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

She has received so much, she should also give back.

This world is so bright; it is not a place where insects, as outsiders, can rightfully enjoy the light.

Therefore, she must finish what she hasn't finished.

Eliminating that calamity was her duty, and it could only be her duty.

Haga Mayumi slowly closed her hands, her face returning to its stagnant state.

Suddenly, the commotion outside made her raise an eyebrow and instinctively take a step back.

"Mayumi! You're awake!"

Hearing the coughing from inside, Sugiyama Rika hurriedly pushed open the door, almost hitting her in the face.

That bright, vibrant red hair seemed to brighten the room, and the pink and gold heads that popped in added two more splashes of color to the otherwise dark space.

"Why do you look so pale?" Sugiyama Rikka asked with concern.

Mayumi Haga turned on the light, then, standing where she had almost been hit in the nose by the suddenly pushed-open door, she took a slight step back, said nothing, and just stared at Rika Sugiyama: "..."

Sugiyama Rika awkwardly replied, "...Haha."

Main text: Chapter Seventeen: The Discovery of Hitomi Tohno

When Hitomi Tono returned home, her parents were sitting on the sofa watching TV. They had left her some food, which she only needed to heat up.

After saying "I'm home" to her parents, Hitomi Tono heated up dinner in the microwave. Since she was carrying bowls in both hands, she had to carry chopsticks with her mouth as she walked out.

Coincidentally, the city news was playing on TV that day. It was reporting on the attack on the hospital that afternoon.

"Who exactly is this unfamiliar hero? Is this city about to have a new guardian?"

The two hosts discussed the nameless hero in the dark hood, their voices tinged with emotion.

In this world where magical beings protect cities, people actually pay considerable attention to magical girls. Because it's a children's world, there's generally no backlash against magical girls; everyone openly loves and admires these cool and glamorous magical heroes.

The magical girls' transformed forms are unrecognizable to acquaintances. Even if they are filmed and appear on the news, their families and classmates at school will not realize their true identities.

Because of this, Hitomi Tono and Yuri Takajo don't need to hide their faces when fighting.

Battles between magic users are often extremely dangerous, with half a building frequently being demolished. Even so, there are always daring reporters who try to get as close as possible to capture these precious moments.

As the magical girl Crimson, Hitomi Tono often encounters awkward situations where she watches the news about herself on TV with her parents, and she's finding it hard to get used to it now.

She wasn't really interested in watching it at first, but after noticing the Guardian on TV, she couldn't help but stop and watch.

When Hitomi first met the Guardian in the mall, she was startled and didn't get a good look at her. Also, they weren't photographed that day, so there's no footage of them.

The view from the surveillance camera was not very clear.

This time, Hitomi Tohno was finally able to get a good look at the Guardian.

The pink pupils quietly reflected that dignified and upright figure.

Although the footage was a bit shaky, it was still much clearer than surveillance footage.

The person filming these shots was a reporter who had taken leave to see a doctor... Having worked as a war correspondent so much, he immediately pulled out his phone to film when he encountered a big story. Judging from the angle, he was probably filming from a corner, right behind the person being used as a seedbed.

The photographer's hands were trembling as the monster crawled out of the seedbed. After all, battles between magical beings were never this terrifying; this was unexpectedly frightening.

The insect seemed to be poised to pounce on the reporter who was closest to it, startling him so much that he dropped his phone. The camera lens was thrown around violently, with specks of purple liquid splashing onto it, almost obscuring it completely.

It slid to the Guardian's feet, but she didn't notice.

But the camera, shooting from below, captured the face of the guardian girl who was arguing with the magical girl Iris.

To be honest, if you're not mentally prepared, you'll be shocked by the horrific scars on the other person's face.

Those cold, sharp golden eyes and tightly pursed lower lips left a particularly deep impression.

For a fleeting moment, the guardian lady, with her eyes lowered, even saw the camera, creating the illusion of eye contact.

Even just that subtle moment of eye contact makes you sit up straight instinctively.

Strange... something feels vaguely familiar.

Is it just my imagination?

Even though no one around her had such a scar, Hitomi Tohno inexplicably sensed a certain familiarity in the fleeting look in the other person's eyes...

...I feel like I've seen that look somewhere before.

Ah, it really does look alike.

She thought she had long forgotten, but the moment she met those eyes, she remembered what happened six years ago.

Six years ago, when Mayumi first moved to this area with Sister Rika, she gave off a similar feeling.

He's clearly very handsome, but when he's alone, he shows a sad expression.

It's almost exactly the same as the real bow from before.

Something seemed to slip through Hitomi Tono's mind, but she couldn't quite grasp the fleeting inspiration.

After pondering blankly for a long time, Hitomi Tono finally understood why she cared so much about that stranger and what caused her inexplicable selfishness before.

Because she resembles Mayumi so much, reminding me of Mayumi six years ago when she was in such a terrible state, I, who am always eager to meddle, absolutely cannot leave her alone.

Hitomi Tono decided that, whether out of personal reasons or because of the monsters, she would definitely have a good talk with the other person next time they met.

Hmm! Whatever the method, next time let's keep the other person here so the two of us can talk face to face!

Then we can fight together and cover each other, so the other side won't be so easily injured.

Tono Hitomi felt excruciating pain just looking at the other person's injury.

After considering what to do next, Hitomi Tono's previously listless spirits returned, and she couldn't wait to find the Guardian and become friends with her.

However, even though she was anxious, she knew that the other person wouldn't appear in front of her right away.

That person first appeared in the mall. When she was being entangled by the Abyss Gentleman, she dealt with the Sad Bear and protected everyone.

The second time was in the hospital, where they defeated the monster and saved many people.

Although his words to Yuri were somewhat rude, judging from the monster-like nature later described by the doctor, it was probably to prevent Yuri's magic from being corroded and injured, which is why he seemed a little impolite.

And she also saved Mayumi.

So far, the Guardian has appeared twice when the magical girls present were unable to fully deal with the enemy.

Incidentally, the unidentified liquid left by the Guardian in the hospital has turned into orange juice. After testing, it was found to be the same substance as the orange juice that Sister Li Hua had previously obtained.

That makes three times. Each time, they failed to stop her.

Unless she reveals herself, finding her won't be easy. After all, the Guardian has no magic and can't use tracking magic.

After all, the medium used for tracking magic has already been drunk by Mayumi... Considering the true form of that orange juice, it's better not to let Mayumi herself know about this.

It doesn't matter; Hitomi Tono is prepared to wait ten days to half a month before meeting him again.

Having made up her mind, Hitomi Tono encountered the Guardian Lady during her night patrol about three hours later.

—The guardian lady who is being entangled by a strange man who is holding her legs.

Main text: Chapter Eighteen Little Bear

"Let go!" Having been entangled by a teddy bear that was only as tall as her calves the whole way, Mayumi Haga's patience was almost exhausted. With a stern face, she sternly rebuked the unyielding Miss Sadness who kept clinging to her.

Miss Sadness let out a loud sob, and a round snot bubble actually popped out of the teddy bear's little black nose: "No, I won't let go."

What's wrong with this weirdo?

Mayumi Haga felt a splitting headache.

The story begins about half an hour earlier.

Due to health reasons, Mayumi Haga was urged by Rika Sugiyama to go to bed early.

We hadn't noticed her heart condition before, but now we need to take it seriously.

Mayumi Haga has always had poor sleep quality.

I used to have nightmares all the time, and now it's even worse. I toss and turn in bed for a long time and can't fall asleep at all.

As soon as I close my eyes, those unwanted memories of the past and the resentful words echo endlessly in my mind.

Mayumi Haga then reopened her eyes, put her arms behind her head, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

She could hear Sugiyama Rika taking over the night patrol for the unwell Takajo Yuri, while Tono Hitomi went home to rest for a while before going over when the strange people and monsters appeared.

After Sugiyama Rika left, she was left alone in the apartment. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; Mayumi Haga could hear her own even breathing.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound outside the window.

Hearing the sound, Mayumi Haga turned her head and saw a fluffy doll head peeking out from the open windowsill.

The round ears of the teddy bear came into her view, followed by the adorable bear face, short limbs, and round belly.

According to the design, the teddy bear's size is not really suitable for climbing up the water pipe from downstairs.

The teddy bear looked exhausted. After climbing up, it didn't bother to observe the room. It first collapsed on the windowsill, panting with its belly bulging. After catching its breath for a while, it clumsily got up and wiped away non-existent sweat.

At that moment, the teddy bear noticed a pair of dark eyes silently staring at it: "Whoa?!"

She was so frightened that she almost fell back and climbed out of the window.

Haga Mayumi: ...What a stupid weirdo.

Having lived in this world for six years, she naturally knew some of the more famous eccentrics. Those eccentrics in the negative emotions category, for example, were all unique and distinctive, and quite troublesome.

However, among her siblings, Sadness is also known for being quite useless.

Despite being a weirdo who feeds on emotions like "sadness" to strengthen himself, he dislikes seeing others depressed and chooses to inhabit the body of a doll, a body with little offensive capabilities. He's clumsy when attacking others, and spends all his time crying; it's unclear what his true role is.

Even if she was seeking revenge for the previous two incidents, Mayumi Haga did not believe that the other party could harm her.

Moreover, she came in such a weak and powerless body; she could easily separate the other person's head from their body with one hand.

The tricky part is, what if Sugiyama Rika and the others stumble upon a scene where some weirdo comes looking for trouble? How am I supposed to explain that?

Mayumi Haga didn't really want her guardian and friends to know about her messy affairs.

For her, that dark past was not something to boast about, and she did not want others to touch her scars.

If those around her were to discover the Guardian's true identity... No matter how she thought about it, Mayumi Haga believed she would only be met with alienation and terrified stares from those who saw the monster.

In this world, her existence is indeed an anomaly, and if she wants to continue living like this, she must hide that anomaly.

The strange man in front of him was the biggest threat to his ability to conceal his identity.

Thinking of this, Mayumi Haga's gaze became increasingly unfriendly.

Under that chilling, winter-like gaze, the little bear cowered and asked, "...Hello?"

After the core enters the doll's body, the bear's voice becomes somewhat childlike, which is quite in line with children's imagination of the sound of a teddy bear.

The black-haired girl slightly raised her eyebrows, her gaze indifferent and cold: "What do you want?"

If Hitomi Tono and the others had seen such a hostile attitude, they would have been greatly surprised.

After all, Mayumi Haga was usually just a bit quiet; overall, she was an easy-going yet slightly awkward person. It was also because they considered them hard-won friends that their attitude softened considerably.

I've never seen Mayumi Haga so openly displaying her hostility towards the bear.

And... this is a teddy bear. Clumsy yet adorable, a weirdo so useless that it's hard to feel hostility towards him, his harmless appearance easily puts people at ease.

However, Mayumi Haga was able to regard the other party as an enemy without hesitation, and her attitude was cold and hard.

What kind of heart is this, as hard as stone?

The little bear was met with indifference, but he was not discouraged.

She jumped off the windowsill with a "whoosh," barely landing, her legs slapping the floor.

As she jumped off the windowsill, Mayumi Haga sat up alertly, watching her approach with tense eyes.

The little bear tilted its head back, its voice soft and hesitant as it clung to the doll's paws, since it couldn't quite make out fingers: "Because you're sad. I came here to eat."

She feeds on sadness; the people of this world are too optimistic, and she can only occasionally get a bite to eat.

But Mayumi Haga is different; she is a rare dark-skinned character, and for Kuma, her sadness has an irresistible quality.

Besides, if I eat it myself, maybe Mayumi won't be sad?

While trying to get close to Mayumi Haga, the little bear saw her real name on the student list and tilted her head in thought.

"I can help you eat away your sad emotions and even memories, so you won't have trouble sleeping or have nightmares anymore."