Chapter 562
And it seems that her eldest daughter's belated rebellious phase has finally arrived.
The complexity of family relationships.
Are these the kinds of troubles that women nearing thirty face?
"Lily, feed me."
That night, after getting off work, Kougami Kage was a little tipsy and habitually started to whine softly beside Haihara.
It's dinner time now, a women's party, or as it's generally called, since people might drink and get drunk, so Haihara naturally didn't bring Kazama Kiriori along.
Kougami has never been a good drinker, and he became slightly tipsy after only a few drinks, his cool white coat stained with the smell of alcohol and his drunkenness.
Normally, this would be quite cute, making you want to take a bite.
Haihara was holding her fork, about to say something, when another woman slowly spoke up:
"... Miss Kougami, at your age, you shouldn't need my Lily to feed you anymore, right?"
That woman was an undeniably beautiful woman, just like Lilith, with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye and a remarkably aloof and dignified demeanor.
She rested her chin lightly on her long, slender hand, her eyes slightly cold, as if covered with frost.
It's naturally the headmistress.
The three of them were drinking together at Haihara's house.
Meanwhile, Haihara, the scientist, blinked innocently as always, looking a little confused and not quite understanding.
"Lily is my girlfriend, and we'll marry each other someday."
This disheveled, drunken beauty pressed her ample G-cup breasts heavily against Haihara Lilith's slender arms and shoulders, uttering the same childish words she used to say when she was a child.
Logically speaking, Ms. Liang, a mature and intellectual woman, shouldn't be arguing with a drunkard who's clinging to her sister.
She simply raised her chin slightly, appearing completely composed.
"I've met quite a few Lily, but my sister only has me, dear Miss Kougami."
Liang felt that this Earth woman was getting excited a little too soon.
So, Kougami Kage pondered for a moment:
"Then, sister?"
"..."
Liang didn't say anything, he just poured himself a drink.
Glug glug...
The cool liquor slid down the woman's delicate throat.
One glass of wine after another went down my throat, until the aroma of the liquor was so strong it permeated my lungs, filling my heavy head as if something heavy had been stuffed inside.
Before long, Kougami Kage got so drunk that he leaned against Haihara and fell asleep. In this desolate and cold winter night filled with the smell of alcohol, it felt very comfortable to stay in the house.
Haihara stroked Kougami's long, gray-black hair. For the past two days, Kougami Kage 'Haihara hair, so it wasn't as messy as usual.
Across the table, Ryo, the elder sister, looked at this scene. She didn't know whether her eyes were filled with helplessness or emotion. In the end, her eyes only saw Haibara Lilith who had restored her appearance in her memory, and she was also a little intoxicated and melancholy:
"So, you really want to marry this child?"
Haihara nodded casually and said calmly:
"If she wants to marry me."
This is actually quite incredible.
In Ryo's memory, his younger sister had never mentioned wanting to marry anyone, not even her childhood friend, the monarch of R'lyeh, His Al White.
Furthermore, it's hard to say whether Ryo ever truly loved anyone or considered anyone her sister Lilith had during her past life as Lilith. Most of the time, Lilith simply went with the flow and accommodated others.
So, is it the same this time?
But something seems a little different.
"Is she any different from the others?"
Liang described the situation with a touch of ruthlessness.
The Witch have truly lived for a very long time, Lilith has certainly met and said goodbye to many people.
In Liang's eyes, the unkempt young woman lying next to Lily was just a passerby who would soon disappear and be forgotten by yesterday.
Haihara seemed to have actually thought about it a little seriously:
"Have no idea..."
She seemed to have left her words unfinished, but she couldn't continue. A slight smile appeared on her cool expression.
"Don't know? If you don't think about it carefully, everything will be over in the blink of an eye."
"This time, there's no need to think it through."
To everyone's surprise, Haihara smiled faintly, her deep purple eyes as calm and clear as cold light shining through glass into wine.
"Why?"
"Because this time, I too will end my life in the blink of an eye, so I think it doesn't matter if I just let it pass by in a daze?"
At first, Liang didn't quite understand.
After understanding, she couldn't help but look confused and somewhat blankly at her most important younger sister.
To say it was a mixed bag of emotions... well, it was a bit of that.
She almost forgot that her dear younger sister's most prominent traits were willfulness and selfishness.
Liang drank another glass of wine by himself.
A faint blush of intoxication gradually crept onto the principal's dignified yet melancholic face, adding even more beauty to her already stunning features.
"... I hate that you're getting married. I should have fought with Al White back then; she's absolutely not a suitable marriage partner."
Even this seemingly mature and insightful headmistress sounded somber when the topic came up.
Haihara Lilith didn't seem to have any particular feelings about it, and poured herself another glass of wine.
Now that Al White's curse has been lifted, she can finally drink to her heart's content.
"I'm not exactly a good wife, so it's hard to say whether I'm good or bad."
Recalling that past engagement, Haihara felt somewhat dazed.
If we were to discuss who did worse in that relationship, it would undoubtedly be Miss Lilith, who betrayed Her Majesty the Queen and threw the entire Kingdom into chaos.
Although Liang herself brought up the topic, she didn't want to talk about marriage anymore, so she naturally tried to steer the conversation to other topics...
"Hey, speaking of which, Miss Haihara, is Al White referring R'lyeh Queen R'lyeh? What kind of person is she?"
A girl's sweet voice naturally followed.
It should have been the adults' nighttime world.
However, when Ryo looked up, she saw a girl wearing a suspicious teddy bear full-body pajama set, wrapped in a quilt, wandering around Haihara's house in slippers.
The girl's exposed skin was pale, as if she rarely went out and lacked color; her beautiful, sweet face, like that of a young lady from a wealthy family, also showed a slight gloom.
She seemed to have a habit of coming and going as she pleased, and approached with a curious expression, stirring the freshly prepared full-fat Sweet Milk Powder with a small spoon in her hand.
"I remember this child is... Kuroki Yuka?"
Liang blinked blankly.
For obvious reasons, she remembered the names and appearances of every Problem Child in Haihara's class.
"Hello, Miss Principal, I'm Kuroki Yuka."
Kuroki Yuka bowed politely and obediently to the adult from a distance.
"Well, she sometimes skips dinner because she's too lazy, so I just texted her to come in and have some hot food..."
Haihara was speaking, she noticed that Kuroki Yuka had already naturally sat down on her other side and continued to chatter on and on:
"She seems to be Takanashi's other biological mother, but I've never heard Takanashi mention her... Does Takanashi not have a good relationship with that Her Majesty the Queen?"
Kuroki Yuka's gossipy curiosity was evident in her words.
After all, she is Her Majesty the Queen of Magic Girls.
The Queen, or rather, Takanashi's mother, and Haihara's ex-fiancé—she's eager to learn more about him in every sense of the word.
As for Haihara, this is a problem.
What kind of person is Al White...?
This is a very complicated issue.
After a moment's thought, Haihara, as a less-than-ideal ex-wife, wanted to say something nice to avoid appearing petty.
But objectively speaking:
"Al White... If we're talking about being the Queen of R'lyeh, she's barely qualified; however, as a human being, she's the worst."
Kuroki Yuka blinked.
Liang, who was standing to the side, listened to this and looked on with a deep sense of agreement.
The girl naturally didn't understand much of what she was saying.
"Are you saying that Her Majesty the Queen is too cold-hearted and selfless, or something like that?"
She remembered that in Takanashi's description, Queen Al White had a particularly high opinion of R'lyeh.
Haihara made a muffled nasal sound for a moment.
"Not really."
"But, how should I put it, in many ways she's like a child who never grew up, and quite lacks a sense of responsibility."
This is a terrible evaluation for adults.
But to say that this is Queen who rules a country is absolutely terrible.
Haihara wasn't sure if her assessment was fair, or if it was slander from her ex-wife; in any case, she continued:
"Overall, she's a kind and honest person, but she dislikes troublesome things and prefers others to make decisions and think things through for her."
"Because she herself had no needs or desires, she was completely unaware of what normal people needed, and later she didn't really understand human nature."
"Because others say she needs to become king, she will do it, but she won't consider whether she actually wants to or is suitable for it; she just thinks it's fine no matter what."
These words, when listed in detail, seem to only point out Al White's shortcomings.
However, Haihara does generally prefer to talk about the flaws of people she knows. It's a bit inexplicable, but she often seems to favor other people's imperfections, finding them rather endearing.
But sometimes, some people, their flaws are truly regrettable.
Like...
"She will most likely impulsively create a child, but dislike the responsibilities of motherhood. Then, in a daze and panic, she will dump the responsibility of caring for the child on someone else, while she escapes to the sidelines, even deceiving herself to forget about it."
The more Haihara talked, the more complicated her feelings became.
In the end, she could only conclude---
"In a sense, she is the purest Magic girl."
She's a willful girl who never grows up.
Only when she is the Queen of R'lyeh can she uphold her responsibilities with basic conscience and goodwill.
However, when it comes to those close to Al White, their perception of that capricious side expands, turning him into an unfathomable, blank figure.
In the end, even Lilith herself sometimes couldn't quite explain what Al White was thinking.
After all, Her Majesty the Queen had made a great effort to disguise herself as human.
Perhaps in the end, Her Majesty the Her Majesty the Queen still longs to escape those responsibilities and expectations.
"A child who never grows up..."
Kuroki Yuka tilted her head slightly, a little uncertainly, then seemed to have thought of something:
"... Um."
"But, Miss Haihara, you said that Her Majesty the Queen has no needs or sense of responsibility, yet she should still care about and need you quite a bit?"