Chapter 192
Next, I'll do a thorough trim to make my hair look beautiful.
"Aren't the others going?"
"I'm not going anymore."
Takanashi felt very happy, even though it seemed rather embarrassing.
After she had finished fixing most of the parts, she looked up at the woman in the mirror and suddenly felt that she looked somewhat familiar.
In that nightmare, the woman looked like she did a few years ago.
Haihara had this short haircut a few years ago. Although her face is the same, this woman has probably changed.
Just a slight difference in hairstyle can make a huge difference in how someone looks.
For the foreseeable future, Haihara will likely continue to have this short hairstyle.
Takanashi combing Haihara's hair:
What if I say I have something to do?
"For example?"
"I'll find someone else."
In Takanashi's hands, Haihara remained docile, not moving an inch and showing no sign of wavering.
She just asked casually:
Would you do that?
"Impossible."
The Takanashi calmly and decisively.
Strands of black hair fell from the woman's body, some resting on her skin, some landing on the ground, and some landing on Takanashi's clothes.
She heard Haihara say:
"I don't like it either."
At that moment, Takanashi suddenly understood.
It turns out it wasn't just her.
The woman also had a possessive desire for her.
She was very happy to learn this fact.
After that, Takanashi cut Haihara's hair, and the short-haired, brooding woman appeared in the mirror, with a slightly androgynous feel.
Just as the Takanashi in the mirror, admiring its masterpiece and showing a satisfied expression, she noticed that the woman seemed to be raising her head.
The woman in the mirror sat up slightly in the chair, moving closer to the girl behind her.
While the girl still wore a blank and ignorant expression, the tall, thin woman had already sat up and, before the girl could react, kissed the lips of the girl in the mirror, her figure almost completely obscuring the girl's reflection.
"..."
Takanashi realized that the person being kissed in the mirror was herself.
She blinked blankly.
The tall, mature-looking adult approached her and then, with lips that had kissed many others before, kissed her for the first time.
What does this mean?
This was her first kiss.
Moreover, this is not within the scope of her services, at least she has never done anything like this before.
However, what troubled Takanashi even more was that this didn't seem to be a kiss filled with passion.
Why would a woman kiss someone like a gentle mother, caring for a daughter who didn't receive proper love as she grew up?
Before Takanashi could properly savor the moment, Haihara's face had already left him.
Her cold hands gently touched her face.
"Speaking of which, a few years ago, there was a very bad scandal about me as a teacher, like I hit a student or something."
The woman spoke of it in a flat and shameless manner.
The Takanashi looked up in confusion, its movements a little stiff.
She saw Haihara's eyes, which rarely seemed to be smiling, and her beautiful lips that had just kissed her.
Listen to her—
"Perhaps, that might actually be true."
---Volume Two, End.
Volume 3: Yes, I don't want to grow up.
Chapter 1: The Drunken JK
It is said that when people reach the age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, they are more likely to suddenly make a decision that changes their lives.
A while ago, Haihara celebrated her 28th birthday, becoming the same age as Ms. Suzuki.
Birthdays bring a sense of happiness.
Haihara received many gifts.
In addition to her usual adopted daughter, childhood friend, headmistress, and colleague, Teacher Suzuki, she also received gifts from her idol and JK's daughter.
As for her birthday, she spent it with Kougami and Kiriori.
After her daughter fell asleep, Haihara let Kougami eat every last piece of cake off her body.
Kougami seems to want to eat it again next time.
But after her birthday, Haihara will have to face the sadness of turning thirty in two years.
Although she has no complaints about her current life.
However, if one simply accepts the status quo, there will be a sense of things finally settling down.
She will continue to be an ordinary high school teacher, teaching cute but not-so-cute female high school students, earning a salary that is just enough for her, and occasionally sleeping with the beautiful female principal.
Even so, it still wasn't enough.
Yes.
Simply put, Haihara has become greedy.
She felt that perhaps she should pursue a more unique life, even if it meant falling into the cliché.
That day, in the world of nightmares, she saw her past experiences from two years ago. From that moment on, she gained the memories of Witch and began to connect with Magic girls.
She thus learned what those Magic girls were like outside of battle.
They are just a group of ordinary, lovely high school girls.
Even so, they are all basically alone. Despite being Magic girls, they have to face all sorts of problems in real life, and for some reason, they all seem to lack maternal love.
It would be a bit of a strange feeling to know that the Magic girl who protects the city is actually like this in your real life.
Like wanting to get in touch with them or something.
It was as if he wanted to talk to them.
Sometimes I also wonder what they're thinking.
Even if they give responses that are just like those of ordinary high school students, not Magic girls, Haihara inevitably feels a little touched.
Compared to her own ordinariness, Haihara envies their specialness.
If Haihara herself were still a high school girl, she would definitely feel envious and yearn for them.
Even feelings of longing or bittersweetness are possible.
Haihara felt sad that she had such thoughts.
It was hard to say why she felt sad; she just felt it was really strange of her to feel this way.
Therefore, for a long time after gaining the power, she remained accustomed to her old life, doing nothing and just getting by.
Even if she said she would become a villainous Magic girl to make these Magic girls obediently go back to school, she would forget about that goal as soon as she was in a good mood.
She might not want to easily give up her relationship with these young girls.
This can be considered a form of willfulness.
They don't seem like adults at all; they're more like children who haven't grown up.
After all, when Haihara eighteen, a time when she should have been learning to grow up, there was no adult she could rely on to tell her that she should learn to grow up.
One day each week, Haihara would habitually hide away in the Materials Room alone to drink.
But for various reasons, she hasn't done it for a long time. She always finds it hard to stick to something, even though it's not a habit worth sticking to.
She did this again today simply because she had nothing better to do.
What few people know is that Haihara, as a Japanese language teacher, actually uses the alcohol lamp in the equipment room from time to time.
After school, dusk came early, perhaps because it was autumn and winter was just around the corner, so twilight arrived earlier than usual.
In other words, it's very cold.
It's a great place for hot springs.
In the dimly lit equipment room, Haihara was brewing sake with an alcohol lamp.
Since there were no facilities for hot springs, she could only boil sake to drink.
With her short hair, she was holding a bottle of alcohol, gulping it down, a stark contrast to her usual aloof demeanor, but one that did fit many people's image of a failed adult.
The wine was indeed very good.
However, for Haihara, drinking alcohol on an empty stomach was more about immersing herself in a tipsy feeling than tasting it.
The flame of the alcohol lamp flickered.
In the fleeting sway, the woman's long hair was reflected in her silhouette.
When Haihara looked at her own shadow, it felt unfamiliar. When she looked down, she saw a few strands of long gray hair hanging down.
She looked at her hands; her skin had become even paler.
"What kind of state is this...?"
Haihara picked up the bottle, gently looked at the opening, and then slowly lifted it up. Through the glass, she could see her own reflection in the water.
It was like seeing another version of myself through that lens.
Now, when she's drunk, she becomes a different person; generally, she likes to call herself Lily at this time.
The reason is that she felt a name like Lily was unsuitable for an ordinary woman on the street, and might be considered laughable.
But there's nothing wrong with this look.
She laughed.
An alcohol lamp was bubbling away through the wire mesh, simmering a high-proof liquor. The entire Materials Room was filled with the aroma of the liquor, thankfully no other students would be coming at this time.
It doesn't really matter if someone comes.
Those who come here will only feel that their experience here is just a dream.
Just as the gray-haired woman was thinking this, she suddenly heard a somewhat hesitant sound of a door being pushed open.
When she looked up, she saw a slender girl with black hair tied in a small braid. Her beautiful face had a touch of youthful innocence, and her thin neck appeared slightly pale in the dim light.
Today, the girl's expression was the same as usual, silent and lonely with a hint of melancholy.
After smelling the alcohol in the equipment room, she looked around the room with a slight puzzlement, and soon found the gray-haired woman squatting in the corner.
The girl's gloomy expression faded slightly.
"Miss Lily?"