Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

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"What do you mean? People also have protective barriers?"

“Yes, that’s a new discovery.” Somniorum nodded. “Humans can also possess ‘barriers,’ and these barriers are dreams. Dreams and barriers are one and the same, but witches and magical girls use magic to transform this dream into ‘reality.’”

"Ah... I see." Xiangzi blinked. "In other words, if magic intervenes in an ordinary person's dream, it can also become a barrier?"

"Theoretically speaking, that should be the case."

"What does that have to do with me?"

“Didn’t you have a new idea lately? Oh, I forgot you might not remember it when you’re dreaming. Well, just consider this my way of getting your attention,” Oblivionis shrugged. “So you won’t focus on the mass grave.”

As soon as Oblivionis finished speaking, Xiangzi's gaze instinctively drifted over.

There was another large corpse in the pit. The corpse was thin and emaciated, curled up in a ball, with a scarlet flower blooming on the back of its head.

She had just killed the witch.

“I told you not to think about elephants, but you’ll just keep thinking about elephants… Can’t you just not bring this up?” Xiangzi covered his mouth, feeling a bit nauseous.

“Anyway, you’ll be waking up soon.” Oblivionis patted Xiangzi on the shoulder and pointed to the plumes of smoke rising from the open field behind them. “Look, someone’s here to pick you up.”

Xiangzi turned around and saw Miaomeng driving over in her SUV again.

"Why is it her again?" Xiangzi said, looking annoyed.

“Because out of everyone you know, she’s the only one with a driver’s license who can drive,” Oblivionis said. “That’s what you call being the best of a bad bunch.”

"Oh well, I'll be going now." Xiangzi shook his head and prepared to get into the off-road vehicle. "Is there anything you want to say before you leave? Although I might not remember it when I wake up."

"...I wish you all the best."

"that's it?"

"Ah."

"Ok."

"Keep it up!" Somniorum clenched her little fist and placed it on her chest, encouraging her. "Maybe the new discoveries we told you about will come in handy someday, don't forget."

"Hmm." Xiangzi's attitude was noticeably better when facing Somniorum. He smiled and waved goodbye to her one last time before getting into the SUV that Miaomeng had driven over.

=============

Once again, Xiangzi gradually fell asleep in the off-road vehicle in his dream, and woke up in the off-road vehicle in reality.

Miao Meng drove the pickup truck back along the same route. The place where Rebecca was imprisoned was the village where they encountered the witch, so they returned in the same off-road vehicle.

This time, however, there were four people plus a Cupid when they came back.

Xiangzi opened his eyes.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass window, and a bustling street appeared before me.

Casablanca is Morocco's largest city, largest commercial port, and largest industrial base in Northwest Africa, as well as the world's largest phosphate export port. Located by the sea, the city boasts evergreen trees, a pleasant climate, and beautiful scenery, making it a renowned tourist destination in North Africa.

Of course, what makes it most famous is a movie with the same name, Casablanca, also known as North Africa Spy Shadow.

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Path of Fall, the Road of No Return: Chapter 589 Eskimos and Snow

—"Since the outbreak of World War II, many people in confined Europe, with hopeful or despairing eyes, yearned for freedom in the Americas. Lisbon became a major transit point. But not everyone could reach Lisbon directly."

"Thus, a circuitous refugee route was formed."

“Here, the lucky ones—through money, power, or sheer good fortune—obtain passports to leave the country and rush to Lisbon, and from Lisbon to the Americas. But the others can only remain in Casablanca—waiting, waiting, waiting for a hope that may or may not even exist.”

The Japanese tour guide's voice was amplified through the small "buzzer" on his waist, making it audible to everyone. Surrounding them were small spires and rooftops bathed in tropical light, with a misty sky in the distance. The weather wasn't great; it was still a hazy white expanse. However, one advantage of this overcast weather was that it wasn't too sunny, and the sunlight evenly bathed this area specifically designed for tourism.

Returning to a peaceful region from the battlefield filled with blood and smoke was such a huge leap that it felt like stepping into another world. When Xiangzi first woke up, he was still quite disoriented. He subconsciously imagined that the buildings around him were on fire with thick smoke billowing out, and that the sky was filled with black smoke.

Xiangzi and Miaomeng mingled at the very back of the Japanese tour group, quietly following the tour guide who was explaining things and leading the way.

Miao Meng wore a wide-brimmed hat and stylish sunglasses, perfectly blending into the tourist crowd.

Xiangzi, on the other hand, seemed a little reserved, clutching the strap of his small leather bag tightly, following behind like a thief.

"Hey, are you sure it's okay for you to walk around like this so openly?" Xiangzi frowned, looking at Miaomeng, who was walking a little ahead of her, completely unashamed and unreserved.

"You're just being sneaky, which will only attract attention." Miao Meng turned around, pulled down her sunglasses, and looked at Xiangzi with a smile. "Rick's Cafe isn't far ahead. Want to go in and take a look?"

"There's still some time before lunchtime."

"This place is more of a tourist attraction than a restaurant," Miaomeng shrugged. "Just take a look around."

"So why are we even here shopping?" Xiangzi frowned. "Mettern could be anywhere on Earth right now, but I'm here with you in a pedestrian street that didn't even exist before, and was only built after the movie became famous?"

Rick's Cafe is the main setting of the movie. Although the location originally only existed in a Hollywood studio, after the movie became a global hit, Casablanca replicated Rick's Cafe and the entire street featured in the movie one-to-one, making it one of the must-see tourist attractions (not real).

Xiangzi couldn't understand why Miaomeng was so obsessed with checking in.

“There’s nothing to do right now. Chu Zihai’s plane won’t arrive until this afternoon, and it won’t be long before Rebecca re-establishes contact with the higher-ups. What can you do right now?” Miao Meng put her arm around Xiangzi’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. I only brought you out because you agreed. Just relax and clear your head, okay?”

"Whatever you say..." Xiangzi sighed.

Clearly, she still found it difficult to relax. Ever since realizing that she might be indirectly affected by Medien, Xiangzi's nerves had been extremely tense. Even though she kept telling herself not to think about these things, the more she reminded herself not to think about elephants, the more she would think about elephants. Xiangzi could only make herself more nervous.

She followed Miaomeng stiffly into Rick's Cafe.

Since it's not yet time for Rick's Cafe to open, it currently only serves as a tourist attraction and does not offer any restaurant service.

The restaurant's layout is exactly the same as in the movie, and the walls are covered with stills from the film, framed in what looks like expensive photos.

In the center is a square courtyard, where sunlight, diffused by clouds, streams down from above, making the interior appear clean and spacious.

There were far fewer tourists indoors than I had imagined; only a few people were taking photos. Perhaps many of them hadn't actually seen Casablanca, a film from the early 1940s. Xiangzi hadn't seen it either.

It seems only Miaomeng has seen them; she's holding Xiangzi's arm, pointing at the stills on the wall.

Of course, the most eye-catching thing in the hotel is an old, yellowed upright piano in the center of the hotel. Miaomeng said that it is the location of a classic scene in the movie.

The waiter came over, asked her a few questions in French, nodded, and then led Miaomeng to one of the places.

"What are you doing?" Xiangzi was pulled along, looking completely bewildered.

"The waiter said that the restaurant would be open for dining soon, and advised against lingering if we weren't going to dine there. So I asked if there were any seats available for two people, and he said yes."

"Would you like to eat?"

"Since we're already here, and there are seats available without a reservation, why not take advantage of it?"

"...Mu is still in the hotel."

"We can just pack two portions to take home later, it's a rare treat for just the two of us."

"Who wants to spend time alone with you?"

"So, do you think it's just the two of us now?"

"..."

"How's it going?" Meow Dream's voice suddenly became unusually high-pitched, so high it gave you goosebumps. "Come on, come on~ It's just lunch, why are you making such a fuss~ You've left me out of the Reed Plains for a whole week~"

"Ugh... that's disgusting. Can you please not talk to me like that?" Xiangzi sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Anyway, you're the one who dragged me out of here, so whatever."

"Great!"

Miao Meng took out her phone, turned on selfie mode, pulled Xiangzi into the frame, and before she could react, she said "Three, two, one, hi, cheese~" at lightning speed and pressed the shutter.

With a click, the photo frame captured the sunny and adorable (as seen in the photo) Miaomeng and the surprised and pale-faced Xiangzi in the same square.

"I can tweet today!"

"Delete the photos for me!" Xiangzi reached out to grab them.

"No way! This is a public place, Miss Oblivionis, please be mindful~" Meow Dream dodged Xiangzi's outstretched hand.

"You, you, you!" Xiangzi blushed.

Only Miaomeng could make her blush so easily, ever since they first met. But because they were in a public place, she couldn't give Miaomeng a shoulder throw that represented their "intimate relationship," so she could only swallow her anger and let Miaomeng take advantage of her.

Finally, the waiter led them to a two-person table by the wall. Miaomeng sat down, took a look at the menu written in French, Arabic, and English for a while, and finally ordered two apple pies and a type of lamb stewed in a local traditional cooking utensil called a "tagine".

Xiangzi was quite interested in this exotic cuisine, but the actual taste was similar to that of food cooked in a pressure cooker, which disappointed her slightly.

When lunch was almost finished, Xiangzi ordered a takeout meal to take home.

It will take a while before the packaged food is served.

“Let me tell you something useful to ease your anxiety,” Miao Meng suddenly said. “Would you like to hear about something related to Medine?”

"Go ahead and say it." Xiangzi downed the lemonade he had just poured, still looking absent-minded.

"You know about Medine's academic background, right?" Miao Meng said meaningfully, her fingers interlaced.

"A double doctoral degree from Oxford, an extraordinary academic qualification."

"Do you know what kind of research she's doing?"

Xiangzi shook her head; she didn't understand these things, so she didn't pay much attention to them.

"In simpler terms, it's about studying how language influences human behavior."

"...Can language determine a person's way of thinking or even their ideology?"

Xiangzi blinked. She remembered a little bit of knowledge she had accidentally come across while scrolling through her phone. It mentioned that Eskimos have dozens or even hundreds of names for snow.

“I’ve heard that… Eskimos have more than two hundred different words to describe snow, and their conversations would be extremely monotonous without these words.”

Because their world is full of snow, they have a very detailed understanding of the differences between different types of snow.

"Thin snow and thick snow, light snow and heavy snow, muddy snow, crunchy snow, hurried snow, leisurely snow, snow everywhere on the clean, tidy igloo floor smothered by your neighbor's boots," Xiangzi recalled the content of the short video, counting on his fingers. "Winter snow, spring snow, snow from my childhood memories that was so much better than any snow now, fine snow, feathery snow, snow on the mountains, snow in the valleys, snow falling in the morning, snow falling at night, snow that suddenly falls when you're about to go fishing, and snow that you painstakingly train your sled dogs to still urinate on..."

And so on and so forth, too many to count.

Even Eskimos who leave the snowfields retain the same thought patterns under the influence of their mother tongue.

The short science video I saw at the time said something like this, and the comments below were all like, "I learned another useless piece of knowledge today!" Then, I used what I saw in the short video as conversation starters, using phrases like, "There are hundreds of words for snow in Inuit, probably because they live in snow every day. Their 'world' is completely different from ours. Oh, and by the way, did you know that Inuit people actually dislike being called 'Eskimos' because that term is insulting..." to start a conversation and make myself the center of attention.

Xiangzi himself couldn't escape the common practice and recalled the content of the short video during his conversation with Miaomeng.

“The Sapir-Wolf hypothesis, right?” Miao Meng was surprised that Xiangzi could answer to this extent.

"I think it's called Desuwa."

"It's remarkable that you could answer to this extent..."

Xiangzi was a little smug. She even had a hidden thought in her mind: "I know so much, praise me!" Most people who would bring up this kind of useless knowledge over tea or dinner probably thought the same thing.

But Miaomeng shook her head again.

"But unfortunately, it has nothing to do with this. In fact, Sapir's hypothesis is not clearly defined because he himself did not express it clearly in his paper and he died young. It is more like an urban legend. Medien elaborated on the hypothesis about this part in his paper."

When Xiangzi realized he had answered incorrectly, his hair went limp and hung down his shoulders, making him look like a stranded jellyfish.

"Have you read her paper?"

"Of course, to understand something, you have to understand it deeply."

"You actually...can you even understand it?"

"You can doubt my academic qualifications, but you can't doubt my learning ability!" Miao Meng snorted twice. "Let's get back to the topic we were discussing. The paper mentioned that when people first raised the issue of different names for snow among the Eskimos, linguistic records only explicitly mentioned four nouns related to 'snow.' By the time Wolf wrote his paper, this number had increased to seven, and it gradually increased after being disseminated through magazines, radio, television, and other media. However, based on actual research, the actual number of root words related to 'snow' is less than a dozen."

"In other words, the Inuit people have a multitude of nouns for snow."

what.

Xiangzi was stunned for a moment.

So, does that mean everything she just talked about was wrong? This is just making things worse!

After realizing what had happened, Xiangzi blushed with shame.

Fortunately, Miaomeng got carried away with the conversation and just smiled without continuing to tease him.

“Medion believes that human perception of reality has little to do with language. No matter where you grew up or where you are now, reality is not as ambiguous as language defines it.” Miao Meng pointed to her brain, “Thoughts existed before language.”

“But my inner monologue is in Japanese right now, how do you explain that?” Xiangzi asked.

"That's because language is part of the reality that thinking deals with. Among the various elements that are objects of thinking, your words are one of them, so the brain also has to process 'language'. Language is an object of thought, an 'organ' that evolved out of need, not something broader than thought. To insist that language precedes thought is like saying that even-toed ungulates evolved rumination, so they use their stomachs to think."

"...Is this your opinion or Medine's opinion? I'm getting dizzy listening to it."

"Of course it's just copying viewpoints from papers. You don't really think I'm that knowledgeable, do you? She's probably been asked every question you've raised, so there's a lot of detailed information in the papers and interviews."

"That's good, that's good. I thought you'd suddenly changed..."

"Change what?"