*
"Hey... After the trip, our lives will return to normal, right?" (Sariel)
Was she afraid? Of change? This was a stage that everyone encounters in life after all. It was just unfortunate that they wouldn't relate to this timing. Arin remembers more than just her current life, that much is clear. She doesn't behave like a highschooler. Yggdrasil was just born... Anything she encountered itself was new and subjected to change, even after slightly more than a month, there still wasn't a sense of routine for her.
"Definitely. After all, nothing really changes." (Yggdrasil)
She uttered her words out with a smile, looking ahead as if she had already seen the future. She has no such divination powers, her friends would know such. This was just her arrogance speaking, declaring something equally absurd. She turned to her side, the wavy fog in the air conceals parts of her skin, but the blush radiating around her smile peeks through as if it actually emanated light.
The glowing around her made it seem as though heaven was raining a spotlight on her at her good angle, though it was just the blinding lights and chalk white tiles of the hot tub environment. Arin and Sariel were similarly glowing, though that was hard to notice from their own perspectives.
"School. Magic. Studies. Fights. Jobs. Traces. Home. They might change in form, but they still stay with us. That includes us.
We defeated two Heavenly Kings. As long as the other 2 don't come, and the demon lord doesn't exist... We'll live out the rest of our lives peacefully. " (Yggdrasil)
They stared at her incredulously, only with her ego this incomplete could she formed such a oblivious statement. It's as if she was tempting fate. If it's the concept of 'jinxing it', Yggdrasil wasn't unaware. It was just so unlikely to occur that she dismissed any possibility of it happening.
"Haa~ Tia, you still have a lot more to learn..." (Arin)
"Right? I get that you can't remember anything beyond more than a month ago, but surely interacting with us yielded much more..." (Sariel)
"I'm... Sorry? Anyway, you don't have anything to worry about. If anything actually came our way, we can solve it together." (Yggdrasil)
Dismissing it as her own lack of expertise, Yggdrasil casually glossed over it with some sappy sounding reassurance. Like launching a secondary attack, she's been tripping over flags a lot today.
" I think it's high time we leave. Don't wanne miss check out, we'll get scolded by teach..." (Arin)
"You need to be more polite with Ms Lily, just because she's a new teacher doesn't mean you can be so casual with her..." (Sariel)
She promptly chided Arin. It was a scene Yggdrasil had witnessed many times, humans like to put emphasis on courtesy and hierarchy, but there are also those like Arin who don't pay much heed to it.
" Manners huh... Speaking of which, those rude terrorists naturally got reported on the news. They never mentioned anything about magical girls." (Arin)
"... The government still wants to maintain secrecy. Well, it would inconvenience a lot of magical girls if their existence came out.
In a way, this is also to protect our identities and normal lives. " (Sariel)
"Hmm... Being a celebrity wouldn't be so bad. The way Tia handled them might have been brutal and unpopular with kids, and there would probably be other obstacles to gaining fame...
I wonder if it would be that bad if we really were famous?" (Arin)
" Famous? " (Yggdrasil)
She put on a questioning look, staring blankly at Arin who kept mentioning the word in question.
" Alright... Stop with the puppy eyes...
Well, it might be hard for you to imagine. You hardly have a concept for recognition, right?" (Arin)
Yggdrasil tilted her head. It wasn't as if she hadn't heard of these words before. She learned plenty, and at a supernatural pace too. Rather than the definition itself, she failed to comprehend how fame would feel like in reality. It was rather foreign to her, akin to emotions... Actually, she might find learning emotions easier. Her master's body sort of injects emotions on its own. When she has a reason to be happy, it'll promptly be happy. The chemicals in her mind would suitably match the occasion and she would feel the emotion first hand.
Tying the context together with her feelings, she could quickly deduce what emotion she was being stimulated by and use it for future reference. Fame was not something anyone could just feel... The act of being recognised and praised was still quite a ways away.
"This is difficult... How about this, do you like being praised?" (Sariel)
She softly clapped her hand as the other two turned towards her. Certainly part of fame would be to receive admiration for her qualities.
"... Does being praised have a feeling? " (Yggdrasil)
" Ye-yeah! You're... You're a good girl! You listen in class and you heed my words! You're always diligent when you need to be instead of a certain joker here!" (Sariel)
Her last few words felt pointed, but a slight sensation was surely stirring withing Yggdrasil's heart. It was hardly noticeable though, it was difficult if she could even consider Sariel's words as praise...
" You're strong! You're fast, and you defeat Traces so easily without any injuries! You're also really smart, always scoring high on quizzes, and you're really cute the way you turn your head!" (Arin)
A different hue of blush crept onto her cheeks, it was less faint then when Sariel peppered her in praises, but this time she could feel it a lot more. It was like a sensation squeezing her heart and burning her ears, she wanted to turn her head away and stop listening, but it was not unpleasant in any manner...
"Wait!? That's just shame!!" (Yggdrasil)
"But it was pleasant, was it not?" (Arin)
"..." (Yggdrasil)
The fact that she found it hard to admit told volumes. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, not knowing what words to utter. In the end, she simply raised her palms to cover her face.
"Fufu..!" (Arin)
"Kuhaha!" (Sariel)
The two girls by her side pounced into a hug before erupting hearty chuckles. Their voices were enveloped by the drifting fog, painting a delicate atmosphere of bitter sweetness. It was just Yggdrasil and her two closest friends relaxing in the hot bath, however she couldn't help but treasure this moment.