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A plain woman's voice.

Ai Kirishima was initially startled, but quickly recovered and turned around, feeling embarrassed yet happy, to look at the older woman who was also staring at her.

Her high school homeroom teacher, Ms. Haibara, looks quite different today than she did in her past memories.

She wasn't wearing her usual black-rimmed glasses; instead, she revealed a cold and beautiful face. Her black hair was quite long, reaching down to her slender waist. Thus, what came into Ai Kirishima's view was a classical ice beauty with a cold expression.

"Aihara-sensei, aren't you wearing your glasses today?"

"After all, my glasses don't actually have a prescription, so I can see more clearly without them."

That's how the female teacher explained it.

When she looked at Haibara, Ai Kirishima suddenly noticed that the gap between her and her teacher's gazes seemed to have narrowed considerably compared to before.

Thinking of this, Kirishima Ai couldn't help but smile.

"Then, do you want to take a good look at me?"

Kirishima smiled wryly and tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling as she gazed at Haibara. Her former shyness and naivety had faded considerably, replaced by a captivating charm.

Before Haibara could answer, Kirishima Ai had already taken a few steps forward. Without even standing on tiptoe, she could get close to the woman's face and lightly kiss Haibara's cheek, appearing quite intimate.

After that, Ai Kirishima whispered in Haibara's ear:

"I've graduated."

When she looked at Haibara again, she saw Haibara's helpless expression.

Finally, Haibara let out a soft sigh and, as the first-year high school homeroom teacher and instructor, said—

Congratulations on your graduation.

Kirishima Ai's face flushed slightly, but her smile became even more radiant, and a clear glimmer appeared in her eyes.

"Speaking of which... how much taller have you grown?"

Suddenly, Haibara seemed to realize something and made a slightly blank and hesitant expression.

"1.73...74 meters tall? Am I not as cute as before?" Kirishima Ai looked down at herself, and it seemed that her figure was not as thin and small as before.

Unfortunately, he was still not as tall as the teacher.

If she could, she would like to be tall enough to hug her teacher, but in the end, she still seems a bit like a child in front of her teacher.

“You weren’t that cute before… No, um? That’s strange.” Haibara’s voice was low, as if she was muttering to herself with some confusion, which was not like her usual indifferent self.

"Lift your head up and let me see you."

Ai Kirishima was very curious about what the teacher found strange.

Are you just too slow to realize that you've grown taller?

In short, she stood there, dressed neatly and tidy, letting her beloved teacher scrutinize her.

So what exactly is our Miss Haibara thinking?

She was actually somewhat dazed, even distracted, yet her gaze could not be taken off the elegant and poised Kirishima Ai, dressed in a sharp suit.

The once naive and delicate girl has now lost some of her frailty and gained more of her heroic spirit and radiance.

Without realizing it, my height has changed so much that my line of sight has become very close to my own, and I no longer need to look down.

The face that I once thought would never change, like a faded, frozen painting in my memory, has somehow begun to change with the passage of time, becoming something that didn't exist in Haibara's past memories.

The corridor window was slightly ajar, and a cool breeze lifted the curtains and dust, ruffling Kirishima Ai's dark hair, which, along with the faint halo of daylight, painted a cold hue of youth's fading.

Haibara realized something.

It seemed like this was the first time I had ever seen this child grow up like this.

In the past, when she was Lilith, the appearance of the girl before her was forever frozen in her innocent teenage years.

I thought I would never see it again.

"........."

"teacher?"

Kirishima Ai paused for a moment.

Because she witnessed an incredible scene.

She thought she had misread it.

But the teacher seemed to be...crying.

That woman, who had always appeared cold and aloof, whose emotions were unmoved by others, and who was sometimes slow and indifferent, now lowered her head, tears streaming down her face in a somber tone that didn't quite match her expression.

I don't quite understand.

But it seems like I actually understand.

For some reason, Ai Kirishima herself felt like crying.

In the end, neither of them spoke. Kirishima Ai simply stretched out her arms again and embraced Haibara, conveying her warmth and presence to her, as if this would allow them to understand each other and never be separated.

Ai Kirishima felt very warm.

It seems like it's still winter.

She said softly:

“I’m right here. I’ve grown up smoothly, so you won’t feel lonely anymore.”

...............

A long, long time ago.

In a fairytale kingdom, lived a witch and a little girl she adopted.

The witch loved telling little girls stories about the kingdom's past, like fairy tales, as bedtime stories.

Although many of them were tragic and had less than perfect endings.

But the fire in the fireplace warmed the desolate and deep winter night, dispelling the chill and loneliness, making one feel as if this happiness could last forever, until the dream ends.

"Miss Witch".

"Ok?"

The opening seems somewhat familiar: a young girl lies on a soft bed, her face hidden by a pure white lace curtain. Beside her bed is a gray-haired woman wearing a twilight feather nightgown.

The woman leaned against the headboard, holding a fairy tale book she had written herself, for the girl beside her who loved to hear stories.

The girl seemed somewhat wistful and filled with mixed emotions after hearing the story.

"The story of R'lyeh is so sad. Whether it's Saint R'lyeh, the four demon kings, or many, many other people, they were never saved until the end of the story."

Like Lilith in her childhood, the girl felt that the story had not yet reached its proper ending.

However, in this cozy room, the witch simply spoke gently and calmly:

"Yes, but that's the story, isn't it?"

R'lyeh's fairy tales always end in tragedy.

After all, witches always live a long life, and it's unimaginable that there is eternal happiness in the world.

In the witch's eyes, the girl in front of her was also like that.

Like this heavy snow in winter, although it is pure and beautiful, it will melt away into nothingness once winter is over.

It was so short-lived it was heartbreaking.

"Hmm... It's surprisingly regrettable. Wasn't there a more perfect ending?"

That girl did not pursue a perfect ending for herself.

However, she still feels sad and grieving when she hears about the misfortunes of others.

The witch's expression was slightly surprised and dazed.

It seems she herself sometimes thought that way in the past.

I want a happy ending, but reality is different.

But for now, it's just about telling a bedtime story to my dear girl.

She gently cradled her beautiful profile with one hand, speaking in a low, melodious voice, casually and calmly:

"Well, let me think about what happens next in this story..."

Time seemed to move slowly and for a long time, allowing the witch to gradually weave a story that belonged to the two of them, filling the girl's diary with more interesting memories.

"Finally, a new villain appears in the story, the final, evil bad guy and the mastermind behind it all."

"She has gathered all the misfortunes in the world and brought forth the final challenge."

"If everyone defeats her, then they can find happiness?"

It sounds like a very convenient thing.

The witch casually made up a story, and in the warm glow of the fireplace, her silhouette was bathed in a pale golden, fairytale-like halo. The somewhat sleepy girl tried to perk herself up, gazing intently at the witch's beautiful face and listening to the story she was telling her.

As the witch chatted, she seemed to have thought of something interesting.

"what."

The witch gazed at the sleepy but attentive girl by the bedside, and continued her playful tale to lull the child to sleep:

"And then you will be the hero who is destined to defeat the Demon King."

"How about Magical Girl Silver Feather?"

The girl blinked, seemingly surprised that she would become a character in this fairy tale, and such an important one at that.

She leaned against the witch's arm, feeling the other's somewhat cold skin:

"Am I a hero?"

It looks pretty good.

She has always longed for magical girls and heroes, even though it seems far removed from her life, it is still a dream.

Just like a bird wanting to fly into the sky.

"Hmm, once you defeat the Demon King, you'll be the most popular hero, living a happy life with everything you want. Do you like that?"

The witch wanted to tease her.

The girl thought for a moment and asked:

"What about you?"

The witch was puzzled for a moment.

"What about me?"

"Will I live a happy life with you?" the girl asked, looking at her.

"I'm not even in this story yet, darling."

"Then I don't want to be a hero."

Even witches sometimes can't figure out a child's temper.

She sighed softly, feeling a bit sleepy herself. Listening to the cold wind howling outside and the flickering fire in the fireplace, the witch asked the girl, somewhat bored:

"Then what do you want?"

I want to be happy with you.

The girl repeated it again.

Isn't that right now?

The witch couldn't understand how this had to do with the story she was about to tell, but well, she wasn't exactly annoying.

She was just really sleepy...

"………All right."

She blinked sleepily, patted the girl's head, then used magic to turn off all the lights in the room. She then curled up in the warm blankets and gently embraced the girl who was sleeping with her.

In the future, there should be many more nights we can tell bedtime stories together like this.

Let's go to sleep early tonight.