Ch.9494. Peach Blossom and Vine (7)

“Cheers!”

“Cheers…”

In the room, only the clinking of glasses and the sound of alcohol sliding down throats could be heard.

“Woohoo! This drink is sooo delicious! Boss, where did you get this stuff?”

“Oh, this? I bring back a bottle whenever I visit my master. It’s made only at a brewery in that region.”

“Reallyyy? They don’t sell it in the city?”

“Nope. That’s partly why I go there to get it.”

“Ughh… these alcoholics… are you still drinking more…”

“Oh, Bine. Are you okaaay? You don’t have to drink more if you’re not feeling well. Don’t force yourself.”

“I’m… fiiiine… it’s not like I’ve never had alcohol befooore…”

This magical girl, seriously.

Does she think I have a weakness for alcohol or something?

Ha, me with a weakness for alcohol? What nonsense.

Even when I had that drinking contest with Ellie, I won.

How many glasses did I drink then? I can’t remember clearly, but I definitely remember seeing Ellie fall asleep first, so I’m obviously strong when it comes to alcohol.

Me, weak with alcohol? What nonsense.

These magical girls, always drinking beer but never cleaning up after themselves.

If you’re going to drink, at least clean up afterward.

Ah, this sushi is delicious. It’s nice eating it with alcohol since it helps wash down the greasiness.

“Woohoo… I can, I can drink mooore… I’m not weak at allll…”

“Boss, she’s drunk, right?”

“Yeah. Looks like it to me. Maybe Bine should stop drinking now?”

“Nooo! Give me mooore, ughh, I can still driiink…”

“It’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, seems pretty bad.”

“What’s baaad…! What’s bad is the adulllts…! They never, never appreciate us! If we just created the happy society the boss talked abouuut! There’d be no criiime!”

“Alright, alright. I know what you’re talking about, our dear Bine.”

“That’s riiiight, big sis knows too, right? But you’re also baaad! Knowing the truth but! Siding with the magical girls agaaain! How does that make any seeense! Seriously!”

“…Bine?”

“What’s wrong with youuu! You traitor!”

“Bine, you’re really drunk. I need to lay you down. Let’s sleep a bit and talk later, okay?”

“Let go of meee! Ugh…!”

“Bine, you’re pretty bad. Yeah, yeah. Let’s talk again after you get some sleep, okay?”

Yuri forcibly laid me down on the sofa behind us and started stroking my head.

“Hnngh…! Don’t stroke my heaaad…!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. Alcohol is the enemy, the enemy. Should I take a picture of this?”

“Don’t, stroke, my, aaah… purrrr…”

“Honestly.”

Unable to fight the overwhelming drowsiness, I fell asleep without remembering anything else.

* * *

“…Phew, is she asleep?”

“Seems like it. Shame about what’s left.”

“Well, you and I can finish it, Boss.”

“But won’t she complain that we drank everything without her?”

“…Despite appearances, she’s quite a deep child. Completely different from how she looks, right?”

“You’re one to talk about being different, Yuri.”

“Hm?”

“Your speech pattern.”

“…Ah.”

“Why, did something happen?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

The two of them tilted their remaining glasses, using the peacefully sleeping Bine as their drinking companion.

Her reddened face showed only peaceful breaths going in and out.

“Really, it’s nothing.”

With Yuri’s answer, the two had nothing more to add.

One glass for yesterday.

One glass for today.

And one more glass for tomorrow.

“Are you leaving? Stay and eat more.”

“Well, it’s about time for Bine to sober up. She’ll be embarrassed when she remembers what she did here. Right?”

“I guess so. Oh, is she waking up?”

“Ugh… my head…”

“Bineee, are you awake?”

“…? That sounds like the unemployed one…”

“Hey now. You agreed to call me big sister, remember?”

“…? Huh?”

“It’s okaaay. It’s my fault for suggesting we drink.”

“…Drink? Uh, huh? Um, um…?”

Yuri gently stroked Bine’s head as she lay comfortably using Yuri’s thigh as a pillow.

“Shall we go home now? It’s getting late. Our stomachs are full too. Right?”

“W-wait, what, what did I do…?”

“Hmm…? Oh, you tried to destroy the shop, remember?”

“N-no! Stop joking around…!”

All traces of her earlier behavior gone, Yuri was now just playfully teasing while stroking Bine’s head.

Though Bine seemed to want to escape Yuri’s stroking, she appeared unable to do so and could only roll her eyes.

“Hehehe. I’d like to stay like this a bit longer, buuut that would be inconsiderate to the boss, right? Let’s clean up and get going?”

“Ugh… um, w-wait…? B-Boss?!”

“You’re awake? Sorry for pressuring you to drink.”

“N-no… it’s fine… um…”

Realizing the boss was present, Bine seemed embarrassed about lying with her head on Yuri’s lap while getting her head stroked. She quickly brushed Yuri’s hand away, hurriedly got up, and straightened herself.

Meanwhile, Yuri looked at Bine with a face like someone whose stuffed animal had been taken away, but she released her stroking hand, presumably out of consideration for Bine.

“Um… I’m so sorryyyy…”

Watching Bine repeatedly bowing with red ears and a flushed face, the boss wondered how someone like this could be called a villain.

But thinking about Bine’s past actions that he and Yuri had looked up while she was sleeping…

‘…Maybe I shouldn’t have done that.’

Yet, when he first met Bine, without knowing those things…

She was just a pure child, which is why he could tease her like that.

He thought it was no big deal.

Just one thing—learning a bit about her past.

He strongly realized how such things create prejudice and make people judge others.

Nevertheless, as an adult, what he needed to do was…

“No, I should be the one apologizing. I got carried away. Next time you come, I’ll prepare something even more delicious. Look forward to it.”

“Y-yes… thank you…”

Information learned through the past should only be used as reference.

When looking at someone’s true self, one should believe in that true self.

“Oh, and thank you for not destroying my shop today, Miss Villain?”

“N-no! Why would I destroy this place…”

“Hehehe. I missed a chance to legally extract more money from Yuri. What a shame.”

The boss laughed as Yuri lightly complained.

“Huh? Boss, you don’t mean…?”

“The shop furniture is all old, so I could have replaced everything. Tsk.”

“You’re unbelievable…!”

“Why? You must have plenty of money, right? Your clothes never change, you don’t put much effort into your appearance. You just stay at home. Is this the only place you go out to?”

“That’s not true! I go to many places! I go to the Association too! Hey? Boss, are you listening properly? Boss!!”

The boss lightly ignored Yuri’s words and added one more thing to Bine.

“Well, I knew you wouldn’t destroy anything anyway. How could someone as kind as you destroy this place, right?”

“…I’m not kind.”

“You seem plenty kind to me. You should know how cruel kids your age can be. Oh my… thinking about my nephews.”

“Nephews…? I’m not an elementary school student…”

“Yes, yes. Come again next time.”

The two busy-looking guests left the shop down the stairs.

* * *

“Bine.”

“Yes, big sister.”

“Want to go for a walk? You probably have things you want to talk about.”

“…It’s a bit difficult to walk outside looking like this.”

“I know a quiet place. You know I don’t like crowded places, right?”

“Where…?”

Yuri took out her dagger from subspace, transformed into her magical girl form, and flew up into the sky carrying me.

“…? S-suddenly?”

“Trust me. It’s a place with a good view.”

“W-wait…! This is too sudden…! We’ll attract attention this way…!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine! How is it, refreshing, right?”

“Ugh…”

I could only pull my hood down further to cover my face.

After flying through the night sky for a while, we arrived at a rooftop of a building.

It was a place with a wide view of the city’s night scenery.

“Isn’t this trespassing? Is this really okay?”

Yuri seemed to take my concerns lightly, wandering around the rooftop looking for a place to sit.

“Oh, here? This is an Association building anyway. It’s fine, it’s fine. Look, we’ve seen this view many times, right?”

“Yes, we have. Almost to the point of being sick of it. We worked at night after all.”

“See? If you look this way, you can see the river… and if you look that way, you can see the city. Isn’t this a prime location? The land must be super expensive.”

“Well. I suppose so.”

“And there’s hardly anyone around.”

“Not hardly—there’s no one at all.”

“I guess so. Oh, this spot is nice. Want to sit here? Here, come over.”

“…Okay.”

We sat in a corner of the darkened building’s rooftop, looking out at the city.

“Sigh. Things to talk about. No one will hear us here.”

“…I guess not. You’re right.”

“Here, even if we talk a bit about the old days, no one will hear us. And it wouldn’t matter if we end today with this. Right?”

I couldn’t answer Yuri’s question.

Because…

“It’s not a pleasant memory, but to fully resolve things, we need to talk to each other. Don’t you think? Well… I understand that what happened then was unavoidable, but you’re still holding onto it.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. And you’re wondering, aren’t you? Why I sided with the magical girls again even though I know everything about Eden.”

“…That’s not true.”

“Well then. Let’s talk slowly. In this darkness with the beautiful night view.”

I…

“So, shall we start with the time I was kidnapped by Eden? Or should we go even further back?”

“Whatever is comfortable for you, big sister.”

Her, Yuri.

Magical Girl Plum.

“Right. If you want to understand properly, you should know everything from the beginning, right?”

“…Yes.”

Because I’m the one who turned her into a fallen magical girl.