Part 117: My World
"No, no, I'll eat iiit! Asmo, Asmo, pass!"
"Kya-hahahaha! Over here, Levia onee-samaaa!"I wonder where they swiped it from. They were fighting over a donut or something, playing around really loudly.
"HEY!! Ange-sama is reading, so can't you be a little more quiet?!"
"Yelling stuff like that makes you the loudest one, Satan! Be silent!! You foolish little sister!"
"Y-You're the loud one, Lucifer onee-sama!! I-Is there something you'd like to say to me?!"I was already used to the oldest and the third oldest sister arguing with each other. Even though they're both so quick to anger, it's a bit funny how they're both having to hold back a little. They might be surprisingly like each other.
"*cackle*cackle* You were told to be noisy, but this is a bit too much. Should I make them lower the volume a little?"
"Ange-samaa, go to the next page quickly! You read really sloow!"
"You like to read, Mammon? You looked like you'd be the worst at doing boring things."
"Mammon controls greed. That also includes a thirst for knowledge. Still, she wants to keep that knowledge all for herself, so be warned that she refuses to let people read any book you give her, and sometimes burns them after reading them."
"I like knowing things that no one else knows. I like being able to do things that no one else can do. So I like studying and practicing. Because I want to keep wisdom that no one else knows about all to myself."As Mammon said that, her eyes sparkling, she peered down at the page that was open and read through it again. You could see the greed that made her covet that page even more thoroughly than I did.
By now, I've gotten so that I can summon all of the Seven Sisters of Purgatory at once and still calmly read a book like this. This place, although I can't recall exactly where it is, is a quiet and calm street-side bench. I'd been young back then, so I don't remember the details of its location.
Still, I remember that my days walking here were a lot of fun. Together with Dad, Mom, and even Onii-chan, it was a memory of a very rare and very happy day when everyone had been together... The people who walked by every once in a while didn't notice me. They just pleasantly ignored me and passed by as though everything was normal. Even the Seven Sisters' incredible outfits weren't embarrassing or anything, because it wasn't like anyone was actually watching. Come to think of it, I'm getting pretty used to it. As long as they don't make me wear those.
I was sitting on a stylish bench, memorizing a timeline for world history. In an academy system where everything is based on collective responsibility, there's no tolerance for dunces. It seemed that I was considerably below the average grade for the class. According to those extremely intellectual girls, if I alone improved my grade, the average would rise drastically. They had been kind enough to show me with a graph drawn by colorful pens on a B4 sheet of drawing paper. Just thinking of the effort it had taken to draw that was repulsive.
But I've already spat out all those complaints. I've already voiced my constant and furious anger and sadness to these girls here. The Sisters were sometimes indignant, sometimes sympathetic, and sometimes mourned along with me. I was truly happy to be able to share emotions like that with friends.
It's said that they were originally furniture that existed to carry out Beatrice's cruel sacrifice ceremony. According to the occult message bottle I hated, it seems that several of them even attacked my family. But I don't believe that, and it's pointless to question them about it. They are furniture, so they only respond to their master's requests. Even if they really did attack my family, I can't hate them. What I really hated... was the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Or else that ringleader of the Ushiromiya Suspicion, Aunt Eva.
"Oh, sorry. I'm tired. Mind if I take a break?" "Kyahaha! Ange-sama said break!" "Let's play, let's play! Ange-sama, let's plaaay!!"When they noticed that I had interrupted my studying, the most energetic youngest sisters gathered around me. And that wasn't all.
They had probably been very close by, but they must've hid themselves so that they wouldn't interrupt my studying.
'Uryu-! Ange! How's studying? How's studying?' "Kyaaah!! Sakutaro-!! How are yooooouu?!"
"Wait a second! Let me squeeze him tooooooooooo!!"
"Don't we always say that the first one to get there wins?! Kyaa, cute, cute!"
'Ukyuu--, you're crushing meee! Uryuu--!'
"Your luck ran out when you showed up while all the Seven Sisters were gathered. Give up and let us hug you."
"Come on! It always turns out this way!! I apologize for my stupid older and younger sisters...!"
"Ahahahahaha. Sakutaro's happy to meet everyone, too. How's it going, Ange? How's the studying going?"
"Thanks. Well, not bad. They were nice enough to pass around printouts from a quiz that another class took earlier. Their beautiful sense of solidarity is enough to bring tears to my eyes. Well, at least it's probably better to put a timeline into my head." 'Uryu. You sure are good at studying, Ange. You'll be able to get a lot of points, uryu-.'
"Good work. I was terrible at studying, so I'm jealous of you for being able to get a good score when you study hard."
"You're joking. When it comes to English, Latin, and knowledge of the occult, you're much more amazing for being able to remember so much."
"I can remember anything when studying magic, but I can't remember anything boring. So that didn't help at all for tests." "Well, it's true that occult knowledge would be like that, but your grades must've been pretty good in English, right?"
"Why? Doesn't that fit?"
"...I didn't really get it, so from that day on, on tests, I wrote everything in hiragana. But I got in trouble with Mama for some reason. Got in trouble with the teachers too." "...You were probably born in the wrong country, Onee-chan."
"Then I'd rather have been born in a country of witches, so I could enter a witch school. Uu-." 'If that happened, you might've had much, much more wonderful magical friends! Uryu-!' "Uu-♪ But it's not like I mind it now. After all, I can use lots of magic, and I've got a lot of magic friends. Sakutaro is all I need." 'I'm not the only one! There's also Sakusuke and Sakukichi, the animal band, Shimoda-kun the seal, Sanae-san the rabbit, Mr Pig-kun, and plenty more!'
Every time I ask, the number of names for her friends grows. But there's no doubt that Sakutaro is her best friend. I'm a little jealous of all those close friends.
"...What do you think? How are the Seven Sisters? Do you get along with them?"
"Those sisters are really energetic. They sometimes say shady stuff, but they aren't bad. I'd wanted to get a cute kid like Sakutaro, but I think being with them now is more than enough." "*giggle* If you learn more of my Magic of Origins, I'm sure you'll be able to give birth to friends you'll like, Ange. Creation is still a bit too hard for you now." "There's a difference between creation and summoning... And, resurrection is also different."
"Yes. I have a vessel for it. This." "That's right. I'm sure that hair accessory will eventually become the key to summoning Battler. The rest is up to your training, Ange." "Although not knowing how long it'll take is enough to make me cry." 'Uryu... Stay strong, even if it's tough... If you don't give up, Ange, it will definitely, definitely come true someday...' "If someone gave me some proof that it'd definitely be granted, at least that would calm my heart." 'Uryu! Then I guarantee it! Without a doubt, Ange will surely have her wish granted someday!' "...Thanks. I'm glad to hear it, even if you're just saying it to console me." 'It's not like that, uryu-.' "Stop it, Ange. That kind of emotion will turn into the magic-resisting toxin. The feeling that your dreams will definitely come true is the best seed that buds into magic power." "...That's right, sorry, Teacher." "You need to be a bit greedier, Ange-sama. Go however far it takes to get the thing you desire! You're lacking the willpower to never give up until you get it!" 'Uryu-! That isn't true, Ange's doing her best...!' "Thanks, Sakutaro, Mammon. Crying about it won't help anything. There's nothing I can do except hang in there. I'll try hard. I'll grit my teeth. I'll definitely make my dreams come true. With certainty." 'Uryu! You're awesome, Ange, do your best! Mammon and I will support you!' "Yes, we'll support you. The greedier our master is, the more our worth will increase."
"More importantly, Ange-samaa! We've finally got 10 people gathered heeere!"
"We planned to have everyone play shiritori or something!"
"If you lose, there's a punishment game! Let me nibble your eeears!" "Come on, is hunger the only thing inside that head of yours?!"
"No, no, nooooooo!! I waited so long for you to finish studying, so I can't stand it if you don't play with us!" "I don't think it's a bad idea. Perhaps playing every once in a while is good for softening the mind." "...You govern Sloth, right, Belpha? What you're saying sounds reasonable, but you're actually being sneaky, aren't you?" "Hmph. My apologies. You are diligent, Ange-sama."
"If it's okay with Ange, I'd also like to play with everyone. Let's make some noise. It'll definitely be fun." 'Uryu-! Ange, Ange, let's play, let's play! Let's all do shiritori!'
BGM: HANE
"From 'uryu-'? I wonder. Maybe it really should be 'ryu'?" "...It's rare for a word that ends like that to come up."
"Then I'm first!! I'll do a word starting with 'ryu'! Ryuuzu (watch crown)!"
"I wanted to go first! 'Ryuuto' (lute) would've been wonderful!" "'Zu'? Feels like we keep getting tough ones. Wait a sec, what order are we going in? Who's next?" 'Uryu. I don't think it matters who. Whoever thinks of a matching word first.' "What's that? Sounds interesting. How about the person who can say the most wins? It's fast-talking shiritori!"
"Then I'll go! 'Zucchini'! 'Ninniku itame' (garlic stir-fry)! 'Mekabu with pasta'! All of them delicious! Kyaha, I said three of them!" "Belz takes three points. Can you use conjunctions?" "If you could use 'with', then anything would work!! That last one doesn't count! Minus one point!! Let's start from 'me'." "Then I'll go. 'Meringue'-!" ''Ge'?? ...U-U-Uryu-!'
"'Gesuidou' (Drainage system), 'umetatechi' (reclaimed land), 'chikashitsu' (basement). How'd you like them apples?"
"Onee-sama, those are all pretty crummy words, *giggle*!"
"S-So what? Then why don't you try following up with something refined!! Anyway, that's three points for me. The next one's 'tsu', okay, 'tsu'!" "I've never played such a weird shiritori before. Uu-uu-! It's fun!"
'Uryu-! I don't get it at all, but it's fun. Uryu-!'
There's only the lively Seven Sisters, Maria onee-chan, Sakutaro, and me. I'm now surrounded by friends that are so fun to be with. The courage to accept a world of magic, a world of witches... That alone didn't change the fact that I was still locked up in an academy, without a single friend in my class. But despite that, I'm able to have such a fun and lively time.
...I'll also become a witch, like Maria onee-chan. And someday, I'll add my family to this fun circle. Dad, Mom. And Onii-chan. And if possible, George onii-chan and Jessica onee-chan. And the other relatives. I'll call everyone, everyone here without a single person missing, and we'll all gather together.
"I'm sure you'll become a Great Witch, Ange-sama. As long as you believe in that. We Seven Stakes of Purgatory will always serve by your side until that day comes." "You'll be there for me...? No matter how long, you'll lend me your strength?"
"Of course. After all, I'm your friend. Right, Ange-sama?" "...Yes, that's right. Let's all stick together and play together. Today, and in the future, always, always."
"Until the day your dream comes true, Ange-sama."
BGM: Fortitude
"..."...In the end, I wasn't able to get a very good grade on my test. I tried memorizing things in my own way, but if you could manage anything by cramming the night before a test, no one would ever worry about tests.
"Normally, when you know the problems beforehand, you should be able to pass easily, right? Easily!" "It's true that we didn't go so far as to write the answers into the blanks for you. We thought you'd studied at least that much." "What the hell? Come on, are you serious? I can't believe it! They're almost all wrong, aren't they? Did you really study properly?!"
"...More or less..." "This isn't what you call more or less, Ushiromiya-san. It's so horrible that it makes me dizzy, okay?" "Oh, God. Please forgive her for getting a miserable grade on such an easy test... and for making the average score for the entire class plummet...!" "*giggle*giggle*giggle*, *cackle*cackle*cackle*, ahahahahahahaha."
Enough to obscure my slight improvement. However, there were some things I had no excuse for. If I'd spent that entire day studying like mad, I might've been able to get a slightly higher score. But I hadn't gone that far.
After that on that day, I spent the whole time having fun playing shiritori with the Seven Sisters, Sakutaro and Onee-chan. As expected, the winner had been Maria onee-chan. She was a strong player thanks to her wide knowledge of trivia. Sakutaro had gotten the punishment game. He spent the whole time cheering for everyone else's answers, completely forgotting to think of any himself. Because of that, he'd been squished by the Seven Sisters and had his ears thoroughly nibbled, hadn't he?
"..."They were surrounding me, twittering like small birds. They were annoying, smelly. On the outside of that circle was Mammon, an exasperated expression on her face...
"...It's probably because of that collective responsibility thing. Instead of worrying about their own grades, they're more concerned about how embarrassing it is for the class average to be low. Or maybe it's because they really hate the volunteer work they're forced to do as punishment."
"So in other words, they aren't studying because they want their grades to be good, but because of collective responsibility and since they hate volunteer work?"
"...They're jealous and embarrassed. They don't want to be inferior to anyone, and they don't want to be humiliated. That's the only feeling that drives them to study."
"What noisy people. If they want to study, why can't they just do it themselves?" "In the end, without collective responsibility and volunteer work, they'd have no desire to study. How foolish it is to study without knowing the meaning of studying."
"Still, these guys really are annoying and stupid! Don't you dare disturb Ange-sama's precious day for even a minute!"
"Waaah, I hate those people!! Just get lost!!"
"I'm hungryyyyyy!! Go away noooooow, waaaah!!"
"...Sorry, everyone. I wonder why Humans are so shameful."
"It's probably because, instead of working hard themselves, it's easier to make you work hard and earn them a higher class average to satisfy their greed. Humans are all greedy. And they'll burden others with their greed to make things easier for themselves."
"...We'll eventually be reunited with them on the mountain of Purgatory. When they get to the fifth terrace, they'd better watch their step..."
...Since she's saying this, you can probably be sure that after those girls die, their journey to heaven won't be an easy one. No, on the contrary, let them just fall into hell.
BGM: Mystic Forest
The purpose of use was for a class study group. A wonderful little gathering so that they could all surround me and make me study. I'm so grateful I could cry. Which meant that every day, all of my lunch and three hours of my afternoon would be stolen. The academy and its student council, with its theme of student self-government, instantly approved of this pleasant activity that the students were taking up of their own initiative... In other words, I was no longer able to escape after school by leaving the classroom...
After school, the first class study group meeting started right away. Would they open a textbook, then kindly and carefully explain so that even I could understand it? Of course it didn't turn out like such a naive illusion. After school in the classroom, dozens of my classmates crowded around my desk.
First, before we started studying... Why were my grades so bad? What was the reason? It was decided that we couldn't start until I could clearly answer those questions, become aware of the problem, and show regret for my actions. Of course, there's no way for me to respond when asked a question like that. They've loathed me all this time. And they've rejected me and kept me at a distance, preventing me from joining in on their community. So, I've avoided their community myself. There shouldn't have been any conflict for either of us that way. So even in this group that was enthusiastic about raising the class average, they obviously kept me at a distance. Even if I tried to join in, they would probably ignore me, like they always did in the past.
"""Riiiiiiiigght!!!"""They were getting themselves all worked up. I've already had enough of the hypocrisy of their tacked-on excuses.
"Ushiromiya-san, your problem is that you're lacking a cooperative personality. You mustn't be satisfied as long as everything's good for you alone." "Those who gather in Saint Lucia's place of learning shall have a cooperative heart. It's written right there in the student handbook, right?" "I think having a cooperative heart is what gives birth to the desire to study together and contribute to the entire class. I believe that itself is the thing you lack before you even start studying, Ushiromiya-san, but what do you say?!" "Heeey, have you even been listening to us?! We went to all the trouble of staying after school to say this for your sake, right?!"...I'm so grateful I could cry. Of course, they didn't like that. 'This way, it almost makes it look like we're bullying you', they reprimanded me. Fortunately, I'm normally all cried out anyway. If I'm told not to cry, I can hold it back.
First, I was made to write a letter of remorse and read it out loud. Of course, this was to be done by today. The class committee politely applied to the student council and the staff room for an extension on the use of this classroom. It seems it was accepted right away. Which means that starting now, I'll be forced into self-criticism for at least a full five hours here...
"That's not it, riiight?!?!" "You getting low grades and causing us trouble isn't the root of the problem, is it?!" "It's a cooperative attitude, right? A cooperative attitude!!" "Come ooon!! Why do we even have to direct Ushiromiya-san on how to write a letter of regret?!"Their abusive jeers flew about one after another. I followed their 'directions' and erased it.
"Hey, wait a sec, it's pointless if you just write whatever we say, right?!" "Do you really know what 'regret' means?!" "It's pointless if you don't write it in your own words, pointless!" "I always thought you were a bit strange, Ushiromiya-san, but you really are weird! *giggle*giggle*giggle*!"Even following their directions didn't change the jeers much, and now it felt like they were mocking me even more... So for several more hours, without rest, without even being allowed to go to the bathroom, much less dinner, I was continuously abused... I was coerced into writing a paragraph that humiliated myself...
The contents... were smeared black with tears and eraser marks. It certainly was my handwriting, but it was like a list of soulless letters, whose contents I couldn't even remember. Everything had been copied down according to their orders. So while I had been the one to write the letters, they weren't my words. I'd been coerced into writing them down... and even coerced into reading them aloud.
...Even after all this time, I was surprised to learn that, beyond just ignoring people and hiding their things, there are other ways to bully people...
"Heey! Read it aloud quickly!!" "Look how many people are staying this late just for you, Ushiromiya-san. Why not thank us a little?" "Isn't the fact that she doesn't feel gratitude a sign that she doesn't have a scrap of a cooperative attitude?" "It's okay, Ushiromiya-san. We'll always be with you from now on. Why not study with us and remake yourself? Okay?"
Part 118: My World II
BGM: Thanks for Being Born
And then... I spoke those humiliating words, but right away, jeers flew at me saying that they couldn't hear and to speak up.
I had no idea... that being forced to read a paragraph humiliating me would be so painful. My throat shook. My fingertips shook. The paragraph of humiliation written in my own handwriting made my eyes burn with a hot liquid. So my world blurred and twisted. I saw the girls surrounding me twist and bend. I saw them twist and bend into the impression I had of them. In other words, that was my true field of vision.
Beyond that twisted crowd of people, I could see my friends. Compassion could be seen in all of their eyes.
'Uryu-...'Maria onee-chan and Sakutaro were looking at me with sad eyes. Probably because they realized that even cheap words of compassion would hurt me. They kept alternating between trying to say something... and hanging their heads.
"What the hell's wrong with these people...?!!"
"They're just the worst! Really pisses me off! What's so fun about gathering around Ange-sama and torturing her?!"
"It's a resentment they can't voice despite their jealousy. They don't care who it hurts, as long as they can let it out. What horrible people."
"Ange-sama! In this kind of situation, it's okay to go mad with rage for your own honor's sake!! Anger is an appropriate emotion and an appropriate reaction! If you don't get mad now, when will you get mad?!!"
"Stop it, don't stir Ange-sama up with cheap anger!! If Ange-sama could do that, she would've done it already!!"
"...You should only get angry if doing so will improve the situation. However, from a objective standpoint, doing that now would probably only aggravate the situation further. It may be humiliating, but the wisest thing to do now is to withstand it."
"Ahha! You really are a sloth, Belpha! Quit fooling around, I can't stand this!! I can't forgive them!!" '...E-Everyone, calm down... It'll become a burden for Ange...'
"A burden?! What are you talking about? Is this the time or place to be calm?! We furniture are not so cruel as to cooly watch when our master is humiliated!!" "Ange-sama!! You have no obligation to read such a humiliating letter! If you can't let out a cry of rage, then at least throw it onto the floor!!"
"You don't need to trash talk them, you don't need to yell so loud that they bend over backwards! Just throw the notebook on the floor with all your might...!! By doing just that, you'll be able to show your strong will!!"
"Don't start running on by yourself, Mammon!! I told you, right?! If Ange-sama could do it, she would've done so long ago!!" "Nothing will be resolved by the eruption of momentary emotions. Can't you see that doing that will only make their treatment of Ange-sama even more severe?!"
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaahh!! Why is this happening to Ange-sama when she didn't do anything wrong?!"
"Not letting her eat dinner...and making her stay so long after school! I hate iiiiiiiiiiiiit!!"
"And it's not just tonight, but tomorrow and the day after too!! That's enough, you can't simply sit there bearing this humiliation!!"
Someone tugged at my hair. I was torn back into my tragic reality. I was no longer even permitted to listen to the Seven Sisters speaking on my behalf in my heart. My hair was lifted upwards, one of my hair ornaments came off, and I could hear the sound of it rolling on the ground. No one picked it up. To the contrary, they casually avoided it as though something filthy was rolling towards them.
I tried to follow it with my eyes, but my hair was tugged upwards again.
"Why do you neeever listen to us, even though we're talking about something so serious?!" "In one ear and out the other, is it? Does anything get into that thick skull of yours?! Get a grip, okay?!" "Are you really conscious of the trouble you're causing us? You aren't going to start saying that you just wrote it grudgingly because we told you to, right?!" "Until you really show regret of your own will, this seriously isn't gonna end, okay?! It's not just for today. It'll seriously keep on going tomorrow and the day after, you see? Don't you play us for fools, okay?!?!" "I mean, why are you still even alive? Is it normal to go on living like this? If it were me, I'd just die!" "You can't live like this, can you?! 'Cause you being alive just means getting in other people's way all the time, right? If it were me, I definitely couldn't live on!" "Yeah, yeah, I'd die too. If doing that's better for the world, then I'd die right away! Riiiiiiiiight?!!"
"Ange-sama..."
"Uh, ah..."
"You Seven Sisters of Purgatory are incredible furniture that can massacre mere Humans in a flash, right?! You're always boasting about it to me!! Then do it! Massacre them right now!! Right here, right now!!" "...Well..."For some reason, Lucifer hesitated. Why? What's wrong?! You're certain-kill furniture that can fly around faster than the eye can see and instantly pierce the hearts of a witch's enemies, right? And I'm giving you an order as your master!! Carry it out right away! Kill!! Kill them aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!!
"...A-Ange-sama... Please, calm down..."If they had immediately followed my brutal order, making heaps of corpses with me at the center... I was ready to reflect on my own reckless actions of stealing human lives so readily, ready to regret and repent, just as they had wanted me to. I was prepared to do that. And yet, Lucifer just let an unsure expression rise to her face... and didn't move to carry out my order.
...I knew it.
Video: Disappear
"...A-Ange-sama,"
"...a-aaaaaahhh...!!!"I glared into the worthless Lucifer's eyes. And pain seemed to accompany that gaze. As though she was being assaulted with a violent headache, Lucifer grasped her head with both arms. But it looked like she couldn't tear her eyes off my gaze. So she was assaulted with a pain that grew more and more violent.
"..." "Guhguhguh, ah... gahgaaa, agaa...!! Gyack!!!"
Hopelessness and disappointment. Resignation and a dream's end. A cracking sound, like you'd hear from a frozen lake's surface during a fierce winter, rang out just once. At the same time, Lucifer's form, which was being tormented by a violent pain, stiffened in place and grew cloudy. It was almost as though a beautifully polished glass window had been heartlessly smashed and turned white from the countless fissures. And that was an accurate analogy. At some point, Lucifer's form had turned into a glass ornament of the same shape.
BGM: Golden Slaughterer
"Eeeek?!!"
"L-Luci-nee...!!" "...Who's the second sister...? Leviathan? Carry out my order. Massacre them right now!!"
"N-No, um! Err, Ange-sama... Please calm your heart and listen... We, umm,"
"...aaah, gwaagahhgguguggah, kyaaggghh!!"I'm not looking for excuses or back talk or an answer. I want nothing more than a swift confirmation of my order to eradicate the girls who are humiliating me. If you're going to say anything else, there's no need for me to listen until the end.
If she'd been smashed to bits and lost her original form, it probably wouldn't have seemed so brutal. So seeing the two of them halfway left over made the remaining younger sisters shake even harder...
"...Why won't you listen to my orders...? Why? WHY?!!"
"M-My apologies...!! H-Here, under the current conditions, the anti-magic power is... e-extremely strong and..." "What's that? You can't do it because Humans are here? That's your logic? Isn't killing Humans what you do?! If you can't do that, then what use are you as furniture?!! Die!!!"
"Eeeeek!!"
"P-Please spare me, Ange-samaaaaa... ah, aaaah, khhagah, gihh, ack!!"As she clutched her head with both arms, Satan also turned white and fell down face first.
"You can't do it because there are too many Humans? Then later on, I'll call them into the shadows one by one, and you can make a bloodbath of all of them, right?"
"...With your current magical power, it may be easy for you to converse with us. However, you still lack the training to materialize us in front of all of the Humans here...! I deeply understand your anger, but even if you could use us to attack...and murdered everyone here, that would only make your situation worse...! I know it's humiliating, but please control your anger for the time being..."
"...Will I get the same answer from the next three...? Are you gonna tell me you can't do it because the anti-magic power is too great? Are you gonna tell me you can't do it because my magical power is too weak?" "...Then I won't ask you to kill all of them. Just one person's fine, so try and kill them. Right here, right now...!!"As Asmodeus and Beelzebub held each other, they crouched down, cringing in fear under my glare. If they'd been able to obey my order, they probably would've carried it out immediately. And yet here they were, crouching down. Empty. Sad. And pathetic...
That's right, I've known. These girls can't even touch reality with one of their fingers...
"N-No, no...!! Belz, I'm scared, Beeelz!!" "Ange-sama, spare us, spare us...!! I don't wanna diiiiiiiieee!!" "Die, useless furniture! Why are you guys even alive? Why are you alive when your lives are worthless? It doesn't matter if you die, right? Die. I'm telling you to die!! Do you think any idiot would leave furniture that has no use lying around?!"
"P-Please stop, Ange-sama!!"
"...What is it, Mammon? Are you gonna be only one to fulfill my order?" "That's right. You're my best friend. You alone will do it for me. Get them!"
"...A-As you are now, Ange-sama, even if you use us, you aren't capable of committing murder!! It's furniture's duty to help with things their master can do...! Things that even the master can't do, we can't do...!! Do you hate them, Ange-sama? You do hate them, right? I totally understand why you want to kill them!! Okay, in that case, go ahead and kill them, Ange-sama! If you stain your own hands with blood, then we, the Seven Sisters of Purgatory, will go along with you however far! However far you go!!" "...I'm... asking you all... because I can't do it myself, aren't I...? Isn't being able to do things I can't the thing that makes you furniture?!!" "Yes, we are furniture. Furniture to be used...!! Please, go ahead and use us to kill! You'll be the one killing, Ange-sama!! If you're saying that you want to kill, then go ahead, be my guest! No need to hesitate, go and carry it out right now!! And once you've prepared yourself mentally, once you're prepared to dirty your own hands, then we'll help you! But you haven't done that, Ange-sama!!"
"I get it already, you don't all have to tell me. You people can't do anything. You're nothing more than my delusions, illusions, daydreams...! I haven't had a single friend from the very beginning. You're just a phantom, a pretend friend I created in my heart, in my isolation, right? I've known from the very beginning!!!"
"We're just imaginary friends created to soothe lonely, lonely Ange-sama's heart because she doesn't have a single friend, but so what? If you want to look at reality, just look at it. You can stop looking at us and return to being surrounded and bathed with jeering over there!!"
"C'mon, c'mon, go back, welcome home to reality!! Just call on us only when it's convenient for you and pretend you have friends, then spur us on even though you don't have the guts to dirty your own hands, then deny and erase us once you realize that it's hopeless! Yes, please enjoy it, I'll leave with a shriek of anguish just like you want, Ange-sama!!"
"Just copy the jeering that you're being showered with right now, and do the same to us to get it off your chest. That's also furniture's duty!! Getting slammed against the floor when someone's pissed off is also a chair's important duty!! If that alone can absorb their master's bad mood even for an instant, there can be no greater honor for furniture. Kill me, deny me, your first and final friend...!!!"At the end, Mammon had a mocking expression on her face, but for some reason, it looked splashed with tears.
"...Come over here, Sakutaro. Ange is a little agitated right now. So you mustn't get close." 'What about everyone else? Are all the Seven Sisters alive? Did they die...?'
"...It's okay. It looks gruesome, but those are the remains of their vessels after being deported from the human world. Shells that have been shed. So it's all right. They're probably deeply hurt, but they're okay. Everyone is alive. I'm sure we'll be able to meet them again someday."
'Uryu... Thank goodness, thank goodness...' "...Ange has violated the contract of Mariage Sorcière. To do such a horrible thing, even though witches of the alliance must respect and accept one another... Even though they were all important friends to you, Ange..."
BGM: Thanks for Being Born
'Uryu, that's so cruel, so cruel...'
"...Just give it a rest with this playing witches thing. I'm begging you. Maria onee-chan and Sakutaro, I want you to disappear by yourselves. Even in my imagination, I don't want to kill and erase you." '...W-We aren't your imagination... We're your friends, Ange, uryu...!'Sakutaro said that as he hid behind Maria onee-chan, sobbing. Sakutaro doesn't exist. Sakutaro is also... an imaginary creature Onee-chan created to distract herself from her loneliness...
'...U-Uryu, it hurts, it hurts, Maria... Why? Why...? Uryu... uryu...'
"Stop it. Denying my friend is the one thing I will not permit."The same power that had smashed the Seven Sisters was probably eating into Sakutaro as well. But Maria onee-chan was apparently protecting him with some other power. So Sakutaro's form didn't break and scatter.
Onee-chan glared at me sharply. It was a serious expression that I'd never seen before.
"Sakutaro is my furniture. You cannot erase him, Ange. However, trying to deny someone is the greatest form of scorn for a witch."
"Uu-!!! That's not true!! Sakutaro is my friend!! He was a stuffed animal once, but now he isn't!!"
"No, he's a stuffed animal. A stuffed animal made of cloth and cotton! He can't move or talk by himself! You're just talking for him like a ventriloquist, right?!" "You call that magic? You call that a witch?! You call that...a friend?! I can't accept that!!" '...Uryu... Am I... not me...? Am I... just a stuffed animal that... can't really talk... and not Maria's... friend...? U... ryu...'
As he clung to Onee-chan's body, he did all he could to continue standing, but his body began to gradually slip down... As he did, Onee-chan held him, yelling at me as tears streamed down her face...
"Uuu--!! Stop iit!! Don't burn Sakutaro with the magic-resisting toxin!! Don't bully him!! Don't insult him! Don't deny him!!"
'...Uryu, u...yu...'
"Sakutaro!! Sakutaro-!!! You aren't a stuffed animal, you aren't a stuffed animal, you're a friend!! Uuu--!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!"
"I hate you, Ange!! Uu-!! Why say something like that, hatehatehatehate!! I hate you!!"
...And then.
What had been peaceful days to me became a daydream and ended. By now, it's impossible to prove. No one can verify whether that really was magic or whether those really were my friends, or else nothing more than a daydream. I, the sole observer, concluded that they were a daydream. So that became the truth.
Perhaps, in the farther future, I'll observe it again, and when that happens, maybe I'll acknowledge that it wasn't a dream, that the Seven Sisters really were my friends, and that along with Maria onee-chan and Sakutaro, they did everything they could for me in my isolation. Something so vague is neither the truth nor an illusion. Maybe the reality here and now is the only world with the real me.
Where is the real me? The person standing amidst the girls' exposed wreckage that resembles broken glass sculptures, that girl who's breathing harshly, her shoulders heaving, isn't me. I'm... over there. The me that's surrounded by a crowd and being showered by jeers... and who's hanging her head, her eyes red...
BGM: None
I won't dream anymore. Because there's nowhere left to run. I'm... going back. I'll return myself to the cage made of flesh...
"...I hear you.""Ah, you finally answered. You aren't thinking that this'll end if you stay silent, or that we'll forgive you if you cry, right?! We're asking if you're aware! We're asking if you're aware of the trouble you're causing those around you...!!"
...I... slowly nodded. I acknowledged it.
BGM: Mother
To separate myself from and disgrace those Sisters who spoke to me with reliable and kind words, despite being totally unable to help when I really wanted them to, I acknowledged that.
"...I, Ushiromiya Ange, do not have a cooperative attitude and caused trouble for my classmates. There is nothing to blame for that except my excessive inferiority complex towards all of my classmates because of my inability to study. And," "...It's a shame that I'm alive."Starting there, I was no longer reading the paragraph they'd made me write. It was me... improvising. And... it was what was in my heart. They noticed that it wasn't what they'd anticipated, but while they did frown, no one spoke. So I continued.
"...That's right. It's a shame that I lived. I should've had them take me with them on that day in 1986. And yet, I was the only one who wasn't taken. Why am I here? This isn't the world I'm supposed to be in. No one will save me. For a time, I felt as though only the fictional friends I created inside myself could save me. But those friends were nothing more than a delusion, and they didn't save me at all. After all, this isn't a world of imagination, but a world of reality. So, in short, up until today, I've been having the same daydream. I hated my real classmates and only lived by interacting with the friends in my mind. Just now, I split up with those friends. So I am here."
"...I have no family. I've thrown my friends away too. There's no longer anything left for me. Why haven't I died? Someone asked that a short while ago. I think they're right. Why... am I alive? I should've died... in the year 1986. No, I must really have died. And yet, my dead soul is still locked up inside this cage of flesh. So I'll ask someone. If no one answers, I'll do it myself."
I spoke that sentence... and looked around. Dumbfounded girls. Shocked girls. Girls whose faces seemed to be saying 'What the heck is this kid talking about?' And, a bit late, more and more girls with faces that said 'Is this girl all right?' *whisper*. *chatter*. And then, *giggle*.
When I ordered the friends in my daydream to kill, they couldn't do it. And so. I asked real Humans to kill me, but of course, these girls can't do it either. In other words, both daydreams and reality are the same.
Doesn't this mean that, including this world...
Then, there's no problem, right? After all, on that day when I lost my family, I was already dead. Everything that happened afterwards is going on in my head, my life flashing before my eyes after I failed to die. Once I understood that, it felt like the scenery surrounding me began to twist and bend slightly. Yeah. I'll finally... wake up. I'll be released from this daydream world.
I feel my consciousness sliding away. That's all right. Fade farther and farther away... and take me to my family... Then, no matter what happens in this twisted, stale world, I won't mind it at all.
I saw the crowd get pushed aside as a teacher stepped in. Perhaps a teacher doing the rounds happened to notice a strange disturbance. The teacher was vigorously shouting something, moving to protect me. Watching that, I knew that an ally had appeared for me, even if there was only one, and I felt my awareness return very slightly.
Never again. Never again will I seek rescue from daydreams. This is the world of Humans. Nothing can save a Human... except other Humans...
'...Can Ange... find happiness this way...?' "...If Ange believes that's the only way to find happiness, then it is the only way. If she can't accept the blue bird in the cage for what it is, then she must go and search forever." 'Uryu... Maria, are you... breaking off relations with Ange...?' "...No, nothing like that. I only did that because that's what Ange wanted. We witches are sometimes persecuted. However, we always remain by everyone's sides. And our aid can always be asked for." '...Will the day come... when Ange will play with us once again...?' "Maybe. Or, she might forget, and it'll never come. In the human world, we call that growing up and saying goodbye to your childhood self. Still."
