Chapter 257
She instinctively resisted.
"Mom must be tired from taking care of me today. If you go home so late, you'll have to make the bed. It's okay if you go home later."
Kirishima Ai made up an excuse to refuse.
To be honest, even now, she can't quite remember what that "home" looks like, and she doesn't have her own quilt or decorations. She probably doesn't even know how to use the kitchen or bathroom.
The thought of these things made Kirishima Ai a little scared.
She couldn't explain why this was happening.
"..."
Shiratori Aoi remained silent for a while. Her brown eyes, like her daughter's, were illuminated by the streetlights and turned a bright brown. Her features looked as young as ever, as if nothing had changed.
Many years have passed, yet it seems like they haven't passed at all.
Only Kirishima Ai, sitting in her car, looked somewhat different from before.
She reached out and tidied her daughter's hair, brushing away the snowflakes that clung to it.
"That's true. I'll come pick you up in a couple of days."
Be careful.
As night fell, the snow fell heavier and heavier, accumulating into a thick layer on the ground. The windshield wipers kept scraping the snow off the car windows, and Kirishima Ai got out of the woman's car and stood in the snow outside the window.
Kirishima Ai looked at her mother in the car and obediently bowed.
Be careful on the road.
Then, she kept watching her mother's car, watching the headlights turn on again, the horn sound, and it drove off into the distance.
The sounds of cars running and honking faded into the distance until they disappeared on the snow-covered highway.
As she watched her mother's car disappear into the snow, Kirishima Ai felt a pang of regret and bitterness welling up inside her.
She lowered her head, her eyes misted over by the snow.
I feel so awkward.
Is Mom a little sad?
No matter when, she always had a feeling of unease in her heart that she couldn't shake off.
After taking a deep breath of the cold winter air, she composed herself, exhaled gently, and a misty white light appeared.
Let's not think too much about it for now.
There was another reason why she didn't go back with her mother; she needed to figure out what had happened during the day.
There are still many unknown and potentially dangerous situations.
Did the exploding Crystal self-destruct after the explosion?
If we don't figure it out, we don't know if there are any other dangers.
Stop here for now, and Kirishima Ai takes out her Magic Wand and the Crystal of Silver Feather.
She muttered to herself:
"Let's give it a try..."
During the day today, she successfully transformed into Silver Feather again.
If she can successfully transform again this time, she might be able to put her mind at ease.
So she picked up the Silver Feather Crystal.
In the dim light of the night, the dazzling lamps illuminated the flawless Crystal so clearly that the snowflakes almost blended into it, making it impossible for her to tell whether the Crystal itself was glowing or if it remained dim.
First, the Crystal is embedded in the Magic Wand.
Soon, a familiar voice came from the Magic Wand.
"--- Silver White Feather!"
The first step was effective.
Kirishima Ai's earlier low spirits lifted a little, and the fatigue and tension on her face also eased somewhat. Without wasting any time, she continued her transformation.
Pressing down the Feather Wing, a dazzling white light flashed from the Magic Wand, followed by a transformation sound effect.
"Sky! Feather Wing! Future!"
A burst of light emanated from Kirishima Ai, enveloping her entire body and forming a white ball of light in the snowy weather.
The light grew brighter and brighter, exceeding the scope of a transformation that could have been performed alone.
Instead of Magic Gear forming on her body, light gathered on the other side of her, gradually forming the vague outline of a person.
Finally, the light shattered completely, turning into feathers that fell to the ground.
"Okay, so the transformation is complete... Hmm?"
Just when Kirishima Ai thought she was about to successfully transform, she suddenly sensed that something was wrong.
Wait, she doesn't seem to be wearing her Magic Gear.
She did not successfully transform.
Kirishima Ai paused for a moment, then finally raised her head in confusion, looking at what was in front of her, her eyes filled with bewilderment.
But under the cover of night, where the silvery feathers blended with the snowflakes, she clearly saw the figure of a girl emitting a faint light in the snow, with angelic Feather Wing behind her.
The girl was standing right in front of him.
She seemed a little confused as well, and opened her eyes drowsily, her clear, watercolor-like eyes staring at her.
"Magic Girl--- Silver Feather."
With that sound, the air fell completely silent.
The girl blinked, raised her hands, and stared blankly at them before noticing the gorgeous dress on her wrist.
"What am I doing...?"
The silver-white-clad girl murmured to herself in front of Kirishima Ai.
---In the snow, Kirishima Ai at the girl before him... Magical Girl Silver Feather, her gaze gradually freezing and becoming vacant.
"... ah?"
Why did Silver Feather appear in front of her after she transformed?
Chapter Sixty: My Dog Can Do Backflips
After having money, Takanashi's lifestyle improved significantly compared to before.
First, I won't have to sleep on the streets anymore.
Secondly, you don't have to worry about going hungry anymore.
In addition, she can pursue her own interests; besides browsing books at bookstores, she can now also buy her own comics.
However, she hasn't been in the mood to read comics lately.
It's all because of the events that happened some time ago.
She still doesn't know where Cangyue Yuri is. Although she wasn't that close to that girl, they were classmates in the same academy and fellow Magic girls.
The thought that Cangyue Yuri might be in danger, coupled with her complete lack of clues, left her with no motivation to do anything.
But why is that?
Why can't even the Magic search find Cangyue Yuri's whereabouts? Unless someone more skilled in Magic than her is interfering with her search.
But for now, she can be considered a Magic girl of Sacred Domain- level.
Could it be that something even more dangerous and sinister than the Black Death Cult and Magic Girl Senpai is lurking in Maple Plain City?
This possibility cannot be ruled out.
After all, just like in the comics, once a troublesome boss is taken care of, another, even more troublesome one will soon take his place as the enemy in the new chapter.
Hopefully, these guys will show themselves soon so she can kill them with one punch.
"Speaking of which, it's been really cold lately."
Now, the expressionless girl is standing on the street, exhaling white breath.
All I could see was a vast expanse of white snow.
In R'lyeh's capital city, snow is a rare sight, so in a sense, this was the first real winter she had ever experienced.
However, it was colder than she had expected.
Especially since she wore a skirt today, why didn't anyone remind her to be mindful of that?
Her slender, straight legs trembled uncontrollably from the cold winter air, and her fair face had an unusual flush. To warm herself up, she raised her hands and breathed on them.
It's still very cold.
Just as she was thinking about whether to go into a restaurant to warm up, she felt herself suddenly being hugged from behind, a pair of arms brushing against her neck and falling to her front, while a head rested on her hair.
The Takanashi didn't react at all.
"I remember reminding you in class that it's been cold these past few days, so you should wear more clothes."
The woman's cold, hoarse voice came naturally. As she finished speaking, the embrace from behind loosened, Takanashi turned around to see a tall, thin woman.
Compared to herself, this woman was wearing a thick gray sweater today.
"Then you should have told me separately."
She said it somewhat willfully.
Today, as usual, she came out with Haihara.
While going on a date in the snow is nice, she didn't expect to misjudge the situation.
After that, she grabbed Haihara's hand, trying to get some warmth from the woman, but found that the woman's hand was also freezing cold.
Hold it a little longer, it'll get warmer.
The Takanashi to the side and nuzzled its head against the woman's arm.
Indeed, it's true that you only feel warm when you're close together on a cold day.
Just then, Haihara lowered her head and looked at Takanashi Shiori's appearance for a while, noticing that the child seemed to be dressed much cuter than usual.
Although Haihara herself prefers a gender-neutral style and can't be considered cute no matter how she dresses, she does enjoy seeing high school girls (JKs) who are called cute by children.
White stockings are a plus.
However, if we're to pinpoint Takanashi's style, which is cute yet carries a touch of melancholic allure, she's the type that would be perceived as a pure yet sexy girl.
Thinking of this, Haihara raised her hand and gently pinched a strand of Takanashi's hair:
"Next time, just dress normally for school; don't wear stockings."
She said it calmly.
His tone was somewhat like when he was a teacher.
At first, Takanashi blinked in confusion;
Is this rule in the school regulations?
She remembered that quite a few of her classmates wore stockings. When she saw those students wearing stockings before, Haihara wasn't very angry, nor did she lecture them.
However, Takanashi clearly misunderstood.
"If other people see this, it will upset me. It's enough for me to wear it when we're alone on the weekend."
Haihara always expresses her pettiness and possessiveness in blunt language.
She made no attempt to hide it.
Every time Takanashi noticed this about her, he felt that this woman was doomed as a teacher.
All right.
After all, the weather is so cold, and she's only wearing this for Haihara's benefit. Even if someone makes her wear it to school tomorrow, she won't.
After walking around the street for a while, the two of them bought hot coffee to warm their stomachs.