"Then... someone gentler, more ordinary, not too much higher than me in social standing—someone who wouldn't make me feel pressured or inferior."
That was a pretty wage-slave way of thinking.
But it was also true. If there was too great a gap between two people in a relationship, if they were unequal in status, all kinds of conflicts could easily arise.
Like her childhood friend—she had made her feel so inferior that she had not even dared to entertain any thoughts.
Honestly, it would be hard for her to feel happy with someone like that.
"And then, preferably someone I have things in common with? At least someone who can drink with me or something..."
Summing up those traits—
It was Ms. Suzuki.
Though even if she had described all those traits, nobody would have guessed it anyway.
Straw
"Anyway... Dean Roland, that's how it is. The Devil King has revived."
Several girls sat around the campfire, their youthful faces illuminated by the flames and wearing different expressions. Takanashi Shiori spoke as she ate a skewer.
By now, night had completely fallen, and the surroundings were somewhat quieter than before. They had moved a little away from the crowd to talk about the monsters.
Devil Kings were the sworn enemies of Magical Girl Eternity. They were nearly immortal and indestructible. Even if generations of magical girls defeated and sealed them away, as long as the Black Death Cult endured, they would someday return.
And in this generation, the Devil King's revival had come unbelievably quickly.
As she listened, Roland lightly pinched a gemstone between her fingers and held it before her eyes, admiring its color through the firelight as she spoke gently.
"No wonder there have been so many bird monsters in the city lately."
She did not seem the