Chapter 275
Shall we meet?
Although the initial intention was certainly not so pure and beautiful, Haihara suppressed the urge to complain and glanced at the group of people in front of her.
Well, how should I put it?
A devoted daughter, a high school girl's daughter, and a little idol.
My strange colleague Roland, and my strange headmistress, Miss Liang.
In a sense, her dog was also in this corner of the neighborhood.
With so many people here, she was actually thinking of taking a group photo or something.
Soon, a young girl offered a suggestion:
"Um... Teacher Haihara, would you like to take a walk together?"
Surprisingly, it was Takanashi who was the first to make the suggestion.
At a time like this, she dared not call Haibara by her usual weekend address, but instead addressed Haihara as "teacher," otherwise who knew what the people around them would notice?
However, it was clear that she really wanted to take a walk with everyone on this snowy day.
Haihara looked at her for a while:
"You haven't done any of your homework yet, have you?"
If she hadn't said anything, would these Problem Child have truly forgotten that she was their homeroom teacher?
Takanashi immediately turned his face away and whistled as if he hadn't said anything.
After a while, the woman sighed and looked at her superior, Principal Liang, standing beside her.
The woman was naturally wearing a wicked grin, clearly harboring a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Haihara pondered for a moment.
After exchanging glances, Haihara and Ryo both agreed.
Next, they strolled around the park together for a while, three adults with three children, but in a sense, the others were all surrounding Haihara, giving Haihara a strange sense of déjà vu.
By the roadside, there was a beautiful golden bird that kept trying to follow them, occasionally perching on the top of the Takanashi's head and on its shoulder.
The snow started to lessen at some point.
The gradually clearing park streets and the snow-covered land in the distance reminded Haihara of many of her past memories.
They chatted as they walked.
They eventually reached a clearing in the snow.
When they saw the white snow, not only Haihara but also the others had the same thought: this place seemed very empty, and there was no one else around.
In other words, it's a great place to have fun.
Miss Liang, gazing at the Snowfield, seemed to remember something, though she couldn't quite place it at first, and simply smiled.
"Lily, I remember you used to Snowman all the time, didn't you?"
"Um?"
Haihara does remember frequently Snowman when she was a child.
But Miss Liang, you probably haven't seen yourself Snowman before.
Unconsciously, the woman in front of me seemed to resemble someone from my memories.
Meanwhile, Roland glanced sideways. This time, she didn't show her usual relaxed smile. Instead, she seemed to have sensed something and watched quietly from the side.
Haihara looked towards the Snowfield field.
Liang seemed to realize that she had said something wrong.
"Sorry, um, but I think you, Lily, would like to Snowman."
At this moment, the woman seemed unable to suppress a hint of smugness.
Because in this respect, she felt she understood Haihara very well, after all, Lily was her dearest little sister.
Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly noticed that Lily was gone.
When she finally realized what was happening, it was the middle of the night. A snowball, which most people wouldn't be able to react to, was thrown from somewhere and hit her squarely on the chest. Some of the snow fell into her collar, making her feel incredibly cold.
Ryo instinctively exclaimed "Ah!" and patted the snow off her clothes. When she looked up, she saw Haihara enthusiastically making snowballs from the ground with her bare hands.
She didn't seem to care that her hands would get cold.
"Uh... Lily?"
The others were still in shock, staring blankly at the scene.
None of them had expected this.
That Teacher Haihara, she'll suddenly make a snowball and throw it at the principal.
As for Kazama Kiriori, well, as expected of her teacher's daughter, she was already making snowballs on the ground just like her teacher when Teacher Haihara first started doing it.
Now, Kazama Kiriori is also poised to make her move.
Meanwhile, Dean Roland seemed to have seen something very amusing, letting out soft chuckles as he quietly enjoyed this delightful scene.
Like a child, Haihara picked up snowballs from the ground with her frozen hands. Seeing Ryo still standing there, bewildered and not showing any intention of running away, she found it somewhat amusing.
She said helplessly---
"Actually, I don't like Snowman at all."
Remember this time!
As the woman spoke, she held up the snowball she had just made and aimed it at Liang.
Liang then began to remember.
I think I did make some mistakes, and quite a few at that.
She saw that the woman reveal a rare bright and cheerful expression.
Then, he said:
"---elder sister."
On a treetop not far away, a golden bird watched all of this, seemingly quite content.
Soon after, Magic girls joined in.
Although nothing as tense as I had imagined happened, it was a little different from what I had expected.
However, no one disliked this peaceful moment.
Carefree time slowly passed. This snowy night seemed somewhat similar to a moment in the Witch's childhood, yet it had become quite different.
Chapter 72 The Kirishima Family's Meal Today
"I'm back."
Kirishima Ai stamped her feet outside the door, shaking off the snow from the soles of her shoes. Then, gazing at the small, brightly lit room where she lived every day, she cheerfully uttered a phrase she would never have said before.
The reason she didn't tell was because she used to live alone.
After she entered from outside, a girl wearing an apron, who had just finished cooking, ladled the steaming hot stir-fried beef and green peppers into a plate. At the same time, the girl looked at Kirishima Ai returning from school and gave her a slightly awkward smile.
Welcome back.
This is somewhat unbelievable.
Because this apron-wearing girl, who had always lived at home and never went to school, looked almost exactly like Kirishima Ai at the door.
"Wow, the food smells so good today! My other self, isn't beef expensive?"
The student, "Kirishima Ai," curiously approached and looked at the green pepper beef that had been placed on the small table.
The girl at home, also named Kirishima Ai, glanced down at the dishes she had prepared:
"Because I didn't go to school today, I managed to snag some discounted meat."
For a moment, if an outsider saw this scene, they might mistake it for twins or something similar.
But in fact---
"By the way, Silver Feather, how was school today?"
After placing the dishes on the table, Kirishima Ai began to untie the apron around her neck, while casually glancing at the girl with the same face as her, who was still carrying a schoolbag.
That's right.
The previous designation was inaccurate.
For many days since the beginning of this period, it wasn't the real Kirishima Ai who went to school, but Silver Feather.
Today, the one who has been studying, attending classes, and actively answering questions is also the Magical Girl Silver Feather.
The real Kirishima Ai never went to school.
Instead, they're here doing the cooking, like shut-ins.
Although it was somewhat willful, Kirishima Ai didn't want to think about these issues for the time being.
The two quickly squatted down and began eating dinner around a small table.
One bowl per person.
How should I put it? It's a very strange feeling.
Silver Feather clearly had poor table manners, eating like a child, shoveling food into her mouth while mumbling indistinctly:
"I couldn't answer any of the math questions in class today. They were like gibberish to me. I felt like I was about to give myself away. To be honest, I was incredibly nervous..."
She spoke in a smacking sound.
The Magic girl had a good appetite, but it seemed that Silver Feather only ate meat, picking out all the green peppers and leaving them in her bowl.
Seeing her like this, Kirishima Ai frowned:
"Hey, Silver Feather, at least eat some green peppers."
She made this dish specifically to get Silver Feather to eat more vegetables.
"This is so bitter."
Silver Feather looked aggrieved and resolutely refused to eat.
Looking at the face that looked just like her own, Kirishima Ai didn't know what to say, so she simply ate all the green peppers in the stir-fried green peppers and pork, since wasting food was no good.
"Hmm, so Takanashi and the others didn't notice anything wrong, right?"
Seeing Silver Feather's condition, Kirishima Ai couldn't help but feel worried.
After all, she had never told them about Silver Feather's situation; she had basically kept it a secret from them.
Silver Feather nodded confidently.
The two girls lived together in this cramped little house, sharing a television, a small table, and eating dinner together.
This kind of life has been going on for some time now.
The reason things turned out this way can be traced back to that museum incident some time ago.
Since that night when she tried to transform into Silver Feather again, although she succeeded, it was completely different from what she had imagined. It wasn't that she transformed into Silver Feather herself, but rather that the Magical Girl Silver Feather transformed into another person and appeared in front of her.
That scene that day was not an illusion.
It has remained unchanged until now.
Thinking of this, Kirishima Ai took a sip of miso soup and glanced casually at the cheerful girl in front of her with a face just like hers.
"They say I've been very energetic lately, just like the Magical Girl Silver Feather. After all, I am the Magical Girl Silver Feather herself!"
The girl gave a smug "humph" and puffed out her chest, which, like Kirishima Ai's, was not particularly large.
It really is Magical Girl Silver Feather.
Kirishima Ai has absolutely no recollection of being such a hot-blooded idiot.
Even during transformation, it shouldn't be like this...
Perhaps.