Chapter 546
However, Kirishima Ai seemed distracted throughout.
"Cangyue, my classmate."
"What's wrong, Kirishima?" Cangyue Yuri was making herself a coffee; even back in R'lyeh, she still quite liked this drink.
Kirishima Ai rested one hand on her cheek, looking melancholy.
"What do you think was Teacher Haihara's reason for doing all that?"
This is exactly what they were trying to figure out.
However, she only wanted to hear Cangyue Yuri's guesses here.
The bitter, hot aroma of coffee, the sweet scent of fruit pie, the now-cold meat sauce, and the distant, boisterous laughter of the other Witch apprentices.
Cangyue Yuri, warming her hands by touching her coffee cup, thought for a moment:
"Hmm... to be honest, I can't say for sure, and I don't want to say for sure."
"It's probably best not to speculate until the final truth comes out."
Cangyue Yuri has always been cautious and composed in such situations.
That's true... Kirishima Ai.
Regardless of the truth, the uncertainty only adds to the confusion.
Shortly after dinner, the two of them received a text message from Takanashi.
He said... he had something to do?
The specific content is...
"---Huh? Little Yuri, Kirishima, you two are together."
It was a very pleasant voice, clearly belonging to a young girl, yet possessing the elegance and composure of an older person.
"That leaves me to go and find the two of you separately."
Just as Kirishima and the others were about to confirm the information, their attention was drawn by the voice, causing them to stop checking the information and look up at the silver-white figure that had suddenly appeared before them.
Once the focus stabilized, Roland's smiling face, reminiscent of a cat, appeared before the two of them.
She was similar in stature to Kirishima Ai, yet the impact she had on those around her was entirely different.
"Dean Eldritch!"
"It's Lord Gemstone!"
"Dean! Dean..."
It seems to have caused a commotion.
The surrounding female apprentices exclaimed in astonishment.
Their sudden appearance and sudden opening of their mouths, though eerily silent like ghosts, revealed that the two young women were not exactly strangers to the world.
Roland was still smiling, his heterochromatic eyes, which had been narrowed, slightly opened as he sized up the two people in front of him.
She didn't mean to explain, she just said casually:
"These kids nowadays don't really know how to maintain ladylike manners. Would you like me to take you to a quieter place?"
Dean Roland had been missing for a long time, suddenly appeared, though they learned of this from a text message sent to Takanashi.
The two Magic girls exchanged a glance, then nodded.
The silver-haired girl had a radiant smile, and then she clapped her hands.
Snap, snap, snap.
With each clap of Magic hands, the surrounding scenery shifted like the curtains of a movie or play, changing rapidly and dazzlingly.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye.
When Roland stopped clapping, the scene before him finally froze, as if he had found a place that satisfied him.
The other two girls, who had been staring intently, only snapped out of their daze at that moment.
When they looked up again, they were greeted by a magnificent and elegant silver-white world.
This is a rather bright and quiet place, decorated with Roland's personal love of gemstones, but you can also see some portraits of other Magic girls, those are portraits of the past deans of the Moon Academy, and the last one is naturally Roland himself.
Cangyue Yuri has been here many times.
This is the director's office at the Moon Academy.
"Would you two like some tea? It's been quite a while since we last saw each other, and the weather is so cold. Why don't you sit down and have some hot tea to warm yourselves up?"
Roland naturally invited the two young Witch to be his guests.
All of this happened quite suddenly.
But since we're already here, let's make the best of it and sit down.
The two Magic girls obediently found a place to sit down.
As Roland's fingers moved casually like an orchestra conductor, the teaware on the table all started to function automatically: some boiled water, some poured tea leaves, and sugar cubes were summoned from a distant jar.
A short while later, two cups of hot tea, accompanied by a silver tray and spoons, swayed leisurely towards Cangyue Yuri and Kirishima Ai, eventually ending up in their hands.
Roland himself held a cup of tea in his hand, gently stirring it with a small spoon.
Cangyue Yuri was quite used to many of the sights in the dean's office. She naturally added sugar to her tea and blew on it to keep it warm.
After sitting down somewhat awkwardly, Kirishima Ai stared blankly at the teacup in her hand, seemingly uninterested in drinking the tea, even though it smelled quite fragrant.
A brief silence fell over the dean's office, quickly broken by Roland's talkative voice, the rhythm expertly controlled by this Great Witch.
"So, although only a few days have passed, both the Kingdom and the teacher seem to be about to do something quite extravagant. Have you two decided what to do next?"
Roland certainly has the demeanor of a teacher.
She described something that was clearly about to cause a global upheaval, as if it were something to do in a few days, like choosing a college major.
Cangyue Yuri, accustomed to Dean Roland's style, spoke earnestly and gently, as if she had already made up her mind:
"Well, Dean, I plan to go back to Maple Plain City with Kirishima to see if we can be of any help."
Despite being a Magic girl of R'lyeh and having no real connection to the incident, Cangyue Yuri chose to travel with the Magic girls of Maple Plain City.
In the dean's office, which was filled with the aroma of tea, Roland nodded:
"That sounds good. I'll open a portal to Earth for you later."
In this day and age, traveling between R'lyeh and Earth is a very difficult task for Magic girls.
After all, it seems that Teacher Haihara has blocked the connection between the two places.
But it sounds like this problem is now solved.
Cangyue Yuri naturally had no questions, or rather, even if she did, she felt it wasn't her place to ask first.
Kirishima Ai kept looking up at Roland's smiling face, and finally seemed to have made up her mind, opening her mouth—
"Um... Professor Roland."
"Ah, Kirishima, perfect timing! I also have something I'd like to discuss with you. Why don't we take this opportunity to have a proper talk?"
Unexpectedly, just as Kirishima Ai was about to speak, Roland took over the conversation, leaving Kirishima Ai looking surprised.
It seems more like they came here for this purpose than that they had planned it all along.
The atmosphere changed slightly.
Cangyue Yuri stood up from her chair:
"Should I excuse myself?"
"No need, I plan to take Kirishima somewhere else to chat. Little Yuri, you can stay here and have some tea and cake."
There was a great deal of tacit understanding and harmony between the teachers and students.
Roland and Kirishima Ai both had things to discuss with each other, so naturally, neither of them objected to chatting in a different place.
As Roland raised his white palm and casually clenched it towards the void, the scene before Kirishima Ai's eyes suddenly changed.
They didn't switch to any special place; they just randomly found a quiet spot, or so it seemed.
No, it doesn't seem like it...
In the modern city, amidst the towering buildings and streets, a thick haze hangs in the sky, creating a rather oppressive and cold atmosphere. It's already bedtime here, with only a few buildings still lit up.
So we're back on Earth?
However, she didn't really care about the location.
Let's hear what Teacher Roland has to say to her.
She saw the stunningly beautiful girl with heterochromatic eyes looking at her with a strange gaze under the gloomy sky, her face bearing her usual unfathomable smile.
The Great Witch said----
"It really does feel very similar, Miss Silver Feather."
"It seems you've remembered a little bit? Otherwise, why would you look so confused?"
"But before that, let's have a good talk."
Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 64 The Favored Witch
In the blink of an eye, Kirishima Ai was back on Earth. Before her was a modern city shrouded in dark clouds, feeling rather oppressive. The temperature was slightly higher than in Maple Plain, but it was still a bit cold, since R'lyeh's Magic was no longer there to keep her warm.
She subconsciously tightened her collar slightly to avoid actually catching a cold.
However, the way Roland had addressed her just now kept lingering in her mind.
Silver Feather —that was her name when she first became Magic girl, but she had never imagined that the name would have another meaning.
Many years ago, in the mansion of the Witch Lilith, lived a girl named Silver Feather who had a face similar to her own.
She seemed to lack the talent to be Magic girl and also fell seriously ill, leading to her early death.
By now, her mind is filled with doubts because of this incident.
After she had made up her mind, she looked at Roland, who was leaning against the silver-black railing, fiddling with the gemstone ring on his finger, and responded to Roland's earlier words:
"Ms. Roland, may I ask... did Lilith, Teacher Haihara, ever have someone named Silver Feather by her side?"
"Yes, she has the same face as you, a similar smile, and I even ate her berry pie before."
Roland answered with a smile.
Am I her?
Kirishima Ai ultimately chose to ask a more direct question.
In the quiet city at night, the sky was so dark it looked like it was about to rain or snow, and it seemed like only the two of them remained in the world.
"I must say, I don't know, darling. Perhaps you just happen to look very similar? Perhaps you happen to be able to use the Crystal the teacher left for that child, and then you just happen to remember things about that child?"
"But my intuition tells me that maybe you really are that child."
To die and be brought back to life.
This is a very common and easily understood element in all kinds of literary works.
However, Kirishima Ai was unable to understand at this moment.
She never imagined that she had died. She had a complete life, with her own parents and younger sister, living a life completely unrelated to the girl named Silver Feather from the past.
What exactly is this...?
But in the end, all the questions turned into the truth she most wanted to know.
Kirishima Ai's gaze lowered, slightly darkening, and she said softly---
"In the scenes I witnessed, that Witch Lilith, who was clearly that kind of person, why did she end up doing those things?"
"What is it all for?"
That Witch, Lilith, a woman Teacher Haihara, seemed uninterested in anything during that memory.
Love for power, status, and others.
Because they are born with everything and can obtain it effortlessly, they seem to have nothing they crave.