Chapter 61

It was inevitable that people’s attention would be drawn to Sapphire, who had returned from the black cloud.

A place where no magical girl dared to venture.

Sapphire was the first and last to escape after being trapped there for almost a week.

“Miss Sapphire! What was inside that cloud?!”

“Miss Sapphire! Could it be a sign of the world’s end? There must have been a monster we’ve never seen before, right?!”

“Miss Sapphire! Please answer us!”

“Miss Sapphire!!”

The news that the magical girl representing the North had returned alive from the disaster excited many.

Reporters flocked from afar, and various magical girls expressed their intentions to explore the black cloud.

Sapphire, who had actually returned from there, found such attention burdensome.

“Miss Sapphire! Please tell us what you saw inside! Everyone is curious!”

“…”

But perhaps due to the persistence of the people.

Sapphire, who seemed like she would never speak, finally opened her mouth a day after her return.

“There was a monster I had never seen in all my magical girl activities.”

“Does that mean you defeated the monster inside to come out safely?!”

“No, I didn’t feel like fighting. I think other magical girls would have reacted similarly.”

“So, it was that dangerous of a monster?!”

“Yes.”

With that single word, the Association was thrown into chaos.

The headline ‘The miraculous return of the North’s representative magical girl!’ was quickly replaced with ‘A monster so terrifying it made the North’s representative magical girl lose her will to fight?!’

It was a simple affirmation, hard to believe coming from a magical girl who spreads hope.

With that, Sapphire fell silent, as if she had nothing more to say.

To be precise, she left under the pretext of recovery.

[…Is this really okay?]

“…Probably.”

And here was someone who, without entering the black cloud, knew what kind of monster was inside.

I don’t know why Sapphire said that—

No, it’s because it’s Sapphire that she said it.

“Let’s go meet her.”

It felt a bit sorry to visit someone who had just returned from hardship, but there were things I needed to confirm.

For example, what she thought about Akari, and so on.

…From her reaction, it didn’t seem like she had regained her memories, so yeah.

‘Please let her have only good impressions of Akari…’

Suppressing the rising anxiety, I hurried my steps.

She had already done the interview, but just in case, it was better to check once.

***

Perhaps because my heart felt lighter, exiting the black cloud was easier than entering.

Unlike the first time, I didn’t lose consciousness or anything.

In fact, it seemed like Akari had given some kind of signal, as the monsters didn’t attack on the way back, allowing me to return safely.

Even at the hospital, they said I only had mild dehydration, so I was practically fine.

“But it would be good to rest for a few days.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

After receiving a few light nutritional supplements, I left the hospital.

Having experienced something so strange, I kept thinking that the Akari I met might have been a figment of my imagination.

‘But…’

Her actions, her gestures, her tone, her voice.

And every piece of conversation we had.

If it were imagination, it wouldn’t be so vividly etched in my mind.

Her sly smile, the halo above her head, and her red eyes, similar yet different from a monster’s.

It felt like I had been enchanted by a fox.

“Sapphire.”

“Who is it?”

At the sudden voice, my expression stiffened.

No one should know what I look like without transformation.

Seeing a girl with green hair and green eyes, I went on guard, and she awkwardly smiled and took a step back.

“Ah, sorry, I thought Sapphire would know…”

“…”

“Emerald, it’s Emerald. Here.”

As if to prove herself, she transformed briefly—for exactly two seconds—before reverting. It was Emerald.

Lady Emerald.

…I don’t know how she knew my untransformed appearance.

“Um… could we talk for a bit?”

“…It’s fine.”

I hadn’t noticed at our first meeting, but now her every action seemed suspicious.

Like someone hiding something.

No, it was strange from the start that she recognized me without transformation.

“I heard you met a monster inside the cloud.”

“…”

“Could you tell me what kind of monster it was?”

What answer was she hoping for with such a question?

Lady Emerald’s voice sounded almost desperate.

Could she be connected to the black cloud?

‘Indeed, she seemed reluctant to enter the black cloud.’

For a magical girl, it was a level of despair to be avoided, but coming from Emerald, it lacked persuasiveness.

A magical girl who spends even her sleep time defeating monsters, hesitating to enter the black cloud because of despair?

It was suspicious enough.

If she really was connected to the black cloud—

‘—Should I talk about Akari?’

I couldn’t decide immediately.

I didn’t want to speak carelessly without being sure.

“It was an incredibly dangerous monster.”

“…Is that so?”

“So dangerous that you should never approach it… that’s what I was told.”

I threw it out there, almost jokingly.

Would she get angry and tell me not to joke, or show a different reaction?

Before I finished speaking, Lady Emerald, who had seemed tense, widened her eyes.

Then, not long after, she let out a relieved sigh, looking like a guardian reassured of a child’s safety, which was quite jarring.

“It’s good to hear she’s doing well.”

“…Is it what I’m thinking?”

“Yes, probably.”

Seeing Lady Emerald’s slight smile, I could finally relax.

It seemed the monster I knew and the one Lady Emerald knew were the same.

***

“…Ugh.”

Gurgle?

“No, it feels like two magical girls are talking about me.”

My ears itched and I got goosebumps, so it was clear Emerald and Sapphire were discussing me.

They were probably bad-mouthing me, saying how dangerous, weird, or eccentric that monster was.

…I knew I shouldn’t have let her go.

‘They’re not going to join hands and come attack me, are they…’

Thinking of the worst possible scenario, I slowly rubbed the back of my neck.

The thought of receiving both their hope energies at once made my arms break out in goosebumps.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—

“You should’ve killed her when you had the chance, huh? Tsk, all my efforts would’ve been for nothing then.”

Gurgle—

“…Instead of trying that, why not hunt humans and magical girls? Is that what you’re saying? Is that really what you should be saying?”

I scoffed at the monster’s ridiculous words.

If you want to hunt humans and magical girls so badly, why are you here?

I thought about teaching them a lesson, but since they’d have to go back to hunting despair once I left, I decided to let it slide.

Ooong—

‘If I do it right, maybe I can stop it…’

Focusing on the rapidly spinning Despair Circuit, it began to slow down with a ticking sound.

Even though the slowdown wasn’t a huge difference, the possibility of stopping it was a significant achievement.

Being able to turn the Despair Circuit on and off at will meant I could consume despair without worry.

Squeak—

“Magical girls have been appearing frequently lately? Of course they have. Their front yard suddenly filled with despair.”

Moving to an uninhabited island away from the city wasn’t to avoid humans finding me.

I never thought they wouldn’t find me anyway.

In any case, thinking they had found a lifelong nest was just the monsters’ naive delusion.

Hmm, is ‘naive’ too awkward a word for a monster?

Anyway.

‘The monsters that attacked me might be wiser than these guys.’

A predator with no teeth or claws can’t survive in the harsh wild.

That applies to monsters too.