While Blazing Flame waited, Pandora gradually calmed down.
She looked at Blazing Flame, who was waiting for her to speak, lowered her claw slightly, and scratched the greatsword resting on the tree stump before opening her mouth.
“I do have another way to speed up the natural consumption of magic power, but I have to say first— this is based on my theoretical deductions, so it might not work.”
“Anything that doesn’t leave behind magic traces is already good enough. Tell me,” Blazing Flame replied without hesitation.
“Hmm… the method is to do something else, divert your attention, let your body enter a state similar to relaxation, and don’t think about defeating Monsters or Shadow Beasts. It’s best to do something that makes you feel happy or joyful,” Pandora explained.
“So just doing something that makes me happy can accelerate the natural consumption of magic power?” Blazing Flame found this strange. “What’s the principle behind this?”
“That’s a bit complicated to explain. It’s as complex as your humans’ mathematical formulas. Can we just not talk about it?” Pandora asked.
“Alright, then don’t say it.”
Hearing Pandora’s comparison, Blazing Flame, with a respectful fear of mathematics, obediently tossed her curiosity into the trash bin.
Just like how she had forgotten how a hot water kettle works but could still use it to boil water.
She didn’t need to know the essence of this method; as long as it could speed up the disappearance of her magic power, that was enough.
“Ah, someone’s coming… Blazing Flame, do you have any other questions?” Pandora looked up at the sky. “If you don’t, we should head to your dorm now. That Magic Girl who was chasing us just now is coming again, and she’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
“That Magic Girl is back? Does that mean she’s developed the ability to sense Monsters too?”
“Forget it. Let’s just leave here first.”
“Come on, Pandora. Just sit on my shoulder like before.”
Although Blazing Flame was curious about how the other party confirmed her and Pandora’s location, now was not the time to think about that.
She reached out her hand, inviting Pandora to climb along her palm up to her shoulder.
“Thanks, Blazing Flame.”
Pandora thanked her softly, swiftly climbing onto Blazing Flame’s shoulder, then firmly planting her feet to stand steady, waiting for Blazing Flame to take her out of the forest park.
“Phew…”
Blazing Flame took a deep breath and glanced at the power level on the bracelet around her left wrist.
Well, it wasn’t much different from full power; no need to examine it closely.
Hopefully, Pandora’s method would work—she still had classes this afternoon.
After confirming her status, Blazing Flame took off immediately, flying toward the area near her school, planning to find a place to test Pandora’s method and speed up her own power consumption.
Several minutes later.
While Blazing Flame maintained her flight in the sky, Pandora, standing on her shoulder, suddenly asked,
“…By the way, Blazing Flame, I forgot to ask—how many people share your university dorm?”
“Two per room, why?” Blazing Flame answered casually.
“That’s a good setup. Then we don’t have to worry about Night Demons finding us,” Pandora nodded slightly, then asked, “Does your roommate know about your Magic Girl identity?”
“I haven’t told him yet. He doesn’t know for now. Every time I go out transformed, I tell him I’m sponsored by a Rich Woman, and he’s been foolishly believing it. He even advises me to take care of my health,” Blazing Flame replied.
“Oh~ you came up with a pretty solid excuse. But since your roommate doesn’t know you’re a Magic Girl, we’ll need to maintain Cognitive Obstruction Magic in your dorm. Otherwise, it’ll be bad if you get discovered.”
At this, Pandora seemed to recall something else and quickly changed the subject, telling Blazing Flame some newly thought-of information, worried she might fall into a dangerous trap without knowing.
“Also, Blazing Flame, remember not to interact with other humans too long while your Magical Outfit is active, even with your own family.”
“Why?” Blazing Flame asked, confused. “Could something happen?”
“Ah, don’t ask why. Let me ask you—aren’t all the Magic Girls in your city drawn into those… risqué images?” Pandora answered a question with a question.
“Uh… now that you mention it, it does seem like that?” Blazing Flame recalled various lewd illustrations and comics she’d seen online. It seemed to be true. “You just came to this city, right? How do you know that Magic Girls in City A are drawn into these strange images?”
“I go online, dummy,” Pandora retorted. “And as a Magic Girl, it’d be abnormal if you weren’t drawn into that kind of stuff.”
“Hm? Every Magic Girl definitely gets drawn into those lewd images? What kind of weird logic is that?” Blazing Flame felt like she’d just heard something terrible.
“I’m tired. I don’t want to explain the detailed reasons. I just want to rest,” Pandora gave a rather lame excuse. “Just know that when a Magic Girl’s Magical Outfit is active, it has a negative effect on ordinary people.”
“Negative effect?” Blazing Flame frowned. “Can you explain what kind of negative effect, Pandora?”
“Nothing special, just it amplifies the Evil Thoughts and Desires within ordinary people,” Pandora said, pressing her hands tightly on Blazing Flame’s shoulders. “You’re a university student. You must have played those strange Magic Girl games, right? Think of it this way: when you transform into a Magic Girl, you affect the ordinary people around you, turning them into irrational beasts.”
“But I’ve interacted with ordinary people several times in my Magic Girl form, and they never made a move on me,” Blazing Flame asked in confusion, using her own experiences to argue against Pandora.
“Then let me ask you—have you seen pictures of yourself? You know, those images where you’re not properly dressed, and there’s even weird white liquid nearby?” Pandora countered.
“Uh, yes. But not many,” Blazing Flame answered honestly.
“Now let me ask you—how many times have you transformed? Is it as many as the number of Monsters others have defeated?” Pandora continued.
“No.”
Thinking of Sapphire’s battle record protecting City A, Blazing Flame was instantly speechless and could only admit honestly.
“When you’ve transformed many more times and have appeared publicly more often, you’ll see whether I’m lying,” Pandora patted Blazing Flame’s shoulder with her small claw. “But don’t worry too much. As long as you don’t spend too long around people, most ordinary people will keep their sanity and won’t make a move on you.”
“…Let’s hope so.”
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