Chapter 50
After Mia ran away, I tried contacting Kariel, since I hadn't been able to complete the treatment after all.
Despite appearances, Alice is the fourth-ranked S-rank magical girl. No matter how busy Kariel was as the second-ranked girl, I had her contact information, so if I used this to contact her...
[The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again...]
'She changed her number?!'
Well, I could understand.
How often would Alice ever have reason to contact Kariel? We didn't talk often, and given her position, Kariel might have changed her number without my knowing after it was exposed.
'...This was unexpected.'
Someone who knew Kariel's new number, or at least someone who might be able to contact Kariel...
...As far as I knew, there was only one person.
"...You need Kariel's contact information?"
"Yes. It seems Miss Kariel changed her phone number without telling Alice."
"The last time she changed it because her number was leaked was last year, so what... Anyway, okay. Hold on. If you're bored, you can play with that rabbit doll over there or something."
"You'd be mistaken if you thought Alice would enjoy playing with a rabbit doll."
-Pat pat
"...Fine. Have it your way."
In truth, I had no interest in dolls, rabbits included, but because that was Alice's concept, I brought one over and pretended to play with it.
Other people wouldn't be able to see Tokkaengi, so it naturally looked different from Tokkaengi, but rabbits were one of Alice's symbols. That wasn't particularly important.
-Peek, tilt
I moved its arms and legs this way and that, playing with it as if the rabbit were dancing. She must have given me the doll expecting something like this.
[Oppa, you mustn't grab Mr. Bunny by the ears. The nerves are all gathered in Mr. Bunny's ears, you know. It would hurt a lot.]
'...'
I wanted to give its ear a good yank, but... 'Alice' wouldn't do something like that.
So I obediently played with the other parts.
"Oh, I got through. Kariel. Since we're both busy, I'll just get to the point like usual. Alice wants to talk to you. Yeah. She's with me. She didn't know you'd changed your number? Neither did I. Ask her yourself. Yeah. I'll put her through."
-Swish
"Here you go."
Meanwhile, Emerald must have gotten through to Kariel and chatted about this and that before handing me her phone.
It was such a candid conversation that I could roughly tell what they had been discussing just by hearing one side.
-Swish
"Here you go. It's Alice."
"Waaaah~ It really is Alice. I thought it seemed like it had been a while since we'd spoken, but I guess I forgot to give you my new number. Have you been well?"
"Alice has always been well, Miss Kariel. Alice believes Miss Kariel has been well too."
[Hmm~ I want to say I haven't been well because Alice never contacted me... but I can't say anything when I was the one who didn't send you my contact information. Yes. Kariel has been well too.]
The owner of a gentle, soothing voice that somehow put the listener's heart at ease along with it.
The second-ranked S-rank magical girl. Saint Kariel.
[Let's see~ The fact that Alice contacted me means she needs treatment, doesn't it? Where did you get hurt this time? Just tell me, and I'll treat you right away.]
"To explain what happened..."
I explained the whole situation to Kariel.
I told her that Nightmare Queen's echo had invaded my mind with a nightmare, and that while I was receiving treatment from a support-type magical girl I knew to resolve it, something urgent came up and I couldn't receive the final treatment.
[Hmm~ So the other support-type magical girl's treatment didn't end properly?]
"For now, that's right."
In response, a voice tinged with concern came through the phone.
[Oh dear. This is going to get a little complicated. Other treatments might be different, but even I can't casually take over a Mental Cure related to the mind.]
"...Really?"
[As Alice knows, no magical girl can easily interfere with matters related to the mind. I could try, but... if something went wrong, you might suffer a minor side effect such as becoming my puppet doll.]
"I'll pass. Alice is the only one who can move Alice."
What did she mean, a minor side effect? That was an enormous side effect.
And just as Kariel said, no matter how powerful a magical girl was... if anything, being a magical girl made it all the more necessary to be careful when handling matters of the mind. There had been side effects because of that in the past.
Though even calling them side effects was a bit much. There had only been a few magical girls who had to clean up after a spell meant to encourage courage in a fight against an Abyss One boosted it too much, causing them to openly hurl profanities at civilians after the incident ended.
Of course, it would be quite troublesome if that happened to Alice too, so if there was any chance of mental side effects, it was better not to attempt it at all.
[We might find another way if we meet in person, but for a safe approach, it would be best if you visited together with the magical girl who treated you before. But that's not possible in this situation, is it?]
"That's right. It can't be helped."
[I'm sorry I couldn't be of help, Alice. Then I'll have to go for now; I'm busy too. If you need any other help later, contact me anytime. Oh, and get my number from Emerald.]
-Click.
...She's gone.
"Here you go. Thanks for letting me use it."
"How did it go? You look like it didn't work out."
"Miss Kariel isn't omnipotent, either. Alice isn't omnipotent, so who could be?"
"You haven't changed. All right, then, the call fee: one warm hug."
Emerald said that, opening her arms and gesturing for me to come over.
I had memorized Kariel's number. And now that I was done here...
"Then may you have a day filled with shining starlight."
"Hey!"
[Stellar Shift]
-Flash!
* * *
'...Would strawberry cake do?'
[Do we really need the cake? Isn't the timing so perfect that it's suspicious?]
'Hmm... Still, I need some kind of pretext.'
Mia had run away from Alice, and I was in a situation where I had to either finish the treatment somehow or take Mia to Kariel. I had to do one or the other.
However, it felt awkward to go to Mia as Alice after she'd run away from Alice... so I prepared a suitable pretext to visit her as Han Sejin.
[But is there anyone who'd give you a cake as a gift?]
'Shut up.'
It was a clichéd excuse—that I'd received a cake as a gift and brought it over because there was too much to eat alone—but I still thought it wasn't bad.
I didn't know the details, but if she'd run out like that, she probably wasn't in a very good mood, and sugar had the effect of forcibly lifting people's spirits.
And considering Mia's feelings for Han Sejin, she wouldn't refuse if I showed up with something like this first.
[I feel bad, since it feels like I'm deceiving her.]
'I listened to Han Sejin as Alice, so now I'm just doing the opposite.'
...I never told her to like me.
Whether it was Han Sejin or Alice, she was the one throwing herself at me. I didn't feel particularly guilty.
"Ahem. Ahem."
-Ding-dong
"Ugh... Who is it~?"
"...It's me, Ms. Shina."
"...Mr. Sejin? Just a moment!"
-Crash!
Hmm. There was that distinctive sound again.
Well, what could I do? It was only natural to clean up before letting someone you knew into your room.
-Creak
"Hahaha... I had a few things to tidy up... What brings you here? You're fully recovered now, right?"
"I've been feeling fine lately, and... um... hmm..."
"...?"
Now that I had to say it, it wasn't easy.
I was beginning to think the pretext was a little flimsy after all. In this day and age, where would anyone even receive a cake as a gift?
"...Do you like cake?"
"Huh?"
"I received one as a gift. It's too big for me to eat alone."
"...Yes! I love it!"
-Beaming!
Her expression, which had seemed somewhat gloomy just moments ago, brightened in an instant like a sunflower that had just seen the sun.
The more I watched her, the easier she was to read. It was rare to find someone whose expressions were this honest.
Now I just had to eat cake according to plan, sound her out about whether something had happened, resolve it appropriately, and then contact her again as Alice when the timing was right.
After that, I could either find another treatment method that didn't make me honest or take her to Kariel and hand over the treatment. My plan was flawless for the moment.
...Or so I thought.
"...A date?"
"Yes! Please... Think of it as saving a person's life!"
...I was suddenly asked on a date.
...Really suddenly.
"Wouldn't the picture we took last time be enough? What's going on?"
"Th-that isn't the problem... Hmm... I suppose I should say there's something I want to check."
"What do you want to check?"
"Th-that... would be a little difficult to explain. Um... I want to try going on a date with someone of the opposite sex, but you're the only person I can ask, Mr. Sejin."
"..."
What was going on, seriously?
I'd been through all kinds of things, but I couldn't predict this one at all.
What could there possibly be to confirm by going on a date with a man?
"...It's just a date, right?"
"Huh? Ah, y-yes, of course! Nothing else! Just watching a movie, having a meal, that sort of thing is enough!"
"...All right. Are you free tomorrow?"
"I'm free! I mean, I haven't checked, but I'm definitely free!"
...And that's how it happened.
Normally, getting close to people as Han Sejin was something I should avoid... but this time, I needed to resolve whatever problem this woman was experiencing, or I'd suffer consequences too.
"Then... shall we meet around lunchtime tomorrow?"
"Yes! Anytime works for me! Even at dawn today!"
That wouldn't work for me. I was tired and needed to get some sleep tonight.
"...I'll see you tomorrow. Get plenty of rest."
"Yes!!! See you tomorrow!!!"
...I agreed to do it because she said she needed it, but I genuinely had no idea why.
It wasn't as though she knew that Alice and I were the same person and was using me like this. So what on earth did going on a date with me have to do with anything?
-Hiss
"Hah... I don't know."
I'd have to press her for details tomorrow. That was the only way to somehow get Alice's treatment sorted out, too.