Chapter 373

The Takanashi was left alone in the same spot.

"... hiss."

The Takanashi a bit dazed and touched its lips.

Did she unleash some incredible monster?

Uh... what was she going to do again?

Cooking, cooking.

After some time, Takanashi finally calmed down and started cooking again. Only when she put the lid on the pot and the soup was bubbling away did she feel relaxed again.

Just then, she received a text message.

It was the platform account she usually used to communicate with her classmates. She opened it out of curiosity and found that it was a text message sent by Kuroki Yuka.

[Hey! How dare you take Haihara away while I was at school? I was wondering why I hadn't seen you in class today! You're so despicable!]

Ah, she almost forgot about that.

To be honest, she was actually quite embarrassed about it.

After all, they had already engaged in a fierce verbal battle today.

So she thought for a moment and typed a reply:

[I'm just worried that Teacher Haihara get too bored staying home alone. You see, she can only watch TV with birds and dogs at home now, which could easily lead to depression.]

She was very serious.

Then, in the next instant, a voice message appeared on the screen.

"Um?"

Why send a voice message?

She's not the type to enjoy listening to other people's voice messages; she always feels awkward. And Kuroki Yuka doesn't seem like the type to like sending voice messages either.

Listen and see.

"---Coo-coo! Coo-coo-coo!!"

A very loud gurgling sound came from inside.

I can't understand bird language.

Although Takanashi has the Magic to translate bird language, how do I use it by speaking into my phone?

Yes, and bird language Magic sometimes fails.

When she took Teacher Haihara away today, she couldn't understand a single word of what the bird at Teacher Haihara's house, which kept cooing, was saying.

"Takanashi, are you watching pet videos?"

"Hmm? No, how should I put it..."

For some reason, Takanashi felt a little guilty looking at Haihara sitting there obediently in her pajamas.

She casually changed the subject to brush it off.

After that, she continued typing and chatted with Kuroki Yuka.

Hopefully, she won't discover in the middle of the night that a Black Magical Girl's been standing outside her window for a long time is trying to snatch her away.

"That sounds like my pet bird."

Haihara Lily Chou's voice sometimes sounds quite clear and crisp, very characteristic of a young girl.

"That fat bird?"

Takanashi was surprised that Haihara recognized her.

"Although I don't remember ever raising her."

As she said this, Haihara was hugging a teddy bear pillow that belonged to Takanashi.

That's true.

Just like Teacher Haihara doesn't remember now, the teddy bear pillow in her arms was a gift she bought for herself.

"I heard that you used to have quite a few small pets."

"What about those little pets now?"

"This..."

According to what Takanashi heard, those pets apparently all died later on.

As a Magic girl who had studied at the Magic Academy, Takanashi simply couldn't imagine how so many small animals could be raised to death.

Seeing how the Takanashi, Haihara roughly understood.

"Yeah, I can imagine what happened to them later, since I've never been very good at keeping pets."

She said it very calmly.

"... Aren't you good at it?"

Hearing this, it's clear that Teacher Haihara already has memories of having pets.

Was it when I was a child?

When the topic was brought up, Haihara reminisced for a moment;

"The biggest animal I ever owned was a puppy, but it got sick and died after only a week."

That sounds a little scary.

"That's because?"

Takanashi blinked.

"It's nothing. The pet store sent over a sick puppy. It was listless for the few days it was with me. I thought it would get better if I took good care of it, but in the end, it didn't help."

Haihara lowered her head, looking rather bored, and patted the head of the teddy bear in her arms.

After listening, Takanashi didn't know what to say.

These Earthlings are really going too far.

"But you took good care of the pets you raised later, didn't you?"

After all, one of them is Magical Puppy.

It's hard to kill them if you want to.

And it's not just about keeping animals.

Teacher Haihara even raised her daughter very well. Not only is her development outstanding, but she is also very intelligent, and even as Magic girl, she is top-notch.

"But I haven't grown up yet."

For some reason, Haihara buried her head in the teddy bear.

Her indifferent tone made it impossible to discern any emotion from her.

"They might die at any time if I'm not careful."

"It's not that easy to die."

Takanashi thinks that Teacher Haihara was even stranger as a child than she imagined.

"Because I didn't know anything, had no experience, and wasn't prepared, but suddenly I realized I was an adult."

"They even keep so many animals, that's terrifying."

Girls' thoughts are hard to understand.

It seemed unclear what she meant by "adult."

Takanashi only glanced at her for a moment.

Teacher Haihara, who thought keeping animals was terrifying, ended up adopting a daughter when she was young.

What does that mean for Teacher Haihara?

"Monster."

This is also Takanashi's evaluation of Teacher Haihara after she grew up.

"Something's strange about it."

"Alright, I've been so busy chatting with you that my soup is almost empty."

Takanashi gave Haihara a quick kiss on the cheek before heading back to the kitchen to check on her soup.

Haihara remained seated on the sofa.

She rubbed her face, looking dejected and confused.

Why... did I become like that?

For Haihara Lily Chou Haibara, this question remains unanswered.

After that, Tachibana gradually recovered to the point where she could move around normally.

Now, as a director of the Star Flower Agency, she stays near the dressing room of the famous idol Tachibana Aeruru, as if waiting for her to return.

Because of her tight practice schedule lately, Sakaki Chika has been spending a lot of her time here.

She looked curiously at the decorations on the table in Sakaki Chika's private lounge.

The most eye-catching item is a small rabbit doll.

Then, there was a picture frame on the table.

Tachibana took a step closer and examined the photos, and then she saw this scene.

The old photograph, with its muted colors, shows a cheerful-looking elderly woman and a little girl.

The little girl, who looked to be under ten years old, appeared somewhat shy and awkwardly squeezed into the center of the frame.

Pendulum around her neck, this child is Sakaki Chika.

"Miss Tachibana...?"

As Tachibana quietly admired the photos, she heard a questioning voice behind her.

She slowly turned around and saw Sakaki Chika dressed in an idol outfit.

"You must be tired, Chika. Did you just finish training? I hope you don't mind me coming in here so abruptly."

The woman gave a gentle and touching smile.

The petite girl standing at the door, however, did not appear flustered or at a loss when facing Tachibana, unlike when facing other strangers.

She waved her hand and quickly said:

"Of course it's okay."

Afterwards, Sakaki Chika not only didn't mind that an unexpected person had suddenly appeared in her private space, but also invited Tachibana to sit down and have tea there.

Clearly, Sakaki Chika knows Tachibana.

After all, the person who had given me, an insignificant and timid person, a job interview was supposedly this female director.

After that, although they didn't have any other contact at work, they would chat from time to time due to many coincidences.

"We've been training a lot lately, it's been really tough, but everyone is really looking forward to it and very motivated. I'm also really looking forward to your performance soon."

Tachibana sat gracefully on the sofa in the lounge, holding a cup of tea and gently blowing on it to warm it.

As for Sakaki Chika, she relaxed a bit and happily replied:

"Thank you so much for your encouragement."

Now, it's dark outside, and their training for the day is over. During this time, Sakaki Chika still has some free time.

Miss Tachibana is a very nice person; it wouldn't be bad to spend more time with her.

However, she noticed something a little strange.

Why is Ms. Tachibana looking at the photo of her and her grandmother?

"This is a photo of me and my family. Ms. Tachibana, are you interested?"