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Chapter 82
Chapter 3 — Dry scrape, burn and perforate! • Episode 3–2 — Dependency ①
Translated by KaiesV
Edited by KaiesV
While Tyrant Sylph was attending the Witches’ Tea Party, in the real world, Nanami was visiting the home of Chisaki.
Thanks to the study session the other day, Chisaki was able to finish her homework with time to spare, and had been going to various places in the Magical World with Tyrant Sylph for the past few days in the name of demonstrating the strong ties between Witches and Magical Girls in Sakira Town. She was taking a break and relaxing on the last day of her summer vacation when she received a call from Nanami.
The content was that she wanted to meet face-to-face to talk about Tyrant Sylph, and since there was no reason to refuse, Chisaki readily agreed. When it came time to decide where to go, Nanami suggested that they could go to Chisaki’s house if possible.
And now, Chisaki and Nanami are sitting on cushions facing each other at a small desk.
「So, what can I tell you about Sylph-chan?」
「…It’s a little hard to say and you might think I’m the one to say it, but Atsuo-san is the type of person who doesn’t really care about such things and you are partly blame to it, so you probably don’t even realize it. So, let me say this with shame.」
「O–Okay…」
Recently, Sylph and Blade had been getting along reasonably well, albeit for the sake of protecting their territory, she was wondering if it was something to do with that, but Nanami’s more serious attitude made her change her mind so that she wouldn’t miss what she said.
「I think Sylph-san is dependent on you.」
「D–Dependent? Sylph-chan on me?」
「You probably only think of her as being very attached to you, but she is in a very dangerous situation. I know because I was one myself. She trusts you fully and don’t question your words. Blind trust, no, you might say faith. Now that girl… that was me not too long ago.」
Nanami wrinkles her brow in frustration and clenches her fists in her lap.
She is ashamed of herself for having been influenced by other people’s opinions after all, despite her talk of justice.
But that is why, because she made those mistakes, she was able to calmly assess the current relationship between Tyrant Sylph and Elephant.
「——, …Is that so? For what it’s worth, Sylph-chan is solid, and I don’t think dependence is an exaggeration, you know?」
Chisaki was about to say something, but paused for a moment and then spoke optimistically, as if in love with the idea.
Whether or not the word “dependence” applies, Chisaki knew that Sylph had special feelings only for her. And that the situation is not a good one. But that doesn’t make it so easy for Sylph and Blade and others to get along.
Chisaki knows what Sylph really is, and Blade and others don’t. The fact that Sylph was once a man who had long since reached adulthood, his fragile heart and young mentality, and his nature to be out of it and not to be left alone. Chisaki was able to gain trust because she accepted Sylph with all of these things in mind. It wasn’t possible for Chisaki to tell them about Sylph’s situation, and it was obvious that Blade and the others wouldn’t be able to do the same.
Of course, Chisaki didn’t think that the situation could be left alone. Magical Girls risk their lives. Chisaki herself has no intention of dying, but there is still a contingency. To ensure that Sylph wouldn’t be left alone if she was no longer there, that she wouldn’t have a friend to support her, Elephant planned to invite Sylph to join the team and to interact with Blade and Press as well.
However, the closer she got to Sylph, the more Sylph opened up to Elephant, the more Elephant’s heart was filled with a heat that she didn’t understand. It was hot and mushy, but not unpleasant. It was rather pleasantly warm.
The decisive turning point was when she scolded Sylph at the aquarium. Seeing the innocent Sylph trying to follow a woman she didn’t know, someone other than herself seemed to have gained Sylph’s trust, even if only temporarily, and Chisaki felt very bad. The emotions were so wild that they felt like they were about to explode, mingling with the heat in her chest. She didn’t know why she felt that way, so she blamed Sylph in general terms about not following strangers, but her anger at that moment was certainly filled with more emotions than that.
Since that day, she have come to believe that even if Sylph and Blade and the others have not made any progress, it’d be okay, and the heat that rises in her whispers to Elephant.
And even now, while thinking that Sylph may indeed be dependent on her as Nanami pointed out, the thought of what is wrong with that that emerged at the same time made Chisaki fall in love with her.
「I guess neither the dependent nor the being depended on will know until the fatal crossing over occurs. I’ve seen that happen to you, and even to that of Dryad-san.」
Nanami, who denied Chisaki’s words with a small shake of her head, stares into the void as if thinking back to their former selves and asserts with conviction.
「I don’t know why Sylph-san adores you so much. I understand that your personality is easily liked by people, but Sylph-san isn’t at that level. Obviously, you wouldn’t be like that if there wasn’t something going on. In the first place, Sylph-san wouldn’t have been at all comfortable with you in the first place, would she? Still, you’ve won Sylph-san’s heart.」
「A–Ahaha…」
「There are circumstances that you can’t tell people about, we’ve known that for a while. I’m not going to pursue it now. But that’s why you know, right? Even though on the surface we seem to be getting along, you are the only one that Sylph-san really cares about. We’re only together because we’re your teammates and we have no choice.」
「That’s… that’s probably true, but…」
Chisaki involuntarily looked away from Nanami’s powerful, straight gaze and clammed up.
Nanami’s words almost exactly described Sylph’s state of mind. In fact, she is somewhat more forgiving of Nanami and her friends than Nanami thinks, but that is no doubt because they are Chisaki’s teammates.
Chisaki herself could not deny her words because she understood that it was obvious from the side.
「I used to think that was fine. I thought that if she could find just one person I could trust, then we could slowly but surely get to know each other. But I am sure that if she continue like this, Sylph-san will never open her heart to anyone. As long as she depends on you, she will continue to think that you are all she needs.」
「…I guess that’s not great.」
Chisaki was surprised to hear the words that she had been thinking since that day, and she uttered them without thinking.
Nanami’s eyes widened for a moment as if she saw something incredible in Chisaki, but she quickly returned to her gentle expression and continued her words as if admonishing her.
「That’s unlike of you to say that, Kisa. You thought that it wouldn’t work either, so you invited Sylph-san to join our team. If you go down the wrong road, if you’re gone, that girl will never recover.」
「I never took a wrong turn!」
「How can you be sure you won’t? Are you certain?」
「——kuh.」
Chisaki, who had been looking down, looked up and raised her voice as if she were being played, but Nanami stopped her mid-sentence and asked a question.
Dryad, a Magical Girl, had a great influence on Nanami in both positive and negative ways, but so did Chisaki, who put her trust in her. Although Chisaki, who had been trained by another Magical Girl, was not as dependent on Dryad as Nanami was, she was aware that she was a Magical Girl who valued justice, and it was very unlikely that she would have attacked her to take her territory.
Even she made a wrong turn at the first opportunity. Knowing this, Chisaki could not answer Nanami’s question immediately. She couldn’t be assured.
「Everyone has the potential to make mistakes. That doesn’t change even if it’s someone you believe in with all your heart. But I was able to rise up from such despair because I had my friends, my comrades. I was able to stand up again because I had you.」
Nanami leans forward and gently holds Chisaki’s hand on the desk as if to wrap it in hers.
「But you’re the only one for Sylph-san right now. As it is, Sylph-san can only follow the path you have taken. So, for Sylph-san’s sake, you should leave her. Well, in my case, I was annoyed because I didn’t heal from being away from you, but still, if I hadn’t been away from my Senpai, I might not have even become friends with you.」
Nanami is well aware that Chisaki is a compassionate girl. Therefore, she mistakenly thought that she was refusing to leave Sylph that she had stood up for. She didn’t notice it just sprouting inside Chisaki. But even if she didn’t realize the truth, Nanami’s heartfelt words greatly shook Chisaki’s heart.
「For Sylph-chan’s sake… yeah… I guess you’re right…」
Originally, she herself thought that Sylph needed friends other than herself. Chisaki herself knew best which one would be better for Sylph.
「That would be better for, Sylph-chan…」
Imagining Sylph happily smiling with Blade and Press in a place where she is not and where she does not know, Chisaki feels something blurry spreading in her heart, but she forcefully convinces herself that it is for Sylph’s sake.
「Besides, we have to do something about Sylph-san, but we can’t leave even Shadow-san behind. Either way, we needed to separate the teams, even temporarily, and it’s a great opportunity.」
「You’re… right…」
Then Tsuru-chan should help Shadow-chan. I’m the only one who can help Sylph-chan.
Chisaki quickly swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. That’s something she can’t say. Chisaki was ashamed of herself for even thinking about such a lousy thing, if it were true.
In the first place, it was Chisaki who had forgiven Shadow, one of the attackers, and brought her into the group because they were short of manpower. Chisaki herself doesn’t regret it, nor does she think it was a mistake. And yet, it would never have occurred to Chisaki under normal circumstances that she would be forced to help Shadow. Rather, she would have actively gone to help Shadow.
「…I understand. I’m going to try to stay away from Sylph-chan.」
Realizing that she was not calm now, Chisaki maturely decided to follow Nanami’s words.
Nanami is by nature a gentle girl with a strong sense of justice. She used to be too inflexible to blindly believe Dryad, but since the recent incident, she have come to be able to think in terms of both the pure and the muddy. She trust that she will at least be able to make decisions that are more considerate of Sylph and Shadow than she was now.
「Do you have any recent plans to meet with Sylph-san?」
「Yes. I’m supposed to go visit Sylph-chan at her house next time.」
「Both of you were getting closer and closer without my knowledge… Then you can tell her that you and Shadow-san will be forming a temporary team at that time and that you’ll be off our team for a while. From then on, meeting in real life is also prohibited. No contact should be made voluntarily by you, Chisaki. As I can imagine, if Sylph-san contacted you, you couldn’t just ignore her.」
「Isn’t it starting today?」
「I have to explain this to Atsuo-san, and we can’t just start today. I’m sure Sylph-san would like to talk to you in person if she won’t be able to see you for a while.」
「What about Shadow-san?」
「If you told her in advance, she would turn us down anyway, right? We’ll just have to team up with our usual forcefulness and do it by force.」
「…Somehow, Tsuru-chan, you’ve changed.」
「Have I become flexible?」
「No, you’re just more appropriate.」
Chisaki tells her with a giggle, and Nanami also raises the corner of her mouth, puffing out her chest.
「Fufu, I’ll take that as a good and appropriate decision. I can’t read your forcefulness, Kisa, which even Sylph-san would bond with. It’s better to let you handle it than to think it through.」
「Okay, I’ll give it a shot.」
Surprised that Nanami, who had been so hard-headed, had come to think flexibly, and happy that she trusted her enough to entrust her with Shadow’s affairs, Chisaki accepted Nanami’s words with a funny giggle.
She’s certainly mortified about Sylph, but it’s not like she didn’t care about Shadow as well. First, do the best she can do, and then think about it, Chisaki made a fist with both hands and held it in front of her chest as if she was trying to cheer herself up.