Chapter 71
'...Han Serin.'
How long had it been since I'd turned that name over in my mind?
Even though it was a name I'd tried to erase from my thoughts as much as possible because I hated even thinking of it, it had come back without fail.
As if constantly reminding me that, in the end, there was no denying the relationship between that girl and me in this world.
"...Hoo. Tokkaengi, give me a lighter."
[...Here.]
-Flick
-Whooo...
Even as smoke wormed into my brain and injected it with pleasure chemicals, my mood didn't improve.
It couldn't be helped. I had just been reminded once again that no matter how hard I tried to escape from the woman who had completely changed my life, the world wouldn't let me, and if I could have pulled myself together that easily, I'd have been a healthy human being without a single mental illness.
Unfortunately, I was an utterly worn-out human being barely keeping myself alive with medication.
'...I suppose it can't be helped.'
As long as I lived in this world, there was no avoiding that girl's name continuing to be mentioned.
Because I hadn't revealed that she was no longer in this world.
More precisely, I'd deliberately hidden it. So if I complained now about people continuing to look for her, it would be like spitting in my own face.
The reason I'd gone out of my way to hide the fact was that the official Alice who had signed a contract with the mascot was that girl, and I needed it as a precaution in case I was ever suspected in connection with Alice. Besides, her body was in a place no one could find, so I had no worries about being discovered.
If I ever really had to reveal Alice's official identity, revealing that she was Alice would cause far less fallout than revealing that I was Alice.
In Mia's case, she had seen through both 'Alice is a man' and 'Alice is Han Sejin' all at once, leaving no room for excuses.
Even the cellphone Alice used was registered in that girl's name, and I had been depositing the money I earned as Alice into her bank account, so it was necessary: even if someone traced anything related to Alice, all that would be revealed was that 'Alice's identity is a woman named Han Serin.'
Right. I was living a life in which I even used my dead younger sister's identity as a shield.
...I didn't particularly feel guilty about it.
* * *
[Yes, Mr. Sejin? I heard something strange at the police station...]
"It probably is. I'm on my way to the police station now, so please make time to go there later, Ms. Shina. They probably asked you to visit too... but I'm going to discuss something a little sensitive right now, so I'd appreciate it if you could come at a separate time."
[Oh, okay. I have something to do anyway... I'm planning to go tomorrow.]
"All right. Take care of your business. I'll hang up."
-Click.
It was nice that communication was easy. She was a woman who seemed clueless yet was surprisingly perceptive about important things.
I didn't particularly dislike people who knew to stop at the line they shouldn't cross. She was tiring in other respects because she took a lot of interest in things, though.
For now, I'd come to the police station in my original appearance. I would need to appear at the police station in this form anyway to arrange the old woman's funeral.
My memory was hazy, but it wasn't my first time, and I could manage basic courtesy.
She had helped me during her lifetime, and though her sudden death had left me a little confused, she'd even left me an expensive gift. Surely I could at least show proper respect.
-Tap tap
Before entering after arriving in front of the police station, I checked myself over once more in the restroom, just in case. There was always a chance they'd find something suspicious and detain me on the spot.
The more someone had to hide, the more nerve-racking it was to visit a police station. I was a con artist who had deceived the entire planet for eight years.
'Was it Officer Baek Soeun?'
[You remember her name this time?]
'It's important.'
I normally wasn't good at remembering people's names, but with something this important, I needed to remember it properly.
Anyway, I entered the police station without showing my anxiety, and a scene of the station interior I'd only ever seen in movies came into view.
I approached the person closest to the entrance who looked relatively friendly, explained why I was there, and said I was looking for Officer Baek Soeun. The person called out her name right away, and then I saw a young woman running toward me from a distance.
"Ah, hello! I'm Officer Baek Soeun! Um... are you Mr. Han Sejin...?"
"Yes, that's me."
"You said you'd come right away, but you got here quickly... Thank you... Ah, did you bring your ID...?"
"Here."
"Phew... Thank you so much..."
After that, I quickly completed the procedures related to the old woman's funeral.
They were probably busy on their end, and I didn't want to spend too long at the police station either. I filled out the contract and several confirmation forms, and thanks to them putting me in touch with a hospital and a funeral home, we would probably be able to begin the funeral tomorrow.
As for the funeral... I felt a little bad about it, but three days was impossible with my schedule. Since I understood there wouldn't be many visitors anyway, we'd decided to shorten it to two days.
I'd heard that even the old woman's remaining family had parted from her because of an Abyss One. I'd have to check the contacts once I received her phone, but as far as visitors went, there would probably be only a few friends.
'Still, rest peacefully there. Say your farewells to your family, too.'
"Here... the deceased's cellphone and the belongings she had on her... and the original will. Please check them. As for property inherited through the will, you'll need to consult a lawyer and a tax accountant rather than us. There will probably be complicated matters regarding taxes, too."
"I understand. Is there anything else I need to do now?"
"Uh... Mr. Han Sejin, you're done now, but... did Ms. Han Serin not come? Since she is also one of the parties involved, she needs to sign a few forms..."
'...Tsk.'
I'd thought I might be able to get past this easily, but maybe not.
"My sister is busy and it's difficult for her to make time. Could I take the forms and have her sign them, then bring them back?"
"...I'm sorry. It isn't urgent, so... whenever you have time, could you please visit just once...? Would even that be difficult?"
'...Hoo.'
These days, the police had strong authority, since they handled prevention and cleanup of all kinds of damage caused by Abyss Ones, as well as the various crimes committed under the pretext of Abyss Ones. Since they had to rely on magical girls, irregular personnel who could appear anywhere at any time, to eliminate Abyss Ones, it felt as though they had invested quite a lot in their regular personnel.
I didn't know much about the police, but I figured they might even come to my house if I handled this wrong, so I decided to give a little ground. It wasn't as though I had no way around it.
"I'll make time to visit. I don't have to specifically look for you, Officer, do I?"
"Oh, yes! That's fine! It would be better if you came to me, if possible... but I might be dispatched somewhere else. I'll leave instructions, so you can visit whenever it's convenient and let them know. Oh, and you must bring your ID!"
"Then I'll tell her to make time to visit. I'll be going now. Thank you for your hard work."
"Have a safe trip home!!"
After I got out safely, I went somewhere with few people around and let out a deep breath.
Even though I tried not to show it, I couldn't avoid being tense when I had something to hide.
[What are you going to do? Are you really going?]
'I can't exactly refuse...'
[Then we'd better prepare.]
First, I moved to a secluded place near the police station. If necessary, I could transform into Alice for a moment and even use teleportation.
Once I decided that I had reached a place where no one could see me, I found somewhere suitable to sit and took a seat. This required concentration.
"...Ha. I really hate this."
It had been eight years since that girl vanished from the world. Was this country's administrative system really so inadequate that it would consider a dead person alive just because her death hadn't been reported? And not in some remote rural corner, but right in the middle of the metropolitan area?
Of course, measures had been taken. I had made people... more precisely, the documents, believe that she was alive and active.
[Same hairstyle as last time?]
'Let's say I made it a little longer.'
[And the clothes? Something reasonably fashionable, as always?]
'You know me well. Naturally, nothing revealing.'
I'd explained before that a magical girl's transformation allowed relatively free alteration.
As long as they didn't stray too far from the original in things like hairstyle, figure, and height, most changes were permitted within the range allowed by a magical girl's abilities.
And Alice and I looked very much alike. Alice's appearance was basically my original face with only the impression altered a little.
And that girl and I looked very much alike, too. If I'd been born a woman, I would have been her, and if she'd been born a man, she'd have looked like me.
What did that imply?
-Flash
-Rustle...
"...This feels absolutely disgusting."
I used the cellphone camera I hated using as a mirror and checked whether the transformation had turned out properly.
On the camera's screen was a woman who looked like me—so identical that anyone could have believed she was me.
'...Of course. We were twins.'
The same black hair and black eyes as mine. The only differences were that her hair was longer and that she looked a little more delicate than I did, despite my naturally androgynous appearance.
Anyway, using the transformation properly made things like this possible.
This was me. In other words, I wasn't merely Han Sejin dressed up; I was transformed into 'Alice.' I'd simply altered what I looked like in that transformed state.
Naturally, I hadn't summoned the wand, since doing so would be like advertising that I was Alice, and Tokkaengi was hiding away completely so it wouldn't be discovered, but I was still in a transformed state.
I could use all magic that didn't require the wand. Even in this state, if I punched a wall a few times because I was in a bad mood, I could easily leave fist-shaped holes in it.
"Ahem. Ahem. Ngh."
Enough wallowing in disgust. If I didn't finish today's business, I'd have to transform again and come all the way back to the police station later.
I could say, 'You said you were busy, but you came quickly...?' but what could they say if I told them I'd suddenly found time and hurried over? The police would probably be happy to get it over with and send me on my way.
"Hello... Ah, I really can't fucking do this."
[Calm down! Ali... Han Serin wouldn't use language like that!]
"If that bitch had been alive and well, wouldn't she have gotten a grip by the time she was twenty-seven? At that age, the rough treatment of life should have worn her down enough to at least swear, don't you think?"
[You know that leaves me with nothing to say...!]
"What kind of crazy bitch, in the first place, at twenty-seven years old, would put on a dress to imitate some little girl from a fairy tale and refer to herself in the third person... Ha. Sorry. I need to do some mind control for a moment."
[...Yeah.]
Transforming into 'Alice' was familiar. I didn't like it, but I'd spent eight years going out on countless missions, standing before large crowds, and defeating monsters as her. Even if I hated it, I'd grown used to it.
But... I really hated this. And I wasn't used to it at all.
Disguising myself as the person who had ruined my life and whose life I had ended, then presenting her to the world as if she were alive and well...
Even though I was doing it out of necessity, it was truly a nauseating thing to do.