She buried herself deep into the couch.
Wearing pink pajamas, she hugged a couch pillow and stared blankly at the TV.
Lying face-down on the couch in this body, leaning against the pillow, was quite a comfortable recuperation posture.
"Mm. The peach is delicious."
Her mother pushed a piece of peach speared on a fork toward her mouth. She opened her mouth and accepted it.
Chewing and swallowing absentmindedly, she spoke.
"But Mom. Don't we have any white peaches? I prefer the soft ones."
"Our puppy is picky. There are only firm ones in the fridge. When we go to the mart next week, I'll buy a box of the soft ones."
"Okay. Got it."
Her mother answered while stroking her silver hair.
A peaceful weekend afternoon.
Her younger sibling had gone to work, and her father had left early in the morning for his soccer club and hiking group.
The house was quiet.
Lying on the couch, she wiggled her finger in the air.
A ripple of mana pressed the remote, flipping through TV channels.
Nothing to watch.
Her gaze stopped on a news channel.
[Recent surge in violent crimes by Awakened individuals... Debate ignites over punitive Gate forced deployment bill]
On screen, politicians and experts were engaged in a heated debate, veins bulging.
"It's a waste to imprison criminals who abuse their Awakening abilities with taxpayer money! We should forcibly deploy them to the front lines or Gates to atone for the nation!"
A yawn escaped her.
She clicked her tongue.
"They've gotten full. Very much so."
Three years ago, when the Gate Shock first erupted.
Fancy words like "punitive deployment" didn't even exist.
The moment you got the label of "Awakened," whether criminal or civilian, you had no human rights—you were forcibly shoved in front of the beasts' maws to serve as meat shields.
An era of forced conscription where you slept two hours a day, covered in blood, plugging the defensive lines.
It was laughable watching these newbies who'd never experienced that living hell get a little power and run wild without control, causing incidents.
Bastards who'd piss themselves first if thrown to the front lines.
She knew it was an old-timer mindset, but that wasn't her problem.
Just then, the smartphone on the table vibrated loudly.
Caller: [Park So-jin (Crimson Lotus Guild Master)].
She extended her mana to press the call button and switched to speakerphone.
"What is it, Noona? Already asking me to buy you meat?"
—No. Not meat. Just do me one favor.
Park So-jin's voice on the other end sounded utterly exhausted.
"A favor? Let me hear it first."
—I handed over all our guild's classified info as an errand for that old man at your association. Let me get some compensation too.
"That's why I said I'd buy you beef."
—Not meat! Come to my house and play with my daughter!
She blinked.
She doubted her ears.
"What?"
—Haah... She's been crying and throwing a fit since morning, refusing to go to daycare. I'm going crazy, seriously! If you come and show your magical girl face or whatever just once, I think she'll calm down! Please! Save me!
Through the speaker, the faint sound of a child's ear-splitting tantrum could be heard.
Terrible fatigue washed over her.
She sat up from the couch.
"Ah. Seriously annoying."
She grumbled, but couldn't just cut her off.
There was a definite debt.
She let out a deep sigh.
"Fine. Send me the address."
She hung up abruptly.
She got off the couch.
"Mom. I'm going out for a bit."
"Oh my, to meet someone? What about dinner?"
"I might eat out."
She changed clothes roughly and opened the balcony window.
Wind rushed in.
Without hesitation, she threw herself into the air.
* * * * *
The upscale residential area in Gangbuk that So-jin had sent.
She landed silently in front of the gate of a two-story detached house with a spacious yard.
She withdrew her mana field and pressed the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
From beyond the entrance came crashing sounds along with short, urgent footsteps.
Click.
The heavy front door opened just a crack with a creaking friction sound.
Through the gap, two large eyes appeared.
"Oh..."
A five-year-old girl who was the spitting image of So-jin.
A sharp light flashed in the kid's eyes.
"A real magical girl!!"
The child flung the door wide open and rushed out.
She clung to her shin like a koala.
"Hey, hey. Wait."
Flustered, she tried to pry her off, but then a man in his mid-thirties wearing an apron came running out in a hurry.
So-jin's same-age husband and stay-at-home dad.
"Oh my! Ha-yoon, that's rude to our guest! Let go!"
He bowed his head to her with an embarrassed face.
"Ahaha... Hunter Kang Tae-ho. It's been a while. My wife just contacted me urgently. Coming all the way to this humble place..."
"It's fine."
The brother-in-law struggled to pry Ha-yoon off, but the kid held onto her leg tightly and wouldn't let go.
Her grip was surprisingly strong.
Sighing, she bent at the waist.
She slipped her hands under Ha-yoon's waist and below her knees, clinging to her leg.
She lifted her lightly.
Princess carry.
"Kyaa!"
Ha-yoon excitedly grabbed her silver hair.
Her scalp pulled, but she endured it.
"When is Noona coming?"
Carrying Ha-yoon, she walked into the house and asked.
The brother-in-law followed, wiping cold sweat.
"Well... An urgent approval came up at the guild, so she's dealing with it and will come as soon as possible, but when that will be..."
Great.
She'd won the solo childcare lottery.
The spacious living room.
Colorful plastic blocks and dolls were scattered across the floor as if bombed.
She set Ha-yoon down on the carpet.
The kid immediately ran over with a toy first-aid kit.
"Magical girl Unnie! Let's play hospital! You be the patient!"
Calling a thirty-two-year-old man "Unnie."
Too bothersome to correct.
She lay sprawled on the carpet.
"Fine. Do whatever you want. I'm seriously ill right now and can't move, so don't touch me."
"No! You need a shot to get better!"
Ha-yoon poked her forearm repeatedly with a blunt plastic syringe.
She pressed a stethoscope against her chest with a serious expression.
"Mm. Your heart isn't beating! We need to operate quickly!"
"I'm alive. I'm breathing."
"No! You're dead!"
Stubbornness piercing the heavens.
A plastic scalpel scratched all over her forehead.
Ha-yoon's play didn't end with the hospital.
"Now fly! Do the thing from the news where you go boom and fly around fighting monsters!"
"Haah."
Still lying on the floor, she spread a very faint mana field behind her back.
She slowly lifted her body.
She floated about a meter above the living room floor, drifting slowly.
Like a floating carpet.
"Wowwww! She's flying! Magical girl Unnie is the best!"
Ha-yoon cheered from her back, raising her hands in celebration.
The brother-in-law watched from the kitchen, fidgeting anxiously.
"Um... I'm so sorry. I'll take over."
"It's fine. Brother-in-law, just finish preparing dinner."
She slowly circled the living room in midair.
After that came house play, block stacking, and even levitating clay in the air with mana.
The stamina of a five-year-old continuing without rest was disgustingly impressive.
Even when slaughtering tens of thousands of monster waves, her mental state hadn't been ground down like this.
How much time had passed?
Beep beep.
The sound of the front door lock opening.
"I'm home!"
Park So-jin entered the living room, her red coat fluttering.
And she discovered her sprawled out soullessly on the carpet under the couch.
"Oh... You look terrible."
Her silver hair was disheveled, and Pororo stickers were plastered all over her loose outer garment.
Still lying on the floor, she only turned her head to glare at So-jin.
"Noona... I truly respect you. How do you endure this every day?"
A groan escaped involuntarily.
So-jin chuckled and approached, peeling off the stickers stuck to her head.
"Aigoo, sorry, sorry. Thanks to you, I got a breather. You're eating dinner before you go, right?"
"Yes... I have to eat. I need to collect my wages for the hard work."
She sat up.
There was no physical damage, but mentally her joints felt stiff.
A little later, So-jin, who had changed into comfortable indoor clothes, and Ha-yoon gathered around the dining table.
The brother-in-law brought out steaming mille-feuille hot pot and colorful side dishes.
"Unnie! Unnie, sit here!"
Ha-yoon patted the seat next to her, giggling.
After being rolled around for half a day, she seemed to have completely bonded.
She climbed onto the chair and sat down.
Her toes didn't reach the floor and dangled.
Looking to the side, Ha-yoon's short legs also dangled in the air.
A strange sense of kinship. A deep wave of reality hit her.
She picked up meat, dipped it in sauce, and ate.
As the warm broth went down, it felt like her depleted lifespan was returning.
"So. How's the guild situation?"
She asked casually while chewing meat.
"Haah. Don't even get me started."
So-jin opened a can of beer and gulped it down repeatedly.
"Now that import prices have stabilized, they're calling me to Yeouido every day to create guild control legislation. I'm busy enough hunting monsters, but now I have to cater to the political fights of suited old men—it's killing me."
"I got a special law passed, so they're prohibited from approaching within a 1km radius."
When she bragged dryly, So-jin tapped the table with her chopsticks and rolled her eyes.
"Right. You're so annoyingly enviable. Maybe I should just strike and emigrate to China or South America. Honey, pack our bags."
The brother-in-law smiled and refilled So-jin's empty glass with beer.
"You work so hard. Hunter Tae-ho, please eat plenty too. You worked hard playing with Ha-yoon."
It was a noisy and warm dinner.
Even though the family structure was different, the scent of comfortable daily life was exactly the same as their penthouse.
After finishing the meal, she stepped out to the entrance.
As she came out to the yard, the night air was quite cool.
"Unnie leaving...?"
Ha-yoon grabbed her clothes and her eyes welled up with tears.
She looked ready to burst into wailing at any moment.
So-jin and the brother-in-law tried to stop her in confusion, but she quietly crouched down.
She matched eye level with the kid.
"Yeah. I have to go home and sleep too."
"Don't go..."
Ugh. Troublesome creature.
But she couldn't coldly shake off the small, chubby hands clinging to her with blind devotion.
In the end, she held out her right pinky finger.
"I'll come play again next time. Promise."
Ha-yoon's eyes widened.
The kid sniffled and hooked her small pinky finger around hers.
"Really? You have to come back!"
"Yeah. I got it, so stop crying."
She waved her hand roughly and created a mana field in the middle of the yard.
She stepped on the air and soared into the sky.
"Wowwww! Magical girl is the best!"
From below, Ha-yoon's cheering voice as she jumped up and down could be heard.
She drew up mana and crossed the night sky.
She flew toward the penthouse.
It had been a terribly exhausting and draining day.
But strangely, she didn't feel uncomfortable or irritated.
A faint smile crossed her lips.
