Finally escaping from Mami Tomoe's'smothering breasts attack,' Yoshino hid behind Madoka Kaname, looking fearfully at the embarrassed Mami Tomoe. Mami Tomoe's embrace just now truly made it hard for her to breathe. She felt it was the closest she had ever been to death. She had even thought she would die at the hands of her own people.
'Survived satellite ray attacks, survived the Primal Magician's world-destroying magic, and this time almost sacrificed herself on Mami Tomoe's breasts. Does that mean the danger level of Mami Tomoe's breasts is as dangerous as the previous two attacks?' Yoshinon thought, somewhat confused, and for some reason, she recalled some kind of war between breasts. (For the record, I'm a flat-chested supporter!)
"Haha~ Senior Mami, what's the use of this 'Witch's egg' you mentioned?" Seeing that Mami Tomoe had finally finished teasing Yoshino, who was flushed either from lack of oxygen or embarrassment, Sayaka Miki asked with a wry smile.
"Ah, I understand. Look, isn't the color of my soul gem a bit murkier than it was last night?" She took out her soul gem and showed it to the two of them. Indeed, compared to yesterday, the color of the soul gem had become slightly duller. If it had previously been like a golden-yellow gem, now its brightness was closer to twilight.
"Now, after using a grief seed, look..." Saying this, Mami Tomoe brought the grief seed close to her soul gem. There was a small clicking sound, and with a flash of light, energy flowed from the soul gem into the grief seed. Then, Mami Tomoe's soul gem returned to its previous clear color.
"See? This way, the magic I consumed earlier has recovered. The reward I mentioned for defeating a Witch refers to this." Immediately after saying this, Mami Tomoe threw the grief seed in her hand up the stairs. Curiously, there was no sound of it hitting or falling to the ground, as if someone had caught the grief seed.
"It's… it's that guy!?" Amidst Sayaka Miki's shout, a figure leisurely walked out from the corner of the wall. It was Homura Akemi, dressed in Mitakihara Middle School's uniform.
"You probably want a Witch's Seed, right? Although I've used it once, it should still be usable a second time. Here, take it, Homura Akemi."
"..." Homura Akemi did not respond to Mami Tomoe's words, silently looking at the grief seed in her hand.
"What's wrong? Are you dissatisfied with something? Or are you unhappy about sharing the prey and want to monopolize it?"
"..." Homura Akemi ignored Mami Tomoe's hostile words, remaining unresponsive.
"This is your big task. You keep it for yourself," she said, raising her hand and throwing the grief seed back to Mami Tomoe.
"Oh? So that's your answer..." Looking at Homura Akemi's response, Mami Tomoe sighed helplessly. She raised her hand, intending to catch the grief seed Homura Akemi threw back.
"Snap!" The grief seed arced gracefully through the air and was caught, but not by Mami Tomoe. It was caught by Yoshino.
"Don't be like that, everyone is friends. We can discuss anything properly," she said, slowly walking up to Homura Akemi and handing the grief seed back to her.
"..." This time, she did not refuse. As she gently took the grief seed from Yoshino's delicate little hand, she casually scratched Yoshino's palm. This unexpected sensation made a lovely blush appear on Yoshino's face. Looking at Yoshino like this, Homura Akemi gave a faint smile before leaving.
"What a strange person..." Sayaka Miki complained, watching the disappearing Homura Akemi.
"Is that so... Yoshino, do you want to be friends with her too?" Mami Tomoe said gently, softly stroking Yoshino's head.
"Mm." She nodded lightly, expressing her wish. If Homura Akemi could maintain a good impression with everyone, it would affect the later plans. Aside from the suspicious Sayaka Miki, everyone else could accept Homura Akemi's existence quite well.
"I can sense that Homura Akemi seems to have some hidden reasons. Didn't Mami Tomoe tell me that yesterday you met someone named Suzuya Yuriko? She is also chasing Kyubey, just like Homura Akemi. Perhaps there's some hidden reason behind it," Yoshino explained to Mami Tomoe, looking at the Kyubey beside them.
"That girl just wants to sow discord between us. The strong killing intent emanating from that girl clearly shows she has killed who knows how many people. I don't think I've ever done anything to harm you, have I?" Kyubey wagged its tail, showing no signs of panic. "You weren't there at the time, so it's natural you didn't see it.
If she didn't know Kyubey's secret, even Yoshino would be fooled by Kyubey's disguise. Frowning at the smiling Kyubey, her disgust for Kyubey increased another level.
"I don't know what that person was like at the time (that person was me), but I believe Homura Akemi has a reason for doing what she does."
"Mami Tomoe..."
"Mami Tomoe, listen to me, I have a reason for saying this." Stopping Mami Tomoe's words, Yoshino grabbed Mami Tomoe's hand and told her, "It's like when I first met you and came to your house; it's because I could feel your kindness, and the loneliness in your heart. I can strongly feel your intense desire for someone to be with you."
"I know Kyubey has been with you for these past few years, becoming your friend. But I don't feel any emotional fluctuations from Kyubey. Rather, it's like an emotionless machine, and that's what frightens me the most." Turning to look at the smiling Kyubey, light blue flames burned in Yoshino's eyes. "Even though it's smiling, I can't feel any emotion. Your smile is just a deception, Kyubey. This is why I have never trusted you."
"The kind Madoka, the energetic Sayaka, the gentle yet somewhat fragile Mami Tomoe—I can sense all of their personalities. But what about you?"
"Although you smile, I cannot feel any happiness or joy. Your behavior is like that of a machine. So I started investigating things about you, and I discovered something very unexpected. Do you know what I found?"
Kyubey felt something was amiss at this point. It wanted to escape but couldn't move. Looking down, several hands emerged from its shadow, grabbing its limbs and preventing it from moving freely.
"What is this? It feels so scary." Sayaka Miki took two steps back in fear, looking at the hands reaching out from the ground. This direct visual was more bizarre than the previous painting-like world, making her feel a little nauseous.
"Trying to escape? No, there are some things I need to clarify with you now, Kyubey." Yoshino's shadow shifted, and then a white mass appeared before everyone's eyes. They looked closely—wasn't this Kyubey? But wasn't Kyubey over there, being held by hands? So what was this Kyubey here?
"Yoshino, what is this?" Mami Tomoe was not an idiot; seeing this scene, she felt something was wrong. It seemed Kyubey had been hiding something from her, and it might be something crucial.
"Mami Tomoe, do you know? This Kyubey is one I found by tracking Kyubey's magic reactions. These magic reactions appear in many places in Mitakihara, even outside the city there are many such presences. If I'm not mistaken, these should be similar to clones. Am I right, Kyubey?"
"..." It did not answer Yoshino's words, seemingly feeling that answering would be useless, as there was already concrete evidence. No matter how it explained, it would have no effect.
"No answer, huh~ It's okay, I'll just tell you everything I know."
Although it was a bit early, it was better to establish the impression that Kyubey was untrustworthy now.
"When you first met Madoka, it was because you were being chased by Homura Akemi and were injured. But I want to know why you, with countless clones, still needed to ask Madoka for help? This is clearly suspicious. Why did you ask Madoka for help back then? There's no doubt about it, you just wanted to use your cute appearance to gain Madoka's sympathy, didn't you?"
"You invited Madoka and Sayaka to become Magical Girls. The reason was because they had strong potential, but I feel it's not that simple, although I can't quite put my finger on why." The matter of Magical Girls turning into Witches... let's keep that a secret for now. Mami Tomoe is still too fragile. Although I could knock her out if she broke down and attacked, it's better to find an opportunity to talk to her about this properly.
"As expected, you are very powerful, Yoshino. The first time I saw you, your Magical Girl talent, which was even superior to Madoka's, greatly attracted me. I just didn't expect you to discover so many things." A second Kyubey appeared next to the stairwell, and she still spoke to Yoshino in that calm tone. "I also feel a bit puzzled. Even if Homura Akemi is hunting my clones, the rate of clone consumption is too fast. So it was because of you. But I'm a bit confused, you sleep with Mami Tomoe every night, so how do you still have a chance to come out?"
"So you admit it, Kyubey? You admit that you asked Madoka for help to gain her sympathy? Hehehe~ It's useless to try and change the subject." Suddenly, Yoshino's mood changed, and she became all smiles. If it was a Little Loli who needed protection on the phone just now, now it was a little fox with a hidden smile.
"Of course, this is nothing to hide. I naturally have the ability to create clones, which is not strange at all." Without any change, Kyubey still said calmly.
"You! You're deliberately using Madoka's kindness? Why didn't you tell us about your abilities!" Sayaka Miki felt as if she had been deceived as she pointed at Kyubey and questioned her.
"You didn't ask me, did you? Since you didn't ask, why should I answer? I have never lied to you. If you have questions, I will answer them. That's what I do. Isn't that what you humans do?"
"So, you've been hiding things about Magical Girls, haven't you, Kyubey! Answer me!" Mami Tomoe, finally unable to hold back, walked over to Yoshino and questioned Kyubey.
"Of course, isn't that natural? Just as Yoshinon said, isn't equivalent exchange natural?"
"Just like you, Yoshino."
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