repudiate | ｏｎｅ。ａｕｄｉｏ。

[ There are a few slight moments of silence - perhaps, if you listen closely enough, you can hear some slight sounds of nature from the forest's edge in the background - before a girl speaks up with a quite deadpan (and calm, considering the situation) tone. ]

Am I being reduced to this again this soon already? I really must be popular with all of you witches. So, which one of you do I have the honor of dealing with this time? Bernkastel again, or even that Featherine witch? ... Either way, you can come out and start laughing now. If you're looking for your cue, this is it.

[ She pauses for a moment, as if she actually does expect someone to pop up. But when it doesn't happen, she just continues talking. ]

It's pretty inconsiderate to let someone waiting after dragging them in, you know. Although I guess I should expect as much from the lot of you.

And what's up with these wings? 'Sure, let's give her pink wings this time just to see the look on her face, ahahaha' or whatever, right? I'm not laughing, but surely you predicted as much.

... Any normal person would start to think I'm going insane by now, like I'm talking to myself. Ah.. it's useless, it's all useless. Does anyone who's not me feel like speaking up already?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I guess everyone has a point in their lives like that. They usually say it doesn't come until you're much older though, but perhaps our circumstances are a little different.

I was fourteen back then.

Ah, even younger than me then. Although one could argue that the time when everything changed actually happened to me for the first time when I was just six.

If it's alright to ask, what happened at that time?

Sure. ... It's a well-known event in my world either way.

On that day.. My entire family went to have a family conference. Everyone died. [ Even if it doesn't sound as casual or deadpan as her earlier talk, she still doesn't sound particularly sad either - she's good at pretending to be indifferent about things, honestly. ]

How terrible! [Ami's eyes widen and she lets out a gasp.] Were you alright? Were you not there, too?

I was sick that day, so I couldn't go. That's the only reason I survived.

[ But she probably would have preferred dying along with everyone else. ]

It was a fairly big happening.. Big enough to be known widely in my world as the Rokkenjima Suspicion.

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss. [She's always longed for family, wished for family, dreamed of family; to think of it being taken away, all of it, that suddenly...]

[ To be honest, it left a really big impression on Ange as well - it's the reason why she has grown up so bitter and cynical and deadpan. It's changed her whole life. ]

Hmm, it's all I've ever known either way. [ It's just that she doesn't show this weakness to other people and keeps up her deadpan front. ]

... My older brother is in this place as well, though.

You can be reunited with him here. It must make you thankful.

Yeah, I'll give the Malnosso that much credit. Even though he could just be torn away from me again at any moment, I'll at least have a little time with him.

That's how it is here. We know it's temporary.

[Which pushes her away from people because - as she always used to think - she knows it ends, possibly very soon. But on the other hand-]

So while we have them with us, we have to make time and spend it with them.

That's what I'm planning on doing. I won't let them take him away again either way.. Even if I'd have to stoop down to begging the Malnosso on my knees or whatever, that'd be alright with me in this case.

The Malnosso might not listen. They haven't yet, although people have tried. It may be we'll be fighting them before we can go back.

That's even better. If you ask me, just downright fighting them is preferred over going to beg them. So I don't mind that sort of idea at all.

I think... it's better if we can return home without fighting. However, we can't just leave this place in a state where other people could be brought here next, or where we could be brought back.

It's not as if they'll all decide to let us go someday because we've been behaving so well or whatever. And since getting out of this place will require some sort of action, I'd rather have it be fighting than some pathethic last resort.

I also believe the Malnosso are our enemy. But, I don't want to think about fighting first.

It's not like I'm jumping up at a chance to fight.. But if it's necessary to reach my goals, I'll do it without hesitation.

Mm. It's the same for me. If we have to, I definitely won't hold back.

That's good to know. If we do end up fighting against them, after all, I bet it wouldn't be a very easy fight. I don't know what sort of powers they have, but if they were able to pull all of us into here it probably won't be something we can just laugh off..

So the more people we have to fight, the better.