Chapter 58

“Please take care of me from now on, Miss Emerald.”

“Ah, yes…”

Seeing her speak formally, it seems she doesn’t remember.

I sighed in relief, feeling both disappointed and reassured.

Maybe it’s better that Sapphire doesn’t remember.

If she did, she’d probably go attack Akari with Ruby.

[By the way, she’s being so polite.]

“…Yeah.”

Come to think of it, our first meeting was when she was dispatched to support Ruby and me.

Her expression was cold, but her eyes were sparkling, so it definitely left an impression.

I never imagined I’d experience that again.

“Have you two had a chance to talk a bit?”

“Yes.”

While chatting with Sapphire, I nodded at the guide who cautiously approached.

It was a fun time after a while.

Even without her memories, Sapphire is still Sapphire, huh.

“The Association hopes you two can quickly check the black cloud layer. Could you start the exploration as soon as possible?”

“We can start right now.”

And even Sapphire’s confidence was something I remembered.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t confidence but a sense of duty.

If there’s something threatening or causing anxiety to people, she steps forward to solve it.

Normally, that would be reassuring, but since it’s related to Akari, I couldn’t purely feel happy.

“How about you, Miss Emerald?”

“I’m fine too.”

“That’s a relief. Other magical girls dispatched from elsewhere got injured while investigating…”

I gave an awkward smile to the guide who sighed in relief.

I shouldn’t say that getting injured is lucky.

‘…Get a grip. The priority is to make sure no one else gets hurt.’

Even if it’s related to Akari, I shouldn’t forget the duty of a magical girl.

Alright, let’s do this.

I’ve broken through the despair of the Apocalypse before, so I can definitely do it this time too.

“By the way, are the injured ones okay?”

“Yes, fortunately, they didn’t suffer major injuries. One of the dispatched magical girls has healing abilities, so you can rest assured.”

I nodded at the guide’s words.

That’s really a relief.

If Akari had caused irreparable damage to others, I wouldn’t have been able to stand by.

“Let’s go, Miss Emerald.”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Sapphire’s words.

Just wait a bit, Akari. I’ll definitely bring you back.

***

Magical girls were stirring up the area every day.

It seems they got hurt by a nearby monster…

They messed with a wasp nest and got stung, then came rushing over.

Of course, no magical girl has pierced through the clouds yet, but if that happens, the number of magical girls coming would narrow down to one.

“…Is Emerald coming?”

Grrr…

“What kind of girl is Emerald? Well, it’s hard to say.”

Defining Emerald is still too complicated.

I hate these complex relationships.

The ideal relationship for me is one where it’s clear-cut: like or dislike.

But with Emerald, it’s different…

‘It was more reassuring when I was deceiving her.’

I never imagined she’d treat me the same even while running the Despair Circuit.

If it were me, I’d have been terrified of an Apocalypse that could talk.

That’s exactly what Ruby was.

“…Huh?”

Squeak…

While thinking about Emerald, I turned my head at the unpleasant feeling of hope energy from afar.

Has there been a magical girl with that much hope energy around here recently?

From the momentum, it seemed like she’d pierce through the clouds any moment.

‘It doesn’t seem like Emerald or Ruby…’

Having experienced both their hope energies, there was no way to confuse them.

Then who could it be?

Swoosh…

“…”

Grrr, grrr

“…Is she dead? Can I eat her? No.”

The curiosity about which magical girl tried to pierce through the clouds was resolved faster than expected.

The problem was that the answer was completely different from what I expected.

“Hey, hey~ Are you alive~?”

“…”

I poked her cheek with my finger, but she didn’t move.

Did she really die? I tilted my head, then sighed in relief at the faint sound of breathing.

Well, she’s not the type to die so easily.

‘I never imagined I’d see her here…’

If you’re talking about hair the color of a clean sea, there’s only one magical girl that comes to mind.

Magical Girl Sapphire.

One of the original protagonists, a magical girl specialized in defensive magic.

…Does she have her memories? Or not?

“…Ugh.”

‘Oh, she’s waking up.’

After poking her cheek for a while, Sapphire finally opened her eyes with a small groan.

See, now that her eyes are open, it’s clearly Sapphire.

Her expression is a bit dazed, different from what I remember in the original.

“You, are…”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Akari.”

I smiled as innocently as possible.

Of course, if Sapphire has her memories, it’s all pointless.

But since she didn’t attack immediately, there’s still hope.

“Monster…!!”

“Suddenly going on the offensive is quite hurtful.”

“Are you… a monster?”

“What do you think?”

Sapphire prepared for battle, but she seemed confused since I looked human.

Well, it doesn’t matter what she thinks.

“…I’ve never seen a monster that can talk.”

“Congratulations. You’ve just met your first talking monster.”

Life is all about new experiences. Right, exactly.

I told Sapphire I was a monster on a whim.

I didn’t want her to think I was human and later go, ‘You were a monster!?’

It’s better to deal with the hassle now than later.

“But…”

“Why, don’t you believe me? Here, look.”

Grrr…

“…!!!”

I gestured to a monster hiding in the distance, and it hesitantly approached, wary of Sapphire’s hope energy.

Tsk, it whined so much to me but cowers before hope energy?

Isn’t a monster supposed to charge regardless?

“If you’re a monster, I’ll eliminate you with full force…!”

“I have no intention of fighting. Think about it, if I wanted to harm you, wouldn’t I have attacked while you were down?”

“…”

Sapphire slowly calmed her hope energy after hearing my words.

She seems stubborn, but surprisingly, we can talk.

It feels like I could manipulate Sapphire if I play my cards right.

“Just what are you?”

“For now, it’s best to think of me as a ‘monster that can talk.'”

“Just talking doesn’t seem…”

Sapphire trailed off, her trembling gaze scanning me.

She still doesn’t believe I’m a monster.

‘Now I understand why the original magical girls fell so easily.’

Humans usually hesitate to attack something that looks human.

If even Sapphire reacts like this, what about the others?

I don’t need to imagine; it’s obvious.

Even with powers beyond humans, they’re still magical ‘girls.’

A girl’s emotions would make it hard to attack something that looks human.

“…Fine. Then I’ll change the question. What is your purpose?”

“My purpose…”

If I said my purpose was to quietly live off the despair of magical girls, I’d be treated like a fool.

No, I’d definitely be treated like a fool.

She might even attack me out of disbelief.

“Why don’t you find out for yourself? Observe me and judge my purpose on your own.”

“…”

Whatever I say, Sapphire will only believe what she sees.

So it’s better to leave the judgment to her.

I’ll adjust my response based on her judgment.

“Ah, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Akari. What’s your name?”

“…I’m Sapphire.”

“I don’t know how long you’ll be here, but… let’s get along, Sapphire.”

I smiled as Sapphire hesitantly gave her name.

Alright, let’s start deceiving the magical girl.