Chapter 11

“Before that.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s change those clothes first.”

Definitely, it’s weird to walk around like this.

From head to toe, dressed all in white.

With patches here and there, it probably looks like I’m some kind of strange person to others.

“But I don’t have any clothes with me.”

“…”

So, give me some clothes.

At such a brazen request, Emerald’s eyes momentarily lost their light.

Well, why not? You’re a popular Magical Girl, you can afford to buy me some clothes, right?

I’m just a child abandoned by my mom, with nothing to my name.

“Sigh, follow me.”

Following her, Emerald started searching for a nearby clothing store on her map app.

Anyway, I followed her for a while.

“Welcome, are you looking for anything specific?”

“Just something comfortable to wear would be fine.”

“Okay, please come this way.”

Turns out, we arrived at a women’s clothing store.

If you ask if I felt a huge rejection, not really, but there was definitely a sense of disconnect.

Women’s clothes? It just doesn’t feel like it suits me.

“Actually, I’m comfortable as is.”

“Since I’m uncomfortable, just wear it without complaining.”

I shook my head internally at Emerald, who was throwing clothes at me.

It’s not right to think this as the receiver, but her attitude is just too impure.

And I didn’t like the clothes she gave me either.

‘Isn’t something decent enough to walk around outside sufficient?’

I thought it would be just a simple t-shirt and jeans, but the clothes Emerald handed me were beyond ordinary, they were downright serious.

Just looking at the clothes in my hand made my arms break out in hives.

“I’m done changing.”

“…Isn’t it a bit too sloppy?”

“I’ve never worn clothes like this before.”

Even to me, it looked sloppy, but there was really nothing I could do.

I’ve never worn such clothes before.

I didn’t understand Emerald’s shocked reaction as she looked at me.

“Sigh, I’ll help you dress, so go back into the changing room.”

“I’m not a child, you don’t need to dress me—”

“Go. In. Now.”

Yes.

The atmosphere was so tense, as if she might shoot a magic spell at me, so I quickly moved back into the changing room without further ado.

‘Isn’t it enough to just cover the necessary parts?’

I clicked my tongue internally and looked at the mirror as Emerald started adjusting my outfit.

It seemed to be getting better.

No, it definitely looked better than when I wore it.

“Just a thought.”

“Go ahead.”

“Isn’t the outfit too frilly? I don’t think this suits me.”

A frilly shirt and a pleated skirt that reached my ankles.

It’s not like I’m a villainess from a medieval novel or something…

It wasn’t physically uncomfortable, but mentally, it was too uncomfortable.

“Here, wear these too.”

“You’re not playing dress-up with me, are you?”

“I just want you to dress like a decent person, that’s all.”

Her words had a sting to them.

Ah, right. Until just now, I wasn’t dressed like a human, huh.

If you asked which side I was closer to, it was the monster side.

I silently took the socks she handed me and let out a deep sigh.

‘I can’t tell if she’s trying to be nice or what…’

I wished she would make her attitude clear when dealing with people.

Anyway.

Emerald seemed quite interested in what I was wearing.

Do you really need to be in the changing room while I’m just putting on socks?

“Excuse me, are you going to keep watching?”

“I don’t know what you might do in the changing room.”

But you let me in alone at first.

I internally complained and eventually changed my socks in front of Emerald.

‘By the way, why does she like white so much?’

The top is white, the socks are white.

I don’t really like white because it shows stains easily.

I grumbled internally and looked in the mirror, where a flat-chested girl dressed like a villainess was staring back at me.

‘I think I understand why Emerald wanted to dress me like a human.’

In the original, it wasn’t emphasized much, but she was supposed to be a beautiful girl.

I didn’t expect to feel that beautiful girl aspect in this way, though.

‘Still, something feels lacking.’

Wearing these clothes, the Apocalypse vibe from the original is completely gone.

Not in a uniform, but in a villainess outfit, no hat, and most importantly, no twin tails.

No wonder I don’t feel like ‘this is the real Apocalypse’ when I look in the mirror.

“Emerald, do you have any hair ties?”

“I have some extras… You know how to tie your hair, right?”

“Roughly.”

It’s not like I’m some elderly person who can’t move.

Of course, I’ve never tied my hair myself, so I couldn’t be sure.

Anyway, I took the hair tie from Emerald and went back into the changing room.

I heard a voice asking why I needed to go into the changing room just to tie my hair—

‘If you’re so dissatisfied, come in yourself.’

I thought about having Emerald tie my hair into twin tails, but I thought it would be more fun to show her after I did it myself.

If she despairs, even better.

“Ugh…”

But soon, a snag appeared in my grand plan.

The reason was that tying my hair was harder than I thought.

Of course, just tying it into two parts wasn’t that difficult.

The problem was that it didn’t look like the image I remembered.

‘My hair is sticking out all over…’

I guess I don’t have a talent for being a girl.

Maybe the only talent I had was for being a monster.

‘Well, this should be enough.’

All I could think about was teasing Emerald.

Honestly, I’m curious, aren’t I?

I might get hit by a magic spell, but this was worth it.

*Rustle*

“What are you doing, still tying your—”

“…”

“…”

Emerald coming into the changing room wasn’t part of the plan.

I averted my gaze as Emerald looked me over with unfocused eyes.

It’s quieter than I expected.

Her gaze feels like she’s about to commit murder.

“Hmm…”

“…Are you okay?”

Of course, she’s not okay.

Seeing her sweating and clutching her head, it seems the trauma of Apocalypse resurfaced.

*Groan*

‘This is despair, pure despair.’

And above all, this despair.

It’s on a whole different level from what I felt from the Magical Girl in the shelter.

Thanks to that, my Despair Circuit revived.

It wasn’t enough to fill my stomach, but it was enough to feel like I had eaten something.

Like taking a sample at a supermarket.

“Those hair ties, they don’t suit you, so stop it right now.”

“I think they suit me quite well—”

Ow, that hurts?!

Before I could finish, Emerald started forcibly undoing my hair.

By the way, even for a monster, having your hair pulled is quite painful.

Rubbing my sore head, I felt a slight satisfaction from an unexpected realization.

“Don’t ever think about tying your hair like that again, understand?”

“…”

Unable to withstand Emerald’s intimidating aura, I eventually nodded.

What a disgrace.

A monster being bullied into submission by a Magical Girl. If the Doctor saw this, he would have thrown a fit.

“But, it’s a hairstyle my mother used to do often.”

“…”

Hah, she looks like she just got hit.

It’s not exactly wrong.

After all, the Doctor did often do my hair.

No, not just often, but from the first appearance to the last moment, it was always twin tails.

‘Thinking about it, it’s a bit sad.’

It’s like losing the identity of the character Apocalypse.

Can you really call this Apocalypse without the twin tails and the uniform?

Now, the only thing in common between Apocalypse and me is being a monster.

That’s probably why Emerald is even more confused.

“I’m sorry. I have a bit of trauma from that hairstyle…”

Still, one thing.

Emerald’s sincere apology was worth its weight in gold to me.

A Magical Girl apologizing to the monster that destroyed the world.

‘Ah, just imagining it gives me chills…’

I couldn’t feel the despair, but the mental satisfaction was more than enough.