Ch.207IF Side Story: Somehow, Everyone Seems to Like Me (8)

“…….”

“…….”

“……Why are you staring at me like that?”

Another person was now fixedly staring at me.

No, that’s not right. Lately, all the magical girls had been staring at me. So I shouldn’t be surprised at this point.

“I’m just curious.”

Yeon-woo said, looking back and forth between me and Ju-a.

This wasn’t exactly a common occurrence. When I was among the magical girls, Hayun and Jihye usually occupied the spots on either side of me.

Ju-a typically approached a bit later, either holding my hand or leaning against my back. To be honest, I didn’t understand why she did that during the hottest part of the year. We’d end up drenched in sweat.

……Well, I could understand if she just wanted to be close to me. Honestly, I don’t mind brief physical contact. Despite appearances, I’m someone who enjoys being loved.

It’s just that, how should I put it? Lately it feels a little excessive at times.

Not that I dislike it.

The reason I’m sitting next to Ju-a right now is because Hayun and Jihye happened to be temporarily away. They weren’t doing anything special, just rolling around on the floor.

Hayun has seemed to have let go of something lately. Not in a bad way. Rather, it’s as if she’s thrown off everything that was constraining her.

After seeing me and Jihye rolling around the room, she started copying us, and at some point, she came to really enjoy lying on the floor.

Jihye was always like that.

I suppose as the weather gets hotter, those two sometimes want to lie down on the cool floor and rest a bit. Meanwhile, I ended up with other girls clinging to my side and front.

“Ju-a doesn’t usually cling to other people. She’s like a cat.”

“Who are you calling a cat?”

Ju-a immediately protested, but honestly, I thought it was an apt comparison. If I had to pick the most cat-like person around me, I would choose Ju-a without hesitation. Chae-yeon would be second.

Ju-a was sticking close to me without having anything particular to say, and Yeon-woo was enjoying watching us. Unfortunately, with one of my arms trapped, it was awkward to use my smartphone.

Hmm.

After thinking for a moment, I said:

“Um, do you have nothing to do right now?”

“Huh? Are you trying to get me to scratch your back?”

“No, I’m seriously asking. If you’re free, I was hoping you could help me with something.”

“Oh.”

Yeon-woo’s expression showed that my words had piqued her interest.

“What is it? Something you want from your senior?”

“Yeah. I want to get a head start on next semester’s studies.”

“Oh.”

Yeon-woo exclaimed in admiration at my words.

“…I could help you with that too, you know?”

Ju-a said with a very dissatisfied expression.

“I can help too~”

Hayun said lazily, slightly raising one arm while still lying on the floor.

“I want to join too~”

Jihye said, raising her hand.

…Hmm.

I had originally asked because I thought a senior might know more, but…

Well, I need to study anyway.

Seo-hee had said magical girls have their own methods, but somehow I couldn’t completely rely on that. No matter how much my personality has improved from before, I still can’t fully trust others.

BANG.

As I was organizing my thoughts, the door suddenly flew open.

There stood Chae-yeon.

“…I want to come too.”

Wait, how did you even hear about this?

*

Studying with friends has its advantages. First of all, there’s no pressure.

If a teacher were present, even asking about one test question might feel a bit burdensome. Even though there’s only a few years’ age difference between us, I tend to be shy around new people for quite a while.

But with seniors—seniors I’m comfortable with despite being just a year older, or friends who are the same age—it’s very easy to ask questions and get answers.

We were back in the magical girls’ lounge. Studying together in a place with absolutely no one else around was quite enjoyable. Thanks to that, it was very quiet, with no sounds except our conversations.

We didn’t study for very long.

Since it was just getting ahead for next semester, not preparing for an upcoming test, none of us felt particularly motivated.

We mixed in casual conversation here and there, and at some point, we just started chatting about whatever we wanted. Eventually, we closed our books and sprawled out again.

“I’ll go get some drinks from the vending machine.”

When I said that and stood up, everyone gave me a casual wave.

I like this atmosphere. It feels natural.

Hayun’s almost complete dependence on me is hardly visible anymore. Jihye has also comfortably returned to her old self.

As for the other magical girls, well…

Even Pang Pang, who doesn’t attend high school, was hanging out with us, but that’s fine. I heard that this facility is supported by Noir Corporation. With the leadership vacant and Pang Pang taking that position, fortunately, the funding wasn’t cut off.

Rummaging through my pocket, I went out to the hallway and got a can of soda.

Then, instead of heading back to where my friends were gathered, I headed for the rooftop.

The sun was blazing, and since the rooftop of this building wasn’t specifically designed for people to relax, it was extremely hot. But on such a clear day, I wanted to soak up the sunshine, even if just for a few minutes.

With that thought, I opened the rooftop door, planning to stay only for a few minutes, when I spotted a small garden patch in the distance.

“Huh?”

As I slowly approached, I saw a bright yellow flower blooming there.

“A chrysanthemum?”

“A dahlia.”

As I tilted my head in confusion, I heard someone answer from behind me.

“Ah.”

I nodded.

I see. So this flower is a dahlia. Indeed, it was a vibrant flower befitting the color yellow, which represents one of the magical girls.

“Are you growing it yourself?”

“Well, yes. Growing things is my hobby.”

Yeon-woo said, coming to stand beside me and looking down at the flower.

It wasn’t just a few stems planted in a pot. She had planted enough to fill the entire pot with blooms.

The pot itself was just an ordinary brown one commonly seen in flower shops, but I could tell how diligently she must have tended to these flowers to make them bloom like this.

“…Come to think of it, we were able to survive in that abandoned house thanks to you.”

“Huh? What, what?”

At my words, Yeon-woo suddenly put her arm around my shoulder and said:

“You were so prickly back then, and now you’re suddenly feeling grateful?”

“No, I just wanted to say thank you.”

“Hmm?”

Yeon-woo made a sound as if she was a bit taken aback by my words.

“Back then, we were able to survive because of that food. Without it, we definitely would have been short on food.”

Living solely on vegetables can be a bit difficult. There were beans for protein, and leafy plants and such, but—it wasn’t enough to properly provide the necessary sugars and proteins.

But if we hadn’t even had that, we might have eventually given up from hunger.

I, for one, had run away without any real plan. James was with me, but he didn’t have any better ideas either.

The incident we caused was really just born from the psychology of “I don’t want to die like this.”

In a situation where the outcome was predictably grim, it was just a childish action of trying to struggle and run away, shouting that we should at least put up a fight.

…

So, I can’t express how fortunate it was to have met the magical girls. Not just for their brief help, but for some reason, they stayed by my side and took care of me.

“Um, well, you know.”

Yeon-woo removed her arm from my shoulder with an obviously embarrassed expression.

And while fidgeting with her arm slightly, she said:

“I should say the magic was more from Delphinium; without Delphinium, I couldn’t have grown that much…”

“I don’t think Delphinium could have done it alone either.”

I said, looking down at the flower. Yeon-woo was at a loss for words at that.

“Have you ever saved someone’s life?”

“I have.”

Since she must have fought countless kaijin.

Since she must have rescued people from major accidents.

It’s something I hardly did as a magical girl. I did pull people out of burning buildings, but for magical girls, that was almost routine.

“Add my life to that count.”

I answered.

“…So, just. Thank you.”

“What, what are you saying?”

Yeon-woo said, slapping my arm repeatedly as if flustered.

“Saying such things now just makes it embarrassing, you know? Doing this after we’ve all become friends?”

“…”

“And, if we’re being technical, well.”

Yeon-woo stood beside me, looking down at the flower, taking a moment to choose her words.

“…You saved the world too. Without you, who knows what would have happened to us. At least we were all together in that moment, right? Thanks to you.”

That was true.

But unable to bring myself to agree with that, I remained silent.