Chapter 18 : Strange situation

Heavy. My body, no, my head feels heavy.

This feels strange. I became wind today, so why are my feet on the ground? Or is this a cloud? The white clouds look close enough to touch.

Huh, the scene changes when I blink?

A crumbling building, people in suits, a house. Whose house is this?

“Hey, wake up.”

Ah, that’s Amber’s voice.

Wake up? I’m already awake. So this ball of fluff is Amber. Soft and fluffy, very nice.

“Drink this.”

A small, shiny bottle, just the right size for my hand. What could it be? Ah, it has a bark cork, so it must be alcohol. The sloshing sound is pleasant. Heh, no matter how tightly sealed, it’s nothing to me now.

I should make a toast since I won against such a big shot on my first outing, right?

Ugh!

Gulp.

What are you doing, shoving it in my mouth like that? And why does it taste like this?

Ugh!

My stomach feels queasy. What did you make me drink? You do this to me after I get praised? Just you wait, I’ll make you drink the same thing…

Ugh!

Where’s the bathroom? Where’s the bathroom in this tiny house?! Found it…

“Urgh!!”

Hot liquid rises from my throat, out my nose and mouth. No matter how much I try to stop, it gushes out endlessly.

Finally, as if there’s nothing left in my stomach, the vomiting stops. I blow out the vomit clogging my nose, but it’s still hard to breathe. Fortunately, it doesn’t smell too bad.

I close the toilet lid. I’d already stopped vomiting by the time I reached the bathroom. I turn around. My shame trails out from the bathroom entrance.

My fur is wet and sticky. I need to wash it off.

As I try to rinse myself with the shower, I feel conflicting temperature sensations. It’s the same water, yet it’s both scorching hot like I’ve jumped into a fire pit and freezing cold like I’m buried in snow.

I try adjusting the faucet, but the reaction is the same.

“Feeling better now?”

It’s Amber’s voice.

* * *

The sound of running water comes from the slightly open bathroom. Probably rinsing off vomit.

“Feeling better now?”

“…What did you make me drink?”

A hoarse voice, likely from excessive vomiting.

“Moonwell Springwater.”

“To purify a defiled body? That’s only found in the Fairy Realm.”

“I got it from Persica. She gave it to me after I told her about your condition.”

“So it also works on magic addiction…”

It was my first time seeing the real thing. Springwater that induces this much vomiting? I don’t want to drink it.

Well, it’s a relief that he can talk now. He was out of his mind until the association agents cleaned up and I dragged you here.

The constant muttering didn’t matter. But, perhaps intoxicated by excessive magic, Peng continued using his powers even after the fight ended. The buildings in the vicinity were stripped bare like filleted fish due to the intensified wind.

I could only bring him home after he calmed down, but the helicopters filming the scene must have recorded it all. I hope the agents can smooth things over…

Thud.

I hear something collapse inside. Worried, I enter to find Peng collapsed, pouring water over his head. Judging by his expression, he doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing.

“Ack, cold!”

As I approach to help him up, the splashing water hits me. Feeling excessively cold, I check the valve, and it’s turned all the way to the right.

“You were showering in water this cold?”

“Huh? Cold? I can’t tell.”

“What?”

“It’s hot and cold… it felt the same no matter which way I turned it…”

Right, his body can’t be normal after consuming two glucose candies.

I immediately switch it to hot water. Warm steam envelops his body, but the shivering doesn’t stop. As his icy body warms, I wrap him in a towel and help him out.

Dahye and Persica look at us with worried eyes.

“How is Peng?”

“His nerves seem to have temporarily shut down. He can’t distinguish between hot and cold.”

“Let’s get him to lie down.”

Persica hands me a water bottle. Probably to prevent dehydration.

Dahye blows warm air from a hairdryer onto Peng, who’s lying on the living room floor. On the other side, Persica drips water into his gasping mouth.

“Blech!”

He can’t even drink water? He reacts instantly as soon as it touches his tongue.

However, Persica anticipated this and has an empty container ready. She gives Peng water after he stops gagging, waits until he stops again, and then repeats the process.

After several repetitions, Peng, who was unconscious with his eyes rolled back, now breathes more easily.

“Good work.”

Persica pretends to wipe sweat, looking relieved.

“Is he alright now?”

She tilts her head at the question. Is she still unsure?

“Dahye, how’s Harin?”

“Harin is relatively okay. Jangmi is the problem.”

“What’s wrong with Jangmi?”

“Well… it seems the shock was a bit much for her.”

It makes sense. She needlessly crawled out, couldn’t do anything, and ended up getting choked by Stylidium. Unbelievable. How can someone be such dead weight?

“Amber.”

Dahye touches me, sighs softly, and defends the girl.

“This is natural. Remember what Jangmi said? She lived nearby. Judging by how flustered she was, they must have been close. How would you feel if someone you were close to choked you?”

“How would I feel? The moment she decided to become a magical girl, she should have been prepared for this.”

“She probably didn’t expect it to happen so soon.”

“…So. Where is she?”

Dahye points to her room. I immediately go in and see the girl huddled up. It’s Jangmi, touching her neck and looking down at the floor.

I’m so speechless.

“Hey.”

I nudge her with my foot, and she looks up, startled. There are reddish marks around her eyes.

“…Yes.”

“Didn’t you think we had a good reason for leaving you behind?”

“Peng, stop…”

I shake off Dahye’s hand trying to stop me.

“Stop what? Look at Harin. She needlessly lost her arm trying to protect you. Is that it? Peng went haywire due to magic overload from eating the candy!”

Mid-sentence, I realize something is off.

Peng, who only relied on his own abilities, prepared for an emergency? Peng, who usually figures things out on his own, asking me how to train Harin?

And that man. Even if there weren’t any magical girls around, how could he enter the scene so easily? A regular person with no magic?

[…!]

A strange male voice suddenly comes from the living room. Rushing towards the commotion, I see the TV. Peng must have pressed the remote button while writhing in pain.

[…news that regulations on demons should be strengthened. Next news. Bright Lily and Miracle Sunflower’s inadequate response in this incident is causing controversy. The reporter on site…]

Inadequate response? They’re targeting us instead of the magical girls who ran away without a fight…?

Whatever. The media is always like this. When we deal with demons, they focus on the property damage rather than our victory, and only show citizens criticizing us.

Sighing, I pick up the remote. As I’m about to turn off the TV, the announcer looks flustered, as if they’ve heard something. A staff member hands them a piece of paper, and the announcer reads it aloud.

[Breaking news! The man who brought in the demon Stylidium is causing a scene at the hospital, demanding that she be admitted. We will now connect to the scene.]

The screen shows a man trying to enter a hospital and a security guard blocking him. The footage is blurry and shaky, likely not from a professional camera.

[–Please, let me in!]

[–You cannot! We can’t allow a demon inside!]

[–You have to admit any patient! You take an oath… a patient’s life comes first!]

[–I said no!]

[–She’s pregnant… If she’s bleeding, something’s wrong! She came here alone, with no one to help her, not even the demons. Please, please let me in.]

“Pregnant?”

Dahye, emerging from the room, asks in a trembling voice.

“What they just said on TV, is it true?”

And I realize something is very, very wrong.