Chapter 132

That's where her daughter lives now.

Many years ago, she lived in this house with her daughter. Later, due to various reasons, Haihara left the house to Kiriori and rented a place to live on her own.

It seems like it was a few months ago when I last returned to this home.

As expected, Kiriori was not home after knocking on the door.

Naturally, she didn't inform Kazama Kiriori before returning home, probably because she wanted to play a prank on him. She was curious about Kazama Kiriori's reaction when he saw her at home.

Taking out the spare key, Haihara opened the door and stepped into the house she hadn't entered in a long time.

It's been so long since I've been back, and a lot has changed in this family.

Her adopted daughter Kazama Kiriori, is someone whose preferences often change depending on her mood. For example, her favorite clothes or room decorations might change every few weeks, and then she'll want to redecorate her room.

Haihara had no motivation to decorate the room, so the house was always left to Kiriori.

Of course, some decorations have never been touched.

For example, the small trophies and certificates that Kiriori received in junior high school—things that Haihara never received as a child—this grown-up girl has a whole bunch of them in her room.

Both academic and athletic pursuits are included.

After all, her daughter has been good at everything since she was little.

Among them are photos of Kiriori with her biological parents.

In the photo, Kato- senpai is still the same as in my memory, in her prime, dignified and elegant, as if she will never fade, but with an added touch of Haihara that Haibara has never seen before.

When she first adopted Kiriori, she often thought that her senior's daughter seemed to be even more outstanding than her senior.

Now she sometimes forgets about it and thinks that Kiriori is her daughter.

"Did they change locations again?"

It's worth mentioning that photos of her and Kiriori are not usually displayed in a fixed place.

That puppy-dog-like girl might take their photo somewhere else to admire someday.

I don't know what's so interesting about Haihara.

She casually sat down on the sofa and quickly noticed a crumpled dog plush toy lying next to it, with stitches still visible—something she had painstakingly sewn back on.

Even after living alone, Haihara had never learned needlework, so the whole experience of sewing turned sour.

The adopted daughter already had this doll before she even lived with her.

This puppy is very important to Kiriori.

It looks a bit dusty and dirty, and even washing it won't change that, but I still hug this little dog every time I go to sleep.

Haihara gently picked up the dog plush toy with both hands, placed it in front of her, and stared into its dark, hollow eyes, as if she were looking at a large, black, furry dog that kept wagging its tail.

She blinked expressionlessly, then leaned forward and kissed the puppy's nose.

The sky outside had unknowingly been stained a cold gray by the rain.

Haihara wasn't worried that Kazama Kiriori would forget her umbrella, since her daughter was much more thoughtful and intelligent than her. She would check the weather forecast every morning and call to remind her to bring an umbrella, even though they didn't live together.

Before Kazama Kiriori returned, Haihara had nothing much to do.

Quite a few things happened yesterday.

Thinking about it carefully, wouldn't this mean she's found Step-mom for her dutiful daughter?

Haihara, of course, never told Kazama Kiriori about her love life. Probably no young girl would care what type of woman a mother nearing thirty likes, or which woman she's been fooling around with that day.

"--bite..."

The bell rang.

Haihara initially thought it was the doorbell, but later realized that it wasn't coming from the door, but from inside the house.

After searching around, she discovered that the ringing was coming from the room where Kazama Kiriori lived.

Haihara realized that it was the sound of the alarm clock in Kazama Kiriori's room.

If the alarm clock isn't turned off, it will keep ringing.

The sound is quite loud, it's a bit annoying.

In the past, Haihara had respected her daughter's privacy and wouldn't just enter her room casually.

But... her daughter is still outside, and it will probably be a while before she gets home.

Haihara fell into thought.

Generally speaking, a healthy 18-year-old girl's room wouldn't have anything shameful like a boy's, right?

At least Haihara didn't have that kind of thing when she was a child.

Even if she accidentally saw something, it's really nothing. She can just pretend she didn't see it. It's perfectly normal to be curious about that kind of thing.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Haihara is not a mother who disrespects her daughter or likes to pry into her daughter's privacy.

She does have at least a little bit of moral integrity.

Although she inevitably saw some private things about her daughter that she shouldn't have seen when she was in junior high school because the house was too small, she has always given her daughter plenty of private space since they had their own rooms.

Filled with a mix of guilt and curiosity, Haihara opened the door and entered her daughter's room.

At this moment, Haihara has no idea that she will soon see something that will make her regret it.

The afternoon activities ended early due to the rain.

Principal Haihara Ryo was still in his office, reading the newspaper alone.

Newspapers, as printed publications, are rarely read these days, but the headmistress still maintains a habit she's had for over a decade: she reads the city's newspapers in her office every day.

After a while, she heard a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

A tall, slender girl with black hair and black eyes entered. Just standing there, she exuded a gentle, breezy aura. Only this girl would come to her office at a time like this.

Kazama Kiriori, the current Student Council of this school.

However, since the Student Council activities have ended early, Kazama Kiriori probably has nothing to report to her.

Liang raised her head and looked at her.

"Haihara, I've come to get 'that'."

Instead of her usual gentle demeanor, Kazama Kiriori displayed a slightly serious expression, which was uncharacteristic of hers.

The headmistress lowered her eyes slightly.

She certainly knew what Kazama Kiriori was referring to.

She didn't respond immediately; instead, she gave a knowing, knowing smile.

"Do you want to be a Magic girl again?"

The thing that Kazama Kiriori wanted was now kept in her office. She opened a drawer, inside was a sealed box, and after placing it steadily on the table, Kazama Kiriori looked at it with a slightly complicated expression.

Then, Kazama Kiriori shook her head and returned a smile:

"No, I've just been feeling a bit uneasy lately."

Although the city seems peaceful lately, she feels there's a need to be more cautious.

This city is now protected by other Magic girls.

But in her opinion, it was still too immature.

Without saying much, the headmistress opened the box, and inside was a bluish-green Crystal.

It was as if the wind had melted into cold liquid and dripped into it; the Crystal was so clear and transparent that its light remained so bright under the lamplight.

Perhaps many people in this city can recognize this Crystal.

It is called Gale, and it was one of the Transformation Magic Crystal of the Magic girl Phantom Wind.

"It's been two years."

Looking at the Crystal, the headmistress smiled.

"Yes, it's been two years."

Kazama Kiriori picked up the box, took the bluish-green Crystal in her hand, and gently squeezed it.

Several years ago, she received Magic Armament called "Phantom Wind" from the headmistress and became the Phantom Wind's shapeshifter.

Over time, the headmaster taught her how to fight and many Magic Spell. After countless battles, she became the strongest Magic girl in the city.

However, all of this came to an end one day in my first year of high school.

She's no longer a Magic girl.

After obtaining the Crystal, Kazama Kiriori carefully put it away, then bid farewell to the principal and prepared to go home.

She opened the umbrella she had prepared in advance and took the bus home as usual.

Mom should be back this morning.

Thinking that she hadn't gone home with her mother this time, Kazama Kiriori felt a little worried and disappointed at not being able to stay by her mother's side.

Ever since she turned sixteen and started high school, her mother began to intentionally or unintentionally keep a certain distance from her. After that, due to her studies and various other things, she had less and less time to spend with her mother...

Kazama Kiriori knew very well what to call this kind of thinking.

This is what is known as loneliness.

But there's not much that can be done.

When I get home today, I'll take a good look at some of her treasured family literature.

Humming a song as she walked home in the pouring rain, Kazama Kiriori didn't notice anything strange after unlocking the door.

However, she remembered that there was an alarm clock that she hadn't turned off earlier this afternoon, and it should still be ringing now. Could it be out of power?

However, it's also possible that her house is very soundproof.

At least from her own bedroom, she might not be able to hear the door open.

After taking off the school uniform she had been wearing all day, leaving only a white shirt on her upper body and underwear on her lower body, Kazama Kiriori stretched lightly and then planned to go back to her room to lie down for a while.

However, when she arrived at her room, she discovered that... the door seemed to be ajar.

Kazama Kiriori blinked thoughtfully.

For reasons unknown, she didn't make a sound, but instead walked quietly to the door and peeked into her room through the crack.

Then, Kazama Kiriori's body froze completely.

"..."

The Student Council president's body suddenly trembled slightly.

She saw a woman sitting quietly on the edge of the bed in the room, admiring a book with a light purple cover. The cover featured a mature and beautiful woman and a naive but proactive young girl.

That was hers...

A yuri (lesbian) novel featuring a mother-daughter relationship.

Ninety percent of it is sex scenes.

The indifferent woman looking at the novel went from being calm at first, to becoming thoughtful, and then briefly fell into silence and a daze.

It seemed that this aloof, bespectacled woman had been unusually shaken.

Suddenly, perhaps because Kazama Kiriori's body was trembling too violently, she accidentally bumped into the half-closed door, and the door slammed open into the room, attracting the attention of the woman who had been reading a book.

Meanwhile, Kazama Kiriori, who was hiding behind the door, was also discovered.

Whether it was the woman holding the book inside the room or the girl hiding at the door, they both fell into a deathly silence after exchanging glances.

Ms. Kazama Kiriori stopped thinking.

Chapter Sixty-Eight: Family Interaction

Outside, a heavy, gray rain was still falling, and the pedestrians on the street seemed to be walking in a hurry, while the light inside the house became hazy and dim.