BXBX NOVEL Chapter 50 - Oh, come on, there's no way.
"It\'s been a long time since you\'ve had beef, hasn\'t it?"
"That\'s right, it\'s also the first time I\'ve eaten such expensive meat in my life. Hye-Rim, do you
always get gifts like this?"
"Not always, but often."
"I\'m jealous. This is the life of a celebrity."
After we finished eating, we went ahead and washed the dishes.
Now that we\'ve eaten, we would normally wash up, have a beer, and get ready for bed, but there\'s one more thing to do.
"Seo-Eun."
"Yes?"
Yoo Seo-Eun was wiping her hands after finishing the dishes.
"Take off your clothes."
"...?"
Thud.
The towel Yoo Seo-Eun was holding fell to the floor.
"W-w-what do you mean so suddenly?!"
Blush.
Yoo Seo-Eun stuttered as her face instantly turned red.
Oh, that was too direct of me.
"I\'m sorry for the misunderstanding; I meant to say, Take off your top."
"You\'re telling me to take it off anyway! A-are you telling me to pay for the meal with my body?"
"What are you talking about? I\'m asking you to take off your top because we need to cleanse your body of the monster power."
Tap.
My fingers pressed against Yoo Seo-Eun\'s collarbone, feeling the texture of a hard gemstone instead of soft flesh.
"This jewelry is a stone that contains the power of a monster, and in order to purify it, I need you to take off your top to look at it properly."
"Ah..... I see. Ha, haha. I was surprised."
Realizing my true intentions, Yoo Seo-Eun exhaled and fanned herself.
She was so surprised that she broke out in a cold sweat.
"You\'ll be embarrassed to show everything, so I\'ll lend you my shirt. Put it on and unbutton the top button."
In truth, I don\'t want to see her naked either.
It\'s not because I don\'t like it. It\'s because I feel bad about seeing other women naked.
I haven\'t seen another woman naked since I became a woman in the first place.
After changing into the shirt I handed her, Yoo Seo-Eun sat down on the couch. She looked down at the shirt and then sneaked a glance at my chest.
"It\'s a little loose, especially in the chest area. Hye-Rim, you have quite the style, don\'t you?"
"Don\'t speak nonsense."
I cut off the nonsense and sat down next to Yoo Seo-Eun, tugging her shirt open.
In the center of Yoo Seo-Eun\'s collarbone, a black, round jewel was embedded in her skin. This was the reason she was like this.
"You said you could purify the power of monsters, right? Can I become a full human with that?"
"That\'s impossible."
I replied decisively. Because no means no.
"I-is that so?"
"Yeah. What I\'m trying to do is cleanse the bad power from your body. Remember when you suddenly went on a rampage?"
"...Yes, I felt like I suddenly lost it, like I had to go on a rampage to get it out of my system."
"That\'s what I\'m going to do---cleanse the dark power that\'s causing you to go on a rampage---just that one thing. I can\'t completely reverse your body changes, nor can I alleviate them."
So now you have to accept it.
"This body is a part of you now, whether you like it or not, and it\'s something you\'ll have to carry with you for the rest of your life."
The horns, the reptilian long slit irises, and the long, floppy ears.
She has to admit that they\'ve become her trademark.
"Are you disappointed?"
"I\'d be lying if I said I wasn\'t disappointed, but that\'s okay."
Yoo Seo-Eun laughed softly at my cautious question.
"I learned after meeting you---it\'s not what my body looks like that matters; it\'s how I live my life."
\'I\'m content with this kind of daily life repeating over and over again.\'
That was Yoo Seo-Eun\'s answer.
"Okay. I\'m glad you took it well. Shall we begin the purification now?"
I placed my palm over the jewelry.
"Your body will feel hot during the purification process. It will be painful, but you must endure it. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
Steeling herself, Yoo Seo-Eun gave a small nod.
I immediately began to focus my mana and let it flow out of my palm.
A pure white mana flowed out and enveloped Yoo Seo-Eun\'s body. The first stream of mana enveloped Yoo Seo-Eun\'s entire body.
The next surge of mana penetrated deeply into the jewelry on her body.
"Ugh...!"
"It\'s painful, right? Hang in there; it\'ll be comfortable soon."
Yoo Seo-Eun gritted her teeth and moaned. I could feel her heat in my palm.
It must feel like heat is radiating from her whole body, but it\'ll only be for a moment.
I continued to channel my mana into the gem for several minutes. The mana I felt inside the gem had thinned considerably.
When I removed my palm, the black gem had turned gray.
"Whew... Are you done?"
"Not quite, but let\'s call it a day. We\'ll have to spread this out over a few days."
Otherwise, Yoo Seo-Eun\'s body wouldn\'t be able to handle it.
"How is it? Are you feeling okay, no pain?"
"Yeah. It was a bit hard at first, but now I feel rather good."
So, the cleanse went well. That\'s good.
"...By the way, you\'re sweating a lot."
Yoo Seo-Eun\'s shirt is now soaked with sweat. That goes to show how much heat came out of her body.
"Go ahead and take a shower; I\'ll have some new clothes for you to wear."
"Thanks. By the way, I\'ve been wondering, Hye-Rim, who the hell are you?"
"What? What do you mean, \'who am I\'?"
Why is she asking me that out of the blue?
"I\'m a government employee."
"No, not that."
Yoo Seo-Eun shook her head.
"You do know the identity of the monster power that\'s invaded my body right now, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"I don\'t understand, but are magical girls supposed to be able to feel this power and purify it? The magical girls I know don\'t have this particular power."
"......"
"No matter how I look at it, Hye-Rim, you seem more special than anyone else. Are you really just an ordinary magical girl?"
I know about the powers in Yoo Seo-Eun\'s body because I\'ve seen the original manga.
But there\'s more to it than that. There are many things I\'ve learned since coming to this world.
If you\'re asking if all magical girls can wield the same power as me, that\'s not true. I know that. I know I\'m not normal.
"Seo-Eun, being a magical girl means that anything is possible."
"Huh? I-is that true?"
"Of course. Isn\'t it a magical girl\'s job to give dreams and hope? Nothing is impossible for a magical girl."
"What kind of phrase is that, as if from a kid\'s anime?"
"Anyway, that\'s what magical girls are supposed to do."
"...You just don\'t want to answer the question, right? I get it."
With that, Yoo Seo-Eun seemed to lose interest and went to take a shower.
I wasn\'t sure how to answer, but I was glad she walked away first.
"But even if there was a way to move in next door to Hye-Rim, I don\'t know her address."
[Hey, Ha-Yeon, it\'s a joke; let\'s not take it seriously...?]
Yoon-Seo\'s voice on the phone seemed distant, her attempt at humor falling flat in Ha-Yeon\'s focused thoughts about getting closer to Hye-Rim.
Jung Ha-Yeon started to imagine what could happen if they became neighbors.
They could exchange greetings with rice cakes to celebrate the move. Perhaps they would cross paths during Ha-Yeon\'s morning commute, walking to the station together, sharing the subway ride, and chatting amiably.
It would be a bright spot on her otherwise dull mornings.
In the evenings, they might occasionally share meals, like good neighbors do.
As their relationship blossomed, perhaps they\'d even have a casual sleepover or two.
"....This is it."
[Huh?]
"You\'re right, Yoon-Seo. Being neighbors is the perfect way to get to know Hye-Rim."
[Ha-Yeon. You didn\'t listen to me. I was just saying that.]
"I know."
[ Huh? You know?"]
Ha-Yeon understood what Yoon-Seo meant---advice not to take moving next door too seriously.
But for Ha-Yeon, this wasn\'t just about Yoon-Seo\'s joke.
"You know what? I\'ve been considering moving lately anyway; my lease is up, and I\'ve been eyeing a nicer place to live."
[So, you\'re thinking of moving in next door to Hye-Rim?]
"While I\'m at it, being close to Hye-Rim sounds appealing."
[Well, that\'s true.]
Ha!
Yoon-Seo made a sighing sound.
[I\'m afraid that I might have flipped a switch in your mind.]
".....In fact, I might be overthinking this, but I can\'t shake this uneasy feeling."
Seo-Eun was now living with Hye-Rim.
She didn\'t know if it would ever happen, but she wondered.
Now that they live together, they might go home with conversations like, \'Why don\'t we eat this for dinner tonight?\' Or they sleep in the same bed together, even though Hye-Rim says they won\'t.
She wonders if they\'ll become like a couple, very close in even these small ways. Maybe it\'s because she\'s imagining it that her heart feels stuffy.
In fact, if there\'s anything she\'s most afraid of,.
...... is that it\'s already happened in one day.