After a long silence as they waited for class to begin, Kajieliena suddenly seemed to remember something and leaned close to Ando Meiko again, whispering, "Did that perverted woman come looking for you?"
Without drawing attention, Ando Meiko slightly raised her chin, her lips moving softly. "She said she wanted to take you back."
"I knew it." Kajieliena shrugged and leaned back in her chair with an indifferent expression. "But you'd better be careful. She may be shameless, but her strength is no joke."
"Her strength... If she really intended to attack me, I probably wouldn't last more than a few exchanges, right?"
Thinking back to that owl familiar's terrifying ambush abilities, if Rin had not noticed in time and saved her, she probably would not have escaped without broken arms or legs.
She could only say that, as expected of a witch, even a probing attack was so vicious and ruthless.
"Yeah, two moves should be enough for her to hang you up and beat you." Kajieliena thought for a moment, then looked at Ando Meiko seriously. "But I can tell you an emergency avoidance method."
Volume Two: The Vanished Daily Life: Chapter Ten: Study Camp
The words "emergency avoidance" made the corner of Ando Meiko's mouth twitch.
Listen to that. She had even skipped over self-defense and gone straight to the moment her life was on the line. Just how little did this girl think of her?
Though her feelings were a mess, she still looked at Kajieliena in confusion. "Even though I don't really want to know, tell me. What kind of emergency avoidance method is it?"
"Find a chance to rip off her top."
"Uh..." Fine, she really should not have listened.
Ando Meiko did not pay much attention to Kajieliena's so-called emergency avoidance method, treating it as this blockhead suddenly trying to tease her with a joke.
That exhibitionist had lifted her skirt in public. If she tore off the top of someone so shameless, would that not just be rewarding her?
Not long after, the class bell had just rung when their homeroom teacher, Chihaya Ji, entered through the front door.
Before she had even stopped walking, her hand had already grabbed a piece of chalk and begun writing boldly across the blackboard.
Everyone in the class watched their homeroom teacher, whose behavior differed from usual. Though quite a few whispers remained, most people chose to stay silent.
That was because Ji-sensei only acted in such a hurry for two reasons. One was that something had happened at the school, and they were being dismissed early.
The other was that the school had some major event coming up.
"Quiet down." After finishing what she had written, Ji-sensei patted the blackboard. Once she confirmed that the whispers had completely stopped, she nodded in satisfaction. "As you can see, the day after tomorrow, we'll be going to the nearby mountains for a five-day study camp."
"No way? That soon?"
"Ji-sensei, isn't this too sudden?"
"Exactly. At least give us a week to prepare."
After hearing Ji-sensei's announcement, the classroom erupted into discussion again. Aside from a few people secretly rejoicing, most wore surprised expressions.
After learning the news, Ando Meiko also looked at her homeroom teacher in confusion.
It was not as if they had never had a study camp before. Last year, when she had still been Ando Koichi in her first year, she had participated in the class study camp.
Although it had been announced ahead of time then as well, they had at least been given a month to prepare, far more time than they had now.
"So rushed... It makes it feel like they want to drive us out of here." Kajieliena casually muttered to herself.
Ando Meiko was startled by her words, but quickly relaxed.
If everything in the Reality World had something to do with magical girls, Void Beasts, or even the Void World, then this world would be doomed sooner or later.
"Quiet." Ji-sensei slapped the blackboard again, cutting off the increasingly noisy discussion, and continued, "Because this was decided rather hastily, school will end early this afternoon, and you'll have all day tomorrow off. Use that time to prepare the things you'll need over there."
Ji-sensei picked up a booklet she had just brought in and flipped through its pages for her students as she explained, "This guide contains the study camp precautions and the things you need to prepare. If you don't know what to do, just prepare according to what it says."
Taking the guide that had been handed out, Ando Meiko casually flipped through several pages before turning directly to the list of required items.
"Washbasin, body wash, and other bathing supplies. Toothpaste, toothbrushes, cups, and other toiletries." Seeing only a few short lines, Ando Meiko found it strange.
Last year's guide had at least said to bring the textbooks they would need. This one made it seem as though they only needed to bring a few daily necessities.
Did preparing this little really require an entire day?
Discussion broke out again. Clearly, everyone else was also surprised by the guide's contents.
"Sensei, um, we don't need to bring textbooks?"
"Just follow what the guide says. Bring whatever it tells you to bring, and don't worry about anything it doesn't mention. All I can tell you is that this time will be somewhat different from before. The results of this study camp will be counted directly toward your graduation grades."
Sounds of dismay immediately filled the room. Everyone, including Ando Meiko, cared deeply about just what this study camp that would count toward their graduation grades was supposed to be.
"I just hope it won't bore me too much."
Ando Meiko shot Kajieliena, who was making snide remarks beside her, a glare, then shifted her gaze to the old friend Ji-sensei had pulled out from beneath the podium—the blind-draw lottery box.
At the sight of that small square box, Ando Meiko could not help remembering that when she had first enrolled, she had relied on her godly hand to draw the slip that paired her with Nakajima Rei for the three-legged race.
"Just like during the school festival, we're still drawing lots the same way. It'll be a mixed system across ten classes. We'll be paired with Class Two, and those who draw the same number will form a team."
Hearing that, Ando Meiko raised an eyebrow. She reached into the box held out before her and drew a slip. After making sure Kajieliena was not looking her way, she carefully unfolded it.
A large number 6 was written on it.
She quickly put away her slip. Once everyone had drawn their own number, they all unfolded the papers in their hands at the same time and raised their numbers high.
"Who's in Group One with me?"
"Where are the people in Group Three?"
Yuya, seated on Ando Meiko's other side, chuckled. But when he saw the number in her hand, he stared dumbfoundedly at the large "9" written on his own slip.
The young man's face immediately turned as sour as pickles. He flipped the paper over several times, trying to deceive himself that way.
"Huh? What's going on? I clearly saw that my number was 6 just now. How did it suddenly become 9?"
"Hahaha, you must have seen it wrong. Mistaking such an obvious 9 for a 6 makes you quite the talent."
The boy who had wanted to brag to his friends about drawing the beautiful Ando Meiko stared blankly at the "9" in his hand and soured alongside Yuya, who was in the same group as him.
Ando Meiko, who had heard their conversation, froze slightly. Then, seeming to realize something, she glanced to the side and saw Kajieliena waving the slip in her hand at her.
The number written on it was the same as hers: 6.
"Kajieliena... you..." Ando Meiko glared at her viciously.
Looking at her, even a ghost could guess that after seeing her slip, Kajieliena had deliberately found someone to swap it.
Volume Two: The Vanished Daily Life: Chapter Eleven: Hire a Bodyguard
Since school had ended early, Ando Meiko had no plans to go to the library to read.
The moment the dismissal bell rang, she stood up to leave the classroom, only for a white figure to flash past her, too fast to see clearly, blocking her path.
"Meizi, come shopping with me."
If another beautiful girl had invited her to go shopping, she would certainly have been happy. But this was a witch who had always wanted to find a chance to tie her up and take her back for research.
To everyone else, the silver-haired girl was cold and pure like a snow lotus. But to Ando Meiko, she was like the White Impermanence who had come from the underworld to claim her life.
It truly proved the saying: seeing her was like seeing a ghost.
"Why's that? I wanted to invite Meizi on a shopping date too."
Ando Meiko had intended to refuse sternly, but Yuya's unwilling voice rang out behind her at the most inappropriate time.
If she refused Kajieliena here, then this brother of hers who had fallen for her would surely start pestering her again.
After weighing the consequences of both options in her head, she still chose the former.
Although she was afraid of Kajieliena, they both knew each other's identities, so they would not be too constrained when walking together.
Furthermore, after spending some time with Kajieliena, Ando Meiko had gained some understanding of her personality.
Though this beautiful girl, cold as a snowy mountain, could not exactly be called a research maniac, she possessed an almost pathological obsession with things that piqued her curiosity.
But as long as she had not received the person's consent or obtained permission through a trade, she would only display her research methods without crossing the line.
In a sense, that blockhead Kajieliena was actually a very upright person.
And yet Ando Meiko could not understand why someone so upright had joined God's Staff, the Witch Organization, and become a witch there. Could there be something within it that could attract her curiosity?
Although Kajieliena would definitely tell her if she asked, Ando Meiko still did not want to meddle too much in other people's affairs and invite unnecessary trouble.
"Then let's go. I happen to want to buy some things too." That was not a lie.
The study camp would only last five days, and carrying all those bottles and jars from home over there would be too heavy.
Considering that, Ando Meiko had already planned to visit a nearby small supermarket to buy small bottles of body wash, shampoo, and similar items that would last her those days.
Sigh, I wanted to ask Rin out tomorrow for a walk. Forget it. Since Kajieliena has already invited me out, I'll settle things with her today. Then tomorrow, I can take Nanako to the base.
Muttering to herself inwardly, Ando Meiko followed Kajieliena out of the school.
"Why did you suddenly want to go out with me? Don't tell me you have ideas about my body again?"
Kajieliena stopped and shook her head. She glanced at Ando Meiko. "I do have ideas, but my purpose right now is just to bring a bodyguard."
"A bodyguard?" The corner of her mouth twitched, and she nearly lost control of her expression. "You... You want me to protect you from that perverted woman?"
"Mm." Kajieliena merely nodded slightly, but there was not the slightest sign of wavering on her face. "I can't beat her alone."
"And you think adding me means we can beat her? Maybe I'll just be dead weight!"
"Then let her become your stepping stone to becoming stronger."
"You really do care about me! Should I thank you too?"
"No need to thank me. If possible..."
"If possible, my ass!"
Ando Meiko let out a mournful cry, covered her face, rubbed her smooth forehead, and ran countless happy memories through her mind to calm the stormy waves raging in her heart.
Making an executive-level witch into her stepping stone for growing stronger—was she not too ambitious? Even a rabbit with a huge appetite should be afraid of being eaten by a lion.
Kajieliena, who did not know how to make conversation, ignored Ando Meiko's sulking all the way, while Ando Meiko naturally had no intention of starting a conversation either.
The two walked in silence until they reached the nearby shopping street, the same one Ando Meiko had once visited with Nakajima Rei.
Seeing the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar street, she slowly let out a breath and turned her head to look at a utility pole standing quietly by a wall.
The first time she had come here, she had encountered a Void Dog she could barely handle. It was this very utility pole that had made her cough up blood after she was knocked back into it.
"Meizi, hurry up."
Clicking her tongue, she wore an unwilling expression but still hurried after Kajieliena, who had already gone some distance ahead.
A dizzying sensation suddenly surged into her mind. The magic power around her abruptly swelled, as though gravity had multiplied several times over. The heavy feeling was like a stone slab pressing down on Ando Meiko's body, making her sink slightly.
Her body had already developed an almost reflexive response to this strange sensation. Before the surrounding space could continue shifting, she had already grasped the Ruby Necklace at her chest.
"Huh? I think someone just disappeared?" In a daze, a boy drinking milk tea stared blankly at the spot where Ando Meiko had just been standing.
"You saw it wrong, didn't you? It's not like aliens invaded. How could someone disappear into thin air?"
"But I really saw it! And she was a really—no, a nine-out-of-ten beautiful, big-breasted high school girl."
"You're so desperate for women you've lost your mind. If you want to blow off some steam, how about we take you somewhere good?"
"Somewhere good..." The boy's throat moved as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva, then cautiously looked around. "I-Is it some new game?"
"More exciting than a game!"
Hearing that, the boy's heart leaped with joy. His eyes slid toward a nearby establishment with an 18 sign crossed out by a slash, and the corners of his mouth curved into crescents.
As for the fact that he had just personally witnessed a girl disappear before his eyes, he quietly dismissed it in his heart with the excuse that he must have seen it wrong.
The gushing magic power instantly dispersed. Before her magic wand could even appear, it had already transformed into Aether, gathering in Ando Meiko's hand in the shape of a frying pan.
She turned around and swung the frying pan diagonally in a baseball-batting stance, its broad body smashing into some rigid object.
With a strange sound, the object Ando Meiko had struck turned into a black afterimage and quickly rose into the air.
It flapped its broad wings. Every beat of its feathers created a whistling sound through the air, while the currents it stirred constantly swept over the ground and blew against Ando Meiko's face as she raised her head, narrowed her eyes, and watched it.
Volume Two: The Vanished Daily Life: Chapter Twelve: Progress
Raise it in front of you and it could serve as a shield. Sweep it sideways and it could serve as a racket. Bring it down vertically and it could serve as an iron rod. When there was nothing else to do, it could even fry a sausage or scramble an egg.
It was clearly a kitchen utensil, yet it was strangely handy in everyday use. Otherwise, how could Ando Meiko have kept using such a laughable-looking weapon as a frying pan until now?
Before you continue