No. 026 Does Love Always Connect with Sadness?
As for the two girls, Luo Zhiyin and Mu Linxi, I personally didn’t know them very well.
Or rather, I didn’t know most of my classmates.
Heijiang No.3 Middle School had only started classes not long ago.
Most of my interactions with classmates were concentrated during that short half-month of military training, such as cooperating in training or being assigned to the same group for squad missions.
At that time, I only got to know the male students; conversations with girls were almost zero.
After military training ended, Mom’s condition continued to deteriorate, often requiring me to take leave from school to accompany her.
With less time in class, my contact with classmates naturally decreased.
Although I wasn’t familiar with many people in the class, I did have an impression of Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin and the loli-obsessed Mu Linxi.
During military training, Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin was the most dazzling person in the entire Class 11, Grade 10.
At that time, the drill instructor had each classmate go up in turn to introduce themselves, talking about their interests and specialties.
Many classmates just casually said a few sentences like “I’m so-and-so, this many years old, like playing mobile games, collecting Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, building Gundam models, blah blah blah.”
Only Luo Zhiyin said she had learned Sanda, Taekwondo, Judo, and other mainstream martial arts, had Grade 10 in piano, professional Grade 7 in guzheng and pipa, was also somewhat proficient in calligraphy and chess, and simultaneously liked anime and various bishoujo games…
Even the drill instructor was dumbfounded.
“How old are you? You’ve learned Sanda? Taekwondo? And also have Grade 10 in piano? And can play guzheng and pipa?”
That was what the drill instructor said at the time.
“I don’t believe it. Show us a few demonstrations.”
Then Luo Zhiyin put on an impromptu performance for the instructor, with various punches and kicks that were quite professional, leaving the students below stunned.
Because her figure was really too good, even wearing the military training uniform, Luo Zhiyin’s chest kept bouncing during the performance, causing the girls below to whisper among themselves—
“Hey hey, aren’t you in the same dorm as her? What cup size is she?”
“I’d guess… at least an F? Don’t tell her I said that.”
And so Luo Zhiyin became the class monitor of Class 11, Grade 10.
Many classmates were guessing whether this Class Monitor was the young lady of some conglomerate, skipping the many aristocratic schools in Black River City to come “incognito” to Heijiang No.3 Middle School.
As for Mu Linxi, my impression of her was “the loli of the loli-obsessed.”
She was desk mates with Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin.
Her height was similar to my current self, less than 150 centimeters.
After class, she always had a lazy expression and really liked things related to “lolis,” like pencil cases and backpacks printed with cute little girls.
Her hairstyle at school was also usually a loli-style twin-tail, very cute.
To be honest, when the two of them proactively came to find me wanting to “speak in private,” I was quite surprised.
[Since we are all Magical Girls, I’ll cut to the chase.]
While walking behind Tang Xiaolu and Huang Quan, maintaining a rather delicate distance, the Class Monitor Luo Zhiyin beside me used the Magical Girl’s exclusive telepathy to speak in my mind.
[This time, the school’s strengthening of student mental health education was my request.]
[Eh?]
I didn’t react for a moment.
[What do you mean by the Class Monitor requesting…?]
[I funded the Municipal Education Bureau, asking them to increase the number of psychological counselors and psychologists at Heijiang No.3 Middle School and strengthen the students’ mental health guidance.]
Luo Zhiyin explained.
[Actually, the Municipal Education Bureau had similar plans long ago, but they were troubled by insufficient funds. I just accelerated the implementation of this plan.]
“The reason Magical Girls become Witches is mostly because their hearts have suffered severe wounds—no matter how injured our bodies are, they can be quickly repaired with Magic Power, but the wounds deep in our hearts are hard to heal.”
As Mu Linxi spoke, she took out a White Rabbit creamy candy from her school skirt pocket and handed it over.
“Here.”
I hesitated for a moment, then took the candy.
“Thanks, Xi Xi.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mu Linxi said in a soft voice.
“You’re also a loli, so we’re good friends.”
Eh?
I…
I’m a loli?
Although after becoming a girl, I am indeed quite short…
“I’m sorry for dragging you into these strange matters.”
Probably feeling that Tang Xiaolu, who was being pestered by Huang Quan up ahead, wouldn’t notice what was happening here for a while, Luo Zhiyin didn’t use the Magical Girl’s telepathy and instead spoke directly with her voice.
“I didn’t expect the Class Teacher to ask for the selection of a Psychological Committee Member just now. My mind was in a mess and… I thought of you. Actually, at that time I wanted to give the position of Psychological Committee Member to Tang Xiaolu, but the new classmate for some reason straight away confessed to Tang Xiaolu about being a Magical Girl. That made me a bit uneasy about her, so I decided on you at the last moment.”
“Hmm…”
I glanced at Tang Xiaolu walking ahead, tore open the packaging of the White Rabbit candy Mu Linxi had handed me, and put it in my mouth.
“What’s up with Lulu?”
“She doesn’t have any problems. It’s mainly this new transfer student, Huang Quan. I still can’t determine her identity.”
Luo Zhiyin said in a serious tone.
“She seems very familiar with Tang Xiaolu, but Tang Xiaolu doesn’t seem to know her?”
“Right.”
I nodded.
“Lulu just told me that too. She doesn’t remember when she met the new classmate.”
This candy is so sweet…
Luo Zhiyin suddenly asked.
“Does Classmate Huang Quan know about ‘Erosion Shadow’?”
“Erosion Shadow? Which er?”
“The character for erosion, the character for shadow. ‘Erosion’ used as a verb, like insects gnawing at shadows. Erosion Shadow, a Magical Girl organization.”
“I don’t know.”
I shook my head like a rattle-drum.
“What about this organization?”
“This organization…”
Luo Zhiyin was silent for a few seconds.
“The Magical Girls in this organization are relatively cold. They believe that Magical Girls should live for themselves. Not only do they not actively help others, but they even induce sad and hopeless passersby to step into Witch Barriers in order to let their Familiars turn into Witches and hatch Grief Seeds, allowing the Familiars to eat as many people as possible.”
“Eh?”
I was a bit dumbfounded.
“What are they doing?”
“To put it crudely, it’s ‘raising pigs.'”
Mentioning this organization, Luo Zhiyin’s face instantly overflowed with undisguisable disgust.
“Because only a fully-formed Witch can produce a Grief Seed, and only a Grief Seed can purify a Magical Girl’s Soul Gem. So the Magical Girls in Erosion Shadow often deliberately leave the Witch’s Familiars alive, watch them eat people, and only act when they have grown into Witches.”
“To guide more people into Witch Barriers and become food for Familiars, they release a lot of negative energy information on the internet, or preach some dark thoughts to people around them, making these people more easily attracted to Witches.”
“At the same time, some mentally fragile Magical Girls are also their targets, because any Magical Girl after ‘Witchification’ becomes a fully-formed Witch and can produce a Grief Seed. The Magical Girls of ‘Erosion Shadow’ like to exploit this, disguising themselves as companions of these Magical Girls, day after day instilling sorrowful and despairing thoughts into them, tempting them to Witchify.”
I couldn’t bear to listen anymore.
“How could they be like this? That’s so terrible…”
“Yeah, that’s why I really dislike the people from ‘Erosion Shadow’ too. Using my family’s power to demand the Municipal Education Bureau to strengthen mental health education at Heijiang No.3 Middle School is also a counterattack.”
As she spoke, Luo Zhiyin glanced at Huang Quan, who was holding hands with Tang Xiaolu ahead, and used the Magical Girl’s telepathy to speak in my mind.
[I suspect that the transfer student Huang Quan is from “Erosion Shadow,” and she has already set her sights on your friend Tang Xiaolu.]
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