Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 242

"Wait for me!"

"I never agreed to that." Xiangzi glanced at her indifferently.

"I don't care, you're my last straw, my benefactor." Ai Yin displayed her fearless spirit of giving up, clinging to Xiangzi's leg and refusing to let go.

Of course, I didn't actually hug him; it was just a metaphor.

Ai Yin wasn't shameless enough to openly fawn over someone in public.

"Then what do you want?" Xiangzi suddenly stopped and turned around to ask.

Aiyin followed closely behind, not expecting Xiangzi to slow down or even stop suddenly, and crashed straight into Xiangzi.

Boom!

The two collided, like two bells colliding, producing a muffled thud.

"Oh dear." Aine shook her head.

Ai Yin is a melee fighter, making her more vulnerable to injury. Normally, she would only activate about 30% of her pain perception, so this attack wouldn't really affect her much.

"Be careful!" Xiangzi covered his reddened forehead and wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes from the irritation.

"Sorry, sorry." Ai Yin scratched her head and apologized repeatedly.

She looked up and noticed Xiangzi's aggrieved expression. His watery eyes and red nose looked unexpectedly cute; he looked like a little girl in pain.

Well, he's a little different from the Xiangzi she imagined.

"My benefactor, didn't you turn on pain shielding?"

"No, there's no need." Xiangzi rubbed his reddened forehead.

Even though her magic is now infinite, she still maintains her old habit of maintaining 100% pain sensitivity. The impact that Aine just made was real and hurt her.

"But, won't it hurt a lot?"

“You’ll get used to it.” Xiangzi turned around and continued walking forward. “You need to know that the pain you shield doesn’t completely disappear. Instead, it’s stored in the Soul Gem and canceled out by magic. In other words, the greater the proportion of pain you shield, the more magic you consume.”

"Eh...Is that so?" Aine said with an "I see" expression, following Shoko's footsteps.

“Although the total amount of magic required is not much, it will accumulate over time, and once it becomes a habit, it is very difficult to break.” Xiangzi adopted a lecturing tone, shaking his head as he walked forward. “Moreover, the reduction in pain sensation will affect your judgment of your own injuries.”

“Yes, Lixi often thinks she’s not seriously injured, but she ends up with a lot of injuries.” Aiyin immediately nodded in agreement. “When Su Shisang was still around, there were no problems, but after Su Shisang left, the injuries she caused are hard to heal.”

"You could go to the temporary recruitment board and find a magical girl with healing magic to help her heal her injuries. What is she thinking?"

"Ah... is it possible to do that?" Aine blinked.

Why didn't she think of that?

"Sigh, forget it." Xiangzi shook his head helplessly. "I reckon even if Lixi knew, he wouldn't agree. He's as stubborn as a mule."

“Lixi is indeed very stubborn. Is her benefactor very familiar with her? And Dengdeng, Sushi, you were all on the same team before, right?” Aiyin said. “Can you tell me what happened before?”

"It has nothing to do with you." Xiangzi rolled his eyes at Aiyin and arrogantly raised his chin. "You haven't answered my question yet, so why should I answer yours?"

"Hmm... what did you ask?"

"What exactly do you want?" Xiangzi said. "Just telling me what happened doesn't represent your thoughts."

She slowed her pace, stopped in the middle of the road, turned around, and looked into Aine's eyes.

"Why do you want to become stronger? What will you do after you become stronger? You haven't told me yet."

Xiangzi asked.

"I don't want to be so incompetent anymore," Aine said, finally uttering what she had rehearsed several times in her mind. "I want to be able to live a good life on my own."

"Really?" Xiangzi tilted his head slightly, his eyes fixed on him.

The streetlights framed the two of them in the same circle, and Xiangzi could clearly see the vulnerability, wavering, and hesitation in Aine's eyes through the light.

“That kind of look won’t convince me,” she said.

"Wh-what kind of look is that...?" Aine guiltily looked away.

“You’re hesitating.” Xiangzi took a step forward, closing the distance between them. “If you don’t tell me what’s on your mind, there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

The distance between them suddenly shortened considerably.

Ai Yin looked up and found a pair of sharp, almost eerie, bright golden eyes right in front of her.

"I......"

She pursed her lips, took a step back, almost outside the streetlight, and retreated into the shadows.

"Maybe we should just forget about it..."

"It's better not to bother others," Ai Yin thought to herself, having second thoughts.

but.

A hand grabbed her collar and pulled her back under the streetlight.

"You've been pretending to be relaxed all the way here, spouting so much nonsense to bolster your courage and subtly hinting at things, but now that we're here, you don't even have the courage to tell the truth?" Xiangzi glared at Aiyin with disdain.

Seeing Aine's look of wanting to run away at the last minute, she felt inexplicably angry. Before Aine could completely leave the light, she grabbed Aine's collar and pulled her back.

"You'd better not disappoint me too much," Xiangzi said.

"I......"

I don't have the courage.

I've always been someone who likes to run away from things.

It's all over now.

She had said the same words to the lamp once before. That time, the lamp was understanding and comforting, and they made a promise to walk together.

Unlike Deng, Xiangzi was neither tolerant nor gentle. She forcefully grabbed her own collar, uttering merciless words and reopening her bloody wounds.

The feeling of having her wounds ripped open was painful, but it also reminded Aine that she had made up her mind to stand in front of Shoko.

hehe......

I was so pathetic just now. If Li Xi saw me, she would laugh at me to death.

Ayane's lips curled up slightly.

She took Xiangzi's hand.

"A hero can't desert his post, Aiyin..." Aiyin whispered to herself.

"Hmm?" Xiangzi tilted his head.

She noticed that Aine's eyes had changed.

It finally changed, becoming the way she wanted it to be.

"I want to save Su Shi, for Deng Deng, for our team that doesn't even have a name, and for myself."

Ai Yin held Xiangzi's hands tightly.

"So, please help me."

The Tale of the Lost: Chapter 295 Why are you so skilled?

"You want to save Su Shi?" Xiangzi repeated Ai Yin's words.

"Mm." Aine nodded.

“She has become a witch, there is no saving her.” Xiangzi said in a deep voice, “I told you that Su Shi’s affairs are my responsibility, you don’t need to worry about them.”

"I also have the right to work hard."

"...Your efforts are very likely to be in vain."

"It's impossible to give up just because it's 'possible' and you'll waste your effort. How can you be sure of success or failure when you do something?"

"He's quite the talker," Xiangzi scoffed.

"Haha...it's alright..." Ai Yin forced a smile.

She would never have said such a thing before.

Once she reaches a bottleneck in one direction, she'll likely switch to another track and start over quickly. She definitely won't stay here arguing with Xiangzi like this.

"To be honest, your idea is ridiculously naive. With your abilities, you can't help much." Xiangzi tilted his head. "However..."

"but?"

Hearing the change in Xiangzi's tone, Aiyin's eyes suddenly lit up.

“But you’re not in any trouble, and it’s not like you can’t do it.” Xiangzi let go of Aiyin, turned around, clapped his hands, and continued walking towards home. “There’s a tradition at the market of experienced people mentoring newcomers. Since I’m the one who introduced you to the business, I might as well continue to guide you to the end.”

"Oh... there's such a tradition?" Aine stood there, still stunned. "It's that simple...?"

She hadn't expected Xiangzi to be so easy to persuade.

"Don't overthink it. I just brought you along on the way." Xiangzi added, fearing that Aine might overthink things.

After learning the truth about magical girls, Aine was already like a ticking time bomb. But now it seems that her mentality is much better than Xiangzi expected, so she might actually be a good prospect.

Moreover, there's still a lot to explore in the childlike desire to "become a magical girl."

Keeping Aine by my side not only allows me to monitor the Soul Gem's condition in real time, but also lets me try to tap into her potential. Anyway, it's not too much trouble; protecting a newbie shouldn't be difficult for me right now.

As for the return...

Xiangzi did have some selfish motives.

She hoped to use Ai Yin to observe the situation of the lights more often. The two of them were companions and would see each other all the time. Even if they had a falling out these past few days... wait, why didn't she come along?

Xiangzi walked a distance and then turned around to see Aiyin still standing there, stunned and motionless.

"What are you still standing there for?" Xiangzi raised an eyebrow. "If you don't follow me, I'm leaving."

"Aww! Wait for me!"

Ai Yin seemed to wake from a dream, and followed after him with cheerful steps.

"My benefactor, my benefactor, where are you taking me?"

"I'm going home for dinner. You haven't had dinner yet, have you?" Xiangzi said casually. "One more pair of chopsticks won't make a difference."

"Oh? I couldn't possibly..."

“You can wait until I finish eating, even if you’re hungry.” Xiangzi took out “Urban Legends Compilation (Issue 150)” from his bag and tapped Aiyin on the head. “I have no objection.”

"No, I'll starve to death."

"That settles it then." Xiangzi sighed softly. "Also, don't call me your benefactor anymore."

"What's that called?"

"Call me Xiangzi like everyone else."

“No, you’ve done me such a great favor. To express my respect and admiration for you, I can’t possibly use such an ordinary form of address.” Aine straightened her otherwise unremarkable chest. “You know, forms of address are an important reflection of social relationships for Japanese people—”

"Whatever, I don't care." Xiangzi quickened his pace with a long face. "Just don't call me benefactor, it sounds weird."

She always felt that... this guy was a bit like someone she knew, and at times he was particularly annoying.

Meow Dream: Achoo!

drop.

Xiangzi took out his key card and opened the gate to the residential complex.

“If you don’t come in now, you’ll lock us out,” she said, turning around as she released her grip on the iron gate.

The iron gate slowly closed.

"I'm coming."

Aiyin slipped through the crack in the door before it slammed shut completely and continued to follow Xiangzi.

"What should I call you...?"

"Sigh." Xiangzi sighed helplessly.

Why hasn't she finished thinking yet?

"correct!"