Chapter 142 – Question (1)

# # #

After Esther disappeared, Grape and Rapid, who were embarrassed for a while, confirmed that there was no magical reaction around them and looked around and talked.

“Why did you suddenly go back?”
“… Esther has always been capricious, isn’t that right?”
“Could it be that you have been released from brainwashing…”
“That’s not it, Rapid, Ash said. After becoming negative… He can’t come back.”

The subway station had already completely collapsed and was in a state where it could not function as a station.
The lava hole that extends from the ground to the deep underground slowly cools and hardens, and rocks that cannot withstand the weight fall from the black wall.
Immediately, Grape hugged me tightly and twisted me sideways, and Rapid squeezed out his remaining magical energy to spread a barrier to block the rock fragments.

Sounds and vibrations are the cause, causing rocks on the walls to roll down and create dust.
After all the rocks fell, Rapid, who had been standing still in the dust, slowly dropped his hand that was using his magic and spoke in a melancholy voice.

“At least magic attribute… If only I had a lot of magical power, I would have returned it with rewind… Or more… If only I could turn back…”
“It was unavoidable. Ash and you were training, and Master…”
“Know… I know… Ha, right… I couldn’t help it…”

Rapid, who was talking about something between the two of us that I couldn’t understand, suddenly ended the conversation and shut up.
Grape likewise doesn’t say anything, probably thinking there’s no need to say more.
The two stayed quiet for a while, then pressed down the dust with magic power and spread the magic power.
The mana spread like a wave, checking the mana reaction around him, and once again confirming that there was nothing there, Rapid opened the space and took out the vision phone.

“The situation is over, the state of destruction is rather serious… Okay, send me the recovery drone.”

Immediately after briefly contacting the National Guard, Rapid turned his gaze to me quietly hugged by Grape.

“… I see you again.”
“Ah oh… Yes.”

Rapid, who came closer to me, hesitantly greeted me.
I awkwardly nodded and accepted the greeting.
Grape, who was standing next to me, was startled by this and looked at me alternately with Rapid.

“Uh… ?”
“Injured… Grape, can you step aside for a second?”

Grape held me still, then slowly released his arms and flinched away from me just a little bit.
It is a look of bewilderment, surprise, yet full of doubts.
Rapid passed Grape, who had a complicated expression on his face, and reached out to grab his hand, then stopped and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Rewind.”
“Ugh… !”

The wounds that were all over the body were forcibly wound back and the wounds disappeared.
Rapid’s mana flows in and his head becomes dizzy.
After a while, the momentary dizziness disappeared and I felt the changes from a moment ago.

The clothes that were cut off, the back of the hair returned to their original state.
Some of the scars remain, but the reddened areas, as if burned by fire, are all gone.
Left hand… It is as it is.

“… Haa, I’m sorry, this is the limit with my magic power right now…”
“Oh, no… Yes…”

As for the effect of each magical girl’s magic, the National Defense Force restricts the information itself, so even if you know about it, you will be investigated by an investigator the moment you leak information to VisionNet.
I guessed through user discussions at Majinsa, but… Rapid’s magic doesn’t cure someone, it’s magic that rewinds the target’s time.
After experiencing it again and again, I know for sure.

When I move my recovered body a little, I feel that my condition has improved somewhat.
Even though there are muscle pains and scrapes and scrapes left… Other than that it’s fine
As the tension was relieved belatedly, the fluid accumulated in his body bubbled up and his heart pounded for a moment, but the tentacle on his left hand sucked the fluid away.

My left hand gets cold, and I feel drowsy as if my intoxication suddenly disappears.
The heat accumulated in the body escapes refreshingly.
… It’s amazing that you suck the vaginal fluid.

It bothers me a little that something in my left hand remains the same even though I rewind the state of my body.
This on the left… Somehow I think it looks like a tentacle, so I’m calling it a tentacle, but I don’t know what it is.
The fact that this thing is still in my body despite Rapid’s magic means that I resisted the magic myself, or was Rapid’s magical power not enough to restore my body condition until the tentacle was planted in my left hand.

But… It made me feel magical power, the headache I didn’t know what it was was gone, and it healed my wounds… It seems to be detoxifying the negative fluid like this now…
I really don’t know what the heck this is.
I don’t know, but I don’t think he intends to harm me.

Esther also said that if I had this, the other monsters wouldn’t attack me.
I said number 1… I don’t know what it is, but I know you’re giving me special treatment.
… Why?
Even though I don’t know why, what, or why… Somehow I feel like this should be here.

“Then… Hey, this… I’m sorry to say that…”

As I looked down at my left hand, I heard Rapid’s hesitant voice as he removed his hand from me.
Looking at his expression, he seemed strangely angry, and sometimes surprised.

“Why did you suddenly run into Esther?”
“Ah…”

I listened to Rapid’s words, closed my mouth for a moment, and averted my gaze.
Jumping in to help on my own might have been a hindrance to Rapid.
I noticed it was coming and was preparing an attack magic, but I got in the way… You must have been very surprised to think of Rapid’s personality.

“That… I know it’s dangerous and I don’t know…”
“Esther is coming… Were you watching?”
“No, rather than seeing Esther coming… I was just paying attention to the sudden recovery of magic… I felt it was dangerous.”

To be precise, it would be correct to say that Esther’s feelings, thoughts, and actions were conveyed and noticed, but… I can’t say that.

“Eh, intuition… You mean?”
“Well, I guess.”
“… Even if you suddenly felt something like that, you shouldn’t jump in like that, why the hell did you do that… That, I’m grateful, but magical girls are okay with being attacked like that…”

As we talk, it feels oddly similar to what we talked about before somewhere.
After thinking about it for a moment, I remembered where I was talking about.
It is similar to the story that came up while talking about magical girls at a drinking party with Grape.

“No… Well, I don’t know if I’m weird, but I just… Even if you’re a magical girl, you’re a girl, right? I just don’t like seeing girls get hit…”

Talking about it makes me feel strange.
I like magical girls and I like seeing magical girls fight, but I don’t really like seeing magical girls get hurt.
But at some point, like everyone else… I came to think of magical girls being hurt and destroyed as nothing.

After coming to A city, I was hit by society and I was so tired of the company that my sensibility died?
As time goes by, I feel a strange sense of rejection of what I took for granted.
… Confusing.

Maybe it’s because I was caught up in something like that a while ago… I have to say that my thoughts are not well organized, but it feels like my head is jumbled.
It seems obvious… I don’t know why that’s normal.

“Well, since it’s a magical girl, that’s fine…”
“I didn’t feel well, so my body moved on its own. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”
“Yes? No, interrupt… It’s not… It’s dangerous, so from now on… No, uh… ?”

It was only natural for the magical girl to be hurt and hurt, to the extent that Rapid was a little surprised to hear my answer.
Even though people are grateful to the magical girl, they don’t worry about the magical girl getting hurt.
Magical girls are superhumans, not people, so she doesn’t have to worry.

She is kidnapped by Negative and is rescued because she does not die even though she is nourished by her… No need to worry…
… Something is strange.
Why would she be the reason it’s nothing to worry about?
Even if she doesn’t die, she’s going through worse than dying before being rescued… ?

“Hey, over there! Two… Wait for a sec!”

Just as I was about to feel uncomfortable with the sense of difference between reality and emotions, Grape suddenly cut in front of me.
Rapid, who had a dazed expression on his face, is seen blinking his eyes rapidly.
Grape, who stood in the way between Rapid and me, looked at me alternately with a surprised expression, then asked in a trembling voice.

“Two people… He knows… Sai?”
“Ah…”

It seemed strange that Rapid and I were talking as if we were not seeing each other for the first time.
It’s a little strange to say that we know each other.
Rapid looked at me as if he was thinking about what to reply, but he replied a bit late.

“Know… Between, is it… Yo. This? We?”
“Uh…”

I unilaterally want to have sex with Rapid, so I’m flirting… Rapid is being seduced without knowing anything.
It’s a relationship that hasn’t even started yet, so it’s just that we know each other face to face.

“… Maybe we know each other?”
“Hmm… Ah, the name… Hey, Anger… Right, Joe? That’s what Grape calls me.”
“Ah yes.”
“I met Mr. Anger by chance at the number 4 mall… Ah! You’ve been attacked by Esther before, right? You saw me then and recognized me… ?”
“Uh, uh… ? It did… ? Oh, then… Was it the first time you saw it?”
“Yeah, then at the cake shop… Know?”
“Ah… Because I like sweets, aha~ah…”

As Rapid explained his subtle relationship with me, Grape nodded his head thoughtfully.
I seem to be remembering the first time I was attacked by Esther, when I found out that I was a magical girl.
Rapid, too, stopped talking and suddenly kept his mouth shut as if he realized something.

“Ah, maybe Esther is Mr. Anger… ? Is it because he said that he is a fan of himself… We talked about something during the raid before… ?”
“Ah! And then… We were talking about something… Joe? Anger?”
“… Anger? Come to think of it, Grape… From earlier…”

This time, Rapid tilts his head and glances at Grape and me.
Just as Grape wondered about my relationship with Rapid, I seem to be wondering what my relationship is with Grape.
Then, before I could answer, Grape answered Rapid.

“Ah! Huh… We know each other!”