Magical Girl? I Got Screwed into This!

After everyone had fallen asleep, Ling Ye's body beside Ando Meiko trembled. Then, almost imperceptibly, she shifted onto her side to face Meiko.

Her nose twitched slightly as she inhaled the faint, girlish scent drifting from Meiko.

"It smells so good." Though she was clearly a young girl in the prime of her life, for some reason her voice carried a trace of desolation.

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Vitality Depletion State

Modern people were always somewhat different from those of earlier times. Aside from someone like Kajieliena, whose childhood training had ingrained a biological clock in her, the rest would sleep until they woke naturally without an alarm.

Naturally, there were no alarms in these deep mountains. Yet at around eight o'clock, a scream suddenly rang out through the forest, jolting nearly everyone attending this camp study awake.

The piercing scream echoing through the woods had barely reached the campsite of Meizi and the others when Rei was the first to spring out of bed.

She turned to Kajieliena, who had already stood up and was staring toward the source of the sound, then asked with a frown, "What happened?"

"I don't know." After hesitating for a moment, Kajieliena still shook her head. "Should we go take a look?"

"Do they have no decency? Screaming like that first thing in the morning!"

"That sound... did something happen?"

"Mmm... I slept so comfortably."

As they got up one after another, everyone except Ling Ye had a sleepy comment ready on their lips.

But after noticing the seriousness on Rei's face, they quickly came to their senses and hurriedly shook away the lingering drowsiness.

"What's wrong? Did something happen to someone?"

"Since everyone's awake already, let's go take a look."

After getting dressed, the six girls hurried toward the source of the sound.

When they arrived at a large student campsite closest to the mountain school, quite a crowd had already gathered there.

Peering through the gaps in the crowd, Meizi could vaguely make out a girl lying on the ground at the center of the circle.

[Master, there seems to be a problem over there.]

Ruby's voice startled Meizi. She immediately squeezed into the crowd and barely managed to find a spot where she could see what was happening.

It was exactly as she had seen before: a girl lay quietly on the ground with her eyes closed. Other than her pale face, there were no visible wounds on her body.

However, the strange smile at the corner of the girl's lips sent a chill through Meizi's heart, making goosebumps rise all over her skin.

"Her breathing is steady, and there are no obvious injuries. She probably just fainted from malnutrition."

"Make way, students. Don't block the path." The teacher leading the group picked up the girl immediately after finishing his examination and jogged toward the mountain school.

"What? So it was just malnutrition."

"But when you think about it, we've been eating nothing but wild vegetables and no meat. Even with one bag of rice, it's barely enough to fill our stomachs. This school's point-based wilderness survival exercise is ridiculous. What is that old principal even thinking?"

"Exactly. My father has some influence in politics. Once I get back, I'm definitely filing a complaint against this school."

Since there was nothing to do so early in the morning, the students naturally began gossiping about it. Still, few took the matter to heart, and everyone treated it as no big deal.

While everyone headed toward the mountain school to wash up for the morning, only Meizi and the other five remained standing where they were.

"Um... let's go too. Otherwise, the line will get too long, and we won't be able to wash up once the time runs out."

"Okay." After responding, they followed Yuna and started moving.

But Rei and Kajieliena exchanged an unusual glance. As though they had understood what the other wanted to say, they nodded at the same time in confirmation.

[Master, that girl wasn't suffering from ordinary malnutrition.]

[Do you know what happened to her?]

[I do, but I'm not certain. If my guess is correct...]

On the way back to the school, Meizi did not discuss the girl with Yuna, Rei, and the others. Instead, she quietly walked at the back and listened to Ruby's explanation in her mind.

After becoming an Ether Body, a magical girl would naturally develop a space in her dantian for storing magic power. Once the magic power inside was consumed, the Ether Body would instinctively absorb the faint magic power in the surrounding environment, filter it, and replenish that space.

However, if the magic power stored within was completely depleted, then to continue fighting or cast magic, she would have to draw Source Aether from her Ether Body and convert it into usable magic power.

Burning Source Aether to fight was essentially the same as using HP as MP.

Therefore, in a sense, Source Aether was equivalent to a magical girl's life.

Though ordinary people had neither Aether nor magic power in their bodies, they still possessed life. And just as magical girls could burn Source Aether, this world did indeed have methods for converting human life into magic power.

Therefore, the girl's so-called malnutrition was not ordinary malnutrition at all. It was a Vitality Depletion State caused by having her magic power absorbed.

[Fortunately, not much of that girl's magic power was absorbed. With some rest and more food, she'll be able to replenish the vitality she lost after some time.]

After hearing Ruby's explanation, Meizi understood that this really was a blessing amid misfortune.

If the mysterious person hiding in the shadows had absorbed just a little more, the girl would have been bedridden for months at best. At worst, her lifespan could have been shortened—or she might have died on the spot.

Unlike the other students, who did not take the matter seriously, Meizi's nerves tightened. Her entire body became alert.

"Meizi, you noticed it too, didn't you?" Sensing the sudden change in Meizi's presence, Kajieliena leaned slightly closer and spoke softly, low enough that only the two of them could hear.

Meizi nodded faintly, but she had not detected any traces of magic power having been used nearby.

Besides, even if she had found something, it probably would not have helped. After all, there were a full ten classes of students participating in this camp study at the mountain school.

Before the mysterious person revealed herself, trying to find someone with such methods among several hundred people would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"Don't be too tense. Relax. If we fail to find her and let her notice our existence instead, she might become wary."

"Got it." Meizi responded and subtly raised her chin.

She would not say much about being careful. Kajieliena was far stronger than she was; rather than telling Kajieliena to be cautious, Meizi herself was the one who needed to be more careful.

She had thought this would be an ordinary wilderness survival exercise. She had never expected something like this to happen.

It seemed the short five-day camp study was going to feel quite long.

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Searching for Clues

Ordinary students naturally felt nothing much about the incident and continued chatting and laughing their way through the somewhat boring camp study.

In contrast, Meizi and the others seemed far more subdued after returning to their campsite.

After quietly giving Meizi some instructions, Kajieliena headed into the forest alone to search for clues related to what had happened that night.

Clearly, she was quite interested in things beyond her control.

Though Chihaya Yuna remained as carefree as ever and tried to find topics to pass the time, Meizi and Nakajima Rei, who remained on high alert, were in no mood for conversation.

Of the four, Baigui Ling Ye was naturally not someone who would join a chat either. Left with no other choice, Yuna could only tease the nervous Asakusa Megumi, who sat rigidly beside her.

Meizi plucked a leaf and held it in her mouth, her large eyes constantly sweeping over every direction in the forest. Anyone could see the unmistakable tension she was trying and failing to conceal.

"What's wrong, Meizi? Are you still worried about what happened this morning? It'll be fine. That student was only a little malnourished. We have meat and vegetables here, so it probably won't happen to us."

Meizi forced a somewhat stiff smile and nodded at Yuna. "That's true."

[Perhaps Master could try entering the Void World to search. You might find some clues there.]

Hearing Ruby's words in her mind, Meizi nearly forgot about that possibility.

If the culprit was also a magical girl or a witch, then to avoid leaving any traces and being noticed by everyone, she could only flee into the Void World after absorbing the magic power.

[If I get the chance, I'll try it.]

After thinking for a moment, Meizi asked in her mind.

[But is it possible that person has already run away?]

[That's unlikely. Judging from that girl's condition, the person clearly had no intention of killing her. Based on that, the magic power she absorbed would have been negligible.]

[So that person will come back to keep absorbing magic power?]

[That's right. Absorbing a small amount of magic power will not have much effect on humans, but it will inevitably weaken their resistance and trigger various illnesses.]

[In that case, I can't let her get what she wants.]

If this kept happening over the next few days, it would likely cause a stir at the school and even throughout the entire city. That would have a considerable impact on Meizi's peaceful daily life.

For the sake of her peaceful everyday life, she decided not to merely raise her guard any further. Instead, she would actively search for clues left behind by the culprit.

With that thought, Meizi jumped down from the rock she was sitting on and strolled toward the student campsite.

"Meizi, where are you going?"

"I'm taking a walk nearby. I'll see if I can gather some wild vegetables or pick up a few pieces of firewood while I'm at it."

"Huh? Want me to come with you?"

"No. If you come along too, Hui will really die of boredom."

"That's true. For Hui's sake, I'll stay behind, then." With that, Yuna stopped trying to stop her and watched Meizi leave alongside Rei and Hui.

Rei watched Meizi's figure slowly disappear into the forest and let out a quiet sigh.

She knew what Meizi wanted to do. Although she wanted to follow her, Yuna, Hui, and Ling Ye were three ordinary people who still needed her protection.

Moreover, Meizi had not seen through her true identity. If she exposed herself, it might provoke Meizi's resentment or even disgust.

Ever since she first met Meizi, Rei had vaguely felt that Meizi was constantly conveying her affection toward her. She had even felt as if Meizi had clumsily yet deeply confessed to her several times within her subconscious.

She had been drawn in by that vague, intangible feeling. After casting charm magic on her familiar Steel Ball, luring Meizi into touching Steel Ball's body, and learning that she was a magical girl...

She had fallen in love with Meizi.

If that Magic Mark had been planted perfectly, then she would have been the one constantly by Meizi's side, not the witch Orbital.

Not only had Orbital ambushed her when she was doing something important, she had shamelessly transferred into Meizi's class, sat beside her, and accompanied her while she trained her physical fitness.

All of that should have been hers to enjoy.

Thus, her feelings toward Kajieliena were not merely resentment over being ambushed. There was also anger at having her ritual interrupted, and jealousy at having her love stolen away.

But now, the witch Iris had also come looking for her. No matter how displeased she was with Kajieliena, she could not become too hostile toward her under these circumstances.

Otherwise, if Kajieliena joined in when she was already struggling to deal with Iris, she would be captured by them without any chance to resist.

That was something she could never accept.

As Kajieliena's former colleague, Rei understood her character very well. As long as no one attacked her carelessly, she would act solely according to her own interests.

Therefore, her immediate priority should be to focus on Iris and find a way to send her back—or simply beat the witch until she could no longer move.

But given her current strength, that possibility was far too low.

"...Sigh." At that thought, Rei could not help letting out another long sigh. The complicated emotions contained within it made both Yuna and Hui look at her curiously.

"So this is the place." Reaching the spot where the girl had collapsed, Meizi carefully observed her surroundings.

This was one of the few open spaces surrounded by seven or eight tents more than ten meters away.

If someone had passed through here, they should have been noticed immediately, let alone if they had dragged the girl out of her tent.

The trampled grass around the area suggested that the girl had walked here alone. Perhaps she had gone to the bathroom during the night and had the misfortune of falling victim to the culprit.

Other than that, there were no traces or clues nearby. It was as though the girl had simply walked here by herself, then suddenly collapsed from feeling unwell. It was utterly baffling.

[Ruby, can you sense any magic power fluctuations around here? Even the faintest trace is fine.]

[I'll try right away. Please wait a moment, Master.]

After a moment of silence, Ruby's voice sounded in her mind again.

[Master, there are no lingering magic power fluctuations in the area.]

After investigating the tents surrounding the spot, Meizi still refused to give up and walked around several more times before finally shaking her head and muttering to herself, "Wandering around here won't accomplish anything. It looks like I'll have to enter the Void World and take a look."

Volume Two: The Vanished Everyday Life: Red Light Band

[Master, there's no need to be too anxious. If the mysterious person has concealed every trace, it will be difficult for us to find her as well.]

[What do you mean?]

[Let's wait a little longer. If the mysterious person still refuses to stop absorbing ordinary people's magic power, then we can head directly into the Void World and make our move.]

Meizi nodded lightly and did not continue searching.

She also felt that Ruby's suggestion was feasible. Rather than searching blindly like headless flies and merely alerting the enemy, the best approach when the enemy was hidden and they were exposed was undoubtedly to wait for the rabbit by the tree stump.