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

The little snake seemed a bit angry, but that resentment wasn't directed at Kagura Yu; it was directed at itself.

Its previous partner intended to find it a successor immediately after the magical girl graduated. After all, if a Jewel Beast doesn't form a contract with a magical girl, it will fall into a deep sleep once its remaining magic power is exhausted.

But the little snake was being stubborn and unwilling to immediately form a contract with anyone else. After breaking the contract with its former partner, it went up the mountain, curled up into a ball, and began to hibernate to conserve its magic power.

Some of the trees in this school were transplanted from the back mountain. Perhaps the soil from which the little snake slept was also dug up, and when it woke up, it found itself buried under the tree.

It struggled with great effort to barely manage to break free halfway. If it hadn't met a girl with the qualities of a partner, it might have exhausted its magic and fallen back into slumber today.

Really lucky.

During its slumber, the little snake finally figured things out.

The magical girls break their contracts with the gem monsters mostly because they have become independent and can stand on their own without the gem monster's assistance.

Both the little snake and the magical girl it had contracted with were quite proud. The snake was naturally quite upset when the magical girl abandoned it for the reason that it was "no longer needed".

It must contract an even more powerful child, find that guy, and laugh at him mercilessly!

Prove to that guy how terrible life would be without himself!

So, the little snake found Kagura Yu, who was exceptionally talented.

Kagura Yu's inspiration level is higher than that of ordinary magical girls. Although she might not be very suitable for combat, she is very suitable for the magical direction that Orochi excels at. It needs a partner with such a sharp mind.

Of course, part of the reason was that its magic was so weak that it could only produce a very faint sound. If Kagura Yu hadn't heard it speaking, it might have been discovered by the students tomorrow as a dead snake in the ground...

Kagura Yu had no idea what the little snake in front of her was thinking. She used a lot of effort to pull the snake out and even took out a tissue to wipe the snake's smooth body.

"Phew." Kagura Yu breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. "Now you're free."

After saying that, he had a satisfied expression on his face, as if he had already done his good deed, and stood up to leave.

[Hey! Wait, wait a minute!] The little snake's eyes widened. [Don't you have anything you want to ask?]

Kagura Yu cast a questioning look at it.

"[I'm a Jewel Beast! If you make a contract with me, you can become a magical girl.]" the little snake said earnestly. "[Aren't you tempted? You can fly!]"

In fact, the little snake would originally try to persuade its partner to form a contract with it by saying that "this city needs you to protect it".

But the previous partner wasn't buying it at all, lazily pointing out that the city already had a powerful red magical girl and didn't really need any extra manpower, and then rejected it.

The little snake really wanted to sign a contract with the other party at that time, so she hurriedly listed many benefits of becoming a magical girl... In the end, it was the fact that she could "fly" that made the other party's heart flutter.

Her ex-partner's family owned a hospital, and as the only daughter who was to inherit the hospital, she faced immense pressure.

For her, coming into contact with magic and becoming a magical girl was more of a way to relieve stress than a responsibility, and also a way to indulge and be free in her youth.

Now, the little snake also intends to use this to persuade Kagura Yu to sign a contract with it.

"...Can it fly?" Kagura Yu couldn't muster any interest. She blinked. "But there are already two magical girls here."

The combat power is already severely saturated, both Crimson and Iris are quite formidable.

And there's also Haga Mayumi.

The little snake looked depressed, and its beautiful scales dimmed along with its mood.

[Then I have nowhere to go.] It looked a little pitiful.

Indeed it is.

If Kagura Yu doesn't intend to form a contract with it, given the remaining magic power it has, it will have to continue sleeping until another girl willing to form a contract with it arrives.

If you're not too averse to snakes, you can actually find this tiny snake, which is only the length of your palm, quite adorable.

Kagura Yu was a little soft-hearted. After thinking for a long time, she decided to take the little snake with her first.

She reached out to the little snake, which coiled its body around Kagura Yu's wrist, quietly disguising itself as a bracelet.

Main text: Chapter Thirty-Five: Sleep

"Mayumi!" When school was over, Hitomi Tono called out to Mayumi Haga, who was about to go home first.

Hitomi Tono herself wasn't a member of any clubs, but because of her excellent physical abilities, she was often called upon to help out at sports clubs. When there weren't any monster attacks, she usually stayed at school after school to participate in club activities.

Haga Mayumi, on the other hand, belongs to the Guijiabe.

It means that I did not participate in any clubs or organizations.

However, her position in the sports club is actually similar to that of Hitomi Tono; both are ace players who can definitely win once they get help.

However, this perpetually aloof and excellent student was too difficult to approach, so the only way to borrow her was to ask the more approachable Tohno Hitomi. Generally speaking, Mayumi Haga wouldn't refuse a request from Tohno Hitomi or Yuri Takajo.

In fact, if members of these sports clubs could overcome Mayumi Haga's usual gloomy and cold demeanor and ask her directly, they would probably succeed.

Mayumi Haga is easy to talk to, but you have to muster up the courage to speak to her.

After school, Mayumi Haga wanted to go home immediately since she had nothing else to do.

She hurried back to pack her backpack.

However, after being stopped by Hitomi Tono, she turned around and silently looked at Hitomi Tono, expressing her doubt.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Hitomi Tono had originally wanted to ask if she could go to the sports club with her today, but then she remembered Mayumi Haga's health problems.

Mayumi Haga's body could actually be classified as "sickly" and unable to withstand high-intensity exercise... This discovery shocked Hitomi Tono and the others.

After all, before being diagnosed by her senior doctor, Mayumi Haga had engaged in a lot of strenuous exercise, and her physical condition could be described as monstrous.

Even Hitomi Tono secretly estimated that, without using enhancement magic, Mayumi Haga might be able to defeat her after her transformation.

That was while wearing magical costumes!

But despite its sturdy build, the bow's body wasn't as strong as it appeared; perhaps it had just been putting on a brave face all along.

Although she didn't understand what was going on, Hitomi Tono knew very well that she absolutely could not let Mayumi take any more risks.

Mayumi, who had been instructed to rest, didn't seem to have any problems on the surface, but Hitomi Tono could still sense that she was a bit depressed and that there was a distance between them that they had never experienced before.

Today was no different. Mayumi had somehow gotten to know two transfer students, and they got along quite well, while she herself knew nothing about them.

Perhaps it was because she was busy with magical girl stuff that Mayumi encountered new friendships while she was alone.

Tono Hitomi didn't dislike this, after all, Mayumi would have more friends and would smile more often.

She just didn't want to drift apart from Mayumi Haga.

Moreover, what happened on the rooftop today...

Even though Mayumi said that she was thrown from the rooftop to a tree next to the building by the Guardian, thus escaping the aftermath of the battle, Hitomi Tono still sensed that there were some details she should ask about.

She wanted to know more.

The strange feeling in her heart grew stronger and stronger, and the recent changes in her friend also made her start to panic. In the anime, this would be the episode about friendship that finally resolves interpersonal relationships.

Hitomi Tono wanted to have a good talk with Mayumi Haga.

"Could you wait for me a moment?" Hitomi Tono smiled nervously. "Let's go home together, Mayumi."

Her eyes sparkled, and her gaze toward Mayumi Haga was sincere and straightforward, like that of a little animal that couldn't hide its thoughts.

Haga Mayumi paused, somewhat helpless.

Her tolerance of her peers stemmed from a deep-seated loneliness in the past.

Mayumi Haga doesn't dislike the warmth of those around her; after all, it's the kind of warmth she once craved and still cherishes now.

Her actions often stemmed from a compensatory mindset that others couldn't understand. Because she felt she owed so much, she always wanted to atone for her sins and make amends. Therefore, she would agree to almost any request that wasn't too unreasonable.

The people in this world may not need her protection, but as long as they are "human", she will love them.

The Guardian would never say this.

So she agreed to Hitomi Tohno's request, put down her schoolbag, and planned to wait in the classroom for Hitomi Tohno to finish her club activities: "Okay."

Upon receiving a response from Mayumi Haga, Hitomi Tono immediately became overjoyed and full of fighting spirit: "I'll finish it as soon as possible, please wait for me for half an hour!"

With that, the stamina monster happily dashed out of the classroom, so fast that Mayumi Haga hadn't even put her schoolbag down yet.

Mayumi Haga pulled out her chair, sighed silently, but showed no anger whatsoever.

A smile played on her lips, a smile she herself didn't even notice, a smile that was both helpless and full of patience.

Mayumi Haga sat down, propped her chin up, and looked out the window.

The evening sunlight wasn't too intense, fragmented by the windows and the legs of tables and chairs, falling in patches onto the floor. The window was half-open, letting in a gentle breeze. In the distance, the shouts of students on the track and field grew fainter and fainter.

I originally intended to finish today's study tasks while I was at it, but I seem to be a bit sleepy.

Strange...weird...

While waiting, Mayumi Haga suddenly felt sleepy for some reason. She tried to stay awake for a while, but eventually closed her eyes.

.................................................. .................................................. .

The evening after exercise seems to make people feel particularly sleepy.

Having just finished helping the volleyball club, Hitomi Tono couldn't help but yawn as she changed out of her sports uniform and relaxed.

strangeness……?

After exercising and relaxing, it's easy to feel sleepy. Hitomi Tohno herself would go home and sleep soundly after dealing with troublesome monsters. Especially on nights when her magic power was almost depleted, her sleep quality was definitely the best.

But Hitomi Tono didn't do much activity today, and she didn't sweat much, let alone expend a lot of energy... so why is she so sleepy?

Drowsiness washed over her like a relentless tide. She shook her head and realized something was wrong.

Most of the time, Hitomi Tono carries with her a transformation device disguised as a Jewel Beast, such as her cherry blossom hair clip.

However, because she was exercising and wanted to prevent her hair clip from falling off, as well as for the safety of others, Hitomi Tono did not bring it with her when she was participating in club activities, but put it in her bag instead.

Upon realizing something was wrong, she immediately reached for the hair clip in her backpack.

Just as her consciousness was about to sink into a dream, she finally touched the transformation device, shuddered, and fully woke up.

“…He’s a weirdo,” Hitomi Tono murmured.

Moreover, it was a strange person she had never seen before, capable of penetrating her own magic resistance and almost dragging her into her sleep.

Compared to Hitomi Tono, who possessed magic resistance, the other students shrouded in the colorless mist fared much worse, collapsing to the ground almost immediately.

Even Kagura Yu, who was wearing the snake bracelet, inevitably fell into a deep sleep.

Main Text: Chapter Thirty-Six: The Dream-Destroying Clown

Welcome to the dream world!

With an exaggerated and comical tone, the Dream Clown, shouting his entrance lines, spread his arms wide and struck a pose in front of Hitomi Tono.

Its body shape resembles a pear with arms and legs. It wears a performance costume that looks like a peacock spreading its tail feathers, its face is covered with white paint, and it has green eye circles and bright red sausage lips, making it a typical clown.

Hitomi Tono got up from the ground and was about to instinctively touch her Jewel Beast transformation device when she realized that the Sakura Hair Clip was not moving at all.

Rather... she can't sense the existence of magic at all right now.

"Magic... How could this be?!" Tono Hitomi was shocked. Based on her experience fighting the Dream-Eating Clown, even if she was pulled into a dream, at most her strength would be suppressed, not to the point where she couldn't sense magic at all.

The Dream-Eating Clown bewitches humans and pulls them into specific dreams.

It transforms this specific dream into a nightmare, and then uses this nightmare energy generated by humans in their nightmares to strengthen itself.

But as an oddball, Dream-Eating Clown is incapable of dreaming.

It is not a real human being; although it can manipulate human dreams, it does not possess the ability to dream.

Therefore, generally speaking, the Dream-Eating Clown will seek out the most suitable dream setting to transform into a nightmare, and such dreams often come from people who are burdened with worries.

The rules of dreams are also formed according to the dreamer's own worldview.

"Hee hee hee hee—" the Dream-Moving Clown laughed, raising his hands. "What luck! What luck! It's actually a dream world without magic!"

There is no magic in the rules of this world, so magical girls cannot transform and it is absolutely impossible to defeat it!

Unless the magical girl in front of them can find the "center" of the dream, that is, the owner of the dream, and awaken the other party, they can only watch as this beautiful dream world gradually turns into a nightmare.

But waking someone up is not that simple.

After entering this dream world, except for magical girls with a certain level of magic resistance, everyone's memories will be overwritten by the memories of this world, making them native residents of this world, completely unaware that they are outsiders.

Not to mention the dream owner who is the "center," how could they feel any sense of incongruity with their own dream?

Finding the "center" among so many strangers is virtually impossible!

The magical girl who couldn't transform was no match for him, and the Dream Clown was naturally overjoyed to finally defeat her.