Toyokawa Shoko doesn't want to become a witch

Page 514

“You’re all still awake, and I don’t want to sleep either,” Mu said. “I’m not a child. In fact, I’m even more…”

"Alright, alright, I understand." Xiangzi's shoulders slumped, and his tone softened considerably.

However, she still glanced at Miaomeng and mouthed to her that she would settle the score with her later.

As long as I don't die now, that's fine.

I love you, Mutsuko!

"I've already contacted the boss." Hai Ling walked over with her phone after buying drinks. "There's an open spot in half an hour, we can fill in."

"...I should be doing something more meaningful right now," Xiangzi said, rubbing his forehead. "But instead, I'm here fooling around with you guys."

“This is about balancing work and rest,” Mu said in a low voice. “If Xiang doesn’t rest, he’ll break down.”

"Hey."

"What kind of performance do you want to do?" Hailing asked. "I'll submit it now."

All three men's eyes immediately focused on Xiangzi, as if she were the one giving orders. Faced with three expectant gazes, Xiangzi finally gave in.

She sighed.

"Fine, let's just play."

She followed Hailing into the Livehouse.

"Hey, isn't this Hailing from Disruption?" The boss greeted her warmly. "I've arranged all the performances you requested. We usually don't allow impromptu additions, but since you're a regular here, I'll let it slide this time."

"Thank you." Hailing bowed to the boss.

"Also, your locker key."

"Thank you."

Hailing took the locker key and led the group toward the changing room.

On the way, they encountered several older women dressed in a rock and roll style, and Miaomeng waved to them.

"Hey, miss, it's our turn to perform later—" Miao Meng stretched out a big yawn, "Hey! Xiangzi, why are you pulling my ear!"

"I said we'd settle the accounts later, I didn't say we wouldn't settle them at all."

"What Reed Plains Tyrannosaurus Rex? Let go of me!"

"Try speaking louder again. Do you want passersby to see you?" Xiangzi carried Miaomeng into a dressing room. "You're in your mid-twenties, why are you still acting like a child?"

"My ear is about to fall off!"

The two of them walked into the changing room, bickering, and the rest followed behind. Hai Ling was the last to enter. After she went into the changing room, she peeked out, looked around, and then hung a "Ready to Go" sign on the door.

Click.

The locker room door isolated them from the outside world, and suddenly the world became quiet.

Xiangzi let go of her hand and clapped his hands as if there was something dirty on them. Miaomeng covered her ears and huddled to the side, whimpering.

"This is abuse."

"This is what you deserve."

"No, that's not true."

"I'm not going to argue with you for now." Xiangzi changed the subject. "Time is limited, so before we start, I'll say what I want to say here first."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the locker room became serious.

Xiangzi turned on his phone and made a video call to Chuhua.

The call was answered almost instantly.

Chu Hua's face appeared on the phone screen.

"Xiao Xiang, aren't you asleep yet?... Ah, everyone's here." Chu Hua said with some surprise, "Did something happen?"

“It’s related to the Bremen Symphony Orchestra,” Xiangzi said. “They’ve appeared.”

"what......"

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the video call.

“Yes, Dolores?” she asked.

Even after dozens of reincarnations, Chu Hua still remembers the very first time when she was suddenly knocked to the ground by Dolores and was almost beaten to a pulp.

She unconsciously clenched her fists.

“There’s still no trace of Doloris.” Xiangzi shook his head. “But Miaomeng located Timoris’s trail a couple of days ago, and he was killed by Hailing today.”

"No news from Dolores...?" Chu Hua lowered her head, her voice filled with disappointment.

"Not yet, we are investigating."

"Timoris...I didn't encounter him the first time."

"Yes, this is the first time."

"What do they want?"

"I don't know. Although I'd love to know their purpose, things are still shrouded in mystery regarding the Bremen Orchestra."

“…I remember Dolores said that they live for themselves,” Chu Hua said. “And Dolores hate Nirvana. Could their goal be Nirvana?”

"Mortis said that if we wanted to change the future, we had to go to Kamihama," Mutsu said. "In hindsight, going to Kamihama did bring about a significant change in the future—although it didn't change the final outcome."

"Does Mutsuko mean that Mortis's ideas are different from Dolores's?" Meow Dream asked.

Mu nodded.

"...Is it possible that these four guys, including Nirvana," Hailing suddenly interjected, "are actually fighting their own battles?"

“But they call themselves the Bremen Orchestra,” Xiangzi said.

"That fairy tale about four little animals teaming up to chase away the bad guys?" Hailing nodded. "Then why can't the names and actual actions be reversed? Irony is a very common technique."

She lowered her head, paused, and then spoke.

"But no matter how different they are, there must be something binding them together."

“Yes, Timoris seems to be looking for something,” Miaomeng said. “When we first met it, it had brutally murdered a witch. Although it spoke unclearly and illogically, it was definitely looking for something. Xiangzi, can’t you see its memories? There’s no relevant information?”

Xiangzi shook his head.

"My memories are too fragmented; I can't extract any useful information..."

"Wait a minute." Miao Meng suddenly raised her index finger and covered Xiangzi's mouth. "Even if it's fragmented, there must be some images left behind."

"That's true."

“Describe those scenes verbally, and I’ll figure something out,” Meow Dream said. “Maybe I can find out where the other familiars are.”

"..."

Xiangzi frowned and rubbed his temples.

Let me recall.

She rummaged through the fragments of Timoris's memories in her mind. Battle, battle, battle—all images of fighting enemies, with hardly a moment of peace.

Even if there are any... they are just some empty shots with no clear meaning.

Only scenery.

There is one place that appears quite frequently.

"There are weeds, there is a lake, it seems to be on a mountain."

"Is there anything else?"

"It looks like we can see Mount Fuji."

"You can see Mount Fuji... Is there anything more detailed?"

"Wait a minute, let me think about it... Oh, that lake is round."

"Round?"

"Yes, it looks like several circles stacked together. It's very clear from the mountain."

"Is there anything else?"

“That’s all.” Xiangzi shook his head. “Timoris’s consciousness is just too chaotic.”

"Okay, I'll go look for it. It might take a while." Miao Meng pursed her lips. "That's all I can do."

"That's enough. The more you rush, the more mistakes you'll make." Xiangzi breathed a sigh of relief.

"I still have some work to do," Chu Hua said. "Then I'll hang up now?"

Xiangzi nodded.

knock knock.

At that moment, the staff member's voice came from behind the door.

"Your performance is about to begin."

"That's all for now." Xiangzi stood up and stretched. "I'll relax for the rest of the time."

================

And so, we returned to the very first scene.

Since the lead singer was absent, Xiangzi selected several purely instrumental rock and avant-garde songs for the performance.

Hai Ling is a familiar face here. As soon as she stepped on stage, many female fans cheered and shouted her name. One fan even got out of breath from shouting so excitedly.

Hai Ling sat down on the stool and immediately got into the swing of things. She wielded the stick with ease, and her incredibly flashy stage presence clearly attracted a lot of attention.

Mu held her favorite pink seven-string guitar, focusing all her attention on playing, looking like a doll and attracting a lot of attention.

In the end, he was left standing on the very edge, using a borrowed, dusty keyboard with yellowed keys, silently playing a supporting role.

Nothing bad though.

Xiangzi felt like an audience member, watching their performance from the sidelines, and his tense nerves relaxed a little.

Drums, bass, and keyboards simulate different timbres, electric guitar distortion, and different instruments each have their own rhythms, all overlapping and switching freely between movement and stillness. This type of music, known as mathematical rock, has a precise structure as rigorous as mathematics in its rhythmic combinations, yet it does not lose the energy contained in rock.

As the last note faded, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

Xiangzi stood on the stage, looking at the cheering audience.

Is this what they call nightlife? Not bad at all.

Although she is not yet a minor according to the legal age, after dozens of cycles, they have spent more than three years in June, so if you really want to calculate it, she is actually nineteen years old.

There's nothing wrong with indulging in nightlife occasionally.

Xiangzi thought.

The Tale of Reincarnation: Bonds - Chapter 681 See You on the Rooftop

The next morning.

The lamp found itself waking up at its desk again.

Mom had just come home from her night shift. She opened the curtains for her, patted her little head, and woke her up from her sleep.

The lamp rubbed its eyes.

When her eyes could see properly again, she saw the doodles and lyrics left in the notebook.

Last night... I drifted off to sleep again. Before falling asleep, I was drawing and writing some nonsensical lyrics.

But she couldn't remember what it was related to.

What was left in the notebook was a simple sketch of skyscrapers, taking up an entire page, with several towers that looked like stone monuments among them.

Deng found that her drawing skills seemed to have improved a lot without her realizing it. Now she can even draw decent-looking scenes. When her mother saw it, she was surprised and said, "Dengdeng, you're so good at drawing?" which made her feel embarrassed.

She doesn't even remember why she drew these.

Could it have something to do with the dream I forgot? The lamp thought for a moment, then shook its head.