Chapter 355

"I'm fine, Sapphire."

Although I really want to believe that you're alright, Miyu- sama, you don't look like you're okay no matter how you look at it. The most obvious thing is that you've become more talkative...

Sapphire had already seen the intense disgust and Wrath deep in the Black-Haired Girl's eyes.

"But, but--"

"But I can't let anyone else experience what I went through."

Then, Miyu said the following words without any expression.

"Don't worry, I will succeed."

Next, Miyu demonstrated her proficiency in mathematics, art, cooking, and sports in various classes, giving her peers the illusion that she was Perfection superhero.

Soon, it was time for the last class, which was also gym class. As Ilya changed her clothes, Suzuka Kurihara waved to her and whispered, "Ilya, Ilya, the transfer student is stealing the spotlight from us. Hopefully, we can beat her at gym class."

"Ilya's two legs are our last hope."

Faced with her friends' requests, Ilya could only nod helplessly.

I'll do my best...

"If the transfer student is too outstanding and Ivia gets attracted to them, then all your efforts over the past few months will have been in vain, Ilya."

"That's absolutely impossible."

Ilya blinked at Tatsuko's words, showing no sign of surprise. She spoke slowly and deliberately, as if trying to expel all the air from her lungs, before leaving the classroom.

"Wow... you're so confident, Ilya."

"Is this the pressure of the Number One position? Could it be that it's developing rapidly in ways we're unaware of?"

"It's all thanks to us delaying Teacher. Caren! Even though it was only for a dozen seconds, it was actually quite significant..."

After a while, with each gunshot fired by Taiga, who was the physical education Teacher, the students started running in pairs. Ilya Miyu ended up as a pair.

"Ilya, do your best!"

"Keep it up!"

"Keep your arms tight and punch like you're twisting a screw!"

Listening to her friends' voices, Ilya took a deep breath, feeling a little nervous.

Perhaps it was because she realized that Miyu was not only better than her in combat, but also so powerful in many other aspects that she was no match for her. However, even so, she couldn't allow Miyu to continue bullying Ivia in the Future. This wasn't a matter of ability; it was something that was completely unacceptable!

Therefore, before the race started, Ilya checked on Miyu's appearance, but she remained expressionless, as if she didn't care about anything.

A gentle breeze blew by.

The Black-Haired Girl brushed the hair away from her cheek, a fleeting look of loneliness crossing her face, but quickly returned to her composed demeanor.

"I'm doing this for your own good."

Miyu sensed that Ilya was looking at her, so she spoke up.

"I will absolutely not lose to you!"

"..."

Miyu paused for a moment, then continued, "I understand."

The two adjusted their posture, bending their knees slightly, ready to exert force, their eyes fixed on the finish line ahead.

"On your marks—get set!"

As Taiga shouted, the whistle blew across the playground, and the two girls shot off like arrows.

Ilya exerted all her strength, leaning forward and her legs working at high speed like an engine, but this also caused her breathing to become more and more rapid, and sweat to begin to bead on her forehead, glistening in the sunlight.

However, despite Ilya's full strength, she was ultimately overtaken by Miyu, who possessed overwhelming power. She could only follow closely behind, and when she crossed the finish line, she used up almost all her strength, her legs went weak, and she nearly fell to the ground.

Ilya stopped, bracing herself on her knees, panting heavily, an expression of disbelief on her face.

"No, that's impossible..."

She couldn't believe that her once-proud athletic abilities had been suppressed, and she even felt like crying.

"Would you like a drink? It's a thank-you gift from this morning."

Ilya was surprised to be handed a bottle of water by Ivia as soon as she looked up. She exclaimed "Eh~" in surprise, her cheeks flushing slightly. She drank it all in one gulp, and after about ten seconds, she put down the bottle, wiped her mouth, and asked seemingly casually:

Where did you go just now?

Earlier, when Ilya was about to go for a run, she looked around and realized that Ivia was not there. She wondered where Ivia had gone.

"I was thinking of returning the gift, and since you always come in first in the race, Ilya, I felt really tired, so I went and bought you a bottle of water."

"I didn't make it this time..."

Upon hearing this, Ilya's expression became somewhat uneasy.

"There's always next time. Maybe next time it will work."

"That's such a perfunctory answer... but since you put it that way, I guess I'll just have to believe you for now."

The uneasy girl's expression softened slightly.

In response to Ivia's trust in me, I must also shoulder the responsibilities of a friend.

As Ilya watched the Black-Haired Girl silently leave after witnessing this scene and return to the classroom, her resolve was strengthened once again.

After school in the afternoon, after dealing with the love letter with Ilya, Ivia walked a distance from the school gate and then parted ways with her. She headed towards the Small Park where she lived. The bustling City gradually became dull.

The once-grand streets gradually transformed into quaint electronics and accessory shops, eventually becoming deserted streets.

After standing there for a while, he turned around and asked the 'empty' street.

"Miyu Satsuki, even though you've already made that wish, since you're here, let's see you anyway. I'll stay right behind you."

"No, don't call me by that name."

The Black-Haired Girl slowly emerged from the corner and responded in an extremely indifferent tone.

This gave Sapphire, who was in the backpack, the illusion that Miyu might pull out her power and use it at any moment.

However, the next second, before Ivia could answer, Miyu asked the first question:

"When do you plan to abandon Illyasviel von Einzbern, one year and eight months later?"

No way.

Standing in front of Miyu, Ivia was neither bothered nor troubled by this, as if she were just talking about something ordinary.

His words surprised the expressionless girl slightly.

"Although this is also Fuyuki, the world itself is very different. However, the climate is the same in all four seasons, so when you think about it that way, there really isn't much difference."

The silver-haired boy looked up at the sky as seen through the buildings.

It is the Twilight that coincides with both the present-day Fuyuki and the Fuyuki of Parallel World.

I never imagined you'd learn to lie.

No, I wasn't lying.

Of course, Miyu knew that this person had not lied, and that it was just her own unconscious words.

On what grounds?

Is she better than me? I can't tell at all.

Why?

Thinking of this, a flame of Jealousy ignited in Miyu's heart.

Of course, she had already made a wish 'never to see this person again,' so her Jealousy was only a tiny bit.

Perhaps.

I just hope there won't be anyone like me.

The Black-Haired Girl thought to herself.

I thought Miyu would be my Second Meeting, but it seems that's not the case now.

Ivia glanced at Miyu thoughtfully. "But it doesn't matter. Even if it's not the Third Guild, it doesn't matter. As long as we're still here when everything is over, that's enough."

Ivia's words were somewhat cryptic, but they were irrelevant to Miyu at this point.

"I will never let anyone do that again."

Miyu's voice grew increasingly cold.

"... If she's beyond saving, I'll wait and see her expression that day."

As she spoke, she regained her expressionless demeanor, quickly turned around, and left.

Watching Miyu's departing figure, Ivia smiled.

Oh, so that's what it is. It's too ordinary, so he couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Unable to attend the first meeting of Shengmiao, I was still able to hear the Dharma at the Second Meeting... It seems the Second Meeting should still be 'Ilya'."

After parting ways with Ivia, Ilya walked home in the sunset-reddened sunlight, constantly thinking about the day's events.

"Although I was comforted, that guy's intimidating presence was still too much..."

As Ilya walked home with her schoolbag on her back, she muttered to herself, then saw Miyu.

However, she sensed something was wrong, so she quickened her pace. But after only a few steps, Miyu raised her head. Although her face was still expressionless, she looked like she was in some discomfort.

"That..."

"Fraud."

A heavy blow knocked Ilya to the spot.

Miyu's words were accompanied by a deep sense of disgust and sadness deep within her eyes.

"Liars, I hate them the most."

Afterwards, back home, Ilya looked at the mansion across the street that had been completed that day from the second floor and fell into deep thought.

Why did Miyu have that expression...? It looked like she'd been bullied. Shouldn't she be the one doing the bullying? Or am I misunderstanding something?

"That's strange, I actually got home with Ilya."

"... Ah, indeed."

Hearing Ruby say that, Ilya thought for a moment. She and Ivia dealt with love letters after school every day, which took up some time. Why would Miyu be delayed?

"Maybe they're secretly following you and Ivia, since the timing just matches up."

"Ah!"

Ilya jumped to her feet, a look of horror on her face. "If that's the case, could it be... could it be—"

Miyu is planning to find a private moment to bully Ivia?! Is that why Ruby said it? Probably not, but the thought of such a calm girl bullying someone is quite striking, especially since she's Magical Girl...

"I always feel like Ilya has some secrets I don't know about."

The Ruby jingled, "But it's okay if you don't tell me. It's normal for girls to have their own little secrets. But I'll let little Ilya tell me in her sleep when I get the chance!"

"Be a little more serious, Ruby."

After complaining about the Ruby, Ilya looked out the window again, "Even if we didn't see it just now, we'll see it tonight, right?"

Rin Tohsaka has already written to Ilya, asking her to come to the park under the bridge at midnight tonight for the second Cards collection.

However, when Ilya looked out the window, she heard a faint sound of footsteps.

It sounded just like Ilya's own footsteps.

... Is it me?

In an instant, an impression Ilya had never had before arose in her mind.

This ambiguous and vague feeling surfaced in the girl's mind, startling her. However, when she turned around, only Ruby was there, and then she heard footsteps behind her. Ilya instinctively turned her head back to the window—

In an instant, my whole body went cold, as if my physical Flesh had ceased to exist.