Once the affection level is maxed out, the rivalry begins!

How did the witch awaken her powers, and how did she discover her true identity?

Bai Ze didn't ask Lin Tingwan, who wanted to hide her identity, but he was indeed very curious about the above questions.

Now that he has the chance to get the answer from another witch, he certainly won't miss it.

"How does one become a witch...?"

Lu Xingyao rarely showed a complicated expression as she shrank back into the soft chair in the cafe.

"Telling my senior isn't out of the question, but you'll have to answer one question for me unconditionally from now on—if the deal goes through, eat this cursed fruit as a witness!"

She reached for the fruit sundae that the waiter had just brought over, scooped up a bright red strawberry, and presented it to Bai Ze.

"Are you the queen who sells the poisoned apple to Snow White?"

He hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.

A slightly sour sweet taste lingered and spread on her tongue. The girl put away her spoon, scooped up a large spoonful of cream, and put it into her mouth.

"Where to begin? I first realized my power when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school."

She licked away a trace of white powder from the corner of her mouth and began to speak.

"On the eve of a spring outing, I saw my friend get her face injured by a child playing soccer in the park; so I went to warn her, and I got a huge scolding. After it actually happened, she looked at me with such fear and called me a monster and a wizard in private. Don't you think that's going too far?"

"To blame one's misfortunes on the one who gives warnings shows that one is a coward."

Bai Ze nodded. "If it were me, I would cling to your leg and ask you for the lottery numbers for the next draw."

"Haha—I wish my senior had been my friend back then."

Lu Xingyao curled up the corners of her mouth and gave a faint smile. "In short, after she intentionally or unintentionally led the way in ostracizing me, I spent two unpleasant years."

"I gradually started to think that it was okay to ignore the idiots around me. After all, I started reading some fictional works online, and of course, I began to wonder if I was the protagonist of this world."

She unconsciously stirred the sticky sundae with a spoon, clearly not feeling as carefree as she does now when she recalls it.

Even with extraordinary power, she wasn't the kind of protagonist with the mindset of time travel and rebirth; she was just a child hurt by being isolated.

"I followed the example of the protagonist in the novel, using the future information I occasionally saw to make some money, and I also tried to find out if there were any other beings as abnormal as myself."

The girl raised her eyes. "It was during this period that I gradually came into contact with the existence of the Bureau of Spirit Disasters, realized that I seemed to be classified by them as an abnormal entity called a witch, and also learned more about the basic knowledge related to anomalies."

"Have you never thought about joining?" Bai Ze asked.

"How could that be! They might lock me in a terrifying prison specifically for witches and play a grotesque murder game like Bullet Rivalry with my fellow witches!"

"Your imagination is quite vivid."

Lu Xingyao ignored his complaints and continued, "Anyway, I was very scared, so I relied on my own abilities to keep avoiding them. After entering middle school, I also learned techniques to control my abilities using external objects such as tarot cards."

"I met you around this time as well."

Finally, the time has come when Bai Ze also has memories.

"That's right... I was very flustered when you approached me, and I even suspected that you were an agent sent by the Bureau of Spirit Disasters, so I didn't dare to tell you my true identity."

She pushed the half-empty sundae to the center of the round table, her slightly evasive gaze meeting Bai Ze's.

"Why did you want to get to know me back then? Normally, no one would want to approach a weirdo who spends all day fiddling with superstitious gadgets, right?"

Because I can see your favorability rating, I think you might be some important person—I absolutely cannot say this reason.

"...Maybe it was because I was at an age where I was hoping to make friends with aliens, superpowered people, or people from other worlds."

"Hmm—so your sudden distancing later was because you've outgrown that age?"

The girl asked with a somewhat sharp tone.

Because raising the favorability rating too high might be bad, so I need to control the score—I can't bring myself to say this reason even if I tear my tongue out.

However, Lu Xingyao answered her own question instead: "Actually, I know the reason. It must be because of Senior Lin Tingwan, right? You two are childhood sweethearts, so she definitely doesn't want me to take up too much of Senior's time."

She leaned her petite frame back into the soft chair: "But now my senior is sharing secrets with me, excluding her. Have you thought about telling her what we're doing?"

I was afraid she would betray her own family on behalf of the Bureau of Spiritual Disasters, so I dared not—this was a reason I had to keep to myself no matter what.

I'm sorry for suddenly distancing myself from you back then.

In the end, Bai Ze had no choice but to apologize.

"It's okay. Although I thought I would never forgive my senior at the time, I actually made up with him in my heart very quickly."

"Even if it was just an unintentional act of pity and sympathy for the reclusive junior, it did save me at that time."

The girl lay on the table, letting the sunlight gently caress her softly curved back, and closed one eye to look at him.

"Before I met you, I never felt happy being a witch."

She finished telling her story of how she became a witch.

—So heavy.

Bai Ze couldn't help but reflect on his past actions.

The other person took his approach as a lucky break, while he approached casually, just like completing a game, and then casually moved away.

I'm such a monster.

"Xingyao, although I can't explain it to you right now, I will definitely help you resolve the side effects of becoming a witch."

He made that promise to the female student.

"Huh, does witch transformation have side effects?" She blinked, puzzled.

Suppressing witch transformation requires making them genuinely experience negative emotions such as frustration. Therefore, Bai Ze could not possibly tell them about this mechanism—otherwise, knowing that it was "cooperating with treatment," neither Lin Tingwan nor Lu Xingyao would truly feel frustrated.

I will end the existence of witches—by suppressing witch-like transformation.

"Speaking of which, you said you thought I was an agent of the Bureau of Spirit Disasters, so you didn't dare to tell me your true identity."

Bai Ze changed the subject, "But you still told me later, didn't you?"

He just thought it was a case of teenage angst.

Lu Xingyao stared at him silently, her clear, lake-like eyes revealing a hint of disdain.

[Witch Transformation Progress: 64%]

What's going on? Why did it suddenly drop?

Bai Ze was puzzled.

Finally, she sighed softly, then suddenly picked up the sundae cup and pressed it against his cheek.

The cool, refreshing touch felt as if the sweetness of the girl's voice had infused it with a sense of sweetness.

"Fool."

She stood up and left the table. "The sundae was delicious. I'm going to buy another one. It's on you, senior."

Why?

"Because you are a demon who tramples on the hearts of young girls!"

She skipped and hopped towards the front desk.

Bai Ze placed the empty cup on the table, intending to play on his phone for a while to pass the time.

"Bai Ze, what are you doing here?"

Then, a familiar voice sounded from behind.

As Lin Tingwan entered, she immediately spotted her childhood sweetheart and mischievously approached him, patting him on the shoulder.

—By the way, the Bureau of Spirit Disasters will definitely send people to clean up the mess and remove the banishing barrier.

—Since the mysterious knight he was playing appeared on the scene, it seemed quite normal for the witch he had fought before to also be called out.

But what is this sudden sense of impending doom?