Even If You Hate Me, Once More (4)

When she heard that an intruder had appeared in the Underground Lab, the first place Garnet went was not where the intruder had been found, but the path they had already walked.

To dig into the darkness of this structurally broken city.

Why were the researchers underground studying monsters in the first place?

Why did everything about the Underground Lab have to be kept classified?

What exactly was the goal of their leader—that doctor, that professor?

How many thoughts had raced through her mind that day as she stared at the records clutched in her hands?

The reason monsters appeared so often relative to the size of the city.

The reason that, despite the frequent monster attacks that should have produced more magical girls, only two of them remained now.

The more she read through the records, the more the shocking truth revealed itself, and Garnet spent the entire day vomiting up the contents of her stomach.

I knew they were doing weird things… but I never thought it would go this far…

The monsterization of humans.

The fusion of monsters and humans.

Even how a magical girl's despair affected monsters.

"…In the end, every single one of us was just being used."

The entire city was little more than that man's laboratory.

How could a city without even a single sensor for detecting a monster's despair possibly notice a monster's appearance and sound the alarm?

It was because they themselves were sending the monsters up from underground of their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠own free will.

If they decided when the monsters appeared, then sounding the alarm to match that moment must have been the easiest thing in the world.

It was weird from the start—that those flimsy shelters never got attacked.

She had never been to another city, but even she knew that shelters were normally built underground.

But a shelter that opened onto the surface? And the highest floor was supposedly the safest?

It was so ridiculous it wasn't even funny.

It made her wonder how no one had ever questioned it until now.

I have to protect Peridot at least.

Being used was fine if it was only her.

But that kid was different.

Peridot was the most magical-girl-like magical girl she had ever seen.

She lacked experience ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and her heart was soft in places, but she would surely become a proper magical girl—far more so than someone like Garnet herself.

"If I could just leave this goddamn city… how nice would that be…"

Fiddling with the choker wrapped around her neck, Garnet muttered under her breath.

A collar. Something they had fastened on her with the threat that if she pulled any nonsense, they would end her life on the spot.

What had they called it again? A collar she had to wear until "graduation."

Garnet, I'm leaving the rest to you. We're the magical girls who protect this city.

But, Senior—

Someday, we'll definitely meet again.

She didn't know when it would be, but she would surely end up in the same place as her senior.

She had a vague idea of what the graduation the doctor spoke of actually meant.

So until then, live freely, Garnet.

Freedom.

Turning those two syllables over in her mind, Garnet slowly closed her eyes.

Could she really live freely?

Would a day ever come when she—already reduced to the state of a bird trapped in a cage—could soar as she pleased across that vast sky?

Sorry, Senior. In the end, living freely was impossible.

As long as the doctor was alive—no, as long as the Underground Lab beneath ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this city existed—there would be no freedom for her.

Reliving the sensation of driving a blade into a being that was a mixture of human and monster, Garnet clenched her fist tight.

The look in the eyes of that magical girl named Emerald, staring at her in horror, was still vivid in her memory.

"It'd be better if they all just died."

Every last human down underground.

Voicing a wish that could never come true, she forced herself to sleep.

Tomorrow would surely be the same as today.

Cleaning up the monsters sent up from the Underground Lab, being praised as a magical girl, and waiting for a graduation whose date she still did not know.

But the next day.

What Garnet heard was news of the Underground Lab's complete destruction, the deaths of most of the researchers, and the doctor's disappearance.

"Honestly… I don't even know if I'm doing this right… There were so many people I couldn't save, and also—"

"…"

How had I ended up listening to her pour out her worries?

No—more accurately, I'd just sat there quietly listening from the start, so of course she'd started unloading things like this on me.

…Why the hell did that damn doctor drop me off on the outskirts of the city?

Couldn't he have at least taken me inside the hospital?

He clearly had a grudge against me.

If he didn't, he never would have put me in a situation like this.

I help him out and this is how he repays me—as expected of a monster.

And that human behind us… isn't this a bit much?

The gaze locked on me, thick with killing intent, was so sharp it stung.

Peridot beside me either couldn't feel that killing intent or simply didn't care; her mouth still wouldn't stop moving.

…I sincerely wanted out of this.

A chatterbox on one side, a murderous glare at my back.

A monster's life is suffering. Pure suffering.

Emerald, Peridot, and that nameless magical girl trailing behind us.

How had I gotten tangled up with magical girls like this? Tch.

Ah, of course Tamako was the exception. Tamako was a magical girl who was kind even to monsters.

"We're almost there, so I'll head inside now."

"I-I'll walk you all the way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to your room!"

"…You don't have to go that far."

I turned my head at Peridot's cry.

If I told her where my room was, she'd probably just show up whenever she felt like it.

Nurses and Emerald coming to find me was already more than enough.

If any more humans started dropping by, it would get annoying in all kinds of ways.

"Then shall I escort you, Akari?"

"…Ugh."

See? It was already trying to get annoying.

At the voice from behind me I instinctively hunched my shoulders.

There was only one human here who would call me Akari.

"Where exactly have you been wandering off to at this hour of the morning?"

"…I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a short walk."

"If that was the case, you could have at least contacted me, couldn't you? Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I got a call saying Akari had disappeared?"

"…I'm sorry."

Emerald's voice was soft, but the anxiety threaded through it told me just how worried she had been about me.

That aside—what business did she even have coming into my hospital room at that hour of the night?

And of all people, she just had to call Emerald.

I didn't know who it was, but I was definitely going to get revenge.

"And who is the person beside you?"

"Ah, um… I'm Hazuki."

"Someone I met while out walking who was kind enough to walk me back to the hospital."

"Y-Yes, that's right…"

At Emerald's sudden appearance, Peridot started fidgeting and mumbling.

They seemed awkward around each other—probably because this was their first meeting.

…Wait. Was this really their first meeting? They were both magical girls.

Coworkers who didn't even know each other's faces?

Don't tell me magical girls can't recognize each other either?

So the fact that you couldn't recognize someone after they de-transformed applied even between magical girls.

Anyway, I decided to use Peridot as my alibi to prove I'd only been out for a walk.

It was a little shaky, but the simple fact that I'd returned to the hospital with a human should be enough to ease some of Emerald's suspicion.

"Thank you for walking Akari back to the hospital, Miss Hazuki."

"Y-Yes!"

"I'll take care of Akari from here, so you're free to head back now."

"Okaaay…"

I silently admired the way Emerald cut her off—gentle and yet completely ruthless.

Watching Peridot, who had been stealing glances at me for cues, slowly start to walk away, I quietly opened my mouth.

There might come a day when I needed to use her again, so it was better to leave her with a kind word here.

"See you later, Hazuki."

"Y-Yes! U-Um, Miss Akari!"

When I even waved at the end, Peridot looked ready to die of happiness.

The corners of her mouth were stretched all the way to her ears. All the way.

"Someone was so worried she came looking for you in person, and yet here you are casually making a new friend… Don't you think that's a little unfair?"

"…Ah."

I watched until Peridot's figure had completely vanished, then let out a short sigh at Emerald's voice from beside me.

Right. She was still here.

Unfortunately, the real annoyance was only just beginning.

"You really only went for a walk, right? You didn't go somewhere else or anything?"

"Well, yeah. It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

Maybe because of the time we'd spent together so far, she didn't seem particularly suspicious.

It felt more like she was simply asking out of curiosity.

Besides, the despair Curse had released from his lab had gone through the doctor's special filter first, so there wasn't much risk of it being noticed.

…It shouldn't be noticeable, right?

I'd have to actually be able to trust the doctor for that. Sigh…

I let out a quiet sigh inwardly and followed after Emerald.

From now on, it looked like I was going to have to be a lot more careful whenever I went outside.