Chapter 481
Kuroki Yuka and Haihara protested vehemently.
Haihara pretended not to hear.
It seems quite serious to have hurt a young girl's sense of shame. Even a lecherous, shameless girl like Kuroki Yuka is genuinely feeling ashamed and angry right now.
Haihara begins to think of ways to remedy her perverse sense of humor.
"How about I show you mine?"
"Really?"
Kuroki Yuka asked instinctively.
"Fake."
Haihara's expression suddenly turned cold.
Kuroki Yuka chuckled awkwardly twice, and the bedroom fell silent for a moment.
Then, Haihara pursed her lips and spoke softly:
"However, there is another thing I can help you with."
She lowered her head and looked at the corner of the room, where some of Yu Ke and untied.
Kuroki Yuka seemed to have begun to distrust Haihara. Staring at Haihara's expressionless face, she asked softly:
"... What?"
"Let me get you a new one. Do you need me to do it for you?"
A few minutes later, Kuroki Yuka walked out of her bedroom door with a flushed face, and then started rolling around on her sofa.
Haihara went back to her own home and washed her hands in the bathroom.
Although she rarely mentions it to others, Haihara actually has a bit of obsessive-compulsive disorder when it comes to washing her hands.
After sitting back on the sofa, for some reason, Haihara suddenly felt a strange sense of relaxation.
She sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a while.
Huh?
Haihara's expression shifted from confusion to contemplation, then she lowered her head and began to think deeply and meticulously.
She pondered in her heart:
Could it be that Kuroki Yuka said is true?
Once one bottom line is crossed, can more bottom lines be crossed in the future?
Is that correct?
No, no, oh... maybe it's right.
Haihara's feelings shifted several times, and after a while, she thought of something else.
... Is it right?
Just then, Haihara suddenly heard a soft knock on her door.
Then came the sound of a key opening the door.
Recently, in her memory, she had only given the key to her house to four people: Kougami, Kuroki Yuka, Kazama Kiriori, and... her own Magical Puppy.
When the door opened gently, a tall, slender, and beautiful young woman walked in, carrying a bag of groceries.
"Haihara, I'm back."
It's their dog... it can't really be called a dog anymore.
In short, Cangyue Yuri would occasionally turn back into a human and help Haihara prepare dinner.
Just then, Cangyue Yuri, who had just returned, suddenly noticed that Haihara- san seemed to be staring at her.
Why... are you suddenly looking at me like that?
"... Haihara?"
For some reason, Cangyue Yuri felt a strange tension in her heart.
It's like recently, some of your guilty secrets that no one else knew about have been discovered.
A guess quietly surfaced in her mind.
Could it be... that Miss Haihara found out?
The Haihara family, each with their own agendas, doesn't seem to be able to settle down anytime soon.
Chapter Five: My Family Has a Dog
On Monday, at sunset, Takanashi Shiori was in a coffee shop, lying on the table, staring blankly at the coffee cup, watching the steam rising from it.
She has been looking listless and weak lately.
A while later, the cake she ordered arrived.
She looked up at Cangyue Yuri, a fellow countrywoman from R'lyeh.
Afterwards, Takanashi ate her cake by herself until Cangyue Yuri got off work.
She had stopped chewing her cake without realizing it, and was just casually nibbling on a plastic fork, with some cream stuck to her face.
She didn't come to her senses until Cangyue Yuri called her name.
"Takanashi?"
"Oh."
Takanashi blinked sleepily, released his mouth, and stared blankly at the cake he had only eaten a few bites of; the coffee had also gone cold by now.
The sculpted kitten pattern on the coffee was now distorted by the shaking.
Why do you seem so listless?
Cangyue Yuri was a little puzzled. Although Takanashi usually didn't have much of an expression, he was usually very focused when eating.
Takanashi didn't seem to have much of an appetite; she wiped her mouth with a tissue.
"I'm just a little unsure what to do next."
"Um?"
"What I mean is, am I really close to finding the Lost Paradise Twilight?" Takanashi looked at Cangyue Yuri.
Her mission in the human world was to find this Magic Wand. Before that, she had no clue what to do, but now, both the facts and her Magic girl intuition told her that she was getting closer and closer to that time.
Recently, she has begun an investigation and confirmed many traces of Lost Paradise Twilight.
If things continue like this, barring any unforeseen circumstances, her mission on Earth is gradually coming to an end.
She no longer needs to play the role of a high school girl on Earth.
And then, shortly after completing the mission, R'lyeh will recall her, since she is no longer the lowly Magic girl who couldn't cause any trouble on Earth.
In a sense, Cangyue Yuri is in the same situation.
Cangyue Yuri initially wanted to say something; she opened her mouth, but then it seemed she had thought of something.
After a while, Cangyue Yuri acted as if she hadn't understood what Takanashi was worried about, and only said:
"Has Takanashi figured out what happens next in Lost Paradise Twilight?"
What she said was really strange and hard to understand.
Takanashi raised his head, looking slightly confused.
She then heard Cangyue Yuri continue speaking.
"Perhaps there are still many things to worry about, so let's not think too much about it for now. Let's find the Lost Paradise Twilight first, and then consider those troubles."
"... Um."
Of course, there were other things that made Takanashi feel down.
Rather, it's more accurate to say that she's entered a period of heightened sentimentality, and many accumulated little things can bother Takanashi.
However, she wasn't so tactless as to confide too much in Cangyue Yuri, after all, everyone has their own troubles.
Um?
Does Cangyue Yuri, a bright, academically gifted girl who's popular with girls, really have any worries?
Thinking of this, Takanashi raised her head again and carefully examined Cangyue Yuri.
Most of the time, Cangyue Yuri is basically a nice guy.
I don't have any particular likes or dislikes.
Although she experiences normal joys and sorrows, compared to her peers, Cangyue Yuri seems to have virtually no so-called youthful troubles, and has always seemed much more mature than others.
Unlike other Magic girls, she doesn't have all sorts of weaknesses and flaws.
Hearing this, Takanashi felt a little jealous.
No, she had always been slightly jealous of the Moon Academy Chief.
It's the jealousy of the underachiever towards the genius.
"Cangyue, I'll tell you."
"Uh-huh?"
Takanashi is holding a cake fork and using it to fork the cake on his plate.
Have you suddenly encountered any new worries lately?
"Worries? I already have plenty."
Cangyue Yuri said casually.
Upon hearing this from the girl with the "pool surface" vibe, Takanashi shook her head:
"I mean, for example, you might suddenly develop a crush on someone, but because of feelings of shame, inferiority, or confusion typical of adolescence, you don't know how to deal with it."
As she spoke, Takanashi raised her two thin, weak arms.
She extended her thumb downwards, bent the remaining fingers into a semi-circle, clasped her hands together, and expressionlessly made a "heart" shape in front of Cangyue Yuri, even gently shaking it.
Then, she blinked and looked at Cangyue Yuri.
Cangyue Yuri didn't seem to react particularly to this question, only giving it a moment of serious thought.
Who do you like?
After a while, she replied:
"I haven't thought about that kind of question. After all, I haven't known that many people since I came to Earth."
Cangyue Yuri answered Takanashi Shiori's question in a remarkably calm and natural tone.
Seeing that Cangyue Yuri was completely unperturbed, Takanashi immediately realized that this was probably true.
How boring... This person is definitely not the type to suddenly come up with any gossip that would make me laugh out loud.
However, in this respect, Cangyue Yuri is a friend that Takanashi can trust quite a bit.
"That's true."
Seemingly realizing she had asked a very romantic question, Takanashi lowered her head awkwardly, seemingly feeling a little apologetic.
"I should probably head home too. Thanks for keeping me company, see you tomorrow."
After finishing her coffee, Takanashi Shiori regained her usual relaxed and Cangyue Yuri.
Cangyue Yuri smiled and waved, watching Takanashi Shiori leave the cafe.
And so, Cangyue Yuri remained certain that Takanashi Shiori had left her sight.
When only Cangyue Yuri left, she stood still for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, but her expression remained calm.
Then, her gaze fell downwards, and she raised her hand to wipe away non-existent cold sweat from her forehead.
"..."