Want to be human, but cube-like

She made Xiangzi take a few steps back, and once Xiangzi, who was still directly behind her, was steady, Alex crouched down slightly and focused her attention on the familiar.

Although the familiar was constantly targeting Xiangzi, which made her feel a bit troubled, it wasn't too difficult for Alex to deal with now.

"When I say squat down, you squat down immediately and don't stand up."

Alex spoke softly, watching the movements of the familiar's small, perfunctory black-lined hands, which resembled a pencil drawing.

The instant she saw the next coin thrown by the familiar, the ray angle within head-length.

"Squat down!"

"call out--!"

Along with that clear voice came two sharp, piercing sounds as they cut through the air.

A streak flashed across Xiangzi's head as he suddenly crouched down.

These are the gold coins that flew over after Alex lost her block.

Recalling what he had seen last night—the horrific sight of Alex's head with gold coins embedded in it after she was hit on the head—Xiangzi covered his head with his hands, closed his eyes tightly, and suppressed his fear without uttering a word.

The other sound of something cutting through the air came from Alex, who appeared above the familiar with the Phantom Sword and slashed the blade at it.

The phantom sword, piercing the familiar's body, stopped the familiar from tossing the next coin.

The downward slash also cut off two-thirds of the familiar's health. Compared to the spherical familiar from before, this guy was practically fragile.

As Alex landed behind the familiar, the moment her toes touched the ground, she stomped down, her sword blade piercing through the familiar. She charged like a hurricane, tearing the familiar's body apart, and rushed straight to Xiangzi before abruptly stopping.

She sheathed her sword, not giving the familiar a chance to transform into its second form.

All that remained was the shattered, vanished remains behind him.

The battle seems to have finally ended.

Before Xiangzi could stand up and recover, Alex turned around and looked to the side.

"and who are you?"

Her sudden remark made Xiangzi tense up again.

Volume 1: Chapter 29 My wish is to have two wishes

"What kind of power was that just now?"

In the alley where there should have been only two people, a third, unfamiliar voice suddenly appeared.

Xiangzi, who had been very nervous, almost cried out in surprise at the sound.

But she immediately realized something, and her pupils contracted.

"Chubby?!"

The familiar sound echoing in his mind instantly brought Xiangzi back to that rainy day.

"Long time no see, Xiangzi."

Slowly standing up, Xiangzi glanced at Alex, noticed the direction she was facing, and followed her gaze.

A strange white creature appeared on top of a wall not far away, seemingly out of nowhere.

Its size was roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary cat. It was crouching in a dark corner, just sheltered by the eaves, with its large, deep red eyes, silently watching the two of them. It was unclear how long it had been there or how many things it had witnessed.

"what do you?"

Not getting the reply she wanted, Alex frowned. She cut out a new, unmarked sword with full durability, the "Puppet," and asked again.

"Just as Xiangzi just said, my name is Qubi."

The other person seemed completely unconcerned about Alex's somewhat impolite question and answered it directly.

"Xiangzi, after witnessing those familiars that can harm ordinary people, do you now want to sign a contract with me?"

The inquiry was very calm, almost to the point of indifference.

"……Do not."

After a few seconds of silence, Xiangzi shook her head again, refusing Qiu Bi's question once more.

"it's a pity."

Despite the rejection, Kyubey didn't seem to experience much negative emotional fluctuation.

"If the witch's kiss on you isn't dealt with soon, it might bring some terrible things into your life."

It was just a seemingly friendly reminder.

"So, since we've just met, would you be willing to sign a contract with me and become a magical girl?"

Then, the next moment, this strange creature named Cupid asked Alex with an almost impatient attitude.

What is a magical girl?

Alex clearly didn't understand what it was saying, but she remembered that Xiangzi had mentioned the same word just last night.

"That's a girl who can fight using all kinds of magic. If you're willing to sign a contract, I can grant you one wish."

With just a short sentence, Cupid steered the conversation back to the contract.

"desire……?"

Tilting her head, Alex looked somewhat confused.

“Alex, I hope you can think it through before making a decision.”

Xiangzi frowned beside her, and she gave him a reminder.

"No, before that..."

However, what Alex was confused about and concerned about did not seem to be this.

She looked again at the mini-map she had just opened.

There are currently five portraits on that surface, within a radius of over 400 meters.

In the very center is myself, and beside me is Xiangzi.

And the three identical white portraits around it.

"Where are your other two companions?"

Alex said something to Kyubey that surprised Shoko.

Why are they all hiding nearby and not coming out?

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark alley suddenly fell silent.

"...That's really impressive."

After a long silence, Cupid continued.

"How did you find out?"

Xiangzi suddenly felt a chill run through her body. She instinctively grabbed the hem of Alex's clothes and stared wide-eyed at the direction behind her.

There, a strange white creature leaped out from a dark corner.

Another Cupid.

"That's how I saw it."

Alex answered softly, her gaze shifting to another direction where a third Kyubey was slowly emerging from the shadows.

"Chucky...there's more than one...?"

Feeling a chill run down his spine because of this bizarre situation, Xiangzi asked in a trembling voice.

"It's my clone."

The cat that had been squatting on the wall finally spoke up and answered Xiangzi's question.

“Witches threaten humanity all over the world, so of course many magical girls are needed to fight them. If I can’t take care of everything, then there will definitely be places where irreparable disasters will occur due to the lack of magical girls to protect them.”

It explained calmly.

"So, do you want to sign a contract?"

Once again, Kyubey asked Alex if she wanted to become a magical girl.

"What wish did you just make? Can it be granted?"

Alex countered with a question.

"To be able to accomplish anything is a miraculous wish."

This is a question that almost every girl who is approached by Kyubey asks him, and Kyubey has long been accustomed to answering it.

"So……"

Alex pondered for a moment.

"Can you help me switch to cheat mode?"

She tentatively asked a question.

Cheat mode, as the name suggests, allows you to input codes and freely modify parameters of the world in various ways, almost like cheating.

Although it's called a mode, it's different from survival mode and creative mode. Cheating mode is actually an option, and Alex doesn't know how to turn it on. She only knows that it's an option that her mother can switch on or off before taking her into the world.

Being able to enable cheating means she can switch between any mode, including creative mode.

"Can……?"

Just as Cupid was about to answer, he stopped speaking and paused for a moment.

What does "cheating mode" mean?

After thinking for a while, Qiu

Instead, ask Alex.

"...Hmm, how about switching to creative mode?"

Clearly, Alex had no intention of answering the question; rather, she herself didn't know how to explain it to it. So, she had to settle for second best and made another wish.

"..."

Cupid remained silent for a while.

"I'm not sure if it's possible, because I don't understand what you specifically mean by wish. I think you should be more specific in your description of your wish, which can effectively reduce errors in the process of fulfilling your wish."

You could tell that Cupid was trying his best to express himself more clearly and precisely.

But Alex is also troubled. Cheat mode is cheat mode, and creative mode can only be explained as creative mode. How can it be explained more specifically?

"Never mind then... I don't have any other wishes for now. Go find someone else."

Alex, with her cheeks puffed out and looking somewhat annoyed, muttered something.

"Your aptitude as a magical girl is exceptional. If you develop different ideas later, I will come back to consult you."

Unlike when he faced Xiangzi before, this time, Cupid seemed genuinely disappointed, he said.

"Wait a minute."

At this moment, Xiangzi, who was watching the conversation between the two, seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke up.

"Kyubi, I remember you said that after signing a contract to become a magical girl and gaining the opportunity to have a wish granted, the price to pay for this is to fight witches and protect ordinary people, right?"

She asked the figure on the wall that had been talking to Alex.

"That's right, this is the price of making a wish."

Cupid admitted it.

"So, before Alex made her wish, even before she became a magical girl, she already had the ability to deal with witches, and in fact, she protected me, an ordinary person, more than once."

After explaining the situation in a very organized manner, Xiangzi looked at Qiu Bi.

"In that case, wouldn't you be the one owing her a chance to have her wish fulfilled?"

She asked earnestly.

"If Alex signs with you next, then you'll have to grant her two wishes, right?"

…………