Watching the anime from Madoka Magica and writing the rules

"Although there were some bloodstains on the ground and walls, the most striking thing was the obvious splatter marks on the right index finger."

"I tried to ask what happened, but Kamijou didn't respond, so I looked at Shizuku. He had an expression of disbelief on his face, covering his mouth with his hands as he looked at Kamijou in growing fear, then he turned and ran away."

"There was nothing I could do. I stayed behind to clean up the mess. I recovered the finger with a handkerchief, then dragged Kamijou to a nearby sink to clean the blood."

"After bringing Kamijou back to the office, I contacted his parents to pick him up. After asking a colleague to look after him, I cleaned up the scene. Of course, I took photos of the evidence. See."

Saotome said as she took out her phone and flipped to the photo to show it to Zhixing.

Zhihang looked at the photo carefully.

Against the backdrop of dusk, a trail of blood flowed down the right wall, but the heavier bleeding was on the floor next to it.

Of course, this is just a slight increase in comparison, not much. It feels like there are even fewer students who are sick and have nosebleeds.

Zhihang thought for a moment and said in confusion:

"Why is it the right hand? Shouldn't it be the left hand holding the violin?"

"Mr. Edogawa, do you really understand the situation? Kamijou is hurting himself because of what you said!"

"Calm down. Even though the severity is quite severe, that's all. He hasn't suffered any irreversible injuries, right?"

"You're already an adult, so you might not understand this, but as a teacher, I can tell you clearly that children these days are only in junior high school, and their minds are still immature. Doing things at this age can easily irritate them, leading to more extreme situations."

Zhi Xing looked at the chattering Saotome and replied calmly:

"So you're talking about their love history in class to teach them not to become the boys you hate?"

"That's another matter! The problem isn't as serious as your situation! No, where did you hear such a thing?"

Seeing the teacher stop preaching, Zhi Xing moved the hot pot to the middle of the table, turned on the fire and said:

"I understand what's going on. So, what do you want to know from me?"

"Of course it's all of them. Sayaka Miki's lifespan was shortened, Kamijou Kyousuke's arm, and Shizuku Hitomi's sleepwalking."

"Did she really sleepwalk? When did it happen?"

"Two days before you came to school, around the 2nd."

"Isn't the 2nd still a holiday? How did you know?"

"The hospital has even sent a notice saying they'll be missing a few classes this morning to do detailed examinations."

"Number 2, I remember meeting Sayaka in the evening, but I didn't see Asami leave?"

As a rare short holiday, Zhixing was forced to adjust his schedule and follow Mami to school, and he had a deep impression of the holiday.

Recalling this with doubts, Zhixing soon realized that Sayaka seemed to be more active than usual that day, as if she had accomplished something happy and couldn't help sharing her joy.

At the beginning, I had never met Sayaka who was so carefree, so I placed the notebook randomly, and it was almost seen by Sayaka who was sitting in her seat.

After comparing the information with his own, Zhi Xing nodded and said lightly:

"So, do you want to hear a lie or the truth?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"The truth is often cruel. If you hear the truth, you might not be able to continue your job as a teacher, and you won't be able to sleep or eat peacefully for the rest of your life. Do you still want to listen to it?"

"What about... lies?"

Zhixing listened to Saotome's hesitant tone and nodded secretly. Seeing that the water was boiling, he picked up a few slices of meat and put them into the pot before explaining:

"If you heard a lie, then you can connect the dots and have an explanation. Then you can treat it as just another problem student you encountered in your career and related to society. Don't take it too seriously. You won't see these students again in two years anyway."

"Really? If you want me to choose a lie, then don't make the result so unpleasant. Aren't you forcing me to choose the truth?"

Seeing Kazuyoshi's actions, Saotome put some meat and vegetables in without hesitation, then closed the lid and sighed:

"So, what is the truth?"

"If there is magic in this world, where can we find it?"

"Magic? If it were in ancient times, that kind of thing would probably be practiced by the nobility. But in modern times, I'm afraid even the police might not be able to deal with it. If it's not in the military, then it's probably in the church."

"That's a reasonable answer, though I didn't expect you to mention the church."

"Isn't this natural? Even here, there used to be several large churches. With science taking over, the only way to keep churches developing is through magic. Although the church here seems to have been abandoned last year."

"So, the truth is, you're going to tell me about some magic trick and expect me to believe you? Where's the evidence?"

"Of course the evidence is what you brought with you. Sayaka signed a contract with the cult, exchanging her own life for a miracle that could heal Kamijou's arm, and this miracle is still effective today."

"You mean, Sayaka was deceived by a bad guy?"

"Miracles are real. You should have an idea of ​​how long Kamijou has been in the hospital, and you should have a rough idea of ​​whether the doctors can cure him. In this case, a miracle can achieve a result that even doctors can't. If this isn't magic, what is it?"

"So, was Sayaka's lifespan sacrificed by the cult? How do you know this?"

Zhi Xing seemed to remember something when he heard this, scratched the back of his head embarrassedly, and replied with a smile:

"Tsk, well, I was the one who presided over Sayaka's sacrifice ceremony."

"ah?!?"

"No, strictly speaking, I just brought Sayaka to the sacrifice site and told her the choice. The one who performed the ceremony was the big boss."

"Sayaka knew about this, so why didn't she call the police? I think she was quite willing to stand up for her friend."

"Of course she does. They have a vested interest and know too much. Sayaka knows that the police can't save her."

Zhixing relayed the fact that the official magical girls would not snatch the seeds of sorrow in a tone full of the smell of money.

"Is it huge?"

Saotome held up her face and asked hesitantly.

After all, her first impression of the paper industry was that they were idle social idlers, but they also felt very much like legal gangs, so she didn't want to provoke them in the first place. If it weren't for the fact that Kamijou had given her a big shock, and the fact that he had been...

"It's not a big deal. It's one of those things where, well, Kamijou was examined thoroughly, you know, in a regular, large hospital. When the doctors were at their wit's end, he was cured with magic. And then, in just a few days? Kamijou was able to go home and go to school freely?"

Saotome sucked in a breath of cold air and subconsciously looked towards the door, as if after knowing all this, several people would suddenly rush in and kidnap her and kill her.

"In other words, does such a thing as magic really exist?"

"Otherwise, do you think there is anything that can connect them, relying on money?"

"Hmm, so, after sacrificing so many lives, Sayaka used magic to heal Kamijou? Didn't you take a cut or something?"

"The beating was very severe, but it was only after Sayaka's death. Before that, it didn't matter what Sayaka did with magic."

"So Sayaka uses magic to conduct so-called patrols?"

Saotome sorted out some of her thoughts.

"Yes, the messenger of justice. Kids this age all like this kind of thing, doing justice and punishing evil and promoting good."

"Aren't you afraid that Sayaka will deal with you?"

"You're kidding. Don't you know who got my phone number from? Given our previous relationship, how could he possibly do that to me?"

Zhixing waved his hand, rejecting Saotome's idea, although Zhixing himself didn't understand why Kyubey wasn't afraid of the magical girl's betrayal.

"Speaking of phone numbers, this number was obtained from Senior Mami, right? That Mami is a third-year student at our school, right? Was she also sacrificed?"

"That's right, Sayaka told you this too? You're really outspoken."

"So, will Sayaka end up like Asami, suddenly taking a long vacation without any warning and never coming back?"

Saotome clenched her fists, suddenly realizing she was powerless to solve the problem.

I had come here to understand the situation and see if there was anything I could do as a teacher to help the students. At the very least, I could pass the message on to the parents to avoid a mess like Kamijou's severed finger causing an unresolved issue.

"Oh, yes, you're not the third-year teacher. As for Mami, she should be back to school today. I don't think she'd give up her studies for this, even if the knowledge won't be useful in the future."

"Huh? Can you come back?"

Saotome was a little confused. She had originally seen no hope in her efforts, but now it suddenly appeared. She was a little bit unbelievable for a moment.

"That was an accident. Not to mention Sayaka, I thought Asami was dead, but she was actually saved."

"Didn't you say that the people behind you were hoping for Sayaka and the others' magic? Wouldn't it be contradictory to save them?"

"This is my job as a middleman. I am working hard to help them live longer."

"You mean to say you're openly preventing children from being sacrificed?"

"It's just to make the remaining life after the sacrifice last a little longer, at least to make it through this month. After all, there aren't that many talented people."

"Are you saying that Shizuku-san will also be the target of sacrifice? Was that sleepwalking your fault?"

"No, no, no, I'm not responsible for this. Sleepwalking is just something that ordinary people have no resistance to magic and are directly controlled."

"Remember when I told you to keep Sayaka away from Kamijou?"

"Well, you mean?"

"After all, their magic was obtained through sacrifice, so it cannot be well controlled. Once ordinary people around them are exposed to too much, they will involuntarily do things they would not normally do, even if it means endangering their lives."

"As for Kamijou, who was himself being healed by magic, the impact would be even more severe. I just didn't want to say it out loud because it would harm Kamijou. Sayaka actually knew something about it."

"So, Kamijou-san, this happened because you called them all together, and therefore they were controlled and affected?"

"Ah this!"

Zhixing was so engrossed in editing that he accidentally created a bug, which luckily was noticed by Saotome.

Chapter 64 Kaname Shunko joins the discussion group

It was just a casual question, but seeing Paper Line's reaction, Saotome couldn't help but frown.

"You didn't really do this on purpose, did you?"

"Ahem, I haven't seen it myself. Just like Sayaka said at the time, I have no evidence, so I can only choose to separate temporarily. Regardless of whether it is right or not, it is better to be cautious."

Zhixing excused himself awkwardly.

"That's about it. Is there anything else you don't understand?"

"With your attitude, you don't seem like a cult member. You seem more like someone making up stories."

As an English teacher, although the amount of writing is not as large as that of local languages, English also requires writing essays or letters, so Saotome has a lot of experience watching other people write stories.

"When I mentioned the entire city, Sayaka didn't object, and she also made a solemn vow to realize it. You don't think Sayaka is so stupid as to not recognize the reality, do you?"

"Indeed, although Sayaka is not very smart, she still has her own logic when looking at problems and will not easily believe things that are not supported by evidence."

Having been a homeroom teacher for a year, Saotome knows a lot about the students in her class.

Although this is only one side of the story, the problem remains.

Why did Kamijou's hand suddenly heal, and how did this finger appear?

Maybe there really is some kind of power that can do this, but it's just called magic for easier understanding. In fact, there should be other names.

Saotome thought so, and temporarily gave up the idea of ​​going deeper, and asked instead:

“So, Kamijou-san’s hand, will it suddenly return to its original state because the magic is no longer maintained?”

"It's okay. As far as I know, that won't happen. Probably even death won't be enough to corrupt these hands."

"So, wouldn't it be possible that these hands would remain the size of a child even after adulthood?"

"what?"

The paper industry had never thought of this problem and was shocked for a moment.

"The child is still growing. Although the hospitalization may affect his health, he will be very different in a few years. If his arms are still the same as they are now, he probably won't be able to perform anymore."

"So, this question is very important. Can you give me a positive answer, Mr. Edogawa?"

Zhi Xing put a piece of cooked meat into his mouth, sighed, and said evasively:

"That's great. I didn't think that far ahead."

"Right now, I'm seriously spending every day I'm still alive. What happens a few years from now? That has nothing to do with me anymore. At least nothing will happen now."

"How could it be unrelated? Wasn't Sayaka brought to the sacrifice site by you? Wasn't Kamijou also implicated? Do you really have nothing to do with this?"

Zhi Xing turned his head and whispered:

(It’s not like I haven’t tried to persuade her. Sayaka made her own decision, so what can I do?)

Perhaps it was because the room was too small, but even though Jixing was mumbling quietly, Saotome seemed to have heard it and said:

"You said you were acting as a middleman, working to help Sayaka and the others. So, what did you do? From what I see, you were just teasing Sayaka. That attitude is not what one should have when trying to help others."