Ch.6262. It was a happy everyday life.

After the appearance of that strange white cat, it’s true that Blanc’s attitude toward Ellie—or rather, the way she treats her—has softened considerably.

Since that day, quite a few things have been decided.

As I mentioned earlier, Ellie’s treatment has improved.

Though not to the same extent as Arin, I could see Blanc looking after Ellie like her own sister.

Whether it’s because she wants to do more for her, or out of guilt for not realizing how severe the contract magic was, I can’t tell.

Well, but then she’s bringing drinks to Ellie while she’s busy mopping the floor, or suddenly asking out of nowhere if she wants to come along to buy clothes for me.

And what’s with Ellie happily agreeing to go?

So, that day we ended up going out unexpectedly.

Hmm, to put it simply, I was once again gripped by that familiar terror.

Still, this time Ellie and Blanc were with me. And I got to meet Citrus after a long time, so it was a bit better.

Well, we also used Ellie’s disguise magic.

This time, I became a cute silver-haired girl similar to Blanc, pretending to be her younger sister.

When I said I wanted to stay hidden, Blanc complained that I needed to adapt and that using such tricks would prevent proper training. But it’s still too much for me.

Besides, if crowds gather around me like last time, I might not just tremble but actually faint next to Blanc.

Yes, just thinking about collapsing and drawing people’s attention again…

And then, what if some people look at me with contempt…

Yes. That could happen.

So we went out, and Citrus welcomed me warmly despite not having seen me for a long time.

It’s bittersweet that she welcomes me even though I’m the one who made her like that.

Since Citrus had met Ellie before, she quickly realized we were in the same situation.

Well, she seems to think every villain next to Blanc is like me, though I’m not exactly cowering like a villain who’s been caught in a weak spot.

Still, it was frightening how quickly she noticed. If this was intuition… it was a chilling experience.

Ellie had fought with Citrus before, so they were acquainted. But since Citrus was one of the opponents she frequently lost to, Ellie was just trembling.

Citrus simply patted the trembling Ellie, looking happy.

According to her, she had a new cute “dress-up doll.” She almost called her a sister but seemed to catch herself. Well, I don’t need to remember every little detail.

So, I was dragged out again, forced to mingle with people.

This time, though, whether due to the Association’s consideration or Blanc’s pressure, the department store was empty.

For some reason, there were no people visible except for the staff.

I barely swallowed the words “Isn’t this crazy?” and yes, enjoyed the shopping.

Ellie, who seemed awkward when I first met her, now looked around at various clothes like an ordinary girl who enjoys fashion.

Blanc seemed to like it too.

No, was there perhaps a hint of apology in that expression?

With eyes containing a touch of sympathy, she was full of praise, saying how pretty everything looked.

Ellie accepted that kindness without much thought, and the pile of clothes they selected just kept growing.

When I asked if we came to buy clothes for Ellie, the answer was no.

Right, we came to buy clothes for me again.

Citrus piled clothes on her wheelchair higher than her upper body, intending to dress me up, and Blanc was no different.

Ellie, like at Eden, seemed to see me as a dress-up doll.

Oh my, ha.

Saying they needed to see what suited me, they removed Ellie’s disguise and had me try on the clothes.

While she was busy selecting clothes for me, Citrus had built a tower of garments. She probably didn’t even realize half of them were for her.

It was quite funny when she handed me clothes and then was greatly surprised when Citrus asked from behind, “Aren’t you going in?”

And then, realizing her situation wasn’t different from mine… yes, Ellie became a dress-up doll too.

This time again, I just watched as they bought mountains of clothes.

And when we got home, I was so exhausted I didn’t even have the strength to move, so we ordered delivery food for the first time in a while.

I really had no energy left. Citrus went wild with her new doll Ellie, and Blanc didn’t try to stop her but rather encouraged it…

After barely escaping that horrific time, well.

Since I couldn’t participate in Arin’s training, I at least attended as an observer.

Even though I wanted to verify the “evil deed” condition, Blanc said permission hadn’t been granted and told me not to think about helping with training.

Still, when I persistently asked if I could at least watch the training, she finally allowed me to go to the training ground and observe.

Ellie should be down there too, but she stayed home to guard it.

Was she trying to protect the house, or herself? I’m not sure.

Even if Ellie had come here, Blanc wouldn’t have let her join the training.

Like me, Ellie needs “evil deeds” for her magic generation. She would have been kept out for the same reason as me.

Yes. In these ordinary days.

Being able to continue this peaceful, stable life.

Those peaceful days, one month, two months.

My chronic fear of people showed no signs of improvement, but at least with Ellie’s disguise and various ways to hide myself, I could move around somewhat.

For example, the scarf and hoodie I often used.

It’s better than when I walked to the Association with Blanc before. But I still shrink when people try to make eye contact or talk to me.

Blanc did deliberately forbid me from wearing hoodies and scarves, and even prevented me from using disguises before dragging me out to go shopping or for walks. But I always thought about returning home first, so I couldn’t endure as long as when I went out in disguise.

So when shopping, I always went with Blanc or Crybaby or Redhead.

Even in the slightly warmer weather, I went around markets and supermarkets with my scarf, hoodie, and hat pulled down low.

The shopkeepers who didn’t recognize me would give us service, saying cute sisters were running errands, and I wondered if someone like me should accept such service.

But when I thought of it as service given to magical girls rather than to me, it became somewhat acceptable.

Yes, it was good. Except for those periodic outings, I faithfully stayed at home as a housekeeper.

Ellie and I would sleep together at night, having conversations we couldn’t have before, sometimes even oversleeping.

Well, thinking about what Arin said when she came to wake me up and found Ellie, it was just a laughable incident.

Arin seems more conscious of Ellie than I expected. I wonder why.

Still, Ellie was attending high school as a senior, so maybe she thought they were around the same age.

Looking at how they act, they are similar.

Was I caught sleeping with Ellie? Or was it seen?

Well, it was a common occurrence at Eden, but it would have been the first time Arin saw it.

After that, Arin started coming to my room more often, saying she wanted to sleep next to me too.

She and Ellie bickered a lot, but usually I would get angry and tell them both to go back to their rooms.

Later, Arin even stopped Ellie when she tried to come in to bathe with me.

I think there were really a lot of things that happened.

Well, Ellie’s re-education and such trivial matters are stories that can be skipped.

Yes, I liked that life. At least until today.

An event that disrupts peace happens more easily than one might think.

“Vine. Would you like to go to Eden Headquarters?”

“Eden Headquarters? Today?”

“Hmm, if you’re okay with it, we can go right away. Is today not good for you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve been waiting for whenever we’d go. Today or tomorrow. It’s a place I needed to visit at some point anyway.”

“Really? Well, to learn about your ‘evil deed’ thing… we did need to go and investigate properly.”

“What about personnel? It’s not just going to be me, Ellie, and you, Blanc, is it?”

“No, if we go today, we’ll either wake up Sister Yuri or go to the Association to bring Hyewon.”

“Isn’t it too much to wake up the unemployed one? She probably fell asleep in the early hours of the morning yesterday.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I made her a late-night snack. If she went to sleep after digesting that, it would have been past 4 AM. Waking her up would be too cruel.”

“Vine, then your sleep time is…”

“I’m fine with just a little sleep. A monster’s body is sturdy. Rather than that, let’s take Crybaby instead of the unemployed one.”

“Vine, sigh… you know what I want to say, right?”

“Well, even if you tell me to take care of my body, I’m perfectly fine.”

It’s true.