Chapter 157 : Tomorrow (1)

Sato Noa ended up getting donuts from Shizuku’s bakery. With sugar thickly smeared around her mouth, she leisurely walked towards the gate leading to school. Beside her, the reddish-brown cat Navi brushed off sugar stuck to his precious cloak while urging Noa on.

“You’re late, Noa. You’ll get scolded by the teachers.”

“Yeah! I know! Mom and sis said, when you’re already late, don’t hurry and get hurt, just enjoy taking it slow! They said you can enjoy a leisurely morning that way!”

“My, what excellent home education.”

“Yeah! My dream is to become a great magical girl like my sister!”

“…”

Perhaps Navi didn’t have the confidence to say anything about the Sato family’s educational policy, so he observed the passing scenery with arms folded, following Noa’s footsteps.

The scenery of the Sky Garden.

A space that became entangled like a maze over 10 years, affected by numerous magical girls coming and going, and the powerful starlight of numerous witches.

A space only magical girls can pass through.

Even now, as Noa passed through each alley, girls drinking tea in bamboo groves passed by, and girls connecting game consoles to monitors installed in the corridors of an ash-colored castle could be seen.

Various daily lives of numerous girls.

Because it was a space that realized girls’ dreams dizzyingly as completely different sceneries passed by quickly, magical girls coming here for the first time easily got lost. Even Noa, when she first received a colorless glass star and came holding her sister’s hand, got distracted and lost her way.

“…”

Among the magical girls spending their daily lives in the passing scenery, many magical girls who received Navi’s education and successfully bloomed were also visible.

The day colorless stars descended on numerous girls.

On that day when white snow fell, Navi was suddenly born in a corner of the Sky Garden.

[Help magical girls grow properly.]

The mission clearly engraved in Navi’s mind was just one.

Since that day, Navi has been with numerous colorless magical girls, pondering together how they can truly grow properly, and watching over them.

“Navi, hello!”

“Hello! Master!”

“Oh? Elementary division? You’re in elementary division but already receiving Navi’s education?!”

“She must be a completely talented magical girl.”

Voices towards Noa passing by with Navi.

Navi waved his front paws moderately, greeting past companions who had already bloomed and were active.

“Everyone is working hard.”

Some girls normally found their dreams, some girls bloomed abilities suitable for combat and fought against Mines or became stars participating in the popular fighting program <Witches’ Duel>.

“Master! I’ll definitely make it to the semi-finals this time, so please watch!”

“Ah, I’m always watching.”

“Kuu! As expected of Master!”

The magical girls who received education from Navi all regarded Navi as both friend and master who seriously pondered and gave advice beside them so they could bloom. A mysterious creature giving different teachings from friends or parents.

A strong cat wrapped in a reddish-brown cloak.

Navi became the most beloved existence among the three guides for magical girls.

“Fufu.”

“Wow, kitty is really popular among the guides.”

“Only you, Noa, are afraid of me to this extent.”

“Uuugh, but! Kitty’s eyes are scary.”

“Eyes?”

“It’s like the things sparkling in kitty’s eyes are whispering to me to fight and win against other people.”

“…”

Unconditionally fighting and winning against others.

‘Hmm, I don’t really empathize.’

Hearing those words, Navi pondered for a moment then shrugged. No matter how he thought about it, that was too inefficient. A reckless and simple method likely to gain empathy from those with… broken personalities, whose emotions are cut off.

Only the strong remaining ultimately abandons the bonds and empathy that can be gained from the weak.

The way humans have continued history so far has been building solid trust relationships through compromise and empathy rather than conflict.

Magical girls are the same.

“It doesn’t particularly match my thoughts. The world has many more choices than fighting and winning or losing. That’s too inefficient… I can’t even imagine why you got such an impression from my eyes.”

“For example, skipping school and playing hooky?”

Just as Navi was about to reprimand Noa’s voice muttering in front of the gate leading to school.

With a refreshing breeze, a cheerful woman’s voice was heard from somewhere.

“Oh, Sato kid! Aren’t you too bold on the first day of school?”

“Uwah?!”

Whoosh―!

The refreshing green wind suddenly became a massive storm enveloping Noa and Navi.

The novice magical girl without even a starlight color and the small creature had no power to resist that wind.

“Eeeek?! Practice teacher?!”

“Kugh?! [Freedom]! Why me too?!”

“Heh, Sato kid! Start skipping from middle school. I started from elementary school though.”

“That’s unfair!”

“Adults are unfair originally.”

Swish

Within the green storm, a green giant’s arm appeared and grabbed Noa who was trying to leave somewhere other than the Academy gate. And the green giant pushed the girl and cat towards the Academy gate.

“Uwaaah?!”

“Kuaaa!!”

Flash!

With a dazzling light, the mysterious creature and girl safely completed going to school.

The woman watching that scene from the highest point of the Sky Garden laughed heartily, her hair fixed with a green hairpin fluttering. Though her hair fluttering over her ample dobok reminded one of an unworldly immortal, she was a woman more worldly and materialistic than anyone.

“Really, putting the school gate in a place like this, the kids’ eyes will roll back.”

Following homeroom teachers’ complaints that too many students were straying to different paths from the first day of school, Ichika, who had the ability to detect the widest range, was keeping watch from the top of the garden. Sure enough, a very familiar face was trying to stray to a different path.

“Geez, the original Sato kid was diligent… I can’t even call her kid anymore, so another Sato kid appears and causes trouble.”

“Fuhihihi! Aren’t innocent kids supposed to endlessly pour out originally?”

“You… why is your way of speaking like that again.”

Ichika looked at the black puppy lying on its back and scratching its belly at the highest point of the Sky Garden.

One of the two guides born with Navi.

Boss.

A puppy wearing a hat alternating black and white.

A pitiful appearance with bandages wrapped all over its black body, but its mouth was smiling vilely.

“Fuhihihi! Because I’m the ‘Boss’! I’ll make lots of innocent magical girls my underlings and someday become a great hat seller!”

“You say that but what you’re actually trying to do is be a hat seller.”

“Stupid Ichika doesn’t understand the philosophy of business.”

“What?”

“Originally, to make money you have to satisfy the greed everyone has.”

“What does that have to do with hats?”

“Everyone has a ‘head’! So to become rich you have to sell hats!”

“…”

Nonsense spewed out like a machine gun in a delicate girlish voice.

It felt like one’s mind would go crazy listening to this guy’s words.

Ichika ignored those words moderately and carefully observed whether there were any Magical Girl Academy students trying to stray to different paths.

“I never dreamed I’d become a teacher.”

“A parachute with a temporary license! A sham teacher!”

“Shut up.”

Ichika, who was in charge of force at the center of numerous conflicts over magical girls’ powers after the Great War, and achieved an undefeated champion in <Witches’ Duel> after the stability period arrived. The path she chose after numerous battles and paths of freedom she walked was ‘teaching someone’.

‘Master… you really taught tiny me with such a broad mind.’

How these tiny things cause so much trouble and mischief.

She came to appreciate that her master’s method of occasionally throwing peanuts at her head during training was truly gentle.

“Haah.”

“Huh? Is the teacher’s salary not enough? Is the pay low? Join under me, Ichika!! The doors of <Boss Company> are always open!!”

“…Haah.”

The day of practice teacher (temporary) Ichika was hard enough just preventing kids’ deviations and taking care of a strange creature enticing magical girls with nonsense.

“I envy Kyoko.”

A landmark of Yokohama.

A cafe run by a cheerful female boss.

There, Kyoko became a big shot dominating the area.

Kyoko, who succeeded in promoting SNS tourist courses in conjunction with the local commercial district, was still thriving while managing dozens of employees.

Who would have thought that Kyoko would become the most successful among the girls who escaped from the research facility…

“Haah.”

“Why? Why? What’s the problem, Ichika? Huh? Huh?”

“Shut up, I’ll spoil your true name.”

“Uwaaah!! No!! The goddess said I have to realize it myself!!”

The black puppy covered its ears completely with its hat and trembled.

Goddess

Hearing those words, a certain girl came to mind.

The fireworks at Tokyo Bay, hard to forget even after 10 years.

“…Leader.”

Ichika was momentarily lost in memories.

A cafe run by an old person, not a young female owner.

There, she put her arm on the shoulder of a silver-haired girl working part-time, listening to the chattering Sato kid beside her while exchanging silly jokes with Kyoko.

Ice cream eaten on the way back to a shabby apartment.

The wind felt sitting on old metal stairs reflecting the sunset.

Talking all night about trivial topics.

“…”

They were trivial but shining days.

Sometimes to the point of wanting to go back to when she was 17.

The summer of 2011 was more impressive to Ichika than numerous battles, than powerful enemies.

But she couldn’t stand still.

Because Ichika looked forward to tomorrow more.