Chapter 44: If I Hate You, I’ll Do It Again (3)

Something happened.

It wasn’t like I got caught by Emerald or anything, but… something more high-dimensional…

“D-you…!!”

“__Hello?”

So, your name was… Peridot, right?

Oh, I’m not good at remembering human names these days.

But I still remembered that you were the person who gave me delicious despair, so I was able to recall it somehow.

“T-you’re alive?”

“It’s a little sad to treat a living person like a dead person.”

“No, t-how?

I, I clearly saw you get taken away by a monster_!!”

Should I just clear up the misunderstanding there first…?

I had no intention of getting involved with any magical girl other than Emerald, but when I met you head-on like this, I couldn’t run away even if I wanted to.

It was a mistake to wander the streets defenselessly while being distracted by the doctor.

“Honestly, isn’t 4 o’clock the time you should be sleeping?

It might be different at 5 o’clock, but it’s weird to be awake at 4 o’clock, right?”

I grumbled to myself at Peridot’s useless sincerity as a human and made up excuses in my head.

Oh, so… oh oh, there was that.

“Emerald saved me.”

“Uh, Emerald-sama?”

“Yes, Emerald found me being taken away by the monster and saved me with all her might.”

It didn’t seem like she came to save me, but since I was saved, I gave that excuse.

Peridot’s eyes widened at that.

Rather than being surprised, it was more like an idol’s sasaeng fan expression.

“Wow, really!

That’s a relief, to be saved by Emerald-sama!”

“By the way, Emerald…-sama?”

Peridot was the first human to address Emerald as “sama.”

She didn’t seem that great.

Oh, but since she’s one of the main characters in the original, I guess she must be great.

Anyway.

“I’m a huge fan of Emerald!

I don’t know what Emerald thinks, but Emerald is Emerald!”

“Oh, yes…”

This won’t do, you punk.

If I had known this would happen, it would have been better not to bring up Emerald.

It wasn’t good to keep wasting time like this.

It wouldn’t be long before Emerald, who had attacked Curse’s lab—the doctor’s lab to be exact—would return to the city.

It was obvious that Emerald would head straight to the hospital once she returned to the city.

“I’m not feeling well, so can we talk about it another time?”

“Uh, you’re not feeling well…

Is it because of what happened back then?

If that’s the case, I’m responsible for it too, so I’ll take you to the hospital!”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“Please!

I don’t think I’ll feel better if I don’t do this!”

Peridot’s face now looked half-sobbed, and she slowly tangled her hair.

I can see it.

The scent of despair swaying in her eyes.

It seemed like she was thinking back to the last time we met.

I don’t know if it was at the shelter or the cemetery.

“So, I’m asking you…please…..”

“…”

I didn’t dislike desperate people, but it was also difficult if she clung to me like this.

Was Peridot originally this type of magical girl?

I clicked my tongue internally, thinking that she seemed to have fallen for a strange person.

“Okay.

Then, can I ask you to escort me?”

“Oh, of course!

T-T-T… Wait a minute!”

As soon as I gave permission, Peridot reacted like a puppy wagging her tail and hurriedly ran into the alley next door.

The moment Peridot’s figure disappeared, the thought of ‘running away…’ crossed my mind, but before I could act, Peridot appeared in front of me again.

And she had also un-transformed.

“T-T-Thaha…

The un-transformed form is a secret, you understand?”

“Yes, well…”

I wasn’t particularly interested.

I felt a strange obsession with the way she clung to me…

It seemed like she was attached to a strange guy, right?

“You weren’t taken by a monster and treated strangely or anything, were you?”

“Yeah, well…”

“You don’t know how worried I was.

It’s a relief to see you healthy!”

“I’m on my way to the hospital right now.”

“Oh…uh…yes…”

I wasn’t going to the hospital specifically because of Peridot, but this type of person wouldn’t keep their mouth shut unless they made them feel guilty.

Look, you’re still cowering and quiet right now?

I was amazed at my own excellent judgment.

It was really me.

“Um….”

“Huh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

Maybe because it was dawn, there wasn’t even any noise from everyday life, so the surroundings were incredibly quiet.

Peridot didn’t like the silence, so she tried to talk to me, but since I was acting like I didn’t really want to talk, she quickly became discouraged again.

“Okay, let’s just part ways once we get to the hospital.”

It was best to avoid getting involved with magical girls as much as possible.

Even if she looked like she’d give up easily.

The reason for that was, yes.

Maybe it was because something annoying had already happened.

“Hey, Hazuki.

What’s going on this early in the morning?”

“Ah, senpai!”

For a moment, I saw red hair and thought it was Ruby, so I tried to run away, but fortunately, the owner of the voice wasn’t Ruby.

I got a little scared for a moment.

More importantly, there’s a new face again.

Even a magical girl.

Judging from the way she pretended not to care and was wary of me, I could tell she was a human on that side.

It reminds me of when I first met Emerald.

Of course, my first meeting with Emerald was much worse than now.

That murderous expression and gaze…

Ugh, just imagining it gives me goosebumps.

“Who are you?

Is that Hazuki’s new friend?”

“Ahaha… T-it’s our friend!

Our friend! Right?”

I glanced at Peridot, who was secretly poking me in the ribs.

Of course, that’s true.

A magical girl can’t let normal people find out her true identity, after all.

Honestly, I wondered if it would be meaningful if I undid my transformation because it was the same as when I transformed, but it seems like all the humans here have face recognition disorder, so they didn’t recognize me when I undid my transformation.

It might be fortunate that I saw her for the first time.

If we had met once, I would have instinctively recognized her when I undid my transformation and been extremely wary.

“That’s right, Hazuki.

We’re friends.”

“That’s suspicious.”

“It’s because we’ve only been dating for a short time!

We’re so close!

Look at how close we are!

Look, we’re even linking arms!”

I wanted to undo her transformation right away.

Who on earth is the magical girl in front of me that she’s so nervous?

Judging from the fact that she called me senpai, I thought she was Peridot’s magical girl senpai.

“Then what’s her name?”

“Uh…”

“You’re my friend when you don’t even know her name?

Tsk, you’re not being threatened or anything, are you?

You’ve always been like that, Hazuki.

You’re so naive, you get fooled here and there.”

“Well, I wasn’t really fooled?!”

I’m being fooled in real time right now.

Would you believe me if I said that I wasn’t kidnapped but moved by a monster?

Peridot tried to defend me somehow, but the strategy of insisting that I was her friend was a complete failure since she didn’t know my name.

No, it wasn’t just a failure, but I had a feeling that it would get even more annoying.

‘Look, her eyes are so fierce!

It was as if she would transform and stab me with her blade if I made a move.

It was like a magical girl facing a monster.

She didn’t know about Apocalypse, did she?

She might have returned to the past like the Emerald before her eyes.

If not, there would be no reason for her to be so wary of me.

“I was actually taking this person to the hospital.”

“But why did you mention that friend?”

“Uh… I wanted to be friends with you! Hehe.”

Peridot, who was smiling like an idiot at the other person’s question, glanced at me.

Maybe I was thinking, “I want to be friends with you too, Hazuki.”

I thought she was expecting me to say the same thing, but unfortunately, I had no intention of saying such things.

I had no intention of becoming close to her in the first place.

“Peridot looks like she’d be willing to wield a knife if she became close to me, tsk…”

No matter how much I thought about it, I felt like I had fallen for a really annoying girl.

She even knew my true identity, so I guess I should say that I’ve said everything.

Even though it was just a suspicion at the moment.

“Haa… Hurry up and take her to the hospital, Hazuki.”

“Oh, uh, do you want to go with me, Senpai?”

“The hospital? Done.

It’s better to avoid places like hospitals.”

“Uh… Then, I’ll go…”

Since I can go alone, I guess she’ll let me go.

I sighed inwardly at the person who was glaring at me as if she was going to kill me from outside Peridot’s field of vision.

“But at least we’re not going together.

It was already awkward, but if that arrogant person had come with me, someone might have suffocated to death.

“Let’s go.

Ugh, I didn’t expect to be caught by Senpai here…

I’m sure she’s going to nag me a lot…”

“It seems like our Senpai is quite an odd person.”

“She’s not really that kind of person—uh, yeah, she definitely seems more sensitive today…”

No, when I say odd, I’m not talking about that side of things, I’m talking about the other side.

I shook my head internally at the presence I felt behind me.

She’s tailing me in real time, your Senpai.

Is it okay for a magical girl of justice to tail an innocent monster, seriously?