Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 238

She couldn't help but laugh, sighed, and started walking towards Kabukicho.

There's still some time before they meet up, enough time for her to go wherever she wants.

It was afternoon, and there was still a long time before the nightlife started. The surrounding nightclubs were already starting to get lively. Restaurants that served dinner were playing music, and employees who had just gotten up were entering their work areas through the back door. The streets weren't as deserted as they were at night, but they were still quite lively.

Hailing went against the flow of the crowd, turned sideways, squeezed through the gaps between people, and headed deeper into Kabukicho.

Finally, we stopped at the church entrance.

The church was still the same as when she left, with several yellow lines at the entrance preventing people from entering.

A chilly breeze blew out from under the door, seemingly still carrying the smell of blood from that day.

"Girl, someone died here recently, it's best not to go near."

An uncle passing by, on his way to work, kindly offered a reminder.

"So many people have died," another passerby chimed in. "It's like they've been possessed by evil spirits."

"The police said they were originally a cult, maybe they really were possessed by evil spirits."

"Hey, where is the little girl?"

"I don't know, I just saw it."

"They must have been scared away."

"Maybe."

......

While the neighbors were gossiping, Hailing had already slipped into the church and stood in front of the broken statue of the Virgin Mary.

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P.S.: Double updates will resume starting tomorrow! I'll probably open a bounty in September and update a lot more!

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child: Chapter 288 Hey, Need Help?

Hailing stood beneath the broken statue of the Virgin Mary, looking up at it.

Sunlight streamed down from the light well above, but since it was already afternoon, the sunlight only illuminated the upper half of the statue, the half that had been destroyed by Hailing.

The church floor was covered with reddish-brown marks, obscured by a thick layer of dust, as if that day had passed a very, very long time ago.

Upon closer reflection, it hasn't actually been that long. It's just that the buildings in the Kabukicho area are all quite old, generating a lot of dust, which causes the dust to accumulate quickly, making the surroundings appear dusty.

Hailing has never been a talkative person.

She stared at the statue of the Virgin Mary for a while, then took a can of sugar-free soda from her pocket and pulled the tab.

Following the example of the people visiting graves in the movie, Hailing poured clear soda water on the spot where Mary had knelt for the last time. This was Mary's favorite drink, and Hailing would bring her a can every time she visited.

Mary said she likes the taste of unflavored soda because it has nothing in it.

Hailing didn't quite understand this description, but since she was still underage and couldn't drink alcohol, she used this thing as a substitute.

After completing the process, she glanced at the time.

That's about it, Lixi should be here by now.

"Let's go, Mary."

Hailing blinked and patted the Bible placed on the dusty pulpit.

"I'll introduce you to a friend next time."

=======

"—Three more missions today? Why?! We just defeated one yesterday, so I should be able to rest for a while this week!"

"That's not enough."

"How can that not be enough? Can't you give your arm a week to recover before you start moving around?"

Hailing could hear people arguing from a great distance.

It was Li Xi and a pink-haired girl who looked somewhat familiar.

Hai Ling thought for a few seconds and remembered that Yueyi looked familiar—they had met on the ship, and this pink-haired girl was with Li Xi during a meeting.

Why did you two argue?

"We're not strong enough yet. If we don't work harder, how will we survive, how will we protect the light?"

"Then you also need to consider your own physical condition."

"I've thought it through very carefully."

"Really? Three tasks, just the two of us, and considering the state of these hands, does it seem like we've planned this out?"

That's why I called for help.

"Huh? You called for backup? When did that happen?"

"This afternoon."

Why didn't you tell me?

"It's too late."

"Temporary or..."

"It depends. It's temporary now, and it's paid."

"..."

"Say what you want to say quickly."

"Su Shi, do you know what's wrong with her?" Ai Yin's voice suddenly became subdued. She looked at Li Xi, then at the lamp. "Don't you care about her at all?"

"..." Upon hearing this question, Li Xi turned her head away. "I talked to her, and she plans to withdraw."

"Why didn't you come to us—" Ai Yin instinctively wanted to reprimand Li Xi for being so domineering, but she immediately realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence. "Wait, we just came back to school yesterday. When did you talk to her?"

"What happened this morning?" Li Xi tilted her head unhappily and looked at Ai Yin.

"This morning? Impossible!" Aine looked incredulous.

“Why not?” Li Xi raised one eyebrow, his sharp, upturned eyes making Ai Yin feel as if a knife was pointed at her.

"Because she—she's already—it's simply impossible!"

When Ai Yin thought about what happened last night, her mind became a complete mess.

"Xiao Ai...do you know anything?" Deng looked up, her eyes filled with worry as she looked at Ai Yin.

"...I don't know." Aine lowered her head, looking like she was trying to cover something up.

Lixi's brows furrowed together.

All three of them seemed to be preoccupied with something on their minds.

Suddenly, a hand landed on Lixi's shoulder.

"Hey." Hailing deliberately lowered her voice. "Do you need any help, miss?"

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, and the oppressive dark clouds that had been hovering over the three of them seemed to have been sucked out by the exhaust fan of a range hood.

Instead, there was the smell of cooking fumes from the range hood.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey." Li Xi slapped away Hai Ling's greasy hand and complained, "Why are you so late?"

"I stopped by to see a friend on the way. Sorry to keep you waiting," Hailing said.

Aiyin and Deng looked at each other in bewilderment.

They had certainly met Hailing before, but they weren't close. No one expected that the helper Lixi mentioned would be her.

In Ai Yin's memory, Hai Ling was incredibly powerful.

But... such powerful magical girls, as teammates with them? Even if it's just temporary, Aine can't even imagine it.

Did she just replace Su Shi in her rightful place like that?

They're not even the same type of magical girl... and she uses a sword too, so wouldn't I be...?

Ai Yin stood there, bewildered, watching Hai Ling and Li Xi stand together in perfect harmony.

The two of them looked so well-matched that I felt like an extra.

Hailing seemed to notice Aine's gaze, lazily turned her head, and met Aine's eyes.

Ai Yin suddenly felt like she was standing under an X-ray.

She was seen through, completely seen through by Hailing.

At the same time, she also saw a... monster?

Aine couldn't find a precise adjective. Those eyes seemed to seal away the rage and bloodlust within, appearing calm and indifferent, but in reality... Aine had seen her fight, and she was anything but a calm and indifferent person.

"Should I come back later?" Hailing asked.

"No need, let's just go." Li Xi turned and left.

Hailing followed nimbly.

"Hey, wait! Wait for me!" Aine's voice came from behind.

"Aren't we going to wait for her?" Hailing walked to a spot next to Lixi.

“They’ll catch up on their own.” Lixi rolled up her sleeves and opened her charred palms.

She looked at her hands, her fingers tentatively clenching and unclenching a few times. Her hands still looked terrible, but they were much better than a few days ago. In this state, dealing with two or three Normal-level witches shouldn't be a problem...

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Li Xi shifted her gaze from her hands to Hai Ling's face.

"Nagasaki Motoyo, is that the one who treated your injuries before?"

"Hmm." Li Niwo San》Lin (IV) Chaoqi?%Chenqun·Liaoxi nodded.

"What's up with her?"

"Jiu Linlu; Li Qi Ba Baqun doesn't know, who cares about her?" Li Xi snorted coldly and quickened her pace.

"This isn't good," Hailing said, chasing after them. "Without her, your injuries are indeed—"

"do not bother me."

Lixi brushed aside the hair that had fallen on her chest, slapped Hailing's hand away, glanced to the side, and suddenly lowered her voice.

"I know it myself..."

she murmured.

"I know I'm annoying without you telling me..."

Li Xi spoke these words very softly, so softly that even Hai Ling didn't hear them.

The Tale of the Lost: The Lost Child - Chapter 289 Teetering on the Brink

Three missions in one afternoon were a bit too intense, and all three were Normal-level witches, not the easy monsters like Safe ones. Just breaking through the barrier to get to the witches would take a lot of effort.

Not to mention the commuting problem between witch barriers.

Aine and Akari could barely keep up with the two people in front of them, and had to chase after them the whole time.

Lixi and Hailing are like two robots living only to complete their missions: find the barrier, enter the barrier, break through the barrier, kill the witch, leave the barrier, and head to the next target location.

Ai Yin followed behind, but hardly helped at all.

Not to mention the lights.

Deng has been acting strangely since yesterday, remaining silent and quiet. He's not usually talkative, but he's never been to the point of ignoring questions.

Ai Yin also discovered that Li Xi had even specially designed commuting routes between missions, which was obviously not something she came up with on the spur of the moment, but rather something she had prepared for a long time.

Considering they just defeated a witch yesterday, could Lixi have stayed up all night making this plan...?

They took down two witches in such a fast-paced manner that it was almost impossible to keep up. Aine, holding the lamp's hand, followed Riki onto the tram from the previous mission point to the next, looking at Riki's tired yet stubborn face. By then, the sun had already set, and the time was about the same as when they parted ways yesterday. Perhaps it was the similar scenery that evoked memories, and Aine thought of everything she had seen last night.

Su Shi...witch transformation...how am I supposed to bring this up...?

She simply couldn't bring herself to say something like that.