Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"Tranquil? In five years, how many people did the Ave Maria ant colony kill? To them, is that tranquility?"

"That's why I use this church to do good deeds as an act of atonement."

"You're atoning for your sins while committing new ones. Do you think the sins you carry are a scale? If so, then those electronic wooden fish on short video websites will also be useful." Xiangzi said through gritted teeth.

"I don't want to make any excuses... someone always has to sacrifice."

"Then why can't it be yourself?"

Do you think it would be better for me to become a witch?

Mary opened her eyes and looked at Xiangzi with a solemn expression.

The cave opened up, revealing a simple bedroom at the back.

She turned around, stepped out, and reached out her hand to Xiangzi.

"Come out, we're already outside."

Xiangzi ignored Mary's hand and climbed out on his own.

This is probably the church, the place Chu Hua mentioned, the place where magic detection is blocked.

"Don't move here, I'm going to get something."

Mary stood in the doorway and opened it.

"I'll lock the door, so you can't run away even if you want to."

"...I don't plan to run away."

"That would be even better."

The room door slammed shut.

After a while, it clicked open again.

Mary changed her clothes, her body steaming with moisture. She took a basket and stuffed it into Xiangzi's arms. There weren't many things inside: a set of clothes, a towel, and a toothbrush and toothpaste.

"What are you doing?" Xiangzi frowned.

"I told you to go take a shower, can't you smell your own body odor?"

Xiangzi raised his hand and sniffed it.

Then she obediently took the basket and went into the bathroom.

......

Clatter. Clatter.

Xiangzi lowered his head, his back looking particularly thin and frail in the steamy bathroom.

Hot water poured over his head, flowing down his wet blue hair, along with the dirt and dust on his body, into the drain.

I opened my palm, and the "Viva Maria" witch's kiss was still lying in my hand, tingling slightly from the hot water.

"This is absolutely terrible."

Xiangzi sighed softly.

This is the sentence she has said most often since she started wandering.

She encountered too many unexpected events and setbacks in reality, and she couldn't help but feel pessimistic.

He had already gone through all the thoughts in his mind, such as the escape plan, how to contact Chu Hua and the others, why Mary told him so much, and so on.

Tomorrow morning is Sunday, and Mary will definitely be there to take charge. That will be the best time for me to escape.

It's estimated that Chu Hua and her team will also break in around this time.

I'm just unsure which direction it's coming from.

Church, or barrier...?

The gun, the bullets, the cell phone—Mary took everything away, but other than that, Mary didn't do anything more outrageous to herself.

She seemed like someone who could communicate.

But Xiangzi always felt that something was still wrong.

After being scalded with hot water for forty minutes, until his fingers were wrinkled, Xiangzi finally remembered.

Mary said she had been living like this for five years, so why did a large-scale event only happen recently?

Ultimately, does Mary really need ten Grief Seeds every day?

How exactly did the era of Witch's Night end?

How did these magical girls, including Hailing, become witches or die? Even if a considerable number of people would despair after learning the truth about witches, it wouldn't be all of them, and it might even only be a small portion.

They are magical girls born from despair, so their mentality is definitely not that fragile.

So what exactly is the reason for this...?

The Tale of Nirvana: Staying True to One's Heart: Chapter 93 The Desperate Pigsty Owner

Meanwhile, at Chu Hua's home.

"Hey, Hatsuko, don't touch my feet!"

“…Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Several obvious black lines appeared on Chu Hua’s forehead as she raised her hand.

"Is it that sensitive, Meow Meow?" Hailing poked Meow Meow's baby-like little feet expressionlessly.

"ah......"

Miao Meng pursed her lips, blushed, and shyly lifted her foot.

"It just sprouted, so this is normal... A beautiful girl like me, delicate and tender like the Princess and the Pea... isn't that normal..."

Miaomeng lifted her foot hesitantly, her delicate toes rubbing against each other.

"You mean a beautiful girl whose upper body is in her twenties and whose lower body is only a few years old?" Hai Ling said casually. "I've never seen a beautiful girl like that."

"Waaah... Who told us to lose both Butt and Xiangzi by accident?" Miaomeng said with a mournful face. "I didn't want to end up like this either."

Yes, right now, Miaomeng's lower body looks like that of a few years old. Just a few minutes ago, it hadn't even taken shape yet; it was still a blurry mass of tender flesh.

Although a magical girl's body is just an external device, and the Soul Gem, as the core, can theoretically make her immortal as long as nothing happens, it is still just a theoretical concept. Chuka took out five Lament Seeds from her storage, and Meowmee used up a whole one to restore her lower body to the appearance of a five or six-year-old child.

If it were a magical girl with weak regenerative abilities, she might have to live with only half a body for the rest of her life unless she regained her lower body.

If a vital organ like the head is completely lost, the Soul Gem's magic is simply insufficient to support self-repair; it will only recover halfway before turning into a witch.

So magical girls without super regeneration magic still need to take good care of their bodies to live longer! ~kira

Miao Meng rolled over and lay on her back on Chu Hua's sofa, her little feet, which had grown to six or seven years old, sticking out.

"Speaking of which, Xiangzi actually lives with Chuzi. I'm so envious."

"What are you envious of?" Chu Hua turned her head and asked.

"What are you envious of..." Miaomeng squinted, "Envious that Xiangzi was able to hook up with a rich guy?"

certainly not.

She envied Xiangzi for still having someone love him even in his dire straits.

But you can't say that out loud.

"I send most of the money I earn back to my hometown to support revitalization projects."

Moreover, Chu Hua is also tied to a series of public relations activities and advertisements related to her hometown, which keeps her so busy that she rarely has time to go to school.

"Hatsuko's hometown is in Ryukyu, right? I heard that she's had a tough time these past few years because of the nuclear wastewater discharge." Meow Dream said with a snort, "I can hardly remember, anyway, it's all Witch's Night's fault."

Is it all Witch's Night's fault? It's exactly what Dad said.

Chu Hua lowered her head and thought to herself.

Indeed, many people think that way, and even Chu Hua has held this idea for many years.

But recently, she has begun to feel that perhaps her mother's words are more accurate.

“The earthquake (Witch’s Night) was just a trigger; what really made these things happen were people.” Chu Hua looked up at Hai Ling. “That’s what my mother said.”

Whether it's the magical girls who created the Witch's Night era or the politicians who discharged nuclear wastewater into their home ocean, they are all human beings.

"What do you think, Hailing? You must feel it the most."

Chu Hua seemed reluctant to continue the conversation and shifted the topic to Hai Ling.

Hailing remained silent for a long time.

She wasn't thinking about Chu Hua's hometown.

After Miaomeng brought up the topic of the earthquake, she thought of Mary.

"I don't know either..." Hailing's voice remained calm, but it had a dry quality that was different from usual. "...What should a person be like? Is Mary like those selfish magical girls I've met? Is there some hidden reason why she did this?"

=========

After taking a shower, Xiangzi changed into the light white dress Mary had given him and pushed open the bathroom door.

She saw Mary sitting at her desk, fiddling with her Soul Gem.

Mary made no attempt to hide it. While humming a song that Xiangzi had heard at noon, she took out a Seed of Lamentation from the drawer, twirling the needle tip on her fingertip. In her other hand, the almost entirely black Soul Gem was placed brightly in front of Xiangzi.

She purified the gem with the Seed of Lamentation, and the filth rushed down like water flowing from a dam, quickly reaching its lowest point.

But as soon as Mary removed the Seed of Lamentation, the filthy water level immediately rose again.

“There’s only one bed in my room. I’ll sleep on the floor tonight. You can sleep on my bed,” Mary said casually as she saw her come out.

“I like sleeping on the floor.” Xiangzi sat on the edge of the bed, still staring intently at her Soul Gem.

"It's up to you then."

Mary picked up the Soul Gem, intending to put it back, but noticed that Xiangzi seemed quite curious about it.

"The Soul Stone, haven't you seen it before?"

"Why is your soul gem accumulating filth so quickly?" Xiangzi asked the question that had been on his mind.

Mary opened her emerald green eyes and looked at Xiangzi.

"You understand so clearly even the rate at which pollution accumulates; you're definitely not an ordinary person."

"Just consider me a seasoned veteran."

"Then why haven't you seen me in this situation before?"

"I've never seen so many."

“Interesting. Just having seen a lot doesn’t explain why you have such detailed knowledge.”

Mary stood up from her desk, walked over to Xiangzi, and sat down next to her.

"Are you trying to build a good relationship with me this way? Or do you have some other purpose?"

"Just out of curiosity."

"Are you curious? Curious about why the accumulation of filth is happening at such an unusually rapid pace?"

Xiangzi nodded earnestly.

"You know that magical girls can turn into witches because of despair, but do you know that there are many kinds of despair?" said Ma Liyi Lingliu Qi Erli.

There are many kinds of despair.

This was the first time Xiangzi had heard such an argument.

"Some pigsty owners will immediately break down and hang themselves after they realize that they and the pigs in their pigsty are the same kind of creatures."

Mary held the Soul Gem and examined it carefully.

"Some pig owners will give up on themselves and go into the pigsty to live with the pigs."

"There are also some who will pretend nothing happened and continue raising, selling, and slaughtering pigs."

A self-deprecating smile played on Mary's lips as she grasped the Soul Gem. Reflected within the gem were her own lifeless eyes.

"But these pigsty owners who pretend nothing happened have long since given up on everything. They are a group of people who have given up hope but still choose to live in this world."

"Despair makes the Soul Gem corrupt very, very quickly. The faster it corrupts, the more Seeds of Grief they need, and the more serious the practice of keeping witches becomes. And it's a never-ending thing. There will never be enough Seeds of Grief."