Chapter 173

After all, continuing to dwell on these issues won't defeat the enemy.

Watching the president walk away, Sakaki Chika seemed to understand his current thoughts.

The current president is also unwilling to face certain things that have already happened in the past.

Kurosaki- senpai said that this gray world is a nightmare for some people, so it must be related to President Kazama as well.

"President, can you tell me what happened a few years ago? Why did you stop fighting as Magic girl? And why was Teacher Haihara involved again?"

Sakaki Chika, who usually speaks haltingly and is timid and not good at talking, asked Kazama Kiriori very seriously.

The Chameleon Monster comes from Teacher Haihara.

Although I don't want to admit it, this seems to be the truth.

In this nightmare world, Sakaki Chika also saw many scenes she didn't want to see and heard many sounds she didn't want to hear.

Many of those comments were insults directed at Teacher Haihara.

Just hearing those vile words made her tremble with anger, but it was just a dream, and it had happened years ago, so nothing she did could change anything.

Moreover, the thought that all of this actually happened two years ago made it even harder for her to accept, and she wanted to find out the truth.

Kazama Kiriori remained silent for a moment.

She walked past the detestable faces she had seen before, her face expressionless, but the nightmarish scenes from a few years ago kept replaying in her mind.

Even if she doesn't want to bring it up, she really needs to be more mature now.

Before finding their enemy, Kazama Kiriori slowly began to talk to Sakaki Chika about her past.

In the corridor of the teaching building, a tall, black-haired girl and her petite junior were walking and talking about the past.

The Student Council looked out the window at the city, which, though gray and white, was still relatively peaceful.

"Back when I was a Magic girl saving the city, I received a lot of love and recognition. I could help others, save others, and do some very meaningful things."

"Back then, I felt like I was omnipotent."

Without realizing it, the Student Council smiled, but the smile was slightly bitter, and seemed more like self-mockery.

"Just like everyone else around me said, I was the perfect Magic girl... I was secretly complacent like that for a while."

Just like many people can sense from the Student Council, she is a confident and strong person, but for Kazama Kiriori herself, this is more like a childlike narcissism.

Then, Kazama Kiriori's smile gradually faded.

It's wonderful to be Magic girl who saves the city and helps others, and it still is.

However, because she always took all of this for granted, she neglected the more important things around her.

"However, Magic girl battles are not as easy as they seem."

Even if you win every time, it's not enough.

Besides the battles themselves, Magic girls' battles also bring many unexpected consequences.

"Just like your fighting has caused Mom's work a lot of trouble."

"Back then, our battle with the Chameleon also dragged many people around us into it."

"By the time I realized it, the school was already filled with those false rumors about her."

"She faced those unbearable and malicious gossips, and the possibility of being fired, yet I found that there was nothing I could do."

It was around that time that Kazama Kiriori began to realize that she had been taking everything too lightly.

Despite being a Magic girl, she couldn't imagine a solution to this situation.

Because the Chameleon would always come out and thwart her.

At that moment, she began to feel a little ridiculous.

"Perhaps it was from that time that I realized I was actually very weak, so I tried to do a lot of things afterward, and maybe my current position Student Council is related to that."

Perhaps it's been a long time.

When the topic came up again, Kazama Kiriori was able to recount these past events more calmly.

After hearing Kazama Kiriori's words, Sakaki Chika imagined it for a moment and seemed to recall her own actions all along.

Besides her duties as a Magic girl, has she neglected many important things around her?

Then, a question suddenly occurred to her.

"President."

"Um?"

"How did Teacher Haihara finally dispel those malicious rumors and continue working until now?"

Considering what she had learned so far in this nightmarish world, she found it hard to imagine how to get Teacher Haihara out of her current terrible situation.

Rumors are very dangerous.

Even if Teacher Haihara endures all of this and continues to work, such gossip may still continue to circulate.

But the truth is, so far, she hasn't heard a bad word about Teacher Haihara from anyone.

Upon hearing this, Kazama Kiriori's expression became very complicated.

That's because...

Just as she was about to explain, a sudden loud bang echoed throughout the entire corridor and even the entire teaching building.

"---boom!"

The two Magic girls were all too familiar with this situation.

Looking out the window, they saw billowing smoke and a large area of the campus that had been destroyed.

Flames began to spread throughout the campus.

Shortly afterward, alarms sounded throughout the school warning of the appearance of Monster.

The students scattered in panic, following the teacher's evacuation instructions to safety.

Kazama Kiriori watched everything unfold, her gaze fixed on the raging fire.

"At that time, my mother..."

Chapter 103 The Choice from a Few Years Ago

After that, Takanashi Shiori stayed with Teacher Haihara.

Or rather, it's like watching what Teacher Haihara went through two years ago.

What kind of person was that woman?

As mentioned before, there are many unknowns in Takanashi's world, but perhaps many things are common to all.

In her opinion, Haihara was indeed a very strange person.

This woman rarely showed her emotions; she often had a cold and silent face, lecturing as if talking to herself, answering students' questions listlessly, and if she could, she had no interest in talking to anyone.

However, on weekends, this woman would act in a way that was both unpredictable and full of wicked humor. Even though she didn't like shopping, she would still invite girls to accompany her to do all sorts of things every week.

If it were Takanashi, it would probably be thought that it felt lonely.

But Takanashi couldn't imagine that this woman could feel lonely.

She couldn't imagine that Haihara would have those pitiful and ordinary emotions, and that deep down she actually longed for companionship just like her.

What is this woman always thinking?

That's what Takanashi always thinks.

--Until she saw what was happening in front of her.

In the office, Haihara lowered her head, revealing a somber expression that Takanashi had never seen before.

The person didn't say anything, just like usual, but then showed an expression that looked like they were about to cry—a scene Takanashi had never imagined.

Seeing Teacher Haihara's expression, Takanashi, unaware of what was happening, couldn't say anything.

Because all she could do was watch it all from here.

And whatever happened next, she couldn't stop it or change it.

The woman opened the cabinet, and inside were many photographs.

Takanashi remembers that Haihara doesn't really like taking pictures.

There are almost no photos of herself; they are mostly group photos with other people.

Therefore, without exception, all of these photos were taken with Haihara and other people.

Among them is a photo of Haihara, who looks younger, and the Student Council, who looks even more immature. The two in the picture look like sisters with a significant age difference, and the Student Council looks very happy as she holds the woman's arm.

There was also Haihara and a gray-haired woman. The gray-haired woman had a beauty mark at the corner of her eye, which Takanashi found somewhat familiar; she seemed to be the principal of this school.

Haihara looked at the photos one by one.

It was filmed right at the very end, which also seems to be one of the earliest times.

It looks like it's Teacher Haihara from when she was a child, and there's a man and a woman that Takanashi doesn't recognize.

The woman's gaze seemed frozen in time as she silently stared at the photograph of the couple.

"What should I do...?"

That man and woman must be Teacher Haihara's parents.

However, after that, no more photos of the couple were seen in Takanashi.

There are no photos of those two people with Haihara after she grew up.

However, when she took the photos to the last one, something strange appeared in the cabinet.

It looks like an envelope.

When Takanashi felt a little uneasy because Teacher Haihara seemed to have a confused expression, as if the thing shouldn't be there.

When Haihara opened the envelope, she found a very simple message inside:

'Just go die already.'

It's like something Student Council would do—childish.

But for some reason, this kind of thing was managed to get into the teacher's office.

This should be Teacher Haihara's office alone; no one else is allowed to enter without permission.

My ominous premonition about the Takanashi is growing stronger.

"... It's this kind of thing again."

After briefly pulling the thing out and glancing at it, Haihara lost interest and was about to throw it in the trash when something fell out and touched Haihara finger.

Takanashi heard the sounds Teacher Haihara made because of the pain.

Then came a clanging metallic sound.

Stiffly lowering her head, Takanashi saw the razor blade lying on the ground, and Teacher Haihara's cut finger.

"..."

The Takanashi remained silent.

She took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slightly, and then, as if unable to stop herself, clenched her fists.

Even after cutting her finger, Haihara only showed a slight expression of pain before searching for a band-aid in a box on her desk.

There's one thing that Takanashi very clearly.

This woman is most afraid of pain.

Even a small cut on my finger from cooking can sometimes hurt so much I want to cry.

But now, the woman is acting as if nothing is wrong, calmly putting on a band-aid as if she's alone in her office.

When she accidentally dripped blood from her finger onto the photo on the table while applying a band-aid, Haihara froze, her expression completely frozen.

After that, it was the first time Takanashi had ever seen a woman cry because she was sad.

This strange woman, whom she could never understand, was like any ordinary person, suppressing her emotions as she cleaned the soiled photos. After that, she lay on the table and cried silently.