Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Fairy Tale Town is the witch Su Shi transformed into. In Su Shi's barrier, she met someone who looked exactly like her, only much younger. No matter how thick-skinned Xiangzi is, he could never classify the current situation as a "coincidence".

The young empress is a crucial clue; she must grasp it firmly.

At the very least, let's start by building good relationships...

"Hey you, get me some clothes."

"Hey you, get me some food."

"Hey you, I need to change my clothes. Pick out something nice for me."

"That guy..."

"That guy..."

......

"My name is Toyokawa Shoko, Your Majesty." Shoko smiled brightly, which would have been even better if the veins on his forehead hadn't bulged out.

“I already told you not to call me Your Majesty.” Xiao Su Shi frowned.

“But Your Majesty, don’t you mean that I am your maid?” Xiangzi took out an elaborate dress from the wardrobe, turned around and said, “Speaking of which, you didn’t have a maid with you on this trip.”

"She was in the rear supply train; she should have arrived earlier."

"Why not together?" Xiangzi took the clothes and walked to Xiaosu Shi, who had already stripped him naked. "Come on, raise your hands, I'll help you put on your clothes."

"I don't want to." Xiao Su Shi naturally raised her hand, put it into her sleeve, and pouted.

"why?"

"She's very talkative and annoying. She's just a pawn sent by the regent to monitor me. Anyway, she nags me every morning. Let me have some peace and quiet while we're driving."

"But she's your personal maid."

“We don’t need that now.” Xiao Su Shi proudly raised her chin. “As long as you’re here, that’s enough.”

Xiangzi's hand, which was halfway to help her get dressed, suddenly stopped.

“But I am not your maid,” Xiangzi said in a deep voice. “You said that I am a friend.”

"......Well."

Xiao Su Shi looked uncomfortable, her clothes hanging halfway down her body, her tender shoulders exposed to the air.

Xiangzi had specifically chosen a very complicated outfit that required help to put on. When she suddenly let go of Xiaosu Shi's hand, Xiaosu Shi panicked because no one was there to help her.

"Hurry up and get me dressed," she urged.

"Do you know what a friend is?" Xiangzi asked.

"Isn't it just someone you can hang out with?"

"No, it's not that simple."

"What else?"

"The most basic principle between friends is equality. If you and I are friends, we should have an equal relationship, not a superior-subordinate relationship like that of an empress and her maid."

"So what?" Xiao Su Shi shrugged uncomfortably. "Hey you, hurry up."

"So, when talking to friends, please don't use commanding words, as it will make people feel very uncomfortable," Xiangzi said with a smile. "Also, I'm not called 'that guy,' my name is Toyokawa Xiangzi, as I introduced myself before."

“You can also call me Xiangzi.” Xiangzi switched back to using the pronoun “you”.

“…Hmm.” Xiao Su Shi wasn’t stupid. She had read books and knew what polite language was. She also realized what she had done to upset Xiangzi.

Her face flushed, and she hunched her shoulders like a drenched sparrow, saying weakly:

"Then... Xiangzi, could you please help me put my clothes on?"

“Using polite terms like ‘please’ between friends can sound too formal, so you can omit it.” Xiangzi chuckled as he helped Xiaosu Shi lift up her clothes and tighten the back straps. “But you’ve passed.”

Xiangzi was, after all, a modern young lady. She had been trained in etiquette and housekeeping since childhood. Wearing elaborate and gorgeous clothes was not difficult for her. She quickly helped Xiaosu Shi get ready.

Little Su Shi looked incredibly cute after changing her clothes. She wore a hat that resembled a flower trumpet, and her outfit, which was originally predominantly red with black accents, had been changed to predominantly black with red accents, making her look much more composed. The off-the-shoulder design, revealing her collarbone and shoulders, added a touch of coquettishness to her composed demeanor. Two small feet clad in white stockings and delicate little leather shoes peeked out from under the layers of lace in her skirt. Standing prettily in front of Xiang Zi, she looked even more like a porcelain doll.

Xiangzi would never admit that he had just played with Xiaosu Shi as a dress-up doll.

"Oh, right, Su Shi," Xiangzi remembered something, "your pendant..."

Even before changing clothes, she noticed that Su Shi was wearing a very strange pendant—actually, the pendant itself was very simple, like a broken piece of jade with a hole drilled in it, simply hanging around Su Shi's neck—what was strange was that such a simple pendant appeared around the neck of a queen, which was very unnatural.

Compared to her gorgeous clothes, it seemed even more unnatural.

"Oh, you mean the Holy Grail fragments?"

Xiao Su Shi took out her pendant and said in a calm tone what made Xiangzi's pupils dilate in shock.

"The monsters outside must be after it."

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 344: Support Arrives

Holy Grail fragments?

Xiangzi initially thought he had misheard.

According to the information Xiangzi learned, those who have become monsters all say that when they are most desperate and yearn for a change in their situation, a white cup will appear in front of them.

Give up what is most important to you, and your wish will come true.

A perfect Holy Grail can grant wishes without any cost; it even created the entire world to fulfill the goddess's desire. A broken Holy Grail, or Grail Shard, requires a price to grant wishes. It appears wherever it is needed, whether it be a human or an animal, and the Grail Shard demands a price to fulfill their desires.

All legends mention the shards of the Holy Grail, but none of them say that the shards are some kind of tangible entity.

How could something that responds to people's wishes and appears anywhere possibly have a physical form?

“How is that possible?” Xiangzi muttered. “The Holy Grail fragments…aren’t they said to only appear when a person’s desires are strong enough?”

“That’s true. Grail fragments respond to human desires.” Xiao Su Shi nodded. “When twisted desires are fulfilled by Grail fragments, people turn into monsters. This is the rule of the world.”

She took off the pendant from her neck and held it in her palm.

"However, this does not mean that it has no physical form."

Xiao Su Shi said.

"Everyone only has one chance to have their wish fulfilled, and the Holy Grail will not respond to them a second time, but it's different if you have a shard of the Holy Grail."

Although I haven't heard anyone explicitly state this, upon closer examination, it does seem to be true. All the monsters are demons who, after having their twisted wishes fulfilled, have coincidentally reverted to human form. They only need a strong enough desire to become monsters again; they don't even need to make a wish.

Following this line of reasoning, perhaps the monsters would become demonic before their desires reach a point where the Holy Grail could manifest.

What Xiaosushi meant when she said, "Having a fragment of the Holy Grail makes all the difference," was...

“You mean…” Xiangzi swallowed hard, “…that as long as you have a fragment of the Holy Grail, you can make wishes on it repeatedly?”

“Yes.” Xiao Su Shi nodded. “So even if it comes at a price, countless people are still pursuing it, and the monsters outside must be the same.”

"If I were to wish for an escape from my current predicament, would it also..."

hum-

A white light shone on Xiao Su Shi's hand.

Give up what is most important to you, and your wish will come true.

A line of words inexplicably appeared in Xiangzi's mind.

Xiao Su Shi covered the white light in alarm, her face pale as she hung the pendant back around her neck. As the pendant was put back on, the white light gradually disappeared.

"You! You ...

"...I'm sorry." Xiangzi swallowed hard. "It won't happen again."

Xiangzi's curiosity was indeed extremely strong, and it almost put her in danger on many occasions.

Is it true that curiosity killed the cat?

Is it better not to ask certain questions...?

"Su Shi... what do you mean by being able to suppress it?" Xiangzi asked again.

She couldn't suppress her desire to ask.

"This is the power of the Red Queen, the power to control the Holy Grail." Little Su Shi raised her chin, put her hands on her hips, like a proud little swan. "I was born for this."

"After the goddess disappeared and the Holy Grail shattered into nine pieces scattered throughout the world, the Red Queen, who possesses the goddess's bloodline, is the only one who can control them. In order to restore the Holy Grail to its original state, the first Red Queen established the prototype of the empire three hundred years ago and has passed on her bloodline to the present day."

Xiao Su Shi explained, shaking her head.

"I am the thirteenth generation."

"Oh..." Xiangzi nodded, seemingly understanding, "But if you can control the Holy Grail fragments, why are there still monsters appearing?"

"..." Xiao Su Shi's face immediately fell. "Because I only have one piece. I don't know where the other eight pieces are... Over the years, all I know is that a few other uncivilized lands with civilizations possess fragments. The Grand Preceptor speculates that each world should have one fragment, but due to the existence of natural barriers, even the most powerful empire finds it difficult to advance into other worlds..."

She shrugged.

"So far, our country only possesses one fragment."

"Nine fragments... nine worlds."

Xiangzi murmured.

"If we collect them all, will the original Holy Grail be restored? If we make a wish upon the original Holy Grail, we won't have to pay a price, right? Will we be able to return to the peaceful world we had before?"

That's how it's written in the legend.

"Then why doesn't everyone... never mind, that's a silly question." Xiangzi shook his head and chuckled.

If everyone contributes their share and pieces the fragments together, we can return to the past.

Xiangzi stared blankly at Xiaosushi's chest, which resembled a fledgling bird with its wings gradually growing. The Holy Grail fragments, which had previously appeared plain, now seemed exceptionally conspicuous.

Are you kidding me? Who would believe that? This is something even monsters would try to steal.

"Your gaze is very rude." Xiao Su Shi blushed and covered her chest.

Xiangzi dressed her in an off-the-shoulder dress, and being stared at like that made her feel a burning sensation in her chest.

"I changed all your clothes, what are you afraid of?" Xiangzi smiled, puffing out his proud chest. "I'm not so jealous of your little fried egg desuwa."

Even though she was wearing a loose-fitting nun's habit, which was as big as a burqa, Xiangzi's beautiful figure was still on full display.

"Hmph." Xiao Su Shi turned her head away and snorted disdainfully.

Just then, heavy footsteps came from outside.

A few rays of sunlight shone through the window of the iron coffin... the carriage, and were then blocked by three pairs of scarlet eyes.

Before they knew it, they had been chatting all night, and morning had arrived.

Xiao Su Shi was frightened by those eyes that blocked out the sunlight and hid behind Xiang Zi. Xiang Zi looked up and met those scarlet eyes.

Faintly, she could hear grumbling sounds coming from outside, filled with displeasure.

Cerberus did not waste any more time on the iron coffin, but turned and walked away into the distance.

Xiangzi peered through the gap in the window, watching its massive figure recede into the distance.

"What is it going to do?" Xiao Su Shi also came over, looked outside together, and asked.

"(Little Master, can you hear me, Little Master~ Little Master~)"

"(Xiao Xiang, we're here. How are things on your end?)"

A reassuring voice called out to Xiangzi.

“Our reinforcements have arrived,” she whispered to Xiaosushi. “We’ll be able to leave here soon.”

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 345 Raising a Cat

Let's turn back the clock a little.

Arrive at the battlefield after Cerberus has left.

After the hellhound brazenly stole the carriage, the situation on the battlefield instantly descended into chaos. For both Sanctuary and the Empire, their most important objective had been snatched away by Cerberus, the intruder.

Having lost their goal, they looked at each other in confusion.

Saint-Shuary was the first to react.

They were already pitiful victims caught between monsters and heavy cavalry because their own people had turned into monsters. These people only knew that their target was the people in the carriage, but after the carriage was hijacked, they lost their goal and became confused. Someone in the crowd shouted "Retreat!" and these strange people who had been pushing forward for their beliefs finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to retreat towards the mountain.