Chapter 271

"Will this Snowman melt away when winter ends?"

Haihara rarely heard Kougami Kage say so much on his own initiative.

Hearing her say something like this, which was rare for her, Haihara thought for a moment and gently comforted her.

"Don't worry, that Snowman will be kicked over by someone on the roadside before winter ends."

"..."

Seeing that Kougami looked like she was about to cry, Haihara began to realize that trying to strike up a conversation with this little girl was going to be a bit of a hassle.

She had to think of a more tactful way to put it.

"Besides, I don't actually like Snowman. Let's have a snowball fight instead. I'll let you hit me first."

Haihara is still very interested in snowball fights.

Rather, she felt that this was the meaningful aspect of making friends.

The little girl nudged Xiao Kougami's shoulder with her own.

Then, rub your hair against the other person's hair.

"The two of us?"

Xiao Kougami felt itchy from being rubbed.

It's not just my cheeks that are itchy; I feel a bit itchy inside too.

Just the two of us.

Haihara continued speaking with great enthusiasm, but perhaps because it was winter, she noticed that her glasses were fogged up, and she had to take them off.

She wiped away the water droplets with her fingers.

Standing beside her, Kougami looked at her face and inexplicably felt that Lily was very beautiful.

"What about the Snowman?"

"If we're still friends next year, let's build another one."

"Is it possible that we won't be friends next year?" Xiao Kougami seemed a little flustered.

"Of course, friends always drift apart. One day, you'll find me boring, realize I'm not as good as you imagined, and then you won't want to be with me anymore."

Back then, Haihara would occasionally say things that were both naive and realistic.

Despite having little experience in making friends.

But she doesn't think friends will stay together forever.

Even Magic girls graduate.

Haihara couldn't remember whether they had a snowball fight afterward.

After all, her words seemed to have made Xiao Kougami cry.

It wasn't until Haihara said that if their relationship really improved and they didn't want to separate, he could give her a ring, and if they got married, they wouldn't have to separate, that Kougami stopped crying.

Thinking about it carefully, I have so many memories of snowy days.

Haihara likes snowy days second only to rainy days.

In other words, she likes Maple Plain City.

However, as she reminisced, recalling her childhood memories of snowy days, some memories that did not belong to this part of her life surfaced.

It seemed she was recalling another memory of a snowy day.

While taking a walk and having nothing else to do, she began to reminisce.

It was a snow-covered forest, far from the city of the Witch in my memory. It was covered with thick snow all year round. Although it was such a beautiful silvery white, the adults always told the children not to go near it.

Because this is the Black Forest, inhabited by all sorts of dangerous and terrifying Monster.

However, for the little girl who came here today, this is not a dangerous place.

It's just an ordinary place worth visiting.

Soon, as the little girl ventured alone into the Black Forest, she heard someone calling from behind her.

"--- Lily."

She was a girl a little older than her.

She had the same silver-gray long hair as me, only straight, and her eyes were a different emerald-blue color.

She was not worried about the dangers of the Black Forest.

She just felt that the little girl was going to abandon her, so she followed her.

The two little girls held hands.

The girl Lily raised her head, looking at her sister's face with her indifferent, deep purple eyes, and then at the hand that the other girl was holding.

Are you going into the forest?

"Um."

Is there anything interesting to see there?

The older sister glanced into the depths of the forest, where it seemed as if countless eyes were hidden in the darkness.

However, to these two sisters, they were just some naughty little animals.

Lily also looked towards the darkness deep within the forest.

She went from remaining silent to speaking softly:

"There seems to be someone talking in the forest."

The Witch's child stretched out his hand, pointing to the vast, mysterious, cold-toned forest, from which howled cold winds emanated from time to time, as if someone were calling out.

The older sister didn't hear anyone speaking.

However, her sister can indeed hear many different sounds.

Sometimes they are Fairies.

Sometimes it's an unpleasant, clandestine sound.

--This is a piece of Lilith's childhood.

Chapter Seventy: The Snowman

The Black Forest on the border of the Kingdom is one of the most dangerous and mysterious places in R'lyeh.

This place is inhabited by Witch who have betrayed their kind, and Monster have lost their minds.

Some say this is the birthplace of Monster.

Because Monster without containers often wander aimlessly through this forest.

The Witch called these lost Monster.

Some of these Monster individuals were originally Magic girls who failed to ascend to the Sacred Domain.

Even Magic girls with Magic names can face mortal danger if they stay in the Black Forest for too long.

However, for the two sisters, it was just a park in the snow with a slightly different color.

The icy wind and snow pierced their beautiful skin.

Once I stepped in, my calves sank into a thick layer of snow, up to my knees. The feeling of almost being buried in my skirt was rather unpleasant.

The girl called Lily's eyes, in the white snow, were tinged with a dull gray from deep purple, which seeped into her eyelashes. She blinked, then stopped, as if listening quietly to something.

Lilith has been able to hear certain special sounds since she was a child.

The whispers of flowers, the songs of birds, the laughter of the wind, the lament of the moon— the Witch say these are the voices of nature's Fairies, the source of Witch power.

But then, she heard a different sound.

Harsh, muffled, and not pleasant to hear, it sounded like withered white bones, or perhaps the sleepless dead.

That sound came from deep within the gray forest.

She was drawn to the sound.

Following behind her was a taller, more beautiful girl, her older sister, Solomon. She looked very much like Lilith, but had a very pretty and attractive beauty mark under her eye.

Those who know her well usually call her "Sorena".

The older sister gently took her hand and followed behind her, asking as they walked:

"Lily, what did you hear?"

Solomon was also a talented Witch. As the eldest sister of the House Abailia, she could also hear the voices of Fairies, but only this time did she not hear them.

Lilith paused for a moment.

She pondered, what kind of feeling did that sound evoke?

The little girl gazed at the deep, dark night sky, covered with snow-covered clouds. It was cold and dry, and the howling wind carried some unusual sounds, as if it were telling a story. So she began to describe it.

"Lonely, a little sad, searching for someone's voice in an empty space."

The voices of Fairies are often carefree.

Because the Fairies have no desires.

They forget sad things in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, they won't cry.

Hearing Lilith's words, the older sister was puzzled, but she didn't say anything more. She let Lilith go find the voice, because no matter what happened, as the older sister, she would protect her younger sister.

Of course, perhaps the younger sister doesn't actually need her protection.

The two girls ventured deeper into the Black Forest, undeterred by the harsh blizzard. The Fairies naturally concealed their presence, and no dangerous monsters disturbed them.

Finally, they came to a snow-white clearing in the forest.

There was a figure standing there.

Or perhaps "stand" isn't quite accurate.

The figure had no feet, only a chubby, round lower body, like a snowball, which was indeed how it looked.

Its body and head are both snowballs.

After the two girls looked closer, they saw that it was a Snowman piled up in the Snowfield, which was several heads taller than the two girls who were not yet eleven or twelve years old.

But that's not quite right either.

That Snowman looks terrifying.

Its nose was long and pointed, like a witch from a fairy tale. Several buttons were connected to form a mouth, as if they had been sewn together, vaguely revealing a gaping maw. Its eyes were dark, gaping holes.

Its face looked like a frightening mask.

The Snowman continued to emit low growls, and the older sister was very familiar with that unpleasant sound and that pale face.

He's Monster.

A strange, mature Monster, frighteningly weak, practically fragile. If the older sister simply raised her hand and gave it a gentle shake, the Snowman would be blown to ashes by the fierce wind.

Although it wasn't a threat, the older sister casually raised her hand, ready to deal with the Monster.

After all, this Monster looks terrifying and will scare Lily.

However, Lily suddenly stopped her sister.

The older sister was puzzled until she saw Lily staring at the Snowman.

She asked:

Was it you calling me just now?

The young Witch spoke to the Monster.

The Snowman showed no intention of attacking. This ugly and frighteningly shaped Snowman opened its mouth, which had been sewn shut, revealing a dark, empty cavity inside. Then, in a low but innocent voice, it said—

Can you play with me?