Chapter 392
Haihara held all the Magic girls' wish cards in her hand and gazed at them by the light.
Her tone was neither loud nor soft.
Then, Haihara asked:
"Do you know whose memories those are? And why am I seeing them?"
If anyone could understand all of this and provide answers after she gained those memories, it would only be this Magic girl named Roland standing before her.
Roland did not answer immediately.
She tapped her chin lightly with one finger, gazing at the light with her clear, beautiful heterochromatic eyes.
After a while, the girl, seemingly in a good mood, began to speak as if telling a story—
"Long, long ago, there lived a gentle and talented Witch."
It sounds like a story that's going to be told for a long time.
Roland could certainly be talked about for a long time.
"She favors humans and enjoys using her Magic to bring them one miracle after another."
"Even so, the world is still filled with so much suffering."
Roland narrated in a voice as light and beautiful as Nightingale's, as melodious as reciting poetry.
For some reason, Haihara didn't want to hear a single word Roland had just said.
"Witch can hear all sorrowful sounds."
"The birth, aging, sickness, and death of mortals; the emptiness of my fellow Witch; the endless curses and disasters brought by the Demon King and the Monster."
"Ah, isn't that sad?"
Her heterochromatic eyes lowered, but not out of sadness; instead, she gazed at Haihara Lily Chou with great interest.
It's like admiring your favorite gemstone.
Meanwhile, Haihara listened, bewildered, to a story completely unrelated to the memories she had witnessed.
What should we do?
"If we could obtain a wishing stone that could grant all miracles, it would surely bring happiness to everyone."
"The Witch thought so naively."
I still can't understand it.
However, Haihara could roughly guess this story-like ending.
How could such greedy desires and reckless fantasies possibly come true?
But Roland didn't continue.
"Sorry, it's just a story from the past."
It's like casual conversation that's brought up and then put down while drinking tea.
The topic of Witch was dropped.
Her head tilted slightly:
"But I think you actually know very well why you saw those memories, don't you?"
"Whether in the past or present."
"You've always known the answer."
Although one of the silver-haired girl's eyes was dull and lifeless, like a pebble on the roadside.
But her other eye shone as brightly as moonlight.
The light in that eye remained fixed on Haihara Lily Chou, on the woman she called her teacher.
After hearing these words, Haihara instinctively grabbed her other arm with one hand.
She looked very uneasy.
"No... it's not that, I mean..."
Haihara opened her mouth, but then fell into a brief silence.
She showed a rare hint of panic.
Or rather, anxiety.
"Why did I turn back into a high school student, and why do I remember nothing, don't know anyone, and everything is so unfamiliar?"
"Suddenly, these memories, which aren't even mine, have appeared, and they're even related to Magic girls..."
She really didn't know.
If she hadn't lost her memory, and was truly that powerful—the villainous Witch Sha Qina and Cangyue Yuri described, someone who had everything under control and handled everything with ease—then why did she become like this?
If I regain my memories, what would I be then?
Thinking about all this, she only felt... fear.
Roland did not answer immediately upon hearing this.
On the contrary, even she couldn't give a definitive correct answer to this question.
"I heard from the headmistress that this was your own wish."
"My... wish?"
Haihara Lily Chou wore an expression of utter incomprehension.
Roland nodded.
"Why?"
In the end, that was all she could ask.
Roland hummed in agreement, as if deep in thought, gazing at the moon with a gleam in her eyes.
"Because you are more willful than you think."
"You're still like a child, unwilling to grow up, unwilling to think about anything, unwilling to be a mother, unwilling to be an adult, afraid of taking care of others and having to rely on yourself."
"I thought so."
Haihara remembered everything she had as an adult.
My own home.
His own students, his own daughter, and even his own pets.
All of this made her very scared and uneasy.
"However, this is just speculation."
"After all, even I don't know all your thoughts."
After hearing all this, Haihara's head was probably filled with black lines.
She didn't know whether to feel embarrassed or confused.
Afterwards, she couldn't help but complain:
"The story before sounded so grand, why does it become so petty here?"
This remark made Roland burst into laughter.
She was genuinely happy.
In the end, the Magic girl, still with the air of an elder, gently spoke to Haihara ---
"Everyone needs to reconcile with their own little self in their own little world."
Even the wisest of sages are no exception.
She adjusted her Monocle.
Even in such cold weather, Haihara's glasses had fogged up and she had to take them off, but the single, clear lens remained perfectly still.
The cold wind howled mournfully.
Haihara, however, was no longer as cold as she had been at the beginning.
Meanwhile, Roland began slowly pulling something out of his oversized white suit.
What is this doing?
Haihara simply watched from the side until she saw Roland take out a bottle of what looked like an expensive bottle from his pocket. Roland seemed to cherish it, stroking the smooth, translucent black bottle.
Liquor?
As far as I remember, Roland did seem to love drinking; he was a heavy drinker, but his alcohol tolerance wasn't very high.
But bringing out alcohol here clearly indicates that it's not for personal consumption.
"After you get drunk, the curse on you will be temporarily lifted, and you will be able to turn back into an adult."
"While it doesn't mean you'll regain your memories, it does mean you'll become invincible again, won't it?"
"That will make everything much easier."
"So, would you like a drink?"
She was like a child trying to persuade a friend to do something bad.
He egged him on in a mischievous and wicked manner, still shaking the bottle of wine around.
After hesitating for a moment, Haihara Lily Chou withdrew the wine and put it in her arms.
She approached the bottle of wine with a mixture of curiosity and unfamiliarity.
Because she hadn't drunk it.
What does the wine taste like?
"If we're talking about this bottle, then it should be bitter, um... maybe even a little spicy? But adults can taste the sweetness."
"So if I get drunk the first time, I'll become an adult?"
"There is no such thing as a child who becomes an adult the first time he drinks."
Roland smiled and patted Haihara's head.
Under the light, the bottle cast a shadow of Haihara that was neither upright nor upside down.
Haihara's bewildered gaze also mingled with the swaying liquor and the lamplight.
To be honest, she was terrified.
She didn't want any changes to happen, didn't want unfamiliar parts of herself to suddenly appear, and didn't want to face anything that an adult has to face.
"Miss Roland ..."
Just call me Roland.
"Should I... remember?"
When she felt lost, she would seek and rely on the opinions of others.
If you can get the answer from someone else, you don't need to think about anything.
But the silver-haired girl simply asked her in return:
What are your own thoughts?
Do you want to recall memories that you have absolutely no recollection of or feeling about?
This is a really difficult question to answer.
Haihara glanced at the bottle, then at the wishing plaques in her hand.
Even now, she still has difficulty remembering everyone's wishes and handwriting.
I don't know exactly what kind of people they are.
"I... I'm a little scared."
"But I'm also very happy."
She said something very strange.