Want to be human, but cube-like

PS It's really strange. Why would someone deliberately downvote the "orange" tag, and then all the other tags get downvoted as well? Not many people would actually click to see the likes and dislikes for a tag, not even me. What are those people doing this for?

Volume 1: Chapter 27 What Bewitched Him?

"Hum..."

Like a child, Alex was smug about this little bit of revenge and gave a soft snort.

Although she didn't really understand why Xiangzi reacted this way, after spending some time with him, Alex had begun to grasp Xiangzi's weaknesses.

Indeed, whenever Xiangzi encounters this situation, he will strangely blush and become awkward and weak.

Compared to the usually stubborn and assertive Xiangzi, she is much more interesting in this state.

Alex didn't understand either. They were all girls, so why would Xiangzi have such a strong reaction to seeing her own body?

Although Alex's mother subtly instilled in her the distinction between men and women and the concept of modesty, Alex clearly did not understand the true meaning of distinguishing between men and women.

After all, she had not received a complete education.

With a somewhat helpless sigh, Xiangzi realized that Alex was deliberately trying to tease her, but she had fallen for it anyway.

"Alright, let's keep going..."

She quickly composed herself, turned around, tightened her little face, and put on a slightly dissatisfied expression as she spoke to Alex.

Alex reopened the minimap, but after just one glance, she was immediately stunned.

Then, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he drew the nameless sword [Puppet] from his hand once again, facing the bewildered Xiangzi, and pulled the sword from its sheath.

"Eh?"

Before she could even react to what was happening, Xiangzi, who was completely unable to dodge, could only watch helplessly as the sharp blade that had just sliced ​​through a monster in front of her drew ever closer to her neck.

why?

Is she angry?

Is it because he finally realized that I had taken advantage of him and that's why he's angry and embarrassed?

Or is it because of something that happened in another world that you have to kill someone to cover it up?

Am I going to die?

Is it okay to just die like this...?

In that instant, a multitude of thoughts flashed through her mind, and Xiangzi felt that she had never before had such a rapid pace of thought.

Immediately afterward, she watched as the sharp blade of light sliced ​​through her body, piercing her skin, sinking into her flesh, cutting through her bones, and finally emerging from behind her.

It's like an illusion.

"clang!"

A crisp knocking sound came from behind, making Xiangzi's delicate body tremble. She suddenly came to her senses and realized that she was unharmed. When she looked at Alex in front of her, she found herself nestled in her arms.

No, given their heights, it should be said that Xiangzi was pulled into her arms.

On a cold winter night, this embrace is as warm as the feeling of sleeping soundly on a soft lawn under the bright sun.

The subsequent almost forceful action of pressing Xiangzi into his arms carried a hint of irresistible protectiveness within its strength.

Unsure of what to do, Xiangzi subconsciously reached out and slipped his hands inside Alex's coat, wrapping them around her slender waist. He then buried his stunned face in Alex's neck.

Because Alex's single hand was enough to completely hold her down with immense force, Xiangzi's mouth and nose were almost pressed against the other's neck. She could even feel her chin pressing against the other's delicate collarbone through the thin turtleneck sweater.

The familiar grapefruit scent rushed into his nostrils once again, but in less than a second, Xiangzi's mind was filled with Alex's fragrance.

Her entire sensory system was completely enveloped by the touch of Alex embracing her and her sweet scent.

Alex, who was completely unaware of Xiangzi's current state, simply lowered her head slightly and leaned close to the other's small and delicate earlobe.

"It's the same familiar as last night; it was attacking you just now."

Soft and warm words escaped Alex's lips, covering Xiangzi's slightly reddened earlobes, swirling around her ears, and spreading through her mind with a rapid but continuous frequency.

A strange, tingling, electric-like sensation instantly pierced Xiangzi's nervous system, spreading from her cerebral cortex throughout her entire body.

Her cheeks flushed bright red, almost steaming, and her delicate legs went limp at the same time. However, because Alex was still holding her tightly, Xiangzi was able to stay upright on the ground.

"Hold on tight and don't let go. If you leave my side, I can't guarantee I can block all its attacks."

Xiangzi could no longer make out the meaning of what Alex was saying. She instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around herself, buried her head in Alex's arms, closed her eyes, and tried to clear her chaotic thoughts and return to normal.

But after all her efforts, she could only gradually trace Alex's body curves in her mind, relying on her hands and the tactile sensations she felt in front of her.

The overwhelming sense of security emanating from the other person almost made Xiangzi want to tighten her arms even more. The soft, fullness that pressed against her neck made her subconsciously seek out more parts of her body to touch.

Meanwhile, Alex, who had once again become serious and entered battle mode, had no time to consider Xiangzi's feelings.

In front of her, behind Xiangzi, appeared that familiar monster.

The Banker Witch's Familiar

[Responsibility: To keep up with the Joneses]

The same name and suffix, and the same distorted appearance like a child's scribbles.

It seems that these familiars are indeed ordinary monsters that can be mass-produced.

It must be said that another feature of the sword that is sometimes inconvenient—that is, the ability to kill villagers and animals without harming neutral or friendly units—really helped Alex a lot just now.

Because the sword-drawing module could recognize that Xiangzi was friendly and thus could not harm her, Alex was able to seize that fleeting opportunity and draw her sword to block the gold coin that was shot at her from a distance.

With one arm tightly wrapped around Xiangzi, pressing her into her embrace, Alex gently swung her wooden sword, reflecting all the thrown gold coins back.

However, she kept a close eye on it and did not reflect the gold coins back at the familiar. Instead, she slowly observed its movements.

Alex hadn't forgotten how troublesome it was when that familiar went into its second-stage berserk state after being injured last night.

Although she now possesses the sword and her strength is vastly different from yesterday, as long as Xiangzi doesn't leave her side, she can completely withstand even if the familiar goes berserk again. However, her current priority is to observe the effect of the familiar on the witch's kiss on Xiangzi.

A dozen seconds later, Alex, who was still slowly flicking away the gold coins, finally waited for Xiangzi to come to his senses.

She gently loosened her arms, and Xiangzi left her embrace.

"……Thanks."

Xiangzi, his cheeks still flushed, lowered his head and spoke in a voice barely audible.

"Xiangzi, were you just bewitched again?"

Alex didn't pay attention to Xiangzi's reaction; she simply focused her gaze on the other's lower abdomen.

There, a small, faint golden particle effect pierced through the clothing and came into the girl's view.

…………

P.S. As a localization of Puella Magi Madoka Magica's integration into the Bantori world, I've made some minor adjustments to the habits of the witches and familiars. They'll all be more in line with the friendly worldview of Bantori to some extent. Yes, friendly.

Also, aside from Witch's Night, all the witches and familiars will be original characters, because I'm tired of writing the TV series. As for Witch's Night, I don't have any ideas for now; I'll decide whether to make it original later.

By the way, does anyone want to see the five-color squad from Madoka Magica? I'm still hesitating about adding them. These characters are on the fringes of the outline; they're the kind I can add or remove. Even if I add them, they might not necessarily develop a romantic relationship with Alex.

Volume 1: Chapter 28 Who are you?

Gradually, Xiangzi also slowly came to his senses from his chaotic thoughts.

Only then did she realize that her reaction just now was definitely abnormal.

Whether it was the extreme pessimism when facing Alex's blade, or the state of being completely unable to think when being embraced by Alex.

They were nothing like their usual selves.

"I……?"

Somewhat bewildered, Xiangzi lowered his head, but noticed that even after leaving Alex's embrace, he was still tightly holding onto one of her arms.

Feeling the strange touch of that slender elbow against his chest, Xiangzi quickly let go. Fortunately, Alex's khaki coat was not thin, so she probably didn't notice anything unusual.

"I just had this thought that maybe it wouldn't matter if I just died like this..."

Recalling the thoughts that had crossed her mind less than a minute ago, Xiangzi's face turned pale. She clenched her fist and pressed it against her chest, trying to calm herself down.

"Can you see any changes in the witch's kiss on your body?"

The clanging and banging sounds continued to ring in her ears; it was the noise generated by Alex constantly swinging her katana to deflect the attacks of her familiars.

The attack frequency was not high, only two or three times faster than the frequency of the skeleton's arrows, and it was incomparable to the familiar of the shepherd witch from before.

Thanks to this, Alex was able to stand comfortably in place, chatting with Xiangzi while fending off its attacks, and even had time to check the durability of the nameless sword [Puppet], preparing to replace it with the next one when it was almost worn out.

"Is it... glowing?"

Turning to the side and getting closer to Alex, Xiangzi, using the coat on her body as cover, glanced down at his lower abdomen.

Even without lifting the hem of her clothes, Xiangzi could vaguely notice that some light seemed to pass through the clothing and emerge. After lifting the hem, she could clearly see that the mark, which looked like a cracked gold coin, was shimmering with a golden light.

This mark on the lower abdomen always evokes images of something unhealthy.

"This familiar has a very clear purpose."

Alex interrupted Xiangzi's increasingly strange thoughts.

“I just looked at the minimap, and it rushed in from outside my detection range in a straight line.”

She continued, recounting the details she had just discovered.

"Moreover, as soon as it appears, it attacks your location directly, making its target very clear."

These few sentences are enough to explain exactly what the debuff called "Witch's Kiss" does.

"So the effect of the Witch's Kiss should be that when familiars belonging to the same witch are close together, it influences your will, and then..."

"Then, it will also serve a positioning function..."

Xiangzi looked unwell, and she clutched the hem of Alex's coat tightly, still feeling a bit scared.

If I had insisted on leaving last night, would I have encountered these monsters again because of the witch's kiss on my body?

If that were the case, would I still be so lucky to be saved again by someone like Alex who isn't afraid of monsters?

She knew that the possibility was extremely slim.

Even the magical girl, whom Kyubey had only mentioned, was something Shoko had never actually met.

Rather, is there really a magical girl in this city?

Perhaps it was because she herself refused Kyubey's contract that day that this city was left without the protection of magical girls, and these familiars appeared instead?

Could these things have been my responsibility all along?

Should I have refused that day?

A subtle sense of guilt, like a cold vine, climbed up from Xiangzi's ankles, like a bone-deep infection, tightly gripping her throat, making it increasingly difficult for her to breathe.

"Xiangzi?"

The familiar voice in his ear woke Xiangzi back from his reverie.

“Ha… huh…!”

Her eyes widened in surprise, her face turned pale, she suddenly took a deep breath, and then began to press her chest and gasp for air.

"Did I just...?"

It took Xiangzi quite a while to catch his breath. He bit his lower lip and asked in a low voice.

"Are you OK?"

Alex was slightly distracted, glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. Instead of answering directly, she asked with concern.

"Feel sorry……"

Shaking her head, Xiangzi felt somewhat down. She couldn't tell whether she was affected by the witch's kiss or by her own true feelings.

"Look, even when it was attacking, it kept aiming at your position. It seems that this witch's kiss also has the effect of attracting hatred... But wait, after you fainted last night, that familiar didn't attack you. Maybe it's because you had already lost the ability to move at that time?"

Instead of directly responding to Xiangzi's apology, Alex shifted the focus of the conversation to the familiar in front of her.

Having withstood the attacks for so long, Alex had long since figured out the pattern of the familiars throwing coins.

"Forget it, now that we understand the effect of the Witch's Kiss, it's probably useless now. Get ready."