You call this a love game?

However, when Hitomi Shizuki asked the question, Sayaka's expression froze instantly, and she stopped feeding herself sweets. She pricked up her ears, wanting to hear how Shiraha would explain.

Although Bai Yu said he didn't know in the morning, Sayaka still had some doubts about whether her childhood friend had secretly found someone else or whether he no longer wanted her.

"Well..." Bai Yu slowly put the cake into his mouth, feeling two burning gazes fixed on him. A slight smile played on his lips as he deliberately drew out his words, "Maybe it's karma from a past life~"

"Ah, I see. You two are destined partners who met across time and space, right?" Sayaka couldn't help but retort.

Chapter Seventeen: Completely Different Fates

Although Sayaka guessed from the expression on Shiraha's face that he probably wouldn't give a serious explanation, she didn't expect him to come up with such a childish reason.

A past life?

If there really is such a thing as a past life, then reincarnation must also exist, right?

She hoped that in her next life she could also become Bai Yujun's childhood sweetheart... no, she might as well just become lovers and fast forward to marriage.

"Heh... Kamijou-kun really knows how to joke."

Hitomi Shizuku chuckled lightly, her forced smile suggesting she wasn't entirely satisfied with the explanation.

"Actually, this is also the first time I've met her."

"But how can you say that on the very first meeting..."

Sayaka slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, then realized her rudeness and sat back down, blushing.

Hitomi Shizuki elegantly wiped the corner of her mouth with a tissue, but the slight twitching in her eyes betrayed her unease.

"Alright then, it seems this Xiaomei is quite special..."

She was extremely curious about what kind of person would do such a thing on the first meeting; it was just so unladylike!

But no matter what, Bai Yujun was already wronged by that person, and she was very angry!

Bai Yu shrugged: "Maybe they're my fans? After all, I'm a fairly well-known violinist."

"Hmph!" Sayaka forked a piece of cake with a huff, popped it into her mouth and chewed it in a fit of pique, "That kind of cold woman wouldn't have a musical talent!"

It was something that should have been hers, but it was taken away from her right in front of her. It's outrageous!

She wanted nothing more than to chop that transfer student into eight pieces, but when she thought about the vast difference in their abilities, Sayaka immediately deflated.

She couldn't beat that guy.

She couldn't even protect Bai Yu, whom she loved most, or shield him from that guy's harm. She couldn't do anything...

"Sayaka, try this too, it's delicious!"

Seeing that her friend wasn't in high spirits, Madoka Kaname forked a piece of cheesecake and held it to Sayaka's lips, looking at her with concern.

"Waaaaah..."

Seeing the delicious food delivered to her door, Sayaka didn't hesitate to take a bite.

"good to eat!"

It seems that desserts can make people forget their troubles. With Madoka Kaname constantly feeding her, Sayaka quickly put her worries aside and focused on snatching food from everyone's hands.

"Hey, this strawberry is mine."

Sayaka swiftly forked the largest strawberry plant from the edge of the white feather plate.

"Yes, yes, they're all from Sayaka-sama." Bai Yu smiled and pushed the whole plate of desserts in front of her, only to be met with a smug grin from the girl.

After snatching Shiraha's food, Sayaka set her sights on Madoka, who was standing nearby.

Kaname Madoka was sipping hot cocoa in small sips, the creamy frosting leaving a white mustache around her nose and mouth.

"Hahaha, Xiaoyuan, you're so funny..."

Sayaka didn't hold back in mocking her friend's comical expression. When she saw Madoka stick out her short, pink tongue, trying to lick the foam off her lips but failing to get it clean, her laughter became even more rampant.

"Waaah... Sayaka, you're so mean!" Madoka Kaname pouted and whimpered in dissatisfaction.

"Wipe it."

Shizuku Hitomi handed her a napkin appropriately and smiled gently.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Mitakihara City.

In the abandoned factory, Homura Akemi's long black hair danced wildly in the shockwave of the explosion.

She dodged the witch's attack with a side somersault, continuously spitting fire at the witch with her submachine gun.

"Da da da da da-"

Bullet casings clattered to the ground, and the smell of gunpowder mixed with blood filled her nostrils. She was almost surrounded by the witch's minions, and countless attacks swept towards her, but none of them could stop her from advancing.

"boom--!"

Several rocket launchers were fired at the same time, instantly illuminating the originally dark and disordered witch's barrier. Countless familiars were annihilated in the explosions, and even witches could not escape the disaster.

With a sharp, piercing, and strange wail, the enormous witch's body crumbled into dust and gradually disappeared, leaving only a black seed of lamentation on the ground.

“That’s not enough…” Homura Akemi picked up the Grief Seed, gritted her teeth, and stood up. “We must eliminate all threats…”

Homura Akemi put away the still-smoking cannon barrel, turned around and walked towards the next witch's location. Her figure was gradually swallowed by the setting sun, leaving only her lonely shadow trailing behind her.

…………

The next afternoon.

After school, Hitomi Shizuki wanted to invite the group to go to the coffee shop from yesterday, but Sayaka disappeared without a trace after school, along with Shiraha.

"Does Madoka know where Sayaka and Shiraha-kun went?"

Hitomi Shizuki turned her gaze to Madoka Kaname, the only one left beside her.

"Um... well... actually I'm not really sure either..."

Madoka Kaname avoided Hitomi Shizuki's gaze with a flicker in her eyes, managing an awkward smile while feeling incredibly apologetic.

Waaah... I'm sorry, Mom, I lied... Xiaoyuan is a bad child...

After all, the matter of magical girls is too shocking to the world, and not only Sayaka, but even Kyubey asked her to keep it a secret as much as possible.

Normally, people cannot see anything related to magical girls unless she actively wants others to see it.

Madoka Kaname also asked Kyubey if Hitomi had the aptitude to become a magical girl, and the answer was heartbreaking—no.

Although she really wanted to stay with Sayaka and cheer her on, the thought of all of them leaving and leaving Hitomi alone felt a bit cruel to her. So she chose to stay and let Sayaka and Shiraha go.

But being kind-hearted by nature, she didn't know how to lie, nor did she want to. When asked a question by Hitomi Shizuki, she panicked and didn't know how to answer. In the end, she could only manage to say "I don't know."

Sayaka, whose purpose was unknown to Madoka, was walking dejectedly along the shore of Mitakihara.

Almost three hours had passed, and it was nearly dinnertime, yet they had found nothing.

It was as if all the witches had hidden themselves away, and the familiars had all been gathered into the barrier and not released. No matter how hard she searched with her Soul Gem, she could not find any trace of the witches.

In the past, she would probably have encountered two or three battles by this time.

Even if most of them are familiars, at least we can use them to show off Sayaka-sama's power in front of Shiraha-kun.

But today, Mitakihara was too peaceful, and this tranquil atmosphere gave her an ominous feeling.

"Hey, Kyubey, where do you think all the witches have gone? There were so many just a few days ago."

Sayaka squatted on the beach, holding a twig she had picked up from the roadside, and drew strange pictures in the sand.

"I'm not sure either, but I can guess a little bit." Kyubey left a cute cat paw print on the beach and tilted his head.

"Remember that strange magical girl? She might be the one cleaning up the witches in this area."

Chapter 18 You must be happy.

"What on earth is that transfer student trying to do?! Stealing all the witches is so despicable!"

Saya kicked up a cloud of sand with a huff, destroying the mess she had drawn in front of her.

If Mami-senpai were still here, that guy definitely wouldn't dare to be so arrogant. He just thought she was easy to bully because she was a newbie.

Sayaka is no pushover; she dared to come to Asami's territory and cause trouble. She's determined to give that despicable person a good beating!

"Calm down. She's so strong. We'll definitely be at a disadvantage if we fight her head-on."

Bai Yu squatted down next to Sayaka, found a good spot, and casually drew a smiley face on the sand.

Although Sayaka was indeed no match for the other party in the conflict, and had no chance of winning, the fact that they didn't immediately start fighting suggests that Homura Akemi would most likely not attack Sayaka unless she provoked the other party.

Moreover, he has one more crucial trump card – his beauty.

Although the scent was almost imperceptible, Shiraha could still barely detect a faint fragrance on his clothes, which was very similar to the scent on Homura Akemi.

To verify if it was her, he repeatedly pretended to go to the toilet or chat with friends, passing by her repeatedly, and finally confirmed that it was most likely her.

The fact that she could sneak into his room at night without anyone noticing, whether by touching his clothes or smelling them, clearly showed that the girl was not a normal person.

He'd just pretend to agree to her request, invite her for afternoon tea, and maybe slip some sleeping pills into her tea...

Although he didn't know if the drug would work on magical girls, he could at least test its effects on Sayaka beforehand.

This kind of behavior is a little unethical, but considering that the girl attacked him at night while he was asleep, he couldn't say who was more unethical.

"Let's try to look again. Maybe the witch is just hiding?" Bai Yu gently patted Sayaka's head to comfort her.

Before preparing for the worst, this was all he could say to comfort himself.

However, it turns out that Cupid's guess was not without merit.

As soon as school was over, Sayaka would drag him to every corner of the city, trying to find the witch hiding in the shadows.

For several days in a row, Sayaka found nothing and gained nothing.

Not to mention the witch's shadow, Bai Yu hasn't even seen many of those yakuza organizations or delinquent groups anymore. It seems that the security situation in Mitakihara has improved a lot as a result, with the number of people dying from various accidents being almost twice as low as in the past.

…………

Because searching for the witch together was inefficient, Bai Yu suggested that the two of them simply split up to search.

Let Kyubey follow him, and Sayaka can go by herself. Two people are always more efficient than one. As soon as he finds a witch, he can just call Sayaka and tell her to come over.

Unless there is absolutely no time to spare, he can still make a pact with Kyubey, which is not considered dangerous.

Although he felt that it didn't matter if he died this time, since he had already collected a lot of information.

Rather than immediately winning over Sayaka, he'd rather run the next simulation to see what Homura Akemi's true nature is.

However, just as Sayaka was acting alone, a green-haired girl stopped her under a cherry blossom tree.

"Renmei? What are you doing here?"

Sayaka was a little confused, as she should normally be at her after-school tutoring class at this time.

"I came here specifically to talk to you about Shiraha-kun." Shizuki Hitomi smoothed the stray hairs that fell beside her ear, her eyelids lowered.

"Huh? What happened to Bai Yu-jun?"

Sayaka reflected on Shiraha's behavior over the past few days but couldn't think of anything wrong with him.

Instead of finding the witch for several days, their witch hunt unintentionally turned into a relaxed and enjoyable date.

When she gets tired, she can find a place to rest for a while and receive a gentle massage and leg-squeezing service from Bai Yujun. When she gets hungry, Bai Yujun will take her to the snack street to buy delicious food.

Despite exercising regularly, she felt like she had gained a little weight.

This is why she was very reluctant when Bai Yu suggested splitting up.

She even thought that it would be better not to look for any witch at all, and just live a happy and carefree life like this.

"I've kept it a secret from Madoka and Sayaka all along. For a long time now, I..." Hitomi Shizuki took a deep breath, raised her head, and looked up with a determined gaze, "I've always admired Kamijou-kun."

"Eh? What?"

Sayaka's little head was filled with big questions, and her mind went blank, not knowing how to respond for a moment.

"I mean, I like Kamijou-kun."

"I see... Uh, hahaha..." Sayaka twitched the corners of her mouth, gave a couple of dry laughs, and then fell silent.

If your best friend suddenly tells you that she likes her childhood sweetheart, who also likes her, all she can think about is questions.

Why tell her this? Why does the person she likes have to be her childhood sweetheart?