(Heartfelt thanks to 'Erciyuan de Shuangxiezuo,' 'pokémon,' and 'Chen Jiale666355' for their donations!)
(Ranked ninth on the monthly ticket list for this category. In the end, I still couldn't beat those great authors, but at least I fought for it once. I can die without regrets. I hope everyone will continue supporting me in October too...)
Private Homurahara Academy, Elementary School Division...
"Ding-dong—"
The long school bell echoed through every corridor, ringing in every corner and reaching every classroom...
The teachers who had been teaching all tossed out a few closing remarks, gathered their things, and walked out of the classrooms, bringing the elementary school students their favorite time of day—dismissal.
Every classroom that had been steeped in silence now filled with the innocent, lively, cheerful cheers and chatter of children. The sounds of desks and chairs bumping into one another followed, making the place incredibly lively.
For children still in elementary school, once class was over, their main daily activities besides homework and studying were just playing. There were no club activities for students this young, so every student happily packed up their things and joyfully left the school.
In one of the classrooms, Illya stood up from her seat as well, packing her belongings and putting them all into her schoolbag, just like any ordinary child.
No one knew that this little ten-year-old girl was actually a Magical Girl.
However, anyone familiar with Illya could tell that the ruby-like brilliance in her eyes seemed to have vanished today...
No, it was not only Illya.
Sitting behind Illya, Miyu was also packing her things. Her expression was as indifferent as ever, but the unusual determination that had always shone in her orange eyes seemed to have lost its light at this moment as well.
It was not quite despondency,