Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 301

Love!

Ai-yin isn't here. Where did she go?

The woods, the wreckage of a carriage, and the dead horse—that's all that's left around.

Where's Aine?

"Stinky pink hair...where are you?" Xiao Su Shi asked in a trembling voice.

No one responded to her.

Instead, the fireflies were startled by her voice and scattered in all directions.

"Stinky Pink Hair! Are you alright?!" Xiao Su Shi cupped her hands into a megaphone and shouted to the surroundings, "Stinky Pink Hair, answer me!"

There has still been no response.

don't want......

Don't do that...

Xiao Su Shi looked like she was about to cry, her fingernails leaving a faint red mark on the tree trunk. She pressed so hard that she didn't even notice her fingernails were bleeding.

The corner of her mouth was also bitten by her teeth. The black blood unique to this world tasted no different from the red blood of normal people. The strong bloody smell filled Xiao Su Shi's mouth.

Where did that pink-haired girl go?

Where did that pink-haired girl go?

Where did that pink-haired girl go?

The girl lifted her skirt and ran through the forest, forcefully scattering the fireflies blocking her way.

"Stinky pink hair—!"

The faint call echoed through the woods, but it didn't travel far before being scattered by the mournful wind.

"Stinky pink hair...Aiyin..."

Little Su Shi kept running and running in the forest.

"Where are you... come back soon..."

Run and run.

Run until you can't run anymore.

"Please... Aine... cough cough..."

Run until you get a side stitch.

Xiao Su Shi stopped, supporting herself on her knees.

She covered her face and slowly squatted down.

"I was wrong... Aine... I'll... cough cough... I won't call you stinky pink-haired anymore..."

I woke up from my coma and there was no one beside me.

"Come back...please..."

Xiao Su Shi felt a profound sense of isolation and helplessness, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. She was lost, lost among the forest and fireflies. Xiangzi was gone, Aine was gone, leaving her alone in the darkness, the road ahead uncertain. Even if she could discern the direction, even if she could discern the path, what use would it be?

She had no idea where she should go.

She is lost.

At first, when Xiangzi wanted to leave, she insisted on going with him. But the journey was too dangerous, and there were no extra people to protect her, so Xiangzi resolutely refused.

Xiao Su Shi felt like she had been abandoned once again.

If Xiangzi hadn't said that only she could complete the task of opening the door a month later, she would definitely have thought that way.

She was abandoned at the starting point, unable to move forward...

Her thoughts coincided with Aine's; they were both "abandoned" at the starting point. So... their relationship had become so good over the past month... probably because they shared a similar plight.

The lack of oxygen made Xiaosu Shi wheeze like a bellows, and her brain became dizzy. She felt as if something had hit her head, and the water inside her skull swirled around with each step, making her feel so uncomfortable that she wanted to vomit.

"Aine... Aine..."

Xiao Su Shi wiped the snot and tears from her face, her throat moved, and her voice was so hoarse that it didn't sound like herself, but rather like someone else.

"If even you're not here... where should I go...?"

Strange and bizarre fragments floated into my mind.

I've never seen clothes before, roads I've never seen before, metal shells that can run that I've never seen before, glass houses I've never seen before... The only thing I've ever seen is the silly pink-haired guy in front of me who has a silly smile.

The pink figure blurred and eventually returned to the pitch-black night.

Just when Xiao Su Shi was about to give up hope, she noticed the fireflies dancing among the trees. These scattered fireflies, after flashing a few times, actually gathered together and formed a band of light that flickered in front of Xiao Su Shi.

Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of fireflies intertwined, flashing incessantly, swirling between the trees, forming several waves that undulated and swayed gently, trembling and emitting light. Those faint, pale specks of light seemed like lost souls, wandering aimlessly in the thick, dark night.

Xiao Su Shi swallowed to moisten her dry throat.

"Are you... giving me directions?"

Some say that fireflies are the spirits of the dead, guiding those who are lost in reality.

"...Thank you." Xiao Su Shi lowered her head and said thank you weakly.

Continue forward, following the swirling ribbons of light.

Finally, at the end of the band of light.

There stood a pink figure that was exactly the same as the one in the fragmented memory.

There were corpses lying at her feet.

Aine pulled the long sword from the body of the last assassin, her body covered in black and red blood.

She looked surprised when she saw Xiao Su Shi.

“Su Shishi, I didn’t mean for you to wait there—oh dear.”

The little, soft body rushed into Aine's arms, ignoring the black and red stains on her body, and burst into tears while hugging Aine's waist.

"Whoa! I thought you were dead, you stinky pink-haired girl!"

"Although I'm not as good as the junior master, I can still handle these small fry."

"I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! How could you leave me like this! I've been looking for you for so long!"

"Sigh..." Ai Yin scratched her head, then hugged Xiao Su Shi, feeling helpless.

The Tale of the Lost: The Lost Child - Chapter 381 A Day on the Escape (Part 2)

"Stinky Pink Hair, how much longer do we have to walk?"

One day during their escape, Xiao Su Shi suddenly asked a question.

“If we had a carriage, we should have arrived in four or five days, but now we have neither horses nor maps…” Aine shrugged. “We only know the general direction.”

"If only I had jumped over here sooner," Xiao Su Shi said, looking down. "Then I wouldn't have fallen off the cliff."

"Hey, that's not true~" Ai Yin grinned, revealing her little tiger teeth, "I'm very strong, those enemies are no problem at all."

"Really."

“Of course, of course.” Ai Yin patted her chest, making a loud thud. “Besides, if I hadn’t fallen, I might not have been able to shake off those Imperial spies so easily. And the fireflies were so beautiful that night. If I hadn’t fallen, I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to see such beautiful fireflies.”

Later, Xiaosu Shi learned that the "firefly" that guided her that night was actually a kind of monster.

They are called "Peter Pan," and they are monsters transformed from fireflies.

These short-lived creatures die after only a few days of glowing and radiating heat. The fragments of the Holy Grail responded to some fireflies that wanted to live, turning them into "Peter Pan".

Peter Pan doesn't want to grow up.

Because growing up means dying.

They will respond to children's wishes, but kill adults.

The forest they fell into is known locally as the "Forest of the Lost," and no one who enters it ever comes out again.

It was all the work of Peter Pan in the woods. It's just that that night, Aine and Suze were still considered "children," which is why they acted so friendly.

However, that's a story for another time.

Thanks to these monsters, Xiaosushi was able to find Aine. Then, together with her, they continued their escape towards "the end of the world."

"Oh, Su Shishi, don't worry." Ai Yin grabbed Su Shishi's hand and started walking towards the road ahead.

=======

"Stinky Pink Hair, are you alright?"

One day during their escape, Aine killed the monster that blocked her path. Motoyo clearly saw her being struck by the monster's fist, her face contorted in pain.

But after Aine killed the monster, it was as if nothing had happened.

"No problem, no problem, I'm perfectly healthy." Ai Yin flexed her biceps, gave Xiao Su Shi a wink, and walked up to the strange man.

The monster was originally an imperial assassin who, obsessed with killing her, went to the Holy Grail fragments in the battle and made a wish.

Aine stood before the assassin, a coin between her fingers. The assassin, now a freak, looked up at Aine with despair.

Are you going to kill me?

"It depends." Ai Yin put one hand on her hip and held a coin in the other. "The Red Queen is alive, the number is dead."

Ding--

She tossed a coin.

"Let fate decide."

The one that finally landed on the ground was the Red Queen.

=======

"You pink-haired freak, why did you flip a coin to decide the fate of this weirdo?"

One day during their escape, the little Red Queen asked.

“Because I don’t want to kill anyone,” Aine said.

"But you've already..."

“Those assassins, I’ll die if I don’t kill them, there’s no other way.” Aine shrugged. “Although the monster was a demon before, it became unarmed after I defeated it. I don’t like what my little master did.”

Moreover, she is not a spellcaster, so even if she kills the monster, she will not gain experience.

"If you didn't want to kill them, why flip a coin?"

"Because I'm really angry. After all, I got beaten up." Ai Yin pouted. "I can't just let it go like this. I can't swallow this insult. Let's just let a coin decide their fate."

"Is it really that simple...?"

"Of course not." Ai Yin grinned foolishly, her cute little tiger teeth more eye-catching than her eyes. "It looks so cool! I've wanted to try this for a long time."

For some reason, Xiaosu felt a little inferior to the pink-haired man in front of her.

=======

"You pink-haired slut, what are those red marks on your body?"

One day during their escape, Xiao Su Shi noticed the red stains on Aine's clothes and asked her curiously.

Before they knew it, there were already many mountains around them. Most of the time they were walking on mountain paths, which were winding and they had to carefully avoid small towns along the way to avoid being discovered by the Empire. Only when their supplies were completely exhausted would they disguise themselves and venture into human settlements to buy some necessities.

The dangers along the way increased, including not only imperial assassins who could appear at any moment, but also wild monsters.

"That's X... uh... it's nothing."

Ai Yin almost blurted it out.

Since she didn't know it was "human blood," it was even less likely that she would know the meaning behind the bloodstains, and Aine didn't intend to tell her either.

"Let's go, let's go, we're almost there." Ai Yin tried to change the subject. "As long as we don't get lost."

She couldn't tell Xiaosushi that she was injured.

Getting injured is a common occurrence for magical girls, but... her supply of Lament Seeds is almost depleted.