Chapter 8: The Ever-Positive Angel Is in Charge of the Magical Girl's Mental Care

How an Angel Affirms

Human relationships aren’t something you can just force your way through.

It’s like trying to open a stuck drawer with brute force, you’ll just break it.

Or like tearing open a snack bag that won’t open right, you end up with snacks everywhere.

Same thing with people. Sometimes you need to take a gentle touch.

Ah, but don’t get me wrong, this isn’t about “push and pull.”

Push and pull is a tug-of-war to gain control in a relationship. It’s not about healing it.

Besides, trying to play mind games with a magical girl whose mental state is already shattered?

That’s just deception.

It’d be like handing a water bottle to a dying wanderer in the desert, only to find it’s empty.

That kind of cruel joke.

So then, what did I do?

I just gave her a little time.

She was obviously pushing me away, so instead of charging in, I stayed back and watched from a distance.

Like someone who avoids hugging a person covered in wounds so that they don’t get hurt, I waited for her to heal.

…But the wound didn’t heal.

It only got worse. And worse. Until I realized this could really turn bad.

That’s why I came rushing back…

“Um… this is a little tight. Could you maybe loosen your arms just a little?”

…And somehow, I ended up in this situation.

To be honest, I never imagined it would turn out like that.

“No.”

When I asked her to ease up, Yoo Seo-ah didn’t let go.

Instead, she hugged me even tighter.

I wasn’t suffocating, exactly—

But it was still like standing at full attention while being held, and it’s quite a hurdle.

Especially since that someone was a powerhouse who could bend steel bars with her bare hands.

‘At this rate, something’s gonna snap…’

Sure, I can’t actually break—not with this immortal body.

But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.

Still…

“Sniff…”

‘I can escape anytime I want, so should I let her sleep for now?’

At some point, Yoo Seo-ah had fallen asleep.

So I leaned gently into her chest and let her hold me.

Eventually, as she drifted into deeper sleep, her grip loosened.

That’s when I slowly slipped away and stood up from the bed.

“Mmm…”

Of course, she noticed immediately.

With the instinct of a ghost, Yoo Seo-ah let out a soft whimper and shifted in her sleep.

Looking like she was about to wake up any second, I quickly sat by her bedside and offered my lap for her to rest on.

Yes, a lap pillow.

“Hnn… mmm…”

Her breath tickled my thigh.

Her hair brushed against me.

It was ticklish, but I endured it.

Yeah, being a little ticklish was better than being squeezed like a teddy bear.

Still, without being held, she’d probably feel less secure.

I needed to do something more.

What else could I do…?

‘Ah, yeah, that’ll work.’

“Rock-a-bye baby, time to sleep now…”

I gently stroked her hair as I sang the lullaby, hoping she might fall asleep just a little more peacefully.

It’s nothing special, just something anyone could do.

But maybe that’s why it’s even more special?

For magical girls, who live lives steeped in the extraordinary, it’s the ordinary things they long for most.

“...Mom…”

“—…Pfft.”

I never imagined I’d ever hear someone call me Mom, especially when I used to be a man.

How should I put it, it feels… a little weird, honestly.

It's not that I dislike it, but it's not that I like it either.

…Well, whatever.

If calling me that brings her any comfort, she can call me whatever she likes.

That’s what I promised myself when I came to this world, after all.

As I hummed and kept stroking Seo-ah’s head, her magical girl accessory suddenly began to glow.

I knew exactly what that meant.

I’d seen the same scene enough times in the original novel to know what was coming.

Just as I expected, motes of light began to gather in the air.

They clustered in a single point, until finally, a figure appeared.

A magical girl’s mascot, a chibi-like creature shaped like a black-furred rabbit with blood-red eyes.

It was Myoa.

“Hello, Myoa.”

I smiled gently and offered a greeting.

Myoa flinched the moment she saw me.

Looking at a person like they're some kind of monster, how rude.

“…Angel.”

“You’re not using your usual ‘~myong’ speech? Or do you think there’s no need to when talking to me?”

I asked the question seriously, but she only glared at me in silence.

“Angel, why are you here?”

“I’m not quite sure what you’re asking about. If you mean why I’m at Yoo Seo-ah’s house, it’s because she brought me here.”

“Weren’t the noble beings of the heaven realm supposed to stay out of human affairs? That’s why we stepped in. So why are you suddenly interfering now?”

Her voice wasn’t just skeptical. It was biting, more like a taunt.

“Are you getting nervous because our magical girls are stealing people’s hearts?”

No, now that I see it, it was definitely a taunt.

I let out a soft sigh.

And that’s when she snapped.

“Answer me, Angel!”

Her voice was loud enough that Yoo Seo-ah stirred with a slight frown.

I gently spread my folded wings again, tucking them lightly over her like a blanket.

Then I turned to Myoa with a calm voice.

“Shhh. Quiet, please. Yoo Seo-ah is sleeping.”

“Oh, how thoughtful. Pretending to care. As if angels don’t just see us all as lumps of meat anyway.”

…Okay, that’s actually scary.

I blinked at her, startled.

Then I looked down at Yoo Seo-ah.

Jet-black hair, snow-white skin, dark eyes with a light brown tint.

She didn’t look like a “lump of meat” to me. She looked like a very ordinary, fragile girl.

Just a human being, as she should be.

Of course, not only Yoo Seo-ah but other people as well.

Seeing people as mere lumps of meat… what kind of crazy nonsense is that?

"That’s an incredibly disrespectful thing to say. Just because you see people that way doesn’t mean I do. Don’t assume your vision is mine."

I frowned slightly as I retorted, and Myoa’s face twisted with displeasure.

To think a magical girl’s mascot could wear such a hostile expression…

If children saw her like this, they’d definitely burst into tears.

"So you're saying you descended here for the sake of magical girls?"

"Right now, I'm here for Seo-ah."

"In the end, it's the same thing."

"No, it’s not."

What the hell does this little psycho mascot think I am?

"Yoo Seo-ah is not Magical Girl Black."

"...What are you saying?"

"I mean that her essence isn’t a magical girl but an ordinary human."

One common misconception is that those chosen to become magical girls cease to be human and become something else entirely.

But that’s wrong.

At their core, magical girls aren’t magical beings—they’re people.

Not warriors. Not saviors.

Just young girls.

And we must never forget that.

"The name 'Magical Girl Black' should be nothing more than an alias for Seo-ah. And ‘Yoo Seo-ah’ should never be just another name for ‘Black’."

"...That’s idealistic. Just because you think that way doesn't mean others will. In the end, people will still only see her for what she does."

"That’s fine. Even if everyone else denies it, I’ll affirm it just that much harder. That’s why I’m here."

I gently patted Seo-ah’s head as I spoke.

Myoa slowly floated toward me.

"Angel. If you truly care about Yoo Seo-ah, then you shouldn’t stay by her side."

Oh, so now that she can’t attack me, she’s switching to using Seo-ah against me?

"And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"The more you stay by her side and indulge her, the weaker she’ll become. The more her heart sways, the more her will wavers. And when that happens, her power as a magical girl will decline. The enemies are only getting stronger, and because of you, Yoo Seo-ah alone will weaken."

"So you’re saying she could die… because of me?"

"Exactly. Magical girls are meant to overcome pain and hardship to bring hope to others. That’s how they’re made. They can’t lean on anyone. They can’t pass their burdens to others. Because that burden is what makes them stronger."

What a load of utter nonsense. So much venom disguised as logic.

I wanted to curse so badly my lips tingled with it.

But I couldn’t spit them out, because angels must always speak kindly.

‘Wow. Look at this toxic little grief-mascot, a jar of loneliness stuffed full of malice by a sadistic misery-porn author. Spewing venom shit like a bargain-bin cartoon villain. I swear, if I weren’t bound by angel code, I’d divide your head, chest, and belly with some clean divine smiting magic right now.’

My thoughts were pure profanity, but what actually came out of my mouth, after heavy modifications and filtering, was:

"It seems our values are quite different, Myoa. I simply see things another way."

"…."

“A magical girl isn’t just someone who gives hope. She’s someone who shares the hope she holds.”

There’s a difference between giving everything away and sharing what you have.

The former means chipping away at yourself, while the latter simply means offering a part of what’s yours.

“That’s why magical girls must receive love and hope as well. Just like someone who doesn’t know love can’t give it, someone who doesn’t know hope can’t share it.”

“They’re already giving hope to people. Are you trying to deny that?”

“I don’t intend to deny the path they have walked. But if what we call ‘hope’ is just a facade—a dream that vanishes the moment you wake up—then it’s no different from a lie. I intend to turn that false hope into something real.”

“So what, you’re going to give them hope and love? To magical girls? You think you can do that alone? Love isn’t infinite! Hope isn’t infinite either! That’s just how the world works!”

“You’re right. The world is made that way. But, I’m not.”

Because I don’t belong to this world.

“I’ll share my love with the magical girls. Even if it’s like watering a desert, I don’t mind. Because my love will never run dry.”

Until they become stars that shine on their own, not just symbols of hope that shine with the praise of those around them.

“…We’ll see how far your idealism gets you.”

With that, Myoa turned and vanished into the accessory.

I watched her go with a soft smile, and kept gently stroking Yoo Seo-ah’s hair until she stirred awake.

“Mmh… Hm, I nodded off…”

“You’re awake?”

“Ah… sorry… I’ve been running on no sleep for days. Got too tired, I guess. Is your leg okay?”

“I’m okay!”

Total lie. Actually, my leg is cramping.

If I didn’t have the ability to fly, I would’ve collapsed like Yamcha right there on the floor.

Still, if sacrificing my leg means Seo-ah got some decent sleep, then it was absolutely worth it!

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