Chapter 10: The 47-Year-Old Question

This woman was insane. She’d asked a series of bizarre questions with a deadpan expression, chuckled at his isekai story, and then flown into a rage. And now…

“Huh…?” she muttered, clutching her head in confusion.

Si-yool had come here to prove he was mentally unfit, but it seemed she was the crazy one.

“You… what… what are you talking about?” she stammered.

It wasn’t just one magical girl, but all of them. Sane people didn’t have such drastic mood swings or fire magic at someone for using casual language.

Maybe this was it. Maybe all magical girls were a little… unhinged. Which meant getting an exemption would be difficult. He was the sane one here.

“What did you just say?” the white-haired magical girl asked, her voice strained.

“Exactly what I meant,” Si-yool replied. His instincts screamed at him the moment he realized what she was. He’d just narrowly escaped death, and he wasn’t about to provoke her further.

“I saw a grandma having s*x.”

“What…?”

“I saw it in reverse too.”

“What?!”

“Oh, and I read about it too.”

“What?!”

The white-haired magical girl clutched her head with both hands now. She seemed to be having a full-blown meltdown. Si-yool’s hopes of getting a mental exemption dwindled.

After a moment, the white-haired magical girl seemed to recover slightly. “Why would you watch something like that?!” she demanded.

“Why?! You b*tch!” Si-yool yelled back, his own frustration bubbling over.

“It doesn’t make sense! There’s no reason!” she exclaimed.

“You think I wanted to watch that?!” Si-yool retorted. Try being a moderator, you btch.*

Their conversation was a series of near-misses, their perspectives diverging wildly.

“Not… a magical girl…? Why…?” the white-haired magical girl muttered, lost in confusion.

“I wish she was a magical girl,” Si-yool mumbled, sinking into despair.

“You think I wanted to see that?” he repeated, his voice cracking. His life as a moderator, all for the sake of money… was this what it felt like to sell your soul and become disillusioned? He didn’t know. He couldn’t think straight. He just felt… sad.

“I wanted to see a magical girl too,” he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. It was the first genuine sadness he’d felt since returning to Earth.

“Moderators are people too! We get tired! We want to rest!” he cried, his voice choked with emotion.

He and the white-haired magical girl sank into their respective emotional abysses.

“How… how can a person… this doesn’t make sense…” she muttered.

“I’m going to start posting grandma porn with burner accounts…” Si-yool mumbled.

Down, down, down they went…

“Excuse me, Mr. Kim,” a calm voice interrupted, pulling Si-yool back from the brink.

“May I ask you a few questions?”

Si-yool sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Y-yes,” he replied, composing himself. He had to overcome this painful past and secure his bright future. A future of exemption. He was a warrior, after all.

He looked towards the source of the voice. It was the purple-haired magical girl, three stars on her armband, the same rank as White Phoenix. The only difference was the ring on her left ring finger. A married magical girl.

“So, if I understand correctly, you’re saying you’re attracted to older women, as long as they’re magical girls?” she asked.

“Yes,” Si-yool replied, using formal language this time. He could have used casual speech, but there was something about her that made him hesitant. Was this the aura of an older, married woman?

“Are you thinking something weird right now?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Uh… maybe,” Si-yool replied, avoiding her gaze.

“Hmm, that’s…ambiguous,” she said, then continued, “By ‘attracted,’ you mean… capable… right?” she asked, emphasizing the word “capable.” She was clearly asking if he was sexually capable.

“Of course,” Si-yool replied.

“Really? Truly?” she pressed.

“Absolutely capable,” Si-yool confirmed, his voice serious. Magical girls were beautiful, after all.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” he added.

He wasn’t just agreeing for the sake of it. He had a plan.

He’d realized that trying to prove his own mental instability was pointless. These magical girls were already insane. He needed a different approach, a reason why he shouldn’t be anywhere near magical girls.

And sexual deviancy was the most effective way to achieve that.

“So, Mr. Kim,” the purple-haired magical girl continued, her gaze intense.

Despite her gentle demeanor, she was still a magical girl. Si-yool felt a flicker of apprehension.

“What if the magical girl is 47 years old? Still capable?” she asked, her question surprisingly specific.

Si-yool didn’t hesitate. “Of course,” he was about to reply, but—

“What?! Seo-bin! You crazy b*tch!” White Phoenix shrieked, interrupting them.

She’d somehow managed to pull herself together. She was truly a magical girl, recovering from a mental breakdown in record time.

The two magical girls began bickering.

“What are you talking about?!” White Phoenix yelled.

“So-a, just be quiet. This is important,” Seo-bin said calmly.

“But why are you asking that?!”

“Quiet! We’ll talk later.”

Seo-bin was clearly in control.

“[Yeah, So-a! Shut your trap!]” White Phoenix’s mascot added.

“Don’t call me So-a, you stupid bird!” White Phoenix yelled, pummeling her mascot.

Si-yool ignored them. They’d work it out.

“[No! Wait! I’m hurt! My wing is broken!]” the mascot cried.

…Probably.

“So, Mr. Kim, your answer?” Seo-bin asked, turning back to Si-yool.

It was an easy question.

“Just 47? Of course I’m capable,” he replied confidently.

“Really?” White Phoenix asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Si-yool didn’t understand her reaction. Why are you freaking out?

She held her battered mascot in one hand and repeated her question. “Really?”

“Of course,” Si-yool replied, his voice even more serious this time.

“Why would age matter when it comes to magical girls?” he added, wanting to solidify his image as a man with no standards.

Well, it wasn’t entirely untrue. Magical girls were beautiful, regardless of age. Even an elderly elf was desirable. It was all about aesthetics.

“Really…?” White Phoenix whispered, staring blankly at the table, seemingly unable to process the information. She was definitely crazy.

“Mr. Kim, may I ask you a few more questions?” Seo-bin asked, ignoring White Phoenix’s catatonic state.

Si-yool nodded.

“What about personality?”

“As long as they don’t stab me in the back,” Si-yool replied.

“What?” Seo-bin asked, bewildered.

“Why would anyone stab you?” she asked.

“They do,” Si-yool replied matter-of-factly. A lot.

Seo-bin stared at him, then at the lie detector, then clutched her head, muttering, “Why? Why is this true?”

She forced a smile, desperately trying to hide her confusion. “And… preferred body type?”

“I don’t care,” Si-yool replied. The questions were getting progressively weirder, more pointed, almost like a trap. He felt like he was one wrong answer away from being arrested. Were they screening for pedophiles now?

But this was a good question.

“Of course I’m capable,” he said, wanting to appear indiscriminate. “I’ve walked the path of depravity. Pedophilia is nothing.”

This should convince them he shouldn’t be near magical girls. He couldn’t afford to be picky anyway. He’d been called ugly and stabbed countless times in the other world. He doubted Earth’s standards of beauty were any different.

“I see,” Seo-bin said, a thin smile playing on her lips. Her eyes, however, held a chilling glint.

“Just a few more questions, then,” she continued.

Something felt… cold. Like a venomous snake, its eyes fixed on Si-yool.

“Is that alright?” she asked.