The Magical Girl Gallery.
I had no idea when this site was created.
Even I, the mascot, had only stumbled upon this dubious site due to a strange, newfound ability.
It must have been thoroughly concealed, hidden by methods unimaginable to ordinary people.
‘Even the access conditions are shady….’
For starters, typing ‘Magical Girl Gallery’ into a search engine yielded no results.
It seemed to be structured so that only invited individuals could enter.
Perhaps magical girls invited each other? Creating such a site would surely require a wealth of specialized knowledge.
‘My heart truly wished not to enter, but….’
Yet, for some reason, a shortcut button for the Magical Girl Gallery appeared in my phone and computer’s bookmarks.
It certainly hadn’t been there yesterday.
Was this, too, something I could perceive only because of my new ‘ability’?
Just in case, I tried deleting the bookmark, but upon refreshing, it reappeared.
‘First, I’ll activate an IP masking program before entering.’
Entering such a terrifying site with my usual IP would undoubtedly leave me vulnerable to hacking.
If I, a non-magical girl, were to enter and have my identity exposed, it would truly be the end.
After making thorough preparations, I entered the Magical Girl Gallery.
****
[Notice: Magical Girl Gallery Rules of Use.]
Rules of use, then. To properly spy on this site, I would first need to discern the users’ tendencies.
[You must be a Magical Girl Gallery user who shows consideration for others with kind and elegant language.]
However, the notice left me flustered.
I had expected something verbose and elaborate, yet only this single sentence was written.
‘What is this…?’
Moreover, it seemed even this sole rule was hardly followed.
[ㅇㅇ(23.12): Do those motherf*cking brats in Team 5 think they’re the only ones who can take down Titans?]
F*cking b*tches, always whining about their equipment, lol.
If it seems like they truly have no mother, give a thumbs-up (TL Note: ‘Gae-chu’ is internet slang, meaning a strong upvote or ‘super thumbs-up’).
Comments
ㅇㅇ(24.11): Thumbs-up, thumbs-up, lololol.
ㅇㅇ(61.121): It seems they have neither a mother nor a father, so thumbs-down (TL Note: ‘Bi-chu’ is the opposite of ‘gae-chu,’ meaning a strong downvote or ‘super thumbs-down’), lol.
Magical girls using such vulgar language? What would happen if their fans ever found out?
[ㅇㅇ(23.134): I wanna f*ck the mascot.]
That f*cking bastard, always pretending to be innocent and staying quiet, it pisses me off so much.
Should I just go to their dorm, break down the door, and go in?
Comments
ㅇㅇ(13.211): That’s a pipe dream (TL Note: An idiom meaning ‘a picture of a rice cake,’ referring to something desirable but unattainable), isn’t it? Just finish your service, retire, and meet someone else, lol.
ㅇㅇ(12.122): Wow, so this is a criminal’s mindset;
UnderTheSky: So these are the thoughts kids have these days? Stop bothering the mascot already.
ㄴㅇㅇ(23.134): Yeah, next up, old hag (TL Note: ‘Nogoe’ is a derogatory Korean slang term for an older woman, similar to ‘old hag’ or ‘old monster’), lol. You’re a senior from Team 2, right? Lol.
ㄴUnderTheSky: What did that b*tch, whose blood hasn’t even dried yet, just say? Should I gather everyone from Team 3 and below?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(23.124): Yeah, next up, old hag, lol.
Magical girls could be considered biological weapons under special government management.
They were organized into a total of seven teams, with those demonstrating greater skill able to ascend to higher ranks.
Upon completing basic training, magical girls were assigned to Team 7.
In other words, they were the youngest and least experienced.
Conversely, the most experienced and powerful magical girls belonged to Team 1.
‘Is Scarlet the only team member still active?’
Unless they retired for some specific reason, magical girls could remain active their entire lives.
Of course, most did not.
No one would want a job where death could be imminent.
Typically, after completing 15 years of mandatory service, magical girls chose to retire.
If they wished to continue their activities beyond that, they would then be permanently assigned to Team 3.
‘Even *those* people!’
Just how old could this site possibly be?
It must have been decades old.
[GoldRose: Sniffle sniffle, Dirt Spoon (TL Note: ‘Heuk-sujeo’ (dirt spoon) is a Korean term referring to someone born into poverty) Magical Girl’s Lunch Today.txt]
[Seraphim: F*cking Titans are really sh*t.]
[IceQueen: Mascot << This person is always just sitting there, what do they even do?]
[Carien: Ah, f*ck~ The Zone 4 restoration work is incredibly f*cking hard.]
Despite my expectations, the overall posts seemed rather ordinary.
The only issue was the uniformly aggressive tone.
Aside from that, they almost read like everyday life updates.
Still, the very notion of magical girls frequenting such a volatile site remained beyond my comprehension.
‘By the way, is there no way to tell who wrote these posts?’
It seemed anonymity was guaranteed on this site.
The nickname ‘ㅇㅇ’ directly signified anonymous users.
Hiding behind anonymity, only ever posting bizarre things….
[Anonymous mode is deactivated.]
Just as that thought crossed my mind, my phone screen flashed brilliantly, as if a flashbang had detonated.
‘What was that? This light….’
It was an intense moment, blinding me completely.
[GoldRose: Sniffle sniffle, Dirt Spoon Magical Girl’s Lunch Today.txt]
[Seraphim: F*cking Titans are really sh*t.]
[IceQueen: Mascot << This person is always just sitting there, what do they even do?]
[Carien: Ah, f*ck~ The Zone 4 restoration work is incredibly f*cking hard.]
The moment the light receded, the usernames had transformed into their magical girl activity names!
‘They’re all famous magical girls.’
With trembling hands, I clicked on GoldRose’s post.
[GoldRose: Sniffle sniffle, Dirt Spoon Magical Girl’s Lunch Today.txt]
(Photo)
Ha…. I really wanna die, lol.
Comments
ㅇㅇ(13.21): Doesn’t this f*cking b*tch have a mother? Should I show you what a *real* dirt spoon is?
GoldRose’s meal verification post featured a photo clearly taken in a luxurious restaurant.
This was, if anything, entirely expected.
GoldRose was the eldest daughter of a magical girl family spanning three generations, and she was wealthy enough to own a major business enterprise.
‘She’s also the Team Leader of Team 4….’
Unless they were from Team 6 or 7, who rarely saw actual combat, magical girls were generally affluent enough never to worry about their livelihoods.
‘Given that fact is so widely known, how could she post something like this!’
After further browsing the site, it seemed this kind of behavior was commonly referred to as ‘be-tik-jil’ (TL Note: ‘Be-tik-jil’ is a Korean internet slang term referring to the act of subtly showing off one’s wealth, status, or achievements while pretending to complain or be modest; a form of humble-bragging or passive-aggressive boasting).
ㅇㅇ(23.12): This gold spoon deceiver b*tch is at it again, you f*cking bastard~ Shut up before I snap your neck.
ㅇㅇ(11.13): This is why fixed-nickname (TL Note: ‘Gonik’ is a Korean internet slang term for a ‘fixed nickname’ user, as opposed to an anonymous user) bastards are no good.
In any case, this ‘be-tik-jil’ act seemed to draw a significant amount of criticism.
‘There are so many unfamiliar terms…. I can’t possibly learn them all one by one.’
Perhaps because it was a closed online community, all sorts of bizarre words and speech patterns ran rampant.
I felt like a cryptographer.
I reactivated anonymous mode, choosing to keep Scarlet’s identity visible.
‘Indeed, it’s an abnormal organization, formed by forcibly conscripting young girls. It would be stranger if anyone within it were mentally normal.’
Perhaps this was for the best.
What would happen if they posted such things on their personal SNS?
The public, who already reveled in tearing others down, would chatter relentlessly until a magical girl’s psyche completely shattered.
I couldn’t bear to witness that.
How many magical girls had been lost that way?
It was far better for them to use this site.
‘…Could it be that not just active, but also former magical girls use this site?’
Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck me.
A way to utilize this bizarre online community.
I immediately manipulated my mouse, scrolling down rapidly.
Flipping through several pages of the site, I searched for a familiar name.
[Blackberry: Y’all, what’s tanghulu (TL Note: ‘Tanghulu’ is a traditional Chinese snack consisting of candied fruit on a skewer)?]
Found it.
Blackberry…. They had posted just four days ago.
This meant the rumor that even former magical girls used this site had proven true.
‘I’d been wondering where to put this ability to use. This is the perfect place.’
I immediately clicked on Blackberry’s post.
The post content was simple.
It was a photo they had personally taken of a fruit dessert, coated thinly with sugar syrup.
ㅇㅇ(13.456): Wow, how old are you to not know this?
ㅇㅇ(63.11): Ma’am (TL Note: ‘Ajimeyo’ is a slightly informal and sometimes impolite way to address an older woman, similar to ‘ma’am’ but can carry a nuance of ‘auntie’ or ‘old lady’)….
StillAliveToday: Seriously, they’re so old (TL Note: ‘Teul’ is a derogatory Korean internet slang term for an older person, implying they are old-fashioned or out of touch);; Don’t bother eating it, you’ll probably break a tooth.
However, even a single photo could yield a great deal of information.
Specifically, nearby signboards were visible in this picture.
What a foolish act.
To carelessly upload information that could lead to personal identification on an internet site?
Such things could be discovered simply by searching for the nearby signboards online.
‘I’ve finally found it.’
The location where Blackberry, the magical girls’ long-time nemesis, resided.
I immediately called the surveillance room and relayed this information.
[“What? Mr. Mascot. You’ve found Blackberry’s location? That’s preposterous…. Even magical girls with detection abilities couldn’t find her.”]
Should I tell the surveillance room this information to make them trust me?
‘I shouldn’t trust shady characters….’
No, if I did, the higher-ups might use it to surveil the magical girls.
Even so, that was a step too far.
Wasn’t this a space for the beleaguered magical girls?
I had no right to infringe upon it.
“Just trust my words.”
[“Your words are too sudden to believe…. Very well, I understand. There’s nothing to lose, so we will dispatch an investigation team to that location.”]
That was enough.
I had just pinpointed the location of the monster that had murdered 31 magical girls and gone into hiding.
The magnitude of the ripple effect this would bring would soon become clear.
