The Witch Is Smiling

There was a witch at the school?

That was no small matter.

Sun Feiliu leaned against the wall beside them, watching Fu You with interest. "How did you determine there was a witch?"

Fu You gestured at her wristband.

The wristband, which had been clamoring for quite some time, finally fell silent.

The basis for her judgment was simple. For the wristband to make such a tremendous noise, it had to have detected intense magical fluctuations. The magic she had just released, which even Liu Rui could sense was abnormal, had only made the wristband ring a little louder.

In other words, someone at the school had just possessed magic comparable to what she had released.

The wristband only detected dark magic. If it were an ordinary fallen magical girl, the magic she released would only contain traces of dark magic, usually not enough to reach the threshold that would make the wristband sound.

She had not released much magic just now, but it had been pure darkness. The sound the wristband made in response to that pure darkness had not been much different from when they stood outside that classroom. That meant something in that classroom could release dark magic comparable to what she had just released.

Someone with that kind of power was either a witch, or some magical girl the Witches' Society had ruined. But when she glanced into the classroom earlier, she had not seen anyone in strange clothing, which meant there were no magical girls inside.

Magical girls could only release magic after transforming, but witches had no such restriction.

Fu You briefly explained her analysis to Sun Feiliu. He nodded. "Since you discovered it, what are you planning to do?"

Liu Rui looked at Fu You with considerable admiration.

He had passed by that classroom with Fu You. At the time, he had only noticed her wristband ringing before following her here. He had not expected her to observe so much in such a short time.

And since they were discussing witches, that probably meant they were not members of the Witches' Society?

Fu You leaned back against the sofa. "I've already met my quota for this month."

Sun Feiliu said, "Not going to deal with it while you're at it?"

Fu You said, "If I do everything, what are those magical girls supposed to do?"

Sun Feiliu turned his gaze toward Liu Rui.

Liu Rui hurriedly sat up straight. "Minister Sun... me?"

Sun Feiliu shook his head. "You can't. It's too soon for you to deal with a witch. There are four witches in Jiangyang City: the Abyss Witch, the Crying Witch, the Ghost-Faced Witch, and the White Witch. First, rule out the White Witch. She wouldn't appear at a school. Then rule out the Abyss Witch. The Abyss Witch wouldn't make so little commotion. That leaves either the Crying Witch or the Ghost-Faced Witch."

"The Dark Witch too," Fu You said.

Sun Feiliu said, "She came back?"

Fu You nodded.

"Then it can't be her either."

"Of course not. But if she's here, there may be more than four," Fu You said.

Sun Feiliu nodded in agreement, then asked teasingly, "You still don't plan to handle it?"

Fu You rose to her feet. "I've kindly warned you already. Goodbye."

The wristband had stopped ringing, so the purpose of her coming here had been fulfilled. There was no reason for her to stay.

Liu Rui stood up as well.

He had come with Fu You, so he figured he should leave with her too.

"A witch has appeared at the school, and her purpose is unknown. There are a lot of people at the school. If that witch makes a move, quite a few people might die," Sun Feiliu said leisurely.

"What does that have to do with me?" Fu You tossed out those words and left.

Liu Rui had intended to catch up with her, but after some thought, he stopped short and turned back to Sun Feiliu. "Will a lot of people really die?"

"That's a witch." Sun Feiliu took the cigarette tucked behind his ear and placed it between his lips. With a rub of his fingers, a flame appeared out of thin air.

He lit the cigarette, took a satisfying drag, then slowly exhaled smoke. "You've already seen Fierce Beasts, so you know how dangerous they are, right? Witches are even stronger. And witches can hide among crowds. Unlike Fierce Beasts, you can't identify them by their appearance."

"If she really is in that classroom, doesn't that mean the students in there could die at any time?" Liu Rui said.

"That's right."

"Then why are you so calm?" Liu Rui asked, confused.

"What good would panicking do?" Sun Feiliu could not help but laugh. "Kid, some things won't change just because you're in a hurry."

"But the witch is already in the classroom, isn't she?"

"If she wanted to hurt the students, she should have acted already. Since she hasn't, it means she's waiting for something."

"What is she waiting for?"

"I don't know, but that also means we still have time to make arrangements."

"Then what about the students in that classroom? Since we know they're in danger, shouldn't we get them out immediately?"

"No rush. Let's first see what that witch intends to do."

"What do you mean? We wait for the witch to make the first move?"

Sun Feiliu looked at Liu Rui. "That is my strategy."

Liu Rui frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Sun Feiliu's view.

Sun Feiliu flicked away some ash. "Kid, this is how ordinary people deal with witches. Ordinary people don't have the strength to confront witches head-on. We can only infer a witch's intentions to limit her actions and minimize the damage she causes. The ones who can truly fight witches are you—magical girls like you."

Liu Rui froze.

Sun Feiliu said, "All I can do is assist you in fighting witches. If magical girls are unwilling to act, then witches can do whatever they want in this world. If I decide on my own to evacuate the students, I'll inevitably alert the witch and force her to act early. Only when magical girls step forward can I safely evacuate the students. Understand?"

"But can't you dispatch magical girls?"

"I can only suggest that they go. Kid, your classmates are in danger. Are you willing to step forward?" Sun Feiliu walked over to him and patted his shoulder.

Liu Rui was one meter eighty, but before Sun Feiliu, who was about the same height, he looked as frail as a child.

Meanwhile, Fu You was already heading toward the teaching building.

Her wristband did not make another sound.

Since classes had already begun, there were not many students outside. The sound of lessons could be heard faintly in the distance.

The witch clearly had not acted yet.

She had no intention of working overtime.

She headed straight for Class 3, Year Two.

The classroom was on the third floor.

As she stepped onto the stairway leading to the second floor, a female student was already standing at the landing.

She stood in the stairwell, dressed in a faded school uniform.

Her long, glossy black hair concealed most of her face, making her features impossible to see.

Only her lipstick-painted lips stood out sharply.

The corners of those lips curled upward.

"I've figured it out. You're a magical girl, aren't you?"