That was only one syllable off.
Lord Gemstone pondered for a moment, as if trying to remember.
After a while, she noticed the pendulum hanging around Sakaki Chika's neck and wore a somewhat nostalgic expression.
"So it was Ailu. What a nostalgic name. She was a cheerful girl with a strong sense of justice. So she ended up staying on Earth and even left behind descendants."
"How is she doing now?"
"Grandma... passed away. She died of old age."
Sakaki Chika's grandmother had died when she was around middle school age. She had also been the person who treated her best in her memories: gentle and cheerful, warm as sunshine.
And in the end, her grandmother had passed away peacefully.
It had been a perfectly ordinary death of old age.
At this, Dean Roland seemed a little dazed, but soon regained her composure.
"Mm... She really did like mortals."
As memories returned, she gradually recalled the magical girl who had left a faint impression on her.
She remembered that the young magical girl had said she loved Earth, and loved the ordinary people who lived there.
Roland had thought it was just youthful naivety.
But looking at Sakaki Chika before her, she already knew how that magical girl's story had ended.
"Did she ever say anything about me?"
Roland stroked the golden chain hanging from her monocle and asked with a beaming smile.
"Um, well... She said Lord Gemstone was the most dazzling and radiant woman she had ever met—learned, talented, and a hero who had helped seal the Overlord. She really looked up to you."
Sakaki Chika obediently recounted it word for word, but as she went on, Takanashi Shiori froze.
"Uh, wait. You can leave out that last part..."
Takanashi Shiori hurriedly grabbed Sakaki Chika by the arm, her expression suddenly tense.
Sakaki Chika froze too, unsure what she had said wrong.
All she could do was awkwardly cover her mouth.
Roland smiled. She didn't seem to mind.
"Don't be nervous. I don't mind. It's the truth. I really was one of the magical girls who sealed Teacher Lilith."
"Teacher?"
Kirishima Ai thought she had heard something strange.
The jewel-encrusted noble girl merely nodded.
"Lilith Abelia, the magical girl known as the Overlord, was the teacher I respected most."
"Though she later betrayed the kingdom, I'm still proud to have been her student."
A student of the Overlord...
If Kirishima Ai remembered correctly, the Overlord had been a magical girl from three hundred years ago. Did that mean Lord Gemstone had lived for a very long time, too?
Could magical girls really live that long?
"Sorry, I got off track. I came to Earth this time to bring you some gifts."
Dean Roland realized she had been chatting for too long and that it was time to talk about something more important.
She had come to help the magical girls of the mortal world grow stronger, so she had brought some suitable gifts.
She first looked over the three of them.
Of the three magical girls, two were bird types and one was a flower type.
The two magical girls from the mortal world were both outstanding. Though young, they already had magical names—a rare distinction even among the academy's prodigies.
As for Takanashi Shiori, Roland knew her situation well. She still hadn't obtained a magical name.
She already knew what magic tools and Magic Crystal Sakaki Chika had, so there was no need to add anything unnecessary.
Takanashi Shiori couldn't make any further progress for now, either.
Roland turned to the last magical girl, the quiet one who had hardly said a word.
"May I see your magic tool?"
At Roland's request, Kirishima Ai quickly took out her magic tool: the wand engraved with half a wing.
When Roland saw Broken Wing, she suddenly smiled and looked at Takanashi Shiori.
"So this magic tool is in her hands now. Does that mean Broken Wing chose her?"
A hint of curiosity entered her mismatched eyes.
"What do you mean...?"
Kirishima Ai didn't understand what she was getting at.
Roland shook her head.
"It's simply a magic tool that brings back fond memories. Since that's the case, I'll give you this as a present."
As she spoke, she took the most flawless, transparent crystal hanging around her neck.
A bird with its wings spread was engraved on it.
Kirishima Ai carefully accepted the beautiful, translucent crystal, curiosity shining in her clear eyes.
"May I ask what this is?"
"This was the first crystal my teacher ever used, and a gift she once gave me. Of all the things I've collected, it's the one I treasure most."
Roland bent slightly, looking at the crystal with a touch of reluctance and a hint of happiness, and spoke slowly.
"Unfortunately, I'm a Moon-type magical girl, so I've never had the chance to use it."
"But you should be able to."
Kirishima Ai looked up at Roland, surprised.
"Are you sure you want to give me something so precious?"
Roland smiled warmly.
"I think it belongs with Broken Wing. Together, they can shine as they're meant to."
A gemstone that hadn't been cut and polished by a craftsman was only a precious raw stone, unable to shine as it was meant to.
Kirishima Ai carefully put the crystal away, then thanked Roland.
But... her teacher's crystal.
She must mean the Overlord.
"Was this... used by the Overlord?"
Kirishima Ai was puzzled.
In R'lyeh, the Overlord was supposed to be a villain or even a demon. Why did Lord Gemstone hold her in such high regard?
"Of course. Are you curious about her?"
Kirishima Ai nodded.
Looking at the crystal in Kirishima Ai's hand, Roland spoke with nostalgia.
"That magical girl... was the most dazzling gemstone in the world."
"She was as radiant and beautiful as the morning star in the heavens, outshining every other magical girl—even Her Majesty the Queen."
Lord Gemstone Roland took a violet gemstone dangling from her glasses, gently pinched it between her fingers, then held it beside the crystal in Kirishima Ai's hand for comparison.
This was her own Transformation Magic Crystal, Eternity.
Many people had called it the most magnificent and dazzling Magic Crystal.
Yet to her, compared with the crystal in Kirishima Ai's hand, even Eternity was insignificant.
"All the treasures I've collected together don't shine a fraction as brightly as she did."
She smiled, put her own Magic Crystal away, and summed it up.
"Well, that's all I had to do. Thank you for your effort."
After handing the Magic Crystals to them, Lord Gemstone picked up the two jars of wine that had been offered as tribute.
She glanced out the window. It was still daytime, and the sun shone brightly.
"Would you be interested in showing me around here?"
Dean Roland asked with an elegant, slight bow.
After that, the girls took Lord Gemstone on a tour of the school.
Since a magical girl's appearance was so conspicuous, Lord Gemstone cast a spell and changed her clothes into a teacher's suit like those worn at the school.
It was pure white, though she kept her monocle.
As they walked, Kirishima Ai occasionally found herself thinking about Lord Gemstone.
She really was a mysterious and powerful woman...
And she couldn't stop thinking about that crystal, either.
The Overlord's Magic Crystal... Though the Overlord didn't seem to have a good reputation, there was no doubt she had been powerful.
Would Kirishima Ai be able to use the crystal properly?
As she wondered about that, they noticed a woman passing by in the distance.
Kirishima Ai looked up and saw Teacher Haihara.
It was lunchtime, so both students and teachers had plenty of free time. They had just sneaked into the office, but Teacher Haihara hadn't been there.
Teacher Haihara seemed to be eating ice cream.
Well... there wasn't anything strange about that. It was hot in summer. But she hadn't been there earlier. Had she gone out to buy ice cream?
"..."
But Kirishima Ai noticed that something seemed off about Roland, who was standing beside her.
The moment she saw Teacher Haihara passing by, Dean Roland seemed to freeze.
Takanashi Shiori looked at Roland in confusion.
"Dean, is something wrong?"
Roland raised a trembling finger to her monocle, barely managing to maintain her elegance.
"That... that is..."
"That is?" Takanashi Shiori tilted her head, puzzled.
Was there anything strange about Teacher Haihara?
But in the next moment, Roland exclaimed, barely keeping herself under control:
"What a... dazzling and beautiful woman..."
"?"
"?"
"?"
After giving her teacher's Magic Crystal to the girl from Earth, Roland wanted to see what Earth was like now. The last time she had visited, as far as she could remember, had been several decades ago.
She hadn't expected to find a descendant of an old acquaintance on this visit. It was a pleasant surprise.
Still, she couldn't understand why Tachibana Aeru had loved these small, fragile mortals so much.
Before you continue