Homura Akemi: “…”
Ultimately, she was still a girl who lacked much talent for deception.
The brief hesitation in Homura’s movements, along with the slight stiffness of her expression, told Makoto everything he needed to know.
Although he had originally asked the question merely to test her reaction, what he saw provided more than enough confirmation.
His gaze traveled up and down Homura’s figure.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Well, well~ Homura, have you been secretly scheming against your own partner?”
Without even waiting for her response, Makoto immediately began criticizing her.
Having never been particularly thick-skinned, the girl instinctively lowered her head when confronted so directly.
She simply continued walking forward in silence.
Homura already understood Mami Tomoe’s circumstances.
There was no way she couldn’t have anticipated how the lonely magical girl would react upon encountering someone as unusual as Makoto.
And despite knowing this, Homura had still arranged for Makoto to meet her.
Her intentions were therefore quite obvious.
She wanted to use Makoto’s existence to divert the attention Mami would otherwise have directed toward Madoka Kaname.
With someone like Makoto around—an ordinary person capable of understanding magical girls—Mami would no longer have such an urgent reason to recruit more girls into the dangerous world of magical girls.
Homura Akemi: “Mami-senpai has always been admired by many people because of her elegance and kindness. You must have found her attractive when you met her too, Tsukimi.”
Doing her best to maintain a stern expression, Homura attempted to justify her actions.
Homura Akemi: “And now that you’ve met Mami-senpai, the safety issues you’ve always worried about will be easier to manage.”
“You won’t have to rely entirely on me to guarantee your safety.”
She continued explaining everything from the perspective of practical benefits.
According to Homura’s reasoning, Makoto developing a good relationship with Mami would bring him nothing but advantages.
However, despite her cold demeanor, Homura was still fundamentally an ordinary young girl.
Although everything she described sounded beneficial for Makoto, it was impossible for her not to feel guilty about having deceived him.
She was merely concealing those feelings beneath her cold expression.
Meanwhile, watching the clearly uncomfortable Homura, Makoto found himself smiling.
In truth, he didn’t harbor any particularly negative feelings about her actions.
After all, their arrangement was mutually beneficial, so there wasn’t much reason for him to object.
Nevertheless, he deliberately refrained from showing any sign that he had forgiven her.
Instead, he intentionally acted as though the matter bothered him considerably.
It wasn’t because he wanted to manipulate her emotionally.
Nor was he deliberately teasing her for his own amusement.
When you wanted someone to agree to a request, what better time could there be to make that request than when the other person was feeling guilty?
Makoto Tsukimi: “Apart from Madoka, whom you’re so concerned about, are there any other girls in Mitakihara who possess the potential to become magical girls?”
He directly asked a question that sounded somewhat taboo.
And the desire underlying his question was almost painfully obvious.
Homura Akemi: “You want someone else to make a wish for you and become a magical girl.”
Homura abruptly raised her head.
Her gaze sharpened in an instant.
When she looked at Makoto, her expression was initially filled with shock.
Then, gradually, that shock transformed into disgust.
Makoto, however, continued meeting her gaze with a peaceful expression.
He even smiled.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Regarding what you said earlier about me constantly worrying about my own safety, Homura, I can tell you with absolute certainty that it’s true.”
“But the way I intend to make myself feel safe isn’t by relying on other people…”
He looked at Homura seriously.
Makoto Tsukimi: “When it comes to power, the only way to truly feel secure is to possess it yourself, isn’t that right?”
Homura Akemi: “So you want to make someone else become a magical girl?”
At that moment, the girl’s voice carried an anger so intense that even she couldn’t entirely understand it.
In Homura’s eyes, becoming a magical girl was a fate even more tragic than death.
And what Makoto was essentially telling her was that, in pursuit of power, he wanted to push another girl toward that terrible fate.
He wanted someone else to suffer an outcome more frightening than death itself, merely so he could obtain what he desired.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Yes.”
He nodded, admitting it without hesitation.
Homura Akemi: “Can I get rid of you right now?”
Within the black-and-white world of stopped time, Homura kept one hand resting on Makoto’s shoulder.
With her other hand, she withdrew a handgun and pressed its muzzle against his forehead.
Her expression was cold as she stared directly into his eyes.
It was exactly the same thing she had done when they first met.
If Makoto had made such a statement without understanding the truth, Homura might have been able to tolerate it.
But she knew perfectly well that, after everything she had explained, Makoto now fully understood what becoming a magical girl truly meant.
He was making this proposal with complete knowledge of the consequences.
Makoto Tsukimi: “That assumes you can actually bring yourself to do it, Homura.”
“Defeating witches and destroying magical girls’ Soul Gems isn’t quite the same thing as deliberately shooting an ordinary person, is it?”
Despite having a gun pressed against his forehead, Makoto made no attempt to resist.
Makoto Tsukimi: “I can promise you that if someone makes a wish for my sake, I’ll do everything in my power to ensure she lives a happy life.”
“At the very least, I’ll make sure her life turns out better than it did in the original timeline you remember.”
Homura Akemi: “And what if you can’t?”
Makoto Tsukimi: “Doing something is better than doing nothing. As long as you keep trying, there will always be hope.”
“Wasn’t that what you said yourself, Homura?”
“Besides…”
He looked directly into Homura’s violet eyes.
Makoto Tsukimi: “Homura, surely you don’t believe you’re the only person who would struggle against their fate after learning the truth?”
“Wouldn’t that be a little arrogant?”
“When it comes to fighting for my own survival, I won’t struggle any less fiercely than you do.”
Makoto was absolutely certain that he could never become Sisyphus.
He couldn’t force himself to keep pushing a boulder endlessly when he knew perfectly well that the effort was meaningless.
But if something was meaningful, Makoto Tsukimi would certainly make an effort to accomplish it.
For example, using a magical girl’s wish to obtain power for himself.
Homura Akemi: “…”
When two people stared at each other and one showed absolutely no guilt or hesitation, the other would inevitably begin wondering whether they might be the one in the wrong.
Homura silently maintained eye contact with Makoto.
At that moment, she somewhat regretted all the information she had revealed to him.
It was precisely because she had shared that information that she now found herself unable to condemn him with any conviction.
After all…
Homura Akemi had already abandoned every companion except Madoka Kaname, choosing to stand by and watch their tragedies unfold.
What right did someone like her have to prevent Makoto from struggling against his own fate?
Eventually, it was the silent girl who looked away first.
Homura Akemi: “I’ll be watching you. If you eventually choose to abandon the person who makes that wish for you, I’ll kill you myself.”
Maintaining her cold expression, Homura stopped paying attention to Makoto and walked directly toward Madoka’s current location.
As for information about other girls with the potential to become magical girls?
Neither Makoto nor Homura brought up the subject again.
Both tacitly understood that such information was something Makoto could only obtain after successfully helping Homura keep Madoka away from the magical girl system.
It was essentially his promised compensation.
But then again…
Did Makoto really need to ask Homura for that kind of information?