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

A deep red meteor crashed into the clock tower with tremendous force. After the loud bang, smoke and dust filled the air, and the sound of Hitomi Tono coughing could be heard from inside.

"Cough cough... Mayumi? Are you alright?" Tono Hitomi had tried to grab Mayumi Haga and land on her back during the descent, but in her panic, she didn't know where she grabbed. Now her hand was warm and wet, and she sensed something was wrong.

Mayumi Haga seemed to be right in front of her, but Hitomi Tono's magical power was unstable, and her head seemed to have hit something, and it was also obscured by smoke and dust, so her vision was blurry and she couldn't see clearly.

Tono Hitomi felt Mayumi Haga gently withdraw her arm and replied very softly, "It's nothing."

The sound was indeed right in front of me.

She breathed a sigh of relief, raised her hand to rub her eyes, and quickly said, "Is your arm alright? It seems like she pinned your left hand down just now, but you managed to break free..."

As she spoke, her vision gradually cleared, and Hitomi Tono's words caught in her throat.

Mayumi Haga's left hand didn't look like it was alright at all.

It was clearly severed at the elbow, and I don't know when it was bandaged. You can see the dark-colored bandage through the empty space inside the sleeve.

Mayumi Haga didn't seem to care. She just stared at Hitomi Tono and frowned slightly, disapproving of Hitomi Tono's forced transformation and taking her away.

That concerned expression only appeared for a moment, but Hitomi Tono keenly caught it and didn't miss it at all.

There was still blood on her hands from when she grabbed Mayumi Haga's severed arm... no, it had actually turned into a sticky liquid now, and she rubbed it onto the area around her eyes when she rubbed them.

For a moment, Hitomi Tono's mind went blank. Before she could say anything, she saw Mayumi Haga stand up with one hand, even faster than she could.

The latter said in an unquestionable tone, "You stay here and don't move around anymore."

To be honest, involving Tohno Hitomi wasn't what Mayumi Haga had planned, but the girl was much more reckless than she had imagined. If things continued like this, Tohno Hitomi would definitely get hurt if she continued using magic, so they had to separate here.

After saying that, she tried to leave.

"...What about the homemade bomb you stuck around my neck, Mayumi?" Hitomi Tono suddenly asked. "Aren't you going to take it off?"

When Mayumi Haga was called to a stop, out of concern that her blessing might become ineffective or out of control at any time, she still half-squatted down and reached out her right hand to remove the thing from Hitomi Tono's neck.

The pink-haired girl, unable to use all her costumes and transform, fell here in a truly disheveled and disheveled state.

She sat on the ground, looking up as she waited for Mayumi Haga to remove the homemade bomb.

At this point, Mayumi Haga was already somewhat unsteady on her feet.

Her physical condition was already poor; the severed arm hadn't healed on its own, and the massive blood loss made her dizzy and her vision blurred. After regaining her balance, she reached out her hand—

—But suddenly she was caught by Hitomi Tono.

Suddenly, the other person grabbed her arm and used the strength enhanced by magic, making it difficult for the weakened Mayumi Haga to break free.

Mayumi Haga was taken aback, and when she forced herself to meet Hitomi Tono's eyes, she felt even more unfamiliar with her.

Hitomi Tono is crying.

Mayumi Haga couldn't decipher the complex emotions behind her tears. With her mind in such a daze, she couldn't understand why Hitomi Tono was crying in front of her.

Mayumi Haga remained silent for a moment: "...Let go."

"I won't let go, I absolutely won't let go here." Tono Hitomi's bloodshot eyes were fixed on Haga Mayumi's face.

Mayumi always had such a cold and aloof demeanor, which infuriated her.

It's not just sadness anymore, it's escalated to the point of being furious.

Does she have absolutely no place in the other person's heart? Why won't they tell her a single word?

Despite being in pain, she slapped away the hand that was trying to save her.

For the first time, Hitomi Tono was angry at Mayumi Haga's appearance.

Why am I always so depressed?

Hate.

I hate Mayumi's appearance.

Hitomi Tono was extremely annoyed by the thickness of Mayumi Haga's mental barrier. Her previous battle plan, which involved using perseverance like water dripping on stone to melt the iceberg, was completely forgotten at this moment.

If I don't grab Mayumi's hand at this moment, she really will turn around and leave without looking back.

And they will never come back.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Tono Hitomi's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face as her emotions surged.

She used enhancement magic to grab Mayumi Haga's intact right hand, rendering her unable to move.

"Mayumi's left hand hasn't recovered... What happened?" Hitomi Tono asked angrily, tears streaming down her face. Her tone left no room for argument. "Tell me, don't always stay silent."

Mayumi Haga felt somewhat unfamiliar with Hitomi Tono in front of her, but that wasn't enough for her to reveal her true vulnerabilities.

She said in a deep voice, "I'll say it again, let go."

Tono Hitomi didn't let go; instead, she pulled hard, causing Haga Mayumi to lose her balance.

Mayumi Haga was startled, not understanding what had gotten into Hitomi Tono. She was just thinking of using self-destruction to escape when she sensed something was wrong.

wait……?

Mayumi Haga felt a wet kiss land on her dry lips.

...Xiaotong?

Under the influence of the enhancement magic, Mayumi Haga sensed Hitomi Tono's anger.

Her back was pressed against the wall, and the pink-haired girl stood on tiptoe and bit her lips. Magic pried open her teeth and poured into her body in large quantities. She was a little dizzy from the large amount of magic, and Mayumi Haga's brain briefly went blank.

Main text: Chapter 136 I Am Not a Good Man

When Mayumi Haga travels alone, she rests and spends the night at roadside inns.

Most post stations kept dogs for hunting, herding, and guarding.

She would occasionally take out the poultry or game she had hunted from her backpack and feed it to the dogs. The dogs would then affectionately jump up and lick her fingers or cheeks to show their affection.

Hitomi Tono's kiss... really felt like a dog's.

The kiss was so intense that saliva dripped down his chin, sticky and swirling in his mouth with the refreshing minty scent—strange, when did Xiaotong eat the mint candy?

Mayumi Haga tried to push the other person away, but her body felt warm and limp due to the influx of a large amount of magic power, leaving her powerless. After a brief moment of astonishment, she realized that this might be Tono Hitomi's rather aggressive and direct way of replenishing magic power. After a few unsuccessful attempts to push him away, she stopped trying to push him off her.

The influx of a large amount of magic was a godsend for Mayumi Haga's riddled body.

An itch arose at the severed wound on her bleeding left arm, and the familiar self-healing function seemed to have started working again, but not as quickly as before, and it did not cause the limb to regenerate.

But this is already more than enough.

Mayumi Haga tried to push Hitomi Tono away again, and after her magic power was almost replenished, Hitomi Tono finally realized what was happening and released Mayumi Haga.

She was slightly out of breath, and her lips were red and moist as if stained with blood... In fact, they were almost there; Yuga Mayumi's lips were cut, and beads of blood were all over them.

Haga Mayumi did not speak.

"Mayumi, are you feeling better now?" Hitomi Tono asked her, her ears turning red belatedly.

Her face was still covered in tears, her nose was red, and she looked utterly disheveled. She hadn't recovered yet and was sobbing intermittently.

But she will not regret her actions.

If he doesn't force her, Mayumi will definitely not accept his help under these circumstances.

...Yes, my approach was correct.

And it turned out to be effective. After forcibly kissing Mayumi, she didn't run away immediately, but stood there waiting for him to speak.

Thinking of this, Tono Hitomi realized that she had found the right way to take her relationship with Haga Mayumi to the next level, and her gaze became even more determined.

Mayumi Haga had no idea what Hitomi Tono was thinking. After her magic power was replenished, she took out the Mayumi fragments that she had previously stored in her backpack.

In past battles, she has replaced countless body parts. Among these idle fragments, there is naturally a piece that suits her now.

Then Tono Hitomi saw Mayumi Haga's eyes suddenly glaze over, and then she was pulled out of mid-air...

...an arm?

Blood was still dripping from the severed arm, causing Hitomi Tono to exclaim, "Huh?!" But having witnessed even more shocking scenes, she roughly guessed what Mayumi Haga was going to do next, so she wasn't too scared, just stunned.

As expected, Mayumi Haga turned her back to her to prevent her from seeing the scene that would trigger her orange juice filter. After a slight adjustment, she aligned her arm with the broken end and reattached it.

With the aid of magical healing, the severed arm was reattached. Mayumi Haga's face, which had regained some color, paled again, but thankfully, her arm seemed to be truly healing.

Mayumi Haga tried to move the fingers of her left hand, and after an initial tremor, she quickly regained her original dexterity.

She spread her five fingers, moved them around, and confirmed that the feeling after the reattachment was not much different from before.

Apart from the severed area at the elbow, the area was still a bloody mess.

She wrapped the bandage around again, securing it properly and concealing the fragile incision.

It works, but it probably won't be able to lift heavy objects for a while. If you mess with it, it will likely break easily.

At least using a paraglider shouldn't be a big problem.

While it is possible to use a paraglider with one hand, this makes it difficult to counter potential enemy attacks while in the air.

Okay...! All done.

Mayumi Haga turned around and looked at Hitomi Tono, who had been staring at her in disbelief since earlier.

The latter stammered, "...Is this even possible? Is this magic, or is it Mayumi's own...?"

Mayumi Haga didn't want to answer, but her mouth opened on its own: "This is magic stimulating my body to accelerate its self-healing."

She realized something was wrong halfway through her sentence; this wasn't the answer she wanted to give!

This is……

She remembered the minty taste in Tono Hitomi's mouth earlier.

Mayumi Haga looked at Hitomi Tono in surprise. The latter wiped the mess from her face and bit her lower lip: "This is a truth candy. I just chewed one up and fed at least half of it to you."

Because of the Truth Candy's effect, Hitomi Tono had no choice but to frankly admit that she had done it.

"Why?" Mayumi Haga asked, puzzled.

Hitomi Tohno: "Because if I don't do this, Mayumi, you will never tell me anything. I have a lot of questions to ask you, and don't even think about leaving now. I will keep chasing you. If you come, I will continue to help you escape."

"..." Mayumi Haga didn't know what to say to Hitomi Tono for a moment, but her inner thoughts spoke out before her mind could process them: "You didn't need to get involved. I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"But I don't know anything, do I?" Hitomi Tono said, feeling both hurt and angry. "You're unwilling to tell me anything, which is why I'm in this passive position."

However, it's different now.

Tohno Hitomi composed herself and asked, "Mayumi, why did you become the Despair Monster?"

"..." Mayumi Haga's lips twitched twice, but she still answered reluctantly, "I'm not the Despair Monster. The real Despair Monster is in my backpack. I've been asked to hide her before dawn."

Tohno Hitomi's eyes lit up immediately: "I knew Mayumi wouldn't suddenly become a monster! So, is this Despair Monster a good person or a bad person?"

Mayumi is far more discerning than I am; she can't possibly be fooled. Besides, Mayumi isn't a hopeless monster; as long as she explains things to that senior magician, she won't be sealed away.

After realizing that Mayumi was not a monster and could not be sealed away easily, Hitomi Tohno felt much relieved.

But then, out of the blue, Mayumi Haga asked her through the Truth Candy, "Then why did you help me?"

Is it based on trust, or is there something else involved?

"Because I like you," Hitomi Tono answered instinctively, "and you're the person I can trust the most I've ever met."

In her mind, Mayumi Haga had extremely high moral standards, like a road sign that always guided her in the right direction.

...Huh? What did I just say...?

Before Tono Hitomi could even blush, she heard Haga Mayumi's helpless voice:

"But I am not a good man."

Chapter 137 Even if you beg for mercy, I won't stop

"I am not a good man, and it would be the worst choice to place your feelings on me." Mayumi Haga's words were firm and cold. She stated directly that she did not accept Hitomi Tono's kindness, and Hitomi Tono knew that she was sincere because of Truth Candy.

But Hitomi Tono is not a child who will give up just because of such a rejection. Moreover, she feels that she has vaguely grasped Mayumi Haga's true thoughts.

She retorted, "What does my liking for you have to do with you?"

The words Mayumi Haga had prepared got stuck in her throat: "?"

She had originally intended to tell Hitomi that she had nothing to offer that would make her like her, but in that instant, countless flaws of her own surfaced in her mind. These incorrigible flaws had cost her a great deal, and were the root of her belief that it was best not to form connections with others.

But Hitomi Tono's words, "It has nothing to do with you," completely shut her up.

What does this sentence mean?