Chapter 56: Interlude

After that, nothing special happened or anything.

All I did was settle down on an uninhabited island far from the city and sit there.

It didn’t seem like humans would bother me by coming all the way here, and it didn’t seem like they would stand out much.

Grumble, grumble—

“If you keep coming here like this, I’ll get annoyed.”

Maybe it was because the despair circuit was on, but monsters came in droves after smelling the scent of despair and settled down.

Maybe it was because they could get despair without attacking humans.

I sighed as I stroked the ones that were poking their heads toward me.

The sky is really clear.

The only problem was that it was clear only right above me.

Grumble, grumble—

“Why are you like that? If you want to eat humans, you should go to the city.”

Grumble, grumble—

“Let’s go together? I don’t really want to go to a city where there are humans.”

What if I went there and got lynched by magical girls?

It would have been better to just know Emerald, Ruby, and Gamet.

If other humans were to see me, they would all come running at me like a swarm.

Kkiii.

“Why are you here? Why are you telling me that you got beaten up by a magical girl?”

And one more thing.

Lately, there have been a lot of monsters coming to me for confession, or something like that.

No matter what, they’d come and say things like, “I didn’t get to eat many humans today~” or “I got beaten up by a magical girl today~”.

Tsk.

I’m not some kind of monster-only confessional nun, so I wondered if I really had to listen to all these stories.

“Of course, there are often interesting stories…”

“You get your revenge on your own. I don’t want to bother you.”

The problem, if anything, was that they were whining and asking me to take their revenge on their behalf.

I’m not their babysitter, so why on earth would they be telling me that they got beat up by a magical girl?

It was like telling the older brother next door, “My friend hit me, please scold him!”

Of course, it was a bit awkward to call a magical girl a friend.

“By the way, ships don’t pass by here anymore.”

It was fun to watch the human ships, but because the monsters appeared frequently, ships stopped sailing in the nearby sea.

It was unfortunate that the number of creatures that lived in the sea or could fly in the sky increased…

Fortunately, the monsters were living leisurely like beasts, eating the despair here.

If these guys had attacked the human cities without notice, the magical girls would have come in droves to subdue them or something.

“Oh, by the way, did you bring what I told you last time?”

Squeak—

And my relationship with the monsters wasn’t one where one side gave unilaterally.

If I had created an environment for the monsters, the monsters would have brought me the things I asked for every time I went to the human cities.

From magazines that humans read to various toys.

Recently, there were guys who brought a war board game, and there was a time when they didn’t sleep for three days and nights to clear the single-player mode.

Thud—

“..Well, I didn’t expect it, but the condition is really bad.”

Creak, creak—

“You want me to be grateful just for bringing it? Yeah, well… a newspaper isn’t so bad.”

If it’s a newspaper, it’s the best way to see the reactions of the humans.

Last time, it was about controlling the sea route, so what will it be this time?

I spread out the newspaper after eating the slimy monster mucus with my shadow.

Now, so—

[What is the black cloud that appeared on the uninhabited island off the coast?]

[A Delta-level or higher despair wave confirmed in the black cloud near the uninhabited island. Has God finally become angry with humans?]

[The central government plans to dispatch magical girls. Will they be able to calm the citizens’ anxiety?]

[The strange behavior of the monsters at sea has increased. Is the black cloud the cradle of monsters?]

[A research team is planned to be dispatched to the black cloud. It is reported that a way to break through the despair wave is being sought.]

Oh, it seems that things are getting more serious than I thought.

Isn’t it normal to not think about coming to a dangerous place?

Research and whatnot, dispatching magical girls and whatnot…

“It seems like it’s going to be noisy for a while.”

“Really?”

“Well, I guess it’ll work out somehow. It might be a good thing since I was bored.”

Even if a magical girl came, wouldn’t it be okay if I just roughly massaged her brain with despair and erased her memories?

I closed the newspaper with that vague thought.

Really, why am I bothering a monster that’s just sitting there like this?

[Emerald, how are you feeling? Are you okay?]

“It’s okay. Magical girls don’t take damage from hope energy anyway, right?”

[That’s true, but…]

May spoke with concern as she looked at the wounds on Emerald’s body.

The magical girl Ruby was Emerald’s friend, you said.

However, the expression on her face at the end was closer to looking at an enemy than a friend.

“I wonder how Akari is doing?”

[It seems like she’s settled down on an uninhabited island in the nearby sea.]

“See?”

Why was Emerald so concerned about Akari?

Akari was a monster, literally.

A monster that was dangerous and powerful beyond compare.

And such a monster could hide despair and blend in among humans.

If there was another monster like Akari, and if it had evil intentions, then it would be a truly great disaster.

[Don’t worry too much, Emerald. Akari is definitely doing well.]

“Yeah, I know. Akari is Akari.”

Seeing Emerald say that with a sly smile, her heart finally calmed down a little.

Emerald, who always hunted monsters as if she was being chased by something and destroyed strange research facilities.

How long had it been since she last saw such a comfortable smile?

Although she knew what kind of being Akari was, she didn’t want to look down on the person who made Emerald smile.

Of course, she had been really scared when she first saw her.

“Ah.”

“Tamako, are you awake?”

Emerald turned her head at the small voice heard from the side.

Pure white hair, rainbow-colored eyes, and pale skin similar to Akari’s.

The eyes were devoid of life at all, like the eyes of a corpse, and for a moment, goosebumps ran through my veins.

“Is your benefactor not here?”

“.. Akari hasn’t come back yet.”

The first thing I felt when I saw her searching for Akari as soon as she woke up was pity.

Now that I think about it, didn’t Akari say that she was the one who saved me from the strange research facility?

Maybe she felt pity because she was researched together with me.

No matter how heartless the monster was, Akari wasn’t an ordinary monster.

“I had a dream. It was a dream where my benefactor relieved the despair that had built up in my heart.”

It might not have been a dream, but something that really happened.

The monster’s food was despair, and Tamako’s heart poured out despair while she was asleep.

And Akari wouldn’t have let that despair go.

There was no one who wouldn’t eat when food was right in front of them.

“Thank you, I remembered. The memories of when I had hope—the memories of when I was a magical girl.”

“Really?!”

[I’m glad you regained your memories.]

Whether it was because she had regained her forgotten memories or because Akari had absorbed a lot of despair, Tamako’s expression brightened considerably.

Her eyes, which had been completely lifeless, began to sparkle like jewels as light returned.

“Could I ask you one favor?”

“Of course.”

Emerald nodded at Tamako, who carefully brought up the subject.

She was willing to grant any request, no matter how difficult it was.

“….Can I meet Garnet?”

“Yes?”

Of course, the request that came out of her mouth was quite unexpected.

Akari had told her to go find Emerald, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded.

Their first meeting wasn’t all that great, and they didn’t have any other connections.

Just knowing that my senior is alive is enough.

Since the current me wasn’t a magical girl who lived up to my senior’s expectations, it might have been better if I hadn’t met them at all.

A magical girl who had lost all hope and even considered retirement?

Even thinking about it myself made me laugh in vain.

Ring ring ring—

…Peridot, huh?

The familiar ringtone brought me back to my senses.

Maybe because I was only thinking about my senior, I had completely forgotten about Peridot.

So this is why both my juniors and my seniors are disqualified.

The moment I answered the phone with a bitter smile—

“Hello.”

[Garnet. Are you Garnet…?]

“Ah.”

A familiar voice was heard in my ear.

The voice I thought I would never hear again was calling my name.

You’re alive.

I’m so glad you’re alive.

The words I couldn’t say came out as tears.