Boom—!
The protective barrier that had instantly wrapped around me in response to the massive explosion blocked out the deafening roar.
“As expected, a single grenade can’t even leave a scratch. Then next, a shaped-charge grenade.”
“…How much longer do I have to do this?”
“Who knows. Given the situation, I want to accumulate as much data as possible. It’ll probably take about four hours.”
I felt like I was going to die before then.
She’d been hauling all sorts of weapons—bullets, grenades, everything—over and firing them at me since earlier. I was so terrified I couldn’t sit still.
Thankfully, a protective barrier was manifesting on its own and blocking the attacks, so I was still alive for now.
Boom—!
It seemed to be perfectly defending against even the shaped-charge grenade. I suppose this much was simple when it was the mana of Magical Girl Ruby.
Unlike me, who let out a sigh of relief, Citrin wore a frustrated expression and began jotting something down on her documents.
“Ah~ Next, the railgun.”
“Oh, fucking hell.”
Why the hell did we jump straight from a shaped-charge grenade to a railgun? Did Silver Dawn even have something like that in the first place?
In the midst of this seemingly endless experiment, I recalled the last thing Lapis had said.
“Report immediately if anything happens to you. For now, investigating that mana takes priority over your lifespan.”
It seemed that verifying the mana I’d received from Lavi was the top priority at the moment.
And so, any talk about my fate being this or that was put on the back burner, which was how I ended up undergoing various experiments under Citrin.
We happened to have the right equipment and a competent scientist to analyze the mana, so it was the perfect environment to figure out the true nature of this power.
“Hmm. Is the output too weak like this? Alright, let’s raise it by about three times…”
…She might be so competent that I wouldn’t survive.
“No matter how you look at it, isn’t a railgun dangerous?”
“What’re you so scared of, you bastard? Man up.”
When my life was on the line, did it matter whether I was a man or a woman?
Still, I had to do what she said. After all, I already owed 1.5 billion won for smashing five security robots she’d made.
And so, after undergoing various experiments—testing the barrier’s durability several more times, directly controlling mana to use magic, and so on—
“Ugh…”
My exhausted body was screaming, demanding rest.
I’d probably be suffering from muscle pain tomorrow. It was only natural, considering how much I’d strained muscles I never used.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. The results are finally out.”
As I leaned back on the sofa, Citrin—who had approached at some point—handed me a stack of documents.
“To get straight to the point, the mana you suddenly obtained is a 100% match with Magical Girl Ruby’s.”
“Just as I thought.”
It wasn’t particularly shocking. It was merely confirmation of what I already knew.
This also confirmed that Lavi had approached me and secretly injected me with mana.
“Well, temporarily lending mana to others is something anyone can do… but your case is different, isn’t it?”
As Citrin said, rather than merely borrowing mana, it was safe to say that I had practically had it transferred to me.
Was something like that even possible in reality? Since it had actually happened, I couldn’t deny it.
“If you inject such a massive quantity, there’s a risk that the mana originally in your body will clash with the newly introduced mana and endanger your life.”
“Then that means…”
“Exactly. Rather, because you’d never had mana flow through you before, you adapted relatively easily. Furthermore, your mana moves as if it has its own ego, as though it’s trying to protect you.”
“But there were exceptions, right? Like earlier.”
“Aah, now that you mention it, when I kicked you earlier, the barrier didn’t come out either.”
In other words, the mana didn’t act up against opponents it didn’t judge to be dangerous.
“…”
Was Lavi really even human? The more I heard, the more my assessment of her changed.
“Anyway, that’s all I have to say. Look up the rest in the documents yourself.”
Citrin arbitrarily finished speaking and started to move away as if tired, but then walked back toward me as though she still had business.
“Ah. This is just small talk, but apologize properly to Amber later, would you? It bothers me for no reason when she’s depressed.”
“Well, that’s… a given.”
I was a bit surprised. It was unexpected that the person in front of me could so nonchalantly worry about someone else.
Of course, Amber was the type who could befriend a wild bear passing by if she set her mind to it. It wasn’t that strange for fellow executives to be close, but…
‘Citrin, huh.’
I stared intently at her small frame, which I had never paid attention to until now.
A petite body that didn’t match her signature blonde hair. On top of that, a white lab coat—the symbol of a scientist—that added to the incongruity of her appearance.
She had always given off the strong impression of a mad scientist obsessed with experiments, but seeing her like this, it seemed she had a more human side than I expected.
“…”
Since I’d been helped in many ways, it’d probably be best to offer at least a token of gratitude.
I returned for a moment to my department—sign said Operation Support Department, reality said warehouse—to brew tea to serve her.
‘This alone might not be enough. I should offer something to eat…’
I rummaged through the refrigerator and found the cake I’d made yesterday. This should do well enough.
I returned to the research building and held out a tray to Citrin, whose eyes were fixed on her computer.
“It’s black tea. Along with the cheesecake I made yesterday.”
“Black tea…?”
She echoed my words with a bewildered expression.
“Did you brew this yourself?”
“Yes. I guarantee my skills.”
“Hmm, now that I think about it, didn’t Amber say she received a cafe as an executive promotion gift?”
“The actual owner was too busy with school, so I took over.”
She stared suspiciously at the black tea I’d brewed, yet she seemed somewhat interested.
“But why black tea specifically? Cafes usually give off the image of drinking coffee.”
“It’s good for recovering from fatigue. If you drink that many energy drinks, it must be hard to sleep.”
I said this, pointing to the mountain of energy drink cans piled on her desk.
In fact, black tea contains more caffeine than coffee.
But thanks to an ingredient called theanine, it’s possible to reduce those side effects, lower stress and blood pressure, and even help with sleep deprivation.
“…You’re unexpectedly observant. As you said, I haven’t been sleeping at all lately.”
It wasn’t just sleep. She probably had issues with blood pressure and her digestive system too.
Since she dedicated her body so completely to research, there wasn’t much to be done, but I could at least offer her a cup of tea.
“You didn’t put any weird drugs in this, right?”
“What do you take me for…”
In the end, after eyeing it with immense suspicion, she took a sip of the black tea, unable to resist the atmosphere.
“…It’s my first time drinking black tea, but it’s quite an interesting taste.”
It wasn’t anything to be that surprised about. In this world, people generally didn’t drink black tea or coffee.
To the point that vending machines stocked energy drinks instead of canned coffee.
‘So then, this is Citrin’s first experience with black tea.’
I couldn’t hide my excitement at having stolen the first time of a blonde beauty, short as she was.
Just kidding.
“Come on, have it with the cheesecake.”
I quickly urged her on, offering the cheesecake on a round plate.
In fact, this was the real star of the show. Even without customers, it was a staple menu item at Eclipse that was quite well-received.
“I was going to eat it anyway, so don’t rush me. Nom…”
Pressed by me, Citrin finally cut a small piece with clumsy forkwork and moved it to her mouth.
At the same time, her pupils dilated and she began making an expression that clearly showed her surprise.
“…This is delicious. It’s been a while since I’ve had anything sweet.”
“Right?”
She had the face of a child tasting ice cream for the very first time.
She probably only ever ate convenient, ready-to-eat foods. It made sense that she rarely had the chance to try sweet things.
‘…Come to think of it, how old is she?’
Seeing her innocent appearance as she moved the cake to her mouth, that question suddenly came to mind.
I was sure I’d heard from Amber that the boss, Lapis, and the other executive, Crystal, were both the same age as me.
If so, I couldn’t even begin to guess how old Citrin—who was puffing her cheeks and chewing cake right in front of me—was.
‘Tch, it really bothers me.’
Of course, I could just ask Amber later, but my pointless stubbornness flared up—if possible, I wanted to hear it from her directly.
Since there was an unexpected chance she might be younger than me, I threw courtesy to the winds and asked her age—
“Me? I’m twenty-seven.”
“…”
I learned that she was far older than me.
***
A few days later.
After somehow reconciling with Amber and spending my days as usual, I was once again summoned by Lapis.
“Magical Girl Ruby and Sapphire are students at Jewel Academia. And miraculously, in the same class as Amber. There’s no mistake, right?”
“I can’t say for certain about the latter yet, but Ruby is unmistakable, at least.”
“Perfect timing. I was thinking of setting up a Silver Dawn branch at that school anyway. Therefore, move the cafe you’re running over there.”
“Huh?”
I was screwed.