Magical Girl Black (Daydream)

It's warm.

How long has it been since I was intoxicated by warmth like this?

The softness of the bed, gently supporting my heavy body.

The cozy warmth of the sunlight pouring down.

The faint sound of a knife tapping against a cutting board.

The savory smell tickling the tip of my nose.

A sense of peace I'd thought I'd never feel again.

If this is a dream, please don't let me wake up.

But they say nothing lasts forever.

Along with the sensation of rising to the surface, I opened my eyes.

"…."

Chirp chirp―…

I took a deep breath at the sound of birds outside the window and stretched.

"Hnnngh…!"

A smile formed on its own at the indescribable sense of refreshment.

Mornings had always been unpleasant to me, something I wished would never come.

But merely sleeping well for one night had changed me this much.

Was it because I'd cleaned the house, or because I'd filled my stomach before going to sleep?

I didn't know which was the right answer, but either one was fine.

Right now, I just wanted to savor this feeling.

Click――

"Are you awake?"

I flinched at the unfamiliar voice and looked toward the open door.

But when I saw the halo spinning above their head and the wings, I realized who it was.

'You said they could stay the night yesterday.'

I let out a belated sigh at the memory and slowly sat up.

"You're still here."

"Ehehe. You let me, who had nowhere to go, sleep here. So I was preparing breakfast as a token of my gratitude!"

The angel answered with a bright, smiling face, as if they were so happy about it.

…I'd let them stay in return for cleaning and cooking for me, and now they were preparing breakfast in return for that.

'So angels really are angels.'

I smiled bitterly at the thought.

…Why was I thinking about angels now, of all things?

"I don't usually eat breakfast."

"Th-then you shouldn't! Even if you're a magical girl, you're still a person who has to eat to live!"

―Hey, silly, do you go around eating nothing but sliced bread just because you're a magical girl? You won't find your destined one that way, so hurry up and eat.

My eyes widened at the angel's words.

Right. I'd heard something like that before.

The area around my chest grew warmly numb, but no tears fell.

My tear ducts had dried up long ago from all the tears I'd shed.

Instead, I smiled.

I'd had plenty of reasons to cry, but very few reasons to smile.

"Pfft…. Fine."

If I could smile over something this trivial, I might as well smile.

Thinking that, I climbed down from the bed.

"What's for breakfast?"

"I made a fresh pot of the doenjang soup left over from yesterday! And instant rice, fried eggs, and kimchi!"

"That's a very Korean spread for an angel."

"Ehehe. You seemed to eat well yesterday."

I nodded, then flinched.

Yesterday, they saw?

"So I was originally going to make bean sprout soup, but I just added a little more water to yesterday's doenjang soup and――"

"You…. Did you see me eating yesterday?"

"――Oh."

The angel, who had been flitting around in the air as they talked, froze solid.

Like a goat freezing at the sight of a wolf, the angel glided straight through the air.

I grabbed the angel's wing and stopped them.

The angel's body shuddered, and I turned them to face me.

The angel avoided my eyes with the expression of a puppy that had gotten into serious trouble.

Did they think I'd let them off just by making that face?

"Were you spying on me?"

"I didn't look on purpose! I just pushed my face in a little to put the things I'd bought in the refrigerator, and happened to see!"

"How much did you see?"

"I-I didn't see that much, so don't worry! It was really just a moment! I looked for a moment and came right back out!"

Had they only seen me eating?

Then that was a relief, but….

"I won't tell anyone you gagged while crying as you ate, so d-don't look at me with such a scary face!"

"You didn't see that much…. You saw everything…."

I was about to scold them, but I merely let out a deep sigh.

"Haa…. Fine. Let's just eat."

"Ah, okay!"

As soon as I changed the subject, the angel flew busily away as if delighted and set the table.

The menu on the table was similar to yesterday's.

The only difference was that, unlike yesterday, the seasoning was just right this time.

It didn't taste like my mother's cooking, but it was still good.

The fact that someone had cooked for me was enough.

As I ate with a faint smile, I felt a gaze so intense it was almost burdensome and raised my head.

"Hehe, is it tasty?"

"Well…. It's better than yesterday."

"Hehehehe."

I did my best to ignore the angel's unabashed smile and emptied my rice bowl….

My rice bowl….

"Hey, if you want to eat that badly, bring some over and eat too. Don't stare at me so intensely. It's making me uncomfortable."

It was too uncomfortable to eat.

At my words, the angel blinked and scratched their cheek.

"It's okay. Just watching Ms. Yoo Seo-ah eat fills me up, so don't mind me."

"Don't talk like my mother. Eat when I tell you to. It's just making me self-conscious."

"No, that's not it…. It's really because watching Ms. Yoo Seo-ah eat fills my stomach."

I paused halfway through eating my soup and raised my head to look at them. Their eyes met mine, and the angel's belly was already bulging.

It hadn't changed that much, but on closer inspection, their upper stomach was sticking out a little.

"Just watching someone else eat makes you full…?"

"Well, I'm an angel, aren't I?"

I closed my mouth at their expression, as if I had asked something obvious.

I'd called them an angel, but I hadn't really believed they were a real angel.

There were more than enough magical girls who resembled angels, after all.

But seeing that reaction made me feel strangely as if I really had a genuine angel standing before me.

"…Right."

If they really were an angel, then why――

I had something I wanted to ask, but decided not to.

Blaming others would bring me nothing.

I'd already felt that truth down to my bones.

'Don't worry about it.'

I quickly devoured the remaining food and stood up.

"I'll clear the dishes."

"I'll do it!"

"No, I'll do this. It's my last day, so I can't leave everything to you."

Right. This brief deviation from normal would end today.

So I shouldn't dwell on it.

I got up and put away the bowl I'd eaten from.

It had been a very long time since I'd washed dishes.

I hadn't had any reason to eat at home since that day.

No, I hadn't really eaten meals at all.

Whenever I ate anything, I threw it all up.

I smiled bitterly as I put away the completely washed dishes, and then—

Aaaaaaah――――!!

I flinched at the alarm ringing throughout the entire city.

I set down the sponge in my hand at the excessively loud alarm that shattered my sweet night's sleep.

Right. This was my life.

This was my everyday life.

What had I been expecting?

After all, it was nothing more than a one-night dream.

"I'm going out for a bit."

"Ah, I'll come too!"

What did you just say――…

"No!!"

"Eek…."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Ow, that hurts…. Fine, just let go of my wing…."

Only then did I realize that I was gripping the angel's wing as if I might tear it off, and let go.

The angel's eyes welled with tears, perhaps because the wing caught in my hand had hurt.

I bit my lip at the pain pricking my chest.

"…I'm sorry for grabbing your wing. But don't follow me. It's dangerous."

I said it like a warning, then took the accessory in my hand without waiting for a reply.

As always, the scent of camellias that erased the smell of cigarettes and food lingered at the tip of my nose.

After completing the transformation I'd grown far too used to, Myo-a popped out of the accessory.

"Nnngh…! Good morning, myong! Huh, you look better today, myong! Did you finally get a good night's sleep, myong?"

Myo-a, who had been chattering noisily from the moment they appeared, looked around before making a stunned face.

"Th-the room is clean, myong!! Where did all the cigarette butts and ashtrays that filled everything from the bed sheets to the floor go, myong?! Did some cleaning monster that cleans strangers' rooms show up, myong!?"

"You're loud. It's not that, so be quiet."

"If not, there's no way Seo-ah would clean the house, myong! What on earth happened――…"

Myo-a, who had been talking loudly enough to hurt my ears, uncharacteristically trailed off.

The fact that Myo-a had fallen silent at all was impossible, so I looked at them.

For some reason, Myo-a was trembling as they stared at the angel standing beside the dining table.

No, this wasn't the time to worry about that.

"Come on. It's already been a minute since the alarm went off."

I grabbed the still-trembling Myo-a and leaped outside through the window.

Perhaps because I was feeling better than usual, I arrived at the scene sooner than usual.

"I-it's a wolf monster!!"

"Run!! It'll swallow you whole!!"

"Waaah!! G-grandma…! My grandmaaa!!"

This time too, the location was the middle of the city.

The monster that had appeared was a wolf walking through the city on two legs.

It was a little larger than a dump truck.

It was much smaller than the monsters that had appeared before, but to the citizens, it was actually more threatening.

Large monsters caused material damage, but small monsters caused casualties.

The one fortunate thing was that no one had been hurt yet.

'I have to end this quickly.'

But I couldn't afford to relax just because of that.

"Sword Mode."

I gripped a greatsword a little longer than my height and charged at the monster.

As always, I swung my sword to cut off its neck, but—

"Grrr…!!"

The monster thrust out a hand and blocked my sword.

But there was no way flesh could be stronger than steel.

The monster survived, but paid for it by losing an arm.

I bit my lip at the sensation of the blade cutting through bone and muscle beneath my fingertips.

"Gwoooar!!"

Perhaps it was in pain, because it let out a roar and swung its arm, splashing blood across my face.

I was nauseous. I wanted to throw up everything in my stomach right then.

But I held it in.

Not so I could put on a show for others.

I didn't want to forget the warmth I'd felt for the first time in so long.

I kept my grip on the sword and refused to let go.

"Haaaah!!"

I shook off the nausea roiling in my stomach with a battle cry and swung my sword at the monster's neck once more.

The slower monster couldn't evade my sword. No, it chose not to.

Resignation.

Yes, the monster had resigned itself.

That strangely human reaction made my stomach churn again, but I endured it and swung my sword.

Because if I didn't do it, there was no one else to bear this burden.

Slash――!!

The wolf's neck fell to the ground.

Blood gushed up like a fountain and drenched my entire body.

"Waaah! Thank you, Black!!"

"You saved us, Black!!"

I couldn't smile despite the cheers coming from every direction.

Once today was over, this would happen again.

When tomorrow came, another monster would appear.

And then I'd get blood on my hands again, and again.

Then, with those bloodied hands, I'd eat, wash, and smile.

I'd go on living just like everyone else.

―You don't deserve to be happy. Murderer.

Just as my entire body was trembling from the rising nausea and guilt, a small child came running over.

"Big Sis Black! Thank you! Here! A present!!"

I looked at the doll the child held out to me and forced myself to smile.

"Thank you, but you should keep that doll. If I had it, it would get broken while I was fighting the bad monsters. You protect it for me, okay?"

The child's eyes sparkled at my words.

"Yeah!! I wanna grow up and be a suuuper strong magical girl like you!"

Don't.

This blood-soaked path isn't somewhere you should come.

Live without knowing anything.

Stay as pure and clear as you are now. Live an ordinary life, not in this cesspit.

"That's right. I'll be cheering for you, future magical girl."

Before the blood flowing from the monster's body reached the child's feet, I sent the child away.

"All right! Everyone, do your best today too!!"

Splat――

I smiled and waved from atop the sticky monster blood before flying up into the sky.

I'd felt happy just this morning, but now it all felt like a lie.

In the end, I headed for an alley where no one was around again.

To let go of this happiness.

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