She lowered her head toward Persephone.
"Throughout these long years, I've never paid attention to your personal feelings. I've always used my morals, my beliefs, and my ideas to make demands of you. I never noticed that you would also accumulate pressure over those repeated regressions... Regardless of whether it was a lot or a little, it was there all the same. Yet I only ever cared about the result."
"For that, I want to apologize to you. I'm sorry. There were many times when I made excessive demands of you and lost my temper for no reason..."
The Persephone standing before her looked at her as though she were an alien from Nebula M78. The confusion in those jade-colored eyes almost condensed into a tangible substance that could spill out, forming a gigantic golden question mark above the girl's head.
"You..." Persephone's voice was strange, like that of a comic actor in a theater. "...Is there something wrong with your head? Is it broken?"
"I don't think so..." Miss Surtr gave an awkward little smile. "I just feel that the way I lived in the past was somewhat abnormal. Perhaps I should face this world with a more positive attitude... or something. In any case, I plan to at least greet the people close to me and show some concern for their daily lives..."
"People... close to you?" Maiden Doctor's pronunciation was exceptionally halting, as though those words were venomous and would bite her tongue to pieces the moment she said them. She raised her right index finger and pointed at her own head—or rather, jabbed hard at her right temple.
"Does that... include me?"
"Mm." Surtr's reply was somewhat bashful—heaven knew how long it had been since she had shown such an expression. "I've always trusted you. I