Give children a little self-destruction shock to their worldview.

"Really not? Since you came here, many young girls in the tribe have been secretly watching you, haven't you? Didn't you fall for any of them?" The blue-haired aquatic seemed to be deliberately trying to find out what Yuga Mayumi was thinking. She brought her face closer, admiring the guardian's face that even aliens could find attractive, and giggled, "You're always so serious, I'm starting to like you."

Mayumi Haga remained unmoved: "But they are at least three hundred years older than me, and are elders to whom I should use respectful terms."

The average lifespan of aquatic creatures is around a thousand years, and they grow slowly. Those aquatic creatures that look about the same age as Mayumi Haga are older than her great-grandmother.

"...Anyway, you don't need to worry about your lifespan." Taken aback, the friend said irritably, "What a spoilsport."

The blue-haired aquatic creature threw the notebook back into Mayumi Haga's arms, then jumped into the water, splashing water all over Mayumi Haga's face.

The latter wasn't angry; he simply wiped his face and continued writing his travel notes.

This notebook remained with her thereafter.

.................................................. .................................................. .

[Travel Notes]

The year of the Alamo calendar is ●●●●, the Blood Moon, and the date is indistinguishable.

There is no longer sunrise or sunset.

I found a dull blue scale in the snowy mountain territory.

Thank you for the Night Core Fruit.

Chapter 74: Did you not toy with Hitomi Tono's feelings?

Akari Arisu has always been quite curious about this guardian lady.

Each magical girl has her own signature theme color, which is said to be the color of her heart. For example, Arisu Akari's sky blue and Tono Hitomi's deep red, or Takajo Yuri's pale yellow, each has its own meaning.

While it was a bit surprising that a fool like Hitomi Tono would have a relatively deep crimson, generally speaking, the theme colors of magical girls are mostly determined according to their individual personality traits.

And this guardian lady—who isn't a magical girl, but stands with one—is pitch black.

A somber and despairing inner world, a gloomy and scarred face, and a cold yet sharp gaze.

No matter how you look at it, it's completely out of place for a magical girl.

Therefore, Arisu Akari was both curious and wary of this oddball. She believed that the existence of such a suddenly appearing stranger who could stir Tono Hitomi's heart was not a good thing.

He looks like he's in his early twenties, yet he's entangled with a high school student, taking Tono Hitomi out drinking and getting her drunk... Isn't that just irresponsible of an adult?!

Magical Girl Sky Blue hates irresponsible adults the most.

Akari Arisu's impression of the Guardian was suddenly tinged with prejudice.

For some reason, the blue-haired stranger next to her was casting a rather hostile gaze at her. She looked up and saw his inhuman, molten gold pupils, which made her instinctively shrink back when her eyes met his. Then he glared at her even more displeasedly.

Why are you being so fierce?

Mayumi Haga felt a little confused and before she could think about it, her attention was drawn back by Ayasa Terasaki's annoyed voice: "Are you even listening to me?"

The white-haired, golden-eyed guardian immediately lowered his head respectfully: "I'm sorry."

The unruly lone wolf's sudden display of submissiveness almost made Terasaki Ayasa faint with anger. After all, such a swift admission of wrongdoing made Terasaki Ayasa's lecturing tone seem weaker.

"In short, don't bring Tono along next time. She can't drink alcohol until she's over twenty." Terasaki Ayasa almost choked on her breath. She sighed, "As for you... you need to brush up on your knowledge of this world."

Her perception of the Guardian Lady changed in a subtle way.

Does this person from another world really not understand the rules here at all?

How do you survive in this world if you don't understand anything? Do you camp in the wild without a fixed place to stay?

Terasaki Ayasa's puzzled gaze fell on Haga Mayumi, who couldn't understand why the doctor was staring at her with such a thoughtful expression.

"Excuse my curiosity, Guardian, where have you been staying these past few days?" Terasaki Ayasa asked softly, softening her tone.

Mayumi Haga looked back, puzzled, and refused to answer the question: "This is my private information, and I do not intend to disclose it."

I can't exactly say I live in Sugiyama Rika's house, or I feel like Terasaki Ayasa will hate me.

"It's like this... Do you have some time lately?" While Tono Hitomi was still asleep, the doctor ruthlessly entrusted the work to Haga Mayumi. "If it's convenient, perhaps you'd like to help her with some of her work."

The doctor originally planned to take advantage of the fact that the other party had knocked out Tono Hitomi, and use clever language to make the other party agree to do her work out of guilt... However, before she could finish speaking, Haga Mayumi readily agreed.

"Please let me know if you need me," the Guardian said, sitting up straight. "I will do my best."

Although she still appears to be a gloomy ghost from another world, in this instant, the words uttered by her hoarse and unpleasant voice are completely different from the impression left by her appearance, allowing people to glimpse a part of the guardian's past life.

Countless times, the Guardian Lady has shown such a solemn expression when faced with requests for help. As long as it is within her power, she will definitely set off with the mission.

Although she doesn't make any grand promises of "definitely completing" anything, she will do her best to protect whatever her hands can reach and safeguard, making her a true doer.

Terasaki Ayasa then noticed that the other person had a straight back, and if you ignored his fierce appearance and deliberately cold personality, and didn't pay attention to his pupils that gave off a strong sense of inhuman strangeness, the scars on his face, the repair of his vocal cords... if you completely disregarded all these external factors, he did seem to be a decent person.

It's so interesting.

Terasaki Ayasa hadn't paid much attention to this strange person from another world before. After all, this guy always acted like the lifeless ashes left behind by something that had been burned to ashes, which was really insignificant to the former magical girl.

If I had to say, it's because the art style is different, so I couldn't appreciate that dazzling brilliance.

Only by chance can one discover that the heart hidden within the thick ashes still possesses some redeeming qualities.

Although I wanted to describe him as "surprisingly a good kid," it felt strange because he looked about my age.

Surprisingly, he's a really nice person.

“So, during the time Tohno can’t transform, I’ll be asking you to patrol the city with the other two magical girls,” Terasaki Ayasa said. “It’s okay if you don’t want to cooperate with the others; just lighten our load a bit. As payment, I’ll give you the magic potions you need…”

Although I can't give him blood rich in magic, I've already researched enough potions to replenish magic to let the guardian try them out.

Wait, she's so close to Tono, yet she lacks magic...

She paused, realizing something was amiss, and hesitated before asking, "You didn't deliberately approach Tono because you needed to replenish your mana, right?"

Of course, Mayumi Haga didn't have one. She said seriously, "No."

Although it had been done once before, the situation was urgent then.

That should absolutely never be done again.

Mayumi Haga needs magic, but she respects her friend's choice even more. Even if Hitomi Tono is willing, she would never approach her with the intention of using her.

Terasaki Ayasa breathed a sigh of relief after learning that the Guardians hadn't harmed the innocent Tohno Hitomi: "Thank goodness. I hope you remember what you said today."

After all, Hitomi Tono is Rika Sugiyama's student, so she can't just be easily fooled by the Guardians... From the perspective of an elder, she should take extra care of her.

Having received Mayumi Haga's promise and cast a spell to dispel negative effects on the completely drunk Hitomi Tono, Terasaki Ayasa's work for the day was finally over.

Main Text: Chapter Seventy-Five: The Orange Juice Monster and the Real Orange Juice Monster

In the evening, the manager of Sijian Convenience Store sat in the store, watching the rain drizzle outside.

The sky darkened without us noticing, and the lights, which were supposed to be turned on in another half hour, were turned on at that moment. The warm light under the eaves was reflected in the puddles on the ground, and the calm light reflection was shattered by the impact of the raindrops.

The wind outside was getting stronger; even indoors, you could feel the cold wind whistling in.

The store manager pulled his collar up, feeling a bit cold.

The store manager was a middle-aged woman around fifty years old, with an exaggeratedly voluminous perm. Her face was slightly serious and harsh, with fine lines etched on it by time. She wore triangular glasses and looked like the bookstore manager from the anime "Crayon Shin-chan".

Si Jian, the store manager stood up, about to straighten the umbrella rack and make a call to ask when the orange juice he had bought would be delivered... Suddenly, a shadow fell at the doorway.

She looked up and saw the strange man's smiling face.

What's called a face is actually just a round glass dome displaying facial expressions, which is used to distinguish front from back. The inside of the glass dome, including the strange man's body, is entirely composed of orange juice.

It has the pure color of orange juice that immediately reveals its superior quality, and is definitely not a diluted, inferior juice.

Because its true form is orange juice, a liquid that would be contaminated if exposed to the elements, the Orange Juice Monster's self-constructed body consists of two parts: the orange juice itself, and a thick, white, spacesuit-like garment that encases it.

Normally, they need to observe the outside world through a glass-covered helmet, which is also equipped with a communicator, enabling them to speak face-to-face or communicate remotely with their subordinates.

Although magic can also achieve this, every bit of magic power saved is worthwhile.

The Orange Juice Monster also has the logo of Ultimate Juice printed on its chest.

He is the founder of this brand.

"Hello." The orange juice monster put on a warm smile and skillfully handed his business card to the shop manager. "I'm not here to attack this shop, please don't panic."

His body was large and strong, but his demeanor was not rude. He was far from the elegance of a gentleman of the abyss, and could only be described as polite, but he was still quite different from his brethren.

After all, aside from being a weirdo, the Orange Juice Monster is also a businessman.

At first glance, the shop manager thought this strange man was also going to attack the shop. He was about to warn the man to be careful not to break anything, lest he be unable to afford the damages and have to stay and work... When he learned that the man had no intention of attacking, he immediately relaxed.

She took the business card and heard the other person introduce himself: "I'm Jeffrey. I'd like to ask you a little about the sales of Ultimate Juice. Would it be convenient for us to talk?"

"...Oh, okay." Startled by the strange man's serious business dealings, Manager Yoshimi paused for a moment before coming to his senses.

However, she had indeed heard about it.

The oddballs of Dessert City aren't particularly skilled in combat magic; they're more adept at culinary magic related to cooking or baking. Initially, these oddballs preferred to stuff large quantities of food into people's mouths, feeding on the suffering humans endured from eating unpalatable food.

The magical girl who was there before guided them onto the right path, and now basically the entire dessert city is moving in that direction with the goal of making even more delicious food.

The orange juice freak is one of the more business-savvy ones among them.

He started from scratch with his followers, and because he was an orange juice enthusiast, he naturally had an advantage in the quality of his orange juice, which allowed him to establish himself in the market.

Soon, Ultimate brand food products were sold all over the country, among which Ultimate brand orange juice was the most classic.

So what's the use of being a monster if you're so powerful... Fear can't put food on the table, and he's working three jobs to support his younger siblings, with no idea when it will end.

Thinking of the new employee who had recently joined his store, Manager Si Jian couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

It would be better to become a ramen freak; at least you'd have a skill for making ramen.

On another note, is this orange juice weirdo here in Miracle City on a business trip?

The store manager briefly introduced the recent sales situation to the orange juice enthusiast, then remembered that their orange juice had sold out yesterday.

She said, "The orange juice is all sold out."

"Is it very popular?" The Orange Juice Man visibly became pleased.

"No, we usually go through a few dozen bottles a day. It's just that yesterday, the nearby residents bought them all at once, so it was an isolated incident." Manager Sijian thought of the little girl who always came to the store to buy near-expiry bento boxes to make do with her three meals a day.

She remembered that the child lived nearby, and she had never seen him buy any snacks that children like to eat. He was also very thin and didn't pick and choose his lunchboxes at all. The middle-aged and elderly shop manager couldn't stand it.

She would occasionally try to force the child to eat something more nutritious, but the child always refused and insisted on paying for it.

I wonder what that child's family situation is like. It's too much to be so frugal that they look pale. If I have the chance to meet that child's parents next time, I'll have to have a good talk with them.

Yesterday, that child came to the store and bought all the Ultimate brand orange juice. The store manager lent her a shopping cart so she could take it all.

Actually, that kid occasionally buys things from the store. Last time she bought all the bagged bread in the store, and the time before that she swept up all the instant noodles... I really don't understand her family's financial situation.

"All of them..." the Orange Juice Monster exclaimed in surprise, "Could they be the ultimate fans of the Ultimate brand?"

The store manager wanted to say no, that the kid usually wouldn't buy any drinks, but seeing how excited the orange juice freak was, he didn't dampen his enthusiasm.

Just as the two were talking, the automatic door opened again. A cold wind carrying rain blew in, making them realize how heavy the rain was outside.

As if on cue, the black-haired girl who was being discussed by the shopkeeper and the strange man entered the shop, soaking wet. Her clothes were almost completely drenched, and she hadn't brought an umbrella.

"Oh dear, what happened to you!" The shop manager was shocked to see that the other person's already bad complexion had become even worse after being soaked by the rain, turning bluish-purple. "Come in quickly and wipe yourself off, you'll get sick like this."

She took a pack of unused disposable towels, opened it, and handed it to the girl so she could dry herself off first.

The black-haired girl whispered, "Thank you."

Then he asked the store manager, "Has the orange juice arrived today?"

Chapter Seventy-Six: The Aura of the Same Kind

Mayumi Haga noticed the huge shadow beside her. She turned her head and saw the orange juice monster's face, which was a mixture of excitement and shyness. She took a half step back warily.

The other person was dressed like Sandy the squirrel from the animated series "SpongeBob SquarePants," but the clothes were filled with orange juice... This person definitely looked like a weirdo.

What kind of weirdo is this?

Haga Mayumi had never seen it before.

However, if she turns on the TV once a week, she will most likely see the Orange Juice Man commercial on TV.

The orange juice weirdo was taken aback. Seeing Mayumi Haga's indifferent reaction, he realized that she probably wasn't really his fan.

However, this is for the best.

The sense of accomplishment comes from choosing your own beverage simply because of its taste.

"...Who are you?" Mayumi Haga stared at the strange man in front of her for a long time without saying a word, becoming increasingly wary.

The shop manager, who was standing nearby, explained the strange man's identity: "This strange man has come to the store to inquire about the sales situation."