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cats are the strongest animals known to man how dare she call them weak
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Saturday arrived, and I left early in the morning to meet Team Leader 1 at the station. We had agreed to meet halfway and go together. Arriving 10 minutes earlier than the agreed time, I found Team Leader 1 already waiting for me.
"You're early, aren't you? I was trying not to be late."
"Hehe. I was so excited that I left early."
Team Leader 1 was dressed quite nicely, perhaps a little more excited than usual since we were going to an amusement park. Men passing by stole glances at her, her beauty shining even brighter when dressed up.
In comparison, I was dressed casually, and even if I want to dress up, I don't really own anything besides a suit. My wardrobe has nothing but comfy t-shirts and hoodies. Even today, I wore a T-shirt and jeans and put on sunglasses and a hat so people wouldn't recognize me. More people recognize me these days, so I need to cover my face.
Observing my outfit, Team Leader 1 asked, "I always thought this, but you don't spend much money on clothes, do you?"
"Uh, yes. I just buy what's comfortable."
This was the case when I was a man, so I continued the habit when I became a girl.
"Then these kinds of clothes are all you have at home, too?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Hmm..."
At my answer, Team Leader 1 seemed to think for a moment, then grabbed my hand and said, "That's unacceptable. This is a chance, so I'll pick out some clothes for you, Hye-Rim."
"What? We're not going straight to the amusement park?"
"We have plenty of time anyway. Your clothes are more important than that. It's a shame that you're a girl and you don't dress up."
"I don't really care though..."
Ignoring my protest, Team Leader 1 dragged me to a nearby clothing store.
Rows of women's clothes lined the store. Until then, I had only ordered clothes online and had never been in a store like this before.
"Let's buy and change quickly. We're going out to play, so we can't wear something as if we're just going to a nearby convenience store, right?"
Though comfortable, these clothes were not suitable for the occasion. My purpose was to remove the monster lure devices set by the Monster Association by pretending to discover them while playing with Team Leader 1. After all, I knew where all the devices were planted.
While I contemplated this, Team Leader 1 returned with some clothes. "Let's try on this blouse and skirt first. I've also brought some other clothes that I think would look good on you."
"You want me to wear a skirt?"
"What's wrong with a skirt? It's pretty. Now, go get changed."
Under her pressure, I grabbed the clothes and went to the dressing room. It was my first time wearing a skirt as casual wear. The only time I had worn a skirt was when I transformed into a magical girl, and even then, it was short, so I was a little unhappy.
"Sigh."
I've been in this body for five years, and it's the first time I've ever dressed up like a real woman. So it's a little awkward to wear these clothes. But I'm going to be a girl for the rest of my life, so this is how I'll slowly get used to it.
After changing, I looked in the mirror, and I must admit, it looked good. It sounds strange coming from me, but I'm quite pretty, so I think I can pull off anything.
When I walked out of the dressing room, Team Leader 1 approached me wide-eyed. "It looks so good on you! You look amazing. You should have dressed like this from the start."
"Haha... I'm not really into dressing up."
"Well, then I'll have to give you more advice. Let's go shopping together next time. I felt rushed today and don't think I picked them out properly."
Honestly, the idea sounded bothersome. I feel like if Team Leader 1 were to take me shopping for clothes, it would take several hours. I'd rather stay in bed, watch YouTube, and drink a beer during that time.
When I went to pay for the clothes, Team Leader 1 insisted on paying since we were here because of her. After managing to talk her out of it and paying for them myself, we headed to the amusement park.
"Next time we go shopping for clothes, I'll have to tell Hye-Rim about makeup."
"You don't have to go into that much trouble. Clothes are one thing, but I don't think I'll wear makeup even if you teach me."
"That's a shame. If you wear makeup, you'll look even prettier and be more popular with guys-Oh," she stopped abruptly, shaking her head.
"Never mind. Let's just put the makeup on hold for your convenience."
I didn't know why she suddenly changed her mind, but it resulted in less hassle, so I wasn't going to complain.
Arriving at the amusement park, I noticed it was packed with people, which was expected for a weekend.
"Come on, Hye-Rim! Let's ride the roller coaster first!"
Team leader 1 told me that she hadn't been to an amusement park in years. She must've been quite excited to be back after so long.
Though my purpose wasn't to play, since I hadn't informed her of it, I decided to go along with her.
The search for the devices could wait.
The line for the roller coaster was long. I don't think there's a place in an amusement park that doesn't have long lines, but roller coaster lines are especially long. The estimated wait time was probably an hour and a half.
"The line sure is long. As expected on a weekend, there are a lot of people."
"If I had known it would be like this, I should have just gotten a fast pass."
A fast pass is a ticket that allows you to skip lines at attractions. I hadn't bought a fast pass because it was twice as expensive as a regular ticket, and I wasn't planning to play anyway.
"What? Didn't you say you got your tickets by chance?"
"Ah."
Right. That's what I said.
"I won it as a prize, but they offered to upgrade me to a free pass if I paid extra. I figured, why pay money when I got it for free?"
"Ah, I see; that's unusual. They're giving it away as a prize and then trying to get more money."
"Yeah, right?"
I laughed shamelessly.
While waiting in line, we chatted mainly about our work together. Since we both had the same job, it was inevitable that we would talk about work.
"Recently, one of my team members broke the wall of a nearby guesthouse while fighting to capture a villain. The sight of my team member getting lectured by the chief looked just like how you usually get lectured, so it was a little funny."
"I thought breaking things was my specialty, but it looks like there's someone like me in Team 1."
"I think there's a long way to go until the two of you can be compared."
There's a bite in that statement. After all, I've been lectured a lot by the chief because of that since I was a rookie.
"I'm so jealous of you, Hye-Rim. Maybe it's because there are few people in Team 5, but everyone seems so close. I still feel a little awkward with my team members."
"I wish we had more people, because it's hard to divide up the work when things get busy."
"Do you think your team would get enough work to warrant another member? Wasn't So-Young the last person to join the team a year ago?"
"That's right."
Originally, there were only four teams in the Awakened Crime Division, but they made me the team leader and created a fifth team.
The work of Team 5 was a little different from that of the other teams. Though we did the same tasks as the others, whenever there was a difficult villain or a strong enemy to deal with, Team 5 was always the first to go.
Team 5 consisted of the strongest individuals in the division and took on the most dangerous jobs. This team didn't exist in the original manga but was created after I joined the department.
"Team 5 is open and always ready to take on new slaves."
So please, anyone, please come. The more hands, the merrier.
"I'm looking forward to it, too. I wonder who will be the next member of the Awakened Crime Division's dream team?"
Before we knew it, it was our turn to ride the roller coaster. As we sat down and the safety bar was lowered, we slowly began to move upward along the rails.
The higher we went, the more people around us screamed and expressed their fear. Team Leader 1 had a similar reaction.
"O-ooooh...! Hye-Rim, I'm so scared."
"Do you want me to hold your hand if you're scared?"
"What? Uh... Yes! Hold my hand. I'm so scared."
It's not as scary if you're holding onto something when you're scared, after all. As I squeezed Team Leader 1's hand tightly, her lips pressed firmly together.
Her face is a little red, so she must be nervous. She had mentioned that it had been a while since she had been to an amusement park, so she must not be used to the rides.
"I've gained far more than I could imagine."
Team Leader 1 mumbled something, but it was hard to hear over the clatter of the roller coaster's rails and the sounds of the other riders.
Then, as the roller coaster reached the top of the rails and dropped quickly…
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Team Leader 1 screamed, gripping my hand even tighter.
Personally, I wasn't scared or excited. Flying at speeds faster than this was a usual thing for me since I often transformed into a magical girl.
After two laps, the roller coaster came to a stop. As the safety bar lifted, Team Leader 1 exhaled with relief as she got off.
"Wow. It's been a while, so it was a little scary. Hye-Rim, were you okay?"
"Yeah, I usually fly faster than this."
"Ah, as expected of a magical girl, you're different from normal people."
"Haha... By the way, Team Leader 1."
"Huh?"
"Are you still feeling a little scared?" I asked softly, noticing her hands still tightly clutching onto mine.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I must have hurt your hand, didn't I?"
"It doesn't really hurt, so it's okay."
"Really? Then... Do you mind if I hold onto it for a bit longer? I think I'm still feeling the aftereffects."
"Of course," I replied, offering my hand without hesitation. I could lend it to her at any time. Despite usually being playful and telling ghost stories, seeing her show weakness after a ride was unexpectedly cute.
Hand in hand, we strolled around the park, trying different attractions and buying souvenirs along the way.
"Hye-Rim, let's try these animal ear headbands."
"I'm wearing a hat right now."
"You can take off your hat and put this on. People won't recognize you anyway because you're wearing sunglasses."
With that, she put a cat-eared headband on my head and donned a dog-eared headband herself.
"Hye-Rim, you have a cat-like personality, so cat ears suit you."
I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. Me, like a cat? No way. I don't have the personality of those weak animals.
As lunchtime passed and, before I knew it, afternoon approached, it was time to start searching for the device.
"Hey, Team Leader 1, why don't we head over there?"
"Huh? Where?"
To find the first device, I walked with Team Leader 1 and pointed to a spot. The device over there was the easiest to find.
"...You want us to go there?"
"Yeah."
The place I pointed to was a flower garden in the park, well-known as a romantic spot for couples' walks and photos due to its variety of flowers.
"Doesn't it look like a nice place for a stroll after lunch?"
I suggested casually, planning to pick up the device as we walked.
"Let's go," I said, taking Team Leader 1's hand and leading the way.
“....Sure.”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded slightly and followed along.