Chapter 563
"... uh-huh?"
In Haihara's memory, Al White's desires were indeed quite low in every aspect.
The other person rarely expresses any wishes or thoughts, and only shows interest in most things for a short time.
However, she and Al White had indeed been very good friends since childhood. Al White would spend time by her side whenever he had free time, and this did not change as they grew up.
Even after Haihara was reopened, nothing changed.
"And then, this willful, escapist, childishly weak person, ultimately had to kill the person she used to be because of a sense of responsibility—the only person she needed most of the time?"
"..."
"I heard that she didn't leave the Royal Palace for three hundred years afterward and never saw anyone. Could this be due to autism or depression?"
Xiao Yu Ke's innocent words immediately silenced Haihara, who was just as willful and selfish as a child, leaving her speechless.
Haihara didn't say anything, but silently poured another large glass of wine into it, then pushed it towards Kuroki Yuka. Amidst Kuroki Yuka's dazed expression, the woman smiled gently:
"Look how long we've been talking, your throat must be dry, come on, have some wine."
"You should know this is a crime."
Kuroki Yuka held her steaming cup of Sweet Milk in both hands, looking at this despicable woman with a wary expression.
Across the table, the eldest member, Haihara Ryo, carefully examined Kuroki Yuka junior member she hadn't paid much attention to before.
Honestly, is it because I've raised a child and become a mother?
It seems like Lily has been so maternal lately, which explains why she gets along so well with these children.
Although in Liang's opinion, these Problem Child are not much older than Lily in this life, they would probably be in the same grade if they went to school in R'lyeh.
"----Thump, thump, thump."
Just then, Ryo, Haihara, and even Kuroki Yuka all heard a knock at the door.
Haihara was puzzled. Who would be knocking on her door so late?
Even though the Magical Puppy is gone, no one's going to order takeout for themselves out of the blue, right?
Or is the Magical Puppy returning to assert its claim to its little home?
With these questions in mind, Haihara, as the head of the household, stood up first, walked to the door, and opened it without responding.
It turned out to be something like Magical Puppy.
Upon opening the door, they saw a woman who was quite tall, roughly the same height as Haihara.
The woman wasn't dressed in any particularly eye-catching way; she had her very long blonde hair tied up low, and her clothes were a modern, androgynous style.
However, the blonde woman who suddenly appeared at the door, with her angelic and flawless face and eyes that looked like she was about to burst into tears, left everyone in the room speechless with a sense of salvation.
This woman's appearance is reminiscent of Takanashi Shiori.
However, their temperaments are quite different.
Before Haihara could say anything, the blonde beauty, her face already pale and on the verge of tears, hugged Haihara Lilith tightly, burying her face in Haihara's chest and sobbing:
"Lily, could it be... that Shiori actually hates me?"
"...?"
Haihara Lilith —it was breathtaking.
Volume Four Does This Count as a Magical Girl??: Chapter 77 Bitter Wine Goes Down the Throat, Heart Aches
In the distant past, Al White often said things that were incomprehensible to those around him because his thought process was different from that of normal people.
Because of her exceptional talent as a Magic girl and her R'lyeh as the most revered Royal Family in R'lyeh, people took her absurd and outspoken words as the result of careful consideration. However, people were too ignorant to understand, and only Her Highness Her Majesty the Queen Consort Lilith, who had grown up with her, could comprehend them.
In reality, Lilith didn't understand at all; she only knew that Al White was a Monster.
All she could do was listen to the other person's complaints and occasionally offer some sharp commentary.
--Just like now.
"So, she said she doesn't consider you her mother, only me is?"
Haihara Lilith rested her chin on her hand and asked with interest. Although her expression remained as calm as ever, for some reason, it conveyed a sense of pleasure.
It's quite heartwarming to hear that Takanashi Shiori actually acknowledges that she is a mother.
After all, Haihara herself wasn't very confident in this regard.
Meanwhile, the most noble Great Witch in all of R'lyeh, the Queen of Magic girls, Lady Al White, was slumped over the table, holding a bottle of wine that she had already drunk half of.
"Waaaaah, yes..."
Miss Liang naturally looked away with disgust, refusing to glance at this shameful woman.
Haihara glanced at his girlfriend, who was sleeping rather restlessly, and began to consider whether to suggest that Al White cry less.
Her expression was calm and helpless.
"I'm quite curious about how you took care of her when she was little. When I was with Shiori, she never mentioned you."
The Gray-Haired, Purple-Eyed Witch finally found someone who could answer her questions and help her understand how Takanashi Shiori spent her childhood.
Although she had asked Takanashi herself before, Takanashi had never been interested in talking about her childhood and would always gloss over the topic with a somewhat indifferent attitude.
To everyone's surprise, the other party hesitated for a moment.
"Hmm... taking care of her? I found her a huge room in a palace and filled it with lots of toys?"
To be honest, Al White's alcohol tolerance wasn't very high. When she looked up, her fair face was flushed, and her eyes were slightly unfocused.
Was that just drunken talk?
Haihara Lilith frowned slightly, looking somewhat puzzled.
"Then what?"
"... I sent her to school, and I heard she's doing quite well academically?"
Al White blinked, not understanding why Haihara would ask such a question.
If only Ryo had shown disdain just now, now even Magical Bird and Kuroki Yuka looked confused and bewildered.
Why did you only say the beginning and then stop?
Only Haihara roughly felt that Al White seemed to have indeed finished speaking.
"Nothing else, just... experiences of being alone with her, or spending time with her?"
Haihara Lilith also looked on with curiosity.
Al White tried extremely hard to recall---
"During the period shortly after she moved into her new room, I went to see her alone and greeted her two or three times, asking things like, 'How are you?', 'How's your room? Should you decorate it more?', 'Have you been happy lately?'... etc."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Haihara Lilith covered her forehead with one hand.
All these years have passed, and this woman really hasn't grown at all.
If it were anyone else, they might have phrased it more tactfully in this situation, but Lilith only hesitated for a moment before delivering a sharp critique quite directly.
"Al White, honestly, you're a terrible mother. No, you're completely unfit for the word 'mother'."
"I heard you haven't even given her a name yet, have you?"
After all, generally speaking, the R'lyeh people wouldn't name their children like Takanashi Shiori, especially Royal Family.
Al White looked innocent and somewhat puzzled, and she defended herself by saying:
"But I went through the same thing when I was little... I didn't even find out who my mother was until I became Queen."
She seemed to think that being a mother this way was perfectly normal.
Rather, she had absolutely no concept of what a normal mother is like.
If I had to say, the maternal love she lacked as a child... was all made up for by her childhood sweetheart, Lilith.
"When you were little, everyone knew you were Royal Family, and you didn't have any problems with Magic Power talent. Everyone doted on you, so you never had any trouble with your treatment. It was completely different."
"... Ugh."
Al White was being scolded by Lilith unilaterally—no, it couldn't be called a scolding, it was more like her faults were being pointed out unilaterally, but even so, Al White was already about to lose a little pearl.
Perhaps it was because Lilith unconsciously used a harsher tone, but Haihara's other childhood friend, Ms. Kougami Kage, slowly woke up from her drunken stupor.
She rubbed her eyes groggily, and through her blurry vision, she saw Haihara, whose skin was as fair as moonlight and who was beautiful and charming. She couldn't help herself and instinctively gave Haihara kiss on the cheek.
This caused a moment of silence in the living room.
Kougami Kage was still a little dizzy, and since she was already nearsighted, it wasn't until a while later that she realized something was wrong with her surroundings. When she looked up, she saw an incredibly unfamiliar, beautiful blonde woman who was almost inhuman.
The blonde beauty stared wide-eyed at Kougami Kage, who had just kissed Lily, in disbelief.
Kougami Kage blinked, wondering if there was such a woman at the party earlier.
Why are you looking at her? Are you jealous that her girlfriend is too pretty?
"Why did you suddenly kiss my wife?"
Al White was stunned, and for a moment he almost dropped the bottle.
Kougami Kage was also confused, but she was getting a little anxious.
"When did she become your wife? Take another look."
Although she has a good temper and usually doesn't care about most things, she couldn't tolerate what Al White said.
The air around the table was thick with the intoxicating smell of alcohol, which gave off a somewhat shrewd and unsettling atmosphere.
"I think she is." Al White glanced at her and thought that no matter how you looked at her, she was his lawfully wedded Queen Lilith.
Although she could tolerate being temporarily separated from Lily and occasionally being coveted by other women, doing it in front of her was simply too much.
Al White was clearly somewhat incoherent due to the effects of alcohol.
"..."
Kougami Kage's face puffed up in anger.
Her face was flushed with the rosy hue of alcohol, and she made a muffled nasal sound. Then, to assert her dominance, she directly embraced Haihara in front of Al White, pressing her equally stunningly beautiful face against Haihara's slender, pale neck and ear.
Before Al White could say anything more, Kougami Kage grabbed Haihara's hand, interlocked their fingers, and raised it up for Al White to see.
"Look."
It's obvious.
The two women wore a pair of rings on their ring fingers.
Upon seeing this, Al White's expression immediately turned as if he were a stunned penguin.
"A ring? Hmph, you don't have one, do you...?"
A triumphant smile appeared on Kougami Kage's drunken face.
She was laughing so hard that even Liang wanted to punch her.
The living room was brightly lit yet somewhat dim; despite its brightness, it made one feel disoriented and out of touch with reality.
Shining light on a drunk person only makes their head spin even more.
"..."
Al White was also a little drunk. When he saw the ring on Lilith's hand that matched someone else's, his hazy, drunken eyes lowered slightly, revealing a somewhat lonely and somber face.
Although she simply lowered her head and made a muffled nasal sound, as if she hadn't heard what Kougami Kage had just said, her hand under the table unconsciously touched the ring on her other hand.
That cold and beautiful ring clearly once had a matching pair.
But that ring is no longer on the beautiful finger of the woman with the familiar face.
After a while.
"... Lily, are you going to marry her?"