Transformation or Death

 Like a Comet in Your Heart (1)

“Ah!”

“Ah! No! The Vega star is still a patient!” 

“Who cares if those greedy girls are patients!”

Pink Deneb stuck out her tongue.

In the midst of this, Red Vega was somehow unwrapping a small candy and putting it in her mouth.

Even though her fixation on sweets felt cringy, it was fortunate that she could at least relieve her stress this way.

“Big sis is mean! The bad one is that villain, not the sweets I gave! My Vega isn’t bad either!”

White Davi hugged Red Vega’s neck and protested to her.  

It was difficult to immediately understand what she was saying, but the gist seemed to be ‘we’re good people, why are you insulting us?’

Lightly dismissing her protest, Pink Deneb casually responded. “Vega speaks really well.”

“Vega is Altair’s pair! Of course she speaks well!”

“Okay, love each other forever and ever.”  

“Yes!”

Seeing the foreigner who didn’t understand sarcasm nod firmly, she gave a wry smile.

She turned her gaze back to Red Vega.

“Hey kiddo.”

“Yes, yes?” 

“Is it tasty?”

“…Big sis, by any chance.”

“By any chance what.”

“Did we make you mad by eating without you?” Red Vega asked meekly and split a cookie in half, handing it to Pink Deneb.

Receiving it, Pink Deneb chuckled.

“I’m not going to bite off your baby heads and eat them. Eat lots.”

“But I’ll be an adult in a few months!”

“Still a baby.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem too upset.  

Of course, it could just be an act.

But the fact that she could disguise her true feelings like that was proof she was still capable of social life.  

If her mental fatigue was substantial, such an act would be impossible.

“You rascal.” 

“I’m the lovely and adorable White Davi!”

“Yeah, yeah, you brat. Get off the patient’s bed and come see me for a bit. You’re not the patient, are you?”

“Yes! The sick ones are big sis and Vega! I’m perfectly fine!”

“Your games are really pissing me off… Anyway, come see me.”

Pink Deneb beckoned White Davi with her finger.

Blinking blankly, White Davi put a jelly in Red Vega’s mouth and got off the bed.

I was worried they were getting too immersed in their Altair and Vega roleplaying.  

The star names used by magical girls are simply taken from real stars, with no deep connection.

The fact that a first-magnitude star could actually be dimmer than other magical girls’ stars is evidence of this.

White Davi approached Pink Deneb. As a middle schooler, the short Pink Deneb had to look up at her.

“What is it! Did you call me for your famous scolding?! Wow! K-brutality!”

“Don’t put a ‘K’ in front of it, your original bullying country… And no, that’s not why I called you.”

Pink Deneb reached out to put her arm around White Davi’s neck but couldn’t reach due to the height difference.

“…”

Seeing Pink Deneb’s pitiful look, White Davi bent over, allowing her to quickly throw an arm over her shoulders.

“Oho, so it wasn’t brutality, but a sneak attack!”

“No, it’s not that… Keep your voice down.”  

Slowly stepping back, she increased the distance from Red Vega.

Stretching out her legs, Pink Deneb leaned in and whispered in White Davi’s ear.

“Hey. Does she seem okay to you?”

“Me? You mean me?”

“No, not you, the kiddo.”

“Ah.”

White Davi also lowered her voice to match Pink Deneb’s.  

Red Vega was trying to stuff an entire deluxe giant scone that had crumbled into her mouth.

“Hmm… To be honest, she didn’t seem okay.”  

“…?! How so?”

White Davi’s expression became serious as she explained.

“Well… When I came over and hugged her a few times… I asked her something…”

“What did you ask?”

“About how she got done in by that villain…”

“God, watch your language kid.”  

Pink Deneb was conflicted whether she should just cut off this foreigner’s internet entirely. 

Her own language habits were partly to blame for White Davi’s speech patterns, but she didn’t suspect herself of being a bad influence at all.

“So… I asked what it felt like to be a complete failure…”

“Of course she would cry.”

“I thought… she could laugh it off… be a party person… find it an amusing joke…”

“What world would that joke work in? I’d like to know too.”

Surely such a joke wouldn’t work in her home country of Japan either.

“Then… She cried and wailed ‘I really am a loser aaahh!!’ and I told her it’s okay… That all magical girls are complete failures compared to monsters anyway… So she shouldn’t be sad…”  

“That was supposed to be comforting?”

“Yes… Anyway, after crying like that, I fed her the sweets I brought and she calmed down. She was cute like a little bunny.”

“I’m going to go crazy…”

Pink Deneb pressed her forehead.

It seemed White Davi had come to rub salt in the wounds rather than offer comfort. Her severe lack of tact and vulgar speech had really pissed Pink Deneb off this time.

That calm demeanor was likely just a temporary state of tranquility from the sugar high.

Well, it made sense that someone who had nearly died wouldn’t have such an unwavering mindset.  

Her feelings were complicated.

“I’m okay,” Red Vega suddenly responded from behind them. Maybe she had overheard after all.

“If you overheard, just say you did instead of being awkward about it.”

“I didn’t hear… I just picked up on the atmosphere, I’m not that oblivious.”

Red Vega raised both arms forcefully, stretching them up and down repeatedly.  

While not bodybuilder-level, the lines of her outstretched arms cut an elegant silhouette despite their frailty.  

“See, I’m sturdy like this… Oww oww.”

Her injured areas seemed to get irritated.  

“This is just from being hurt! I’m really okay! I can go out on duty as soon as I recover!”

In response to Red Vega’s insistence, White Davi replied with a solemn expression. “Those who are failures usually don’t know they are failures.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that even if you say you’re okay, you may not actually be okay!”

She declared firmly. It made sense, so Pink Deneb nodded too.  

“Oh no! Now the dilemma is really going to start moving…”

“Hey kiddo, do your seniors really look like complete losers to you? Huh? Like this girl said?”  

“Aah! Why did you hit me!”

Pink Deneb, who had kicked White Davi’s calf, answered.

“Hospitalized magical girls can actually take up to a week off. Not many use it, but… Anyway kiddo, you should rest this time.”

“But still!”

“Shut up. Rest when I say rest, dumbass. Rest is part of the job too, you know? Going out when you’re not fit for duty and getting injured again is just more of a burden.”

“Isn’t calling me an idiot too harsh?!”

“Better than what you blurted out earlier.”

Pink Deneb sighed heavily and grabbed White Davi’s waistband. She wanted to grab her by the neck and drag her away, but the height difference made it impossible.

“Anyway, rest up. Don’t take this moron’s words seriously. Oh, and don’t unnecessarily search the internet and look for reactions!” 

While being dragged away with her waistband grabbed, White Davi waved at Red Vega, who smiled bitterly.

“…I’m really okay though.”

Did she misunderstand because she happened to shed tears at that moment? Red Vega licked the cream off the corner of her mouth with a troubled expression.

It was sweet.

Something she couldn’t even dream of in the past, she could now eat sweets to her heart’s content. 

It was undoubtedly a happy reality, but she also felt guilty, as if it were a luxury.

Even now, there must be many children in this world for whom this small happiness is far out of reach.

Amidst that, could she really take care of herself?

A magical girl, who should be a fantasy for others, indulging in reality and taking care of her own body.

Wasn’t that something she absolutely should not do?

“Haah.”

And yet, her body continued to crave sweets endlessly. The lingering sweet and tingling sensation on her tongue was a good spark to melt away her momentary depression.

The only thing Red Vega regretted most right now was begging the villain for her life.

It should be shameful enough that a hero was defeated by the enemy, but on top of that, she begged him to stop and even cried? It was a disgrace that could only be described as disqualifying her as a magical girl.

Baek Ah-hee shoved something sweet into her mouth as she recalled the memory from yesterday. 

As the cream melted, the sweetness intensified, and along with the heightened sensation, the memory of the pain became more vivid.

Certainly, not seeking immediate assistance was a mistake. She had been too arrogant.

But there was no need to be afraid of that act.

To be instilled with fear by one’s own enemy is something that should never happen.

It would be the ultimate betrayal to those who want to be liberated from fear by believing only in heroes.

She must not fear monsters, not fear failing to gain recognition, and not fear death.

Only when she can always abandon herself can she truly become a hero who can fulfill everyone’s wishes.

“Next time… I have to win…”

The resolution she made after her first defeat still continued.

However, she had shrunk a little more than back then.

It was undoubtedly because of the guilt, she thought to herself as she got rid of all the sweet escapes given to her.

“Phew… I’m really fine, so why doesn’t anyone believe me…?”

The gifts that White Davi had brought by the armful all became trash.

The once clean and white hospital room was now a mess of cookie crumbs and paper boxes. It was cluttered enough to be messy.

Baek Ah-hee sighed as she looked at the cluttered scenery.

When would she clean all this up?

It seemed that the scolding from Deneb wasn’t something to just let go.

***

Ippotranslation

***

Han Jae-jung killed a nearby villain and shook off the buried blood. 

A few days had passed since that terribly long day. 

Seeing that Red Vega was still not active, it was certain that she had received quite a strong shock. Even her suicide counseling schedule was postponed by three days.

“Damn it…”

The guilt welled up again. How should he apologize for that? What face should he show that child? No, from the start, attempting this contact itself would be a nuisance to the person involved.

‘It would probably just look like apologizing simply for his own comfort…’

It’s hypocrisy. 

From the very beginning when he acted as a villain without revealing his identity, this was something he should have been prepared for.

He would endure hatred many times over if he had to.

Getting cursed at was an old experience, so he was quite used to it.

‘No, because of that experience, the backlash could be even worse.’  

Even now, the gaze of others is unpleasant.

It’s rather rare for him to only deal with villains in back alleys like this.

He often hears the screams of citizens, but it doesn’t help resolve his trauma.

He can only think that it would be better if they were silenced.

Unlike magical girls, the fact that he operates while concealed by a helmet has become something of a breathing hole for him.  

He tapped his belt, making it track the location of a nearby villain.

Fortunately, for now, it hadn’t issued quests as recklessly as before.

Excluding a few downsides, it’s quite a convenient machine.

As he requested, the belt instantly scanned the surroundings and transmitted the location information to his brain. The villain was located closer than he had imagined.

“Hmm.”

He thought it was located there, but it wasn’t. 

It was approaching.

So of course it would be close. Han Jae-jung immediately prepared for battle. The power of the stars gradually drew nearer. He clenched his fist.

“Comrade~!!!”  

And unclenched it.

“Tch.”

“Oh, clicking your tongue at someone as soon as you see them! That’s quite a bad habit you have. Your wife will be sad.”

“I don’t have a wife. Do you?”

“Of course I don’t either! Hahaha!”

“For something that isn’t even human to call itself human is ridiculous.”

“‘Villain’, isn’t it? Since I’m half-human, it’s not bad for me to call myself that, right?”

Han Jae-jung sighed deeply and pressed his forehead. The Compass villain was noisy as always today.

“Being able to talk doesn’t make one human. One must follow set rules and have a sense of compassion to be human.”

“Then I’m even more human. There’s no one with as rich a sensibility as me!” 

“Crazy villain bastard…”

“Oh! My name isn’t Crazy Villain Bastard!”

The Compass villain bowed his body like a stage actor taking a curtain call. 

“My name is Jason!”

“It sounds like a name suited for someone skilled with a chainsaw. What’s its origin?”

“I got it from an English name random generator! It has no special meaning! Life itself doesn’t originally have any meaning either, comrade! History starts from mere chance!”

“What the…”

Wouldn’t it be better to just use the constellation name instead? Han Jae-jung clicked his tongue loudly.

“Well, leaving that aside, didn’t you deny being a comrade before?”

“Ah, about that.”

The villain who called himself Jason squared his shoulders boldly.

“Since I didn’t hear your objective, it’s the same as not having one! For me, being a comrade is still a state of having no objective! So I’m a comrade!”

“Then just say it straight away, my objective is…”

“Ah ah! I can’t hear it! I can’t hear anything!”

Why did he even come here? He was slowly getting annoyed.  

“Why did you come find me? I don’t want to chat idly with you.”

“You’re still so harsh. Of course, idle chit chat isn’t my purpose.”  

The villain named Jason took out some sort of mechanical lump from his pocket.

Han Jae-jung’s eyes widened. His lens seemed to glow red. A belt buckle in the design of a telescope. It was clearly a ‘belt’.

“See, this? Doesn’t it look similar to your belt, comrade? I asked Bo and he gave it to me! Haha, how about it? Now you and I have an outward similarity too!”

The villain who called himself Jason attached that buckle to his waist. 

Since he already had a belt, he attached it around his abdomen area instead of his waist.

At the same time.

“Aaaaaahh!!!”

An electric shock burst from the belt and he collapsed.

“…Why did you come here?”

I was truly curious.

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