Chapter 35: A fragrance to some, a smell of despair to others.

“Pheromones, like those pheromones?”
“My body’s got this scent monsters hate,” I explained.

A sudden spark of inspiration.
Instead of fighting the trickling monsters, I’d stop them from coming out altogether.

“So they’re not coming out because they smell you?” Cherry Fiore asked.
“Pretty much.”
“How does that even work?”
“No clue about the details.”

Cherry Fiore’s face screamed disbelief.

The stench of blood from the demon world, impossible to wash off.
Stray dogs would yelp just passing by me.

It broke my heart every time, but today, that smell was a lifesaver.

“Can I turn off the light?” Reaper Mors asked.
“It’s dark without it, so keep it on.”
“Tch.”

Trying to slack off, huh?

Ignoring her grumbling, I stared at the gate.

About an hour later, the rift’s trembling weakened.

“It’s closing!” Metaphorte shouted.

The time had come.

The gate shrank slowly, vanishing completely after ten more minutes.

“It’s over… just like that?” Reaper Mors said, dousing her light spell and landing.

“You just coasted all day,” I teased.
“My light was the MVP! You’d have missed half those monsters without me!”

The gate closed naturally.

A glitch that delayed its full opening—bizarre, but life’s full of weird moments.

“Can I head out now?” the Forestry Service worker asked.
“Looks like it. Sorry for the sudden call,” Cherry Fiore replied.
“No worries, I didn’t do much.”

The worker chatted briefly with the analysts, then flew off in the helicopter.

Who knew my wildfire stunt would pay off like this?
Guess good deeds do come back.

“Kinda anticlimactic,” Metaphorte said.

She’d expected a big battle.

“Your helicopter idea saved the day,” I said.
“Didn’t know it’d be used like that,” she replied.

Reaper Mors shone as a human lamp, but Metaphorte was today’s hero.

Mission complete.
The timing’s a bit awkward, though.

“Sleep over or head out?” I asked Reaper Mors.

“Head out by flying?”
“Got time, so it’s training time.”
“…I’ll stay.”

She slumped, exhausted.
One more night it is.

Sunday morning.

Time to wrap up the short trip.
As we prepared to leave the community center, reporters swarmed.

“You stayed here protecting the village! Why were Scarlet Lily and Reaper Mors chosen as representatives?”
“How was the Forestry Service helicopter used in the fight?”
“Scarlet Lily, you were at the Seoul mega-gate too—what’s different this time?”

Local and major broadcasters alike, shoving mics and cameras, bombarding us about last night’s chaos.

“I just did my usual monster-hunting. My teammates know the details better,” I said, nudging Reaper Mors forward.

“Come on, everyone, over here! I’ll tell you how I shone in the pitch-black night!” she said, soaking up the attention.

Starved for fame, she’d been waiting for this moment, launching into her heroics without hesitation.

Metaphorte and Cherry Fiore, as local magical girls, couldn’t miss out.

I stepped back, watching their interviews.

Objectively, no single MVP stood out yesterday.

Reaper Mors lit the way.
Cherry Fiore’s ribbons stopped monsters from escaping.
Metaphorte’s quick thinking brought the helicopter.

Everyone was a star.
Everyone was the lead.

Missing any one of them would’ve been trouble.
Each did what only they could.

With only low-grade monsters, my role wasn’t huge.

“Tone it down. You’re tiring the reporters,” I told Reaper Mors.
“I’m just answering questions!”

She was milking every second in front of the cameras.

Not like that’ll boost her popularity ranking.

Anyway, time to head home.
The analysts left last night, but we’re just now setting out.

According to them, this was a rare case, yielding valuable data.
It might bring us closer to unraveling Dark Magical Gems or gate mysteries.

The glitch gave them a chance to analyze it in detail.

“Short but fun,” Cherry Fiore said, looking reluctant to part.

“Same. Your ribbon magic was dazzling. Learned a lot,” I said.
“Glad you think so. Here, take this.”

She handed me and Reaper Mors each a small paper bag.

“Bread?”
“Didn’t want to send you off empty-handed.”
“You didn’t have to…”

A thank-you for coming so far, filled with local specialties.
So that’s why she slipped out early this morning.

“When’ll we meet again? If you’re in Seoul, hit me up. Oh, but one of you has to stay here, right?”
“If needed, call a close peer to cover,” I said.
“Like Reaper Mors.”
“Why me?!”

Cherry Fiore chuckled.

Then I remembered what Metaphorte said.

“I heard you gave up your dreams to be a magical girl. Want me to ask Armo to recruit more help?”

Maybe not the best topic for a warm goodbye, but it felt like now or never.

“Is that possible?”
“A mascot should grant a request like that. If not, I’ll threaten them.”
“Threats are a bit much.”

Cherry Fiore thought for a moment, then shook her head.

“I’m content now. Protecting my hometown feels rewarding. More juniors would be nice, but no need to force it.”
“Really?”

Sure, there are problem kids, but only the qualified sign contracts.

“Besides, I haven’t given up my dreams. My grades are shaky, but I’ll take care of myself too. That way, I can be a proud magical girl.”
“That’s cool.”

I got why Metaphorte admired her.

People like her keep this country creaking along.

After we left, Cherry Fiore and Metaphorte remained.

“You didn’t say much to your peer,” Cherry Fiore said.
“Didn’t have much to say. We chatted plenty at the center,” Metaphorte replied.
“Don’t like capital kids?”
“Not that. Just feels awkward.”

Metaphorte had biases against capital peers.

She wondered if they thought frequent fighters like her were the “real” magical girls.
Or if they overlooked the unique struggles of rural life.

Until recently.

“It’s been a while since I saw my Seoul friends. Wanna hang out there during break?” she asked.

A surprising offer from a junior who seemed guarded.

Cherry Fiore smiled, satisfied.
“Sure, let’s go.”

A gate that wouldn’t close appeared in a rural village!

The news broke with a slight delay to avoid panic, as preparations were made in advance.
That’s why the media rushed in late.

– A glitch in a gate? 😱
– Same place as that last mess?
– Only two magical girls there, and stuff keeps happening.

– Lily and Mors went to help, but wasn’t Lily enough?
└ Mors did some work too.
└ Didn’t fight, just used Angelic Luna-era magic to be a spotlight.
└ Talked the most in the interview, lol.

– If Scarlet Lily went inside and hunted everything, gates could open with nothing coming out.
└ Can’t easily cross to the other side.
└ One-way trip.

The gate’s oddity was intriguing, but the strategy was novel, sparking buzz.

[Title: Gate Strategy.txt]
1. Bring Scarlet Lily.
2. Get a fan (or a helicopter if none available).
3. Blow air with Scarlet Lily’s scent into the gate.
This legit?

– Did that actually work?
– Creativity champ, lol.
– A magical girl using a Forestry Service chopper instead of a fan.
– Is this an Easter egg or a real glitch?
– Let me smell Lily too!!!!

– Why didn’t the monsters come out?
└ Theory is they’re scared of the blood stench on Lily.
└ Her Scarlet Beam turns them to dust, so when’d blood get on her?
└ Probably crushed them with her gauntlet off-screen.
└ Guess she’s not the gentle type 😱.

Scarlet Lily might have a side we don’t know.

Baseless speculation, but it lined up with reality more than expected.

*

Bookshelves, a computer, sketchbooks, paints, cooking tools, random gadgets.

In a chaotic room, Mirage Illusion sat with another girl.

“Ugh, it hurts…”

Changing the bandage on her leg, Mirage Illusion groaned in pain.

“Need help?” the girl asked, her voice languid, drawing closer.

“I’m fine, almost done.”
“You can lean on me, y’know.”

Mirage Illusion was treating injuries from Scarlet Lily.

A four-week recovery for most, but magical girls’ magic speeds healing.
She’d be back to normal soon.

“I won’t rest till I kill that Scarlet Lily bitch. Don’t you want that too?”
“Eh, maybe.”
“Why the hesitation?”
“I like magical girls. Killing’s not my thing.”

Mirage Illusion was dumbfounded.

“Then why join us?”
“I wanna see sides of magical girls no one else does. Even if it’s them suffering—that’s within my limits.”

Her expression was eager.

“You’re thinking that while looking at me?”
“Not exactly…”
“Shut it, sadist.”
“Harsh!”

The girl was a magical girl otaku.
And a magical girl herself.

She’d achieved her dream job but wasn’t satisfied.

She craved unearthing unseen facets of magical girls, even their pain, prioritizing her desires.

A perfect fit for Mirage Illusion’s organization, vetted through a “banquet.”

“The bug or whatever was your fault for misusing the Dark Magical Gem. Reflect on wasting something precious.”
“Sorry.”

She apologized quickly, but whether it was sincere was unclear.

“Ugh, fine. Thanks to you, we got to mess with Scarlet Lily, so it wasn’t all bad.”

They’d run a decoy operation in Seoul and the village.

But the novice girl mixed up the Dark Magical Gems, causing the gate to stay open.

Mirage Illusion finished bandaging, testing her leg.

Dull pain lingered, but it was better.
Full recovery was near.

And that meant revenge was too.

“For your initiation, I’ll give you Scarlet Lily’s despairing face as a gift.”