Chapter 277
That was before Lily sent Lao Bei's clone to participate in the new revival match.
Inside the office, President Cangyue awaited the arrival of Shiratori Aoi. Seeing that this usually calm and composed woman now appeared uneasy and distracted, she was surprised to find that she was not.
She could easily detect even the slightest expression of emotion.
Shiratori Aoi clearly had a question to ask.
However, before that, President Cangyue spoke first:
"As you've probably guessed, I called you here because I have something very important to tell you."
The woman leaned back in her chair, exuding the composure of someone in a superior position. Her eyes were fixed on Shiratori Aoi, as if anticipating her next expression.
Her hand gently landed on the desk, picked up a file folder, and slowly tugged at it in her hand, killing time.
"I gave you a lot of information about the Magical Girl Silver Feather. In theory, none of this is related to your work, and in fact, it is."
"However, considering that you are the mother of the girl Kirishima Ai, I gave you the information about Silver Feather."
At this moment, Shiratori Aoi's composure, which she had maintained until now, was finally broken.
She never expected to hear her daughter's name directly from the company president.
"President Cangyue, what does this have to do with my daughter? Isn't this a topic related to Magical Girl Silver Feather?"
Shiratori Aoi couldn't help but ask.
But in truth, she already had a vague guess in her heart at this moment, although it was just one of many guesses that she thought were unlikely, but a woman's intuition seemed to be very reliable at this moment.
Immediately afterward, President Cangyue seemed to see an amusing scene and smiled. She quickly suppressed this wicked emotion, and while unpacking the document bag in her hand, she said to Shiratori Aoi:
The answer is actually quite simple.
She paused for a moment, then spoke with absolute certainty—
"Professor Shiratori, your daughter, Kirishima Ai, is actually Magical Girl Silver Feather currently active in Maple Plain City, and also the Magic girl our company will be using as the theme for an event."
As expected, President Cangyue fell silent after that.
She waited quietly for Shiratori Aoi's reaction.
Her pupils shifted from wavering to confusion, then to bewilderment and other complex emotions. After that, Shiratori Aoi seemed unsure of what to say.
"..."
After a while, she looked up, somewhat embarrassed:
"You suddenly said my daughter is a Magic girl, and I find it hard to believe such an incredible fact. Is there some misunderstanding?"
Shiratori Aoi hopes for a change in circumstances.
After all, she still couldn't believe it for a moment.
Her reaction was exactly what President Cangyue had expected. At that moment, she handed the file bag she had just opened to the woman in front of her.
Looking into Shiratori Aoi's slightly wavering gaze, President Cangyue spoke slowly and deliberately—
"If you're talking about concrete evidence, like videos or photos, then we don't have any. But here are her absence records from school, and the corresponding time periods' records of Magical Girl Silver Feather's attack. You can compare them yourself."
Thanks to the tedious Magic of that woman, Al White, no recording device could capture the Magic girl's transformation.
However, for her, such evidence could be found with just a little attention.
Next, President Cangyue waited patiently for a while.
Shiratori Aoi compared the documents one by one.
She remembered some of the Monster incidents herself, but when it came to her daughter's absences, she realized once again how terrible she was as a mother, having never known about it before.
Once Shiratori Aoi had confirmed most of the information, there was no need to continue reading.
After a period of silence in the office, Shiratori Aoi was mostly convinced, and she raised her head:
"Then, President, why are you telling me this?"
After all, the other party is the head of a company.
However, he suddenly started collecting his daughter's attendance records and comparing them with the Magical Girl Silver Feather's appearance records, which was rather strange no matter how you looked at it.
To put it bluntly, it makes people feel like you have ulterior motives.
"That's because, unfortunately, we've learned that your daughter, Kirishima Ai, may be facing a life-threatening situation."
Upon hearing this, President Cangyue revealed an expression of regret that was unlike her usual demeanor.
As expected, Shiratori Aoi became tense, even unable to contain her excitement.
"Life-threatening?"
Whether it's true or not, as a mother, it's impossible to remain calm upon hearing this word.
President Cangyue glanced at the documents that Shiratori Aoi was holding.
"There's something else in that file folder, isn't there? Take it out and let's take a look."
Shiratori Aoi did as she said.
Then she saw this photo.
The background of the photo is filled with the smoke of gunpowder, while in the center of the image is a dangerous, strange Monster covered in charred feathers and wearing a pale mask.
It looks a lot like... Magical Girl Silver Feather.
This photo gave her an extremely uneasy feeling, and inexplicably made her feel uncomfortable.
Perhaps it's because the contrast between the Magical Girl Silver Feather, who was regarded as a hero, and the Monster she was twisted into creates a sense of inexplicable fear.
What should this be called?
Is it an anomaly, Silver Feather...?
"This is the truth I wanted to tell you."
"Silver Feather's true form is actually a dangerous and destructive Monster, while Silver Feather's Crystal harbors some kind of evil power."
"Your daughter has been using that Crystal to transform all along, but she is completely unaware of the truth. It can be said that she has been deceived by the evil soul residing within the Silver Feather."
As expected of a leader and someone in a position of authority, Cangyue spoke eloquently at this moment, her words flowing naturally and each one resolute.
Although the fact is absurd, the file folder is full of related evidence.
Shiratori Aoi lowered her head in thought.
Even so, Silver Feather has never done anything bad so far.
Her daughter had no obvious external injuries after the battle ended.
Even if Silver Feather hasn't done anything right now, you can't say you're not worried about Silver Feather's existence.
"Because the very idea of your daughter transforming into Magic girl to fight is something no mother could accept, right?"
After saying all this, President Cangyue felt that she had achieved her goal.
And then...
We're just waiting for this doubt and unease to brew and come to a conclusion.
She also prepared a special gift for Kirishima Ai.
Shiratori Aoi felt she needed an opportunity to confirm her daughter's true Magic girl identity.
Or rather, she needs to learn more about this daughter she hasn't been able to get to know better before.
Therefore, she chose the day of the museum's opening.
Going to the museum with Ai and Hina was one of their most cherished memories.
For this reason, she even asked one of her colleagues to help her make a gift for her daughter. It was a replica of an artifact in a museum, and she liked the design very much. She thought that girls would like it too.
Although the finished product was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
That day, she and her daughter went out and ate together as usual, and they even had a long chat, something they hadn't done in a long time.
Shiratori Aoi couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions, including regret and bitterness, as her daughter had grown so mature and sensible without her even realizing it.
As she gets to know her daughter better, Shiratori Aoi becomes increasingly convinced that her daughter might actually be the real Magical Girl Silver Feather.
After she gave her gift, Kirishima Ai made an excuse to leave her. After that, a Monster incident occurred in the museum, and the Magical Girl Silver Feather reappeared in the battle, allowing her to witness the moment when Magic girls fought.
Her daughter has been fighting.
He's been injured all along.
She bleeds and suffers pain for strangers, and has to face those bloody scenes and bear responsibilities that a high school girl should not have to bear.
Even though I know it's selfish.
But Shiratori Aoi... cannot accept it.
At that moment, an idea popped into her mind.
---I must make my daughter give up being Magic girl.
In a tiny rented room.
Kirishima Ai and Silver Feather were warming themselves by the stove.
They even luxuriously turned on the heater, warming up their upper body and hands as well.
Because in a sense, Kirishima Ai can now not only work from Monday to Friday, but also work two jobs with Silver Feather on weekends.
Just kidding.
My dad's business has been doing well lately, and my mom is also working for a big company, so I'm sending her a lot more living expenses.
However, Kirishima Ai has no plans to move yet.
She's gotten used to living here.
As she stretched out her arms to warm them, Silver Feather suddenly noticed something.
Silver Feather stared curiously at Kirishima Ai's wrist.
There, there was a jet-black, luxurious, and elegant bracelet that perfectly complemented Kirishima Ai's fair and delicate skin.
In my memory, Kirishima Ai never used to wear this kind of accessory.
"This is a gift from Mom, right? It's so beautiful..."
Like an ordinary girl, Silver Feather gazed at the bracelet with curiosity, softly uttering a sigh of envy.
As she said, this bracelet was given to Kirishima Ai by Shiratori Aoi at the museum some time ago.
It is said that the prototype was an artifact in a museum.
It must be some kind of Magic item belonging to R'lyeh, right?
Perhaps I should show Takanashi what this is for another day, but she's been staying home these past few days, so there's no way around it.
"Would you like to wear it? I think it would look great on you."
Kirishima Ai asked with great interest.
For women of any age, these kinds of jewelry are very appealing.
Silver Feather would definitely want to wear it too.
However, after looking at the bracelet for a while, Silver Feather's gaze seemed to pause for a moment, then she quickly regained her usual cheerful demeanor and shook her head---
"... Your mother gave it to you, right? You don't need to take it off."
Kirishima Ai sensed that Silver Feather seemed inexplicably lost.
That's true... Now she and Silver Feather can hardly be considered the same person anymore, right?
She gently touched the bracelet.
Come to think of it, it seems that Silver Feather only appeared in front of her after she put this on that night, and from then on she no longer had to worry about him disappearing.
Let's not take it off yet.
In this way, she has a sense of peace that the present moment will never end.
At this moment, Kirishima Ai still did not understand the true meaning of the gloom in Silver Feather's eyes.