Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 268

What a beautiful view.

Chu Hua sighed inwardly.

"Isn't it beautiful?" The voice appeared unexpectedly beside Chu Hua. "I was also amazed when I first came here."

Xiangzi's long hair was blown from behind to the front by the night wind, strands of hair hanging on his delicate face, obscuring his exquisite features.

She was wearing a rough nun's habit, not the black one with a headscarf that I was used to, but a pale yellowish-white linen that had an oxidized sheen. She looked like she had come from a slum, very shabby.

However, it looks surprisingly fitting on Xiangzi.

It is sacred, yet not distant, perhaps because the fabric is very ordinary, which gives people a strong sense of intimacy.

She was like a saint.

Chu Hua was stunned for a moment.

She never expected Xiangzi to change so much, so much so that he seemed like someone from another world.

Based on the information Xiangzi provided earlier, this place seems... to indeed be another world. So, does this mean they've traveled through time?

Chu Hua's thoughts began to wander, and her eyes gradually lost focus. Xiangzi's face, like the lights behind him, began to become hazy, beautiful, and unreal.

"Long time no see, Chuhua." Xiangzi smiled at her.

Xiangzi's voice brought Chu Hua back to reality. Her dilated pupils adjusted slightly and regained focus.

"It feels like only a few days have passed," Chu Hua said softly.

She still felt it was all very unreal.

“I’ve already gone through several cycles here,” Xiangzi shrugged. “Want to come? I’ll take you to see our headquarters.”

"Headquarters?" Chu Hua blinked, looking at the brightly lit camp ahead. "Is that the camp in front of us?"

That campsite, with its countless campfires like starlight on the ground, must have had at least several hundred people, perhaps even a thousand.

"You've developed so quickly here?" Chu Hua asked, stunned.

According to Xiangzi's calculation, this is the last day of the fourth cycle, which means that in about three months, the camp has already grown to several hundred people.

"Fast?"

Xiangzi tilted his head, then realized that he might have said something that could be easily misunderstood.

"The headquarters isn't 'my' headquarters. We joined them midway through, and although we've risen to a fairly high position now, there are so many of us." Xiangzi looked at the campfire in front of him, which was as bright as the stars in the sky, and curled the corners of his mouth. "It's not something I can recruit."

"That is?"

“They are the resistance here, and they call themselves Saint Hugh’s.” Xiangzi stretched out his hand to Chu Hua. “It’s hard to explain in a short time. I’ll explain it to you when everyone is gathered together.”

Chu Hua nodded and took Xiangzi's hand.

"Did you miss me when I wasn't around?" Xiangzi asked as he walked ahead, holding Chuhua's hand.

His tone was very calm and casual, as if he were just chatting about everyday things.

"...I've been so busy these past few days, but when I get home at night and don't see you...I start to miss you," Chu Hua said.

“I miss you too, Chuhua,” Xiangzi said. “When I was writing this letter, I even thought of saying, ‘Chuhua, come in first and keep me company.’”

"Then why not write it like this?"

“Mu is the one who cares about Su Shi the most, even more than I do.” Xiangzi tightened his grip on Chu Hua’s hand slightly. “Besides, I’ll feel at ease only when you’re at the rear.”

Personally, I want to see you. Publicly, I trust you.

It's really a dilemma.

So in the end, you chose to follow reason rather than emotion?

Although she knew it was the best choice, Chu Hua was still slightly dissatisfied. She wanted to get revenge on Xiangzi for saying he missed her but taking care of Mu first and leaving her alone outside to cover the rear.

In the end, all he said was that he missed me, humph.

Mingming has been here for more than three months with the pink-haired girl she just met... It hasn't even been three months since they reunited.

Humph.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

Chu Hua's chosen method of revenge was to follow behind, pouting, and refusing to speak. Xiangzi didn't react either, quietly holding Chu Hua's hand and walking forward.

Keep walking and walking, until the light of the campfire no longer resembles the stars, until the night begins to shine.

They were getting closer and closer to the camp.

Suddenly, Xiangzi stopped at the checkpoint in front of the camp and, before they entered the area illuminated by the firelight, turned around and gave Chuhua a big hug.

"Eh?!"

Chu Hua was stunned by Xiangzi's sudden action and stood there dumbfounded, while Xiangzi held her tightly.

"Someone once said that a hug is the most beautiful language in the world." Xiangzi tiptoed slightly and whispered in Chuhua's ear, "I really like that sentence."

"..."

"Let me hold you for a while, don't say anything, don't ask anything." Xiangzi rested his chin on Chuhua's shoulder and closed his eyes. "These three months have been much more tiring than I imagined."

Some people have said that a simple hug can express more power than words like "I miss you" or "I love you".

Chu Hua now realizes how true that statement was.

Yes, Chu Hua only waited four days, but Xiangzi has truly spent three months here. Having spent three months in a primitive, barbaric, cruel, and hopeless world without modern technology, what she needs most now is a hug.

"..."

Chu Hua raised her hand, put her arm around Xiangzi's waist, and lowered her center of gravity slightly so that she was at the same height as Xiangzi.

This will make things much easier for Xiangzi.

"You've worked hard." She smiled slightly and patted Xiangzi's back.

"Um... thank you," Xiangzi said softly.

The Tale of the Lost: The Lost Child - Chapter 333 Welcome Back to the Team

They lingered together for a while outside the firelight, until the battery was fully charged, before Xiangzi reluctantly let go of the embrace.

Xiangzi smoothed his hair, turned around as if nothing had happened, and took Chuhua's hand as they walked into the firelight.

"who!"

A questioning voice came from the watchtower.

“Lieutenant, it’s Toyokawa Shoko,” Shoko said, looking up.

"Miss Toyokawa." After confirming her identity, the person on the watchtower tapped twice on the armor on their chest, making a clanging sound.

"That's a salute," Xiangzi explained to Chuhua in a low voice.

Then, the people on the watchtower asked again.

"Where is the person next to you?"

"I've known this new member for a long time, you can rest assured," Xiangzi said with a smile.

Upon hearing Xiangzi's words, the stationed soldiers showed expressions of delight.

"Another new fighting force? This is the fourth one... and it just so happens to arrive the night before the plan."

"Then tomorrow's plan is definitely secure, right?"

"Great."

......

"Could you let us through first?" Xiangzi asked with a helpless laugh, interrupting the soldiers' conversation.

"Ah, of course." The sergeant on the watchtower ordered the soldiers below to make way and let Xiangzi and Chuhua in.

Wandering through the base camp in Santo Xiuya, you see tents and shacks everywhere. The damp grass is trampled into clumps of mud by people coming and going. Each step is sticky and heavy, giving the impression that... this place is more like a large slum than an "organization's" camp.

The people here all wear white linen clothes similar to Xiangzi's, which almost cover their entire bodies. These clothes all have hoods, and many of them have strange things growing on their faces or other parts of their bodies.

For example, horns, twisted red skin, protruding metal blocks, gold coins growing out of the skin, and so on.

It appears that the hood of the clothing was used to cover up any abnormalities on the body.

However, it seemed that no one did this in the camp; everyone openly displayed their abnormalities.

"Isn't it strange how these people look?"

"Yes." Chu Hua nodded. "And...they are all..."

“Familiars, everyone is a familiar,” Xiangzi said, “including those who look normal.”

"...Unbelievable, I thought the Familiar City..."

If witches are beasts, then the intelligence of most familiars is roughly the same as that of insects. Beasts possess a little bit of thinking ability, while insects rely more on instinct, and can even survive for a short time without their heads.

“Su Shi is the Flower Witch, nothing is impossible for her,” Xiangzi said softly. “This place really feels like the real world, with its own history, its own development rules, and its own unique culture... The people in the camp are called ‘weirdos’ by the people of this world; they are the lowest rungs of society.”

“Why did they become like this?”

"Because the weirdos are people who have turned into monsters and then back into humans. They have made mistakes, and the monster characteristics left on their bodies are the marks of those mistakes."

"To become...a monster?"

"Yes, that's a unique feature of this place. There used to be a Holy Grail in this world that could grant any wish, but one day it shattered. Its fragments only retained a portion of the wish-granting power, and they also came with a price to pay. Moreover, they would arouse people's most primal desires."

“The Holy Grail fragments will select some people it deems suitable and appear when they need them most. Those who make a wish upon the Holy Grail fragment will have their wish granted, and then the Holy Grail will take away their most important thing—their identity as a human being, and gradually transform them into monsters.”

“Like Kyubey,” Chu Hua said, “those who have their wishes granted are all trainees for monsters.”

"More or less," Xiangzi sighed. "I can't seem to find Delete here. I'm starting to miss it."

After briefly reminiscing about the Cupid, she continued her explanation.

"Besides, spells are also a product of the Holy Grail fragments. In addition to offerings to the Holy Grail fragments, the Holy Grail fragments will also demand some other things when using them, like this."

As he spoke, Xiangzi rolled up the sleeve of his right arm.

"what!"

Chu Hua covered her mouth.

Xiangzi's right arm was wrapped in bandages, and what was exposed under the bandages was not skin, but feathers stuck to his hand.

"This is the result of frequent use of magic; your right arm will start to look like a monster," Xiangzi said calmly, pulling his sleeve back. "If you overuse it, your whole body will turn like this, and eventually you'll really become a monster."

"Then why are you still using..." Chu Hua complained.

"It's alright. As long as I leave the barrier, I can use my own magic to wipe away these effects," Xiangzi said nonchalantly. "The impact is minimal."

"...That's not good. What if something happens to you inside the barrier?"

“It’s still under control. We’re all dancing in shackles right now,” Xiangzi shrugged. “But we have the key to those shackles in our own hands, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

"Sigh, I can't argue with you," Chu Hua sighed. "But you still need to take better care of your health."

"I know," Xiangzi said with a smile. "I know what I'm doing."

"They always say that."

"In the end, I'm always fine, don't worry." Xiangzi walked up to a tent and stopped. "We've arrived."

She lifted the curtain and led Chu Hua into the tent.

Snapped--!

A firework exploded.

"Welcome, Master's wife—oops, Chu Huahua, to the Resistance Army family!"

"Hey, what are you doing?!"

"It's a welcoming ceremony, Lixi, can't you tell?"

"What's the point of this unnecessary welcoming ceremony?"

"But - but -"

Upon entering the tent, Chu Hua saw Aine arguing with another girl she had met once before.

Xiangzi's lips twitched, and he went up and gave Ai Yin a chop to the neck.