Chapter 18: And Then... (End) End

And Then... (End)

Roy seems to have disappeared.

Koharu said that Roy was the price she paid to revive me.

I counted the chairs and there were only six.

All eight members are present, and not a single person is missing.　

I tried to transform into a magical girl, but I couldn't.

I was unable to get out of the Sousei Dome Tower on my own, so Nemuri pulled me up and I headed home.　

My room was empty.

Roy was nowhere to be found.

◇◆◇◆

Under the scorching sun, I met Koharu and Kaoru at the city library.

I had forgotten because of various things, but we are now in the middle of summer vacation.

The three of us brought our summer homework and held a study session.

Although I'm from different junior high school than the other two, the content is probably pretty similar.

Looking at her like this, she seems like a normal girl...

...No, she's just a normal girl now.

Koharu and I now have no power.

"Have you found a new magical girl?"　

I ask Kaoru.

"Not yet. It's not like we haven't found them yet, but it the chairs in the tower isn't increasing at all."

"Yes……"

The vacant position left by my absence had yet to be filled.

While there is a vacancy, one section is left defenseless against demons. For now, other magical girls are working together to fill the gap, but the sooner a new magical girl is found, the better.

The six magical girls are now united and continue their activities.

This is in preparation for the next "Eighth Person." Koharu had no ill intentions, but there is no guarantee that the next "Eighth Person" will be similarly innocent. If a being like the "Eighth Person" appears again, the magical girls can band together to take countermeasures.

Plus, they can pass on the lessons learned from this incident to the next generation. If an "Eighth Person" were to appear again after our generation is gone, the same tragedy would likely be repeated, regardless of whether they had malicious intent or not.

So I hope the six of them to do their best. I'm rooting for them from behind the scenes.　

We continue our small talk about Magical Girls.

"You two were fighting together, right? How's it going, are you used to fighting alone?"

"Not at all. The other day when I was with Koharu, a demon came... and Koharu was behind me, so I just shouted, 'Shield!'"

She chuckled along with Koharu.

I'm surprised to find myself feeling at ease with this everyday life.　

•

•　

Shio and Alice are rich.

Shio simply comes from a wealthy family. Alice gained her fortune through her "wish."

I was previously invited to Shio's family home, where I was surprised to see how much of a lady she was, so perhaps this sparked a competitive spirit in Alice, who invited me and Shio to her mansion.

"Hehehe! Look, Alice is a fine young lady!"

Alice put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.

It seems like she wants me to say something, but to be honest, I'm at a loss for what to say.

The interior of Alice's mansion is, to put it simply, in poor taste. She has used money to her greed, filling every room with gaudy, flashy furnishings. There's no elegance like Shio's house.

It would be rude to call it a nouveau riche mansion. Anyway, that's how bad the taste is.

While I was struggling to express my thoughts,

"Wow... everything is shining."　

Shio muttered.

It certainly shines brightly.

Or rather, there's just too much gold. It's too dazzling. It's too distracting to lead a normal life.

Alice seemed to take Shio's words in a positive way and smiled broadly.

"Of course! Those who understand will understand!"

In high spirits, she ushered us into the living room, said "I'll make some tea!" and left cheerfully.

From afar, we heard the loud sounds of things falling and breaking, along with an angry shout of "What is this?" Shio and I looked at each other. For a while, the monologue continued, with lines like "Don't mess with me!" and "Don't underestimate Alice!", which made us a little worried about the future, and eventually Alice appeared with three teacups.

"I've made some tea! Drink it with gratitude!"

"What kind of tea?"

Not that I was particularly interested, but I asked her just to bring up the topic, and she mumbled something and looked away.

Ah...

"Anyway, it's a good tea!"

Next to Alice, who was desperately trying to cover it up, Shio said,

"It's Darjeeling!"

She said, sniffing the scent.　

The way she holds the cup is completely familiar and looks very stylish.

"Yes! That's it! Darjeeling!"

Alice agreed.

Darjeeling is expensive, right?

I just looked at the price and bought it once...

I hold the cup, imitating Shio's example.

I think you're not supposed to put your fingers through the loop on the handle. I read in a manga that it's good manners to hold the handle by pinching it with your fingers.　

However, when you try it, it's actually quite difficult. The cup feels heavy when you use only your fingers, and you end up using too much force.

As I struggled alone, I glanced over at Alice, who was sipping her tea with a completely impolite grip, like a teacup.

At this rate, she'll probably be using spoons, forks, and chopsticks with her fists clenched.

When I imagined it, I was overcome with a deep sadness that made my chest tighten.

I want to make this child happy...

I don't want to see this child suffer...

Shio chatted with Alice with a smile on her face, not seeming to care at all about the other person's manners.

How can I put it... Shio is a person I can really respect. I just realized this recently.

That's not good.

If I space out, my tea will get cold.

I'm not interested enough to become obsessed with tea, but I do have a basic curiosity to find out what the finest tea tastes like.

I took a sip.　

Lukewarm!

Alice didn't boil the water properly!

Because the ingredients aren't extracted, it doesn't taste good and has no aroma at all.

I'm surprised you knew it was Darjeeling, Shio...　

I thought I'd try to be nice to Alice.

As Alice continued to treat me with hospitality, my resolve grew stronger and stronger.

•

•

As I left Alice's mansion, said goodbye to Shio and headed home, I heard someone call out to me from the road.

The motorcycle stops on the side of the road and the rider takes off her helmet.

It's Raika.

"You're living a proper life, aren't you?"　

She said with amusement.

Such impressions suggest that the mysterious role has been successful up until now.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"I'll send you."　

Raika pushed her ass forward to make space.

I hesitated for a moment, but I could see that she was trying to open up to me in her own way, so I decided to take her up on her offer.　

Because Raika is the oldest, she acted as the mediator during the "Eighth Person" incident, but she's not that type of person.

I learned from reading the setting materials that in the past, there is something called Magical Girl Mutual Aid Society, and that Raika also participated in it when she was a novice magical girl.

However, the magical girl's life is at stake.

Before she knew it, there were no other magical girls left except for Raika, and the Magical Girl Mutual Aid Society naturally disintegrated. From then on, Raika decided that she would rather be alone than lose her friends.

However, after learning from the "Eighth Person" incident, the Magical Girl Mutual Aid Society was re-formed. Although no one other than Raika and I knew that it was a "re-formation."　

Despite all the ups and downs, in the end, since Raika is the oldest, she will continue to be in charge of organizing the group.

From now on, she too will have to actively learn to cooperate.

Calling out to me was probably part of that.

Do your best, senpai. I'll support you in any way I can.

Raika put the helmet on my head.

"...Where's Mitaka-san's helmet?"

"Ah, that's right, then, henshin."

She muttered to herself and transformed into a magical girl.

"This isn't dangerous, is it?"

She laughs and starts off on her bike.

How does this look from the side?

While transformed into a magical girl, ordinary people cannot see her, except for those with the talent, like me and Koharu.

I have my arms around Raika's waist, but no one can see her other than me... so I guess it look like a middle school girl riding a motorcycle with her arms crossed and no grip on the handlebars...

What a weird sight, right....?

•

•

I get home, read a book, eat dinner, take a bath, and before I know it, it's time to go to bed.

I crawled into bed and looked at my phone... and there was a message from Yuzuki.

[What are you doing now?]

The message was over an hour ago.

This is how I keep in contact with Yuzuki through chat apps.　

Since the day I survived the brink of death (or rather, the other side of death?), I have never met Yuzuki face to face.

It seems that Yuzuki is taking this series of events more seriously than anyone else, and I think she doesn't have the face to show me.

Still, she seemed fine as we communicated over the phone.

I think for a moment and type the sentence.

[I'm looking at your message.]

It's a pretty lame joke, if I say so myself.

The message was read almost immediately after I sent it.

So fast!

[Me too.]

[What a coincidence.]

[I don't think this is a coincidence.]

[It's not?]

[Actually, I thought so too.]

[We get along well.]

[I agree.]

[Do you think so too, Sumire?]

[We really are a good match!]

[Do you believe in fate, Sumire?]

[I believe that fate really exists.]

[In this vast world where billions of people live, isn't it a miracle that people can meet each other?]

[It's a miracle that you can find chemistry with someone in a diverse world.]

[Meeting someone with whom you have perfect chemistry is like a miracle multiplied by two miracles.]

[In other words, it's fate!]

[It's fate, isn't it?]

This girl is amazing.

Her feeling is heavy.

It's too much trouble to deal with her properly, so I just go along with it.

[Yeah.]

[We're destined.]　

Then Yuzuki's lightning-fast replies stopped.

The message has been marked as read, but even after waiting for a while, there is no reply.

Yuzuki always replied to my messages, so I was always the one to end the conversation.

However, this time, the exchange ended with the message I sent.

There are some rare things.

That's what I was thinking.

[Will you meet me sometime?]

The message was sent and then deleted immediately.

[This message has been deleted.]

The words remain empty.

Well.

She mustered up her courage and took a step forward.

Well, in the end it was one step forward and maybe one step back.

But, isn't it important that she has taken a step at all?　

I would like to take that intention into consideration as much as possible.

I've been thinking about such unusual things a lot lately.

I am...

[Sure.]　

I simply replied

Just like before, there was no reply for a while, and this time there was no read mark, so I went to bed.

◇◆◇◆

Roy appeared in my dream.

I knew I would never see Roy again, so when he appeared before me I should have realized that this was a dream, but I never doubted his existence.

"Oh, you're still alive."

A sense of relief spread through my chest.

I sighed and felt extremely weak. For some reason, until now I had thought I would never see Roy again.

Roy was stunned.

"What are you talking about?"

"That's right. What am I saying? It's obvious that Roy is alive..."　

Roy then picked up on what I was saying and began to lecture me about how precious and special it is to be alive, and how somewhere in the world there are people who cannot live a normal life.

Wow, this guy is really noisy, I thought, but for some reason I realized that it sounded pleasant to me.

How can I put it...it makes me feel nostalgic.

Nostalgic?　

I wonder why...

"So what I'm trying to say is -- don't take my existence for granted."

"Yes, yes."

"We, Agent, have a shorter lifespans than those of humans. The time to say goodbye will surely come someday."

"But that's not now, is it?"

When I asked that question, Roy went quiet.

The silence was uncomfortable, and I felt I had to say something, so I tried to fill the gap with something random, but Roy took the initiative.

"Sumire. I'm proud of you."

"What's with that suddenness?"　

What an embarrassing thing to say.

"Your motives were impure, but you followed through on what you had decided to do, and ultimately saved everyone."

"That's right. I accomplished my goal and also achieved the happy ending that Roy wanted."

Be proud.

Roy nodded.

"It would be even better if you could grow as a person through this..."

"Growth, huh? I've changed. Not long ago, I didn't mind hurting people just to be missed, but now I cherish every day I spend with everyone. Although sometimes I feel like bullying them a little."

What an embarrassing confession I'm making.

For some reason, I felt strangely honest at the time, and I felt like I could just blurt out everything.

Yes, I want to be praised by Roy.

Because if I miss this chance...

If I miss this....? What will happen?

"I see. That's impressive."

"Yeah."

"Then I have no regrets."

"...Roy?"

"Goodbye."

"What are you talking about? This is what Roy wanted to see the most, right?

So... don't say things like that as if it's the end!"

"I'm sorry... I wanted to be by your side longer... But I'm sure you'll be fine now."

Roy flies away.

"Sumire, take care."　

I shouted.

•

•

"Roy!"

I woke up to the voice.　

I look around in a panic.

An empty room.

It was…….

Roy was no longer there...　

I overcome by a terrible feeling of emptiness.　

Then I felt a presence in my bed.

When I turned my head, Nemuri was sleeping with me as her body pillow.

This girl sometimes sneaks into my room through the window and crawls into the bed like a cat.

Once, when I was sleeping with the window locked, she broke the glass and came in, and my heart nearly stopped. She used "Time Magic" to return it to normal, and she's always in her magical girl form, so there's no risk of my parents seeing her, but I'm the one who has to make excuses. Since then, I've made it a habit to sleep with my windows unlocked.

It seems Nemuri was woken up by my talking in my sleep.

"Onee-san, are you crying...?"

I touched the area around my eyes.

Nemuri was right.　

"Does it hurt anywhere?"　

Nemuri said, rubbing my back.

•

•

•

The next day, I went out to town with Koharu, but I was daydreaming all day and caused trouble everywhere we went.

I'm still hung up on my dreams.

The joy of knowing he was alive and the feeling of weakness when I woke up.

Even though it was just a dream, there was a concrete sense of reality to it.　

It lingered within me for hours, leaving me with an immense sense of emptiness that reduced my attention span.

Perhaps interpreting this as being due to the summer heat, Koharu suggested we cool off at a cafe.

I sat down, sighed, and ordered a drink from the waiter.

While I was absentmindedly listening to Koharu talk about her book, the drinks I ordered arrived.

"Ah..."　

When receiving the cup from the store clerk, I lost my grip on it and dropped it. The cup didn't break, but the contents spilled out.

What am I doing...

I apologized and the waiter prepared a replacement.

Have a drink and take a break.

"Are you okay?"

Koharu looked at me with a worried look on her face.

"Yeah……"　

I gave a quick reply.

"...Did something happen?"

"In a dream..."

I started to say something but stopped myself. It would be hard to say that Roy appeared in my dream and made me cry.

"Nothing."

Deciding to call it a day, I took a sip of my drink through the straw.

However, Koharu persisted.

"Maybe you're talking about Roy?"

"...How do you know?"

"I just had a feeling that was the case."　

Koharu looked apologetic.

It was Koharu who revived me at the expense of Roy. Koharu may have been worried about Roy, but ultimately, she did it for my own good. How can I blame Koharu?

It's my fault.

Feeling guilty, I bowed my head and turned away from Koharu.

"Do you want to see Roy again?"　

Then Koharu asked.

Why does Koharu ask such a thing?

I wonder what the intention is behind this question.

Because that question is pointless.

Even if I said I wanted to meet him, there was no way I would be able to meet him. Koharu is not a god.

However――

"……I miss him."

I answered honestly.

"I want to see Roy..."

Once I put it into words, emotions flooded me.

I burst into tears again.

As I wiped away my tears, Koharu apologized, "I'm sorry."　

◇◆◇◆

We broke up earlier than planned and headed home.

I walk the usual route home.

This is the street where I first met Roy two years ago.

I think the time was about the same.

At that time, a demon had appeared and passersby were acting strangely. Then Roy's voice rang out and we made a contract.　

As I was lost in sentimentality, I heard a voice.

"Can you hear me, Tachibana Sumire?"

Yup, that voice sounded familiar.

That annoying voice that had been nagging me for two years.

This is the voice I long for more than anyone else right now.

It's like a repeat of that day.

Wait....

"Roy?!"

I looked around, but I couldn't see anything like it.

"Is it Roy?!"

"Sorry... What is Roy?"

The voice from the air asked back, confusion evident in its tone.

I feel that sense of emptiness again... What, was I mistaken? What on earth is that voice? A sense of irrational anger wells up inside me.

"I want you to make a contract with me and become a magical girl."

Ah, it's an "Agent."

A different one from Roy...

"Sorry, but please look for someone else."

I said this in a venting tone, and the "Agent" burst out laughing. I couldn't see him. It was quite annoying that I could only hear his voice.

"What's wrong?"

I say without hiding my irritation.

"Sorry, it's weird when things go so smoothly. I think I understand how you feel a little better now."

"Huh?"

"It's been a while, Sumire. I'm Roy."

I had to take a few seconds to process what that meant.

"Haaaah!?"　

Screams echoed all around, but there was no time to pay them any attention.

"You said you weren't Roy earlier."

"I'm not saying I wasn't Roy, but it's true that I denied it."

"But Roy was supposed to be dead..."

"Yes. But have you not forgotten that Koharu had two 'Wishes'? One was for your resurrection, and the other for my revival. Unlike humans, the revival of an 'Agent' doesn't seem to require any payment. After all, strictly speaking, I'm not a living being."

According to Roy, Koharu used the wish from Roy to revive me, and then used the wish from Rococo to revive Roy.

"But why now? And why didn't Koharu say anything?"

"I asked that. I wanted her to revive me when you showed any signs of missing me. And until then, I wanted her to keep quiet about this matter."

"Why!"

"This is my revenge against you! You have made everyone cry so much, haven't you? I hope you suffer the same fate. Well, Koharu, who doesn't know your true nature, thinks I'm a nasty 'Agent'."

"What's that supposed to mean..."

I heard Roy gasp.

Because tears were flowing from my eyes.

"You bastard! What kind of revenge is this? There are things that are right and wrong!"

"If you say so, then you too!"

"Huh?! I'm the only one who's allowed to do this!"

"That's ridiculous!"

"You have no idea how much I worried... Ugh... Don't make fun of me...."

"I, I'm sorry..."

Perhaps intimidated by my anger, or perhaps because he was weak to tears, Roy apologized.

For a while, I ignored what I had done and continued to cry and curse at Roy. After about 10 minutes, I realized how ridiculous it was to lose my temper at someone I couldn't see, but I couldn't stop complaining for another 5 minutes.

Yelling for 15 minutes straight is tiring.

"...Have you calmed down?"

I sulked, but I answered anyway.

"Yeah. I'm calm now. Let me see you soon."

"Hehe. So you'll make a contract with me then?"

"Of course. Make a contract."

"Then tell me your wish."

A wish... huh?

I think about it for a bit.

But nothing comes to mind.

"A wish, huh... I'm satisfied with the current situation. My wish has already come true."

"Which wish?"

Are you going to ask me every single thing?

This guy has gotten a bit naughty. I wonder who he takes after.

I won't tell Roy.　

I remained silent on that question.

"Is it okay to put it on hold for now? I want to save it for when I find a new goal... a dream I want to make come true."

"Of course."

With that reply, the contract seemed to be complete, as Roy's figure slowly began to come into view.

"...But I'm sure that even if you find a new dream, you'll be able to make it come true on your own."

When I saw Roy for the first time in a while, he was making a smiling face with dots on the display.

Even though we had just met again, I was always showing angry and crying faces. I laughed as hard as I could.

"Now, show me your new power."

New power?

At first I didn't understand what it meant, but it soon made sense.

A magical girl's abilities depend on her spirituality.

And that spirituality is manifested in "wishes."

My previous wish has already been fulfilled, so this "wish" is on hold.

Furthermore, the death of my partner, albeit only temporary, caused many changes in my state of mind.

Contrary to my plans, I have started to interact with Koharu and the others, and now I find my days vaguely enjoyable, and hopes that it will continue like this forever, even wishing to protect it if I can.

It wouldn't be surprising if new magic spells or magical tools were to appear.

"You dummy. How can I transform without any reason?"

I swore.

That's when it happened.

A demon has appeared in Sousei Dome City.

I can feel it.

I've become a magical girl again.

"What great timing."

"Ah, so it's your first job already."

"Well, I'll show Roy what you have been waiting for."

While we were chatting like that, I was also hiding my hopes.

"Henshin!"

It's a feeling I haven't felt in a long time.

The whole body is enveloped in light, and a new look is created.

Once this light fades, I'll be completely transformed into Magical Girl.

I wonder, what color is my new dress?

•

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THE END