Ch.120120. Hero and Villain (4)

“Wow… This place seems to have changed quite a bit?”

“I made some donations. I asked them to build the library sturdy enough that it wouldn’t collapse and crush people even if a monster attacked.”

“What kind of library…”

“Hey. You’re not one to talk, are you?”

“Why do you say that? Do you think I’ve never been crushed by a building?”

“I got crushed before becoming a magical girl. You got crushed while being a monster. I nearly died.”

“Well. Since you didn’t die, nothing really happened in the end, right?”

“…Sigh.”

Blanc gave my head a light thump.

“Ow.”

“Acting like it hurts when it doesn’t.”

“Did I get caught?”

“Yep.”

“Ah, this is why it’s hard to go around with Yunseul. How do you always see through even my well-intentioned lies?”

“Well.”

“Just… never mind. So why are we here…?”

“For nostalgia.”

With those words, Blanc walked through the school gate.

“…Was there artificial turf here originally?”

“No? I had it installed.”

“…Huh?”

“I also had that library built.”

…What did I just hear?

I knew Blanc was wealthy, but…

To this extent…?

No, her spending habits weren’t like someone with that kind of money…?

Or were they…?

Oh, right. When she went to the department store with Citrus to torment me, she did swipe her card without even looking at the prices…

“Why didn’t you completely own me that day?”

“Huh…?”

“With that kind of money, you could have bought me completely and still had plenty left over…?”

“What are you talking about…?”

“If a human lifespan is 100 years, you’d have about 80 years left… 365 days, plus 20 leap days. With roughly 7.5 billion, you could…”

“…Why would I?”

“What…? Well, I suppose 7.5 billion is just pocket change to you… Ah…”

I can’t comprehend the extent of Blanc’s wealth.

When making donations to a school, wouldn’t you normally give an amount that doesn’t put yourself at financial risk?

But if that’s the case.

Um, well…

“…I’m starting to feel a bit afraid of you.”

“Why?”

“For an individual to have that much money…”

“Oh… that. I did get some help from the Association. I told the Association President that this was my alma mater and that they should provide some support.”

“…So, what percentage came from your personal funds?”

“About 40%?”

“That’s still a lot, isn’t it? We’re talking about constructing buildings…”

“I received a lot of reward money during my magical girl activities. And the Eden collapse bounty was quite substantial too. My current salary is also pretty good.”

“You… how… hah.”

This is dizzying.

Yeah.

I’d rather heal by watching those cute kids running around over there.

But why do they seem to be running toward us…?

“Waaaa!!”

“That’s Blanc, right! I knew it!!”

“Gasp…! That kid next to her. A transfer student?”

“Why would Magical Girl Blanc come to a small elementary school like this!”

“Hey. This is Blanc’s old school! So of course she can come!”

“Would you come back here after graduating?”

“Why not?”

“Elementary school isn’t important, you dummy.”

“What! Elementary school is great and important!”

They’re bickering among themselves.

And… transfer student?

“…Did those children just mistake me for being their age?”

“Probably?”

“Don’t they see me in videos?”

“They do. You usually appear in them.”

“Then. Eh…? They don’t recognize me…?”

“From a distance. But when they get closer and see your eyes, their reaction will change, right?”

Well… I guess so…?

“Wait, not a transfer student… that’s!”

“Huh…?”

“I saw it in the movie…! It’s Vine, it’s Vine…!”

“Vine at our school…?”

“Why are you here, villain!”

“And you’re holding Magical Girl Blanc’s hand!”

“Eh…?”

Just as Blanc predicted, as the kids approached us, they identified who I was.

And the things they’re saying.

It’s more cute than offensive.

It might be hard for them to understand with their young minds.

“Blanc. By the way, is our first meeting also being consumed in some fabricated form?”

“Probably…? It was probably made into an anime or drama. Since I made my debut then.”

“I guess… if it became an anime, your awakening as a magical girl would be important to the narrative…”

“Right. And the appearance of a fated rival too.”

The kids ran over and surrounded us.

“Blanc. You did inform the school before coming, right?”

“…No?”

“Hah.”

And from far away, someone who looks like a teacher is also running toward us.

“Huff… huff… Children…! Don’t run!”

“Blanc.”

“What is it, Vine?”

“This is causing trouble, isn’t it…”

“…I don’t think so.”

“It is. You should have at least told them you were coming…”

As more and more kids gathered around,

Our voices were quickly drowned out…

“Wow!! It’s really Blanc!”

“Everyone!!! Come quick!!!!! Blanc is here!! Magical Girl Blanc is here!! It’s Blanc! Blanc!!”

“Hey! She brought a villain with her!”

“Gasp…! Purple eyes! It’s Vine!”

“What? Vine?”

“Vine!!”

“Bidet?”

“It’s Vine, you dummy. If you’re not careful, Eden might capture you!”

“Eeeek?!”

Whew.

So noisy…

Blanc, as if it were natural, spent time taking pictures with the children who flocked around her.

“Vine! Let’s take a picture together!”

“Yeah! But, if we approach her now, won’t she attack us with her tail?”

“Right! Vine is super cunning and smart, isn’t she? She’s always fighting with Blanc!”

“Nah. She always loses anyway. Right, Vine?”

“Um…”

“See! Even now, she can’t do anything because Blanc is next to her! So it’s safe.”

“Vine! Please take a picture with us…!”

“She’s so cute…”

“Super cute…”

“Cuter than our school juniors… But they say she’s super strong!”

“She’s always fighting with Blanc!”

Right.

Well… even though those children know magical girls exist in reality.

The information they receive must be like fantasy comics.

So they approach me without hesitation and ask for pictures…

Ack…?!

“Yah! Take that, evil villain!”

“Hey, Woo-young, are you crazy!?”

“What! Bad villains need to be defeated!”

“You shouldn’t hit people!”

I’m the one who got hit…

And it didn’t even hurt that much.

It felt like being hit with a cat’s paw punch…

It’s nice that the other kids are stopping this one…

The child who tried to hit me was pushed back from the group.

And around me…

“Vine…! Please let me take a picture with you…!”

“Can I take a picture with you…?”

“Please take a picture with Blanc and Vine…! Sign, please sign!”

“So cute… I want to squish her cheeks…”

“She’s so small… about our height…!”

Um… well…

Until the teacher came and dispersed the children, we had no choice but to take pictures with them.

I didn’t expect to use the signature I created last time here…

After the teacher led the children away.

“Phew. Are you okay, Vine?”

“I’m fine.”

“The teacher said she’d keep the kids away, so let’s take a quick look around.”

“Around here?”

“Yes.”

“…Are you trying to embarrass me to death?”

…Even for nostalgia’s sake.

I don’t really want to know about memories from this time…

“Oh, right. Back then, you were Vine with a completely childish mindset, weren’t you?”

“Yunseul.”

“What?”

“Don’t.”

“Hmm… if I remember correctly… you introduced yourself with a lisp?”

“Yunseul. You’d better stop.”

“And you wore this really cute dress without even realizing your underwear was showing.”

“Wait, what?”

“You brought a monster and then. When I defeated it, you stomped your feet in the air…”

“Yunseul!”

“Fine, fine…”

Seeing her lick her lips in disappointment as she tried to tease me.

Really… why.

This is why I don’t like reminiscing about this period.

“Still… it’s because I survived here that our ill-fated relationship continued.”

“Ha. I should have ended my life here.”

“Pfft. Right. You should have ended it here. Because you didn’t, you kept fighting me with that tenacious life of yours.”

“I dislike you, Blanc.”

“Yes. I dislike you too, Vine.”

Sigh.

I followed her to the library.

The building she said she sponsored and had newly constructed.

“Why is it so spacious…?”

“When I asked them to make it safe, it turned out like this. The kids like it, so isn’t that good?”

“Well… when a monster comes, it’s all the same, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s not. I’ve protected the building with my magical power.”

…Using Blanc’s magical power on a mere library.

What a pointless waste of magical energy.

“…This is.”

While I was surprised, Blanc brought me to a certain place.

“Yes. The place you’re thinking of.”

“But why is something like this here…”

A scene of battle in the newly built library.

“Why? Isn’t it nice to see it displayed so prominently?”

My proud stance from back then and Blanc’s first transformation appearance.

“…It looks so different from your current transformation, doesn’t it?”

“I’ve awakened several more times since then. Of course it’s different. I still wear those clothes when I’m weak.”

“…Do you ever get weak?”

“When I’m sick…? When I’m tired…?”

“So almost never, you mean.”

“Right. It’s hard to see unless I consciously reduce my power.”

An outfit completely different from the last one I saw her in.

They say a magical girl’s clothes change according to her mental image, but the outfit from that time hadn’t properly settled into her magical girl identity yet. It was as ordinary as any other magical girl’s.

Well, since magical girls are inherently unique, saying “ordinary” might not be right.

But it was what you could call ordinary for a magical girl. A typical magical girl appearance.

Oh, now…

“This is better than your unnecessarily flashy, self-centered outfit now.”

“That can’t be helped. That’s how it is. And saying this is better… this doesn’t suit me anymore, does it? I’m getting older now…”

“It’s cute.”

I said, pointing to her image in the frame.

“…Cute?”

“Much cuter than now.”

“Well… everyone thinks children look cute, but…”

Why is Blanc getting embarrassed?

Her face turning red at just being called cute.

“It’s cute. Yes. Can’t you go back to being like this?”

“…You’re one to talk about being cute.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Nothing…”