Despair and hope are always equal; for as much hope one prays for, an equal amount of despair is radiated.
Under the moonlight, Kyubey sat perched on the roof, its large tail swaying back and forth.
It looked up at the moon, deep in thought about the encounter from earlier.
After witnessing the existence of Ghouls and parasitic monsters along the way, it realized that it hadn’t just transmigrated into an ordinary urban world.
“Strange.
Sakiko is just a Band Girl.
Even if she inherits the family business in the future, at most she would just be an entrepreneur.
How could she have such massive karmic potential?”
As a matter of Kyubey’s instinct, Sakiko’s aptitude—what is known as karmic potential—was immense, to a degree that even it could not refuse.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to find a girl so precisely in such a massive metropolis.
That was precisely why it was puzzled.
It couldn’t be that after making Sakiko a Magical Girl, she dies in front of Nagasaki, and then Nagasaki also becomes a Magical Girl, constantly looping to stack karmic potential onto Sakiko, right?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible!
“There should be plenty of suffering girls in this world.
Sakiko doesn’t really qualify as suffering.”
Damn that detestable Kyubey!
Kyubey regretted approaching Sakiko a little.
Since it didn’t need to sleep anyway, it might as well familiarize itself with the entire city.
…
“Is this world even normal?”
By daylight, Kyubey finally finished its patrol.
Recalling the character information it had gathered, it began to doubt reality.
Throughout the night, using its natural ability as Kyubey to see girls with the necessary aptitude, it easily found quite a few of them.
Sakiko’s former bandmates, Mutsumi, Taki, Nagasaki, Tomori, and the later new member Anon, all possessed the qualifications to become Magical Girls.
Among them, that troubled girl Nagasaki had an aptitude significantly higher than the others, though still not as high as Sakiko.
It did not disturb these girls, simply observing them from afar before moving on to the next location.
It saw Yukinoshita Yukino, passed by Shinomiya Kaguya’s house, and also saw some Band Girls, and a certain girl who claimed she wanted to become the Wicked Eye…
It didn’t think much of it when it ran into Katsura Kotonoha, and upon seeing Satou, it only thought that as long as it didn’t let her become a Magical Girl, it would be fine.
But until it saw Gasai Yuno, it remained silent.
The previous few were at most just a bit problematic with eccentric personalities, but the last two, especially Gasai Yuno…
A troubled girl like Nagasaki was a normal person compared to her.
The most terrifying part was that her karmic potential was terrifyingly high.
Aside from becoming a god, she could grant almost any desire for material power, which also meant she would be terrifyingly strong if she became a Magical Girl.
Therefore, after confirming her identity, Kyubey immediately bolted.
It fled.
If it gave her the power of a Magical Girl, nothing she did would be surprising.
“Since there are Ghouls in this world, then those people should be here too.”
Kyubey recalled the plot of Tokyo Ghoul it had watched before, and thus, it began scouting for new girls.
Kyubey was fortunate enough to find a cafe in the area designated as the 20th Ward in Tokyo.
Anteiku Cafe.
Kyubey followed some people inside, ignored the customers, and jumped directly onto a table to observe the cafe.
There was no Kaneki Ken, nor was there that Kamishiro Rize who ate people like snacks.
There was only an old man, Koma Enji, Irimi Kaya, and a girl with short blue hair and bangs obscuring her right eye.
Upon seeing Kyubey, that girl came to the table and said: “Excuse me, customers, pets are not allowed inside the cafe.
Please take your pet away.”
“Pet?
What pet?” The two middle-aged men looked at each other, completely confused.
“No need to say more.
They cannot see me, young lady.” Kyubey spoke up, cutting off what she was about to say next.
It spoke?
Touka’s eyes widened slightly; she had never seen this kind of creature before.
Logically, everyone should be unable to help but take a look at such a strange creature, right?
Why was everyone here acting as if they didn’t see it?
“If you have something to say, let’s go to the back.
This place isn’t suitable for chatting.”
Kyubey jumped down from the table and walked out of the cafe with elegant strides.
“Manager, I need to step out for a moment.
I’ll be right back.”
Touka requested of Yoshimura.
“Very well.” Yoshimura did not ask why; Touka’s reaction just now was indeed very strange.
But he trusted that this child, Touka, would not do anything to betray Anteiku Cafe.
…
Arriving behind the cafe in an alleyway, Touka asked: “Can you tell me now why you approached me?”
“My name is Kyubey.
I am a warrior of justice who has come to make this world a better place.” Kyubey introduced itself first.
“A warrior of justice?” Touka’s face twitched before returning to normal.
“What does that have to do with you approaching me?
And why can’t they see you?”
“Because you possess the aptitude to become a Magical Girl, although your aptitude is average.”
“Magical Girl?” Upon hearing this, Touka pointed at herself: “Me?”
She was already an adult.
What similarity could she possibly have with those children’s-show Magical Girls?
“I can help you realize one wish.
As long as the wish is granted, you will have signed the contract and become a Magical Girl.” Kyubey stated another condition that was impossible to refuse.
“Realizing a wish makes me a Magical Girl?
How could there be such a good deal?
Isn’t there a price to pay?”
“Or are you deliberately trying to trick me?”
Touka’s gaze turned hostile, and both her eyes transformed into Kakugan, creating a sense of intimidation for Kyubey.
“Well, the last one also didn’t believe there could be such a good deal.
But then again, from a human perspective, such a good deal really shouldn’t exist.”
Kyubey could now somewhat understand why those other Kyubeys only sought out little girls.
These adult girls were all extremely vigilant and difficult to fool; it wasn’t as efficient as with little girls.
It would never fail to seek out those girls who hadn’t grown up yet.
“I won’t receive any benefits.
Of course, there is a price.”
“After a Magical Girl is born, her soul gem will become increasingly murky with use.
Once it is full of corruption, she will turn into a Witch that harms the world, beyond saving.”
As for Grief Seeds that can alleviate the corruption, saying anything about them was pointless; it hadn’t created any Magical Girls yet, so where would it get Grief Seeds to use?
“As expected, there’s no such thing as a good deal in this world!” Just thinking about it made Touka’s scalp tingle.
What’s the difference between becoming a Magical Girl and someone with a terminal illness?
Perhaps it’s just the difference between dying healthily and dying painfully?
But Touka did not retreat, nor did she curse Kyubey, instead calming down:
“You’re quite honest.
If I were you, I wouldn’t say it like that.”
“That wish you mentioned…
can it really grant anything?”
“That depends on aptitude.
If the aptitude is sufficient, becoming a god is not impossible.” Kyubey informed her truthfully.
“Become a god?
Such a thing is actually possible?
What exactly is aptitude?” Touka was gradually starting to believe it.
“That takes a long time to explain.
You just need to understand it as the magnitude of the wish, and it is also related to your strength after becoming a Magical Girl.”
After thinking it over, Touka asked: “If I wanted to resurrect my father?
Can such a thing be done?”
Kyubey sensed the karmic potential within the girl: “That is completely fine.
If you were a normal human, you would be able to enjoy family happiness very soon.”
A normal human?
Hearing this, the hope and surprise Touka had just felt vanished.
She was a Ghoul, and her father was a Ghoul.
Even if she resurrected her father, so what?
How did her father die in the first place?
Even if resurrected, he would still be hunted down, and she couldn’t guarantee she could protect her father forever.
“Instead of thinking about resurrecting someone you cannot protect, why not think about how to use this wish to change the situation?”
“Can you let me think about it?”
Touka hesitated.
In the face of an opportunity that could change her fate, she hesitated.
Even knowing the price, she wanted to seize this opportunity.
“No problem.
As soon as you have made up your mind, you can call my name at any time, and I will appear.”
Under Kyubey’s gaze, Touka returned to the cafe.
Kyubey had a premonition that the first Magical Girl it signed would appear very soon.