Chapter 349

"Okay, I understand!"

So Ilya left.

On the way back, she glanced back and noticed that Caren still had a 'gentle' smile on her face and waved to her.

Teacher Caren is truly a good older sister. Taking care of Ivia must be incredibly difficult for her; her brother, who ran away from home and suffers from a mysterious illness, is devoted to caring for her poor sister who has a different Faith. I wonder if she hasn't even had a meal yet...

Perhaps knowing some 'secrets' about Ivia made her feel like she had leverage over her, and since both sides were on equal footing, Ilya was in a very good mood.

But as Ilya was about to return home with this in mind, she saw a purple-haired girl lingering at her doorstep.

That person, let me think... I think he came to our house before. He was a classmate my brother knew in High School, his name is Matou--

"Oh, Ilya, why are you home so late?"

The purple-haired girl who was lingering at the door noticed Ilya returning home so late and hurriedly ran over to keep an eye on her.

"Because I played with Suzuka and the others for a while..."

"Oh, I knew you usually go home very early. I'm just glad nothing bad happened."

Sakura Matou breathed a sigh of relief, then said cautiously, "Um, could you please tell Ilya- Fuyuki Emiya at noon next weekend to see the flowers? The flowers at home haven't bloomed yet..."

Oh, so you wanted to find a boyfriend, but you made me the middleman. Couldn't you just say it yourself? How am I supposed to say it...?

Thinking about how popular her older brother had always been, while she herself had never even received a love letter, made Ilya feel a little uneasy.

Perhaps sensing Ilya's hesitation and certain emotions, but prepared for this, Sakura Matou simply pulled two tickets from her pocket and waved them in front of Ilya:

"Ilya, these are the tickets to the Animal Paradise next Thursday. If you Ilya me you'll let Emiya- senpai come, then in exchange..."

Instantly, Ilya swallowed hard, her eyes swaying from side to side as the ticket fluttered, as if bewitched.

What?! It's a ticket to the Animal Paradise, and for next week no less! Sakura Matou, you're so despicable...!

Actually, what attracted her wasn't the animals in the zoo, since there was only Lion-kun there and no other animals besides the costume. It was more like Lion-kun costume park than an animal park. But the reason she cared was because there was a live-action event for True Magic Girl Bushido Musashi at the zoo next week!

Ever since she learned about this online, she'd really wanted to go see it. After all, she didn't know when the next time it would be in Fuyuki would be, but Sella would most likely disagree. As for Leysritt, she felt bad about spending too much of her money on Magical Girl DVDs, and she didn't have enough of her own money...

I'm sorry, brother, but for my 'dream'—that offline interaction with Musashi —I'll have to sacrifice you a little.

"Make a deal!"

Chapter 388: What's with this seemingly public confession?!

"The word 'Magic,' as a noun, means something like True Magic or Magecraft..."

Taiga gently tapped the blackboard. Although she occasionally taught subjects like math, art, and physical education, her primary job was indeed an English Teacher.

"M, M... it's True Magic..."

While listening to the lesson, Ilya gently patted her cheeks to shake off her sleepiness.

After all, the moment she heard the True Magic, she thought of Magical Girl, and then she thought of the offline event for Magecraft Girl Bushido Musashi that she could go to after school this afternoon. Just thinking about it made her heart flutter.

A week has passed since the day she understood the sibling relationship between Ivia and Teacher. Caren, who sat behind her. During this time, she successfully completed the request from her High School classmate and thus received tickets to the Animal Paradise. As for Ivia's matter, she stopped following her after school after the next day after omitting some key details about the other three.

"We need to go early, so we'll have a chance to get Musashi's special True Magic..."

Overwhelmed with excitement, Ilya, which were resting on the table, couldn't help but reach into her backpack in the desk drawer and touch the brand-new tickets. Just rubbing them made the girl feel as if she were in Kingdom of Heaven, and she was extremely happy.

She originally received two tickets, but after thinking it over, she felt there was no one she could give them to.

Sella is a bit busy; Leysritt is lazy and rarely goes out; her brother has to participate in club activities; Nanagui Meimei are good students; Tatsuko's family's dojo needs her help; Suzuka and her sister are busy with some manuscript lately...

So, not wanting to think any further about whether to give it away, Ilya simply tore up the other one, not wanting it to affect her mood anymore.

However.

As Ilya was fiddling with the ticket she had hidden in her backpack, she suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why does this feel like... there are two pictures?!

Realizing this, her eyes widened suddenly, and she quickly looked down at her schoolbag.

What she saw were indeed two tickets to Animal Paradise.

What's going on?

Didn't I just tear up another one the day before yesterday? I remember clearly tearing it up and throwing it away in the bathroom. That can't be. Could it be that I really have some kind of amnesia that I don't know about, or is it some kind of involuntary, congenital condition...?

However, the ticket displayed before her seemed to be telling Ilya one thing: Ilya really had amnesia. But this was still too hard for Ilya to accept, given the tangible experience of tearing up a ticket.

A refreshing early spring breeze blew in through the open second-floor window, causing Ilya was feeling somewhat gloomy, to instinctively look out the window, hoping the pleasant scenery would cheer her up. Her gaze followed the view from the courtyard...

Huh? When and where did such a big tree appear?

It was quite abrupt. Ilya clearly remembered looking outside every day, but she didn't seem to have noticed that tree.

I remember now, it's that Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree that Tatsuko heard about from the security Grandpa, right? It's said to be hundreds of years old and only just started growing now. Thinking about it that way, it's a complete miracle... a miracle?

The thought of this word instantly conjured up this scene in Ilya's mind:

That day, the ticket she had torn up with her own hands cried out, and was then stitched together by the mysterious power of the night to become Avenger, determined to take Revenge on her cold and ruthless former master, who was none other than herself. She would inadvertently kill her own heartless self with terrifying means. I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, Ilya, I can't grow up.

So, how can I gain your forgiveness? It's simple: realize my true value, use me as a ticket to its true meaning!

The above is Ilya's imagined 'ticket to resurrection' and her own dialogue.

"Okay! I understand!"

"Um, Ilya."

Taiga smiled slightly as she watched Ilya suddenly stand up from her seat, clench her fist as if she had made up her mind.

"Now that you understand, come up and answer the questions."

"Ah! Yes!"

Oh no, now is not the time to think about that; I need to focus on the lesson.

So Ilya hurriedly ran to the podium, grabbed the chalk, and looked at the questions on the blackboard. She thought to herself that the English class would probably just involve writing vocabulary words.

"Question 1: A shopping mall is having a sale on clothing. A suit sold at 20% off yields a 20% profit. Due to reduced costs, it is now sold at 25% off the original price, yielding a 25% profit. How much has the cost decreased now compared to before?"

Each word was legible on its own, but when put together, they sounded like a terrifying whisper echoing in Ilya's ears.

"Teacher. Taiga, isn't this... an English class? Why are there math problems...?"

"That happened in the last class, Ilya."

After that, Ilya dawdled and procrastinated until Taiga finally called her down, and she obediently sat back down on the table, dejected.

In reality, Ilya was feeling both Shame for not answering the question correctly and conflicted about who to give the other ticket to. After all, she was afraid that if she tore it up again and found it in her bag when she got back, wouldn't that be a pure horror movie plot? So, she decided to give it away, which would be fulfilling her duty as a ticket holder.

But who should I give it to?

Looking around the class, Ilya was still struggling to make a decision, since the people she knew had already been rejected.

How about giving it to Taiga- Teacher? Or maybe not, Taiga- Teacher seems like the kind of person who wants to compete with Musashi... This is too much trouble, who should I give it to?

At that moment, a cool breeze flowed in again through the open window. Looking up, Ilya felt that her current perspective was somewhat similar to when she was on the rooftop following Ivia a week ago...

Oh, right! Ivia! Let's give it to Ivia. Didn't Teacher. Caren mention before that she has some kind of gynophobia?

If real women are too shy to approach, then virtual contact should be fine, right? After all, Musashi so cute and handsome, everyone would like him, and Caren- Teacher would be pleased! Looking at it this way, I really did a great thing.

Ilya acted immediately, turning around to look at Ivia at the desk behind her, but less than a second later, she subtly turned away again.

Is it really appropriate to casually give gifts to classmates I'm not very familiar with? What if it gets misunderstood...? Speaking of which, why am I avoiding eye contact with him? This seems to be the first time in a while that I've actually tried to make eye contact with him...

Feeling she couldn't bear Ivia's gaze from behind, Ilya turned her head slightly away, then mumbled something as she quickly handed a ticket to Ivia's table.

"Consider this your reward for keeping my secret..."

Before she could finish speaking, Ilya quickly turned back.

Ivia glanced at Ilya's back, who was talking non-stop, and then at the animal tickets on the table. He had originally intended to return them, but considering that today was the day the Bodhi Tree, symbolizing the first meeting of the Dragon Flower Three Assemblies, appeared, he accepted them.

The Bodhi Tree at Homurahara Elementary School did not appear out of thin air; it was the Dragon Flower Bodhi Tree that Maitreya needed to overcome his tribulations. This was probably the main reason he came here. Today was the "first assembly" of the Longhua Bodhi tree, which is "the first assembly of the Dragon Flower Bodhi where Maitreya Buddha listens to the sutras, hears the Dharma, receives the prediction of liberation, and is called the First Dragon Flower Assembly."

Originally, the three types of people at the Three Assemblies were distinguished by their closeness or distance from Buddhism, and could also be seen as having a good or bad relationship with Maitreya. Therefore, it wouldn't be unreasonable to say that Ilya, who presented a gift to Ivia on this day, represented the 'first assembly'. In essence, Ilya did indeed possess a certain concept of 'Perfection'.

Therefore, after glancing at the time on the ticket, Ivia spoke to Ilya:

"Bottom right corner of the blackboard."

Ilya, who was already nervous and afraid of being rejected, immediately looked in the direction Ivia was pointing, only to find that Ivia was on duty today... and alone.

Wait a minute, why is he showing me this? Does he think I'm inviting him to the Animal Paradise, but he needs to clean up first? You've got it all wrong. I'm just seeing him off, I didn't mean anything by it. I headed straight for the park after school, whether you go or not is none of my business, I just saw you off.

After all, school ends at 5 PM and ends at 3:40 PM, so I have to be in a hurry.

Ilya was so convinced of her belief.

It was 3:30 in the afternoon, which was school dismissal time.

"Hey, Ilya, aren't you leaving yet?"

"Um, I... I need to use the Suzuka. You guys can go ahead, don't wait for me today..."

After saying that, Ilya ran into the bathroom, leaving the three of them with a resolute back view and confusion.

"... By the way, why does Ilya bring a handkerchief when she goes to the toilet?"

Next, while Ilya was in the restroom, she listened to the sounds from the school building gradually fade into silence, indicating that most people had left. Only then did she wet her handkerchief and wring it out. Yes, her previously unwavering resolve was shattered in those few minutes before school ended.

What if Ivia thinks I'll wait for her, and then feels abandoned because I left, which worsens her misogyny?

In case he was actually happy about the invitation, because he might be her first friend after transferring schools.

What if cleaning alone is actually quite lonely, since you're always alone?

What if, what if...

Ultimately, it's still my fault. I didn't explain things clearly. I had so much time to explain, but I absolutely cannot ignore my mistakes. If I did, I would be just like the villain in Musashi. How could I face Musashi then?

And so, Ilya decided to help Ivia clean up before they went to the Animal Paradise together.

Ilya took a deep breath, smiled at herself in the mirror, then walked out of the restroom and quickly entered the classroom.

Her silver hair, similar to her own, swayed gently in the sunlight streaming in, as she walked towards the door.

"Um, I'm here to help you clean up..."

Thinking Ivia was going to get a wet handkerchief, Ilya held up a wrung-out handkerchief to prove she wasn't lying.

"I've finished sweeping."

"There's no need for thanks, I'm just happy to help."

As if anticipating something, Ilya, with her wide eyes, exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?"

She glanced around the classroom subconsciously. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting golden rays that danced on the floor. The desks and chairs were neatly arranged, and the surfaces were all clean. Every corner exuded an air of tidiness.

"... ah?"

Ilya held her breath, and as if caught in a loop, she let out the same surprised sound as before.

"Even though it was just one person, it was so fast and skillful... Um... let me gather my thoughts, please wait a moment."

Like a detective who has discovered some secret, Ilya suddenly crossed her arms, twisted her body, and nervously raised her hands in front of Ivia.

"Could it be that, could it be that, Ivia, you often help with cleaning or something at home?"

I guess so.

"... Wow, that's really impressive."

Ilya sincerely praised, for this was indeed her true feeling, since she rarely did these things at home.

Of course, there was also the thought that if she swept so fast, she could hurry to the Animal Paradise and spend more time with Musashi. However, in her excitement, Ilya forgot one thing: just like before, there was a pile of love letters in Ivia's shoe cabinet.

"So, you still have to deal with these things today...?"

Ilya, who was squatting down to help Ivia pick up the love letters that had been pouring down like a tide, sighed.

"Why not just burn it or throw it down the drain? After all, sending it back untouched every day is both a waste of time and impractical."

Ilya suddenly stopped talking halfway through her sentence, afraid that Ivia in front of her might suddenly ask her, "How did you know I did this?" and then expose the possibility that she had been following him. After all, if that were the case, her current actions would seem premeditated.

However, the question Ilya had imagined did not come; Ivia simply replied:

"Burning it or throwing it down the drain would be quick in terms of efficiency, but I just wanted to return it to its rightful owner."