Chapter 26

Emerald’s house smelled like a new house.

Well, since it’s from the center, the new house smell is unavoidable.

I thought Emerald’s house would be designed in green tones…

But no, it’s so plain and boring with barely any furniture.

And there’s only one room.

Wait, does that mean the three of us have to share the same room?

…That’s not great.

“Tamako is asleep again.”

“Yeah.”

Tamako fell asleep as soon as we got home.

Given her poor health, it was only natural.

For me, it’s better if she stays asleep…

Since Tamako emits despair energy while awake, it’s better if she sleeps longer.

The only problem is that I don’t get a chance to feed on that despair.

Why does it have to be the same room?

The landlord could’ve taken the big room and given us tenants the smaller one, right?

My plan to share a room with Tamako and suck up her despair…!

Maybe I should knock Emerald out sometime?

Emerald in her current state seems easy to take down.

Look, she’s even staggering a bit while walking.

“Go to bed first, Akari. I’ll tidy up a bit and then sleep.”

“Okay, sure…”

…She’s trying to slip away like this.

This is why I don’t like perceptive magical girls.

I sighed inwardly at Emerald telling me to sleep first.

Ah, whatever. Let’s just lie down and sleep.

‘When I wake up, I hope the world is filled with despair…’

I muttered an impossible wish and closed my eyes.

Maybe because I was hungry, I fell asleep quickly.

.

.

.

The next morning.

I woke up and went out of the room to find Emerald collapsed in the living room.

I rubbed my eyes at the unbelievable sight.

Emerald was still lying on the floor.

…Huh?

“Midori, are you okay? Midori?”

“Ugh, ugh…”

It was obvious she wasn’t okay, but I asked out of courtesy.

Her face looked red, and she seemed to have a fever…

I reached out and touched her forehead, feeling the intense heat.

Whoa, that’s hot. I almost pulled my hand back.

“You shouldn’t overwork yourself…”

“…Akari.”

“Don’t talk, just stay still. I’ll move you to your room.”

As I said that, I lifted Emerald slightly.

Hmm, she’s really light.

For a magical girl who delivers iron-fisted justice to monsters, she’s surprisingly light.

‘Does she not eat well?’

The person who forced me to eat doesn’t eat herself…

I felt a hint of malice from Emerald.

“Put me down… Akari…”

“Hey, if you keep overworking yourself, you’ll really be in trouble. Humans need to rest properly to be efficient.”

I pressed down on Emerald, who was trying to get up even while lying in bed.

Can you not try to move when you’re sick?

Just when I finally got a chance to devour Tamako’s despair, you’re trying to ruin it…!

‘Magical girls are truly magical girls…’

Unconsciously trying to stop the monster’s mischief.

If I were a magical girl, I might have been moved by Emerald’s actions.

“Here, let me cool you down.”

“Ugh…”

I didn’t like Emerald’s sweat on my hands, but it was too bothersome to get a wet towel, so I just placed my hand on her forehead.

How’s that, magical girl? The monster’s body temperature?

And a magical girl being nursed by a monster, how shameful!

I chuckled and rubbed Emerald’s forehead.

‘When else would I get to touch her head like this?’

Her forehead seemed to cool down, and Emerald’s groans gradually subsided.

Hmm, did she fall asleep?

I tilted my head and listened closely, hearing the steady sound of her breathing.

…She really fell asleep.

‘I wish she’d have a nightmare.’

Even in the hospital, Emerald never had nightmares.

How can a human be like that?

Her superhuman mental strength made even me, a monster, click my tongue.

After all she’s been through, she doesn’t unconsciously emit despair while sleeping, tsk.

‘Ah, right.’

Come to think of it, I heard somewhere that if you hear a word while sleeping, you dream about it.

I stared at Emerald, who was motionless in her sleep, and quietly moved closer.

Hmm, let’s start with something light.

“Apocalypse.”

“Ugh…”

Oooh~

Wow, that’s effective.

Just saying the word “Apocalypse” brought out this much despair.

Since opportunities like this don’t come often, I decided to suck up as much despair as I could.

Now, what should I say next?

Ah, right.

“You thought you could eliminate me by coming back?”

“…Ah.”

Ooooh~

This is it!

The sticky despair flowing through the Despair Circuit made me exhale a hot breath.

Ugh, I can never get used to this feeling.

It’s like my body temperature suddenly spikes.

Since the magical girl’s despair is coming in, the Despair Circuit is running wild.

“Huh, huhuhuhu, heh… slurp, huu…”

If someone saw me now, they’d think I was on some kind of drug.

Like that idiot character standing next to Emerald, staring at me with a dumbfounded look.

…

Huh?

[You, you, you…! What are you? Get away from Emerald right now!!]

“Ugh, ugh…!”

Whoosh, the SD character flew over and body-slammed me, making me fall on my butt.

What is that?

No, no, I know, you idiot!

I wanted to hit myself for the sudden realization.

‘The magical girl always has a partner, you fool!’

This is practically a self-report.

There’s a monster here, come and get me~ kind of vibe.

I wasn’t stupid enough to let go when the Despair Circuit was running so intensely.

‘What do I need now?’

Bribery?

Would the magical girl’s partner fall for a monster’s bribery?

Persuasion?

Would the magical girl’s partner fall for a monster’s persuasion?

Pleading?

Would the magical girl’s partner listen to a monster’s pleas?

Threats?

Would the magical girl’s partner fall for a monster’s threats~?

‘Maybe?’

I smirked and pulled up the corner of my mouth.

I promised myself to restrain my monstrous behavior as much as possible, but in this situation, I had no choice.

I kept the Despair Circuit running and locked eyes with the SD character.

[You, you saw me…? How…?]

“How do you think?”

I tried to look as threatening as possible.

If you do something stupid, Emerald might get hurt, you know?

“Keep it a secret from Emerald.”

[…]

“Or else, something bad might happen.”

Now that the halo has appeared, there’s no way to hide the fact that I’m the Apocalypse.

Until now, it was just suspicion, but from this moment on, it’s confirmed.

But there’s still hope.

‘If I can just shut this guy’s mouth, I might be able to deceive her a little longer…’

Emerald is unconscious, so as long as this 2D character doesn’t tell her, it’s fine.

…This means I have to stick close to Emerald.

This is also a troublesome choice, but since I did something stupid, I have to deal with it.

[You’re… a monster?]

“Yes, that’s right. I’m a monster created by the Doctor.”

[…First, calm down that despair energy. If an alarm goes off, it’ll be irreversible.]

“…”

Did it work?

If I calm the despair energy, Emerald won’t suddenly wake up and fire a magic cannon, right?

As various conflicts flashed through my mind, I bit my lips and finally started to calm the despair energy as the 2D character suggested.

Phew, just when I thought things were going well, there’s a trap like this.

Even unconscious, she manages to trap the monster, how disgustingly magical girl-like!

Oooh…

[Good. Let’s start with introductions. I’m May.]

“…Call me Akari.”

What a stroke of luck. Introducing myself to a monster.

I forced a smile to hide my gloomy mood.

Ah, if I knew this would happen, I would’ve held back a little.

Tamako’s despair alone would’ve been enough, but why did I have to be greedy?

[It’s a bit early to say this, but I can’t trust a monster.]

‘Well, that’s understandable.’

Of course.

There’s no way a magical girl’s ally would listen to a monster.

[You’re only talking because you want to keep things quiet, right? If you wanted to devour Emerald, you would’ve done it by now.]

“…Right?”

I hate this feeling of losing control.

But since everything May said was correct, I couldn’t argue.

I wanted to stick a straw into Emerald’s spine, not cause a scene.

‘Why is my monster life like this…’

The most unfortunate monster in the world is right here.