The swaying shadows of the trees moved back and forth across the two of them as the breeze passed through the leaves.
As Madoka continued drawing, Makoto gradually saw an image taking shape beneath her stylus.
A gigantic, pitch-black face occupied the sky.
Below it, two figures lay on the ground, staring upward in a daze.
Makoto had originally suggested that Madoka draw her dream merely as an experiment.
However, when he saw what she had created, an expression of genuine surprise appeared on his face.
Strictly speaking, judging purely by artistic technique, Madoka’s drawing was a complete mess.
But to capture the atmosphere of an entire scene with only a handful of strokes?
That could only be described as natural talent.
A desolate, terrifying sky.
Two figures on the verge of death.
Whether it was the enormous, frightening figure in the sky or the two people lying on the ground, none of their appearances had been depicted clearly.
Their forms were vague and incomplete.
Yet the emotions and atmosphere surrounding each of them had been conveyed remarkably well.
Even though no one had mentioned anything about their relationship, Makoto could somehow sense, through the unified atmosphere of the illustration, that the terrifying face occupying the sky seemed to have originated from the fragile girl lying on the ground.
Madoka Kaname: “What do you think?”
After finishing her drawing, the pink-haired girl looked at the rather crude illustration she had produced and spoke somewhat bashfully.
Makoto Tsukimi: “It’s much better than I expected. If I didn’t already know you’d probably refuse, I’d honestly want to drag you into taking drawing lessons with me.”
He said this in an almost joking tone.
However, just as he finished speaking—
Madoka Kaname: “Actually, I’ve been thinking about that too. I’ve been following the recruitment announcements you posted for the Dreamweaver Club. It would be such a shame if that website were shut down.”
Her quiet voice carried an unexpectedly firm conviction.
Makoto Tsukimi: “?”
He turned his head and saw the pink-haired girl looking up to meet his gaze.
For a moment, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Seriously, hasn’t today been a little too strange?
The transfer student who had arrived that morning turned out to be someone who pointed a gun at his head.
And now, in the afternoon, Madoka Kaname, a girl he had always considered extremely timid, was declaring with remarkable determination that she wanted to join his club.
The Dreamweaver Club was a school club Makoto had established at the beginning of the academic year.
Unfortunately, because he hadn’t managed to recruit enough members, it had remained on the verge of being disbanded ever since.
The original purpose behind establishing the club was the same as the motivation behind creating the NicoNico danmaku website.
Both existed to help Makoto perfect his personal fantasy world.
Through Sensory Manipulation, he could create all kinds of illusions.
But the process essentially involved using his own senses to construct every detail of those illusions.
And the amount of work involved—
Well, consider the development process of a massive AAA open-world video game.
The fantasy world Makoto wanted to create would require an even greater level of detail and sophistication than those games.
It would also need to incorporate far more intricate elements.
The settings and stories required to construct a truly complete fantasy world were simply beyond what Makoto could accomplish alone.
Describe the world through words.
Illustrate it through pictures.
Give its characters motivations and behaviors of their own.
Fill the world itself with countless stories.
Breathing life into an imaginary world.
That was what Makoto truly wanted to accomplish.
However, now that he was preparing to sell his NicoNico website, Madoka had suddenly appeared and declared her intention to join his club.
“This isn’t another hallucination, is it?”
Makoto shook his head and looked at Madoka, suppressing his instinctive desire to question the reality before him.
Circumstances always changed as events developed.
Something that seemed extremely important one moment could become completely irrelevant the next.
Now that he knew supernatural beings such as magical girls existed, what Makoto naturally wanted to do was recruit some magical girls to help him.
With their supernatural powers, perhaps it would even be possible to bring his illusions into actual reality.
Wouldn’t that be far more perfect than his original plan?
And just as Makoto was considering how to explain the situation to Madoka—
Madoka Kaname: “Please wait here for a moment.”
Tap, tap, tap~ Tap, tap, tap~
After saying this, the adorable girl in her gym uniform turned around and ran toward the school building.
Makoto watched her retreating figure before instinctively raising his head toward the sky.
The dazzling sunlight was almost too bright to look at.
Staring directly upward caused his eyes to water involuntarily.
The painful brightness and the tears gathering in his eyes served as evidence that his current surroundings were real.
He had no idea how long he remained in that position.
By the time he finally returned his attention to his surroundings, Madoka had already come back.
This time, the petite girl was carrying a notebook and a completed club membership application.
Madoka Kaname: “Here’s my application to join the club, along with some little things I’ve created.”
The girl bowed slightly and very seriously handed both the notebook and the application form to Makoto.
Makoto Tsukimi: “…”
So she’s just handing me her application directly, huh?
Isn’t she being a little too decisive about this?
In the distance, Madoka’s two best friends, Sayaka Miki and Hitomi Shizuki, who had been observing the interaction from the beginning, both displayed surprised expressions.
Strictly speaking, the solemn way Madoka presented herself, combined with the astonished reactions of her friends, could easily lead anyone unfamiliar with the situation to misunderstand what was happening.
And by “anyone unfamiliar with the situation,” Makoto was referring particularly to a certain black-haired girl whose gaze had almost immediately shifted in their direction.
He had no idea whether the gun-wielding magical girl possessed some means of eavesdropping from a distance.
After accepting the notebook and club application Madoka handed him, Makoto couldn’t help repeatedly glancing in Homura’s direction.
And then, almost perfectly, his eyes met hers.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to be feeling very well.”
“Oh! Are you alright? Do you need us to take you to the infirmary?”
“The infirmary… If I remember correctly, Kaname is the health representative for this class. I’ll ask her to show me the way.”
Makoto couldn’t hear the somewhat hurried conversation taking place in the distance.
And he could just as clearly see the figure making her way directly toward him.
To everyone else, Homura appeared perfectly composed as she politely declined her classmates’ offers and slowly walked toward Makoto and Madoka.
But in Makoto’s eyes, she might as well have been rushing over in a complete panic.
Meanwhile, the moment Madoka noticed Homura approaching, she immediately raised her head and looked at Makoto.
Her wine-red eyes carried a subtle sense of urgency.
She wanted him to hurry up and put away the notebook and papers.
Under the girl’s urging gaze, Makoto briefly flipped through the items in his hands before nodding and putting everything away.
Seeing this, the petite pink-haired girl let out a small sigh of relief.
However, while Madoka had finally relaxed, someone else’s curiosity had been thoroughly aroused.
When Homura approached, she tried her best to maintain her composure.
Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing toward the hand in which Makoto had been holding the notebook.
Homura Akemi: “Tsukimi, what were you and Kaname doing?”
Her violet eyes remained fixed on Makoto.
For Homura, preventing an unpredictable variable like Makoto from getting too close to Madoka had always been a necessity.
From the moment the two began interacting, Homura had been listening to their conversation and paying attention to their every reaction.
Makoto Tsukimi: “I think you’re overthinking things, Homura. Kaname just came over to submit an application to join my club.”
Madoka Kaname: “Mm-hmm. I’m planning to join the club Tsukimi established.”
The girl standing before Makoto nodded in agreement.
At that moment, she lowered her head, a slightly embarrassed expression appearing on her face.
Homura Akemi: “…”
Homura remained silent.
Her long black hair swayed gently as she tilted her head, continuing to stare at Makoto with her violet eyes.
If it were really nothing more than a club application, why would Madoka look so embarrassed?
Homura Akemi: “May I take a look?”
Makoto Tsukimi: “I’m afraid not. Kaname hasn’t given me permission to show you the details yet.”
He rejected Homura’s request without hesitation.
Hearing his refusal, the cold-looking girl pressed her lips together slightly.
Homura Akemi: “In that case, I won’t ask any further.”
She nodded and showed no intention of pressing the matter.
Homura Akemi: “Madoka Kaname, could you take me to the infirmary?”
She turned toward Madoka as she spoke.
Madoka quickly nodded in agreement.
As the class health representative, Madoka did indeed have a responsibility to guide new students to the infirmary.
Madoka Kaname: “Then I’ll be going now.”
The polite girl said goodbye to Makoto, a small hint of anticipation still lingering in her red eyes as she looked at him.
Afterward, she led Homura Akemi toward the school building.
However, even after the two girls had left, Makoto remained where he was, watching their retreating figures without any intention of leaving.
If his guess was correct—
In the blink of an eye, just as Madoka and Homura disappeared around the corner, Makoto distinctly felt someone place a hand on his shoulder again.
And once more, he found himself looking at that familiar black-and-white world where time had stopped.