Chapter 13
While Yoo Seo-ah was in the bath, I wondered where and how to bring up the subject.
First, should I just come right out and say it?
Married men do that too, don't they?
They say it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission.
Then maybe I should keep my mouth shut for now, quietly leave the house, visit Magical Girl Blue, come back, and apologize….
'Stop!!!'
Were you really planning to inflict another wound on Yoo Seo-ah, whose emotional wounds had only just begun to heal?!
Moreover, after telling her from the moment you first met that she had nothing to worry about because you wouldn't go anywhere, and that you were her angel, only to vanish without a word?!
Do you not even think about how much that would hurt Yoo Seo-ah?!
There are limits to deception!
She's the magical girl you chose! Those were the words you said!
With spite! With grit! Hang in there!
"Mmm…."
I sighed as I gently peeled the halo from my head, which had been squeezing it like Sun Wukong's golden headband.
Seriously…. Seriously, I have no idea where to begin.
'But if I stay by Black's side and care for her until she fully recovers, the other magical girls will be in serious trouble…. '
Maybe I should go to Blue during the day, when Yoo Seo-ah isn't here, and stay here in the evening when she returns?
With my abilities, that seems entirely possible….
…No, that doesn't seem right either.
I could get away with that for a day or two, but she'd definitely find out after a while.
'I don't want to hurt her like that.'
If I leave Yoo Seo-ah's side now, I'd be taking warmth away from her just as she's beginning to understand what it feels like.
But if I stay by her side, the other magical girls' wounds will only grow deeper.
If I hadn't known about the other magical girls, I wouldn't have had to agonize over this, but now I knew they existed.
I had realized that they were hurting and suffering alone.
"Ugh…."
I want to make the magical girls happy.
I want them to be happy.
Was it because I'd become an angel upon entering this world?
Or was my desire to make the magical girls happy really that strong?
'There are so many people I want to love, but only one body…. '
What's the use of infinite love
when there's only one outlet through which I can pour it?
Just then, as I let out a deep sigh and drooped my wings.
I felt something touch my wing and turned to look.
Long, pure-white hair, a pair of pure-white wings, and a halo above the head.
Even the slightly drooping eyes and softly glowing golden irises.
An angel who looked exactly like me was staring intently at me.
"?"
"??"
When I slightly furrowed my brow, the other angel furrowed theirs too.
When I tilted my head, the other angel tilted theirs too.
"…Disappear."
Oh, no, that's not right. No, no, no. This is too much, even for me.
When I shook my head from side to side, the angel before me vanished into smoke with the sound of a tiny drumbeat: poof~.
"A living, moving doll…. This is the worst…."
Was she telling me to play with this instead of her, or something?
Even I have to admit this is the worst.
After hesitating helplessly for a long while, I finally arrived at one conclusion.
I had to tell Yoo Seo-ah the truth.
"Haa…."
To be honest, I wasn't exactly eager to use this method either….
But if every option would hurt her, then at least it would be better not to lie.
I steeled myself and waited a little while for Yoo Seo-ah to come out.
The bathroom door opened, and Yoo Seo-ah emerged with a towel wrapped around her hair.
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?"
"No, it's okay! I'm used to waiting!"
When I answered with a bright smile, Yoo Seo-ah chuckled and nodded.
Until just a few days ago, she had barely shown any emotion, much less smiled. But now she was smiling.
Was it really right to leave her behind?
"What's with that expression? Is something wrong?"
If I said it was nothing, that would be a lie.
I wasn't ready to tell her the truth.
After a moment's hesitation, I decided to change the subject.
Of course, that would be a lie too, so I spun toward the kitchen and answered.
"It's nothing! Come on, let's eat!"
"Nothing, huh."
I flinched at the hand on my shoulder.
Yoo Seo-ah took hold of my shoulder and turned me around.
"That isn't the face of someone who's fine. What's going on?"
Even though she must be hurting herself, she was worrying about someone else's pain first.
What a noble heart.
"…."
I bit down hard on my lip, forcibly shutting the mouth that was trying to spout pointless nonsense,
and pressed both hands hard against my sparkling halo to keep its light from leaking out.
Yoo Seo-ah silently watched me, then placed her thumb against my lips.
I couldn't bring myself to bite her hand, so I relaxed my mouth.
"Don't bite your lips like that. When they get hurt, lips are what hurt the longest."
To rise above the pain of the past and use that experience to care for others.
Wasn't that an incredibly beautiful heart, too?
"One hundred points…. One hundred points."
"Pfft. For what?"
"For being kind and noble."
Yoo Seo-ah's eyes widened at my words, and she smiled softly as she shook her head.
"Thank you for saying that, but I feel like I still haven't heard the most important part. What happened to make you look so troubled?"
"Th-that…."
When I desperately avoided her eyes and fidgeted, Yoo Seo-ah stepped back with a faint sigh.
"Judging by your reaction, I guess it's not something you can talk about right now."
"I'm sorry…."
"What do you have to be sorry for? Everyone has secrets of their own, and whether they share them is up to them. You can't make someone talk just by pressing them, can you?"
At that, my halo began to sparkle.
Perhaps because I'd been pressing it down so firmly, it shone not as though it were emitting light, but as though a cluster of stars were circling along the halo.
"You seem more like an angel than I do, Ms. Seo-ah."
"What are you talking about? I'm only doing what you taught me."
"Huh?"
When had I ever done that…?
As I blinked, Yoo Seo-ah gave a small laugh and shrugged.
"When we first met. You said we should talk, but instead of prying into this and that, you quietly waited until I was ready to speak."
―To hear your pain and anguish, the things that hurt and tormented you, the things that troubled and saddened you…. So I can help you after hearing about them.
"Ah…. I suppose it could have sounded that way."
"Well, thoughts belong to the person who has them, while words belong to the person who hears them. Whatever you meant when you said that, that's simply how I heard it."
Yoo Seo-ah answered me while beginning to set the food and side dishes on the table.
I silently watched her, then laid out spoons and rice as well.
"Bring some food for yourself, too. Let's eat together today."
I knew perfectly well that watching someone else eat could make you feel full.
She'd told me that last time, after all.
Then there had to be another reason for asking me to eat with her.
Unless she'd noticed something.
"…Yes, I'd like that."
After thinking for a moment, I nodded, served myself some rice, brought a spoon, and sat down.
We sat across from each other at the table for a moment before Yoo Seo-ah picked up her spoon first.
I followed her example and picked up my spoon, beginning the meal.
Yoo Seo-ah and I both quietly emptied our plates.
"Hey, angel."
"Yes, Ms. Seo-ah."
She called out to me but said nothing for a while.
After letting the silence linger, she quietly put down her spoon and looked at me.
"You're planning to leave, aren't you?"
I couldn't say anything in response to the question, which held certainty rather than doubt.
Worried that something like last time might happen again, I met Yoo Seo-ah's eyes.
Contrary to my fears, her eyes held only loneliness and longing, without the obsession or twisted affection from last time.
I was grateful for that, but at the same time, I felt terribly sorry.
After saying I would shower her with love, I felt as though I was leaving her far too irresponsibly.
Yes, irresponsibility.
That was what continued to weigh on my mind.
"…I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You don't have to apologize. I had more or less expected it, and seeing your reaction today confirmed it."
"I-I'm sorry…."
"I said you don't have to apologize. Jeez."
Yoo Seo-ah pressed firmly on my forehead, making me raise my head.
When I raised my head and met her eyes, she gave me a mischievous smile.
"I'm fine, so you can speak freely. Why are you leaving?"
At her gentle voice, I cautiously opened my mouth.
The news about Magical Girl Blue I'd seen recently, and the reason I'd come down to this world.
"You want all the magical girls to be happy…. That's a good dream. So you're going to another magical girl?"
"Yes…. I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing again?"
"I said at first that I was an angel just for you. So I deceived you, Ms. Seo-ah…."
"You said you were 'for now' an angel for me. Actually, that was what made me anticipate, to some extent, that you would leave. If you think of it that way, you didn't exactly deceive me. Saying you were only my angel for now meant that, with time, you wouldn't be an angel only for me."
Yoo Seo-ah said that as she propped her chin on her hand.
"But after saying you were an angel only for me, trying to suddenly run off somewhere else the moment you saw another magical girl is a little galling."
After thinking for a moment as she looked at me with a sullen expression, I cautiously opened my mouth.
"So before I go, I'll do anything I can for you. If that would make you feel even a little better――mmph."
Before I could finish speaking, Yoo Seo-ah covered my lips with her index finger.
When I blinked and looked at her, Yoo Seo-ah gave a wry smile and shook her head.
"You shouldn't say things like that so carelessly. What are you going to do if I tell you not to go after you said you'd do anything?"
"Th-that…. I…."
"Don't worry. I have no intention of asking for that. Instead…."
With a scrape, Yoo Seo-ah rose from her seat and looked down at me with a faint smile.
"Today. No, exactly three days. Do whatever I ask for that amount of time. Then I'll let you go."
Three days…. Three days wasn't all that long.
"Yes, I'd like that."
"Good, it's a deal, then?"
I nodded as Yoo Seo-ah said it with a smile.
For the next three days.
I had to do everything she asked me to.