Hungry for Despair
After everything that had happened lately, I kept thinking something else interesting was bound to kick off. Nothing did.
Truly a shame.
Part of me still wanted to take another tour of that enormous research facility under the mart, but Emerald had glued herself to my side around the clock, so that was out of the question now.
"Emerald."
"Yes, Akari?"
"You have your own place. Why are you sleeping here?"
"You're a patient. A patient."
She said it while showing off her own injuries. I clicked my tongue inwardly.
That's an excuse and anyone can see it.
Hurry up and heal with that famous self-recovery of yours already.
Magical girls must guarantee monster freedom! Guarantee it!
Growl—
"Oh my."
And then the biggest problem of all.
I was hungry. Starving, even.
The main reason was right beside me: Emerald sleeping there meant I couldn't freely siphon Tamako's despair. How was I supposed to sneak a meal when the despair police was standing guard day and night next to my despair fountain, watching to see if anyone would steal any?
One wrong bite and I might catch a magical punch.
I'd confirmed that ordinary human guns barely scratched me, but a magical girl's strike was still an unknown. What if I went pik and died?
So no matter how many complaints I had, I had to live with it for now.
Fine. Hang in there for the moment. Wait for a chance and then drain despair to my heart's content.
Did Emerald never have nightmares? Someone who came back from a world line destroyed by Apocalypse ought to have at least one now and then…
I was constantly watching for a chance to feast on the despair of both Tamako and Emerald, but unfortunately that chance still hadn't shown up. At this rate it felt like the world itself just hated me.
"You've been eating more lately, Akari. Maybe it means you're getting healthier."
"Yeees…"
Healthier, my ass. I'm dying by degrees.
Every time my stomach growled she fed me something, which was nice enough, except the "something" was always human food. That was the problem.
I don't want this garbage. Give me despair. Despair…
I'd love to flip the whole tray over, but kind-hearted me will endure. Yes, of course I will.
Any other monster would have slaughtered the nearest humans the second despair ran low. Only a monster of my caliber could hold out this long. Tch.
"Here, eat up. Get better soon so you can be discharged first and go home."
"…"
She said the most monster-irritating things like they were the most natural thing in the world. Maybe I should just start chewing on her half-healed wounds instead. And every time she spoke, the hope she poured out neutralized even Tamako's despair.
Complete disaster. Absolute total disaster.
"Thank you for the meal."
…Ugh.
Another problem created by Emerald camping in the hospital room: I couldn't spit the food out in secret anymore. I had to actually swallow this flavorless trash into my stomach?
Just imagining it was horrifying.
"Ugh…"
"Hm?"
"Just now—!"
The moment I tried to put that tasteless human food in my mouth, a tiny moan floated over. Not mine. Not Emerald's. Someone else's.
Tamako, you're saving me again!
Not only my despair fountain but now my emergency escape route too. What a good girl!
I beat Emerald to the punch before she could tell me to eat.
Tamako, I want to see those pretty rainbow eyes of yours. Open them. Hurry!
"…Ah."
Ugh, uwaaaaaagh…
The second our eyes met, my stomach flipped. If I hadn't clamped down hard I would have vomited blood for sure. Going near Tamako had always been for the sake of eating despair, so I'd reflexively opened my despair circuit. That was the fatal mistake.
I never expected her to dump hope energy the moment she saw me…
I didn't think I'd done anything that terrible. If anything, I saved her life, so she should have been pouring out despair for me, right?
…No. Tamako was a magical girl. When she felt good she poured out hope. Of course.
The recent despair shortage had left my mind and body both weak; my head was spinning in every direction at once.
"…Benefactor."
"Yes, Tamako."
"Thank you for saving me. Truly… thank you…"
Just having me in her sight seemed to be enough; Tamako burst into tears. Tears welled in those rainbow eyes and the light scattered in every direction, dazzling me for a second.
Ow, my eyes sting.
I looked away and tugged on Emerald's arm beside me.
"Technically this person is also your benefactor, so say hello to her too."
"H-hello. I'm Midori."
"Thank you, Miss Midori."
The bright, sunny smile she turned on us was almost painfully bright. On top of that her hair was pure white—the exact opposite of mine—so the contrast hit even harder. We had clearly been in the same laboratory, yet we could not have looked more different.
So does this mean my twenty-four-hour despair generator just became an eight-hour despair generator?
Thinking about it again, you were better when you stayed unconscious the whole time, Tamako. Even now, wouldn't you like to go back to being comatose?
"I'll go call the doctor."
"I can go—"
"I'm the healthiest one in this room right now, so I'll handle it."
If I stayed any longer I was going to turn into a hope-pickled monster, so I hurried out of the room.
…I thought I was going to suffocate.
The hope of having escaped the Doctor's lab mixed with the hope of Tamako waking up produced a flavor so vile it was almost criminal.
Since I'm already out, maybe I'll take a breath or two…
Of course I couldn't actually take my time. The longer I took bringing the doctor, the more suspicious it would look. Well… no. With Emerald the way she was right now, even if I came back tomorrow she probably wouldn't suspect a thing. Not that I was actually going to come back tomorrow.
Knock-knock—
"Come in~"
"Hello, Doctor."
"Yes? What can I do for you…?"
When I stepped into the office, the same doctor who had admitted me greeted me. Narrow-eyed characters always felt suspicious no matter how you looked at them. Putting an MRI machine and an iron maiden in the same place was weird too.
And this smell…
Hummm—
He probably thought he'd hidden it perfectly, but to a nose that was starving, force-fed human food, and already soaked in hope, it was unmistakable.
The faint lingering note of despair.
"The friend who was admitted with me woke up. Could you check on her?"
"Of course. That's my job."
The doctor stood and left the office first; I fell in behind him. Looking at him from the back gave a completely different impression. From the front he had seemed like an ordinary kind human. From behind he looked like the shadiest human alive. So this was what people meant by two-faced.
Should I poke him a little?
I was bored anyway, and I was curious how he would react, so I quietly closed the distance between us.
Ready…
"Doctor, your perfume is very unique."
"Is it? I don't wear any…"
"Then maybe that's just your natural scent. It's a hard note to get into clothes, so it's fascinating~"
"…Thank you for the compliment?"
If you took that as a compliment, you've got monster potential. Want to sit down for a serious criminal-record consultation with me sometime?
A doctor meant decent education; recruiting him for the monster side would be useful—
—No. Absolutely not.
The thought of another Doctor existing made me feel genuinely ill.
"Her condition has improved a great deal."
At least he examined her properly. If he had tried anything weird with my despair fountain I had been ready to crunch his skull on the spot. Then again, a real doctor probably wouldn't throw away his license like that.
"I think she can be discharged. Would you like to stay longer?"
"I'll leave."
"…Akari?"
"Thank you for everything, Doctor."
The girl who had been refusing discharge flipped her attitude so fast Emerald tilted her head, the gesture practically screaming I have no idea why you're doing this.
Oh dear. Emerald really didn't notice anything, did she?
You should remember that narrow eyes, polite speech, and a kind tone always mean a shady backstory.
"Akari, why the sudden change?"
"I want to go to Midori's house as soon as possible."
"Huh…?"
"Staying in a hospital this long makes people mentally fragile, you know."
I shoved the absurd logic at her while tugging insistently on her sleeve.
Come on, let's go home. I did not want to spend another second in a hospital run by a human who smelled like a monster. He gave off the distinct vibe of some underground kingpin. If not that, then a senior researcher from the underground lab. Yeah.
"Alright, Tamako. Can you stand?"
"Nngh… no…"
"Then I'll carry you for now."
She looked fragile at the moment, but she was still a magical girl, so she ought to recover fast. The fact that she had already woken up after everything that happened in the Doctor's lab was proof enough.
So let's go. To Emerald's house!
Wait. Doesn't this mean I'm basically walking straight into a magical girl's home base?
The realization came late, but I waved it off.
Eh, what could possibly go wrong?