Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 259

She spent almost every day like this.

For a very, very long time, nothing has changed.

Lin Hai sometimes thought about how wonderful it would be if he could travel to the world of games or anime. He wanted to travel to a vibrant and colorful world and live an extraordinary life.

However, she also knew that this was just wishful thinking. In reality, there was no such thing as time travel or magic. Even if there were, it was something that an ordinary person like her could never possess.

Ha ha.

To some extent, that is indeed the case.

What does the word "ordinary" represent?

It represents a lack of extraordinary talent, a lack of courage to face the unknown, and a cowardly complacency.

By sheer coincidence, Lin Hai "traveled" into the world of the game he was currently playing, "Once Upon a Time," during an all-night gaming session.

She originally thought that what awaited her was a pleasant journey filled with dreamlike bubbles, just like in the game.

That was indeed the case at first. She met several girls who, like herself, had "traveled" from another time, and traveled with them while continuing to live her life as an unknown person.

Everyone's levels and skills from the game were carried over to this world, so even though they are a few little girls, they are still capable of fighting in this world—that was what everyone thought at the beginning.

As it turned out, the world was completely different from what I had imagined.

Three hundred years have passed since the beautiful story of Fairy Tale Town was established. In those three hundred years, almost all order has fallen apart, leaving only chaos and bloodshed.

Teenagers like them have never seen monsters killing people everywhere, never seen battlefields reeking of blood, never seen the miserable plight of people living in misery.

After the initial chaos, the girls tried everything they could, and finally found the "FM. Reed Plain Late Night Radio Station," which was said to be frequently associated with urban legends, through the radio function in the system panel that came with them when they traveled through time. They sent several SOS messages using the "email" function in the system.

The SOS messages all went unanswered.

They continued to wander in this world and eventually found a village called "The Land of Beginnings," which was said to be protected by the goddess of creation.

Although it's called a village, it was once protected by a goddess and possessed a cathedral comparable in size to a major city. The village was quite large, and for a time, it almost resembled a city.

However, this once-prosperous village has become desolate and lonely due to the changing times. The population has decreased back to its original size, and it has fallen from the city back to a village. Even though most of the buildings are still preserved, it is far from what it used to be.

Lin Hai and several other girls who had "traveled" together were invited by the old nuns in the church and stayed in the old church in the center of the village, where they temporarily settled down.

Now that everyone has a place to sleep peacefully, they can start thinking about the future.

Within this makeshift group, some wanted to go home, while others were unwilling to stay in this unchanging village and wanted to go on an adventure.

They had witnessed the darkness of this world, but they also realized how powerful they were and how promising their future was—just like in a game, defeating enemies would give them "experience" and make them stronger.

In short, no one wanted to stay and settle down in the place where it all began.

Apart from the forest.

Let's review again: what does "ordinary" represent?

It represents a lack of extraordinary talent, a lack of courage to face the unknown, and a cowardly complacency.

This means that even if you have the opportunity, you can't seize it.

Lin Hai may have the opportunity to leave the place of origin with them, find the way home, or embark on a legendary adventure.

But she didn't; she didn't dare.

She was afraid of pain, afraid of death.

Lin Hai knew she was a coward; she watched helplessly as her companions left one by one, failing to seize the opportunity to leave the place of origin. With nowhere else to go, she stayed at the church, continuing to live as an ordinary person, using the small amount of magic she possessed at level three and cheap offerings to help the old nun who cared for them, until two months ago when the old nun passed away, at which point she took over the job.

"Hold on a minute." Xiangzi pressed the pause button. "I want to ask how much time it took you to get to this point?"

"Less than a month," Lin Hai said, resting his chin on his hand.

"So that means only a little over a day has passed on the other side? More than that..." Ai Yin counted on her fingers, then realized that she didn't have enough fingers, and even with her toes, she didn't have enough. "Oh well, never mind."

She angrily took a bite of bread and then drank a sip of milk.

Today she fought a witch and a familiar that looked like a pumpkin lantern. She was already exhausted and didn't want to use her brain at all.

"To be honest, I don't care how much time has passed in the real world anymore," Lin Hai said lazily, slumped over the table.

"You said before that we weren't the first to come and rescue you, is that right?"

"Ah."

When did they arrive?

"It was probably around four months after we traveled through time."

"That is about 120 days, which is about 120 hours, or about five days." Xiangzi nodded. "Yes, it's those missing magical girls."

The timing and what Rinrinko said both match up.

"I want to know what happened to those magical girls afterward?"

"So they're just like you, you know, magical girls, right?" Lin Hai stood up lazily and yawned.

We chatted for a while, and it got a bit late. In this world where nighttime is practically synonymous with going to sleep, it was time to go to bed.

“You can understand it that way,” Xiangzi said. “Our mission is not only to save you and your companions, but also them.”

“But I don’t want to leave here…” Lin Hai turned his head away and said in a low voice, so low that Xiangzi couldn’t hear him.

"What did you say?"

"No, it's nothing." Lin Hai shook his head, picked up the lantern, walked to the door, and knocked on the wooden door.

The wooden door made a dull thud.

"Let's go," Lin Hai said.

"Where are we going?" Ai Yin licked her lips and raised her head.

“You want to know where everyone went,” Lin Hai said. “There’s a map in the church; I can give it to you.”

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 321 The Sin of the Strange Man

Following Lin Hai back to the second floor of the church, she first went to the room where Deacon had been placed to check on his physical condition.

The light emanating from the cross had dissipated, Deacon's breathing became steady, and he stopped muttering words like "Queen, Queen" and fell asleep peacefully.

"The starting point is within the Imperial territory, and Mr. Deacon grew up here. The place where you found him should be the battlefield where he fought for the Empire against the Resistance."

"Is the Empire the Red Queen's country?"

"Yes, it is also the most powerful country among the eight world powers."

Lin Hai knelt at the head of the bed and used the back of his hand to test the temperature of Deacon's forehead.

I have a slight fever, which is a normal reaction after being rescued, so it's okay.

She carefully stroked all of Deacon's exposed skin outside his armor, and examined his hair. If his armor hadn't been so heavy and cumbersome, Lin Hai probably would have stripped it off completely.

"He and the Deacon from the game aren't the same person, even though they look exactly alike." Aine crossed her arms and leaned against the side.

“Three hundred years have passed, how could it be the same one?” Lin Hai shook his head. “There are many NPCs here with the same names as those in the game, but none of them are the original ones.”

"So, what are you doing?" Xiangzi looked at her in confusion.

"Um..." Lin Hai turned around, his face indistinct in the dim kerosene lamp light.

However, Xiangzi could still tell that she was blushing a little.

"Could you help me take off his armor?" Lin Hai asked hesitantly.

"So you're into older men?" Aine said.

"No, that's not it!" Lin Hai raised his voice, then lowered it again, "Maybe... perhaps, there might be a tiny bit..."

"What did you say?"

"But that has nothing to do with what I want to do! I want you to help me remove his armor so I can check his physical condition and see how many marks are left."

"What traces?"

"You'll see soon enough, it's impossible that it's not there." Lin Hai tried with difficulty to lift Deacon's body, but how could a delicate sixteen-year-old girl possibly lift a man who was nearly 1.9 meters tall and wearing heavy armor?

Xiangzi couldn't stand it anymore, so he tapped Aiyin on the head and asked her to help Lin Hai remove the man's armor.

Clank, clank, clank——

Pieces of armor fell to the ground, and Deacon's muscular body gradually appeared under the kerosene lamp.

Seeing his body, Xiangzi finally understood what Lin Hai meant by "traces".

A twisted metal was embedded in his chest, exactly the same as the Jack-o'-lantern that Aine had killed before. The metal patterns extended all the way to his right arm, taking up the area of ​​his entire chest and half an arm.

"..." Lin Hai's expression turned noticeably gloomy.

"What's wrong?" Xiangzi asked. "What are these marks?"

“It’s the mark of a ‘weirdo.’” Lin Hai took off his glasses, rubbed his nose with a headache, and put them back on. “It covers such a large area, this is troublesome.”

"What do you mean?"

"People who have turned into monsters are called monsters by the Empire, and they will retain the characteristics of when they turned into monsters." Lin Hai explained simply, "'People who have made mistakes in the past are more likely to make the same mistakes again.' This idea is prevalent in every corner of the eight worlds, so these people who have turned into monsters will be discriminated against by ordinary people."

"So that's why you're worried that he might have some monster-like features on him?" Ai Yin asked.

Lin Hai nodded.

"The only good thing is that it didn't appear on his face. Mr. Deacon just needs to wear thicker clothes in the future and not expose his body."

What happens when you are discriminated against?

"Not to mention his position as a knight commander, Mr. Deacon may even be stripped of his citizenship."

Lin Hai seemed unwilling to discuss the matter further and turned to walk out the door.

"But that's not something you can control. It's getting late, let's go get the map first."

As she walked out the door, she turned back and glanced at Deacon once more.

Even though they've become "monsters," just like magical girls becoming "witches," they still have a chance to start over... Deep down, does Su Shi still hope to return to the past?

But there's no going back, it's impossible to go back, not even for these "strange people" who have turned back into humans.

Xiangzi could probably guess why Lin Hai didn't want to continue discussing this topic.

The "weirdos" forever bear the marks of having been a monster. Rumors circulate that "humans who have been monsters will repeat the same mistakes." These weirdos will inevitably be regarded by ordinary people as "monster trainees" who are no different from monsters. Regardless of whether they have the intention to make mistakes again, the discrimination and rejection from those around them will gradually force them out of society, compelling them to make mistakes again and become monsters once more.

This is a vicious cycle.

Just like magical girls and witches, the world created by Su Shi is also unable to escape this cycle. This is a naturally formed vicious cycle, a social law that cannot be touched upon by childish games and fairy tales.

Xiangzi sighed and closed the door.

Goddess, Holy Grail, the all-powerful wish-granting machine...

I wonder if Su Shi will ever see all that she has created.

This so-called "fairytale world" is actually no different from reality, and may even be worse.

Looking at the figure in the nun's habit from behind, Xiangzi felt there was something she hadn't said. When Lin Hai mentioned the strange man, his eyes held a look as if he had already witnessed or even experienced it firsthand.

"We've arrived." Lin Hai stopped in front of a room and pushed the door open.

Following her inside, we found a simple study. Two walls were lined with various books, a desk stood facing the window, and a bed was placed against the remaining wall.

“I usually sleep here,” Lin Hai said, walking to the bookshelf and standing on tiptoe. “Hey—why did I put the map so high?”

She jumped twice, but still couldn't reach it.

Frustrated, Lin Hai simply moved a small stool over, stood on it, and tiptoed as high as he could to barely reach the top row.

"Do you need help?"

"don't want!"

Lin Hai grabbed a parchment scroll tucked inside the bookshelf, but accidentally used too much force and fell backward.

flutter--!

Boom!

The little nun with glasses didn't feel the hard ground; instead, she felt the hard wall.

When she opened her eyes and saw Xiangzi's concerned gaze, she finally understood what had happened.

The person who caught her was Aine.