While I was staring blankly at Aile’s transformation, a figure with snow-white hair peeked out from behind her shoulder.
It was Snowah—Aile’s very first friend, whom she’d managed to make only after going to college.
“Nice to et you, Professor.”
“...Miss Snowah? What brings you here?”
“What else? Who do you think helped Aile dress up like this?”
Of course.
I nodded instinctively at her words. I had already suspected Aile couldn’t have pulled this off alone... but to think it wasn’t even her own idea?
Still, whether it was her own will or not, a change like this had a reason behind it. I turned to Aile with a faint smile.
“You look beautiful, Aile. Why don’t you dress like this more often?”
“R-Really?”
“Of course. You look ready to get married right now.”
“Ehe... Eheh-heh— That’s a bit too soon, but... if it’s with you.”
“Hmm?”
I couldn’t quite make out her last words and asked her to repeat them.
Blushing furiously, Aile took several deep breaths before speaking carefully.
“I-I said... if it’s with you, Scientist, I’d like that.”
“...Oh.”
Unbelievable.
To think Aile had mustered the courage to confess her feelings so openly.
I couldn’t find the right words and just opened and closed my mouth. At the sa ti, I understood why she had gone through so much effort to transform herself.
My thoughts started spinning—how could I reject her without hurting her?
No matter how beautiful she looked, I had never seen her that way.
From the mont she joined the Evilus Corporation, Aile had been soone to look after, not soone I’d ever considered romantically.
“Well, uh, I an—”
“...You’re rejecting , aren’t you?”
“Um, that’s—”
Yes. But the words wouldn’t co out. Especially not when I saw Aile’s teary eyes.
Even without saying it, so things are understood.
Aile gave a strained smile as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“I-I get it! S-Sorry for bringing this up out of nowhere—”
“Aile, wait, it’s not—”
“I-I’ll just go!”
Before I could say another word, Aile bolted from the room.
Snowah, who had been standing behind her, sighed and shook her head. She glanced briefly at the door before turning to .
“Professor, you’re such a heartbreaker.”
“...Miss Snowah? Do you have sothing to say, too?”
“Yes, actually. That’s why I helped Aile dress up in the first place.”
Snowah began walking toward , closing the distance step by step.
She stopped just close enough that her body was almost touching mine. Then she leaned forward and spoke softly.
“You rejected our lovely Aile... so how about instead?”
“...Are you joking right now?”
“No, I’m serious. You might be a bad guy, but you’re not lacking, Professor.”
“Sorry, Snowah, but the only reason we’re close is—”
“Because I’m Aile’s friend? I know.”
Even though I was clearly rejecting her, Snowah just smiled.
Her reaction was completely different from Aile’s. Instead of running away, she shrugged as if to say, Go ahead and try rejecting .
“I want you, Professor. And I always get what I want.”
Snowah reached out toward my face, muttering sothing about fixing my hair.
Then, without warning, she leaned in to kiss .
If I hadn’t anticipated her move and reacted in ti, she might have succeeded.
Instead, I caught her hand and pulled back, frowning as I wiped lipstick off my palm.
“If you keep this up, I won’t just end this with words. Even if you’re Aile’s friend.”
“Hmm... What a sha. I was hoping to steal you away for myself.”
Snowah leaned back with a mischievous smile.
The look in her eyes wasn’t one of defeat—it was the gaze of a predator who never let go of her prey.
Suddenly—Thud, thud, thud!
I heard soone running away outside the lab.
Recognizing the sound of those footsteps, Snowah laughed and turned gracefully toward the door.
“Well then, Professor. I’ll see you next ti.”
“I told you—there won’t be a next ti.”
Honestly, I had no idea why kids these days were so forward.
Back in my ti, this kind of thing would’ve been unthinkable.
With a sigh, I turned away from Snowah’s retreating figure and focused back on my monitor.
I had far too much work to do—and my conversation with the Watcher wasn’t finished yet.
*****
“W-Wha—?”
While Snowah had tried to kiss Eight, Aile had been peeking into the lab.
They had agreed not to interrupt each other, but she couldn’t help worrying about how things would turn out.
And what Aile saw through the crack in the door—was Snowah and Eight, face-to-face, practically kissing.
“Ah... Ahhh—”
From her angle, she couldn’t see clearly, but what else could it be?
Panicked, Aile ran away as fast as she could.
She fled all the way to her private room in the Evilus headquarters—a dark, ominous space filled with decorations that matched her gloomy personality.
Collapsing onto her bed, Aile buried her face in her pillow and sobbed.
“Of course Scientist would prefer soone like Snowah—soone pretty, cheerful, and popular, not soone like ...”
Her thoughts spiraled downward.
Just like soone sinking into depression, she couldn’t pull herself out of it.
“I’d hate myself too if I were him. Who’d want a pathetic girl like ? A magical girl otaku who knows nothing about fashion, makeup, or how to make n happy—just an empty, useless shell of a woman.”
That was her identity.
“I want to die—”
She wanted to end it all.
Not because she lacked the desire to die, but because she didn’t even have the energy to act on it.
If she’d had a button that could end her life instantly, she would’ve pressed it without hesitation.
“I want to die...”
But then, sothing dark stirred within her.
Aile was an Evil Magical Girl.
And evil always welcod despair.
“I’ll kill them all.”
Her soul darkened as malevolence blood within her.
Standing up, she transford into her magical girl form—shaking off her despair with an eerie smile.
“Aha, ahahaha—!”
Aile wasn’t just powerless.
From a higher-dinsional perspective, she was an empty vessel.
A perfect offering—ready to be filled.
She was what they called a Divine Mockery.
A vessel created to mock even the gods.
“I’ve been such a fool...”
The Evil Magical Girl smiled.
“This is what I should’ve done from the start.”
And in the next mont—Aile’s magic flooded the city.
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