Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

"The most important thing now is to return to the world of desire."

"Are you crazy? We just escaped from over there." Li Xi's eyebrows shot up. "Do you want to go back and tell them, 'Oh, sorry, we went through all that trouble and ended up walking right into their trap'?"

"Of course not," Xiangzi said, hands on his hips. "It's obvious there's no way we can turn back, okay?"

"So what do you plan to do?"

“Aren’t the worlds interconnected? There’s a passage from the world of desire to the world of anger, so there must be a passage from the world of anger to other worlds, and there are also passages between other worlds and the world of desire. We just need to find where the passage is and follow it back.”

"...Even so, going back to the World of Desire will still be very dangerous." Li Xi didn't understand. "What will we do after we go back? How long do we plan to stay inside the barrier?"

"..."

Upon hearing Li Xi's words, Chu Hua, who had been standing to the side, changed her expression slightly.

However, she didn't say anything; nothing for now.

“Not everyone needs to go back; we need to split into several groups,” Xiangzi said. “One group will return to the world of desire to ensure the safety of the ordinary world.”

"Where's the rest?"

"Find the remaining fragments of the Holy Grail." Xiangzi's gaze shifted to Xiaosushi.

Xiao Su Shi felt Xiang Zi's gaze and consciously took out the ornament around her neck.

(II) "You're competing with the whole world," Xiao Su Shi said to Xiang Zi. "It's like making enemies of the whole world."

“Who isn’t? Everyone who holds a fragment is an enemy of the whole world.” Xiangzi shrugged. “Everyone wants to save the world, but more important than saving the world is ‘who’ will save the world… And when I took you hostage, I was already prepared for the worst.”

“…I guessed it.” Xiao Su Shi put the necklace back on her neck and helplessly spread her hands. “However, it won’t be so easy for you to take a detour from the World of Wrath back to the World of Desire.”

“Separated from the world of wrath are pride and lust, and between wrath and pride lies a vast ocean. As for the world of lust…” Xiao Su Shi pursed her lips, “That is the true stronghold of Saint Huya, the kingdom of the White Queen.”

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 360 Rainbow Bridge Gate

"Separated from the world of wrath are pride and lust, and between wrath and pride lies a vast ocean. As for the world of lust... that is the true stronghold of Saint Seia, the kingdom of the White Queen."

When Xiao Su Shi mentioned the "kingdom" and the "White Queen," she curled her lip in disdain.

Clearly, she hated the so-called "White Queen" and her country.

"So there was a White Queen too?" Xiangzi said with a look of sudden realization.

"Well, it's normal that you don't know," Xiaosu said helplessly. "After all, you've never even been to the capital."

"Aren't you going to explain?" Li Xi leaned against the iron frame with one hand, resting her chin on the back of her hand, looking at her. "Why can't we go to the Holy Kingdom that's there?"

“Because we are enemies, isn’t that obvious?” Xiao Su Shi crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks. “In our country’s view, Saint Xiuya is a puppet supported by the kingdom to disrupt our stability.”

“Nagros…”

"It's definitely a fabricated character! It doesn't exist at all!" Xiao Su Shi snorted. "In reality, the one relaying the orders is the Kingdom!"

"Alright, alright, if it doesn't exist, it doesn't exist." Xiangzi bent down and patted Xiao Sui's hair. "According to you, we can't go either way?"

“If we find a ship, we can go to the world of arrogance,” Mu said.

“It’s too far.” Xiao Su Shi shook her head. “It’s a journey of several weeks, and besides, the Wrathful World is so desolate, how could we possibly find a ship?”

"Given the technological level of this factory..." Ai Yin looked up and glanced around the steel factory she was in, "Could there be a ship left behind by the dwarves?"

“Even if it did, it wouldn’t be driven by a steam core,” Hailing said.

"That makes sense," Aine murmured.

“We’ll cross the kingdom’s borders,” Chu Hua suggested. “We can just be careful and avoid it.”

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, there's not an ounce of possibility!" Xiao Su Shi raised her hands in front of her to form an X. "I don't want to go to such an unlucky place!"

“You’re our hostage.” Li Xi raised an eyebrow. “It seems like you don’t have a choice.”

"..."

Xiao Su Shi blushed.

Angry.

Xiangzi found it amusing to see her puffed-up face.

Such an expression had never been seen on Su Shi's face before.

So cute, I want to pinch it.

Xiangzi's fingers twitched uncontrollably, then were held down by her other hand.

Wake up, Xiangzi. Look at her expression, look at the corner of her mouth, look at the little glances she keeps giving you, look at her nervously clenched hands. Is there anything else she wants to say?

"Are you trying to say that you have a safer way back to the world of desire?" Xiangzi bent down and spoke to Xiaosu Shi in the gentlest voice he could muster.

"Hmph." Xiao Su Shi turned her head away. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

It really exists.

"I'm sorry," Xiangzi said, clasping his hands together. "We know we were wrong."

"..."

Xiao Su Shi slightly opened her eyes and looked at Xiang Zi's sincere and honest apology with her big blue eyes.

"follow me."

......

So, the group followed Xiao Su Shi without understanding why, watching the little Su Shi walk with a swagger, making a clanging sound on the steel ground, and circling around for a while.

At last.

It finally stopped in front of a gate with tracks attached.

"Where is this..." Xiangzi looked up at the gate, which was five or six meters high, and felt a strange sense of familiarity.

“The dwarves’ factories will definitely have rainbow bridge gates because they need to transport a lot of goods,” Xiaosu explained.

"Didn't the Rainbow Bridge Gate become ineffective three hundred years ago?"

"Historians speculate that the reason for the failure of the Rainbow Bridge gate was the loss of the Holy Grail's power, and we have also confirmed this speculation through experiments."

"You mean..." Xiangzi continued, following her lead.

"Idiot, don't you understand?" Xiao Su Shi said, hands on her hips and chin held high with arrogance. "I can use the Holy Grail fragments to activate the Rainbow Bridge gate here."

"Then you can go wherever you want?" Xiangzi blinked.

“Of course not, that’s something only the complete Holy Grail can do,” Su Shi said. “The Rainbow Bridge gate in the capital is active; if we activate this one too, we can go back…”

“…Wait a minute.” Xiangzi interrupted Xiaosu Shi, “You mean the capital?”

“Yes, the capital.” Xiao Su Shi blinked. “We only did the experiment at the Rainbow Bridge Gate in the capital and successfully opened one gate.”

"Why only the capital city?"

"Because the experiment has just been successful, before I set off on my inspection, the next step is indeed to open all the rainbow bridge gates of the world of desire."

"..."

"Do you know what the capital city means to us?" Xiangzi sighed.

"Let's go home," Xiao Su Shi said matter-of-factly.

puff--

Puff puff puff puff——

Several hash symbols appeared on the foreheads of everyone except Xiao Su Shi.

Everyone wore friendly smiles and gathered around, surrounding Xiao Su Shi.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Su Shi took two steps back, only to find herself backed against the wall, with nowhere to retreat. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No..."

With a thud, Xiangzi suddenly knelt down, looking slightly upwards at Xiaosushi.

"You have to know..."

She spoke in a weak voice, raising her hands...

"...Going to the capital would be like walking into a trap!"

He pinched Xiao Su Shi's cheek.

"This is even worse than turning back here! If you go home, we're all doomed!"

"Ah, why won't I get to pinch it?" Aine murmured enviously from the side. "I've wanted to pinch it for so long, I'm so jealous..."

"Waaaaaahh ...

Snapped.

As soon as Xiangzi let go, Xiaosushi's face made a crisp, snapping sound like rubber rebounding.

She rubbed her flushed cheeks and puffed out her cheeks.

"The news of my capture probably won't reach the capital so quickly, and even if it does, it won't reach the laboratory where the Rainbow Bridge Gate is located," Xiao Su Shi said. "I won't betray you; I'll go with you."

She took out the necklace from her neck and handed it to Xiangzi.

"If you don't trust me, take this."

Xiao Su Shi sighed.

"This thing is far more important to the empire than I am."

The Lost Tale: The Lost Child - Chapter 361 Please Don't Abandon Me Again

"If you don't trust me, take this. This thing is more important to the empire than I am."

Xiao Su Shi placed the Holy Grail fragments into Xiang Zi's hand.

"Is this okay?"

"..."

Xiangzi lowered his eyes, glanced at the jade-like Holy Grail fragments, picked up the hanging rope, gently put it back around Xiaosushi's neck, and then helped her pull out her hair that was tied up by the hanging rope, and tidied Xiaosushi's sideburns that looked a little messy because of the wind and sand.

"No need," Xiangzi said. "I trust you."

Xiao Su Shi clutched the shard hanging from her chest, pursing her lips.

"You trust others so easily? Aren't you afraid I'll really run away?"

"You're the same." Xiangzi put one hand on his hip and tapped her forehead with his knuckles. "You've entrusted me with such important things, twice already. How much do you trust me?"

"I don't know." Xiao Su Shi pouted and turned away. "It's because you're my first friend."

"They're just friends, this level of trust is excessive." Xiangzi sighed and habitually lectured, "You need to be more careful, or you'll easily be fooled."

“But you wouldn’t lie to me.” Xiao Su Shi looked up at Xiang Zi’s eyes. “I believe you wouldn’t lie to me.”

His deep blue eyes were filled with sincerity and expectation.

Expectations for Xiangzi.

I look forward to her trust and approval.

"Why?" Xiangzi didn't understand.

She never understood where this expectation and trust came from.

"Because you are my first friend." Xiao Su Shi repeated what she had said before, "That's the only reason."

This is the only reason.

Just like how Xiangzi was an incredibly important friend to Xiaosushi.

This is what Xiangzi finds most perplexing. Just by chatting with her for one night, she became his "first friend." Xiangzi couldn't understand how important the "first friend" was to Su Shi, to the point that she would hand over something like the Holy Grail fragment just to gain his trust.

This familiar feeling... reminded Xiangzi of Su Shi, who was almost obsessed with rebuilding Crychic.

At the time, Su Shi's efforts to reunite Crychic seemed to her nothing more than pointless nagging. She had her own things to do, and Su Shi had her own life to live, so why cling to the past?

Clinging to the past is actually incredibly selfish; she only wants everyone to revolve around her and play house with her. This makes Xiangzi feel an instinctive disgust because she was the same kind of person at the beginning.

But is that really the case...?