Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

【Kasumi Toyama】: Meow dream meow dream, dear.

"puff."

Xiangzi's lips twitched, barely managing to suppress a laugh.

"What kind of weird name is this?"

[Toyokawa Shoko]: Okay, thank you.

[Kasumi Toyama]: Oh right, as compensation for the intelligence failure, I found that an Unknown intelligence investigation request was accepted by 'Nyanmu Nyanmu-chan'. I can make an exception and tell you which one it is.

[Toyokawa Shoko]: ......

[Toyokawa Shoko]: Thank you.

"Toyokawa Shoko, workstation number 13, be careful not to slack off, or your wages will be deducted."

"Sorry, not next time."

Xiangzi continued working in a humble manner.

The Tale of Nirvana: Where Did You Sleep Last Night: Chapter 14 There's Nothing to Fear Anymore

At four o'clock in the afternoon, Xiangzi finished get off work and found a pair of barely wearable shoes at the lost and found office of the building management office to make do with for the time being.

As I went downstairs, I saw a familiar figure sitting on the edge of the flower bed.

"A lamp?" Xiangzi was surprised.

"Xiao Xiang."

As always, Takamatsu, wearing a hoodie, waved to her.

"You must be tired from work."

"I don't care about whether it's hard or not." Xiangzi walked over. "Don't you have club activities?"

“I’m the only one in the astronomy club… so nobody cares whether I participate in club activities or not,” Deng said.

"That's not good either. You need to interact with more people to improve your overly introverted personality."

Xiangzi, wearing shoes several sizes too big, walked past the lamp with a clattering sound.

"Xiao Xiang is enough." Deng followed her. "I came to see Xiao Xiang live."

"Oh? I have something to do. You can find someone else to take a look."

"It's from Morfonica, in CiRCLE, an hour from now, it won't take up too much of Xiao Xiang's time."

Xiangzi stopped walking.

Morfonica is the band of Tsuki no Mori, the prestigious school that Xiangzi used to attend, and is Xiangzi's idol.

Moreover, they are one of the Protagonists of Reed Plains, a magical girl band.

"A witch hunt? They're sending them out... Dangou-level Great Witches?" Xiangzi asked.

"I don't know, I don't really understand these things..." Deng shook his head. "I just happened to see it. I remember Xiao Xiang likes them."

Xiangzi lowered his head, looking at the ill-fitting shoes on his feet.

"Sigh... Anyway, it's on the way. If it's a witch hunting event, maybe 'Meow Dream Meow Dream' will go to see the live performance too." She shook her head. "Let's go, but I need to buy a pair of shoes first."

============

Xiangzi had anticipated that he might meet the magical girl with the ID "Meow Dream Meow Dream" but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

At the entrance of CiRCLE, a girl with short, light purple hair and a slender figure, almost a head taller than Xiangzi, was holding a selfie stick and pacing back and forth in front of the livehouse.

"Hello everyone, Meow Meow~ Today I actually—ta-da!—came to Livehouse CiRCLE to see Morfonica's performance. I wonder if I'll be able to see the members of Pas*Pale and Roselia, who often hang out nearby~"

"..."

The opening line is her self-proclaimed name, Meow Dream Meow Dream. She probably doesn't... as if she's afraid people won't recognize her.

Xiangzi's eye muscles twitched violently a few times.

"Xiao Xiang, what's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing, I just saw an idiot."

"Xiao Xiang?"

Xiangzi realized he had said something he shouldn't have and immediately covered his mouth.

"The work environment has been a bit poor lately, but it won't be like that again."

Xiangzi shook his head, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed another tuft of purple hair.

Oh no, that's...

"Oh no, wait a minute!" The woman who called herself Meow Dream called out to the girl with purple double helix ponytails who was walking into the Livehouse, "Roselia-like?!"

"Eh?"

The girl who was called back turned around, her face exposed to Miaomeng's camera and Xiangzi's eyes.

"It's a real person!"

It's a real person!

At this moment, Xiangzi's thoughts were exactly the same as Miaomeng's. That was the administrator of CiRCLE, one of the Protagonists, the drummer of Roselia, short in stature but with boundless strength—Udagawa Ayako!

It is said that her weapon is a long-handled hammer, and she is a super-powerful magical girl who can pin witches to the ground and beat them like rice cakes.

Are legendary items really that cheap? You can see them everywhere? I'll see five more on stage later!

Wait a minute, if you think about it carefully, you often see Kasumi Toyama and other members of Popin'Party in RiNG, as well as Aftglow in the shopping street... So it should be natural to see Roselia in CiRCLE, there's no need to be so... surprised, she looks like a gachi.

No, no, don't do this, Xiangzi, you need to calm down, this isn't like you.

Xiangzi covered his face and squatted down.

The lamp tilted its head to the side, and several question marks popped up on its head.

On the other side, Meow Dream eagerly asked, "Can we have a Great Demoness?"

"Okay~"

Ako showed no airs of being a legend, just like Kasumi, and readily accepted Nyanmu's invitation. The two purple-haired girls huddled together, taking selfies with the stick.

"Great Demon Princess Ayako, answer your call—!"

==========

Finally, they entered the Livehouse venue. Xiangzi and Deng arrived a little early and secured seats on the top floor, which is the second floor. Miaomeng, on the other hand, spent some time filming outside, and by the time they arrived, the top floor was already full, so she could only stay on the bottom floor.

This made it convenient for Xiangzi to observe her.

Although it was supposed to be a live performance, Xiangzi couldn't take his eyes off Miaomeng from the moment he saw her, and he didn't even feel like listening to his favorite Morfonica.

The floor vibrated when Morfonica's lead singer, Mashiro Kurata, hit a high note, but Shoko didn't notice at all.

She was still looking at Miaomeng, who stood out from the crowd of girls of average height.

Suddenly, someone poked my cheek.

Xiangzi turned his head.

"Xiao Xiang."

Xiangzi heard the lamp speak in his ear, but because the noise from the guild hall was too loud, the lamp's voice was very unclear.

"Ok?"

“You’re distracted,” said the lamp. “This is a live performance, not work.”

"I know, it'll be over soon..." Xiangzi glanced at Miaomeng with evasive eyes.

Miao Meng was too conspicuous; even without paying special attention, you could see where she was. Moreover, the people coming in from behind pushed the people in front forward, making it difficult for Miao Meng to leave even if she wanted to. In fact, Xiangzi didn't need to be so focused.

"Xiao Xiang is pushing himself too hard. He should come to the live show to relax, right?"

"But I still have..." Xiangzi continued to waver between the lamp and the cat dream.

"A balance between work and rest is essential to improve efficiency. Isn't that what Xiao Xiang always likes to say?"

"I......"

“Isn’t this Xiao Xiang’s favorite Morfonica?” Deng tugged at Xiangzi’s sleeve. “Just think of it as keeping me company and letting me relax a little, okay?”

—"Please tell me~ tell me~ what is that~"

—"Who else exists inside me?"

The lyrics of "Unravel" stirred the emotions of the audience, and the sound of the violin echoed throughout the venue.

"...Alright." Xiangzi gave a helpless twitch of his lips and let Deng hold his hand.

I can never win against her.

"Thank you~" The lamp showed a warm smile.

The floor of the livehouse vibrated with the music, and the side of the lamp was illuminated by the stage lights, which in turn illuminated Xiangzi's heart.

The lamp's smiling face is like dew.

This allowed Xiangzi to temporarily shed all his burdens.

The stage lights shone down on the audience below and across the mountaintop, blurring the lights' silhouettes and creating a dreamlike effect.

Xiangzi was so engrossed in watching that he accidentally touched the lamp and instinctively tried to pull his hand back as if he had been electrocuted.

However, Deng held Xiangzi's hand tightly.

"Don't worry, Xiao Xiang," Deng said softly. "It will be alright, everything will be alright."

These past few days have been exhausting and incredibly difficult; I even nearly died several times. The future holds even more challenges and difficulties, but with this light shining through...

Then there's nothing to be afraid of.

=========

After the performance, Xiangzi hid in the dispersing crowd and secretly followed Miaomeng.

"Deng, that's enough for today. You should go home now. I still have things to do," Xiangzi said as he walked away.

"..."

Without even looking, you can tell that the lamp is looking at you with those pitiful, penguin-like eyes.

"No, absolutely not today," Xiangzi said.

"..."

"Sigh..." Xiangzi rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Just wait for me here at the Livehouse. It's the safest place here."

"Ok!"

After calming the lamp down, Xiangzi continued to follow Miaomeng towards the mission location marked "Unknown" near the Livehouse.

Xiangzi secretly followed Miaomeng until Miaomeng turned into a dark alley. After hesitating for a moment, she turned in as well.

"Luckily, this time it should get 100,000 to 200,000 views..."

Miaomeng held up her phone and played the video she had just filmed with Yako. Her voice was completely different from the sweet and cloying one before; it had become much more composed.

The video ended, a pause symbol appeared on the screen, and Miaomeng stopped walking.

"Domo, my dear Meow Dream~" She turned her head and looked at Xiangzi behind her in the affected yet sweet tone she used when recording the video, "What does this little kitten who refuses to introduce herself want from me for so long~"

The Tale of Nirvana: Where Did You Sleep Last Night? Chapter 15: The Pitcher Plant

"As expected of someone who specializes in intelligence, they found me so quickly."

"Discovered? I don't think you're trying to hide yourself, or is your stealth skills just really that bad?" Meow Dream shrugged and said with a smile.

Xiangzi flung out the Soul Gem, and a bright blue light burst forth. His clothes transformed into the attire of a magical girl, and the Remington M11 reappeared in his hand.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you so murderous?" Miao Meng's expression changed drastically, and she took two steps back. "I don't remember ever offending someone like you."

"candy."

"If you want candy, go find your mom! Come find me instead!"