The Prince Who Absorbs Abilities With a ‘Click’ - C25

Unfortunately, the author officially dropped the novel.

Chapter 25: Magical Girls Can’t Undo Transformations

The house reeked of blood.

The man who had been banging on the door moments ago, complaining about the noise, was now utterly silent.

He lay motionless on the cold floor.

Looking at him, Seo Ji-won muttered, her voice trembling.

“I…I did nothing wrong…”

A newly contracted magical girl must listen to their contractor’s guidance.

It was common knowledge that following instructions increases one’s chances of surviving against monsters.

Since Kain had told her not to hesitate, her actions just now were the correct course.

“It’s Kain’s fault for disappearing in the first place.”

Who would leave a contracted magical girl unattended like that?

Seo Ji-won found it infuriating.

Even companies assign mentors to new employees for at least two weeks of intensive training.

But this wasn’t a company—it was about magical girls fighting monsters at the risk of their lives. Leaving her alone was beyond irresponsible.

“Haa…”

It had been over a week since Kain had vanished.

“What am I supposed to do now…?”

Or rather, what should she do next?

The anger she had felt earlier dissipated rapidly.

Her mood sank like a stone.

‘Could I have bipolar disorder…?’

Reality was starting to worry her.

The phone calls from her company that had been incessantly ringing earlier were now silent.

She had skipped work without notice for days; getting fired seemed inevitable.

To be honest, she didn’t care.

Even if she were fired, she had no desire to remain at a company where overtime was a routine like eating meals.

Perhaps it was for the best.

When did it start?

Feeling that her life had become tedious and repetitive.

Probably since she had entered the workforce.

Looking back, wasn’t her routine too monotonous?

The endless cycle of commuting to work and back.

Her world was limited to her home and the office, and the only people she interacted with were coworkers.

Late hours made self-improvement an unattainable dream.

“Ah, maybe not?”

Perhaps claiming there was no time was just an excuse.

Every night after work, she would crack open a can of beer as soon as she got home.

But!

She had countless justifications for this.

Every worker needs something to reward oneself after a day of hard work.

For Seo Ji-won, that reward was alcohol.

Drinking made the day’s exhaustion melt away.

Thanks to that, she endured weekdays and spent weekends resting at home under the pretense of recovery but even that had its limits.

She couldn’t shake the feeling of loneliness.

“…Should I try dating someone?”

She picked up her smartphone, which she had tossed to the floor.

She launched a dating app she had downloaded some time ago.

When the app opened, the first screen asked her to fill out some basic personal information.

It was just a few details like name, age, and location.

There was also a note that uploading a photo would grant a one-month free trial.

“Wait, it’s a paid service?”

Her enthusiasm deflated instantly.

“Still, maybe I should upload a picture for the free trial?”

But she quickly shook her head.

She closed the app.

There was one reason why Seo Ji-won acted that way.

She stood up and went to the mirror.

Looking at her reflection, she sighed.

Seo Ji-won was still in her magical girl form after returning from the dungeon.

She had been seeing it for days now, yet her reflection still felt unfamiliar.

[Pink pastel dress, pink twin-tails tied with ribbons, and even a bow on her chest.]

Her magical wand was tucked away in a corner, but just her appearance screamed “magical girl” to anyone who saw her.

And the choker around her neck?

“What am I, a cat…?”

This appearance wasn’t inherently strange.

Magical girls were meant to fight monsters in front of the public looking like this but there was a significant problem.

Magical girls were typically youthful and fresh-faced. Seo Ji-won, however, was 29 years old.

A woman on the cusp of her 30s wearing clothes designed for kids?

“…”

If someone had been a magical girl from a young age, growing older in that role might make sense. But imagining a 29-year-old suddenly donning magical girl attire?

“Ah, seriously…This is why people assume all magical girls are young…”

There was a reason most magical girls retired before hitting their 30s.

Seo Ji-won, who became a magical girl at 29, stood out awkwardly.

“Ugh…”

She couldn’t get used to it no matter how much she tried.

Honestly, she wanted to shatter the mirror right then and there.

If someone saw her, they might ask:

Why not just undo the transformation? Wouldn’t that be better?

“…They should at least explain how to undo it.”

This was one of the reasons she was so desperate to find Kain.

She didn’t know how to deactivate her magical girl transformation.

“How do I take this off…?”

She bit her lip.

Wouldn’t it have been polite to teach her how to undo it before disappearing?

She had even tried searching online.

– How to remove magical girl outfit

But even in the information age, there were no clear explanations about how magical girls took off their costumes.

Instead, she found videos of women in fake magical girl outfits undressing under the gaze of men, leaving her utterly flustered.

“…”

Her biggest problem now was how to remove her magical girl costume.

The reflection in the mirror remained that of a pink-clad magical girl.

The ruffled skirt, ending just above her knees, still looked overly frilly.

“There’s no way I’m going out like this…”

Going outside in this state?

Seo Ji-won clutched her head.

Should she forcefully remove it?

Technically, she could.

The reason she hadn’t yet was that the magical girl outfit clung too tightly to her body.

She hadn’t noticed while wearing it, but trying to take it off felt like an adult squeezing into toddler clothes.

If she tried to forcibly remove it, it might tear.

“…That can’t happen.”

What if she tore it and was told to pay for the damages?

This wasn’t a cheap cosplay costume from the internet.

This was an official magical girl outfit. Who knew how much it cost?

“And even if I do take it off, there’s still my hair…”

Pink twin-tails.

Even if she removed the outfit, her hair would remain a problem.

One mountain after another.

She could only hope Kain returned soon.

As Seo Ji-won twisted and turned in front of the mirror…

Ding-dong—

The sudden chime of the doorbell startled her.

Ding-dong—

She grabbed a kitchen knife and cautiously approached the front door.

“Wh-Who is it?”

She asked nervously.

Peering through the peephole, she saw two police officers standing outside.

“…”

Taking a deep breath, Seo Ji-won quietly put down the knife.

It was the police.

She had acted impulsively earlier, but now was definitely not the time to do anything rash.

“Excuse me, we received a report of a disturbance. May we check inside for a moment?”

The officers held up their IDs, knowing someone was inside.

“Hmm?”

One officer lowered his gaze to the floor.

“…What’s this on the ground?”

The ground had a faint reddish hue.

Just as the officer was about to bend down—

Click—

Seo Ji-won opened the front door.

“Hello, is there something I can help you with?”

The flustered expression Seo Ji-won had just moments ago was gone.

She greeted the police naturally and casually, as if nothing had happened.

When the door opened and the two officers saw her, their expressions visibly changed.

It was obvious to anyone—her appearance was that of a magical girl.

“Oh, we’re sorry. You’re a magical girl, aren’t you?”

The officers chuckled awkwardly, but Seo Ji-won’s face turned red with embarrassment.

She had hastily opened the door, worried they might suspect something. But now she realized too late that she was still dressed as a magical girl.

“Oh, uh… um… that is…”

She fiddled with her hair and lowered her head, her flushed face red up to her ears.

“Have you registered as a magical girl yet, by any chance?”

“Huh…?”

Seo Ji-won’s eyes widened.

Magical girl registration.

After forming a contract and becoming a magical girl, you’re supposed to register at the nearest police station or administrative office.

The appearance of monsters is a national disaster, after all.

It made perfect sense for the government to manage magical girls, who were the key to fighting these creatures.

In return, magical girls received tax benefits and various forms of support.

“Oh, not yet…I only just became one recently.”

Seo Ji-won’s reply was truthful.

She hadn’t been a magical girl for long, and honestly, it had slipped her mind.

Since becoming a magical girl, all she’d done was train with Kain, go to a dungeon, and kill someone.

After returning home, she had just stayed inside.

“Oh, I see. That’s fine. If it’s okay with you, we can conduct the registration check right here. If you do it now, you’ll be registered with the administration within six hours. What do you think?”

As the officer spoke, he pulled out a small device from his pocket.

Seo Ji-won recognized the device immediately.

In this world, magical girls have become integrated into society.

The device was a tool designed to test whether someone was truly a magical girl by analyzing their energy through a breath test—a so-called authenticity verifier.

Once you passed the test, you could be officially registered as a magical girl.

“I’ll do it.”

With that, Seo Ji-won exhaled into the device.

Hooo.

Beep—

The sound from the machine confirmed it, and the officer nodded.

“Yes, confirmed. Now, I just need you to fill out this quick form.”

Seo Ji-won took the paper the officer handed her and began to write.

[Name: Seo Ji-won]

[Age: 2, 9 years old]

Her hand trembled slightly as she wrote, but she managed to overcome the moment of panic.

She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt as she wrote her age.

The form continued with questions about when she had formed her contract and what abilities she had.

“What…what if I don’t know what my ability is yet?”

Normally, a magical girl’s power comes from their contractor.

If someone wanted to become a powerful magical girl, forming a contract with a powerful contractor was one way to achieve that.

But Seo Ji-won didn’t even know what abilities Kain had.

‘A skeleton waving a magic wand…and firing a gun.’

The image of the skeleton gunner from the dungeon flashed through her mind, but there was no way she could write that down.

The officer looked slightly puzzled by her question.

“So, you don’t currently have a contractor?”

“Oh… yes. I think they’re busy with something and went somewhere…”

Seo Ji-won was dying to know where Kain was herself.

The officer didn’t seem too concerned.

“That happens a lot.”

“…What?”

“Oh, you might not know this, but some contractors manage multiple magical girls. Of course, that makes the magical girls weaker, but it seems like your contractor is pretty strong.”

Seo Ji-won’s heart sank at the explanation.

Multiple magical girls?

That was the first she’d heard of it.

When she researched magical girls, she had focused only on their powers and never thought to look into contractors.

Why hadn’t she considered that?

Until now, she’d assumed Kain was simply busy with other matters.

But had he been neglecting her because he was managing other magical girls?

Suddenly, everything started to make sense to Seo Ji-won.

Her hands clenched the hem of her skirt tightly.

“Are you okay?”

The officer’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts, but her mind was racing.

What if Kain was, at this very moment, with another magical girl?

“I won’t forgive this.”

To leave her behind and be with someone else?

Did that mean she was useless—an old magical girl, abandoned because she had no value?

“I’m fine. Here, I’ve filled it all out.”

Seo Ji-won handed the form to the officer with a cold tone.

“Yes, everything looks good. Thank you for protecting society. I hope we meet again someday.”

After the officers left, Seo Ji-won closed the door.

Bang—

She picked up the kitchen knife she had set down earlier.

Why hadn’t Kain come to her?

Was it really because he was with other magical girls, just as the officer had said?

“…Am I not enough?”

Her mood, which had been improving, sank again.

Her eyes gleamed coldly.

“Yes…I won’t hesitate.”

She needed to make Kain return to her.

So what would make that happen?

“If I were the only magical girl, wouldn’t that solve everything?”

If that were the case, Kain would have no choice but to focus solely on her.

The cause of all this was clear—there were too many magical girls.

Her hand, gripping the knife, trembled.

“Ugh, I don’t even have time to play games.”

I looked at the documents piled up in front of me and yawned.

Thanks to the crown prince’s orders, I had become the representative of the delegation.

As a result, I was studying all the knowledge needed for this role.

“Why does it have to be me?”

Out of curiosity, I had asked Prince Raiel why I was chosen.

Why me, when there were so many more experienced brothers and sisters?

His answer was ridiculous.

-“You’ve never been to a dungeon. Your perception of monsters isn’t tainted, so you’ll be able to negotiate without bias.”

It was nonsense, plain and simple.

What difference did my perception make when the monsters clearly held the upper hand?

“At least I’m lucky.”

If the zombies in the city weren’t under my control, things could have gotten dangerous.

Fortunately, I could control them with a single tap on my smartphone. That was a huge relief.

No, more than that—it was a tremendous opportunity for me.

The prince’s intentions were clear.

-“Kain, remember this. If you can make them allies, that’s ideal. But at the very least, ensure they don’t attack other cities. Get a firm agreement, no matter what it takes.”

The empire planned to funnel money to the other side to secure peace.

“Looks like they’re planning to use the zombies.”

The empire wasn’t stupid.

Why spend money on a peace treaty?

It didn’t add up.

The prince’s true intent was likely to weaponize the zombies.

After all, the empire’s leadership mistakenly believed these zombies were named monsters.

But I had no intention of playing along with their plans.

“Sorry, dear brother.”

Weaponizing those zombies wasn’t going to happen…because I was their master.

There was no reason for me to do the crown prince any favors.

“But I’ll gladly take the money you send.”