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

Actually, working for her for only a month isn't impossible, but I hope she can give me some free time... or maybe the Abyss Gentleman can redeem me; he seems to have raised some money recently.

I don't even know if my savings will be enough to buy my freedom...

Mayumi Haga is also pondering this question.

Given her collecting habits, she would definitely keep any useful props carefully.

After thoroughly examining the core of the strange creature, Mayumi Haga discovered that its magical power had been almost completely used up, and throwing it into her backpack would likely not replenish her dream energy.

In that case, it's just a useless stone.

Considering that the Dream Clown is a nightmare monster rather than a fear monster, even if you throw it into your backpack, it won't automatically restore its skill cooldown, making it essentially a disposable item.

Just throw it away after you're done using it.

After a moment's deliberation, the Guardian made a cold decision.

Just as she casually tossed the monster's core into the classroom trash can, the door was finally pushed open by Tono Hitomi, who rushed over breathlessly.

The pink-haired girl saw that she was still there waiting for her, and the radiance she released in that instant almost hurt Mayumi Haga's eyes, like a puppy wagging its tail happily.

"Mayu!" Hitomi Tono practically lunged forward, tightly grasping her slightly cold hand.

Her body temperature was slightly elevated, and she seemed a little nervous when I held her hand.

"Let's go home together." Saying the same words as always, the surging emotions inside me had subtly changed at some point.

Chapter 45: Midnight Rescue

The Gentleman of the Abyss also did not leave work on time today.

It was late at night when he finished get off work at the ramen shop where he worked. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took off his headscarf.

The boss warmly invited him to stay and have a couple of drinks before he left: "Would you like to have a couple of drinks with me?"

"No need, boss." The Abyss Gentleman's dark face was drooping, his white eyes drooping, looking listless. "I have some things to do."

As he spoke, he took off his apron and folded it neatly. His clothes changed to a white shirt and black suit, and he pulled out a top hat from behind him and put it on, once again appearing as an elegant eccentric.

"I'm not trying to be mean, but when would you like to quit your job, you weirdo? I saw you on TV last time and I thought you were going to take five days of sick leave again." The middle-aged boss was very worried about Abyss Gentleman's health. "It's just too dangerous."

"That's how weirdos are; otherwise, we can't survive." The Abyss Gentleman was also worried. What if he could get into university but was expelled because of the weirdos' work?

However, such an oddball needs people's negative emotions to evolve into a human being. If he doesn't get enough power for too long, his body will lose its vitality, and his core will only be stone.

However, if a creature like Little Sadness were to fully evolve, its energy could sustain it for a very long time—almost half a human's life.

In this way, even without collecting energy, one can live out the decades of human life in peace.

The Abyss Gentleman also wanted to become humanoid like the little bear, a desire that arose after he had provided for his sister's schooling and his family's basic needs.

After all, his current energy level prevents him from easily losing his vitality, but the time he can spend with his family is very precious.

These monsters have no parents; they are all born independently. However, these monsters from the Abyss, who share similar negative emotions, gradually become family after living together for a long time.

Despite not being related by blood, their bond is just as strong.

As the first emotional oddity to emerge, the Abyss Gentleman deeply loves his brothers and sisters, and is always happy because he has a home to return to.

After all, he's very timid; if he's alone, he'll be so scared that he'll tremble all over.

The world is too big and too unfamiliar. If no one is standing behind him, he will be so scared that he will freeze in place and unable to move forward.

"Boss, I'm going back now!" The Abyss Gentleman mustered his spirits and greeted his boss after helping him tidy up the shop.

The boss's voice came from inside: "You should go back quickly, lest it get too late and you get afraid of the dark."

Abyss Gentleman: "..."

When I first started working, I was so scared of walking home alone at night that I called my boss to come pick me up. How come he still remembers that...?

The Abyss Gentleman left in a sorry state after being teased by his boss.

Before returning, the Abyss Gentleman had to pick up the Dream-Eating Clown, who had collapsed at the Magical Girls' Middle School after exhausting his magic.

The other party sought his help through telepathy, saying that the attack they launched today had failed, all their energy was exhausted, and they were unable to solidify their body.

The core is now lying in a clean trash can, with nothing left to possess.

So the older brother needs to pick him up.

The Abyss Gentleman, as a neighbor: "..."

This guy calls himself "Big Brother" too.

It feels like we have another child in the house.

However, the abyss gentleman, being the male mother, was already used to it. After all, this guy wouldn't dare go inside if he saw a cicada at the door, and every time he had to ask the gentleman, who was at home making paper flowers, to help him... It was such a hassle!

The campus was eerily dark at night. After climbing over the wall, the Gentleman of the Abyss cautiously walked along the corner of the wall where there was still some light, heading towards the location where the Dream-Eating Clown had sent out a distress signal.

He was tall and thin, with a stick figure-like build, and could easily slip through the closed fence. So he easily obtained the core of the Dreamworm Clown and then jumped out of the upstairs window.

With little magic left, the Abyss Gentleman wasn't so generous as to gift the Dream-Eating Clown any more to help him recover. He'd just find the guy a helium balloon when they got home... or maybe they could get a free one at the amusement park.

Holding the core of the Dream-Eating Clown, he was very curious: "How exactly did you get yourself into this state?"

Even magical girls wouldn't extract magic power from monsters, right?

The Dream Clown stammered, "Well... I met a very special person... Ah, the person your little sister said she cared about a lot, I remember now."

When he was drinking with the Abyss Gentleman a while ago, he learned from this sentimental man that the man's sister seemed to have a human she cared about a lot.

At that time, the Dream-Eating Clown and the worried Abyss Gentleman discussed for two hours, but they still couldn't come up with an answer to the question of "whether Little Sadness has fallen in love with that human".

The older brother, who was worried that his younger sister would be kidnapped, didn't hate humans; he was just jealous because his sister had someone she liked.

He was very worried: "I don't know what kind of person that is, whether they can accept a weirdo, whether they will be good to Little Sadness..."

The Joker thought he was overthinking things and tried to comfort him: "Maybe sadness is just an interest in that human, not love. You might even hate him after you get to know him."

Now, the Dream Clown stammered, "Big brother, that person... seems to be a good person after all."

Abyss Gentleman: "...Huh?"

“And she doesn’t seem to be human,” the Dream Clown whispered. “She also has something like a core that can change bodies. I suspect she’s a monster too.”

Perhaps it's a monster that has become human... then it must be incredibly powerful.

After all, the other party was not much different from a human, and could even dream. He was a senior who had reached the very end of the path that monsters dreamed of, and monsters always had an inexplicable respect for such a strong person.

To be honest, even though Dream Clown and Abyss Gentleman were friends and he had always treated Little Bear as a junior, now that the other party's strength far surpasses theirs, he no longer dares to treat Little Bear with the same attitude as before.

After all, Little Bear has now become their boss in a strict sense.

If it weren't for past relationships, Little Bear himself wouldn't put on airs, but now he and his friends have to bow and scrape and obey unconditionally.

They're both weirdos... but these two are a perfect match.

The clown of dreams thought to himself.

The Abyss Gentleman had no idea what his friend was thinking, but he frowned slightly when he heard that there might be a powerful monster he didn't recognize.

There have indeed been dissenting voices in this city lately... He needs to investigate.

Main Text: Chapter Forty-Six: Spiritual Veins

Before sending away the Dream-Eating Clown, the Gentleman of the Abyss did not immediately return home.

He chose to explore another side of the city in his own way... namely, the [spiritual veins] that cannot be seen with the naked eye through conventional means.

He needs to observe the state of the spiritual veins.

The recent strange occurrences in this city may be related to the spiritual veins. If there is a problem with the spiritual veins, then these strange people and magical girls will be greatly affected.

The two magical girls are both very young, and they probably won't be able to handle the problems that arise with the spiritual veins.

Therefore, as one of the more knowledgeable and experienced among the eccentrics, the Gentleman of the Abyss decided to take a long-awaited look into the spiritual vein.

He stood at the entrance of the abandoned factory, timing it precisely. Three minutes past midnight, he tapped the cracked floor tiles with his cane inlaid with black gemstones.

The deep, dark entrance was suddenly illuminated as if it were daytime, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an unfamiliar corridor that wouldn't be there during the day. The corridor was brightly lit and dazzling, and the floor was so shiny that it reflected the face of the Abyss Gentleman. He brushed off non-existent dust from his clothes and stepped inside.

The sound of leather shoes tapping on the floor echoed through the magically created passage. A strange man, leaning on a cane, wearing a top hat and a formal suit, strode through and saw a descending escalator at the end of the path.

As you descend the escalator, train tracks stretch out on both sides. The trains, their destinations unknown, are illuminated and await the Gentleman of the Abyss to enter their carriages.

The sign on the platform reads "[Present World - Spiritual Vein]".

Of course, the sign on the opposite side reads "[Spirit Vein - Present World]: Returning from the Spirit Vein to the Present World." Slightly different from this side, the tracks on that side are submerged in water, and the shimmering water can be seen on the walls.

The Gentleman of the Abyss entered the carriage and sat down in the middle of the seat, where he could see the returning train opposite. He took off his top hat and placed it on his lap along with his cane, then sat up straight.

He was the only person in the brightly lit train carriage.

With a slight sway, the train started moving.

Or perhaps it was just a coincidence that the return train on the opposite side was also coming back.

A long beard, large, golden vertical pupils, sharp teeth, and beautiful silver-purple scales—

—It was a dragon almost the same size as the train.

He swam through the air, passing through long tunnels to reach the world, his claws landing in the puddles, splashing water as he moved.

The enormous, surreal creature appeared here as if nothing had happened, and swam by quietly.

Deep underground in the Spirit Vein Train Station, on one side is a modern, metallic train, while on the other side, fantastical creatures suddenly appear, enough to give anyone goosebumps—eerie yet dazzling.

The Gentleman of the Abyss admired all of this, unable to look away.

The dragon only crossed paths with him for a fleeting moment, and their timelines intersected there. When he looked back, the train opposite him was exactly the same one he was riding.

The Gentleman of the Abyss felt no regret, but simply relaxed and leaned back in his seat.

How beautiful that unfamiliar dragon is!

I don't think I've seen this before.

Have new guests arrived at the spiritual vein?

He didn't think much of it, after all, given the unique [miracle] attribute of the city's spiritual veins, anything strange could possibly appear on this platform.

Just moments later, before he could even recover from a long day's hard work, the train had already stopped at its final stop.

The Gentleman of the Abyss put on his hat and got out of the car.

Stepping off the train, the first thing my eyes caught was light.

Rays of different colors emanated from all directions, converging one by one into the spiritual vein. Due to their sheer quantity, they intertwined to form channels resembling rivers. Anyone attempting to capture and analyze what converged here with their eyes would be utterly futile, given the immense amount of information contained within.

This is a place where miracles and destiny intersect, a river flowing with magic and love, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Whether it's monsters, gem beasts, or even the more fundamental concepts of magic that underpin this world, they all originate from this.

The gods poured all their power into it and then fell into a deep slumber beneath this long river.

The Abyss Gentlemen haven't returned here for a long time. After all, for monsters, they can't access the magic here and can only treat this place as a corridor of light pollution, at most giving them a sense of warmth like returning to their mother's womb... even though they have never experienced that process.

Spirit veins bring a sense of peace and purity to those with magical aptitude; they are excellent places to soothe emotions.

However, as soon as he arrived today, the Gentleman of the Abyss noticed something strange.

He wasn't the only one here; there was another person present.

The red-haired former magical girl, dressed in sportswear and holding a shovel, stood not far away, gazing at him with a melancholy expression.

The Abyss Gentleman stood at attention: "...What a coincidence, Miss Sugiyama."

Sugiyama Rika had met this guy ten years ago and knew about the Abyss Gentleman's dark history. She raised an eyebrow: "Trying to blow up the spiritual veins again?"

"Explode... I won't do that kind of thing anymore!" The Abyss Gentleman was quite embarrassed. Back then, he had an extreme idea to blow up the spiritual vein, but was physically stopped by the magical girl in front of him. Now he could still feel his ribs throbbing with pain. "I'm no longer the kind of weirdo who doesn't have to worry about anything!"

"Oh? You're married now?" Sugiyama Rika asked curiously. "No wonder you seem much more reliable now."

"There are so many mouths to feed at home..." Although Abyss Gentleman was complaining, when he thought of his cute younger siblings, his simple face softened. "Being the eldest brother is very hard."

"So what are you doing here?" Sugiyama Rika asked. "Did you also sense the unusual activity in the spiritual veins?"

“Yes. I always feel there’s something strange about the city.” The Abyss Gentleman noticed the end of a vein turning black and fell into thought. “Could this strong, ominous aura be related to the strange monsters from a while ago?”

He received an affirmative answer, and then saw Sugiyama Rika pull out a new shovel and hand it to him. He stared blankly at the label on the shovel: "...What's this?"

"Knowing that thing is dangerous, why don't you hurry up and help me with the work!" Sugiyama Rika ordered him around without any politeness. "The mirror barrier we had planned before is not enough. We have to set it up in the spiritual vein to ensure everyone's safety... Hurry up and bury these things!"

"Oh, okay..." Before the Abyss Gentleman could react, his body began to move under the other party's overly natural command.

By the time he realized he wasn't doing odd jobs at the shop, but had encountered a magical girl returning to the city and was helping her, it was already time to finish his work.