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

Because the perspective on the world has undergone a radical change, and people can even see parts of the past and future with the help of divine powers, the Star Magician only appears when necessary and cannot be found at other times.

In other words, the Star Mage didn't come to the Miracle City Spirit Vein Incident back then because he foresaw that the magical girls of Miracle City could handle it.

Later, they invited Sugiyama Rika to join them...

……Um?

Ayasa Terasaki sensed something was wrong.

If the basic requirement for becoming a Star Mage is to become an elf, then inviting Sugiyama Rika back then meant...

No, that's not necessarily true.

Perhaps it will only transform into an elf after it joins the group.

Despite thinking this way, the seed of doubt was indeed planted in Terasaki Ayasa's heart.

Her brow furrowed as she fell into deep thought. The ink at the tip of her pen gathered into a trembling drop, threatening to spill onto the paper and ruin the entire form.

Ms. Kirino brought Terasaki Ayasa back to her senses: "By the way, we should also report on the matter of the substitute magical girl."

“…Ah, I was writing it.” Terasaki Ayasa suddenly came to her senses. The form in front of her was indeed filled out for the cat. She realized that the ink was about to drip onto the paper, so she quickly moved her arm away.

She can help fill in other people's names, but for Gray, she can't fill in the name given to it by humans.

The name given to it by others is not its real name in a magical sense. If it is to be registered, Gray still needs to come and leave a paw print.

Everyone else's forms are filled out, except for the cat's. Terasaki Ayasa plans to finish filling it out later when Hui arrives.

So Terasaki Ayasa rolled up the parchment in her hand, tied it with a rope, and put it aside.

She had just put the paper down when she suddenly felt something was wrong.

The indoor lights suddenly dimmed, then immediately returned to normal.

No, it's not that simple.

In that instant when the lights dimmed, Terasaki Ayasa sensed the fluctuations of the spiritual vein with unprecedented clarity. The usually calm river suddenly churned, sending a shiver down the spines of all the magic users present.

Ms. Kirino had already stood up without her noticing. She was still holding a cup of black tea in her hand and was looking out the blank window.

This is... the magic of despair?

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

Meanwhile, at the house of eccentrics.

The fluctuations of the spiritual veins caused the lights to flicker. The already fragile light bulbs in the house stopped working completely after flickering twice, and the electric fan also stopped working.

The Abyss Gentleman, who was wearing a vest and cooling off in front of the electric fan, did not feel the heat.

On the contrary, he felt a chill in his heart at that moment.

Is this a fluctuation in the spiritual veins caused by the reappearance of the "Desperate Monster"?

There's no mistake, he absolutely wouldn't mistake this aura.

Unlike the previously unfamiliar yet subtly familiar magical fluctuations, the Despairing Monster aura that the Gentleman of the Abyss could now sense was more similar to the one in his memory.

No, it's not just similar, it's practically a mixture of melancholy and despair...

—Could it be that Little Sadness has remembered something?

That's unlikely. There's never been a case where a monster could recall the memories of a previous monster.

Why then is that little bit of sadness associated with "despair"?

...Thinking about it carefully, it might not necessarily be that Little Sadness remembered something from before; it could also be that she met that strange person impersonating "Despair," and then...

Regardless, the best course of action now is to find out what happened and address the underlying sadness.

The Abyss Gentleman's thoughts were in turmoil. He immediately changed into his formal attire, his vest instantly covered by a black tuxedo, and followed the scent of Little Sadness out the door.

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

At this moment, Little Bear was unaware that his older brother was coming this way.

She was holding Mayumi Haga's arm, carefully examining Mayumi Haga's body inch by inch for any remaining marks.

Perhaps it's because she and despair are somewhat of the same origin, since sadness and despair can communicate to some extent, so she is very sensitive to the aura of despair.

She also converted and absorbed the remaining magic power of the Despair Monster, making it her own.

Strangely enough, that power can be absorbed with just a simple transformation. Compared to other negative emotions that cannot be fully interconnected, despair might be a versatile source of magic.

It's a pity that there aren't that many sources of despair magic in this world.

Because she was quite sensitive to the aura of despair, she could vaguely smell a very abrupt aura of despair on Mayumi Haga. However, what was strange was that when she looked for it carefully, the aura disappeared without a trace.

Such minor negative emotions, if left unattended, will naturally be forgotten by humans.

After checking several times, the little bear finally breathed a sigh of relief when it could find nothing unusual about Mayumi Haga.

Mayumi Haga stretched out her arm, looked down at the little bear, and asked, "Are you done with the checkup?"

"Oh no, oh no!" Little Bear came to his senses and subconsciously looked up to see that Mayumi Haga was only wearing a thin vest on her upper body. Her hair was still dripping wet, and the white vest was a little wet at the neckline, making it look transparent.

She blushed and lowered her head again.

Mayumi Haga had just come out of the bathroom and changed into some loungewear. Because it was very hot, she was wearing a tank top and shorts.

It has to be said that Mayumi Haga's fashion sense is below average. The vest and shorts she is wearing have no design sense whatsoever, and are not the kind of outfit that a girl her age would choose to wear when she has friends at home.

But when a person is good-looking and has a good figure, the clothes look good too.

The little bear's face immediately turned red.

The blush on the white polar bear doll's face looked rather abrupt, but Mayumi Haga was somewhat used to the style of the strange characters in this world and didn't feel uncomfortable.

This was the first time that Little Bear had been able to get close to Mayumi under such circumstances. After all, whenever Little Bear tried to get close to Mayumi before, she would push him away without hesitation.

Moreover, it's very comfortable to be near Mayumi.

She is an oddball who feeds on sadness, and Mayumi Haga's sadness has always been her prime sustenance. Moreover, she is happy to get close to Mayumi Haga.

The little bear blushed and muttered, "Mayumi's shower gel smells so good."

Mayumi Haga's shower gel has a light, refreshing fruity scent. And Mayumi Haga's embrace is incredibly appealing to the bear, as it offers delicious treats and a wonderful tactile experience.

Of course, it also feels very nice to touch.

So, when Mayumi Haga sat back on the sofa, intending to give the little bear a proper introduction to Megaran, the little bear shyly tugged at her clothes.

The little bear stood on the sofa, his eyes sparkling as he pleaded with her, "Mayumi, can you hug me?"

"Holding you?!" Mayumi Haga didn't object, but Megarane on the other end repeated it aloud.

What's wrong with this bear spirit? Why is it trying to take advantage of Masamune right off the bat?

The little bear looked embarrassed, resting its paws on Mayumi Haga's arm, and said in a soft voice, "Because... I'm a teddy bear."

Because the bear was chosen as its body, the little bear was actually influenced by the shape of the toy.

She loves hugging people; after all, teddy bears were created to be hugged by children.

Children can play with the soft teddy bear, and when they feel wronged, they can hug it and cry, letting their tears sink into the teddy bear's chubby belly.

These seeds of sorrow will be eaten by the monster, so that they will not grow into greater sorrow.

So she wanted to be held by Mayumi Haga, and even better, to bury her face in her belly and throw all her sadness into her with a good cry.

But for the strong-willed Mayumi, this is something that will never happen.

So, the bear, who was worried about Mayumi Haga's mental state, hoped that at least now, after experiencing such a shock, she could hold her and calm her down a bit.

Mayumi Haga did not refuse, which was tantamount to acquiescing.

The little bear eagerly snuggled into her arms, sat on Mayumi Haga's lap, and then moved its soft, cotton-filled bottom, clumsily snuggling even deeper into Mayumi Haga's embrace.

Mayumi Haga felt a bit of novelty.

She had never had such a soft and cuddly toy before.

The feeling of the teddy bear snuggling into her arms felt unfamiliar to her.

It's not bad, though.

It must have been the bear's magic, or perhaps the magic of the hug that had worked its magic, but Mayumi Haga felt a little lighter.

"A true bow—I want one too—" Megaranne, who was watching from the side, uttered a resentful sound.

Chapter 123: My elder brother seems to disapprove of this marriage.

Mayumi Haga heard a knock on the door.

Generally speaking, she wouldn't have any guests visiting her other than Tono Hitomi. However, Tono Hitomi had recently been absent from class and her grades had dropped, so her homeroom teacher, Ms. Kirino, had privately reminded her to catch up on her missed lessons at home. She wouldn't be coming to see Haga Mayumi for the time being.

His mental state was also visibly dejected.

Furthermore, if it were Tono Hitomi coming to see Haga Mayumi, she would immediately greet him with a cheerful sound after knocking on the door. Even the rhythm of her knocking would be more lively.

The person knocking now knocked three times very politely, neither too fast nor too slow.

After a short wait, the uninvited guest outside the door spoke gently: "Hello, is Ms. Sugiyama home?"

The house number at Mayumi Haga's house still bears the surname "Sugiyama." It would be quite normal for someone visiting for the first time to mistake her for Miss Sugiyama because they don't know Mayumi Haga's surname.

Moreover, the voice of the newcomer didn't sound very familiar; it sounded like a young man who wasn't too old.

This further convinced Mayumi Haga that the person outside the door was a complete stranger, since she had never met a man like that in her social circle.

So, this is...?

She didn't notice the teddy bear in her arms suddenly looking a little nervous. In fact, she didn't have any superpower to discern micro-expressions from a teddy bear's face.

She casually draped her coat over her shoulders, and with a mixture of doubt and wariness, she opened the door for the other person only after seeing their appearance through the peephole.

A gentleman from the Abyss, dressed in a formal suit that seemed almost too extravagant, stood at the door of Mayumi Haga's house.

He watched as Mayumi Haga came over to open the door and casually put her arm around the teddy bear, and for some reason, the expression on his face flickered.

Mayumi Haga also found the scene quite subtle.

She knew that the Abyss Gentleman was Little Bear's accomplice. After all, in many of the strange attacks she had experienced, the Abyss Gentleman had been working with his little sister, who was still not very capable of taking care of herself.

Moreover, the other party doesn't really hide his identity as a weirdo, and even when he goes out for normal activities, he doesn't make any extra disguises for himself.

But no one in Miracle City is afraid of the weirdo after get off work.

On one hand, Mayumi Haga knew that the Gentleman of the Abyss had come to find the little bear, but on the other hand, she was wondering if she should react in any way to the strange man's sudden appearance.

...Never mind, that's too much trouble.

Anyway, we've met before. The Abyss Gentleman detected Belle's aura almost immediately and mistook me for a weirdo. It would be too fake to say I don't know him now.

Just as Mayumi Haga was about to say something, she suddenly heard the Abyss Gentleman and the little bear brazenly using telepathy right under her nose:

"Big brother! What are you doing here?" Little Bear asked anxiously.

She only told the Abyss Gentlemen about her identity as a Guardian, and she kept it a secret for Mayumi Haga, not even telling her older brother.

Moreover, she noticed last time that her older brother seemed to be hostile towards the Guardians. If her older brother found out now that Mayumi is a Guardian, it would cause Mayumi trouble.

The Gentleman of the Abyss didn't recognize her at all. He simply asked with concern, "Little Sadness, is something wrong with you? What are you doing in this ordinary person's house?"

Did you end up giving someone a free hug?

And this guy who brought such a profound impact to Xiao Beishou?

...Wait a minute, isn't this a bit too intimate?

If the Gentleman of the Abyss had eyebrows, they would be furrowed by now.

The little bear was being held by Mayumi Haga. Ignoring the fact that the little bear was wearing a polar bear plush toy, wasn't that intimate contact?

The Abyss Gentleman's gaze towards Mayumi Haga immediately carried the disapproval of a guardian, while the latter remained expressionless: "What exactly are you here for?"

Little Bear was unaware that her older brother had already met with Mayumi Haga at the convenience store where they worked and had exposed each other. Upon hearing this, her eyes widened, and she stopped pretending to be an ordinary doll, grabbing Mayumi Haga's arm: "Huh?"

When exactly did these two meet?

The Abyss Gentleman said in a deep voice, "I have something important to discuss with you... It's not appropriate to speak while standing at the door."

So Mayumi Haga let the Gentleman of the Abyss in. The latter, being in someone else's house, properly changed into disposable slippers at the door and wanted to sit on the sofa.

As Mayumi Haga went to pour him orange juice, the Gentleman of the Abyss immediately noticed the blue crystal head on the coffee table.

He was immediately amazed by Mayumi Haga's artistic taste: "This sculpture is so lifelike! Is it a tissue box? I saw a similar Easter Island sculpture tissue box at my workplace, where you pull tissues from below the nose, but yours looks like it's handmade..."