Faced with the girl's embarrassed fury, Raize looked at Eu beside him. After all, it was Eu who had absorbed the other party's magic.
Eu gently shook her head, wrote something in her notebook, and showed it to him.
(I can't. I can't control my magic. Even if I want to return it, I can't.)
Eu's magic was uncontrollable. Haruna's small amount of magic caused no ripples at all once inside her. Trying to return it would be like scooping a cup of freshwater from a calm-looking but raging ocean—completely unrealistic.
If Eu could properly control her magic, it might be possible, but in her current state, returning it was absolutely impossible.
As for Haruna's situation, Eu could only feel apologetic. Still, the fault wasn't hers—Haruna had acted on her own and used magic on them first.
"I said, you two—"
Crack!
Before Haruna could finish, a bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of her.
Startled, Haruna immediately hid behind her magic weapon, Mystletainn—the chainsaw stuck in the ground—watching Raize on the tree with vigilance.
So he really wasn't a normal person!
Raize lowered his finger, still crackling with electricity, and calmly explained to the crouching girl below.
"Girl, I hate noisy people. Bad news for you—your magic probably won't be coming back for a long time. It was passively absorbed by the silver-haired girl beside me. And since she can't control her magic, she has no way to return it to you."
"What!?"
Haruna's face twisted, her ahoge standing straight up like an antenna.
If her magic couldn't be returned, didn't that mean she'd be stuck naked like this?
And without magic, wouldn't her entire career as a magical garment girl be over?
"You… you two have to take responsibility! Take me to your house, I need to make a phone call!!"
Panicked, Haruna thought of her only solution—contacting her teacher for help.
She truly had no other options.
"Sorry. I'm not taking a naked stranger home. But I can lend you my phone."
Annoyed by trouble and wary of strangers, Raize refused to bring her back.
He took out his phone and used his energy to float it toward Haruna, who was hugging herself defensively on the ground.
"What kind of magic tool is this!?"
Haruna stared at the floating black phone and ducked behind the chainsaw again.
Raize maneuvered the phone closer. She even dodged, which was honestly amusing.
"It's just a normal communication tool. You use it like—"
"Really? If you dare lie to me, I'll turn you into Bear-kun from earlier!"
After listening to the instructions and psyching herself up, she took the phone and started dialing.
Beep… beep… beeeep—
Raize watched with a strange expression. Did his phone really make sounds like that?
Were you sending a telegram or something!?
"Ah! It connected. Hello, Master? It's me, Haruna from the accelerated-growth class!"
She actually got through.
According to Kyoko's memories, this kind of bizarre communication did exist, but seeing it in person was still interesting.
That class name, though, sounded completely unreliable.
"Huh? There's no way? I'm sorry… I turned out like this after trying to erase those two weirdos' memories."
"Magic exhaustion? No way! How could someone in this world have that kind of magic!?"
Haruna looked extremely anxious, urgency clear in her eyes as she frowned and thought.
While on the call, she suddenly turned her gaze to Eu beside Raize and shouted rudely, "Hey! Just who are you, to have that kind of magic!?"
Eu squinted slightly, happily eating the rainbow pudding in her hands. After hearing the rude question, she looked at Haruna's flustered state and calmly raised her notebook.
(Eucliwood Hellscythe. Necromancer from the Underworld.)
Seeing the concise self-introduction on Eu's notebook, Haruna frowned.
She had heard of Underworld humans before.
They were enemies of Velliers.
"She said her name was… what!? My magic can't be taken back!? How could that be… I see. In that case, I'll first deal with the easier problems in this world. As for returning, if I can't get my magic back, I won't go back. Yes… I'm really sorry to bother you when you're so busy. Goodbye."
Haruna's expression changed more than a dozen times during the call. The entire conversation went pretty much like that. Raize was quite interested in the "master" Haruna mentioned, but if that person learned that he had killed Kyoko, there was probably a ninety percent chance they would become enemies.
Raize had already listed this so-called master as a hypothetical enemy. Maybe one day that person would learn he killed Kyoko and come seeking revenge.
After Haruna ended the call, Raize lightly jumped down from the tree with Eu. Under Haruna's wary gaze, he extended his hand, signaling her to return the phone.
The girl rudely stuffed the phone back into Raize's hand. After he took it back, Haruna kept staring at him, as if Raize owed her money.
Impatient by nature, Haruna glanced at the expressionless Eu not far away, then looked back at Raize and said, "That necromancer absorbed my magic. You're responsible!!"
"Wait, she absorbed your magic, and you're coming to me for responsibility!?" Raize glanced at Eu, who was quietly eating pudding, then turned back with a speechless expression toward the unreasonable girl in front of him.
But when he noticed the hidden apprehension in Haruna's gaze toward Eu, Raize understood. This girl likely knew what Eu's identity meant, and because of that fear, she didn't dare provoke a underworld human, an enemy of magical garment girls.
"You're not bullying the weak and fearing the strong, are you? Too scared to demand responsibility from the one who actually absorbed your magic?"
"Shut up! You're the one who has to take responsibility! You can't shirk it!!!"
Faced with Raize's seeing-through gaze, Haruna's face flushed red. Her thoughts had been exposed, and she decided to throw a tantrum instead, stomping her little foot hard on the ground.
After learning from her master what Eu's identity as a necromancer meant, Haruna truly didn't dare provoke her.
If she still had magic, she might have thrown out a few harsh words and left, but without magic, she really didn't dare.
To deal with the current situation, she could only focus on the "easier" target—Raize.
"While I'm figuring out how to get my magic back, I'm staying at your house."
Haruna spoke unwillingly, clutching her body with one hand and pointing at Raize with the other.
Hearing this, Eu stopped eating. Her calm, emotionless gaze moved from Haruna to Raize, then down to the rainbow pudding in her hand. She fell into thought.
Raize, looking at Haruna's naked state, did not agree to her unreasonable demand. Instead, he silently took out a white shirt from his backpack space and handed it to her.
Haruna hesitated for a moment, looking at the white shirt in Raize's hand, then at Raize himself, before snatching it and quickly putting it on.
The shirt was large, so on Haruna it looked more like a dress.
"Well… my place isn't very convenient. If you're just looking for somewhere to stay, I can find you a place to live."
Bringing a magical garment girl home was something Raize didn't feel great about. These days, he was rather resistant to interacting with outsiders. Having one quiet Sei at home was already enough.
Who would have thought that as soon as Raize said this reasonable suggestion, Haruna only thought for a second before her expression turned petulant. She suddenly lunged at Raize.
Because she had no hostile intent, Raize simply reached out, intending to catch her like grabbing a kitten. But Haruna's movements after losing her magic were surprisingly cat-like. She dodged Raize's grab and instantly appeared behind him, clinging to him like an octopus.
"Don't even think about dumping me! You're just trying to shake me off! This genius won't fall for that!"
Haruna clung tightly to Raize's back with both arms and legs, completely refusing to believe him. Sticking with him was safer.
Raize gently shook, but she didn't budge at all. Lowering his head, he looked at the slender, fair ankles dangling in front of his stomach, then turned his head toward Haruna's determined face behind him. He raised a finger crackling with electric arcs in front of her eyes.
"If you don't get down, I'll shock you until you pee yourself."
Raize's calm threat and the crackling electricity made Haruna's small body shudder. She seemed about to loosen her grip, but after trembling a few times, she hugged him even tighter.
Tears welled in Haruna's large eyes. Her expression was full of stubbornness and defiance. Even though she was terrified of being electrocuted, she still refused to let go.
In the original story, it was mentioned that after losing her magic and being unable to transform into a magical garment girl, Haruna would feel fear whenever Megalo released magic, or whenever someone else released magic.
Raize didn't harbor any hostility or ill will toward Haruna. Seeing her endure her fear without crying, he really couldn't bring himself to scare her further.
"…You can stay for a while. Don't cause trouble at my place, behave yourself. Once your magic recovers, you leave. Can you agree to that?"
In the end, Raize only agreed to let her stay temporarily, on the condition that she leave once her magic was restored. During that time, he would also use his own methods to help her recover her magic.
Haruna's background was no small matter. Queen Lilith possessed a curse that could strip all magical garment girls of their transformation power. Haruna herself was not a pure-blooded magical garment girl—her mother was human—and she was the only one resistant to the queen's curse.
Because of this immunity, she was actually a final weapon prepared by Ariel and the Baron Demon to deal with Queen Lilith.
Raize wasn't afraid of those people, but he didn't want to get involved in their plans either. Letting Haruna stay for a while and helping her recover her magic before leaving was already his limit.
"Hmph! I'll leave once my magic is restored."
In response to Raize's concession and conditions, Haruna turned her head away with a cold snort, clearly dissatisfied. Inside, she felt quite upset.
Was a beautiful girl like her really such a nuisance to have in his house? Was she really that unwelcome?
---
Walking home at night, Raize had a dark expression and felt utterly speechless. Haruna was still riding on his back.
She refused to get down, claiming it was inconvenient for her to walk right now and that he should just carry her home.
Not wanting to argue with the spoiled girl on his back, Raize cast a troubled glance at Eu, who was following quietly behind him.
She still looked calm and ethereal, like a little pet following along.
"Um, you wouldn't also want to—"
(Thank you for the food. I'm just wandering aimlessly. You don't need to worry about me.)
In the darkness, Eu's bright blue eyes met Raize's as she held up her notebook.
Her lonely heart was stirring. She really wanted to live at Raize's place and enjoy delicious food, but considering her dangerous condition, she knew it wasn't appropriate.
Her uncontrollable magic could go berserk at any moment, affecting him and bringing misfortune. There were also many people hunting her.
Kind-hearted Eucliwood didn't want the boy she felt comfortable with to be dragged into her troubles.
Understanding her personality and situation, Raize naturally knew she didn't want anyone to suffer because of her.
Feeling conflicted, Raize was about to speak, when suddenly he and Eu stopped.
"…It's really lively tonight." Raize's expression darkened. Carrying the confused Haruna, he stepped forward and positioned himself in front of Eu, his cold gaze meeting a pair of crimson eyes on a rooftop in the darkness.
That figure wore a black cloak. Its gaze, originally full of predatory malice toward Eu, shifted to Raize standing in front of her.
With a cold glance, Raize saw that other rooftops were now filled with figures in black robes, each radiating strong hostility.
"Lady Hellscythe's visit to the human world truly brings honor to this place~"
Gently patting Haruna's head to calm her fear, Raize slowly turned around and saw a smiling, squint-eyed young man step out of the shadows. He wore a neat suit, but what really caught Raize's attention were the filthy black wings behind him.
The holy light within Raize stirred faintly. The aura emanating from this man made him uncomfortable.
This man was a fallen angel.