Mr. Magical Girl

Chapter: 178. Theseus.

Just in case this scene was also staged by the Curator, I kept my guard up, but nothing particularly special happened.

Then, the Librarian, who was also on high alert with me, decided it was safe, slowly walked over, and grabbed the Curator’s core.

I clutched my injured body and reached for the Hammer.

Clank. Clank. Clank.

The Hammer became smaller with the mechanical sounds. Usually, this would be light, but…

It’s heavy.

Even that light Hammer had become too heavy to lift properly, so I used it as a cane and slowly approached the Librarian.

With the core in hand, I quietly looked at the Librarian.

It didn’t take long to reach the side of the Librarian.

I intended to ask a question, but what came out instead was a lump of bloody spit.

“Cough. Are you alright?”

Was it that they finally noticed me? The Librarian put the core somewhere and cautiously reached out to me.

“I’m fine. More than that… Cough. Taste…”

I lightly swatted away the Librarian’s hand and spat out the blood left in my mouth, finally asking my question.

“Librarian. Are you still a Hero?”

Covered in blood and aiming the Hammer through my blurry field of vision, I trembled, unable to keep the Hammer steady, but I wouldn’t give up aiming.

This was what he had asked me in the past.

“…I think so.”

With a voice full of mechanical sounds, the Librarian responded. Although his voice contained sorrow…

“You’ve realized you’re not human?”

In response to my question, only a cold detachment lingered.

It was like I was interrogating him.

“…Well, I can’t give you a clear answer, but I identify as the Librarian. The continuity of my personality is still valid. Even if I am a being from the Otherworld who has only inherited the memories of being the Librarian, I am still a Hero.”

Was he trying to convince me? His usual long-winded sentences now resonated with earnestness, usually filled with confidence.

“…So what if you call yourself a Monster? Do you still intend to protect the world?”

“A Monster, perhaps. Yes. Even if I became a Monster instead of a Hero, my conviction remains unchanged.”

Upon hearing my question, the Librarian gradually regained his original voice.

Though the mechanical sound in his voice was still disruptive, it seemed it wasn’t intentional but a flaw that arose from the transformation.

“Isn’t it better this way? If you merely allow yourself to be consumed without doing anything, you would become a machine and lose emotions, simplifying your thoughts. Instead, you’ve maintained your personality while still becoming a pure machine. You’ve gained an unexpected benefit.”

And finally, he regained his confident speech.

“That’s true. Then…”

I summoned back the Hammer.

After taking a moment to breathe…

“…You’re human.”

Opening my mouth, he rendered his judgment as my watcher.

“Though a machine.”

“You’ve talked to me on the island. I don’t remember most of it, but like a butterfly, you are human.”

I never expected this useless debate to continue like this.

“Thank you for saying that.”

“Thanking me? You told the Curator the same thing, right? But still, you might need to go to the Association for an inspection. You could be registered as a Monster.”

That might be true. Then they might even attach a bomb to my body.

Cha cha cha.

Even if it’s the Association, I doubt they’d attach a bomb.

Yet, even so, the fact that one S-Rank has twisted like this would certainly cause a sensation at the Association.

By the way, I’ll want to write a report about what happened. Since I’m the only third party besides the Librarian…

I’ve come too far just to borrow a reality stabilizer…

Well, since it ended well, isn’t that a good thing?

Just as I got relaxed…

Kurri.

Blood spurted out again.

It seems like my insides are messed up.

“Are you alright?!”

The shocked Librarian tried to grab me, but I squeezed my strength and pushed him away as I spoke.

“Don’t worry about me. Isn’t there something we need to do?”

“…I may not know what you have to do, but it seems like Haram Lee’s condition isn’t normal either.”

Why don’t you know what you have to do when it’s your story? Seriously, such a lack of awareness.

“Your story. It’s not over yet. Don’t get so agitated.”

To convey that, I smiled.

I could feel blood running down my lips, but it should be fine.

“Did you forget the Curator’s last words? Your main body is still intact. We need to deal with that.”

“That can wait. Even if it’s the main body, it’s just a calculation unit. All the personality or algorithms that would use it have stopped.”

Ha ha. What a foolish theorist.

“That’s not important.”

“Librarian.”

I’m just a supporting character.

The supporting role in this story.

The main character of this story is the Librarian.

“I’ve already stepped into this story as well.”

So…

“I should at least see it through to the end.”

Kurgh.

Just as blood was about to spurt out of my throat again, I forced it down and opened my mouth.

“Before I collapse.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the world quietly began to change.

The shining white tiles disappeared, and the world began to crumble slowly.

After a brief flicker, the place we returned to was the classroom where I first met the Curator.

A dim fluorescent light welcomed us to an empty classroom.

On the desk, there was a bag that the Curator had left behind, but nothing else special could be seen.

Silence enveloped the ordinary classroom.

With the Librarian staring at me intensely.

As the supporting character, I waited for the main character’s answer.

How much time passed?

“Haya… If your condition worsens, you should let me know right away.”

The Librarian sighed and adjusted his clothes.

“Okay.”

It didn’t seem like it would get any worse than this.

The way back was still bustling with noise.

Even though it was late at night, people were still talking.

They still didn’t look at us, nor did they acknowledge us.

“So those aren’t humans?”

“Yes, they are bio-machines that are intricately designed to look like humans. Their lifespan is about three years.”

“So when do they grow?”

“They are produced fully grown from the start. Their bodies, memories, and personalities too.”

Really…?

Can that be considered living?

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I soon shook my head and dismissed it.

I had enough of philosophical debates.

Time to think about the cleanup.

“When their lifespan runs out, it’ll be painful.”

“Well… we’ll have to figure that out from now on.”

As we spoke those somber words, we walked down the street.

Not long after, we arrived at a building.

“Is this it?”

“Then you lead the way… I have no strength left…”

If I touch it, it might break…

…that would be interesting.

With that expression that seemed to hint at such a thought directed at me.

Regardless of that expression, the Librarian silently pulled on the rusty iron door attached to the building.

Creeeer.

Was that an intentional creak?

The rough metallic sound of rusty metal rang in my ears as the door fully opened.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The fluorescent lights turned on, revealing stairs that went down.

It looked more like a short staircase with about fifteen steps.

At the bottom was a hallway, and we slowly stepped forward.

“Be careful, the drop at the stairs is significant.”

“I can see perfectly fine…!”

Brushing off the unnecessary concern, we walked for about a minute.

At the end of the dimly lit hallway, there was a small but clean wooden door, and the Librarian carefully turned the doorknob and opened it.

The hinges creaked, not oiled well enough, and the sound echoed.

“It looks safe, so I’ll go in.”

After taking a quick look inside, the Librarian entered.

I followed him in as well.

What I saw was unexpected.

It was a very ordinary room.

There was a bed, a chair, a wardrobe, and a dining table.

There was a Refrigerator and a Bathroom too.

A truly ordinary room.

However, what was present there was anything but ordinary.

Thick books piled here and there.

Meaningless mechanical devices scattered around the room.

A purely black metallic mass that clung to the wall alongside the wardrobe.

“That looks the most suspicious…” I pointed at the black metal.

“Yes, you saw correctly. That is the Curator’s main body. It’s a calculation module.”

“Is there a way to interact with it?”

No matter how I looked at it, it seemed too smooth and square to input anything.

“That’s simple.”

The Librarian said this and reached out.

Click.

The center of his hand opened, and a tiny wire extended out.

“If you send an electrical signal to the surface, it will read and respond. But this is only for emergencies when direct input is needed. Once I initiate the connection, no matter how far…”

Chitter chitter chitter, it’s noisy…

Yet, after all that happened, I found that science talk didn’t annoy me so much.

Instead, it filled me with the joy of being reunited with my friend.

Whatever my feelings were…

When the Librarian’s wire touched the metallic mass, it began to emit a strange resonance and slowly shook.

sudo… echo black library…

The Librarian began to mumble the Core at a rapid pace with his eyes closed.

Watching this, I gradually found it hard to stand and sought a place to rest.

“I’ll just borrow a chair… Curator…”

I threw myself onto a ridiculously simple faux leather chair.

Sitting on the stiff and unreasonably smooth chair…

Was it because I was so tired?

As soon as I perched my butt onto the chair, sleepiness began to wash over me.

I shouldn’t let this happen…

I forced myself to come, so the Librarian wouldn’t have made it here alone.

Drowsy.

I opened my heavy eyelids and looked at the Librarian.

He was mumbling the Core quickly. The humming of the black metal grew louder, but to me, it was incomprehensible what he was doing.

Well… I guess it’s going well.

Has the Librarian ever messed things up with machines?

So I should relax.

Drowsy.

Was my moment of relaxation the final chain that broke free?

Ultimately, my head nodded again, and simultaneously, the eyelids that were forcibly held open came down, plunging my consciousness into darkness.

With a body filled with fatigue.

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