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Chapter 21 : Deception
“Why does this kind of role always fall to me?”
The voice drifting down from above pulled her awake. The first thing Unibel saw was Seol Ha-ran’s face, now back to her original form after releasing her transformation. Her skin was flawless even up close—not a single blemish in sight. Unibel barely had time to admire it before realizing something far more important.
She was lying in Ha-ran’s lap.
“M–My bad!”
She scrambled upright in a panic. The whole situation felt strangely familiar, like déjà vu.
Ënùm̄а
“You don’t have to apologize that much.”
Ha-ran brushed off her knees as she stood. Her tone was casual, and the aggressive edge she’d shown earlier when she’d cornered Unibel was gone.
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“I’ve been thinking about it. I went a little overboard too.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Well. You could call it a test.” Ha-ran stretched lazily as she spoke. “Like I said before, this world isn’t kind enough to welcome people who jump in half-prepared. Letting amateurs wander in and muddy things up would be a problem.”
She glanced back at Unibel. “So I guess you barely pass. Your skills are seriously lacking, but your mindset in combat wasn’t bad.”
Е ǹu m̀ а
“…Then the stuff you said about my teacher—”
“Yeah. That was a lie. I don’t have any power to mess with other people’s memories.”
At Ha-ran’s blunt confirmation, Unibel finally let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
Thank goodness.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Relaxing made the moments before she’d blacked out come rushing back. To counter Rania’s finishing move, she’d gathered every shred of focus she had and condensed it into a single flame. Just as she was about to fire it, Ha-ran had interrupted her.
Her concentration had shattered. The magic went wild. Rania, panicking, had rushed in—meaning she must have stopped Unibel before she completely lost control.
W̄ ѐ b̊ ńӧv е̂ l̆ Е ǹúm_ȧ
Looking more closely now, Unibel noticed a faint burn mark on Ha-ran’s arm that hadn’t been there before.
For a celebrity constantly under the spotlight, even a tiny injury could become a scandal.
“I’m sorry! Did it hurt?”
“This?” Ha-ran glanced at it and shrugged. “It’s nothing. Honestly, you could say I brought it on myself.”
Unibel fidgeted, clearly distressed by the injury she’d only just noticed, but Ha-ran remained calm.
“Anyway, can you release your transformation first? Maintaining a barrier is still magic. It gets tiring if I keep it up.”
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“O–Okay. Flaming Heart, release.”
At Unibel’s command, her staff shimmered and reverted into a pendant adorned with a red ruby. Once the transformation fully faded, Ha-ran extended her hand and canceled the barrier.
The blue glow surrounding the building vanished, and the stars that had been hidden away spilled back into the night sky.
Staring up at the sea of stars made memories of standing on the rooftop with her teacher come flooding back.
“What’re you thinking about so hard?” Ha-ran asked.
“Huh? Oh—nothing.”
W е́ḃ n о vе̊l̈ Еñ ŭ m̀ а
Caught off guard, Unibel quickly turned her head away. Now wasn’t the time to leisurely admire the night sky.
Knowing that Ha-ran wasn’t hostile was reassuring, but the most important question remained unanswered. Why had Ha-ran gone through all this trouble just to test her?
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“I get what you want to ask,” Ha-ran said, as if reading her expression. “But wait a bit. Someone I’m expecting hasn’t shown up yet.”
That only piqued Unibel’s curiosity. Ha-ran kept glancing between her watch and the rooftop door.
Who would come up here at this hour?
Creeeak.
Е́ n̆u m ӑ
After some time, the rusty door opened with a groan. Unibel blinked as she saw who stepped out.
That’s who she was waiting for?
It was an elderly man, probably in his sixties, wearing an old security uniform and holding a flashlight.
“…Oops.” Ha-ran pressed her fingers to her forehead.
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“You kids,” the man said gruffly. “What’re you doing up here this late?”
“Uh, well, you see—”
Е̇ n̂û.m̂а̌.і̃ d́
Unibel’s eyes darted around wildly. Judging by Ha-ran’s reaction, this definitely wasn’t the person she’d been waiting for.
Which meant the man in front of them was a real security guard who’d come to check after sensing someone on the roof.
“W–What do we do…?”
If the guard mistook them for runaway teens and called the police, things would spiral fast. Unibel sneaking out without her parents knowing was one thing—but Ha-ran was a problem.
If word got out that a top celebrity had been caught hanging out on a rooftop late at night and reported by a security guard, the media would explode instantly.
I have to do something.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
Unibel clenched her fists. Even if she had to restrain the guard, she’d get Ha-ran out of here somehow.
“Just go back and don’t worry about us,” Ha-ran said calmly beside her. “And don’t tell anyone you saw us.”
There’s no way that works—
Normally, no guard would ignore two girls trespassing in a closed building. But contrary to Unibel’s expectations, the man nodded without hesitation and turned back toward the exit.
The sheer irrationality of it sent a chill down her spine.
“…What was that?”
Е́n̂_um̈ а́
“I’ll explain later.”
Unibel swallowed the question that rose to her lips. When Ha-ran glanced back, her expression looked strangely lonely.
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***
No matter how you looked at it, even for magical girls, sneaking into a place like this took nerve.
After giving the building one long look, that was my honest thought. The abandoned structure looked at least fifty years old—ominous enough to belong in a horror game.
Of all places, why pick somewhere like this?
Е nŭm̊ а. і ḋ
I muttered to myself as I headed for the main entrance.
Something caught under my foot. When I looked down, it was a heavily rusted padlock, half-corroded.
Did they leave it open for me?
But something felt off. Lifting it for a closer look, I noticed clear signs of physical force.
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It was ripped apart… by hand?
Even a rusted old lock shouldn’t break that easily. If Ha-ran had done it, that would make sense—but there’d be no reason for her to. Magic would’ve been cleaner and easier.
W ӗ b̀ ǹ ó v̇e l _Еn̄ ǔ.m а̇
While I was examining it, footsteps echoed from the stairwell.
“Hey! Student! This place is off-limits. You can’t just walk in!”
An elderly security guard appeared, flashlight in hand.
“I got a call that someone I know was here,” I replied calmly. “I just came to take them home.”
“In a place like this?”
His confusion was natural. No one should be in a building abandoned this long—much less one that supposedly needed guarding.
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Then what exactly was this man?
“Are you sure you’re not mistaken? No one would be in a dump like—”
“Would it be all right if I checked upstairs briefly?”
“Didn’t I just say it’s off-limits? There’s nobody here! Go home!”
His voice grew irritated, his brow creasing sharply.
Still, I didn’t back down.
Wеb ǹ оv̆e l̂ Ё.ň.û m а̇
It wasn’t just because Ha-ran was waiting on the roof. What I did here would directly affect my chances of surviving what came next.
“To be honest,” I said, “I’m a middle school teacher from a nearby school. I saw children who looked like my students entering this building.”
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“Please. If they’re here, I’m responsible for them as an educator.”
At the word teacher, his expression softened. The wariness didn’t vanish completely, but he stopped trying to chase me away.
“If you’re that serious, I suppose I can’t stop you. Follow me.”
“Thank you.”
Е ńu m̄а
He turned and started up the stairs, flashlight on. I followed, carefully observing the interior. Dust billowed with every step, thick enough to make my eyes sting—but the guard’s expression never changed.
“Mind if I ask your age?” he said.
“Twenty-six.”
“Admirable. Caring that much about your students. You’ll make a fine teacher.”
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He chuckled and faced forward again.
Behind him, I quietly exhaled in relief.
Ѐn̆ū m̀ а̂
Good. He doesn’t seem suspicious.
In the dim beam of the flashlight, I saw it clearly.
Rust smeared across his left hand.
The kind that only transfers when you grip rusted metal tightly.
No ordinary elderly man could break a steel padlock with one hand. Unless he wasn’t ordinary—or wasn’t human.
Nova, I thought grimly.
Dilarang mengopy novel dari Enuma.id.
A watcher sent by Nova to keep tabs on the two magical girls on the roof. That explanation fit perfectly.
“We’re here.”
“Thank you for guiding me.”
Before I realized it, we’d climbed all ten floors to the rooftop. Despite the stairs, his breathing hadn’t changed at all.
There was no doubt now.
Only one person in Nova could pull this off.
W̄ е̄.b̌ n̆ ӧv̂.е̊ l̇ Еn û_m̄а̀
Marionette.
True to her codename, she could control puppets. Her specialty was surveillance and information gathering through them. Rumor had it she could operate up to twelve hundred at once—and judging by this guard, their quality was exceptional.
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“If it’s all right,” I said, “could I go up alone? If we all go and the wind shuts the door, that could be a problem.”
The guard frowned. He probably wanted more information from me, and this was an unexpected obstacle.
“…Very well. I’ll check elsewhere in case the kids are hiding. If something happens, knock loudly.”
After giving me a suspicious look, he headed back down.
Е̇ńu m̆ ȧ
Or pretended to.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him stop half a floor down, listening intently.
He was trying to squeeze more information out of me.
What should I do?
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Shaking surveillance wasn’t hard. I could just shut the door. The rooftop door was thick enough that no puppet could overhear anything through it.
But that would be a foolish move.
Е̃n̈um ã
You don’t win a war by only blocking attacks. Sometimes, feeding false information to the enemy is far more effective.
In that sense, this encounter was an unexpected stroke of luck.
An opportunity to deceive the enemy.
I opened the rooftop door.
Ha-ran and Ga-yeon were sitting together peacefully.
“What are you two doing here this late?” I said.
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I closed the door as naturally as possible—not all the way.
Just enough for the puppet below to hear.
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