Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 375

There are far fewer tables on the third floor. The large desks have been replaced by mini study rooms with partitions, and the occupancy rate is even higher than on the second floor. It's practically impossible to find a seat.

Fortunately, Xiangzi wasn't there to study for an exam.

Books related to the history of Kamihama City.

Like Akihara, Kamihama is an international metropolis and belongs to the Akihara metropolitan area. It has the largest international trade port in the country and is one of the world's top ports, making it the second heart of the metropolitan area.

This city's existence began with its port. Over the past century, countless advanced technologies and ideas have been introduced into this country from here.

Xiangzi felt that if the eulogy school didn't appear out of thin air, its clues must be related to Kamibama Port.

From abroad?

This is the most likely scenario.

As he turned the pages of the relevant books, Xiangzi stood in front of the bookshelf, searching forward from the present in chronological order.

Every time Xiangzi takes out a book, he sits on the ground, knees tucked in, and turns the pages one by one.

Mu, on the other hand, sat quietly beside her, carefully reading the book written by Émile Michel Cioran, and only turned to the next page after a long while.

Time passed as the pages of the book were turned one by one.

Xiangzi and Hemu sat shoulder to shoulder, the only sound around them the turning of pages.

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Shore of Oblivion: Chapter 482 A Name

Time passed slowly, and the sun gradually rose high overhead. Xiangzi and Mu went out for a casual lunch and returned to the library in the afternoon.

Xiangzi found a clue, and in the afternoon he flipped through the book faster and the search area became more precise.

She wasn't looking for the contents of a particular book.

It is a name.

There was a library card tucked inside one of the books in the library, and the name of the registered borrower could be seen on the card.

At first, Xiangzi just aimlessly flipped through the history of Kamihama, roughly looking through everything from architecture and economy to culture and religion. She thought she could find some clues related to the Ode to Praise, but she didn't. The emergence of the Ode to Praise was basically "out of thin air," at least historically speaking, it appeared out of thin air.

Xiangzi was almost about to give up when she noticed a borrower's name. Just when she thought flipping through the book was a waste of time, she realized that borrowing books was a waste of time.

【Medion】

A foreigner's name appeared in the borrowing records of several books, all from around April or May.

For some reason, Xiangzi always found the name particularly attractive. Her eyes were drawn to it the moment she noticed it, and after noticing that several of the books she had flipped through had her borrowing records, she couldn't help but look through the other books on the bookshelf that had been borrowed by the name "Metien".

From the economic development history of Kamihama, to its folk customs and culture, and then to its religious history and language and cultural development, [Metien] has left many traces of herself in this bookshelf that belongs exclusively to Kamihama.

It's quite normal for a foreigner who's interested in the local culture to actively seek out these books; they might even be a scholar researching or writing papers.

Xiangzi thought he might be being too neurotic, so he looked up at the window. The sun was almost setting, and the sunlight streaming in through the window had turned into a soft golden hue.

There wasn't much to gain today.

He claimed to have come to the library to look for clues, but after sitting for a while, Xiangzi realized that this idea was actually a bit self-deceptive. Just like some people in the same building who occupied seats on the second floor, surrounded by books, but constantly looking at their phones, Xiangzi was no different from them in any real way.

However, in order to prove that he hadn't done nothing, Xiangzi still searched for the name Medine.

The search engine gave an answer from a dark-haired woman in her thirties or forties who holds a double doctorate in linguistics and sociology from Oxford University—a very impressive academic background.

It seems they are indeed scholars who study this subject.

Perhaps it is true...

Hey.

Forget it.

Xiangzi opened his phone, opened SNS, and then opened Miaomeng's chat window.

[Xiangzi]: Are you still in the reed fields?

[MeowDream]: I've got you covered!

[Xiangzi]: Help me find someone.

[Xiangzi]: Medine is a person from the United Kingdom. You can find the entry for him on a search engine. The rest is up to you.

【MeowDream】: If search engines can find it, what do you need me to find?

【Meow Dream】(voice message): No way, sis, am I your slave? Do you expect me to do whatever you tell me to do? Or is it someone you can find with a search engine? You can just do it yourself.

[Miaomeng retracted a message]

【MeowDream】: You said.

[Xiangzi]: I saw it.

【MeowDream】:.......I clearly sent a voice message.

【Xiangzi】: Speech-to-text conversion.

[Xiangzi]: I'm not kidding, I think there's something wrong with this person, please investigate him for me.

【MeowDream】: Is it for a limited time?

【Xiangzi】: As soon as possible.

【MeowDream】: Okay, I'll try my best.

Xiangzi put away his phone and sighed.

I hope that strange premonition isn't just my imagination, and I hope we can actually find out something.

Just as she was thinking, she suddenly noticed the library card for the book in Mu's hand.

"Hey, Mu." Xiangzi squinted and suddenly asked, "Can I borrow your library card for this book?"

Medine's name was also on the library card for that book, and the records showed that she had borrowed it more than once between April and May.

She borrowed the book more than once, which shows that she really liked it.

"Human beings do not live in nations, but in languages," Mu suddenly said. "That is why our mother tongue is our true homeland."

"what is this?"

“These are the words Cioran once said,” Mu said. “This man named Medien wrote them on the title page.”

What does it mean.

A seemingly random sentence, which appears to have nothing to do with anything that's happening right now.

"The motherland is an abstract and meaningless concept, but the people gathered together by this abstract concept of the motherland have practical significance," Mu said calmly. "This is the idea of ​​the author of this book."

“Montesquieu said: The first humans in the world were independent species. When two of the first humans met, they needed to avoid fighting, so they had a rule for coexistence. This rule is the premise of human development.” Mu continued, “Montesquieu called it law, while Cioran believed that this rule was language.”

She looked up at Xiangzi.

“'Language' is a tool for conveying 'thoughts'.” Mu said the key sentence, “Xiang, language conveys 'thoughts', and Medien is a linguist.”

A mysterious curse, more like a 'thought' than a curse, spread like a virus to the magical girls of Kamihama City, turning them from ordinary girls into nihilists who celebrated the end of the world.

These are the exact words that Yachiyo said to her.

“But Yachiyo said it was a curse.” Shoko hesitated. “That can’t be right. Medien should just be an ordinary person.”

"What if she's like... Aunt Lin?"

"Is she one of those magical girls who has lived for a very, very long time?"

"It's not impossible."

"Isn't that a bit of a stretch...?"

“Xiang has already noticed her, so I don’t think it’s far-fetched.”

"I understand now. It seems marking her was definitely the right thing to do." Xiangzi clenched his fist inwardly. "I've really found a clue."

Isn't this progress?

Her intuition was right after all!

Coming to the library today was definitely the right decision!

Of course, her inner elation wouldn't show on her face. Xiangzi tried her best to control her urge to laugh, brushing the hair that fell in front of her face behind her, and walked out of the library together with Hemu.

Mu Ke is a great contributor to today's success.

Not only today, but also the past two days, if Mu hadn't been by his side, Xiangzi might really not have known what to do.

so......

"Mu, let's go get something good to eat tonight," Xiangzi said, turning around. "You can eat whatever you want."

The Tale of Reincarnation: The Shore of Oblivion: Chapter 483 Tango Steps

Kamahama is a port city, even the largest port city in the country. Sitting by the sea, lighting candles, and enjoying the night and sea breeze is the most romantic thing you can do.

Mu certainly wouldn't choose a place like that for dinner, because it's actually quite expensive, so she passed the choice back to Xiangzi.

Normally, Xiangzi wouldn't choose a place like this for dinner because it's really expensive, but she's happy today and wants to spend money.

It's okay to eat an expensive meal once in a while if you can afford it.

So in the end, the two of them went to a restaurant by the sea, sat on a row of seats by the sea, enjoyed the sea breeze, sawed their medium-rare steaks, drank their special milk tea, and lived a petit-bourgeois life that they hadn't experienced in a long time.

This was the first time Xiangzi had eaten at such an expensive place since the incident at home.

The restaurant is open-air, and the candles on the tables are actually table lamps that mimic candlelight; there is no other light source besides these lamps.

Before she knew it, the food on her plate had been completely devoured. Xiangzi picked up a napkin and wiped her mouth. Her ingrained elegance drew the attention of several tourists who had just passed by, who wondered which wealthy young lady she was.

Little did they know that their so-called young lady was actually heartbroken.

He wants to spend money to be happy, but it hurts to spend the money. That's what Xiangzi is thinking now.

but.

Xiangzi rested his chin on his hand, looking at Mu sitting opposite him, still sipping the remaining mango juice like a little animal, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

Mu seemed quite happy, although you couldn't see any expression on her face, but Xiangzi knew all too well what she looked like when she was happy.

If everyone is happy, then the money was well spent.

Xiangzi thought of it.

Xiang is happy, that's enough.

Mu also thought of it.

She held the mango juice and sipped it slowly.

Xiang looked happy, so she was happy too.

“Speaking of which, Mu,” Xiangzi suddenly asked.

"Ok?"

"It's such a coincidence that we were able to find that book that Medine borrowed so many times," Xiangzi said with a smile. "It's a good thing you took that book, otherwise I would never have been able to associate this person with the eulogists."

She picked up her glass and held it up.

"Cheers to today and tomorrow."

"..."

Mu looked at Xiangzi's smiling face, wondering what he was thinking.

She wanted to say that finding that book was not a coincidence.

but.......

Mu lowered her eyes and looked at the glass in her hand.

She picked up the glass of drink that was only half full and clinked glasses with Xiangzi.

"For today and for tomorrow," Mu said softly.

"Hehe~" Xiangzi put down his cup.

Just then, music started playing in the open-air seaside restaurant.

In the middle of the open-air restaurant is a dance floor that is seven meters wide and ten meters long. When the music starts, it means it's time to dance.