Want to be human, but cube-like

Silently, Su Shi tidied up the equipment in the practice room with Mu, her mind a little chaotic.

Ever since she guessed that Xiao Xiang was no longer alive, she became more attentive to everyone in Crychic, and she never asked Mu about Xiangzi again.

That's pointless now.

Mu seemed somewhat surprised by her change, but Su Shi didn't explain it.

Now that she has decided to take Xiangzi's place in maintaining the band and taking care of everyone in Crychic, Su Shi will no longer do anything that might make everyone feel uncomfortable.

Sometimes, she would try to emulate Xiangzi by suggesting activities that could bring everyone closer together, but it seemed that apart from Mu, Deng and Lixi were indifferent to her suggestions.

This greatly troubled Su Shi.

The fact that Deng couldn't sing left her at a loss for what to do.

Su Shi realized that she simply couldn't do what Xiangzi did to maintain the community at Crychic.

Even the simplest band rehearsal seemed incredibly difficult.

Even now, Su Shi still doesn't understand how Xiangzi managed to get Deng to muster the courage to sing.

Xiao Xiang is indeed... irreplaceable.

The thought flashed through her mind, and Su Shi, whose mood had become depressed as a result, glanced at the practice room where the atmosphere had just been so heavy and suffocating, and walked out with Mu.

Suddenly, Su Shi, who was walking ahead, stopped in her tracks.

"I will try to make everyone happy."

She was silent for a moment, then turned around and said something to Mu Rou in a soft voice, without any context.

"...?"

Mu stared blankly at Su Shi's faint smile, not understanding why she would suddenly say that.

Even though Xiangzi is gone, everyone at Crychic must look forward.

These words made Mu momentarily dazed.

Xiangzi said something similar to her yesterday.

"Has Su Shi... made up her mind to move forward?"

She asked in a low, uncertain voice.

"It must have been exhausting to keep things about Xiangzi a secret all this time, right?"

Su Shi didn't answer, but just shook her head. She leaned closer and gently hugged Mu, whispering comforting words in her ear.

"...?!"

But what was clearly a seemingly comforting remark caused Mu's pupils to tremble upon hearing it.

"Su Shi...?!"

With her lips slightly parted, Ke Mu merely called out Su Shi's name, not daring to say anything more.

Could it be that Su Shi already knows about Xiang?

"it does not matter."

Feeling the slight trembling of the girl in his arms, Su Shi became even more certain of his guess.

"I will protect everyone."

She said so.

Then, Mu, with mixed feelings and a touch of panic, said goodbye at the door.

……

"Su Shi, aren't you going to search for the witch today either?"

It wasn't until she boarded the tram that Cupid suddenly appeared beside her and asked a question.

"Not for now..."

With a slightly evasive look, Su Shi observed the surroundings for a moment, and only when no one noticed her did she reply in a low voice.

Since defeating the Witch of All Diseases with Alex, Su Shi has never gone to see the witch again.

On one hand, the Seed of Lamentation would last her for quite some time; on the other hand, it was actually Su Shi herself who developed a fear of the witch.

If it weren't for Alex being there last time, she wouldn't know what to do. Having witnessed such a terrifying scene, even now that she has learned how to use magic, it would be difficult for Su Shi to be willing to actively seek out the witch again.

Perhaps, only when her seeds of sorrow are exhausted, and there is truly no other way, will she muster the courage to take on this responsibility that belongs to a magical girl.

Moreover, compared to her responsibilities as a magical girl, Suze is now focusing almost all her attention on everyone in Crychic, and has no extra energy to study how to fight witches.

After all, that's the fundamental reason why she became a magical girl.

…………

P.S. I missed out on perfect attendance this month... Oh well, I'll just brush it off a little this month and organize my thoughts while I'm at it.

Another point is that some people say Alex's gold nuggets can solve the problem. But for Xiangzi, what's the difference between that and going back to apologize to Old Deng? Essentially, it's just a matter of her pride.

Volume 2: Chapter 225 Planetarium

At the same time, on another tram.

She politely declined Li Xi's offer to take her home and boarded the tram alone, sitting in a corner.

The girl lowered her head, hugging her schoolbag. Her short, light gray hair covered her cute face, making this petite girl look just like a tiny mushroom.

An ordinary-looking, grayish, seemingly harmless and delicious mushroom, avoiding the light, huddled alone in an unnoticed corner, quietly lost in thought.

"Should we try looking for it tonight?"

Suddenly, one of the girls dressed as high school students spoke up.

"Huh? You really believe that? It's just an urban legend~"

The girl next to him asked a question in return.

Deng turned her gaze blankly, unusually not lost in her own world, but she failed to understand the conversation between the girls.

After all, it was a topic they had been discussing before she boarded the tram. It's normal that she only caught a few words when she got closer and didn't understand them.

"But haven't a lot of people said they saw it around dusk these past few days? Anyway, it's not that late..."

The girl who first made the suggestion seemed quite enthusiastic.

"That's all fake. So many people claiming to be eyewitnesses, but there's not a single photo or video. It's obvious they're just joining in the fun and lying. They even said that if you bump into someone, you'll get a bottle of really good milk... It sounds like some kind of milk commercial."

Another girl spoke up as well.

"That's because"

"We haven't had any photos or videos yet. If we could get them, that would be firsthand information!"

Even after being refuted by her companions, the girl seemed to be sticking to her own ideas.

"Miss Rabbit Fairy under the moon! I also want to see just how beautiful she is, that everyone who sees her says they were stunned and forgot to take a picture...!"

She held her hands to her heart, her eyes sparkling, as if she were dreaming of something.

"If only we could have a beautiful encounter... Isn't that something that often happens in visual novels, as the beginning of the story?!"

He also uttered some words that the lamp couldn't quite understand.

"You're hopeless..."

Her companions, standing beside her, covered their foreheads, looking at her with a mixture of helplessness and disgust, shaking their heads repeatedly.

The conversation had barely ended when, at the next stop, several girls walked off the tram, chatting and laughing.

The surroundings returned to tranquility.

Deng didn't dwell on the urban legend she had overheard. As her consciousness returned to calm, her free time left her feeling depressed once again.

Until the tram reaches its destination.

The gray-haired girl stepped off the tram platform and walked along the familiar road.

Instead of going home as Lixi had expected, she ended up in front of a planetarium.

It was precisely because she wasn't planning to go home that Deng refused Lixi's offer to accompany her.

There were no staff members at the entrance, and it was very quiet inside. It seemed that there were no other guests at the planetarium today, except for her.

However, Deng didn't pay much attention to that; she just hugged her schoolbag tightly and went inside.

In the days since school started, after each rehearsal, Deng would make time to come here before going home.

I easily found a seat in the empty venue and sat down.

I didn't think about why I hadn't seen any staff members along the way, nor did I think about why the planetarium was so dark.

Even more unexpectedly, despite it being the start time of the astronomy exhibition, I couldn't hear the familiar voice of the interpreter.

The lamp adjusted the chair back to a reclining position. She held her diary in both hands, lay quietly on the chair, raised her eyes, and gazed at the dark curtain on the ceiling with her amber eyes.

My melancholy mind gradually became hazy, and a sense of weariness slowly rose within me.

　As if something had stolen her strength, her delicate body became increasingly heavy and she could no longer lift her limbs.

But in contrast, the deep-seated pain and inescapable fear that had plagued her since the start of rehearsals with everyone were all drained away along with all her strength.

In the quiet, deserted venue, a serene loneliness, like a veil, enveloped the young girl.

Sleepiness finally overwhelmed her already weak willpower, the lamp slowly closed its eyes, she curled up, and drifted off to sleep.

The girl, tormented by inner anxiety and pain, found long-lost relaxation here.

……

Lately, Alex has been going out for a stroll almost every evening.

To be precise, he was wearing two rabbit ears and running around all over Tokyo.

Once she leaves Ikebukuro, a bustling area where it's impossible for familiars or witches to get close, she opens the mini-map and starts running around the map, looking at the various creature icons on it.

Alex thought that after she parted ways with Su Shi that day, he would often come out to fight witches.

After all, they had just acquired such interesting magic, gained the ability to fight monsters, and had such a high demand for monster drops, Seeds of Lamentation.

Judging from her own experience, Alex thought that Su Shi would be eager to go out and find some monsters to fight as soon as night fell.

She really couldn't stand it.

Yes, Aine's mom is too.

But the result was somewhat unexpected. In the past few days, Alex had killed several familiars and saved two or three people who were almost kidnapped by familiars, but she had not been able to run into Su Shi even once.

It's hard to imagine that her identity is that of a magical girl protecting Tokyo.

That's so irresponsible! Doesn't Kyubey have any objections?

Alex was still thinking of finding Su Shi in this way.

"Why don't we ask Xiangzi another day which school Su Shi is wearing, and then go directly to the school to find her..."

Alex, who was leaping between buildings, stopped and muttered something to herself.

If the clothes that Su Shi wore when she deactivated her transformation that day were indeed school uniforms.

Alex glanced at the large blank area on the minimap, devoid of any creature icons, then closed the minimap and looked down at the planetarium in front of her.

A sign that read "Under Maintenance" stood at the entrance of the planetarium, and there were hardly any passersby around, making the environment unusually quiet.

With a thud, Alex leaped down from mid-air and stood in the doorway. She shook her two long, erect ears and glanced at the sign.

Maintenance period: April 1st - April 10th

Generally speaking, this kind of place is very suitable for a witch to stay temporarily.

In particular, the probability of a witch's barrier appearing is even greater when small animals like rats and stray cats and dogs are not visible on the map.

The situation was exactly the same when we were fighting the Banker Witch and the Witch of All Diseases.

It's almost certain that there's a witch's barrier inside.

Could Su Shi be inside?