Something's off about this magical girl.

Chapter 65 Suspicious Points

Monday morning.

Xia Zhi stood in front of the preparation counter and pushed the last batch of chopped scallions into the pot, which made a short, sharp sound.

Outside the window, the sky was filled with the usual low-lying clouds.

She turned the heat down, her mind filled with a jumble of thoughts, letting them go through her mind again—

Guanlan's questions were sharp and incisive, like a knife specifically designed to cut into narrow crevices...

Senior Zhenyue still insists that she will not be promoted to the Seven Stars unless she is given the title of "Ming". How many times has this happened?

Yubi stated that there are indeed more seven-star slots available now, but she still needs to consider which six-star magical girl to choose.

Furthermore, the messages from Tao Zhuo and Dong Chun about the witch's improvements to the bombs and Dawn Creation's development of magical girl robots had not been communicated to Qi Xin beforehand...

Prayers, strange beasts, weirdos, witches, magical girls from the past, and many other trivial matters have been piling up all at once lately.

Cough cough, have I not slept for a week? I can't take it anymore?

No, it definitely doesn't matter. Sleep is not a necessity for magical girls.

I checked the time; it was almost time to cook and bring it over to him.

I really need him.

But his rejection was still fresh in my mind. If I hadn't been so rude when we first met, maybe things would have turned out differently.

But no matter what, no matter the cost, we must correct Qi Xin and this distorted magical girl system—

She had to do it, and she never wavered.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Psychological counseling room.

"Thanks, I'll leave it here."

Gu Bai had already guessed who it was when he heard the knock on the door. After Xia Zhi entered and handed him a lunchbox, he lifted the lid and glanced at it.

The side dishes were carefully arranged, and the steam was rising from the lid, indicating that it had been brought over directly from the pot. The aroma wafted out a little, a kind of ordinary rice and vegetable fragrance that was completely absent from the magically enhanced meal sets at Qixin Canteen.

"Your dark circles... You should rest when you need to, don't push yourself too hard."

Seeing Xia Zhi's appearance, he couldn't help but recall the situation when he met Zhen Yue. Neither of them seemed to be in good condition. These magical girls always liked to put too much pressure on themselves.

I don't dislike people like that.

After all, if Xia Zhi really did want to change the current distorted magical girl system, as she said, he would have a good impression of her.

But that's all. As for supporting Natsumi?

That's impossible; it's just the ideal and empty talk of a five-star magical girl. Instead of supporting her, it would be better to give Tao Zhuo some money so she can try her luck in the capital market again.

Although the result will definitely be zero, it's still quite interesting to watch the micro-expressions on that guy's face while he's watching the market.

"That's alright. But Mr. Gu Bai, is there anything else you need?"

"It's nothing." Gu Bai was about to see Xia Zhi off, but ultimately, out of curiosity, he asked the question: "Um, I heard that in the combination of the sun, moon, and stars, the death of a star is caused by humans?"

"...Yes." Xia Zhi finally spoke, her voice lower than usual: "Senior Xing died at the hands of humans."

"I want to know what kind of accident it was. It's impossible for a magical girl to be weaker than a human under normal circumstances," Gu Bai said bluntly, giving Xia Zhi no room to dodge. "It doesn't make sense."

"Magical girls are prohibited from using magic to harm humans without permission. This is a rule. Violation of this rule will result in severe consequences from the Inspectorate, and in the most serious case, a demagic ritual may be performed to disqualify them from being considered magical girls."

After clarifying the rules, Natsumi added details about the situation: "On that day, that human was so frightened by the monster that he reacted violently and ultimately stabbed Hoshi-senpai to death."

"He lost his life because of such rigid rules?"

Gu Bai felt increasingly confused about magical girls, or perhaps the rules themselves were flawed?

It's inappropriate to say this, but honestly, even the magic wielded by a quasi-magical girl is enough to intimidate most of humanity.

"Yes..."

Seeing that Xia Zhi was no longer continuing the topic.

Gu Bai then waved to indicate that she could leave, since there wasn't much else to talk about between them.

Xia Zhi stood up and straightened her collar: "Okay, I'll be going now."

She walked towards the door, then stopped halfway, her back to Gu Bai, and spoke in a slightly softer tone, as if it were a casual remark:

"Teacher Gu Bai, if I become a Seven-Star Magical Girl..."

Gu Bai understood what she wanted to say and expressed his own thoughts: "I personally quite like magical girls who are unwavering in their beliefs, but before that, let's find out who the witch who killed that magical girl is, okay?"

"it is good."

There was still no promise, but perhaps that was enough.

Xia Zhi smiled softly, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The footsteps in the corridor were even and unhurried, gradually fading away as they walked towards the stairwell.

The consultation room was quiet for a while.

Gu Bai stared at the food in the lunchbox again. Since things had come to this, he decided to eat first.

—Bang!

A muffled thud shattered the silence.

The door to the consultation room was suddenly pushed open a crack by something, then bounced back, and was pushed open a second time before being completely forced open.

A round little creature with two ridiculously large ears hovered in the doorway, doing somersaults in mid-air, clearly having just bumped into the door.

"What kind of broken door is this?!"

"No." Gu Bai put down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair. "Why are you here?"

"Hehe, I can smell you!" Yubi steadied herself in mid-air, twitched her ears, and crossed her little arms proudly.

Gu Bai was speechless: "A perverted contracted beast, huh?"

"Anyway," Yubi ignored him completely, and flew above Gu Bai's head to announce, "Young man, come and sign a contract with me to become a magical girl!"

"If we keep talking about this, I'll treat you like a monster and get rid of you," Gu Bai refused once again.

"Sigh, you don't understand the joy of transformation. You'll know once you experience it. Beautiful girls are the treasures of this world!"

"Isn't it supposed to be about transforming into a magical girl?" Gu Bai was speechless.

"A beautiful girl is a magical girl, but a magical girl isn't necessarily a beautiful girl. There are many examples, like that super-strong girl who was with you before; I could tell at a glance that her magic was circulating in her arm!"

"—Who are you calling superhuman? That's magic!" Suddenly, Tao Zhuo's voice rang out softly. I wonder how she suddenly appeared in the office—was the door left open?

But Yubi clearly didn't realize that someone had murderous intent, and raised her hand to read:

"Other magical girl abilities: time, space, causality."

"You, punching, punching, punching, it's just... you know."

Tao Zhuo couldn't keep her composure any longer, and immediately placed one hand on Youbi's head, intending to 'control' it.

Yubi realized the situation was getting out of hand and immediately added, "Wait, wait! Actually, I'm here for something important: to help the magical girl Fuyutsubaki advance to six stars and obtain the time-stop magic!"

"Heh, you'd be that kind?"

"I really appreciate talent!" Yubi exclaimed smugly again. "Chacha, you know this magic can only be mastered by one person at a time, and I think she's perfect for it!"

Gu Bai sensed something was off and asked, "One? Does that include the witch?"

Yubi didn't think much of it and said directly, "Of course, the number of these spells is all set. Time Stop is a special spell that can only be used by one person, but even with Time Stop, it's impossible to defeat a witch."

"stupid--"

"—Yubi, please continue."

Gu Bai immediately interrupted Tao Zhuo's speech. "This doesn't make sense. If only one person can master time-stop magic, then the previous conclusion that the one who killed the magical girl from the past was a witch is invalid."

If the preconditions are all correct, then where exactly did the problem occur?