After escorting Kaori home, Kyubey was in no rush to leave, choosing instead to stay and listen to her play the violin.
“Kyubey, I played that pretty well, right?”
As the song ended, Kaori eagerly picked up Kyubey, gazing at him with intense enthusiasm.
“Mm, it sounded quite nice.” Kyubey nodded.
Kaori’s violin playing was very infectious; listening to it made it feel a little happier inside.
“Kyubey, if there were no Parasyte and Ghoul, would I be able to do what I want?
Help more people?”
Kaori still felt lingering fear when thinking about what happened today.
It was her first time seeing so much blood.
“I suppose so, but those man-eating monsters won’t just disappear after a few words.
You’ll have to work harder in the future.”
“Your performance today fits the standard of ‘violent aesthetics,’ doesn’t it?”
“Don’t say that!
I still feel sick whenever I think about it.”
As she spoke, Kaori recalled the scene of her actually bludgeoning the Parasyte to death with her violin, and the scattered remains all over the ground.
If someone had seen it, they would have thought she was a dismembering pervert!
“Alright, Kaori, let’s leave it at that for today!
For the next few days, focus on what you need to do and explore your abilities.” Kyubey said, jumping onto the windowsill and opening the window.
“Eh?
Are you leaving?
Kyubey, it’s so late, where are you going?” Seeing the time displayed on her phone as nine o’clock, Kaori put down her violin and walked to the window.
“I don’t need to sleep or eat, so I can be active twenty-four hours a day.
I want to look around and see if there are any other girls like you who need help.”
Hearing what Kyubey said, Kaori knew she shouldn’t be unreasonable, but she still couldn’t bear to let the one who saved her life leave:
“Can’t you stay and keep me company?
Just for one night, it wouldn’t delay you, right?”
Kaori’s eyelids drooped, her blue eyes filled with reluctance to part.
“I really can’t handle you.”
Watching Kaori plead with him so earnestly, the humanity derived from human souls didn’t want to make this girl sad.
“Kyubey, are you willing to stay?”
“Mm.”
Seeing Kyubey nod, Kaori was overjoyed and opened her arms to hug Kyubey.
“I knew you were the best, Kyubey.”
Being hugged so closely by a girl was a first in its life.
Unfortunately, its current body couldn’t experience sensations from the opposite sex; it could only feel itself being held softly.
“Kyubey, I’m going to take a bath, wait for me!”
Kaori went downstairs with her change of clothes, and Kyubey sat obediently on the floor, occasionally rolling over to pass the time.
About half an hour later, Kaori returned in her pajamas and reached out to Kyubey:
“Oh right, Kyubey, since you don’t need to sleep or eat, you definitely don’t need to use the bathroom, right?”
“Of course not, I’m not a cat or a dog.”
“That’s great!
Kyubey, sleep next to me tonight, okay?”
The next day, the first ray of morning sunlight shone in from the window.
Kaori was stirred awake by the sunlight, and, still bleary-eyed, she subconsciously reached out to the side:
“Kyubey?”
“Have you already left?”
Kaori felt a faint sadness.
Although she knew Kyubey couldn’t stay with her forever, she would have been happy even just to spend a little more time together.
They should still be able to see each other often in the future, right?
Meanwhile…
“Why did I end up at this school again?”
Kyubey was using its body’s abilities to search for girls with potential, but in the blink of an eye, it had arrived at Shuchiin Academy again.
It had already visited once before meeting Touka, and there were indeed quite a few girls inside with the potential to become a Magical Girl.
Compared to ordinary schools, the students here were more likely to influence the future of the Nihon region, as they were all children of prominent families or major entrepreneurs.
For example, Shinomiya Kaguya, Hayasaka Ai, Fujiwara Chika, Shijo Maki, Tatsutama Momo, and others all possessed the potential to become a Magical Girl.
Among them, the one with the highest potential was Fujiwara Chika, while the lowest was actually the original heroine, Shinomiya Kaguya.
However, Kyubey knew the plot and knew they could live very well without it, so it hadn’t approached them.
Now that it was here again, it was truly unlucky.
“Forget it, since I’m already here, I might as well go in and take a look.”
Because some people in this school could see it, Kyubey deliberately took a detour.
After turning into a mobile radar and filtering out the girls it had already observed, it actually accurately located a new girl with potential.
…
Shuchiin Academy Infirmary.
Calling it an infirmary was no different from calling it a hospital; the facilities were fully equipped, and there were even dedicated doctors on staff.
A silver-haired girl lay on a hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling.
Today was absolutely terrible; her heart condition had to flare up while she was at school.
Sakayanagi Arisu was in a very bad mood, not just because of the recurrence of her heart condition, but more so because the recent frequent man-eating cases left her feeling unsettled.
Ghouls were no secret among prominent families and corporations, but those Ghouls hadn’t dared to be arrogant enough to eat students from Shuchiin Academy.
Recently, a large number of man-eating cases had occurred, and quite a few students from Shuchiin Academy had become victims, with a few others missing.
The increasing number of man-eating and missing person cases recently made her increasingly believe that an unprecedented change in decades was about to happen.
Her gaze inadvertently glanced out the window, and Sakayanagi Arisu’s purple eyes widened slightly.
She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window: “Is it a hallucination?”
“It’s not a hallucination~”
As the voice fell, a white creature suddenly appeared in front of her, sitting upright on the hospital bed.
Its large tail swayed back and forth, and its red eyes watched her quietly.
“How is it?
I didn’t scare you, did I?”
It spoke?
What was this creature that looked like a cat and a rabbit?
Sakayanagi Arisu was mostly surprised; as for being scared?
Kyubey’s appearance was the type most girls would like, or at least not dislike.
Only its sudden appearance could cause someone to be startled because they couldn’t react in time.
“My name is Kyubey.
I am a warrior fighting specifically for love and justice.
My duty is to find girls with potential and form contracts with them.”
While Sakayanagi Arisu was still examining it, Kyubey introduced itself.
“Kyubey? You are reading on g.com, the official source.
A warrior of love and justice?” Sakayanagi Arisu pondered the name and the words that followed, asking:
“What does ‘potential’ refer to?
And what is the content of the contract?”
Was this really just a student?
This sickly girl gave off a feeling completely different from Sakiko, Touka, or Kaori.
She was far too calm and rational; she didn’t seem like a peer to those other girls at all.
Kyubey’s face showed no expression, but it answered honestly: “Potential represents a person’s causality.
The more bonds one has with the world, history, or many people, the better the potential.”
“The ability of the Magical Girl and the wish granted will be greater.”
This was the conclusion Kyubey had reached after thinking about it for some time; Sakiko and Gasai Yuno were the best proof.
Because their decisions could, to a large extent, change the future of many people or this world.
Not to mention how many girls Sakiko had ruined on her own, Gasai Yuno was an even heavier case.
“Hmm…
I see.
It seems I am still capable of bringing some changes to the world or history.”
Sakayanagi Arisu understood what Kyubey said and revealed a gentle smile:
“Then Kyubey, according to your theory, I’m not the only one in this school with the potential to become a Magical Girl, right?
Why did you choose me specifically?”
She wasn’t actually sure if Kyubey had approached others; she had no intention of worrying about so many classmates one by one.
To Sakayanagi Arisu’s surprise, Kyubey admitted: “Because they are too happy.”
“Without me, they can still live a beautiful and happy life without having to become a Magical Girl and face that darkness.”
Sakayanagi Arisu had thought of many reasons, but never this one.
Her smile vanished, and her tone became indignant:
“Oh?
Does that mean in your eyes, Kyubey, I am the unhappy one?”
“Although I have a congenital heart condition and my health isn’t as good as theirs, given my circumstances, dying of old age shouldn’t be a problem.
Can this still be considered unhappy?”
“That’s not it.
The reason I approached you is simply because I was passing by and decided to take a look.
The decision is in your own hands.”
Kyubey’s words made Sakayanagi Arisu understand what it meant to be speechless.
How could it be so casual?
Kyubey repeated what it had told Touka and Kaori about the cost of making a wish and becoming a Magical Girl.
“So, after becoming completely tainted, one turns into a Witch?
That is truly a fair equivalent exchange, isn’t it?”
Upon hearing this, Sakayanagi Arisu found it quite reasonable instead.
Because the idea of having wishes granted unconditionally based solely on potential was too absurd; no one would believe it without some kind of cost.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.”
Kyubey had just come by out of boredom; it believed that once this rich girl knew the cost, she would definitely not be willing to become a Magical Girl.
“I never said I wasn’t willing to become a Magical Girl, did I?”
Sakayanagi Arisu’s words made Kyubey pause in its tracks.
It turned around and snapped at Sakayanagi Arisu:
“Are you sick in the head?”