Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

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The Su Shi she knew was pretty much the same.

"It feels so good to be understood." Xiao Su Shi's lips unconsciously curled up.

"Is there really no one around you who can understand you and take care of you?"

“Actually… I’m not as important as you all think.” Xiao Su Shi shook her head. “The Red Queen can be replaced at any time. She’s said to be the offspring of a goddess… but who in this world isn’t the offspring of a goddess? The Empire has its own methods. They find girls from the crowd who have the ability to suppress the Holy Grail fragments, and then nurture them into the ‘Red Queen’ they want. That’s how I came to be.”

"So, your ability isn't unique after all...?"

Xiao Su Shi nodded. -Yo Leng l Wing Fin Si Wu Jiu Si * Jiu.

"I've been a puppet of the empire since I can remember, a mascot, parading around with this useless fragment to show off the empire's power. Nobody cares what I think. Everyone shouts the name of the Red Queen, but that's not my name. I don't even have such a thing. I want to go out and play, but the maid says I'm a symbol of the country and can't show my face in public. I beg you, please let me sneak out, but she finds it too troublesome and has never agreed even once."

she whispered.

“I can see all the streets and alleys of the capital from my bedroom, but I have never walked them myself. I see children running in the street from afar and I want to play with them, but I am the ‘symbol of the empire’ and cannot show my face in public.”

She seemed to genuinely regard Xiangzi, whom she had only known for less than one night, as someone she could confide in freely, pouring out everything she could say, couldn't say, wanted to say, and kept in her heart.

"I once burst into tears during a court assembly because it was so boring. They were all saying things I couldn't understand. After that, I was severely reprimanded by the maids and by the people in the palace who knew I was just a child picked up from the weirdo street."

Xiao Su Shi sighed, her voice growing lower and lower as she spoke.

Xiangzi listened quietly to her story.

The sounds of battle cries seemed to echo outside the carriage; it appeared that the fight between Cerberus and the Centurions had begun, and their time was running out.

“Since then, I have never complained about anything. Wherever the empire needs me, I will be there. Whatever expression they require me to make, I will make that expression... because only in this way will the people in the palace accept me and not give me a hard time.”

"But living like this every day is really tiring. I have to put on a nice face in front of everyone, and I can't say anything about how wronged I feel. I can only keep it to myself, and I don't even have anyone to confide in."

Xiao Su Shi spoke so many words that she was almost out of breath. She clutched her chest, as if she wanted to rip her heart out and show it to Xiang Zi.

“You’re the first and only person who’s willing to listen to all this nonsense.” She breathed a sigh of relief and lay softly on the bed. “Thank you for listening to my nonsense… In return, I won’t struggle at all.”

At this point, Xiao Su Shi couldn't help but curl up the corners of her mouth, looking at the ceiling with an undisguised joy on her face.

Xiangzi frowned as he looked at her delighted expression.

so poor.

This thought occupied Xiangzi's mind.

Xiao Su Shi closed her eyes, looking utterly submissive, as if she were about to be slaughtered.

Xiangzi stared at her for a long time, then finally stood up, walked to the bedside, climbed onto the luxurious bed, knelt on Xiaosu Shi's body, and gently grasped her neck with both hands.

Her neck was so slender, like a swan's neck, as if it could be snapped with the slightest pull.

"Are you really willing to just let me...?"

"......as you like."

"..."

Xiangzi silently began to apply pressure to his hands, and Xiaosu Shi beneath him showed a pained expression.

Gradually, her brain couldn't get enough oxygen, Xiaosushi's face began to turn purple, Xiangzi's face became blurry in her vision, and the whole world became increasingly shaky and unclear.

She looked at Xiangzi's face, and a tear rolled down her cheek.

Why must we all die...? Wouldn't it be better to walk out of here together, to escape together? Wouldn't it be better to... go back to those carefree days...?

The days gone by...

Haha.

They had only just met; there was no past between them. Was this a hallucination before she died...?

Xiao Su Shi raised her hand with all her might, seemingly wanting to touch Xiang Zi's face.

The black borders in his vision became increasingly obvious, until finally even Xiangzi's face disappeared from view.

Is this what it feels like to die?

I... I really don't want to die like this.

......

......

......

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, oxygen was suddenly supplied to her brain.

"Cough cough—!" Xiao Su Shi clutched her neck in pain, gasping for breath of the air she had just escaped.

"This is what death feels like. Do you still want to die now?" Xiangzi knelt on her stomach, looking down at her coldly.

"...Didn't you come to kill me...? Why are you torturing me...? Wouldn't it be better to just let me die cleanly and quickly...?"

“I don’t think I ever admitted that I came to kill you,” Xiangzi said. “Yes, Saint-Shuary did assign you the mission to assassinate you, but I never intended to follow the instructions.”

With his hands supporting Xiao Su Shi's head on either side, his azure hair fell across Xiao Su Shi's face, and Xiang Zi's golden eyes shimmered faintly in the shadows.

"You should get one thing straight."

she says.

"My goal was never to kill you, but to kidnap you."

“In other words…” Xiangzi lowered his head to Xiaosushi’s ear and gently blew a breath, “You are now my hostage.”

The Lost Story: The Lost Child - Chapter 347 Looks Like Stealing Food

Upon contacting Chu Hua again, they learned that the Centurion Corps had already engaged in battle with Cerberus and was completely outmatched.

Xiao Su Shi speculated that Cerberus was a monster that had invaded from the Wrathful World.

Xiangzi asked her why, and she replied that it was impossible for such a powerful monster to exist in the world of desire, otherwise the empire would never have been able to expand its territory to the entire world of desire.

Other worlds may not be smaller than the World of Desire, but they cannot produce a power that can rival an empire. Apart from the natural environment, the most important factor is the presence of monsters.

Monsters born in other worlds are inherently stronger than those in the world of Desire. It is already very difficult for humans to occupy a small area and maintain it. When they encounter those powerful monsters, they basically have to go around them.

As for the reason, Xiao Su Shi shook her head and said that the empire has not yet figured out the specific reason.

Monsters from other worlds generally do not actively invade other worlds; they have territorial divisions and do not leave their territories casually.

Generally speaking.

Cerberus is clearly outside the category of "general".

Its power and the location where it appeared are both extremely unusual. The best explanation is that it invaded from the world of wrath, slaughtered all the residents of the Wrath Gate, and occupied the place.

To defeat this monster, a considerable force would be required, and a mere hundred elite heavy cavalrymen would be in a difficult position. Heavy cavalry already struggled to perform at their full potential in urban environments, so the centurions were forced to abandon their greatest advantage, donning lighter armor and more easily maneuverable weapons, and opting for street fighting against Cerberus.

In the Centurion's view, Cerberus's height and shoulder width would make it difficult for many streets and alleys to accommodate its body, and it would also be difficult to maneuver in urban warfare. In fighting in the city, both sides would be at a disadvantage.

However, this is not the case.

The only disadvantage is for the Centurion Group.

Originally, the Centurion Corps should have been the ones waging guerrilla warfare, using their numbers, city alleys, and massive monsters to outmaneuver them. But for some reason, the actual situation turned out the other way around.

The Pass of Wrath is more like a monster's lair than a human city.

The monster seemed to know the city inside and out. Every street and every corner seemed to be an extension of its limbs. It could roam the city, emerge from any angle to launch a surprise attack, and then swagger away, disappearing silently after a few turns, only to reappear for the next attack, and so on.

It can be said that the number of people is no longer important; no matter how many people there are, they will only be slaughtered by this city.

"(How could it have turned out like this...)" Xiangzi muttered. "(It seems that waiting for them to get to the bottom of this is unrealistic; we'll have to find a solution ourselves.)"

“Cerberus’s attention isn’t on us; our priority now is to reunite with you,” Chu Hua said. “Where are you now?”

"(Roughly in the east of the city, near the Angry World, next to a collapsed building.)" Xiangzi roughly described his location, glanced at Xiaosu Shi who was still lying on the bed, breathing slightly, and said, "(Don't rush to find me, I'm safe now.)"

Chu Hua was surprised, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she directly asked Xiangzi what he should be doing.

"(So... what do you need us to do?)"

“Hmm, let me think about it,” Xiangzi replied, his gaze casually falling on Xiaosu Shi.

After all, there were only the two of them in the room, and they would see each other all the time.

Xiao Su Shi lay panting on the bed. Noticing Xiang Zi's gaze, she rolled her eyes at her, then grabbed the blanket, clutched her chest, turned around, and turned her back to Xiang Zi.

The off-the-shoulder design exposed part of her back, making her petite shoulders appear hunched over like a sparrow's, looking both thin and fragile, evoking an instinctive urge to protect her. Her flaxen hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, subtly revealing glimpses of her skin.

Although she looks only twelve or thirteen years old, she exudes a captivating sense of maturity.

Xiangzi crossed his legs, propped one elbow on the table beside him, and rested his chin on the back of his hand. He subtly shifted his gaze away from Xiao Sushi and looked outside through the observation window.

One person is hugging a blanket with their back to the other, while the other is crossing their legs and looking out the window. If the one with their legs crossed had a cigarette afterward, it would be perfect... But no, that's not it.

Xiangzi raised his eyebrows, feeling a strange sense of immorality.

"(Xiao Xiang?)"

After waiting for a while without receiving a response from Xiangzi, Chuhua's voice came through again.

"(Wait a minute, I have a rough plan.)" Xiangzi's gaze was fixed on the square not far away, piled with corpses, and a complete plan gradually formed in his mind. "(We'll kill the monsters here, and then, in front of the Centurion and Saint Seiya... kidnap the Red Queen.)"

"(What?!)" x5

"(Has the young master discovered something?)"

"(Things are a bit complicated. I'll explain it to you slowly once it's completely safe. In short, the biggest obstacle right now is Cerberus, and everything depends on taking him down first.)"

“(So, we really have to kill Cerberus to leave?)” Hailing said.

“(Yes, otherwise it would probably have chased us to the ends of the earth.)” Xiangzi glanced in the direction of Xiaosushi again.

The most important thing is that fragment of the Holy Grail.

The monster has an almost fanatical desire for it, and it will only become more and more troublesome if it is not completely eliminated.

"(Is Xiang planning to completely break ties with Saint Seiya?)" Mu's voice remained calm, yet it hit the nail on the head. "(That would leave us pleasing neither side.)"

Kidnapping the Red Queen would be tantamount to humiliating the Empire and simultaneously falling out with Saint Seiya, putting them in a situation where they would be hunted down by both sides.

"(It's alright.)" Xiangzi shook his head and said, "(I was already mentally prepared to fall out with them.)"

"(So, what exactly should be done?)"

"(So, so, and so on...)" Xiangzi gave a long list of instructions in the public chat, and finally asked, "(Well, does everyone understand? Is there anything you don't understand?)"

"(Understood.)" x5

Empires, Sanctuary, monsters—they're all just part of this giant make-believe game.

For Xiangzi, it was all just part of the game.

"(Then let's go for it, everyone.)" Xiangzi clasped his hands together, a slight smile appearing on his face. "(We're here to play the game, not to be played by it.)"

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 348: The Placement of the Dead

"Then let's go for it, everyone."

Xiangzi's voice rang out simultaneously in both the spoken words and in reality.

Seeing Xiangzi smiling with her hands clasped together, Xiao Su Shi felt a chill run down her spine for some reason.

Especially when Xiangzi turned her gaze toward her, Xiaosu felt as if she were a hunter admiring her prey.

"What... so you still want to do something bad to me?"

“Kidnapping you was a scheme in itself,” Xiangzi said with a smile. “Your Majesty… no, Su Shi, we should go.”

"Where?"

"leave here."

"In front of the Centurion?"

"Of course, there's really no other way to go."

"You won't get far. Although it's called a centurion regiment, there are several thousand infantrymen following behind, which can completely block the road out of the pass."

"Including the direction to the world of rage?"

"How could that be? Once you cross the border, it's no longer imperial territory. You wouldn't be thinking of..."

"Hmm~"