Chapter 16

Why the hell is the security in this hospital so messed up?

I sighed, shaking off my sticky hands.

The monster’s corpse—or its byproduct?

A thick, black, oily liquid dripped down onto my shadow.

‘By the way, this is edible too.’

Cleaning up the filthy hospital room wasn’t a big deal.

The monster’s byproducts disappeared as soon as they touched my shadow, like they were being vacuumed up.

Hmm, cleaning up monster byproducts is truly an apocalypse.

Gurgle—

‘Still, my stomach isn’t full…’

The monster was a lump of despair itself, but eating it didn’t fill my stomach.

What a pity.

If I could get full from monsters, I’d be running around hunting them right now.

But, well.

“Since there’s Tamako…”

What should I do with that chubby kid?

Dealing with the monsters that show up every night is pretty annoying.

But, well, if I think of it like swatting mosquitoes attracted to the smell of blood, it’s not that bad.

“Akari, I’m here.”

“…You came?”

If we’re talking about annoying, this is the real annoyance.

Emerald, who shows up at least once a day.

I don’t remember getting close to her, but she always gives me that sly smile when she sees me…

‘Did she eat something wrong? Or did her memory suddenly get erased?’

I wanted to ask her directly, but they say you shouldn’t talk to mentally ill people.

How long will she stay today?

Just thinking about it makes me sigh.

“Midori, aren’t you a magical girl? I heard the monster invasions have been frequent lately.”

“Even if it’s not me, there are plenty of magical girls to handle it. A newly awakened magical girl has appeared recently, so it doesn’t reach me much.”

“…Is that so?”

Then what the hell are you running around doing?

Emerald has been looking busy lately, so it’s natural to wonder.

A magical girl passing monsters to her junior, huh?

And then saying, ‘This is all for your own good~’

“Nothing’s been happening lately, right? Like feeling sick or anything.”

“…I’m fine. The biggest problem is that the hospital food tastes terrible.”

The hospital food tastes bad, they say it’s bad, but this time it’s no joke—it really tastes awful.

To be precise, the texture is just garbage.

Considering my stomach condition, they mostly bring porridge, but it tastes like eating a lump of mud.

“Please bear with it a little. It’s all for Akari’s sake.”

How is it for my sake?

Pretending to eat and secretly spitting it out is also a hassle.

Why can my shadow only absorb monster corpses and not porridge-shaped waste?

“Ah, by the way, there’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“What is it? Feel free to ask!”

“…”

Her gaze is burdensome.

When I said I had something to ask, Emerald leaned in close, and I tilted my head back slightly.

Hey, we’re not even that close, this distance is really uncomfortable.

Her eyes shining with hope are disgusting, yeah.

“Can a monster appear in the city without the alarm going off?”

“Huh? Why are you asking that suddenly…”

“No, I was just curious.”

Monsters keep invading my hospital room, so why didn’t the alarm go off?

Is this some kind of corruption?

Like, maybe the alarm system is only on the outskirts of the city or something.

No, even so, the alarm should have gone off when they entered, right?

“…Wait a moment. I need to go somewhere, so I’ll be right back.”

“Ah, okay. Take care.”

Her attitude is so annoying that she stays longer, so it’s better to see her off like this.

What’s so good that she’s smiling like an idiot?

I clicked my tongue and stared at the door where Emerald disappeared.

‘At least I confirmed they don’t invade during the day…’

Well, it’ll be fine.

Being stuck in this room is reaching its limit.

Trying to keep a free spirit like me locked up in this room.

“I’ll be back soon, Tamako.”

I’ve never had a proper conversation with her, but my internal closeness to Tamako is at its peak.

It’s like our souls are connected, you know?

Slurp—

‘Ah, drool’s coming out.’

Just looking at it makes my mouth water.

If I were a normal monster, I might have gobbled her up in one bite—she’s that attractive in her despair.

You should stay quiet and sleep until I get back, okay?

With that, I gave her one last look and slowly started changing my clothes.

No need to attract attention by wearing a hospital gown outside.

Knock knock—

“Hello, do you have a moment— huh?”

“Ah.”

Caught.

I froze mid-changing, with a skirt draped over my thighs as the nurse opened the door.

Oops, the plan was to sneak out and sneak back in.

“Ah, just a moment.”

“Ah, no! Take your time!”

The nurse turned her head awkwardly, and I pulled up the skirt to finish dressing.

Why is the one who saw me more embarrassed than the one who was seen?

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay, take care— no, no no! Where are you going?!”

“Just going out for a bit…”

“Absolutely not!”

If a person can walk around fine, isn’t that enough?

I sighed inwardly at the nurse desperately blocking my way.

This is why normal humans are like this.

I shook my head and peeled the nurse off my arm.

“Look, do I look like a sick person to you?”

“Yes.”

Instant answer, huh?

By the way, where exactly?

Apart from my pale face that looks like I’m about to collapse, I look fine, right?

Ah, and my lips are pale too.

But other than that, don’t I look perfectly fine?

“Even like this?”

“Whoa…”

Showing action is the most effective way to convince a doubter.

The best way to show off your health.

That is, to flaunt your strength.

“Uh, um…”

“Do I look like a patient to you now?”

“Ah, no…”

I lifted the nurse and held her in my arms.

The so-called princess carry.

Even if it looks like chopsticks standing up, my body is far from ordinary.

See, when I show my strength, you can’t even think straight, right?

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Okay… okay?! No, wait—”

Rumble—

Ah, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.

The last thing I heard was a ‘yes,’ so it’s fine if I leave, right?

***

The sky looked like it was about to rain.

Peridot, staring blankly at the dark clouds, looked down at the white chrysanthemum in her hand.

Of the people in the shelter, only those on the 5th floor survived.

The first tragedy left the atmosphere heavy, and her own heart was no exception.

“…I’m sorry, everyone.”

She muttered words that could no longer be heard and placed the chrysanthemum on the platform next to the incense.

The horrific scene where not a single intact body could be found.

The deaths of family, friends, and acquaintances brought great shock and sorrow to this small city.

It was, quite literally, an unimaginable event.

“If only I had been a little faster…”

It was impossible to shake off.

The death of even one person is hard to accept, let alone the deaths of so many.

The weight of life and death pressed heavily on Peridot’s small shoulders.

‘Senpai, I don’t think I can do this.’

The media criticizing magical girls, the bereaved families screaming to bring back the dead, even her own photos being defaced.

It was understandable.

And because of that, she had no choice but to bear it all.

There were too many factors blaming herself, so the girl—Peridot—had no choice but to accept it all.

It was the only atonement she could offer.

‘It would have been better if I had died.’

The distorted memories didn’t matter.

Only the intention behind those words mattered.

She bit her lip, recalling the last girl she had seen.

It wasn’t important that even one person survived.

What mattered was that she couldn’t save everyone.

Tap, tap, tap—

“…Ah.”

It started to rain.

Feeling the coldness on her cheeks, she let out a sigh as the black ground slowly became stained with raindrops.

‘Maybe it’s okay to cry now.’

As she let the raindrops on her eyebrows slide down and slowly exhaled, a dark emotion began to rise from the depths of her trembling heart.

Her hands, shaking uncontrollably, tried to calm each other, but it was no use.

“Ah, ah… aah…”

‘It would have been better if I had died.’

Peridot’s eyes reflected the girl.

The black-haired girl, smiling brightly at her, just as she had last seen her.

There, she was.