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

Page 218

Moreover, the girl drooling over her own bento box also has long, dark green hair.

The answer is written on the riddle itself.

Mayumi Haga didn't even need to search specifically to be able to roughly determine the identity of the last magical girl.

Even if she hasn't become a magical girl yet, she definitely has the potential.

Not to mention, the other person's bracelet also had a familiar little bird-shaped emerald gemstone.

The World's Number One Idol Contest is, in a strict sense, a talent show.

Since the athletes come from all over the world, the organizers have also prepared corresponding living facilities for them, such as dormitories, canteens, and practice rooms. Athletes who need these facilities can apply to the organizers.

It's quite humane.

The girl in front of me is the one Mayumi Haga met in the dance practice room; her name is Aya Hanaya.

Is this surname... related to Ms. Hanaya Rika? Speaking of which, in the new world line, all the magical girls of the previous generation have disappeared, and we don't know where they were transferred to.

Aya Hanaya is a girl with a rather naive personality. Her level of absentmindedness is comparable to that of Rika Hanaya, and she uses a way of thinking that Mayumi Haga cannot understand.

She seemed to lack the subtlety and indirectness that people in this country followed; she did what she wanted directly.

For example, when Mayumi Haga was eating, her stomach started growling and she stared at her.

Mayumi Haga: "Mayumi Haga's bento wasn't anything fancy either; it was just a grilled meat rice ball that she found in her backpack that had been sitting there for who knows how long."

If it weren't for the fact that exercising at a high intensity all day without eating during lunch break would seem a bit inhuman and attract attention, she wouldn't even want to waste that time.

Seeing Hanaya Aya staring blankly at her, Haga Mayumi wanted to strike up a conversation, so she hesitated for a moment before handing over the rice ball she hadn't eaten yet.

The latter's eyes lit up: "You're such a good person!"

"Haga Mayumi was a little unsure how to respond to that sentence."

Fortunately, the other person was oblivious to the subtle awkwardness in the air and stuffed the whole rice ball, about half the size of a fist, into their mouth, puffing out their cheeks as they chewed.

"...You haven't eaten? That's not right. The cafeteria is supposed to be free for the players, so it's unlikely that they would go hungry... But this kid isn't so thin and pale from hunger."

Mayumi Haga was puzzled.

Hanaya Aya chuckled, her face still covered in rice grains: "Because this looks delicious, my stomach started growling on its own... By the way, what kind of meat is this?" Only then did Haga Mayumi notice that the other woman's teeth were stained purple.

...This doesn't seem to be the rice ball I bought at the convenience store in this world.

On the surface, Mayumi Haga appeared calm, but in reality, her brain started working frantically after seeing Aya Hanaya's teeth stained purple with flesh.

When exactly did she buy the Momo Beast Roasted Meat Rice Ball...? Did she not finish it before? She didn't seem to notice the filling when she came out... and couldn't see it either.

Clearly, this kind of meat that changes color when chewed is not a native product of the Koukou-shoku world. It took Mayumi Haga a full second to confirm that this thing was non-toxic to ordinary people.

Some people may appear calm, but they are actually sweating profusely.

For Mayumi Haga, even if the food is poisonous, it will not affect her body, but for ordinary people...

Even trace amounts of toxins can be fatal...—and here, "trace amounts" refers to amounts as small as Mayumi Haga's.

Have I been too impetuous lately...? I'm even making this kind of mistake.

After realizing that the meat was non-toxic to ordinary humans, Mayumi Haga breathed a sigh of relief, but her feelings were also somewhat complicated.

Meanwhile, Hanaya Aya, standing nearby, was completely unaware of Mayumi Haga's emotional fluctuations during those few seconds, and was also completely unaware that she had almost walked through the gates of hell.

She was also happy to have made a friend who was willing to share food.

Aya Hanaya's personality is somewhat like an animal's, not in the sense that she's cute, but rather that she's a wild animal in the truest sense.

Although she can communicate normally with others, she exhibits a kind of sluggishness that is out of touch with human society. When she sees others eating something that interests her, she stares intently, somewhat like a pet dog.

When expressing affection for friends, use more intimate physical gestures, such as sitting close together or touching heads... these are all unconscious expressions.

Of course, what ultimately convinced Mayumi Haga of her animalistic tendencies was that when the two of them ate together, she would stare at people craning their necks to look into her food…

...Approved this tooth.

Mayumi Haga: ? Mayumi Haga was standing to the side with her plate, watching Aya Hanaya spar with the other contestants. She even heard a low growl.

...This doesn't seem right, Mayumi Haga pondered.

In order to verify her suspicions, she wanted to get close to Hanaya Aya to confirm that she was the fifth magical girl, so they had been going in and out of the dance studio and cafeteria together recently.

As she spent more time with her, she became increasingly certain that Aya Hanaya was not a child who grew up in an ordinary family.

Aya Hanaya was born with an innocent and charming appearance, with incredibly thick green curly hair. She always wore a striped headband, and her eyes were the color of amber with two white horizontal lines painted on at the corners of her eyes. Her skin was a dark honey color.

It is suspected that she can talk to stray cats and dogs. Mayumi Haga once saw her secretly hiding in a corner chatting with animals, gesturing excitedly.

However, it seems a little afraid of people.

The other person rarely goes to crowded places, and part of the reason she stays with Mayumi Haga is because Mayumi Haga is the only one in her dance studio.

In fact, because Mayumi Haga's behavior on and off stage is quite "inconsistent," her reputation among the contestants is somewhat ambiguous.

After all, she flirts wildly on stage, but always has a sullen face off in private. Nobody would find her approachable.

Moreover, everyone is in competition, and being a contestant from Strange City is one of the reasons for being ostracized.

Since she spent more money to hire her own teacher, other people were even less likely to go to her favorite dance studio.

It can only be said that it was a coincidence that Aya Hanaya bumped into him, and that she really didn't understand the subtle atmosphere that flowed between human relationships.

How do I get home with Mayumi Haga?

Oh...yes, it seems I've found a human who's willing to keep a pet, and this person has a very pleasant scent.

Hanaya Aya, munching on the beef jerky that Haga Mayumi had given her, squatted in front of a group of stray cats and dogs in an alley, tilting her head and barking and chattering as she talked about her current situation with the friends she had made since arriving here.

To be honest, it is a big challenge to bring a dog that has always lived in the countryside to a metropolis like the city center and live in human form.

Hanaya Aya often fails to understand human thought processes; she is a simple and innocent little animal who cannot comprehend the intricacies of human thinking.

It came here simply because the green stone left behind by its former owner, who used to feed it, suddenly started talking to it one day.

Aya Hanaya used to be a small dog, or more precisely, an old dog, kept by Rika Hanaya's family.

Dogs typically live to be over ten years old. When Hanaya Aya was born, her name was Aya, and Hanaya Rika was only a teenager.

The little girl, Hanaya Rika, used to love playing with her, but later she went to school in the city, and after a while, she disappeared completely.

Xiao Ling stayed at home with her old owner year after year, until her once smooth and shiny fur lost its luster, her face turned white, and many age-related diseases began to appear.

She lay under the eaves basking in the sun for ten years, but her little owner, who promised to come home soon to play frisbee with her, never returned.

It was at this time that Xiao Huan discovered the green stone hanging on the tree branch while sunbathing.

Even though it had been ten years since they last met, she still remembered her little master's scent.

The green stone spoke to her in the clear, melodious voice of a bird, saying that if she went to the city, she could find a way to bring her little master back.

Although the process would be long and involve dealing with many scary humans and weirdos, which would be difficult for the somewhat socially awkward old dog, Aya still agreed.

She was a loyal little dog, and little dogs never lack courage.

So, when the puppy was terrified of being transformed into a human and losing its fur, claws, and sharp teeth that represented its sense of security, it did not change its mind.

Living in the city really takes a lot of courage for a puppy.

She accompanied her young master here when he started school.

Here, there are terrifying high-rise buildings everywhere, cars come and go, and the ground under your feet is cold and hard.

They cannot run freely, chase butterflies, or lie on the grass, belly up, sunbathing.

For a puppy that has lived on a farm since it was a puppy, everything here is strange and scary.

Moreover, she is a large dog that requires an amazing amount of exercise and a large space to move around in; living in a small box is like being in a cage.

But now she has come to this cage voluntarily, and there is no human being she can trust around her.

In order to avoid being discovered to have an inhuman identity, Aya, guided by the green stone, fabricated an identity called Hanaya Aya and infiltrated some kind of competition that had a free cafeteria.

Although her rating was D, meaning she was just one step away from elimination, she still got to eat free meals for about a week.

"In order to continue eating the food provided by that place called the cafeteria, I need to train even harder."

"Hanaguchi Aya, it's rare to find a little animal in the city that you can talk to. She can't help but say a few more words. "It feels so much more complicated than shaking hands and rolling around. She learned these skills when she was a child, but aren't human skills a bit too complicated?"

If it weren't for the help of that kind human named Mayumi Haga, Aya Hanaya wouldn't have even learned the first section.

It's all because the teachers don't know how to teach. If the teacher were like the little master, rewarding him with a snack every time he learned a move, he would definitely learn it very quickly.

There's not even a reward system!

If Mayumi Haga knew what she was thinking, she would definitely calmly complain to herself that the dance teacher really didn't know how to train dogs.

In short, a little dog with a bit of cunning, but not much, sneaked into the human world.

Aya Hanaya's next step is to continue making a living through competitions.

Green Stone said that continuing to participate in this competition could help her find the clues to her little master, so she would work even harder.

However, she really likes Mayumi Haga.

The other person seemed like the kind of person who really knows how to take care of dogs.

Although their faces are indifferent, expressions are not a complete criterion for puppies to judge whether a human is friendly or not.

Mayumi Haga feeds her and allows herself to enter her territory (referring to the dance studio), she's a good person!

I wish I could be temporarily taken in for a while...

Aya Hanaya also has some worries.

The little green stone only talks to itself occasionally; it sleeps most of the time, supposedly because it's hungry and has no choice but to sleep to conserve its energy.

She understands perfectly, because she herself doesn't like to move around much when she's hungry, and she's become even less inclined to travel as she gets older.

Although she has now become human and her physical functions have returned to those of a one- or two-year-old puppy, full of energy and inexhaustible strength, she still remembers how she felt when she was plagued by old age ailments and was tired all day long.

Perhaps the little green stone was not only hungry, but also getting old.

Judging from the smell, the little green stone is very, very old.

Speaking of which, Mayumi Haga smells very fresh.

She's not even a year old yet, is she? She's still very young.

Humans can grow so fast!

While whispering with her new friend about how to get on the good side of Mayumi Haga as a short-term meal ticket, Aya Hanaya came up with the following ideas: First, meow and rub against her legs, stick your tail to her, and follow her all the way.

Second, put yourself in a cardboard box and write in human language, "She is a girl, please give her some food."

Third, shamelessly go home with the other person and lie down at their door.

Hanaya Aya wasn't sure if these things would be useful; she had been picked out from among the puppies in the kennel by her young master back then.

They had absolutely no experience of being adopted as homeless people.

There weren't many stray dogs; most of the animals here were stray cats. A few cats perched on the wall looked at each other, as if to say, "This is going to be a bit difficult, meow."

"β" Logically speaking, it should be okay since it's already belly up, meow.

"β" Or should we ask the boss, Meow?

"There are still some stray cat leaders on this street, but it seems that a stronger cat leader has taken over a few days ago, and these kittens haven't seen the other one yet."

The eldest cat must be the smartest; this human dog can't go wrong asking her.

I took the puppy home.

The cat boss is a Maine Coon that suddenly appeared in the last few days and is frighteningly large.

Gray fur, sharp golden eyes, and a broken tail—that's all it has to offer.

"If you're looking for it, Aya, the biggest one is it, meow."

The three stray cats kindly gave directions to Hanaya Aya. Although the cat boss rarely appears, he usually shows up near that big TV station building.

Big? How big is it? Aya Hanaya tilted her head.

Her true form is a golden retriever, which is a large dog.

After transforming into human form, it actually shrank considerably.

In her view, any animal smaller than herself is a small animal.

This question turned into surprise after seeing the true form of the Cat Boss.