Chapter 24: Time Bill Gates.

Unlike today, when magical girls are easily seen on streaming platforms, encountering a first-gen was like catching a shooting star.

They’d vanish like the wind after defeating monsters.

Warriors who fought solely for peace.

Unless you were at the scene by chance, seeing one in person was nearly impossible.

[Title: Han River Park Spica Sighting]
(Photo of Spica standing, taken from afar)
Over ten years since her debut, still adorable.
Bet she transforms sometimes to check herself in the mirror.

– Heard aging makes transforming tough.
└ She still crushed those monsters.
└ First-gens are on another level; even past their prime, they’re strong.
└ Three out of 50 million were chosen as first-gens.

– Age aside, she’s cute.
– Is it really her?
– Damn, I was there yesterday, so close!

– Her fighting looked no different from her prime.
└ Still alive and kicking.
└ Eight years off, and she still fights like that?
└ Class is eternal.

A legend that’ll be talked about for decades.

Long-time fans were in a frenzy.

[Title: Pulled Out All My Spica Merch]
(Photo of Spica-related goods spread across the floor and shelves)
Probably spent ten million won total.

– LOL, insane.
– That’s a used car’s worth.
– Prices are gonna skyrocket.
– That belongs in a museum.

Heartwarming posts with proof shots and nostalgia flooded in, but…

– Fake. Just copying Scarlet Lily.
– Spica doesn’t fight like that.
– Next, someone’s gonna mimic Stella.
– Stella’s dead, though…
– Scarlet was dead too, but Lily popped up.

Debates over authenticity raged on.

Only the person herself or someone in the know could end the controversy, but neither active magical girls nor mascots had answers.

– What do mascots even do? They know nothing.
– Don’t slander Armo… He’s managing dozens of magical girls alone.
– Just makes contracts left and right and does nothing else.
– Gotta admit, he’s got an eye for picking cute girls.
– Contracting is his job, though.

Stella, Spica, Scarlet.
Spica’s the only first-gen still alive.

Even if she’s not at her peak, people desperately hoped she’d return to fight monsters again.

Magical girls are no longer a niche interest.

They’re media darlings, constantly covered.

Spica’s appearance made such a splash in Korea that every channel repeated similar reports.

[Many believe the Han River Park figure is Spica herself. Any solid evidence?]
[To verify identity, we look at habits or fighting style—magic used, evasion patterns, for example.]

A middle-aged man appeared on TV.

A professional who analyzes and studies magical girls.

He explained the Spica controversy with a scientific approach.

[First-gen magical girls are known for not transforming their wands. Can you elaborate?]
[It’s a technical issue.]
[Technical?]
[Wands are materialized magic. Transforming them requires imagination.]
[So, shaping them freely as you envision?]
[Not quite. It’s largely innate talent, so only specific forms are possible.]

Sounds obvious, but even magical girls aren’t experts on this.

Ask someone how they move their arm.

Most can’t explain it easily—it just happens.

Bend, extend, stretch, rotate—no big deal.

But dig into the mechanics, and it’s biology: muscles reacting to electrical signals, expert territory.

[So first-gens couldn’t do it?]
[They didn’t have the chance to learn. In science terms, it’s a modern technique from the second-gen onward. A matter of skill.]
[Spica only used her wand on-site. Because she never learned transformation?]
[That’s my take.]
[Her magic was the same as before. Let’s review the footage.]

The screen switched to Han River Park, showing Spica in combat.

I’d seen it over ten times.

I turned off the TV.

I might be strong now, but back then, I was on par with my teammates.

Each had strengths, and we meshed well.

A complementary dynamic.
That’s why our friendship grew so deep.

[Title: Would Spica Still Hold Up Against Active Magical Girls?]
Would love to see her in a party fight.

– She’s old, let her retire.
└ Office workers toil till 60.
└ That’s the same?
└ Magical girl work is volunteer.
└ Like telling a soldier to live on the battlefield.

– By 30, reaction speed slows, and that’s fatal.
└ Transforming makes you younger.
└ Rejuvenation doesn’t boost reaction speed.
└ She’s like 30, “rejuvenation” is a stretch.

– She’d struggle to keep up.
– Unless she trains hard, no time for that.
– Without teammates she’s synced with, she’d lag.

Spica gets endless praise, but many are skeptical about a comeback.

It’s her age.

I’ve stayed active, but after an eight-year break, she’d need rehab training.

“Ugh… I want to meet her.”

Can’t focus on anything.
For days, I’ve been glued to my bed, scrolling communities.

Spending all day digging into Spica stuff.

So close, yet out of reach—it’s maddening.

[Haeun: She’s too similar, feels like the real deal, right?]

Haeun posted a link in the group chat.

A video comparing Spica from ten years ago to now.
I’d already seen it.

[Lily: Probably her.]
[Haeun: Whoa! Scarlet’s seal of approval!!!]
[Lily: Hope I don’t jinx it and it’s not her, that’d be embarrassing.]
[Haeun: You were teammates, have confidence!]

She’s more excited than I am.

[Lily: You a Spica fan?]
[Haeun: Bingo! Sia’s a Scarlet stan, but I’m all about Spica. Introduce us sometime!]

Haeun’s message dripped with ulterior motives.

That explains it.

Aurora Lora and Spica.
Now that I think about it, they’re kinda similar.

[Lily: I don’t even know if I’ll meet her.]
[Yena: Why not? Bad blood?]

Yena jumped in.

Slacking off during her part-time job, huh?

[Lily: Her address and number changed.]
[Yena: Maybe she’s avoiding you ‘cause of some grudge lol.]
[Lily: She thinks I’m dead, so no way. Get back to work.]

She sees me as a loner like her.

I don’t have many friends, true, but that’s ‘cause I can’t drop my transformation.

Not an excuse, it’s real.

[Haeun: Group chat’s lively now, love it. Hope Spica joins.]

Haeun made this chat recently.

It was me, Haeun, Yusia, and Sonya—four of us, until Yena joined at the afterparty, making five.

A chat for those who know I’m Scarlet.

I debated revealing it, but Yena’s observant—suspicious, even.

She was key to busting the evil organization, so I spilled.

Plus, she seemed distant from teammates, so I wanted to help her connect.

[Yena: What was Spica staring at?]

Yena dropped a random comment.

[Lily: When she was standing still?]
[Yena: She wouldn’t do something pointless. Standing there, untransformed, gazing—there’s a reason, right?]

Spica, staring at one spot, rejecting interviews.

Maybe she was savoring the fight’s afterglow, but I had no guesses.

Then it hit me.

“No way!”

I opened a map app.

Found the park where Spica appeared and checked the direction she was facing.

It clicked.

[Lily: You’re sharp.]
[Yena: What? Figured something out?]

Yena spammed for answers, but I couldn’t confirm my hunch without going.

Her subtle keenness came in handy.

*

In the video, Spica stared somewhere for about a minute.

Like she was waiting for someone.
Gazing intently before teleporting away.

People speculated she was admiring the sunset or lingering post-battle, but they were wrong.

The direction she looked.
Beyond the buildings, out of sight.
A message only someone who knew our secret spot would catch.

“Almost ten years, huh?”

I arrived at a small playground in a quiet residential area.

No kids, just rusty equipment.

Our hideout.

A gem Stella, Spica, and I stumbled upon while hunting monsters.

Shady, cool, and roughly equidistant from our homes—perfect for broke teens to hang out.

We didn’t come often, but it holds precious memories.

“Came here, but…”

Even if I read her message right, no specific time was set.

Guess I just wait.

“Time to doomscroll.”

Not to brag, but I’m a time billionaire.

When I’m not streaming, I’m free, so I sat on a bench to chill.

Some time passed.
As the sun set, the air grew chilly.

Maybe meeting in one day was too much.

I was about to head home when—

“Are you a Scarlet fan?”

A woman stood where the voice came from.