Chapter 14: A Letter Home, a Nurse’s Dilemma

Mom, Dad,

How are you?

It’s Si-yool. I know this is sudden, a letter from your estranged son. I feel a bit ashamed. I’m not even sure if this letter will reach you. I don’t even know if you’re alive.

They told me to write a letter to my parents while I’m being transported to the unit. So, here I am, writing a letter in a police car, handcuffed, trying to send a message to parents who might not even be alive.

It’s incredibly difficult to write in this situation. The handcuffs don’t help.

On the plus side, the cake is delicious. I didn’t think that b*tch would actually buy me one.

You’re probably wondering why I’m in a police car, handcuffed, with a cake.

I know, it doesn’t make sense. Nothing makes sense anymore.

I graduated high school, went to the military, and then got dragged off to another world. I suffered for ten years, came back, and now I’m apparently a deserter. And they want me to be a magical girl.

Can you believe it? I can’t. What is my life?

Anyway, I finally achieved the dream job you always wanted for me, albeit in another world.

A judge? Nope.
A prosecutor? Close, but no.
A doctor? I did some healing, but no.

I was a warrior.

Not some chosen hero like in those fantasy novels. It was nothing like that.

I wasn’t a warrior from the start. I’ll tell you the whole story when we meet. I’m running out of space anyway.

So, now I’m a magical girl.

I didn’t change genders or anything, but I’m technically a magical girl now. You probably know more about this than I do.

They said I have to serve until I reach the rank of Magical Sergeant. Then I can be discharged, unless I choose to continue as a Magical Corporal.

Apparently, I have to complete my mandatory military service, since I’m officially a deserter.

Magical Sergeant is basically just Sergeant. I’m going back to the military. F*ck.

It’s basically the same thing. I have to serve for two years. Like being in the Air Force, since some magical girls fight in the air. They said there’s a lot of vacation time, but it’s still the military if I can’t go home. Not that I have a home.

I can be discharged after two years, even if I don’t reach Magical Sergeant. Or I can get promoted faster by doing something… special.

By “special,” they mean killing monsters, like the other magical girls.

I’m not planning on doing anything reckless. I can’t do anything anyway. I’ll just lay low and wait for my discharge.

It won’t be easy, though. Two years is a long time. And even with vacations, I’ll still be spending a lot of time with magical girls. There’s bound to be friction. We’re too different.

But don’t worry. I’m not a slacker. I’m an ‘A-grade’ soldier, remember?

I can handle this. It’s still annoying, but I’ll just go with the flow and get discharged.

I said I’d cause trouble, but I wouldn’t actually do that, would I? I’m a well-behaved A-grade soldier.

I’ll visit you after I’m discharged. Maybe even before, if possible.

So, please be alive. I have so much to tell you. It’s… sad to be an orphan, even if it’s advantageous in arguments.

That’s all for now. I’m running out of space, and we’ve arrived.

Take care. I hope we can meet again someday.

─ Your A-grade Magical Girl, Kim Si-yool

P.S. Remember when you yelled at me for investing all our savings in Novelpia stock?

Why did you do that? I was showing you the path to success. Learn some investing skills.

“Ha…” the nurse sighed, slumping back in her chair.

“F*ck my life,” she muttered.

It had been a chaotic day. Called in on her day off to evaluate a man for magical girl aptitude. It was absurd. But she had no choice. She was just a nurse.

But what she saw on the screen before her was even more absurd. She’d seen it once before, but now, looking at it again, it made even less sense.

It was the result of Kim Si-yool’s magical aptitude test.

“What is this…?” she whispered.

The results themselves weren’t unusual. Magical power concentrated around the heart, with nothing else. Typical for a male. Females, on the other hand, had magical power distributed throughout their bodies, like a network of blood vessels, only carrying magical energy instead of blood.

This was why men couldn’t use magic. A car full of fuel couldn’t move if the roads were blocked. The magical power was there, but it couldn’t flow.

Women, however, could manipulate magical power freely.

Well, magical girls, at least.

They could enhance their physical abilities and channel magical energy through their wands to cast spells. The only other beings capable of manipulating magical power like this were…

Kaijin.

Unlike magical girls, kaijin could use magic without wands, though their magic wasn’t as potent.

Si-yool’s results were identical to those of an ordinary male.

Except for two peculiarities.

First, the sheer amount of magical power was immense, far beyond that of an ordinary person. If it was innate…

What a waste. It was a genuine shame. If he were a woman, he would have been a formidable magical girl, potentially rivaling even White Phoenix. Magical power was the foundation of magic. While skill and efficiency played a role, a larger reserve of magical power meant stronger and more frequent spells.

But if this immense power was acquired…

Is that even possible?

There were ways to increase magical power: intense emotions, epiphanies, elixirs, magical artifacts. But the most effective method was…

Near-death experiences.

It was a well-documented phenomenon. Magical girls who’d survived the kaijin invasion had significantly higher magical power levels than those who’d awakened later.

But for a non-magical girl, an ordinary man, to have this much magical power… he would have needed to have countless near-death experiences.

At least…

Double digits. Maybe even triple digits. A life constantly teetering on the brink of death.

What had he been through?

But there was something even stranger.

The shape… what is that?

The color and shape of magical power varied from person to person, influencing a woman’s physical characteristics: hair color and body type. The dispersed magical power caused a woman’s hair, including body hair, to change color, matching the color of their magical power. Their bodies also adapted to best utilize their magic, enhancing their physical abilities.

The color and type of magic a magical girl could use were also influenced by their magical power. For example, White Phoenix’s magical power was white and shaped like the sun. Thus, her signature spell was White Sun. Now, she mostly punched kaijin to death, but it was still technically magic.

But this… this was unlike anything the nurse had ever seen.

It was roughly circular and white, but its edges were distorted and compressed, as if bound by invisible threads. The perimeter was jagged and irregular, some parts sharp, others smooth, with dark spots scattered throughout. And a third of it was shrouded in shadow, as if obscured by darkness.

It looked like a healing wound, scarred and regenerating.

Was it… injured?

That didn’t make sense. Magical power couldn’t be harmed. It was pure energy, separate from the physical body. Even if a part of the body was lost, or if someone consumed another person’s flesh, their magical power remained unaffected. And no one, human or kaijin, had ever been known to consume magical power.

The nurse sighed, lost in thought. She’d been instructed to mark “none” under “special remarks,” regardless of what Si-yool said or what the results showed. He was a deserter, a criminal.

But… was that right? His immense magical power and its bizarre shape… it was too unusual to ignore.

Maybe I should… monitor him. He was too strange to be left alone.

She hesitated.

Mark “none” and go home?

Or report her findings and risk being called in for questioning?

The decision was easy.

Not my problem.

Reporting it would only mean more work, more explanations. She was tired, and she needed to sleep. She had another night shift coming up.

And if something did happen, she had a ready-made excuse. She was just following orders. What could a mere nurse do?

Fire me then, you bastards.

The nurse typed, her expression impassive.

[Special Remarks: None.]

Nothing was more important than her own rest.