Ch.176176. Aftermath

“Elli. Explain yourself.”

“Explain…? What more is there to explain…? I’ve already had my master changed…? I have to spend my whole life stuck with this magical girl…?”

“What…?”

“If you want, I’ll release you…?”

“Are you thinking about how much backlash there would be if you cut such a strong bond, Master?”

“W-well…”

“Imagine tightly stretched string being snapped. What happens to the people on both ends? Aren’t you curious? Want to try a tug-of-war right now?”

“No…”

“That’s how contracts work. The fact that your sword cut through so easily… it was a truly rare occurrence caused by the peculiarities on both sides.”

Elli continues her lengthy explanation to Blanc.

Didn’t she go check on Vine’s mental state last time?

At that time, the seal wall was constructed in a way that was partially connected to the contract magic linked to the boss, Baal, which also caused some damage to that side.

Well, something about them influencing each other, and so on and so forth.

I wonder if she’s deliberately dragging out her explanation.

So.

Why did she let me call her by the nickname Elli?

“Elli.”

“Yes, Vine…?”

“Ellice.”

“…Vine!?”

“Ellice. From now on, I’ll call you Ellice.”

“W-wait. Vine…!”

“Hmph.”

Elli doesn’t understand anything.

“W-why is our Vine suddenly acting like a child…? Is it a side effect of the contract magic…? Did forcibly breaking it cause some kind of side effect…? Blanc, shouldn’t we run some tests…?”

“Well… we’d need tests to know for sure. But she seems perfectly normal right now.”

“Blanc. Did you first suggest calling Elli—no, Ellice—’Elli’?”

“No…? I never did that. She just told me in the middle of our conversation that I could call her Elli.”

“Blanc!”

Elli tried to approach me as if to stop me.

But when I showed her a smile, she got scared and backed away.

Hmm.

It’s not like I’m actually going to eat her.

Yet she’s so frightened.

I like it.

I want her to be a little scared.

Because I’m angry.

“Ah… So Ellice was the one who first allowed you to call her Elli…?”

“Yes. But isn’t what Elli said right…? Well, you are employed by us, and the Association Director’s condition for overlooking this escape incident is that you stay with us. Were you trying to go back there?”

“…The bet is still ongoing.”

“Should I consider that as my win?”

“It’s not over yet. I am… a villain. I could finally confirm it properly this time. Even the last remaining bit of my good role followed the ideals of this Baal character. I now understand how evil that action was.”

“So. It ended up like this anyway, right? Our bet was whether you would return to being an extremely wicked villain.”

“…Haven’t I returned?”

“Hmm… I think it’s over. As I said before, that was just a deviation.”

“…Not yet.”

“Well, whatever.”

While I was talking with Blanc about our bet.

Elli seemed to be thinking deeply.

Then.

“Ah, right…! The bet! Aaack…?”

“Ellice, what’s wrong…?”

“V-Vine…! I-I’m sorry, please forgive me… M-more importantly, I have a bet with Arin…”

“I know about that too. The bet you lost.”

“…Arin hasn’t told me what she wants from the bet yet…! I-it’s better to just forget about it…!”

“Ah, right. Thanks for reminding me? Let’s tell Arin as soon as we get home.”

What?

So Elli was doing well…?

…

With the magical girls?

How much fun were you having while I was gone?

“V-Vine…? Why are you looking at me with such scary eyes…?”

“Hmph, Ellice.”

“Vine… whyyy…”

Let’s go back and continue this conversation later.

As I was leaving with Blanc, Elli approached me apologizing.

I ignored her completely and just walked out.

As we exited, Arin and Seohyun were already at the door.

It looked like Seohyun was preventing Arin from entering.

Yuri was playing with the other magical girls.

“Let me go! I-I need to go in and help Sister Vine!”

Fortunately, Seohyun was holding Arin by the scruff of her neck.

The moment she lets go, Arin looks ready to dash in.

Well…

With her legs flailing and being held by the scruff, she looks really cute, like a mother dog carrying her puppy.

“Excuse me… Seohyun? I think you can let her go now.”

When I spoke from behind Seohyun.

She turned toward me in surprise.

“Eek?!”

And simultaneously let go of Arin, who fell with a thud.

“Ack?! Y-you startled me…! Don’t speak in that tone…! I thought you were an enemy…!”

“I am an enemy, though…”

“W-what…? You, don’t tell me you were influenced by the boss… W-was that it?”

“You’re quite simple-minded, aren’t you?”

“I-if I had known this would happen…!”

Seohyun points her crossbow at me.

Really…

She’s still so narrow-minded.

“What are you talking about, Seohyun? Let’s go back quickly.”

“Eh, ehhh…? Sister Yunseul…?”

“Seohyun. Besides, you’d lose if you fought now.”

“What…?”

“Well, I would win if I fought, though.”

She says this while looking at me confidently.

It’s a bit annoying?

“What are you saying? I would beat Blanc.”

“Pfft. You, who struggled so much against Baal?”

“…If I build up my strength a bit, I’ll win. There’s that gap in years of experience, isn’t there?”

“Well, do you want to fight?”

“The bet isn’t over yet, so.”

“Ah, right. The bet. What is Arin going to make Elli do?”

“Eh…?”

Arin, who had already gotten up and recovered, couldn’t answer Blanc’s question properly.

“I-if you don’t remember, we can just forget about it! Right, Blanc?”

“I do remember, though…? No, I was just momentarily surprised. Did you say Elli?”

“Yes…?”

“Wait. Ellice…? Not Ellice?”

“Elli.”

“What…?”

Arin was surprised, see.

Look.

I’m not the only one who feels this way, right?

“Hey, Ellice.”

“U-um…?”

“Can I call you Elli too?”

“…W-what…?”

“Why, is there a problem? Sister Yunseul is allowed to, so why not me?”

“No, no, that’s not it…”

“Ellice is a bad girl, so she might not allow Arin to do that. Arin, don’t be fooled.”

“Sister Vine…?”

“Ah, ahhh! Vineee!”

“Hmph.”

“So I can call you Elli, right? I’ll call you Elli from now on.”

“Y-yes! So please, can’t you help me make peace with Vine first?”

“Why should I? This is my chance to get ahead.”

“Hey, heyyyy!”

“Besides, I still have one wish from you, right?”

“B-but! That’s cheating! Come on? Help me, please help!”

“Hmm…”

I didn’t expect Elli to beg Arin so desperately.

Serves her right.

Seeing this makes me feel quite satisfied.

Hmph.

“But… Sister. What did you mean when you said I couldn’t win?”

“Hm…?”

“Vine hasn’t used all her magical power yet, has she…?”

“No? Oh, that restriction? I solved that. There shouldn’t be any more pain now. Of course, we’ll need to keep monitoring, but for now, I don’t think she’ll collapse from magical power deficiency like last time…”

“W-wait a minute…? So Vine’s full power is…?”

“Hmm… She was on par with Baal, so probably weaker than during Ragnarok. But not weak by any means. Maybe like Vine from about 1-2 years before that day?”

“What…?”

“You can’t win.”

Seohyun looks back and forth between Blanc and me.

Then she stares intently at my neck.

“W-wait a minute…? Isn’t this dangerous then…?”

“Dangerous?”

“T-that…! The sealing device, right. The sealing device is gone…?”

“…Is it necessary? Vine, do you have somewhere to go?”

“…Well, I need to go do bad things, don’t I?”

“Really?”

“I’m a bit tired now, so maybe tomorrow or the day after?”

“That probably won’t work. You need to get examined, remember?”

“Sigh… When will you guarantee my time for doing bad things?”

“Let’s go back to the dormitory after leaving the Association and think about it, shall we?”

“I’ll do that.”

As we’re having this conversation like a comedy duo in front of Seohyun,

I can see her expression becoming increasingly varied.

First, a look of shock.

Has Blanc been corrupted by me too? Do I have any chance of winning here?

And she occasionally glances at Hyewon, who’s just standing behind us looking amused.

She also seems a bit concerned about the noisy group over there.

Seohyun’s eyes are quite busy.

As our conversation gets increasingly absurd, she finally realizes.

“Y-you’re just messing with me, aren’t you! Sister!”

“Hm? No, I’m not. It’s all true. Right, Vine?”

“Well… I am thinking about what bad things to do. Would you mind not bothering me?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Hmm… First, messing up Blanc’s bed? Making it a complete disaster by rolling around on it. How about that? Am I an extremely wicked villain? If I do this, I’ll win our bet.”

“Pfft… I’d actually like that.”

“Huh…? Blanc, I didn’t know you had such tastes… Would you mind stepping back a bit?”

“Why? Oh, am I about to fall into corruption? If I become a corrupted magical girl, the Association might have a bit of a headache.”

“Ugh… Corruption is Yuri’s specialty, so please consult her.”

“Right, that’s what corruption is.”

“Well… yes, you’re right. Corruption. I should sincerely apologize to Yuri later.”

“Go do that with Elli.”

“I’ll handle it myself. Ah, Seohyun. So is everything settled on this end?”

When I ask Seohyun directly.

She answers diligently despite her confusion.

“It is settled, but… no, why are you so normal…? And the sealing device…?”

“Ah, the leash. Woof, woof. Will you put the doggy’s leash on?”

“Elli wore hers on her own.”

“Ah. But I don’t have a leash, do I?”

“Umm… where did I put it? I don’t think I brought it.”

“Oh my. Am I a dog with its leash off? Can I cause a little trouble?”

“What are you talking about? Let’s go quickly. And make up with Elli too. Elli has opened her heart to us as well. What will happen if you reject her?”

“…I’ll handle that myself.”

“You’ll do it when we get back?”

“We’ll see.”

With one more person and one core, we boarded the helicopter heading to the Association.

Seohyun is still looking at me with suspicious eyes.

Elli is still fidgeting anxiously.

Hmph.