Chapter 276

"They couldn't have figured it out already..., could they...?"

In short, this kind of life doesn't seem so bad.

Although I haven't figured out what to do next or how to solve the various problems, it's wonderful that Silver Feather not only didn't leave me, but stayed by my side in this way.

Let's live like this for a while, and then I'll be honest with everyone.

After filling their stomachs, Silver Feather went to wash the dishes, while Kirishima Ai was responsible for doing her evening homework.

This is only natural.

After all, although she was a Magic girl in disguise, Silver Feather didn't retain much knowledge about academics, and could only answer questions related to humanities subjects during class.

Although Kirishima Ai had been staying home for several days, she was the type of person who was good at self-learning.

At night, Kirishima Ai would hold a pen and poke it under her lips, a habit she had when doing her homework.

According to Silver Feather, Teacher Haihara assigned an essay today.

After finishing her homework in all other subjects, Kirishima Ai started thinking about how to write her essay.

As mentioned before, Japanese literature is not Kirishima Ai's strong suit.

But she's always been good at writing essays, the kind that gets her a lot of points.

"What's important to you in your life...? That's such a broad topic."

Kirishima Ai a bit of a headache.

Silver Feather must have memorized the requirements for that essay word for word.

But this essay was indeed quite challenging.

I've been thinking for ages, but I still can't come up with a title.

"Is the teacher's suggestion to write about people?"

In other words, important people.

This topic is a bit embarrassing.

At least for Kirishima Ai, a teenage girl in her adolescence, the mere thought of having to consider someone important to her makes her feel awkward.

Besides, it's usually elementary school students who write like this.

While she was struggling with her dilemma, Silver Feather had already finished washing the dishes and was still watching TV.

The TV star, the Magical Girl Silver Feather, was lounging lazily on the floor, completely disregarding her image, eating potato chips while watching tonight's rerun of Magical Card Girl Gotchard.

Both the crunching sound of potato chips and the voice of "Baomiko" on TV were very noisy.

Kirishima Ai was deep in thought, was immediately very dissatisfied:

"Hey, Silver Feather, it's so noisy."

Silver Feather is like a little child:

"I've only just gotten to the exciting part."

Didn't this already air last weekend? What's so exciting about watching it again?

However, Silver Feather turned the TV volume down, then, using both arms to support himself, he crawled over rather unceremoniously and approached Kirishima's desk, where she was doing her homework, curiously watching the outline she was writing:

"Oh... you're planning to write about someone important."

"I guess so."

"It's a little awkward," Kirishima Ai said.

But since Silver Feather is part of me in a certain sense, I guess I can accept it.

At that moment, Silver Feather covered his mouth with one hand, revealing a malicious grin.

"Aren't there many? Hina, Mom and Dad, and... Teacher Haihara and Lily- san, and so on."

"---Hello!"

It was in moments like these that Kirishima Ai felt uneasy about memory sharing.

I always feel like everyone knows all my embarrassing little secrets.

After that, Kirishima Ai gave up on herself and put down her pen.

Never mind.

There's still more than a week to go.

There's still plenty of free time to think about how to write the essay, and I don't have to finish it tonight.

Like Silver Feather, she leaned against the wall, tilting her head, lazily and listlessly watching the TV screen tonight's Magic girl program.

To be honest, it's quite good-looking.

The Magic girl anime lately has been getting better and better.

It seems there will be a new documentary about Magical Girl Silver Feather coming up later.

The thought that I watched it with Silver Feather this time gave me a strange feeling.

To create a better atmosphere, the two of them turned off the lights.

It was a cold winter day, and snow was still falling heavily outside. The two girls were huddled in their beds, covered with a warm blanket, watching the boring commercials playing on TV, hoping that the new documentary would be released soon.

"Speaking of which, were you tired from defeating that Monster today?"

Suddenly, Silver Feather asked, seemingly lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Kirishima Ai, still staring at the screen, casually replied:

"Huh? No, it's just like usual."

"Really? That's good."

Silver Feather seemed to laugh happily.

While Silver Feather was attending school, Kirishima Ai would personally transform into the Fate Kite to defeat the Monster.

In that case, no one in Teacher Haihara's class will have to skip class.

It's absolutely perfect.

After a while, the program finally began.

Both girls looked excited and expectant.

[Welcome to the latest documentary series, <The Legend of General Silver Feather>...]

The documentary begins with a classic and rousing prelude that draws the audience into its rhythm.

The image initially features a beautiful Magic girl in a silver-white dress, clearly representing Silver Feather herself.

[Give her a transformation, and she can become the model worker of Maple Plain City, attending Monster incidents every day and clocking in for work. Give her a Green Lock Dragon Forest Boa Crystal, and she can defeat the Serpent System Thorn Monster single-handedly.]

[If she were to transform into the Fate Kite again, she could rival the Sacred Domain with her ordinary Magic girl form and utterly defeat the leader of the Black Death Cult.]

[She is the new legend of Maple Plain City, the Winged Magic Girl, the Silver Feather General...]

This appears to be a documentary reviewing Silver Feather's achievements.

Although the TV program made Kirishima Ai embarrassed by many of the things it said, it was right about one thing: Silver Feather is indeed a model worker in Maple Plain City.

With the highest attendance rate and the highest on-screen appearance rate, even in terms of monthly headcount, Silver Feather ranks first.

Even Maple Plain City, the strongest Magic girl in Phantom Wind back then, didn't take on most of the Monster by herself; she entrusted many of them to her other Magic girl companions.

This was arguably the place that Kirishima Ai was most proud of.

However, now that she is much more mature, she also knows that this is based on the fact that it has troubled Teacher Haihara.

After a while, she began to see a red figure more and more frequently in the records of Monster defeating people on the TV show.

[And after that, the Magical Girl Silver Feather appeared before us in an even more powerful and captivating form—she is none other than the Magic girl Fate Kite, currently holding the second most popular Magic girl form in Maple Plain City!]

Incidentally, the top spot on this popularity chart is the classic basic form of Phantom Wind, tied for third place with Star Flower and Thousand Sins, followed by a bunch of derivative forms of the president.

[Many viewers and fans have expressed their love for the gray-white hair and red eyes of the Snake-Type Magical Girl, and are looking forward to new Serpent System derivative works from Star Flower.]

[Of course, many younger viewers prefer the classic Silver Feather design, finding it more youthful and lively, suitable for all ages, and more like an animation costume...]

"Is that so...? It looks like an anime costume."

Suddenly, as if exhaling its soul, Silver Feather's face was shrouded in shadow, revealing a dejected expression.

Meanwhile, Kirishima Ai frantically patted Silver Feather's shoulder, trying to comfort him—

"Uh, don't be so discouraged... To be honest, I think Silver Feather looks beautiful too. Look, it's silvery-white, just like a bride's wedding dress, isn't it?"

Although Kirishima Ai thought the same thing before she discovered that Silver Feather had become someone different from herself, after all, high school students of that age tend to like the cool style of Fate Kite.

The two of them chatted like this while watching television together on a snowy night.

If you feel sleepy, you can just fall asleep in front of the TV like this.

Before she knew it, Kirishima Ai began to feel sleepy.

Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she couldn't keep them open any longer.

Faintly, she also heard Silver Feather say with great interest and energy:

"Speaking of which, my other self, you've really become so powerful and beautiful now. I might not even be a match for you anymore..."

Like a little kid, I'm never sleepy. Even lying in bed watching TV on such a cold day, I'm still so energetic.

As for whether they're rivals... why would they say such things to each other?

Kirishima Ai was so sleepy she was about to close her eyes.

But just before she fell asleep, she suddenly remembered the words of parting that Silver Feather had spoken in her dreams several times before.

Silver Feather is still there.

Was it a dream or not...?

Just as she was thinking this, a discordant, terrifying voice appeared in her mind as she was about to drift off to sleep, like the arrival of a nightmare---

Why haven't you accepted it yet?

Come, accept my power, and show your true self...

[Magic Girl... Silver Feather.]

Chapter Seventy-Three: What the Girl Faced

That happened before the museum opened.

As a scholar and consultant working at the Genm Corporation, Shiratori Aoi is currently writing a research report on Magic girls and the history of Maple Plain City.

Recently, her boss, the president of the Dream Society, suddenly gave her a lot of previously sealed materials, many of which were very valuable historical materials. Although they cannot be fully verified yet, their value is beyond doubt.

However, there were also aspects that confused her.

It also included some things that seemed unrelated to her work.

For example... the Silver Feather Crystal was preserved in this museum a few months ago.

After the Crystal mysteriously disappeared, the Magical Girl Silver Feather was born.

For a Magic girl enthusiast, such inside information would be very appealing, but Shiratori Aoi is no longer a little girl interested in these things. At this point, looking at this information, she would only be puzzled by her superior's intentions.

Soon after that, she came across information that interested her even more.

A few months ago—just during the period when the Silver Feather Crystal disappeared—the museum had a small-scale internal opening, and at that time, the museum hired several students as temporary guides.

One of the student tour guides she hired was named after her daughter, Kirishima Ai.

After repeated confirmation, there is no doubt that it is not a case of the same name, but rather her daughter herself.

But why is it such a coincidence?

After sorting through the materials given to her by President Cangyue, Shiratori Aoi's doubts began to grow. Before she could act on these doubts, President Cangyue called her to his office.

Everything that followed left Shiratori Aoi confused about what to do next.