Ex-Machina in Dimensional Travel

When no one was paying attention, Homura Akemi frowned quietly.

At this moment, she was thinking about something else.

It was now the last class before noon, and when this class was over, she would go to the rooftop to meet the person who had never appeared.

The scenes of the past are still fresh in my memory: the gradually disappearing dark "monsters", the pure white "angels" hanging high in the sky, and the devastated world under the "divine punishment".

And this is just the "initial" impression.

The golden "pillar of light" that fell from the sky like a divine punishment, the golden sky that seemed like heaven, and the empty golden eyes that were devoid of any emotion.

An indescribable feeling of oppression came over her as a series of images from her memories. A feeling of powerlessness instantly filled her whole body, and sweat caused by nervousness silently ran across the girl's forehead.

If Shuel were to peek into the girl's memories, he would be amazed at the "richness" of her experience.

The voice of the teacher's lecture did not reach Homura Akemi's ears, but she did not care about the lessons she missed.

Simply because she was already familiar with these contents.

This was not because she had done her homework in advance, but for her personal reasons, and this "reason" was related to the girl's unknown secret.

"dawn……"

"Xiaomei?"

Who is calling me?

"Xiaomei-san?"

"Ah... yes."

At this moment, the teacher's sudden call brought the girl's scattered consciousness back to her.

She quickly responded in a calm voice.

But just as she came to her senses, she realized that her breathing was very rapid and her forehead was wet with sweat.

She didn't need a mirror to know that she didn't look very good right now.

The teacher on the stage looked worried, and the students around him all cast concerned glances at him.

"Are you feeling unwell? Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

The teacher spoke tenderly with caring words. No matter which teacher it was, they would give full attention to this "top student" in the class.

Moreover, in the teacher's mind, the situation of this student named Homura Akemi is somewhat special.

His file showed that he had been hospitalized for many years, which attracted more attention from the teachers of this class.

This is not a privilege of eugenics, although there is some element of that.

"Ah I……"

Homura Akemi wanted to argue, but she also knew that it would be difficult to convince these people in her current state.

The gazes of the entire class did not interfere with the girl's thoughts, but the three extra "passionate" gazes behind her were also difficult to ignore.

"Well, teacher, I do feel a little unwell. I'm going to the infirmary to rest."

As she spoke, the girl stood up from her seat and slowly walked towards the classroom door with her weak legs.

But at this moment, the teacher on the stage immediately looked at some students in the back row.

"Kaname-san—"

“Ah, yes!”

The pink-haired lady who was chatting with a student in the front row suddenly stood up when the teacher called her name.

When she heard this name, Homura Akemi's body trembled slightly.

Of course, the movement was so small that no one noticed.

"As the class health committee member, please take Xiaomei to the infirmary."

After all, Homura Akemi's condition doesn't look good, and it's hard for the teacher to let her act on her own.

And this arrangement is very reasonable and there is no shooting problem.

But what the teacher didn't know was that the transfer student in his class seemed to have had some kind of unpleasant contact with the health committee member.

"Eh? Ah, okay."

The pink-haired girl was slightly stunned. She immediately responded, then hesitantly walked to Homura Akemi's side and supported her arm.

The atmosphere between the two of them also became a little strange at this time.

However, the teacher did not pay attention to this and just thought that the two were not familiar with each other.

"Next time, if you have any health problems, please tell the teacher in advance, don't force yourself."

When they passed by the podium, the teacher on the stage gave Homura Akemi another reminder.

"Um……"

The girl could only accept this silently, and then walked out of the classroom with Kaname under the gaze of the whole class.

……

wow-

After closing the classroom door, the two girls walked along the corridor leading to the infirmary.

"..."

"..."

Two figures, one in black and one in pink, walked quietly, with silence being the main tone between them.

Although the pink-haired girl was supporting the other person, the expression on her face was full of doubt.

The same was true for Homura Akemi. Her gaze kept shifting towards the health committee member next to her, but for some reason, she would immediately look away before her gaze was about to focus on him.

The class health committee member is a cute girl named Kaname Madoka.

The former had a full understanding of her, but it was also because of this "understanding" that she showed this attitude towards her.

However, this is a secret that Kaname Madoka is unaware of.

The two of them are like a pair of "friends" who are having a quarrel. Both of them have something to say but find it difficult to express it.

The silence along the way had made the atmosphere so oppressive that the latter could no longer tolerate it.

Just when she was about to start a new topic to divert attention, the originally silent Homura Akemi suddenly spoke.

"So, what are you going to do next?"

"Eh?"

The other party's sudden question stunned Kaname Madoka, and after coming back to his senses, he was also confused about the content of the question.

"What, how do you do it?"

There was still a long way to go to the infirmary, and it was the interior design that made Xiuer puzzled, and it also provided ample time for the two to communicate.

It was not until this time that Homura Akemi finally turned her gaze to the person next to her.

And Kaname Madoka, who was targeted by the former, immediately avoided his gaze.

Seeing this, the girl couldn't help but sigh and pulled her hand away from the other person.

"You don't have to hold me anymore."

While the other party was stunned, Homura Akemi quietly took a few steps forward.

When the distance between them widened, she turned around and answered the other party's previous question.

"Are you planning on becoming a magical girl too?"

"Hey, well...I..."

The problem was made clear, and the already hesitant pink girl's expression became even more tangled.

Homura Akemi, who asked the question, looked calmly at the corridor behind Madoka Kaname.

A white creature was sitting at the corner of the corridor, its red eyes staring intently at this place.

When no one was paying attention, the girl couldn't help but frown slightly, and then quickly recovered.

Having lost the support of her best friend, Kaname Madoka's heart was also in turmoil when she faced this cold-tempered classmate alone.

She didn't know why the other party did those things yesterday, and he seemed to have some strange feelings towards her.

She found it difficult to remain calm facing this girl whom she had only seen in dreams before.

Seeing this, Homura Akemi could only sigh helplessly again.

The voice was so faint that Kaname Madoka, who was already struggling with her inner thoughts, did not hear it.

"Do you remember what I said yesterday?"

"Um……"

The latter answered softly that it was difficult for her to give an immediate answer to the question just now, but fortunately the other party did not dwell on the matter.

"That's good. I hope my advice wasn't wasted."

Homura Akemi nodded slightly. She had no intention of making things difficult for the other party. She saw Kaname Madoka's nervousness. Since the other party was so nervous when facing her, she was ready to end the topic there.

Thinking of this, the girl quickly turned around and walked towards the infirmary on her own.

"Just drop me off here. I can walk the rest of the way by myself."

"Eh?"

Kaname Madoka was stunned again. After all, there was something obviously wrong with the other party's situation just now. Although someone had given her some knowledge about magical girls, she still felt uneasy about Homura Akemi's condition.

After all, she is kind-hearted, and even if the other party did such a cruel thing yesterday, she cannot turn a blind eye to the latter's physical condition.

"Humura, are you really okay?"

So, looking at the other person's back getting farther and farther away, Kaname Madoka called out with concern.

However, the black girl did not slow down her pace after hearing the voice.

"Don't worry, my body has almost recovered, but Kaname Madoka, I hope you can stick to your original intention."

After leaving behind these enigmatic words, Homura Akemi's figure disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

At this moment, Kaname Madoka was staring at the place where the other party disappeared, thinking about what the other party had just said with a puzzled look on his face.

……

Chapter 7: Homura Akemi's Efforts

The morning was not long, but it was enough for Xiuer to get ready.

But when it actually came to lunch time, the situation in the store surprised him.

"..."

Xiuer looked at the increasing number of people in front of him with some surprise. Although it could not be compared with the number of customers in other normal restaurants, it was enough to fill this small shop.

Those beautiful golden eyes blinked in confusion.

There are few young people among the customers in the store. After all, the location of this store is a certain distance away from schools and companies.

It is really unnecessary for these specific groups of people to run a distance for lunch.

Therefore, most of the people in the store are from nearby blocks, and many of them are managers or owners of other stores in the area.

How should I put it? This was the first time that Xiuer realized the extensive "connections" of the old lady Yuko Kobayashi.

After all, the files are "queried" online, so there will basically not be any excessive description of how a person gets along with others in the files.

There is naturally no comprehensive and detailed file like an investigation report to prove whether this old man has done anything bad.

Almost every customer who enters the store has more or less communication with the old store manager.

And from Xiuer's inadvertent observation, he found that all these people had a good relationship with the old man.

"So, are you surprised to see that Xiaolin has such a good relationship with everyone?"

At this time, Aunt Hanako, who had come to the store since morning to chat with the manager, also walked to the counter and joked with Xiuer.