Chapter 07 – What Happened in the Previous World

News Anchor: In other news, two young people around 18 years old died during a robbery outside a costume party. The victims have been identified as Franco Castañeda and Cleer Gomez. The perpetrator has not yet been found, but the police are already working to solve this case. We hope the families of the victims can get through this difficult time. Now, let’s hear from the families of the victims.

Reporter: Tell us, how are you coping with this situation?

Franco’s Mother: We just want the person responsible to pay for everything they’ve done. You have no idea how much pain they’ve caused us.

Franco’s Father: I’m going to find the bastard who did this to my son, and I’m going to kill him.

Cleer’s Father: Because of that bastard, my precious daughter Cleer died, and her mother took her own life after finding out. Bastard—if I find you, I’ll do the same thing you did to me.

News Anchor: Truly a tragic story. We hope this case is resolved soon, and may Franco and Cleer rest in peace. That’s all for now. This was Channel 8 News.

I was left in shock after hearing this. Both my parents and Cleer’s parents suffered so much because of what happened, but especially her mother—I still can’t believe she took her own life.

I asked Miku, “Tell me, Miku… what happened to the bastard who killed us?”

Miku replied, “They caught him, and he was given the death penalty—he became the first criminal in your country, Argentina, to be executed by lethal injection. But for now, try to set this aside and spend some time tomorrow with your new friends. It’ll be good for you and your mental health. Also, don’t tell Mizu yet—it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to know what her mother did after finding out she’d been killed.”

I nodded and told her I’d try to keep it a secret for now, but I just wanted to be alone. She nodded back and disappeared. I lay down on my bed, still trying to process what I had just learned. I hoped that bastard was rotting in hell with the demons from my world.

After about thirty minutes, I fell asleep. I would think later about how and when to tell Mizu, in a way that wouldn’t be too painful for her. For now, I slept.

When I woke up at six in the morning, my mother already had breakfast ready. I smiled and thanked her as always. Shortly after, my parents left for the day to meet with the Royal Guard regarding the demon problem—since both of them are members of the Royal Guard, which is made up of people who aren’t Magical Girls.

I finished breakfast, then got everything ready for when Mizu, Akane, and Mizuki arrived. About ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. I looked through the peephole and saw them, so I opened the door.

Akane: “Taiyaki, are you ready to spend an amazing day with us?”
Mizuki: “We’ve got so many things planned today—you’re going to love it.”
Mizu: “We brought some books to help you improve your Magical Girl knowledge, and some cards so you can practice your Dark Magic.”

I was surprised but excited. “Awesome, girls! I’ve been waiting for you all morning. Please, come in.”

They entered and told me my house was nice. I told them it wasn’t much, honestly—though still better than my old house in my previous world. But even then, I think most people wouldn’t trade living comfortably in my old world for living here, knowing they wouldn’t be the protagonist of their own life or story.

We started reading books on simple spells. I began by trying to cast Dark Flame—it took me about thirty minutes, and I was exhausted afterward. Then I tried a healing chant, which took forty minutes. Finally, I worked on teleportation, which took me two hours. By then, it was almost noon, so Mizuki suggested we take a break and have lunch.

I was starving after all that work. Mizu offered to cook onigiri. I hadn’t eaten those in about two years, and I really liked them, so I asked if I could help. She said she could do it alone, but Mizuki and Akane convinced her to let me help since we were friends.

We worked together and finished the onigiri in an hour—it was already 1 p.m. They were delicious and nutritious, and we had orange juice to go with them. Afterward, we cleaned up the kitchen and returned to Dark Magic practice.

Three hours passed, and I was even more tired. Mizu said they had to leave since her mother was waiting for her—and Mizuki and Akane had to go as well. I wished them a good night, and they left.

Alone again, I thought I could rest while waiting for my parents to return from the Royal Guard meeting. I decided to tidy the house, which would take at most an hour. After half an hour, I had finished cleaning the living room and kitchen. I sat on the couch, thinking how rough things had been since Cleer and I died in our previous world—but for now, we had to focus on defeating the Demon Queen and finding the other Rank S Magical Girl with the Water element. We would do that tomorrow, Sunday.

Just then, the doorbell rang—it was my parents.