69novels Page 136
Page 136
The other person is very close to me and Sugiyama Rikka.
Back when they were still active in Miracle City, although the team consisted of five people, the blue-clad one was always at odds with them and preferred to work alone. Meanwhile, Sugiyama Rika and Terasaki Ayasa were very close, practically inseparable.
What about yourself?
Do I have a best partner? Or do I often work alone?
……wrong.
There should be someone by your side.
But no matter what, she couldn't remember anything—not the other person's voice or appearance, not their name, not the time they spent together.
It shouldn't be like this.
As Hanaya Rika curled up in her cold bed, reading the precious magic book she had borrowed from her senior by the light of magic, trying to find any trace that could prove that person had indeed existed, her usually insensitive heart would feel a subtle pang.
Perhaps in that lost memory, she and that person once huddled in bed having late-night talks, the two children excitedly discussing magic and going to school, laughing and tickling each other's armpits, before quickly falling silent before her unsteady older sister, Sugiyama Rika, rushed over to join the fray.
Perhaps when she first tries to levitate using magic, a magical girl who joins the party at the same time will be there, smiling and opening her arms to catch her.
“She does seem to be more important to me,” Hanaya Rika said.
Main text: Chapter 214 Explosions! (2k)
“However, on another note… Rika, you haven’t broken your contract with Lily yet?” Sugiyama Rika noticed the gem beast in Hanaya Rika’s arms and was taken aback.
Is this acceptable? Does it not violate the original contract? And all of this...
...They're already mature and stable adults in society!
The mature and composed socialite, Sugiyama Rika, was taken aback.
After shedding the aesthetics of her teenage years, she would occasionally see images of herself active during her magical girl days.
At that time, her magical costume was not much different from Crimson's current style—after all, Crimson chose this style because she admired her.
Her attire was predominantly red with blue accents, a military-style top, a knee-length skirt, and an Attila jacket draped diagonally over her shoulders. Her preferred weapon was a one-handed sword, but she used it with little skill, relying solely on brute force and the wind from the sword to deflect enemies.
Although she later practiced swordsmanship and other techniques to reduce magic consumption and defeat enemies more easily in battles, Sugiyama Rika was still an amateur.
As an adult, Sugiyama Rika has become somewhat out of touch with the aesthetics of that time, and the fact that footage of herself from her childhood is still being preserved is like uploading a kindergarten talent show to the internet—it's just awful…
However, compared to the faint, almost imperceptible sense of shame, Sugiyama Rika still felt that as she got older, the clothes she designed when she was a child no longer suited her current aesthetic sense.
“Actually, it looks pretty good,” Terasaki Ayasa said, and opened a video on her phone. In the video, Sugiyama Rika’s very familiar, high-pitched voice came through, “Your fashion sense is surprisingly good, but your naming skills are terrible.”
—Whirlwind Thunderclap, Ultimate Explosive Slash!
Such shouts of techniques could be heard.
Sugiyama Rika's pupils dilated in shock: "Ayasa, how come you still have this video... Please stop showing it! Waaaaaah!!"
She cried out and reached out to grab it, but considering that the person in front of her was her girlfriend, she ultimately didn't pounce on her and put all her weight on top of her.
Terasaki Ayasa's phone flew out of her hand and was caught by Haga Mayumi.
Mayumi Haga was also a little curious, so she glanced at the contents above.
Sure enough, it's a precious video of Sugiyama Satoshi, who has shrunk a bit and still has baby fat on her face, during her debut activities as a magical girl in red.
Compared to her current carefree and unreliable guardian, the newly transformed magical girl, Saeyama Rika, is visibly immature, and her hair has turned a flame-like color—no, it seems to be actually burning.
So magic can change physical appearance to this extent.
The magical girl, with her hands on her hips, effortlessly blew away all the monsters blocking her way with a simple swing of her weapon.
Their taste in naming things is truly terrible.
"The battle was over before you even finished shouting. Isn't that embarrassing?" Mayumi Haga genuinely couldn't understand it.
She doesn't have such a verbose habit when fighting. Although some magic in this world requires incantations to be cast, Sugiyama Rika's move was clearly just a basic attack and couldn't be considered a specific move at all.
Wow, if you have to shout "self-destruct" when you self-destruct, that would be so stupid.
Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine.
"Shouldn't we be focusing on this issue right now?" After the initial humiliation subsided, Sugiyama Rika shamelessly adapted to the somewhat torture-like atmosphere and steered the conversation in another direction.
"What would happen if the real and the real worlds merged?" This was Sugiyama Rika's second concern.
Hanaya Rika said slowly, "It's probably that some of the rules of the inner world will be exchanged with those of the outer world, but I'm not sure if such a change will happen to specific groups of people."
"What do you mean?" Sugiyama Rika didn't understand.
Terasaki Ayasa realized something and shifted her gaze to Haga Mayumi, whose eyes had suddenly lit up: "A specific group of people? For example, people who have returned from the underworld? And what kind of rules would they be exchanging?"
"Maybe?... I'm not quite sure either." Hanaya Rika also stared at Haga Mayumi, and couldn't help but ask, "Haga-san, has your body changed since you came back from the Otherworld?"
"Not at the moment." Excluding the physical effects of dragon transformation, there are indeed none.
However, Mayumi Haga remembered something.
She took out a triangular crystal that was emitting a faint green light from her backpack.
The crystal floated in her palm, and a flash of light passed over her.
“This is the core of the labyrinth I brought out from inside,” Mayumi Haga said.
When she transformed into a black dragon, her original intention was to destroy the core of the maze, and she did indeed crush it. However, the fire within her took some time to piece the core of the maze back together.
The reshaped Heart of the Labyrinth has become like this, obediently staying in her backpack.
Through the Shrike's magical analysis, she learned that she had gained control of the labyrinth.
Mazes possess the attribute of connecting and communicating with the world; when used properly, they can also allow one to travel back and forth between the two worlds through the passages opened up by the maze.
the most important is--
"When I equipped it, my body did indeed break free from some of the constraints of this world's rules."
At first, Mayumi Haga didn't pay much attention, thinking it was the nature of the labyrinth's eco-bottle that could isolate her from some of the rules of this world.
She was referring to the harmony rules of the orange juice filter.
That's right, this world rule that most restricts her performance can be temporarily suppressed as long as she possesses the labyrinth core.
Haga Mayumi is actually not that weak.
Rather, even without blessings like dragon transformation and tit-for-tat, she shouldn't be so passive and weak.
The reason she appears weaker than she does in her own world is because her ability to self-destruct is restricted.
When she deliberately removes and preserves her body material for future use, it is purified by the orange juice rules of this world. Flesh and blood turned into orange juice then become uncontrollable and cannot be detonated.
In other words, the Orange Juice rules have largely neutralized the harmlessness of her blessing, "self-destruction."
After all, the flesh bombs that Mayumi Haga used in previous battles were not measured in grams as they are now, nor were they self-destructing on the spot, but rather hundreds or thousands of her own salvaged corpses.
However, in this world, she simply cannot take it out without processing it.
While possessing the Heart of the Labyrinth, her flesh and blood will not be immediately harmonized.
She initially thought it was the maze's special magical properties at work, but upon closer reflection, she realized that she had already dismantled almost the entire maze, opening up all the previously enclosed spaces, leaving only functions like "communication" or "connection".
So, her temporary immunity to orange juice wasn't due to the maze, but rather a side effect of the fusion of the inner and outer worlds...?
For the rest of the world, this side effect is nothing, because the Orange Juice rule was originally only for people who would put on an excessively bloody scene in battle—specifically, Mayumi Haga.
But for Mayumi Haga, this is not just a side effect.
She realized this, and her eyes immediately lit up.
Main text: Chapter 215 First like this, then like that (2k)
"...Mayumi, don't suddenly make such an excited face, it's really scary." Sugiyama Rika couldn't help but complain.
In all the years she had known Mayumi Haga, Mayumi Haga had never shown such an expression of excitement and joy as she had just displayed.
That's terrifying. What on earth is this guy thinking?
She turned to look at Mayumi Haga, but the latter avoided her gaze.
...This is the first time I've seen someone look so guilty.
Are you really that happy to self-destruct?
Sugiyama Rikka's feelings were a mix of emotions.
"Let's not talk about that for now." Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on her, Yuga Mayumi coughed lightly and casually brushed it off.
The strange fusion that occurs between the two worlds, and the magical girl who enters the inner world in a special way... the connection between these two things makes Mayumi Haga unable to help but think more about it.
She never hid her darker thought patterns compared to the people of this world, but when faced with three people who clearly had a close relationship with the missing magical girl, she didn't voice her suspicions.
Is the missing magical girl friend or foe? She has never had any contact with her, so she cannot determine the answer.
Since they are magical girls, are they necessarily of high moral character and incapable of doing anything evil?
But that's the rule of the surface world, isn't it?
Won't it change after falling into the other world?
If the inner and outer worlds truly correspond, then are the rules of the inner world, in some way, opposite to those of the outer world?
Moreover, disasters can occur even when good intentions are involved. Perhaps without realizing it, one has already sown the seeds of evil under the influence of goodwill.
Mayumi Haga remained somewhat wary, paying close attention to certain points of suspicion, which reached its peak when Rika Hanaya mentioned that the inner and outer worlds were beginning to merge.
While the three magical girls from the previous generation had already begun discussing how to rescue their long-lost companions, she didn't make any more noise. Instead, she stepped back slightly to create some distance, keeping these trivial conversations, filled with excitement and subjective speculation, away from her own thoughts.
Of course, being able to maintain a jewel-like heart even in that kind of environment is indeed very magical girl-like.
but……
As she was pondering this, Mayumi Haga suddenly noticed that the other three had turned their gazes to her.
Haga Mayumi was stunned.
"?"
I don't know when it happened, but her presence became less noticeable than before.
At least when she stood silently in the shadows, she wouldn't have been discovered so quickly for slacking off.
Sugiyama Rika naturally sought Haga Mayumi's opinion: "Mayumi, what do you think we should do?"
"...Ask me?" After a brief moment of confusion, Mayumi Haga still voiced her thoughts, even though it was like pouring cold water on these previous magical girls in front of her. "It's still uncertain whether it's a rescue or a capture."
After saying this, Mayumi Haga awaited the three people's disapproving reaction.
Just like the magical girls of this generation, they are more likely to believe in good rather than be wary of potential dangers.
However, Sugiyama Rika looked enlightened upon hearing this: "That's true! We haven't even met them yet, so it's really hard to tell what their attitude is."
"You agree, Ayasa! If she's really stubborn, we might have to beat her up!" She chuckled and nudged Terasaki Ayasa beside her with her elbow. The latter, recalling the past, suddenly looked gloomy and felt a stomachache.
"Heh... It's not impossible that long-lost teammates could turn into enemies..." Terasaki Ayasa said, a smirk playing on her lips, her eyes filled with deep resentment. "That guy should be glad he ran away as soon as the group broke up instead of hanging around under my nose..."
Hanaya Rika also recalled the past and felt as if she were facing a formidable enemy: "That's right! We can't be sure of their attitude towards us yet, so we can't just rush in recklessly like before."
...The stories from the previous generation sound quite interesting.
Could there be betrayal in magical girl stories too?
“Haha, that’s called turning enemies into friends,” Sugiyama Rika said.
As for friends choosing to stand on the opposite side due to temporary disagreements, that's not important to the magical girl.
Even if the other party accidentally chose the wrong path, or became hostile due to some reason or obsession, it is not incomprehensible.
Magical girls aren't static; sometimes they also face the conflict between their own selves and their responsibilities, and sometimes they make less-than-wise choices.
“However, no matter which generation of magical girl, they will never fight alone.” Sugiyama Rika wagged her index finger at Haga Mayumi and said, “If she is trapped somewhere, we will go to rescue her. If her heart is trapped there, we will go there too.”
After all, only when all of them are combined do they form the complete five colors.
“So, Mayumi, you don’t need to think that we won’t accept it and that’s why we’re keeping quiet,” Sugiyama Rika smiled with a hint of adult cunning that shouldn’t be on her face. “Our tolerance is a little bit higher than you think, at least higher than the current kids.”
She held up her finger to indicate.
Mayumi Haga expressionlessly grasped her outstretched hand: "So, just now, was any of you on high alert even a fraction of a second?"
"...Haha, it's because you're here. Ayasa, Ayasa should have been a little bit..." Sugiyama Rika's words were quickly dismissed.
She chuckled awkwardly, trying to hide the fact that she wasn't the team's brain, then turned to Terasaki Ayasa for help.
Terasaki Ayasa stood beside her with her arms crossed, while Hanaya Rika wore a serious expression, as if she were waiting for everyone to come up with a battle plan.