at this point.
If she were exceptionally smart, she would’ve stopped crying randomly as a baby and started fake-coughing to call her parents, but there was none of that.
She might not have anything extraordinary, but if she inherited Yura’s brains, there’s still hope.
Speaking of which, what was Yura’s IQ again…? 133?
…Taehee, please take after Yura’s brains.
“…It surprisingly suits you.”
“What do you mean, ‘surprisingly’~!”
“Magical Girl Auntie~! You transform too~!”
“Even if I transform, it’s not a regular magical girl outfit…”
“Hurry up~!”
“Sigh… Fine, I’ll transform.”
I had no choice but to transform due to Taehee’s tantrum.
It’s a starkly different outfit from regular magical girls—dark and MZ-like…? Well, something like that.
If you were expecting a flashy and pretty magical girl outfit, you’d be totally disappointed.
“…?”
“…This is my transformed state, Taehee.”
“Something’s different! It’s weird!”
“It’s not weird. …Wait, is it? I didn’t have this outfit in the beginning either…”
Taehee seems to be tilting her head because it’s different from what she expected, so I’ll just cancel the transformation right away.
Everyone’s staring and taking pictures, so it’s a bit awkward.
Even though I’m pretty famous, thanks to the passage of time, it’s not as bad as before. If it were the old days, people would’ve swarmed around, and I’d have to run away.
“By the way, sis, didn’t you say your outfit was different in the past?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Can’t you transform into that?”
“Nope. I don’t really plan to, and even if I tried, the transformation outfit is fixed. Unless there’s a significant mental shock, it won’t change, so give up.”
“Eh~!”
“Eh~!”
“…Taehee’s copying you. You should act more like a mom.”
…Actually, I can transform into the old outfit, but I lied to avoid trouble.
It’s a bit embarrassing to wear the old outfit now… for various reasons.
If I had to say, I only do it briefly when I’m with Pretty Heart at night… Ahem.
“Amelia unnie~!”
“Mmm…?”
“Ta-da~! I’m a magical girl too~!”
“……???”
“Don’t make that face like you don’t know how to react, Ame unnie. She’s just a kid.”
“Mmm…”
Anyway, we can’t keep walking around like this, so we should return the costumes soon.
I think she had enough fun, and since some magical girls are performing over there, let’s head that way.
There are often idol hopefuls who contract as magical girls, so I’ll just go watch for a bit.
Even though they look like that, since they’ve contracted as magical girls, they’ll probably fight demons occasionally, right?
So even if it’s annoying, I won’t say anything.
If they only contracted for publicity and don’t even do that, I would’ve beaten them up on the spot.
“Ah! Let’s go over there! It smells really delicious!”
“Nari… you’re still the same…”
“Huh? Let’s go eat!”
“Alright, let’s go eat.”
Meanwhile, Pretty Heart is excited to find something tasty…
…Ah, the smell is really good.
“Chili con carne! They’re selling it at the stall too!”
“Right… Wait, it’s more like a restaurant prepared it separately, not a stall.”
“Is that so?”
“Plus, if they just store it in ziplock bags in a fridge and cook it when needed, it’s enough for selling, so they’re probably doing it that way.”
By the way, even though it’s chili con carne that’s been refrigerated, it’s still really tasty.
Cayenne pepper, paprika powder, cumin… Honestly, with these ingredients, it can’t be bad.
Thanks to Pretty Heart, we found a place with good food.
This is Seoul, after all—there’s every kind of shop here.
“This much in a coated paper bowl… It’s more than I expected for the price.”
“Isn’t that because it’s a festival?”
“No. During festivals, vendors are experts at ripping people off. They charge outrageous prices.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. That’s why there’s always controversy, and festivals get canceled… It’s always a mess.”
But this time, it’s a global festival, and there are magical girls flying around everywhere, so they probably don’t have the guts to do that.
Especially since many of the magical girls are from that era, and if they see someone committing a crime, they’ll turn them into a bloody mess and arrest them on the spot…
…Yeah, it’s scarier than dealing with the police.
So instead of being rip-off scammers, they’re probably more focused on promoting their shops.
“Ah, this is delicious.”
“Yummy…”
“Mom! I wanna eat that too~!”
“Okay~ Ah, it looks tasty! Sir, two bowls, please!”
“…Honey, what about mine?”
“Ah! Sorry~! Sir, make that three bowls!”
Yura… still as scatterbrained as ever…
No matter how you look at it, who forgets their own husband’s portion?
“Unnie, say ah~.”
“…Huh?”
By the way, why is Nari doing this here…
Sigh, fine, okay.
“…Ah~.”
“Ah, another lovey-dovey act…”
“Lovey-dovey act…”
“…You guys, stop staring.”
“You’re doing it right in front of us and telling us not to look…”
“So unfair…”
You guys… just turn your heads then.
Why are you still staring like that?
And Nari, why are you being so oblivious?
Well, it’s cute, but… do you really need to do this here…? Never mind.
Here, you say ah~ too.
“Mmm~!”
“Do you really need to do this when we’re eating the same thing…?”
“It tastes much better when unnie feeds me!”
“Right…”
Seriously… I’m starting to get tired already this morning…