Want to be human, but cube-like

"Didn't you say that your wish had already come true?"

She tried her best to suppress her anxiety, barely maintaining her facial expression and sweet voice, but the tremor in her voice betrayed Su Shi's thoughts at that moment.

"Your wish has indeed come true. Your companions have all returned, and they've even reunited with you in a band, haven't they?"

Cupid, who was crouching to the side watching her, answered calmly.

"But! Xiao Xiang didn't come back at all! If it weren't for Xiao Xiang...! I..."

Biting her lower lip, Su Shi lowered her head, her loose hair obscuring her delicate face.

"Crychic can only work if all five of us are together! Me, Xiaoxiang, Xiaomu, Xiaodeng, Xiaolixi... none of us can be missing!"

Almost unable to maintain that sweet voice any longer, Su Shi's tone became somewhat low.

"Logically speaking, with your qualifications, Su Shi, you should be more than capable of fulfilling this wish. But it turns out that not everyone from Crychic has returned?"

Cupid seemed to be a little confused as well.

"Qualifications... Is it possible that there are situations where one's qualifications are insufficient to fulfill a wish?"

Su Shi keenly caught this key word and asked nervously.

It seems that she believed it was all due to her own lack of talent.

"Of course it will happen, but if you are not qualified enough to have your wish granted, I will remind you when you make your wish."

Cupid explained to her.

"Only when you understand that your own abilities cannot fully realize your wish, and you still persist in pursuing that wish, will your wish be fulfilled."

Please don't worry about the distortion.

That sounds pretty reassuring.

"But my wish is for everyone in Crychic to come back... So why is Xiaoxiang the only one not here?"

But now a problem has arisen, hasn't it?

Su Shi's words already carried a hint of irritation.

"As long as the person you are thinking of when you make a wish actually exists in this world, then you should definitely be affected by your wish."

Its words stunned Su Shi for a moment.

"It truly... exists... in this world?"

She murmured something under her breath, then suddenly widened her eyes in a panic.

"You mean...!? Xiao Xiang, she...!"

With trembling lips, Su Shi was completely unable to voice the possibility that had suddenly come to her mind.

But in his mind, all the unusual events from before began to replay incessantly.

Why did he suddenly change his expression and leave after the live performance ended?

Why haven't I had time to practice since then?

Why did you resolutely quit the band on that rainy day?

Why are the messages I sent still marked as unread?

Why... no matter how I asked Xiaomu, she remained silent and refused to answer.

Could it be... because of Xiao Xiang, she has a terminal illness...?!

In that case... everything seems to make sense now?!

The reason why my expression changed drastically when I looked at my phone that day was because I saw the results of the diagnosis.

The reason I haven't had time to practice is because I'm too weak and am in the hospital.

The reason for leaving the band was... because he knew his days were numbered?

The reason I can't see my own messages... is it because Xiao Xiang is no longer in this world?

The reason Xiao Mu wouldn't answer... is because she's Xiao Xiang's childhood sweetheart, and she's the one who's most heartbroken... But to keep everyone from knowing, she can only keep everything bottled up inside...

Perhaps, keeping this a secret from everyone was something Xiao Xiang asked Xiao Mu to do before he left...

She covered her mouth tightly with her hand, her pupils trembling violently.

Su Shi became increasingly convinced of her own suspicions.

Because all of this fits together perfectly.

Xiao Xiang... has already passed away due to illness!

"Xiao Xiang...!"

With a weak sob in her voice, Su Shi slowly collapsed to the ground, sitting on her stomach with her hands covering her cheeks.

"Su Shi?"

Not understanding why Su Shi would react this way, Kyubey tilted his head and called out to her in confusion.

However, it was this call that helped Su Shi break free from her sorrowful emotions.

"Khubby... if I want to make one more wish, is that possible?"

She wiped her eyes, sniffed, and asked softly with a faint hope.

"For example, bringing people back to life."

"No."

But Cupid shattered her illusion.

"Your wish to become a magical girl through a contract has already been made, it cannot be changed, and you will not have another chance to make a second wish."

Of course, with something this good, how could we possibly give her a second chance?

Being able to fulfill a miraculous, all-powerful wish is something many people wouldn't even dare to imagine.

Su Shi's inquiry was nothing more than a hopeless attempt.

"Oh...right, you said before that Xiaomu also has the potential to become a magical girl, right?"

After a moment of silence, Su Shi suddenly remembered this matter and looked up sharply to ask.

"If Xiao Mu were to make a wish... to bring the dead back to life, is it possible?"

If it were Xiao Mu... if she knew there was a way to save Xiao Xiang, maybe...!

We still need to ask Xiaomu's wishes... After all, it's such an important matter.

Moreover, it also concerns her life safety...

"Wakaba Mutsumi, she does have the potential to become a magical girl, but her potential is not enough to bear the wish of being resurrected. Even if she forcibly makes such a wish, the result will be distorted."

But Kyubey's words once again extinguished the flame of hope that Su Shi had just rekindled, like cold water.

"For example, the resurrected person is not complete, or is only resurrected for a short period of time, or simply a fabricated false object."

Hearing Qiu Bi's words, Su Shi opened her mouth, but didn't know what else she could say.

If that's the kind of wish she'd rather not have.

Faced with such a life-or-death, heavy matter, even Su Shi was helpless.

Even if I became a magical girl and encountered a mysterious creature that only appears in anime, I would still be powerless to help...

The atmosphere in the small public restroom became heavy. Both the man and the animal remained silent, and the air was so still it seemed to freeze.

"Su Shi, you need to try fighting the witch or your familiar tonight. There's still plenty of time, but if you don't defeat the witch, your Soul Gem will gradually become tainted."

After a moment, Cupid spoke up to remind him.

"..."

Upon hearing this, Su Shi, feeling dejected, remained silent. She simply took out the Soul Gem and looked at the bright yellow color that had somehow become tinged with gray.

When I took it out to look at it after school in the afternoon, there shouldn't have been these gray ones.

However, Cupid also mentioned this to her last night.

Since it is the price for making a wish, the magical girl's duties are naturally not easy. She not only needs to defeat witches who harm humans and their familiars, but also needs to use something called the Grief Seed, which only appears after a witch dies, to restore her magic power.

It's like how humans need to eat to fill their stomachs in order to survive.

Kyubey didn't hide anything, and even told her after she asked why becoming a magical girl would be a price to pay.

If a magical girl doesn't use the Grief Seed to replenish her magic power, she will gradually weaken due to the lack of magic power and may even die.

"I understand."

She took a deep breath, gripped the Soul Gem tightly in her hand, and stood up from the ground.

Even though Xiao Xiang is no longer here... she still has to protect everyone in Crychic!

No! It's precisely because Xiao Xiang is gone, and because everyone in Crychic came back together because of her wish, that she has to work hard for everyone!

Whether it's to protect everyone or to ensure that Crychic continues, she has to pull herself together!

This is probably what Xiao Xiang wanted to see!

With a determined look in her eyes, Su Shi led Qiu Bi out of the public restroom.

For a long time, until the surrounding area became completely quiet.

Suddenly, the door to one of the toilet stalls opened.

Inside, a little girl who looked to be a middle school student covered her mouth and cautiously peeked out, her eyes filled with panic.

Did she just run into a crazy older sister?!

I need to hurry back and tell my mother.

!

…………

P.S. I didn't originally intend to write it this way, but when I got to the part where Kyubey says it's not in this world, I was thinking of saying that the Sky Island world is separate from this world, and neither Kyubey nor its wish-granting black box technology can interfere with it. But when I put myself in Su Shi's shoes and read this passage, it just turned out like this.

Don't ask why Qiu Bi didn't tell Su Shi about Xiang Zi; it wished Su Shi would despair on the spot.

It's all because of Su Shi's extraordinary wisdom that I've been influenced.

Oh right, tomorrow is Qingming Festival, I have to go back to pay respects to my ancestors, so I probably won't be free. Therefore, I'm asking for a day off.

Volume 2: Chapter 207 The Pursuit of the Witch

Even as she thought of everyone in Crychic, Suze's heart was filled with determination.

But that can't change the fact that she's just an ordinary girl who's only been in high school for a few days.

Even a day ago, having become a magical girl, she could no longer be considered ordinary.

"We're going to fight a witch... but how exactly do we do that?"

After the boiling passion cooled down and Su Shi returned to a calm state, she began to think about this problem.

She subconsciously tugged at the silver necklace, pulling out the soul gem that had been hidden inside her collar in that deep canyon for an entire day.

The warmth, almost like body temperature, that emanated from the gemstone after a whole day of close contact with her skin was transmitted to her cool fingertips, making her linger a little longer on the outer surface of the gemstone.

"The Soul Gem has the ability to sense the witch's aura, so if Su Shi takes the Soul Gem and tries to search around, he might be able to find the witch's barrier."

While she was lost in thought, Cupid suddenly spoke up from beside her feet.

"The premise is that a witch or familiar has been in the vicinity, so that their magical aura will remain."

It was as if it was answering the question she had just asked: how to fight the witch.

"Eh?"

Clearly, Su Shi wasn't thinking about this either. She was puzzled for a moment, but then she immediately realized what was going on.

"Hmm...I understand, thank you, Cupid."

With a forced, somewhat insincere smile, Su Shi held the Soul Gem and decided to wander around aimlessly for a while.

Although she wanted to ask about the battle, she would indeed have to ask Kyubey about how to find the witch sooner or later.