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

However, she later discovered that Mayumi Haga didn't care about being with others at all, and she disdained the idea of ​​"fitting in." Perhaps her actions were unnecessary.

When she was little, she thought that if she was always alone, she would definitely feel lonely.

But it took Hitomi Tono a while to realize that some people just like to be alone, and forcing them into a social circle will only make them feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Mayumi Haga falls somewhere in between.

Mayumi doesn't dislike being in crowded places, but it makes her feel awkward. Being alone is fine, but it makes her feel bad after a while.

The right way to get along is to become Mayumi Haga's friend.

A small number of friends, but close enough.

Although Hitomi Tono gets along with everyone, she prefers the atmosphere when she's with Mayumi Haga.

Quiet and focused, when the two of them are together, it's as if time stands still, with Mayumi gazing only at herself.

At first, she thought it was just the unique atmosphere between best friends, but later she realized that best friends might not be so ambiguous.

...While she herself might be the only one who felt her face flush and her heart race, Mayumi remained expressionless and unresponsive, offering absolutely no reaction.

She initially thought it was because the bow was too wooden.

It wasn't until recently that I finally realized that perhaps Mayumi was instinctively resisting something.

Even though it had once brought a relaxed smile to my face in my dreams, that dazzling real bow has turned into this in this world.

Because I've endured so much, I've chosen to close my heart and refuse to accept anything.

Hitomi Tono didn't know what to do.

She does like Mayumi Haga, but isn't her liking for Mayumi too impulsive and frivolous?

Yes, she certainly didn't understand Mayumi enough. If Mayumi's past was shrouded in darkness, if Mayumi decided to let her wounds heal slowly in the shadows, would her reckless attempt to pry open Mayumi's heart hurt her?

Hitomi Tono is usually carefree, but when faced with such an important issue, she has to restrain herself and figure out the relationship between herself and Mayumi Haga.

So she chose to give herself some time to think about these issues.

Most importantly, we still need to test the true bow a little.

However, even after the command to "seal the Despair Monster" came from the other end of the telepathic communication, Tono Hitomi still hadn't seen Mayumi Haga.

Strange, Mayumi was supposed to be at school today... Wait a minute? They want us to seal away the Despair Monster?

It is said that the magician from the Tower of Stars came to this city to seal away the Despair Monster, which was not allowed to exist in the world. However, the monster accidentally escaped, and more people are needed to help find its whereabouts.

Before Hitomi Tohno could even voice her question in the telepathic communication, Yuri Takajo spoke first: "Ms. Terasaki, who is this Despair Monster? Do we really have to seal it away?"

The instruction came from Terasaki Aya, and several people were using telepathy during class, yet Ms. Kirino miraculously did not stop them.

After Ms. Kirino revealed that she was also a magician, Ayasa Terasaki added this senior to their telepathic communication channel to facilitate the spread of information and to let Ms. Kirino know that the two magical girls' truancy was justified as part of a magical girl mission.

This is about maintaining peace in the city!

In other words, Ms. Kirino asked Terasaki Ayasa to involve her in the task, to supervise the two magical girls so they wouldn't skip class, and to let her know first if there was anything important.

It was created to make it easier for people to ask for leave.

Now, Ms. Kirino said in a deep voice, "The Despair Monster is not one you can seal away. If you encounter one, please inform Terasaki and me immediately so we can handle it... Understand?"

In other words, the magical girls are not responsible for directly confronting the Despair Monster. Because the two magical girls in Miracle City are still somewhat inexperienced, to prevent them from being injured or even killed in the battle against an unprecedentedly powerful evil enemy, their seniors do not intend to have the magical girls rush to the front lines, but rather to have them assist in the investigation.

However, this has nothing to do with Hitomi Tono.

If she could still transform, she would definitely ignore her seniors' warnings and rush to the front. But since her transformation ban hasn't been lifted yet, if she really encounters a desperate monster, she'll have no choice but to run away... In fact, she might actually continue to act recklessly.

After all, Hitomi Tono is just that kind of impulsive person.

However, this was the first time Hitomi Tono had ever heard such a stern order.

In her memory, she had never encountered such an evil enemy that had to be sealed away... This ruthlessness also proved that the enemy was a greater threat than the strange people she had seen before.

Was the recent suicide incident related to this strange person?

Hitomi Tono glanced at Mayumi Haga's empty seat with a hint of worry.

If that weirdo is that strong, is it because Mayumi was too badly injured that she couldn't come to school?

I'll go visit Mayumi at her house after school.

The ominous premonition in Tono Hitomi's heart grew stronger, causing her to have no interest in listening to the rest of the classes. She counted down the seconds until the school bell rang, hurriedly said goodbye to Takajo Yuri who was going to find the Despair Monster, grabbed her schoolbag and ran out of the classroom.

Actually, Mayumi Haga had considered going to class that morning. But Megaran stopped her with a dark expression: "In your current state, do you want to die in front of those human brats at school? To show them your exquisite resurrection skills?"

Haga Mayumi paused.

She still has 48 chances to be resurrected.

I forgot to take the life-saving potion before going to bed last night, and my heart stopped beating five times while I was sleeping.

To be honest, her health wasn't so bad that she would stop breathing in her dreams, and it wasn't this bad even during the worst period of her life when she was fifteen or sixteen.

But perhaps because the calamity was mixed with the nature of the despairing monster, she was always plagued by nightmares after coming to this world. The nightmares that she used to ignore were now able to take her life silently.

That was definitely not well thought out.

Endless nightmares are a shortcut for calamity to erode Mayumi Haga, because Mayumi Haga's mood is always calm and rational when she is awake, and she is not swayed by despair, but it is different in the unguarded dream.

Mayumi Haga covered her forehead, and after the fever subsided, she was indeed somewhat annoyed.

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have gone to sleep.

"A dream? Does Mayumi need her dream world reinforced?" The little bear ornament on Mayumi's bedside table lit up. The bear's consciousness entered and spoke, "Mayumi...? You look so weak right now. What's wrong with your body?"

The little bear was only half a hand's height. She jumped worriedly onto Mayumi Haga's bed, then wiggled her short arms and legs to grab Mayumi Haga's arm and snuggle against her.

She tasted a large mouthful of soft, indescribable emotion, with a slightly bitter taste, almost endless.

Mayumi Haga doesn't have the habit of playing the victim, so she kept quiet about her health condition: "It's nothing, I've just been having nightmares a lot lately."

“Oh… if you need anything, you can ask Dream Clown for help,” said the little bear.

As a strange being capable of manipulating dreams, the Dream-Eating Clown actually possesses some real skill in this regard.

I just don't know if Mayumi would be willing to let others access her dreams; it's a very private matter.

The answer is of course no.

Mayumi Haga had been attacked by the Dream-Eating Clown before. On the one hand, she was unwilling to entrust this matter to a strange stranger, and on the other hand, she believed that the strange man was probably helpless with his own dreams.

It's best not to involve other people.

Mayumi Haga briefly glossed over the topic.

The little bear wasn't exactly stupid, but if Mayumi Haga seriously tried to fool her, she would believe it without question and stop asking questions, instead bringing up her own affairs.

She looked a little troubled and lowered her head with a wronged expression: "This morning, a magic user I don't know came to our house. My older brother told me to find a place to hide for a while and not let the other magical girls find out."

Actually, she didn't think the magical girls in this city were bad people, after all, they were classmates.

Not meeting those two magical girls means I can't go to school for a while, which means I'll have to skip class again.

Little Bear has recently begun to experience the joy of learning. Although her grades won't improve anytime soon, since nearly ten years of knowledge can't be made up for in a short period, the feeling of her mind gradually becoming fuller still brings her a different kind of pleasure.

But her older brother said that if she were sealed away, she wouldn't be able to go to school.

They can't even go back to being as clumsy as before; instead, they'll completely turn into silent stones.

Being sealed away is terrifying; Little Bear doesn't want to be sealed away at all.

"If I don't do anything bad, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" The little bear sat on Mayumi Haga's shoulders, hugging her face and muttering, "I haven't seen any magical girls seal anyone away all these years. They're just talking about it."

Mayumi Haga shifted her gaze and noticed that the bear's ears were drooping.

As expected, the little bear's mood visibly dropped, and its limp body pressed tightly against Mayumi Haga's face.

She spoke softly, her voice trembling with tears: "I clearly...didn't do anything wrong, so why do you have to seal me away?"

Mayumi Haga remained silent.

She simply patted the bear's head, then, as if nothing had changed, stood up and glanced at the bear in the mirror.

The little bear started crying again as usual, but instead of howling loudly, it sobbed softly, tears wetting the fur around its black eyes. Its ears drooped limply, and its body trembled slightly, making it look truly pitiful.

Actually, it wasn't just the ears; it seemed like one of the arms was also limp and hanging down by the side of the body.

So, has it already been discovered by a magic user?

Haga Mayumi frowned, but she had already come up with a solution.

Main Text: Chapter 128 It Doesn't Have to Be Me a Hundred Years Later

Hitomi Tono knocked on the door first, and when no one answered, she opened the door with her key.

She raised her voice slightly: "Mayumi? Miss Megarane? Are you home?"

As soon as she pushed open the door, the light inside flowed out like water. The excessively cold lighting in Mayumi Haga's house made her feel a chill for no reason, and she couldn't help but shiver.

Then, a faint scent entered her nose.

This is……

Hitomi Tono's inner shadows were awakened as she remembered smelling a similar scent before.

It happened when Mayumi Haga was smashed into orange juice that splattered everywhere.

Hitomi Tono had never encountered such a smell before, except in such a horrific scene. Naturally, this caused her face to turn deathly pale, all color drained from her skin.

Even the most oblivious person should realize that this is the smell of a "corpse" that only appears after Mayumi Haga is injured... or even dead.

There was also an air of strangeness about it, which made her think more.

Yes, although Hitomi Tono's senses are rather dull, she can now sense the magical energy fluctuations of the Despair Monster on the little bear.

On the one hand, after the transformation was banned, her once surging and enormous magic power finally began to subside and calm down a lot, so she was able to calm down and search for the monster's magic fluctuations.

On the other hand, it is due to the unique nature of the Despair Monster himself.

As an attribute rejected by the world's rules, the fluctuations of [Despair] always seem out of place and exceptionally abrupt. Even if Hitomi Tohno had been standing here before, there would have been a fifty percent chance she would have noticed that there was a strange person hiding in this room.

Although the little bear was able to conceal its freakish aura from the magical girl after evolving with the help of Mayumi Haga's sorrow, it was only "sorrow" and not "despair".

In other words, whoever possesses the attribute of "Despair" is the biggest red name in this world. As long as you get close, there will be a bright mission guide. The world rules mark her as highlighted, and even the path she walks will leave a trace of her aura.

Hitomi Tono's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately tensed up.

Why did the Despair Monster appear at Mayumi's house?

Could it be that Mayumi...

In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through Hitomi Tono's mind, and she stood at the doorway with her mind almost blank.

It was at this moment that some noises came from the bedroom.

It sounded like something being knocked over on the floor, a dull thud, like someone rolling off the bed.

Tono Hitomi immediately pushed open the bedroom door of Haga Mayumi and exclaimed urgently, "Mayumi?!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her next words of concern caught in her throat.

The white-haired guardian adjusted the quiver on her back. Upon hearing this, she merely raised her head slightly and glanced at Tono Hitomi, who had barged in, with her cold, bright golden eyes. Her movements were clearly wary.

What's even more striking is the dark lines on her scarred face, and the aura of despair emanating from her body that shouldn't belong to Mayumi Haga.

The pink-haired girl who burst through the door was shocked and bewildered, her mind momentarily blank.

How could Mayumi be a weirdo...? But why does Mayumi have this kind of aura?

Even though the "facts" were right in front of her, Hitomi Tono still rejected them based on her intuition.

In fact, her intuition was correct.

Mayumi Haga did not have her body taken over by the Despair Monster, nor did she take over the Despair Monster's power... She simply put the bear that needed protection into her backpack.

Mayumi Haga's backpack is a self-contained space where ordinary living things cannot survive, but the little bear is not strictly speaking a living person, so it can be stored inside as an item.

Mayumi Haga had tried it once before and found that the bear could be put inside.

Only Mayumi Haga can open this backpack space. Even if someone else kills Mayumi Haga, they cannot forcibly open the backpack space to take out the bear.

In this siege against the Despair Monster, as long as time is delayed and the core of the little bear remains intact before the Abyss Gentleman modifies the rules of the spiritual veins, that will suffice.

So Mayumi Haga put a doll-like blindfold on the little bear and threw her into her backpack.

However, this method still has loopholes.

Even if the bear is put into the backpack, the aura of the Despair Monster will not disappear. Instead, it will be transferred to Mayumi Haga, who has the bear's core.