Transformation or Death

 Get on Board (4)

“Yes…?”

The owner was flustered and asked back. It was understandable. 

The theme of the conversation just now was advising against buying this land. But ignoring that advice and saying she’ll buy the cafe, it must seem absurd.

“If you feel sorry for this old lady, reconsider it, Miss…”  

“No! That’s not it!”

Joo Ah-yoon immediately refuted. 

“I think it’s a good opportunity. The owner is putting up the shop that became a white elephant, and we’re buying this place we happen to like. Isn’t it a win-win?”

“No, hey Joo Ah-yoon. Come here for a sec.”

Suddenly grabbing the nape of the excited Joo Ah-yoon’s neck, he whispered in her ear.

“What are you saying all of a sudden, Joo Ah-yoon? Why are you telling her to sell this perfectly fine shop?”

“It’s not fine, and she’ll end up selling it anyway. It’s better for me to buy it in advance. You said the vibe here is nice too, the location is decent.” 

“Taking over isn’t like waiting in line for a popular restaurant. It’s not first-come, first-served.”

“But it’ll be okay, right? They said this became a place to be cautious of villains, who else would buy this place besides me?”

“Besides a crazy b*tch like you, no one probably.”

“What was that?”

If there was someone buying land in a ‘be cautious of villains’ area, 99 out of 100 people would call them a crazy b*tch. The remaining 1 would suspiciously wonder what illegal things they’d do with that land.

“Ah-yoon. Think about it. What does that mean? It means no customers. What’s the point if no customers come? No matter how strong the self-satisfactory aspect of opening a business is, you have to consider profitability.”

“Eheh~ This brother only knows one thing, not two.”

Joo Ah-yoon grinned widely.

“This isn’t a ‘be cautious of villains’ area, but a ‘be cautious’ area, right? An area before it fully becomes a slum.”

“Right, an area expected to transform into a ‘be cautious’ area in a few months, with residents advised to evacuate.”

“You only know one thing, not two. Brother, a ‘be cautious’ area has a high chance of having that warning lifted later. If the villain report rate drops below 3 per week, the warning is naturally lifted.”  

“How is that possible? Once villains increase, they don’t decrease…”

No, it’s definitely possible.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Brother, if you have power, you should use it.”

That’s right, we can directly subdue the villains ourselves. With our abilities specialized in high-speed movement, we can exterminate villains roaming this area unnoticed without being reported.

Joo Ah-yoon grinned and whispered fiendishly in my ear, “You know? There are statistics that areas re-designated as normal after being ‘be cautious of villains’ areas become famous for thorough management, and land prices skyrocket several times…”

“Hey, what happened to love and peace?”

It was a quintessential private exploitation of power.

“…We have to give what needs to be given.”

“But that’s… really?”  

“For now, yes.”

Joo Ah-yoon said firmly.

“It’s time to go from Magical Girl Pink Deneb defending justice to the capitalist Cassiopeia soaring in the sky…!”

“What happened to protecting?”  

“Well… Capitalism is an ideology too, and ideologies are dreams, so wouldn’t this still count as protecting dreams?”

“Wow…”

I could only be amazed at her ingenious extensibility. Seeming innovative even to herself, she winked and teased me.

“Aren’t I smart?”

I feel like knocking on her head to hear what sound it makes. 

How long ago did I explain the potential dangers of transformation, for her to immediately try to exploit it like this? Is she being daring or just oblivious to risks?

When did our Ah-yoon become so corrupt?

Is there really no one who can maintain innocence in this bleak modern society?

Red Vega suddenly came to mind, but I quickly dismissed the thought.

‘That friend isn’t innocent, she’s just lost her flavor.’

Excluding her sense of justice, she’s not that innocent in other aspects either.

I’m still curious about what kind of confidence allowed her to boldly watch adult broadcasts in the hospital room. Even if it’s a small smartphone screen, there were people around, wasn’t she embarrassed at all?

“Well… My Ah-yoon is impressive. As expected, those who earn money know how to spend it properly…”

As evident from her thinking this way, Joo Ah-yoon isn’t stupid. She’s a normal person who prioritizes her own life first. Such a person wouldn’t recklessly use her transformation powers without properly investigating first.

To think of transforming for money’s sake. By my standards of weighing pros and cons, it’s unacceptable, but I guess Joo Ah-yoon’s standards differ.

My doubt turned to certainty.

Joo Ah-yoon’s transformation is far safer than mine.

‘Did she deliberately not tell me… Out of consideration for me?’

Perhaps that was the case.

If the same transformation differs in safety, I might feel unfairly treated for no reason.

Joo Ah-yoon once mentioned the abilities of a magical girl, ‘She’s freakishly strong but I’m just a support, I kinda wanna get beat up too’. Having experienced that, it’s not too strange for her to worry that I might feel the same jealousy and inferiority as she did back then.

She’s grown to consider not just money but people’s feelings too. Her growth is both admirable and regretful.  

“The Joo Ah-yoon that brother cherishes is good at making money.”

Well, it’s not good to live like a complete pushover either. Since no one is losing out from Joo Ah-yoon buying this cafe, it’s not too bad for her to make a little profit.

Since I tend to neglect money matters, it’s reassuring to have someone by my side who can take care of finances.

“Shall we start the negotiations again?” 

Joo Ah-yoon smiled faintly and waved her hand at me. It meant not to worry and leave it to her.

Then she returned to the negotiation table and had an in-depth conversation with the owner.

She did her best to persuade her, saying that although it was a short time, we were so fascinated by the atmosphere of this place, how unsatisfactory the places we had seen before were, that she was willing to bear the loss, and so on.

Sometimes mixing jokes and sincerity, she even strayed into superstitions like fatalism and geomancy, enchanting the owner.

She did not omit talking about money either. Once the area was designated as a place to be cautious of rogue villains, it would not be easy for it to be taken over anyway. In the midst of this, it was almost a miracle that someone appeared willing to take over this store.

She emphasized several times that it was profitable for you but a loss for us.

Perhaps later on, we would gain several times the profit…

“What do you think?”

The owner did not seem reluctant at all. Rather, she looked pleased.

She wouldn’t have to go around looking for a store even after the new year.

Ah-yoon is reliable!

“I’m sorry. Still a bit…”

Ah-yoon is still a little unsatisfactory!

“Yes, yes?! Why?”

“They say suffering when you’re young is normal… But even so, monetary loss is not easy to recover once you’ve experienced it. I have a child around your age and I’m worried. I’m grateful that you liked my store, but if you take some time, you might find a better place. Let’s just drop this discussion…”

“Wait a minute!”

Joo Ah-yoon hurriedly stopped her. Out of the blue, she whispered something in the owner’s ear. I couldn’t hear it from where I was. The owner’s expression was not very good. She was full of doubt.

“….”

Then she took off her hat. After briefly fixing her hair, the owner observed her intently and soon her pupils dilated as if she realized something.

“Ah….”

The owner nodded with a gentle and warm gaze.

“You understand, right? I need a quiet cafe.”

“Yes… I understand. Let’s discuss again later. Here’s my number.”

Joo Ah-yoon took a memo with a phone number written on it while putting her hat back on.

“See you next time.”

“No, Ah-yoon, we need to pay.”

Ah-yoon left the store as if embarrassed. The two Americanos that hadn’t been paid for yet were awkward. I quickly took out my wallet.

“Sorry. How much is it?”

“It’s okay. Today is on the house.”

The owner chuckled and waved her hand, meaning to put my wallet away.

“No, but I should still pay…”

“Please tell your business partner. Thank you for your hard work.”

It was only then that I realized what Joo Ah-yoon had secretly revealed.

“Have a good day.”

“…You too, have a good day.”

I turned my steps happily and left the store. It didn’t take long to catch up with Joo Ah-yoon, who had left first. She was waiting for me outside the alley.

Her cold sigh scattered like stars and disappeared white, and I approached her.

“Cold?”

“No.”

“Then why are your cheeks and ears so red?”

“…Shut up.”

Covering her flushed face, she hurried off at an unusually fast pace. However, her stride was much shorter than mine, so it was not difficult for me to catch up with her.

“What did you say to make such a kind owner accept that young people would waste their money?”

“Well… Oh gosh, are you dying? Stop laughing like that. From your laughter, I can tell you already know.”

“I don’t know, I just guessed.”

She clicked her tongue as if exasperated, then quickly muttered.

“I revealed that I was a former magical girl. That I’m an ex-magical girl who doesn’t get many visitors, so I need a quiet place to stay.”

“That’s quite clever.”

“Dammit… What’s there to proudly brag about doing that?”

Joo Ah-yoon covered her face with her hands.

“Oh gosh….”

Was she feeling self-conscious about using the fact that she was a former magical girl as a weapon? She can use her transformation privately, but she doesn’t want to even mention that she was a magical girl. Her standards seemed to come and go without any consistency.

As she trembled as if sobbing, she gradually shook with joy. When she uncovered her face, she had a proud smile blooming.

“But you got what you wanted, right?”

“Yeah… Since you’re okay with it, it’s fine.”

How much did she like that store? Ah-yoon looked back down the alley for a moment. She gazed at the dimly glowing lights of the store in the shadow of the back alley.

“Hah, that’s the one. That’s the only one I want.”

“Do you like it that much?”

“Yes!”

Jpo Ah-yoon immediately answered with a giggle.

“If you’re okay with it, I’m okay with it too.”

After all, Joo Ah-yoon had the specific vision, and I was just providing a little assistance.

“What should we name our store? Oh, who should we invite to the opening ceremony? When is a good date to open? What is that villain rumored to be wandering around here?”

Joo Ah-yoon smiled brightly and hopefully began considering what to do next.

“What do you think, brother…”

“Ah-yoon.”

“Yes?”

“You said earlier that being a former magical girl was not something to be proud of.”

I too turned my head slightly to look back down the alley. Though it was no longer visible, the faint scent of coffee still lingered in my nose. The music that had been playing there, the metallic sound of the final cash register.

“I think it’s something to be proud of after all.”

Magical girls draw a lot of attention. Some are fanatical about them, while others are jealous of them. 

But most people first feel one emotion.

“You went through a lot.”

Gratitude.

The gratitude that could not be contained in my wallet was in the remaining bills.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“What is this?”

Han Jae-jung looked around. 

“Ha, hahaha…”

“Jae-jung, try eating this.”

“Hey, what are you guys doing?”

“There are no chicken drumsticks!” 

He should have just been able to relax at home, that’s all that was left to do.

He had planned to welcome the new year calmly and comfortably.

How did it end up like this?

He counted down to the new year while looking around at the magical girls surrounding him.

T/N: Hi @everyone, sorry to say this but this novel will be dropped due to lack of support, It has been through a lot of mess wherein the subscription platform refunded the supporters their funds and closed the support page and that is why the Illustration page is no longer working. Basically that means there is literally a big loss of funds for this novel and I can not carry on like this as the cost for this novel is too much. Some chapters are still left but that will end in time. Just to note, I am not dropping this novel voluntarily as I prefer completing a translation, but this situation has forced my hands, anyways have a day.

https://ko-fi.com/ippostranslations