Teacher, I Am Actually a Villainous Magical Girl

"Hmm... my senior was a bit strict, but she took good care of me."

She stared at the tombstone for a moment before straightening up.

"Will you be living with your grandparents from now on?"

This woman didn't seem to know how to talk to people, nor did she seem to care much about a child's feelings.

The surroundings were quiet and cold, yet Kazama Kiriori felt surprisingly calm.

"My grandparents have already passed away."

Everyone from her grandparents' generation was gone, and the only people left were those relatives.

But they didn't want to raise her either.

Right now, no one wanted her.

Kazama Kiriori felt it was a bit strange.

At school, many classmates liked her, and everyone thought she was a good child. Adults would even envy her parents for having a daughter like her, yet those same adults were now tossing her back and forth.

The woman's expression remained as cold as before:

"That's quite a headache. It seems my senior's relatives don't really want to raise you either."

This woman really didn't know how to talk.

She was terrible for an adult...

Why would Mom have been colleagues with someone like this?

Kazama Kiriori lowered her head, feeling dejected, unsure if it was because her parents had left her or because of those cold, unfamiliar relatives.

Compared to this woman, those relatives were probably even colder.

"I'm just... unwanted..."

Kazama Kiriori wiped away her tears and said, feeling aggrieved.

Seeing Kazama Kiriori crying, the woman realized she had said the wrong thing and looked troubled for a moment.

She crouched down and used her umbrella to shield Kazama Kiriori from the rain.

"Hmm..."

The woman looked at Kazama Kiriori and pondered for a while:

"How about this, I can raise you."

Little Kiriori, wiping her tears, froze at the woman's words. She looked up, staring at the woman with slightly reddened eyes.

"...Why?"

"I don't have parents either, and I probably won't find a woman to be with in the future, so I might as well raise you."

Later, Kazama Kiriori learned that the woman's surname was Haihara, that she was still in university, and that she had previously interned at the place where her mother worked.

The woman was in her early twenties and would finish university next year. After her parents passed away, she had been left an inheritance that could support two people. Plus, since they were both female, there weren't as many restrictions, so she should be able to adopt her.

However, the relatives who previously didn't want to adopt her stepped in to stop it.

They believed that Haihara was after the inheritance left by Kazama's parents.

The Kazama family's financial situation was quite good. Although her parents were still young, they had already saved up a significant amount of money, which she would inherit once she came of age.

Therefore, they assumed a woman like Haihara, who had no relation to them, was likely plotting to take the Kazama parents' inheritance.

The rain was slightly heavier than before, drumming against the umbrella and making one want to go home and sleep.

In reality, most of the people present just wanted it to end quickly so they could go home.

Haihara didn't immediately answer the adults' questions. She simply looked up at the raindrops falling from the edge of the umbrella, then looked at the little girl hiding beneath it.

Then, she casually patted the little girl's head:

"Inheritances are quite a hassle, and I don't think I can prove my innocence... If it's too much trouble, you can split my senior's inheritance among yourselves. I'll raise her regardless."

There was no hidden meaning, nor was she being sarcastic. She simply felt it was too much of a bother and just wanted to go home.

Hearing Haihara's words, Kazama Kiriori looked up, and before she knew it, she moved a little closer...

She wanted to live with this woman named Haihara.

Kazama Kiriori kept her head down and made her decision:

"My mom and dad's inheritance... I don't need it, but I want to be adopted by Ms. Haihara."

After that, Haihara became her mother.

Chapter 32: The Temptation of Home

In the end, Kazama Kiriori became Haihara's adopted daughter. As for her parents' inheritance, she would inherit it once she came of age.

Although Haihara had made it sound easy when she adopted her, it was actually quite difficult.

Haihara not only had to work to support both of them, but she also had to finish university. Even though there was only one year left, it was still a very challenging year.

To take care of her, Haihara stopped living in the dormitory and instead rented a place near her university. The rent was cheap, but the conditions were equally poor; the two of them had to squeeze into a single room, sleeping on floor mats with no air conditioning during the summer.

Kazama also transferred to a middle school in that neighborhood.

Yet, neither of them ever complained.

They had both decided that they would live together from then on, relying on each other for survival.

Kazama Kiriori gradually came to understand this woman.

Haihara was a woman as cold and sluggish as a Snake.

Every morning, she would wake up on time, wash up, make breakfast, and then ride her bicycle to take her to school. After finishing her day at the university, she would arrive on time to pick her up, followed by making dinner, watching television, and going to sleep.

If Kazama didn't initiate a conversation, she wouldn't speak either.

When watching television or eating, she wouldn't smile; it was simply a way to pass the time or a necessity to sustain herself.

Haihara had once thought about keeping flowers, but they would quickly wither from her forgetting to water them, and she soon gave up on the idea.

She heard that Haihara had previously kept a hamster and a turtle, but they had both died under her care as well.

Sometimes, Kazama thought that the only animals Haihara could raise properly were probably Snakes.

This woman had no particular hobbies, no special thoughts, didn't like to talk, didn't like to smile, and had no real passion for life.

She was completely different from her own mother and father.

Sometimes, Kazama felt a little bored.

If only Haihara would talk to her more.

There were only a few rare occasions when Haihara spoke to her at length.

One time was when she was sick.

Haihara wasn't good at taking care of children and didn't know what to do when a child had a high fever, so for the first time, she appeared clumsy and flustered, constantly calling people she knew for advice and running around to get medicine and cold compresses.

Kazama Kiriori lay on her pillow, watching Haihara's frantic state, and for some reason, she felt a sense of happiness.

Haihara slowly placed a towel soaked in cold water on her forehead, sitting quietly and watching Kazama Kiriori.

Kazama Kiriori stared at the ceiling and said weakly:

"If Mom has her own children in the future, will you be like this too?"

Haihara would probably get married someday.

And then she would have her own children.

When that time came, if that child had a fever, would Haihara take care of them like this?

"Taking care of you is already troublesome enough. I don't want any more children, and giving birth must be painful, right?"

Haihara didn't have any particular desire to have children.

"That's true. Kiriori doesn't want Mom to be in pain, so Mom shouldn't have any children."

"I won't."

Haihara said coldly.

Kazama Kiriori smiled, then reached out, wanting to touch Haihara. For once, Haihara took the initiative to reach out and gently held her hand.

"Then, will Mom get married in the future?"

She asked again.

"No one likes me, so no one will marry me."

Haihara said casually, gently squeezing Kazama Kiriori's hand while resting her chin in her other palm.

"Didn't Mom have a boyfriend before?"

Mentioning this, Kazama Kiriori felt a bit unhappy.

Although that experience didn't even count as a first love, Kazama Kiriori still felt jealous.

"Who knows? It was probably some kind of prank, and I didn't like that person anyway."

"Hmph..."

Kazama Kiriori let out a soft hum.

So, Haihara wouldn't get married in the future.

Doesn't that mean they would be together forever?

But... what if she wanted to marry Mom in the future?

"...Mom."

"Hm?"

Kazama Kiriori looked at Haihara, staring into her eyes.

"Back then, why did you decide to adopt me?"

"Didn't you agree to it yourself?"

"But it's very tiring, and it's not like I couldn't survive otherwise." Kazama Kiriori leaned in a little closer, gently rubbing her head against Haihara's knee.

"I just thought it would be quite interesting, and since you were very good to me in the past, I asked if you wanted to try living with me."

It was just such an ordinary reason.

Because she thought about whether or not to live with her, she ended up adopting her.

It felt as if she wasn't living her life seriously at all.

Occasionally, Kazama Kiriori would have this feeling.

Everyone else was living their lives so earnestly, yet only Mother Haihara seemed to be living quite casually, as if nothing really mattered.

"Are Mother Haihara and Mom very close?"

"Just average."

"Then how did you meet Mom?"

Haihara lowered her head, pondered for a moment, and then said slowly:

"At the time... she seemed to be a Doctor senior several years older than me, and then she introduced me to an internship, so later on, I ended up working at the same place as her."

"I was often taken care of by her during that time, but I gave it up after working for a while."

Kazama Kiriori asked curiously:

"Why?"

This time, Haihara rarely showed a somewhat embarrassed expression.

"...I suddenly found out that she was already married, and that she even had a child."

Kazama Kiriori was a bit confused.