What does it mean that the group members have given me back the light?

"That's what the new teacher said. His class is the first one today. Judging by the time, he should be in the classroom by now."

Just then, the school bell rang. The two exchanged a glance and quickened their pace toward the classroom.

Gu Nuo arrived at the classroom door just as the bell rang, but the moment she pushed the door open, her steps faltered almost imperceptibly.

On the podium, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit is smiling at the students below.

That person's smile and posture were impeccable; every detail of their demeanor was perfect, like a textbook example.

But for some reason, Gu Nuo felt that something was not quite right—the teacher's smile was too standard, and his eyes were too deliberate, like a meticulously painted human skin mask, so perfect that it was unsettling.

"Please take a seat."

The man looked at the two latecomers and gestured for them to put down their textbooks and return to their seats.

He turned around, picked up the chalk, and wrote several powerful characters smoothly on the blackboard.

"Never tire of teaching others" is a proverb I really like.

The man's voice was gentle and magnetic as he smiled and slowly swept his gaze over the entire class.

"My name is Hayata, and I hope everyone will enjoy getting along with me in the coming semester."

As he spoke, his gaze almost imperceptibly met Gu Nuo's eyes for a moment.

……

……

The first class of the morning ended smoothly in this strange atmosphere.

Gu Nuo sat in his seat and watched Hayata-sensei pack up his lesson plan and leave the classroom. Although his first impression told him that this new teacher was definitely not an ordinary person, he did not take any further action because the Evolution Trusters did not have any special reaction.

Let's wait and see. Maybe this teacher just has a slight facial paralysis?

Gu Nuo was thinking to himself, completely unaware of the subtle expression on his deskmate Banai's face when she saw Anzai secretly glancing at him.

Just then, a new message suddenly appeared in the chat group.

【——“Mitakihara Arms Queen” joins the group chat——】

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Chapter Thirty-Three: Magical Girl Doesn't Believe in Ultraman

[Want to drink Mei's ○ juice: Wow, another newbie! @Mitakihara Arms Queen, hello hello, are you a guy or a girl?]

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: ?]

At Takihara City Hospital, a girl who looked to be about the age of a junior high school student slowly sat up from her hospital bed.

The girl had long, obsidian-black hair that flowed over her shoulders, with a few strands clinging to her pale cheeks with a thin layer of sweat. She wore a pair of old-fashioned red-rimmed glasses, but the eyes beneath them were as deep as the night, subtly revealing a sharpness and alertness beyond her years.

Looking at the semi-transparent chat box that suddenly appeared in front of her, with the group name still displaying 'Savior Chat Group', Homura Akemi, who had just finished a reincarnation, frowned slightly.

what?

[Kiana, the number one idol of the Reunion Movement, can you tone it down a bit? You've scared the newcomers again.]

[Old Eight's Big Stomach: This is always the case when a new person joins... It's become a regular occurrence.]

[Hermit Purple is the strongest Stand: Ahem, @Kitakihara Arms Queen, although we all come from different worlds, our group is actually a very serious group. There are jujutsu masters, magicians, Stand users, ordinary people, and even Ultraman. It's actually quite rare to see someone like Kiana harassing strangers right away.]

[Want to drink Mei's ○ juice: ??? How can you say that to me? I just said hello! This is prejudice! This is bullying!! Protest! Protest! I want to appeal!]

Ignoring the noisy paramecium, Homura Akemi paused slightly when she saw a certain keyword.

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: Ultraman?]

[Old Eight's Big Stomach: Huh, even a newbie knows Ultraman?]

[Kimi Takihara, the Arms Queen: ...Or rather, why don't you know?]

[Old Eight's Big Appetite: Haha, that's true. We only knew about Ultraman from the shows in the "Sliced ​​Poop World" series. Does this mean the newcomers are also like Nono, either as hosts or human hosts?]

Banami Anzu asked this question with some curiosity. Although the misunderstanding caused by the Evolution Truster's repeated back-and-forth movements last night made everyone a little tense, after the misunderstanding was cleared up, in order to avoid Nono continuing to feel awkward, the group members tacitly pretended that nothing had happened and naturally did not deliberately avoid anything anymore.

[Kimi Takihara, the Arms Queen: I wish I had that kind of power.]

Homura Akemi took off her glasses and used magic to heal her nearsighted eyes, but when she saw the chat box still in front of her, her brows furrowed even more.

She finally confirmed that the chat window in front of her was not a visual disturbance caused by excessive stress after the end of the reincarnation.

This was something that had never happened in previous cycles, and such a change was completely unexpected, especially after the other party mentioned a series of characters that only existed in fantasy.

Hermit Purple is the strongest Stand: craving power?

Hermit Purple is the strongest Stand: It seems there are some unsolvable problems even in the world of newcomers.

As the most experienced of the elderly, Joseph noticed the unusual behavior almost instantly.

[Hermit Purple is the strongest Stand: If you encounter any problems you can't solve, feel free to speak up. I think everyone in the group will be happy to help you find a solution.]

[Want to drink Mei's juice: Yeah, yeah, once you're in the group, we're all brothers and sisters, no need to be so polite!]

[Noah is still chasing me: Hmm, if it's a problem that requires Ultraman's power to solve, perhaps I can see if I can help you.]

Gu Nuo, who had been spying on the screen, silently typed out this sentence.

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: ?]

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: Who are you?]

[Noah is still chasing me: The suitable person, that is, a human who can become Ultraman... although this is only temporary.]

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: So, what's the price? What do I need to pay?]

Noah is still chasing me: What's the price?

Homura Akemi stared at the chat box. The other person seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying to her.

Noah is still chasing me: There's no price to pay.

[Noah is still chasing me: Of course, if possible, I'd like to have information about Ultraman in your world.]

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: ...]

The other party's conditions were simple, but Homura Akemi did not immediately agree.

Miracles and magic are never free, and she believed she understood this better than anyone else.

Even with his adorable appearance that's incredibly popular with girls, Kyubey's true nature is nothing more than a demon disguised with carefully crafted lies and poison.

They will only lure naive and ignorant girls step by step, making them sign contracts with no chance of survival. On the endless road of fighting witches, they will gradually fall into depravity and silence, eventually transforming into new witches, waiting for the next ignorant magical girl to come and fight them.

So... Ultraman?

Homura Akemi silently searched online for the name that sounded somewhat familiar to her, paying particular attention to the comments section.

"Ultraman never turns a blind eye to the weak who ask for help," "Even when facing the most powerful enemies, they never give up protecting humanity," "The Warriors of Light always choose to sacrifice themselves to protect others," "They fight not for reward, but because it is the right thing to do"...

Homura Akemi's eyes remained calm and undisturbed.

Indeed, the description is extremely similar to that of the person in the group chat who claimed to be an adaptable individual.

But before she met Kyubey, didn't she also have the same longing for magical girls in anime?

Those dazzling transformation scenes, those declarations representing love and justice, those seemingly beautiful promises... all ultimately turned into the cruelest death.

She didn't know if the other person's Ultraman identity was real or fake, but... the more perfect the appearance, the more likely it is to contain danger, and the more beautiful the promise, the deeper the trap it often hides. Didn't Kyubey use such sweet words as "granting any wish" and "protecting the world" to lure innocent girls to their destruction?

Therefore... Homura Akemi doesn't believe that there's such a thing as a free lunch.

[Meet Takihara, the Arms Queen: Thank you, I'll consider it.]

Without waiting for a reply, Homura Akemi closed the group chat. She quickly got out of bed, her eyes resolute.

Even without Ultraman's power, she would still save Madoka.

……

……

On the other side, looking at the other person's profile picture that suddenly dimmed, Gu Nuo never expected that her rare act of taking the initiative would result in a lifetime of introversion.

No, sis? Why?

He was somewhat naive and didn't understand the other person's reaction.

Just as Gu Nuo was wondering if he had said something wrong, he suddenly felt something gently poking his shoulder a few times.

“Gu Nuo,”

He turned his head and saw his deskmate, Anna Yagami, carefully holding the pencil and eraser: "After school, do you want to go see Aoi together?"

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Chapter Thirty-Four: Are you a human form? You are also a human form.

After school, the tram slowly crosses Tokyo Bay, the setting sun painting the tracks with shimmering gold. Telegraph poles flash by rhythmically outside the windows, the carriage sways slightly, and sunlight shines through the glass, casting warm patches of light on the empty seats.

Gu Nuo quietly gazed at the fleeting street scenes outside the window, the rhythmic friction of the tram tracks filling her ears.

Not far from him, two girls wearing the same school uniform were sitting together, whispering to each other.

"Why did Karen come along too?" Bana asked Anja in a low voice.

"Hey, I was planning to take this bus to the supermarket to buy some things too~"

Himegami Karen glanced at the boy not far away, then covered her mouth and chuckled, "And what's going on between you and Gu Nuo, Anzu? Are you two on a date?"

No, no, no, not at all.

When Banami saw Anna, she covered her mouth and replied softly:

“I encountered a little girl being bullied on the street a couple of days ago. Nono was there at the time, and today I just suggested that we go and see her together.”

She explained the situation simply and concisely, but omitted the part about the monster the little girl had mentioned.

"Nono?" Himegami Karen was taken aback for a moment, then revealed an expression of great interest.

She had only meant it as a casual joke, since Anja and the boy who had helped her that morning were seated far apart, and it didn't seem like they had arranged it—but the affectionate nickname "Nono" made her change her mind.

"So... what's your relationship now?" She observed her best friend's reaction.

"Uh……"

Seeing Anja scratch her cheek hesitantly, Bana asked, "What's the relationship between 'clinging to a powerful figure' and 'hitting a powerful figure'?"

"?"

Instead of the reaction she expected, Himegami Karen looked puzzled and didn't understand what Hanami Anna meant.

Seeing the puzzled look in her eyes, Yanami Anna easily guessed what the other person was thinking.

But all she could say was that her vision was too narrow.

Having been a member of the chat group for almost a year, Anna Yanami has witnessed many bizarre and wonderful things in the group, including Stand users, Originium Arts, and even a fake Ultraman appearing in a world full of vengeful spirits.

Although most of the time when these events occur, Anzu Hachimi's only role is to send a few messages in the group to cheer people on, but with her current perspective... dating?

Nothing beats clinging to Ultraman's coattails.

Thinking of this, Anzu's gaze hardened.

Yes, on the day the chat group members gathered to go to the Jujutsu World and defeat the delusional Seven, Banami Anna asked Talulah to send her a photo that she had saved beforehand and that was publicly displayed on the school's honor wall, to help confirm Nono's identity and whether she was Gu Nuo, the classmate who sat next to her at school.

The result, of course, is self-evident.

Banami Anzu carefully considered her next move: First, she would check on Aoi to see how she was doing these past few days and whether she had been bullied by those naughty kids again; if possible, she would try to find out some clues about the monster, and if she found out anything, she might be able to ask Nono for help.

This wasn't just about getting rid of her "passerby" status in the chat group as soon as possible; it was also because she had been having a sense of unease lately—it was as if a voice inside her was constantly urging her on, warning that if the fighting device continued to be empty, something terrible might happen to her someday… This inexplicable sense of crisis forced her to take action.

Hmm... Did I make a mistake?

This time, it was Himegami Karen's turn to awkwardly scratch her face. Seeing that Hachimi Anna's expression didn't seem fake, she realized that she might have misunderstood something.