Chapter 12: Roy's Turn

Roy's Turn

The number of chairs has decreased.

Mitaka-san said that the equipment in the Sousei Dome Tower was set up to match the number of magical girls.　

There were originally seven chairs lined up around the round table. Judging from that number, it was clear that the presence of an "Eighth Person" was not taken into account.

One less chair means one magical girl has dropped out.

In other words, Sumire was a magical girl.

She wasn't the "Eighth Person."

"Onee-san...wake up..."

Nemuri-chan was shaking Sumire's arm.

Of course, Sumire never wakes up.

Because she's already dead.

Whether she knew it or not, Nemuri-chan continued to try to wake Sumire up, which was painful to see, so I looked away.

"Wh... what... No matter how you look at it, she was the 'Eighth'...!"

Mitaka-san stepped back, leaned against the wall, and covered half of her face with her right hand. Her open left eye was shaking unsteadily.

"What does that mean...? Why are there fewer chairs?"

Alice-chan's gaze darted around the round table. She must have been counting the number of chairs over and over again, but no matter how many times she did it, the number of chairs remained the same.

Take time to gradually accept reality.

Then she looked down at her right hand, the palm of her hand that had been resting on Sumire's chest.　

"That's a lie... What did Alice just do...! Alice just wanted to put you at ease..."

Alice-chan fell crouching to the ground and began to cry.

"Alice-chan..." Asahina-san, with a gloomy expression on her face, bent down next to Alice-chan and offered her chest.

Yuzuriha-san stood next to me.

She dropped to her knees and hands on the ground and made a repentant gesture towards Sumire.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

Drops of tears fell to the ground. The tears that flowed endlessly from Yuzuriha-san's eyes gradually spread in strength.

After apologizing profusely, she tried to embrace Sumire, but then stopped. Then she muttered, "Please kill me."

Her gaze landed on Kaoru-chan, who shivered as she gazed at the dark red blood on the blade of her sword, but when she noticed that Yuzuriha-san was staring at her, her face turned pale and she took a step back to escape her gaze - only to be hit by Mitaka-san's lunge.

"What--!!"

"Now that Tachibana is dead, you're the most suspicious person!"

"Wh-why?!"　

Kaoru-chan pulled Mitaka-san away and put some distance between them. She pointed her sword at Mitaka-san and got into a fighting stance.

Mitaka-san was serious too. Smoke rose out of nowhere.　

How did this happen...?

Kaoru-chan and Mitaka-san killing each other...

Even though I think that way, what's happening to the two of them feels like a fire on the other side of the river.

What did Sumire do wrong that led us to gang up on her, beat her up, and ultimately kill her?　

Weren't we supposed to listen to her?　

I ask myself that question.

But strangely, no sadness or pain ever gripped me.

It's as if my heart has gone numb. If I were to accept these feelings head on, my mind would not be able to withstand them and would break.

But when I realized that I was going to such lengths to protect myself, I was overcome with intense self-loathing and felt an urge to just disappear.

Immediately after...

"Stop fighting!"

Roy's voice rang out.

Even so, Kaoru-chan and Mitaka-san just faced each other and didn't even glance at Roy.

"There's no need for you two to fight anymore!"

"Hah……?"

Those words caught Mitaka-san's interest.　

"I'm going to explain everything now. About the situation and what Sumire was trying to do."

"By all means, please do so. What on earth is she doing?! Why did she destroy the barrier?! It's like she's asking us to doubt her! Didn't she realize how fatal sucb an action would be for the everyone in this situation?!"

"It's true that Sumire is at fault for that. I apologize on her behalf. I'm sorry.

But that doesn't mean her actions were completely meaningless. Of course, her definition of 'meaningful actions' doesn't mean that they were detrimental to you. She always acted for the greater good."

"But...how would destroying the barrier benefit us?"

Kaoru-chan asked.

"She wasn't very clear about that, and that's what I meant when I said, 'Sumire is at fault.'

To be precise, what she was trying to do was to 'Destroy and Repair the barrier.'

This barrier that covers the city has reached the end of its life."

Roy explains that the one who created the barrier is the "Magical Girl of Barrier" and that the barrier needs to be maintained, and that the family that had carried out that role for generations has now died out.

Despite hearing the shocking truth, the words didn't resonate with me at all. Instead, as I found justification in Sumire's actions, a sense of guilt slowly began to eat away at my numb heart.

The guilt gradually grew larger and more intense, until it felt as if my core, at the center of my body, was being pulled in both directions.

My breathing becomes shallow, my eyes start to sting, and my palms start to sweat.　

"How did she know that?"

"That's exactly the reason why she didn't tell you all about this. Her unique magic is called 'Compensation Magic,' which allows her to use magic of any effect in exchange for various compensation. She was able to obtain various information by paying the compensation. However, in a situation where you don't even know who the 'Eighth' is, the knowledge she gained through magic won't be of any importance to you. Rather, there's a risk that she will be suspected of being a farce trying to mislead you. In the end, her consideration only fueled your suspicions, and it's our fault that we've led to this situation."

Roy apologized to us again, and his sincerity touched my heart.

I don't want to hear it anymore.

But that's not allowed.

"We were searching for a way to objectively prove that Sumire is not the 'Eighth'. That way, even if she were to provide you with information she had obtained through magic, it would be less likely to be seen as a farce.

However, she also anticipated the worst case scenario. If her death were to prove her status as the real Magical Girl, that is, the current situation. Sumire and I had discussed this beforehand, and I would be the messenger to explain everything to you all."

"…………"

Mitaka-san looked away from Roy.

Instead, Kaoru-chan took over the questioning.

"Could it be that, the reason Tachibana-san was hiding her 'Agent'..." Her tone was bitter, and the end of her sentence was vague and unclear.

"It's just as you can imagine. If I were to die, she wouldn't even be able to prepare for the worst case scenario. In that case, you might all end up killing each other without being able to resolve the confusion. Sumire was worried that this would happen, so she didn't allow me to accompany her."

"Considering that, you appeared in front of us pretty quickly. Were you just following her this time?"

The words were weak, it was probably just a formal question, and she no longer wanted an answer.

"That was... my own decision. I have been insisting for some time that she should just show me. Sumire and I disagreed on that point."　

"Damn," Mitaka-san muttered softly.

Everything becomes clear.

She is confronted with the fact that Sumire's suspicious behavior had some meaning behind it.

Certainly, there may have been some incorrect decisions, and I think that if communication had been a little better, the misunderstandings would not have been so severe.

But at least she had no ill will.

This is the result of her clumsy self trying to do the best she could in this complicated situation.

Now it's up to us - no, me.

If only I was strong enough to take her at her word.

At that time.

If only I hadn't stopped the spell I had cast on Sumire.

I wonder if Sumire could be saved.　

If she could have been saved, then by consciously giving up that opportunity, I would have killed Sumire.

Killed her.

Sumire

I...

I killed Sumire.

"Ahhh... Aaahhh."　

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

It's my fault.

Sumire died.　

No, I killed her.

I catch a glimpse of Sumire through my tear-blurred vision.

Her expression wasn't distorted or ugly, but it certainly wasn't calm. It was the face of someone who had shouldered all the pressure alone, fighting alone.

Her whole body was in tatters, and her delicate body was covered in wounds from her battle with us.

"Why……"　

Sumire said at the end.

Cursing her fate and our lack of understanding.

"Eh--!!"

My stomach started to rise, and I arched my back, gasping desperately.

Kaoru-chan ran over to me and patted my back, asking, "Are you okay?"

I didn't deserve to be treated like that, but my stomach was cramping and I couldn't bring myself to say "stop," so I just let her do what she wanted.

Before long, Kaoru-chan, who was rubbing my back, also began to sob. I could hear the sound of her sobs.

At that moment.　

Suddenly I was hit by a severe headache.　

"Aaaaa ..."

It's like having your brain overheated in a microwave.

Along with the terrible ringing in my ears, I felt like something was exploding in my head, or maybe it was getting stuck? I could no longer comprehend what was happening, and I screamed, my face a mess with tears.

Writhing on the ground.

I.....

I remembered everything.

That's right...

I met Sumire a long time ago.

I don't know why I forgot...

I remembered everything, including the circumstances surrounding it.　

※※※※　

Although I had only recently graduated from elementary school, I felt like I had grown up as soon as I entered junior high school.

That said, in reality, I was so short that it would have been easier to count me from the back of the class, even among the girls.　

I thought my school life would change drastically when I became a junior high school student.

School life is monotonous, consisting of chatting with friends and reading books. I had hoped that it would become busier and more colorful with club activities, a boyfriend, and various other events.

But being shy and passive, I never joined any clubs, and no one ever confessed their feelings to me.

In the end, my days were not much different from those of my elementary school days.　

Even after we moved up to the next grade, Kaoru-chan and I remained good friends. However, we ended up in different classes, so we saw each other less frequently.

To fill that free time, I started reading more books than ever before.

However, the junior high school library was poorly stocked, and after a month I ran out of books I wanted to read. Eventually, I started getting a card from the city library and borrowing books instead.

It was during those days that I met her.

I met Sumire.