Chapter 545

In fact, the girl had many, many thoughts.

It's not just about what you become, what you possess, or what you accomplish.

It also touches on death.

She had witnessed the beautiful demise of a Witch.

That was when she and the Witch went to attend the funeral of a Witch who was about to pass away.

Like many immortal Witch, that Witch decided to end it all herself.

And so, she saw it.

The pure young girl buried herself in a cold, gray-blue field. The grassland was wide and far away, with no people or Asuka, like the afterlife, silent and empty, yet very sacred.

However, when the Witch died, flowers bloomed, turning the barren fields into a riot of colors. A golden tree rose from the place where the Witch was buried, as if it were sunlight itself, and they all saw the flowers and fruits on the tree.

It's as if the Witch didn't actually die, but simply became that tree, still living a peaceful life.

So beautiful it's enviable.

The girl envied the Witch for dying so beautifully, becoming such Eternity and unfading beauty, and for the tree to continue for a very, very long time, counting the passing of time and the changes of life.

She had that thought again.

I really want to be a bird.

Perhaps it was because of this longing that, as the girl's life gradually faded away, the Monster Disease blossomed and took root in her, infiltrating her life in its final days.

Her hair gradually lost its color, with the very ends resembling silvery bird feathers. From a distance, she looked like a snow and winter Fairies.

Feathers began to appear on their skin.

After that, the girl rarely looked in the mirror anymore.

"Miss Witch, I also want to decide when I die."

Why are you suddenly saying that?

"Because I'm so happy right now, I really, really want to die in this happy time."

The white-clad girl's smile was so beautiful.

Like many things they had seen in the past.

Yesterday's grand and dazzling fireworks, the magnificent silver winter, the swings and windmills deep in this garden, their white homes, or perhaps the vibrant flowers that will soon wither.

But perhaps we won't see it tomorrow.

Everything will fade, lose its luster, and wither away.

Memories of people, connections with people, and even the person themselves.

"And what about time?"

"This autumn, or perhaps later in winter?"

"What a pity. If it were next year, I might be able to see that maple tree bloom with you. Won't you spend next autumn with me?"

The Witch brought it up seemingly casually.

Nevertheless, even if the girl does nothing, she may not live to see next autumn.

But thinking of that maple tree, the girl did seem to feel a little regretful and sad.

However, she quickly figured out what to do.

She thought for a moment, then smiled and said:

"Then I'll put a fallen leaf from this autumn into an envelope and give it to you."

"I'm waiting for this fallen leaf to rot inside the letter, so that next year I can send you my autumn."

"..."

The Witch simply blinked expressionlessly, and finally, calmly agreed:

"Okay, darling."

That's the agreement.

The girl surprisingly wrote in her diary about her entire life with ease.

She lived a fairly complete and happy life.

Although it was short, I had nothing to complain about.

Her maple tree grew tall and beautiful, and her diary was also very rich and interesting. When she looked back on everything she had written in her diary, she would feel like she was dreaming.

I'm a little worried that if Witch spends this winter alone, she might forget to change her winter blankets and feel cold.

She'll make a mental note of it beforehand and use it to remind the Witch later.

That's all.

Winter arrives unnoticed, and the girl often naturally recalls her childhood, thinking back to when she was very young and had just met the Witch.

Actually, if you count carefully, it really is quite short.

Did they only spend a few years together?

That must have only occupied a very short time in the Witch's life, right?

What a pity.

And it seems that was indeed the case. For that Witch, it all seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. Before she could even react, everything was nearing its end.

So much so that, at the very end of her life, the Witch suddenly realized what had happened and, with some surprise and emotion, remarked:

"It was really short-lived."

"Hmm, that was short."

"I feel like I haven't had a chance to get to know you properly yet."

The girl felt that they had known each other for a long time, and the Witch knew her very well, but did that mean she hadn't actually left any deep impression on the Witch?

That's really sad.

But she had already thought it through. Lying in bed, she propped her chin up with her hands and smiled.

"I've kept a diary; you can read it every day when you have time."

"I will, maybe."

That's the answer I received.

The final moments were not filled with anxiety or unease, but rather with unexpected tranquility. The young woman lay on her hospital bed, just as she had with every other moment in her life, flipping through her notes and recounting the details of her memories.

Her hair changed from half black and half white to completely snow-white, and it would even shed feathers like a real bird.

The days are getting closer and shorter with each passing day.

The day the girl had anticipated arrived, and on that day, the only one by her side was still the eternally youthful and eternally beautiful Witch.

She stayed by the girl's side, like a mother, a friend, and a lover.

The Witch seemed to have remembered something.

Finally, I have a question.

That woman, who's always so hard to understand, said...

What is it?

Why won't you spend more time with me?

That's a really difficult question to answer.

If she could, the girl would want to stay with the Witch forever.

But if that's not possible, there aren't that many ideal answers for young girls.

She frankly said:

"I want to live in your memories, so that you remember me as I am now, not as someone who ages rapidly, suffers from illness, and dies hastily."

A young girl's life is very short.

Her life was too short to learn many lessons about life.

If she could, she would like to be a complete human being, to go to school, live, and make friends like an ordinary person, and more importantly, to be with the Witch in front of her.

However, there are not many "what ifs," and one should not expect life to meet all demands.

She didn't want to become a Broken Wing ill bird, left to die in a hospital bed.

She wanted to die like a bird.

Besides that, it seems like there was something else I wanted to say, but I've already forgotten.

"... so."

"What a boring answer."

In the end, it was just this calm sigh.

The Witch neither tried to stop her, nor did she try to stop her, nor did she regret it.

Both of them accepted this outcome.

The girl died silently one winter and was buried in the Witch's backyard.

A story has come to a brief and peaceful end.

----It seems to be this kind of story.

Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 63 The Final Mystery

Those fragments of memories, those cold, hazy dreams, flash by slowly and vaguely, like images seen through fog while driving.

It wasn't until snowflakes piled up on Kirishima Ai's hair, turning it silvery-white, and the icy dewdrops that melted and seeped down to her neck, making her shiver, that she came to her senses.

"Ah..."

She seemed a little dazed and blank. Just as she was about to say something, the wind blew her away, and she suddenly sneezed.

The girl stood in the Snowfield for too long and got cold.

Her nose was red from the cold. She found some tissues, covered her nose and lower face with both hands, and then, perhaps because the cold was too bad, tears started to fall from her eyes.

He looked rather disheveled and pathetic.

Kirishima Ai groaned softly for a while, her eyes still gazing blankly at the small tombstone in the Snowfield in the backyard.

No matter how you look at it, that portrait seems to be her face.

And the scenes of her memories that she saw...

Why did the name Silver Feather also appear?

For a moment, Kirishima Ai's mind was in a mess again, unsure of what the images she had seen meant or whether they were what she had imagined.

After calming herself down, Kirishima Ai, lost in thought, swept the snow off the swing and sat alone for a while.

She stroked the swing ropes woven from flowers.

The scenes she saw in her memory seemed to mirror each other, giving her an indescribable feeling of nostalgia mixed with confusion.

However, she also noticed that she had been there for too long.

Kirishima Ai hadn't forgotten that she was there to investigate clues.

The findings of her investigation exceeded her expectations.

Some time later, based on the memories she had seen, Kirishima Ai found a portal in the backyard and eventually returned to the royal city outside the Abailia Territory.

I didn't reveal that I had sneaked in. Anyway, let's go and meet up with Miss Cangyue Yuri first.

But honestly, how do I explain what I gained from this trip...?

When she contacted and met up with Cangyue Yuri, it was almost dark. At this time, there was still no news or movement from Takanashi. The two of them ate their meal in the cafeteria of R'lyeh Academy while organizing the information they had obtained.

The food in this other world is actually quite delicious.