Chapter 16: Days of Lying Low! The Masochist Secretly Sharpens Her Claws!
"To fly high, you need to crouch as low as you can."
Maria seems to be doing this instinctively (^ω^;)
Chapter 16: Days of Lying Low! The Masochist Secretly Sharpens Her Claws!
That being said, the reincarnated Maria also remembered the grief of losing her mother, after her 'Promise' with Kanaho.
She deeply regretted (unusually) her actions and words at the beginning of her awakening of her past life's memories, where she prioritized only her own desires.
For more than six months since that day, partly as a sign of mourning, she outwardly lived a quiet and settled life, like a sheltered young lady.
She had a rather demanding schedule for a five-year-old child, with studies under a strict-looking female tutor, calligraphy, flower arrangement, tea ceremony, etiquette classes, and training in magic manipulation.
However, having struggled through her studies in her previous life and enjoyed the harshness of working in a toxic workplace, for a masochist like her, these were merely a moderate physical and mental strain, and she could only describe each day as pleasant.
In particular, training in magic manipulation was Maria's favorite.
This training involved releasing magic from her body, converting it into light, and freely manipulating the shape and movement of that magical light.
This training was the stage before actually learning magic; in other words, it was the absolute foundation.
Even before her memories of her previous life resurfaced, Maria had received instruction in magic manipulation from her biological mother, Mami.
It was because of that experience that, on her first day at the Madozono mansion, she was able to skillfully channel magic into Tomoe's body.
However, the act of releasing magical energy outside the body itself places a great burden on the mind and body of a child.
But this fatigue, for a masochist, seemed like the ultimate treat.
In addition, manipulating magical light was simply fun.
This fantastical phenomenon, impossible in her previous life, was shaking Maria's otaku heart to its core.
It was painful, fun, her heart trembled, her dreams danced.
On the first day of training, using a vast amount of magical energy as her starting point, she tried projecting visual images into the void with magical light, just like the light art she'd seen on TV in her previous life.
It was a resounding success.
Mima frantically called out to stop her, but Maria, in her painful-fun state, was in top form.
There was no way she could stop.
She continued operating with great enthusiasm, when suddenly, it was as if a circuit breaker had tripped, and she fainted.
Even though her magical power was immense, making the magical light appear in colorful hues and performing complex movements put an excessive strain on the mind and body of a young child.
"Handling magic can be life-threatening! Even if you think you can do it, don't push yourself too hard when you're little!"
Mima lectured her fiercely, crying, and Maria reflected on her actions.
………
She was certainly remorseful, but the reality was a little different.
First, her aunt's scolding was, in a masochistic way, pleasurable and exciting.
And inwardly,
(I wouldn't mind if it were harsher, but she must think that I'm just a little girl, so it can't be helped.)
She thought, arms crossed, with a mysterious, all-knowing face on.
It was utterly inappropriate and disrespectful.
Furthermore, her perverse and disrespectful thoughts didn't stop at such remorse.
In her previous life, she pursued only pain and pleasure without considering the limits of her body, and her life ended before she could fulfill her aspirations.
In this life, she will not repeat the same mistake.
She will not overexert herself physically, health comes first, and the path to ruin is not built in a day.
Alongside her "Tomoe-chan's Ultimate Power-Up Plan", Maria was also meticulously and secretly formulating her own growth plan, aiming for her ideal destruction.
Although she claimed not to overexert herself, magic manipulation training was, for Maria, currently, the ultimate form of entertainment.
There was no way she wouldn't continue something so painful and enjoyable every day.
Recalling the state she was in when she fainted on the first day, she instinctively decided to immerse herself in magic manipulation training right up to the very edge of her unconsciousness limit.
Outwardly, Maria was repeating training exercises that kept the size and intensity of her magic light suppressed, and the movements small, as Mima had instructed.
However, the reality was that, within the magical light, she was creating a separate, extremely subtle stream of light that was difficult to detect even with magic sensing.
She was performing a string game using threads of light, something that would surprise even .
The difficulty level was comparable to juggling three bottles while simultaneously assembling model ships inside each bottle.
Maria was calmly performing this incredibly advanced magic manipulation, something impossible for an ordinary exorcist, despite the excruciating pain that threatened to burn out her brain.
Under Mima's watchful eye, she continued her hellish training every day, maintaining an expression that showed no one else whatsoever that she was performing an act that could make her brain evaporate.
To an outsider, she appeared only as a dutiful niece obediently following her aunt's instructions.
Therefore, the opinions of her from her personal maid, Kanaho, her older sister, Kanaya, and the head maid, Sougi, are soaring.
"At the height of her life, when she should be playing, she's only studying and training. She doesn't show any signs of suffering, and continues her training with such composure—Maria-ojou-sama must surely be the 'Saint'."
Without her knowledge, these misunderstandings are accelerating.
Maria, on the other hand, was planning to continue her daily training quietly, savoring the pain (the feast), while anticipating all possible future scenarios.
However, as Tomoe had grown more attached to her than she had expected, and her aunt Mima, her Big Sis Kanaho, and Kanaya were smiling more often, Maria thought:
(It's about time... to 'make a move'...)
★
And so, Maria finally began to take action.
(First, we need to get Tomoe-chan to stop being a "" character who hides her adorable eyes with long bangs!
That version will be unlocked in the latter half of the story.
She'll quickly class change to the "headband-wearing, forehead-revealing" character in her Magic Awakening Version!
And that will give her confidence in her own cuteness!)
Choosing the right moment, she pushed Tomoe's bangs back, leaned in close, and executed her plan to gaze into Tomoe's eyes.
She rattled off plausible-sounding things like, "It's a waste to hide your cute eyes, why don't you try changing your hairstyle by holding your bangs back with a headband?"
As expected, Tomoe was K.O-ed by Maria's bewitching beauty in a one-two punch, and vehemently agreed.
Enticed by Maria's sweet words, Tomoe nodded repeatedly, as if in a feverish trance.
And then, Mima, who overheard this, chimed in, "In that case, let's all go shopping together!"
(Oh... Mima-nee-san is trying to bridge the gap between herself and Tomoe-chan...
That's good...)
Maria readily agreed to Mima's suggestion, and inwardly, she smirked, thinking that she could deepen the bond between Mima and Tomoe, mother and daughters, at the same time.
That same day, Maria, Mima, and Tomoe, the three of them from the Madozono house, accompanied by the Igodome mother and daughters, set off for a shopping trip to a high-end department store in a limousine.
The department store was utterly astonished by the unannounced visit of Mima, the head of the prestigious Madozono family,
bringing her daughters with her.
The president, bypassing the head of the department store's sales department and overturning all other appointments, brought his subordinates to the head office in a panic to greet Madozono Mima and her family.
Mima said: "My daughter wants a headband. Could you show me something that looks good?"
To which the president and his subordinates bowed deeply and responded with a resounding chorus of "We'd be delighted!"
When someone of the caliber of the head of the Madozono family says, "Could you at least show me something that looks good?"
This is practically the same as saying, "If you don't bring me a masterpiece worthy of my family, I'll kill you!"
The department store staff are literally desperate.
At lightning speed, a dazzling array of high-end brand children's headbands are displayed before the Madozono family.
(Wow, the Madozono family is really quite an impressive family.)
Maria watched the scene unfold as if it were someone else's problem.
Of course, the divine retort, "It's all your fault for suggesting it!" was not to be heard.
"Please choose the headband for me, Onee-sama!" Tomoe requested.
Maria remembered that in the original story, the protagonist had given Tomoe a light lemon-yellow headband as a gift.
Thinking that it wouldn't do to have the exact same color as the original, she chose a headband in a similar shade, a topaz-like color, for Tomoe.
"Then I'll take this one!" Tomoe decided happily, making her purchase.
Watching this, Mima stepped in to fix Tomoe's hair and put the headband on her.
(Implementation of Tomoe-chan's "headband with exposed forehead" and the repair of the mother-daughter relationship with Mima-nee-san...
Is it going smoothly?)
Everything is going according to plan.
Witnessing the loving and harmonious exchange between mother and daughter, Maria inwardly grinned again.
Outwardly, it was a picture of a beautiful little girl smiling happily, which was incredibly irritating.
To Maria, who was inwardly evil but outwardly displayed an angelic smile, "Aren't you going to buy a headband too, Onee-sama?" Tomoe asked.
That question made Maria remember:
(Oh, right, Maria's character also wears a headband, though she doesn't show her forehead.)
In Maria's mind, a stereotypical villainess character appeared: ruby-colored hair, a golden headband, an arrogant attitude, and a condescending gaze.
(There's no particular story behind the headband Maria wears, is there?
Maybe I should ask Tomoe-chan to choose one for me...)
Maria tentatively asked Tomo which one she thought would suit her.
Tomoe-chan pointed to a golden, elaborately designed headband.
Maria couldn't help but be delighted by the result.
(Heh heh... It's written as "," so it's really "Destiny"!
is whispering to me to become a "villainess"!)
When Tomoe chose a headband the same color as in the original story, Maria became convinced of the existence of the "Scenario Compulsion".
This must be a sign that she would grow up to look exactly like the original Maria.
For Maria, this was nothing less than the gospel of "ruin"—no matter how much she struggled.
After Mima styled her hair and put the headband on her, the reflection in the mirror showed her as a young girl version of the original Maria's standing pose.
(If I continue to act like a normal young lady like this, ruin will come to me... That's the plan...
Thank goodness for Scenario Compulsion!)
While she was indulging in such a self-contained, smug pleasure in her mind, outwardly, she appeared as a beautiful young girl with a shy, adorable smile.
The world is truly unpredictable.
Or rather, if a Scenario Compulsion really exists, then the bad endings for the original protagonist and the other heroines would be unavoidable too, but Maria hadn't thought that deeply about it.
She was carefree, blissful, and giddy with excitement, completely ignoring that contradiction.
Furthermore, the very existence of this Scenario Compulsion, which she had arbitrarily assumed, was only possible because Mima didn't become the toxic parent she was in the original story.
The logic of the Scenario Compulsion falls apart the moment the route of Mima becoming a toxic parent disappears, but Maria didn't realize that either.
In a very famous suspense manga, there's a line that goes something like, ["Humans are conveniently made to only retain happy memories. ."]
But in Maria's case, "Life is conveniently designed so that only painful things happen. That's why it's so fun~♡"
That's probably what she's thinking.
But there's no to give her a corrective slap, saying, "It's your way of thinking that's too convenient!"
Maria confidently marches on her own path.
Should she stop?
Or should she just be let go all the way?
Unfortunately, there is no one in this world who can make that judgment.
AN:
No one gets hurt, and no one is unhappy...
Yet, the madness can still creep in.
Author's Note
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