[CH.11] The headache after using magic
【Love Points +1】
The monster that had been completely pierced transformed into pink dust and descended, floating gently like snowflakes in the wind, disappearing before it could reach the ground.
Alice gasped as she descended from the sky, the previous blow having nearly depleted all her magic power. Her body felt exhausted, and she couldn't stand for a moment, falling to the ground.
The radiance that surrounded her gradually dissipated, and Alice's floating silver hair slowly returned to its original black color.
This was the manifestation of a magical girl running out of magic power, but Alice didn't need to worry about reverting to her male form in public when her magic power was depleted.
As long as she didn't use the dispelling spell, the magical girl would maintain her transformed state indefinitely, regardless of what happened.
As Alice's contracted spirit, Kate could, through a spirit link, transform Han Huayang into Alice without the need for a transformation spell. However, even as a spirit, Kate couldn't unilaterally undo Alice's transformation.
This was because a magical girl's transformation involved a part of herself becoming a spirit, and undoing the transformation returned that part to the contract system.
Kate had control over this part of the system and could directly infuse the spirit's power from the system into Han Huayang's body, forcibly putting him into a transformed state. But its authority couldn't extend to the inside of the magical girl's body, in other words—
Kate couldn't forcibly extract Alice's spirit power.
To undo the transformation, Alice herself had to recite the spell.
The only problem was that once a magical girl ran out of magic power, she became exceptionally weak, and magic power could only naturally recover through rest.
(Note: You can recharge magic, but let's skip that for now since it's not currently relevant.)
In the transformed state, a magical girl's magic recovery speed was greatly reduced.
In her depleted state, Alice sat on the ground, her upper body propped up by her hands. She was so weak that she couldn't even muster the strength to stand.
Although Alice's exhausted body was too heavy to stand up, she felt an unprecedented sense of relief in her heart. She looked up at the pink dots falling all around, her heart overflowing with joy.
It feels really great to release all your anxiety and worries in one breath, to completely let go of your emotions. This kind of cathartic release is truly refreshing.
If she could, Alice would even want to do it again.
"Alice, are you Magical Girl Alice-chan?"
A familiar voice sounded beside her. Alice turned her head to see a confident and handsome blond guy standing next to her.
This guy was wearing a shirt with Alice's image on it, and the bag he carried had a half-used cheering stick for Alice sticking out of it.
He was the enthusiastic fan who had appeared during her performance earlier. His name was Sun Zhe, and he was Han Huayang's roommate.
Previously, his continuous confessions regardless of the occasion had put Alice in a bad mood, and now, by a twist of fate, they had bumped into each other here.
"Alice-chan, are you hurt? Why did your hair turn black?"
"Cough... I'm fine. It's just that the last attack drained all my magic power. I just need to rest a bit."
Alice lowered her head and said weakly. She leaned against the nearby wall, trying to steady herself with Sun Zhe's help.
Looking around, she saw that the passersby were all marveling at the pink dots falling from the sky, and no one had noticed that Alice had already landed back on the ground.
The pink radiance from earlier had been too dazzling, completely obscuring everyone's line of sight. Additionally, Alice's movements were too quick, and many people only saw the monster flying into the sky, a flash of light—and then the monster turned into twinkling stars and fell.
No one saw clearly which magical girl had defeated the monster, and some people hadn't even seen what the monster looked like. They were just captivated by the pink "snowflakes," marveling at the beauty of this pink miracle.
As for who had defeated the monster, they didn't really care.
In this atmosphere, Alice missed a good opportunity to promote herself. But it didn't matter much to her; after all, in her current condition, she couldn't introduce herself to everyone.
She needed to find a place to transform and then quickly go back to get some rest.
Although Alice wanted to leave quickly, Sun Zhe wouldn't let her.
Ever since Magical Girl Alice had appeared half a month ago, Sun Zhe had been her devoted fan online.
The passerby who had just been saved by Alice was none other than Sun Zhe. To be protected by his idol, the magical girl he had been supporting, even if he were to die at the hands of the monster, he would have no regrets.
Excitedly, he grabbed Alice's hand and said with emotion:
"Alice-chan, you should remember me, right? I was at your performance earlier. Do you have any impression of me? I really, really like you and find you incredibly cute."
"Ah, I see... Thank you..."
Alice felt a bit awkward. She gave him a helpless smile and tried to shake off Sun Zhe's hand. As Han Huayang's roommate, Sun Zhe and Alice had a decent relationship.
However, as Alice, she felt uncomfortable with him touching her. She couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but she just didn't want him holding her hand.
But now, Alice had no strength left, and despite several attempts, she couldn't pull her hand free.
"Alice-chan, from the very first day you debuted, I've been your fan. Can you give me an autograph?"
"I actually wanted to go back early..."
Clearly, Sun Zhe hadn't heard Alice's voice. He took out a photo of Alice and a marker from his backpack and forcefully shoved them into Alice's hand.
Alice didn't have much of a choice and just randomly scribbled her name on the photo. Calling it an autograph was a stretch; it was just a few random lines, and you couldn't even make out the letters of her name.
"Also, can you write 'I love you' on the photo? Please, Alice-chan. I really, really like you. I've watched every one of your live broadcasts."
"What do you want me to write?!"
Sun Zhe pleaded, " 'I love you.' Please, Alice-chan. Make it a memento for me."
Alice looked uncomfortable. She tightly held the pen in her hand, and the photo got crumpled in her grip.
Alice said with embarrassment, "Well, I'm a bit... I'm really tired right now, and I should go back..."
"Please, Alice-chan!"
Sun Zhe held onto Alice's hand, shaking it incessantly, pleading for her to write the sentence he most desired on that photo. Sun Zhe was leaning in very close, which only deepened Alice's sense of discomfort.
If Alice still had magic power, she could have easily kicked Sun Zhe away. However, with her magic depleted, she was physically weak. Sun Zhe, standing in front of Alice, felt like an immovable mountain, and no matter how hard Alice tried, she couldn't push him away.
Alice protested with a weak voice, "Stay away from me..."
"Alice-chan, what were you saying just now?"
"I said, stay away from me!"
Alice summoned the last remnants of her strength and forcefully pushed Sun Zhe away. This time, she succeeded. The photo and pen in her hand fell to the ground, and Alice leaned against the nearby wall, using it to support herself.
"I said, stay away from me. You got too close just now."
Alice was visibly angry, and every word in her speech had a rising tone.
"Alice-chan... You're so strong..."
"Don't call me that way! I'm getting goosebumps all over! Do you think just because I look petite and cute, you can assume that I'm an easygoing girl?! Don't joke around, I don't like you! Give me some space!"
Alice panted heavily, sweat covering her forehead. The words she had just shouted were yelled with all her might, and when she finished, she collapsed against the wall.
Sun Zhe was dumbfounded. He looked at Alice in disbelief. After a while, he finally opened his mouth slightly.
"But... aren't you the magical girl idol of Love Hearts? Aren't you supposed to be a gentle and cute girl..."
"Even if I'm a gentle and cute girl, I still don't like it when boys get too close! Do you not understand social etiquette at all?! Sun Zhe, no wonder you've never had a girlfriend. All this time, how have you been treating girls!"
"Wait a minute, did I tell you my name?"
"You just said..."
"No, I didn't. I have a very good memory."
"... "
Alice was speechless. As Sun Zhe said, his biggest strengths were his face and his memory.
He did indeed have a sharp mind. Occasionally, he would pick up a few things while playing games and following idols, and that was enough for him to pass exams without failing. In the world of university exams, not failing was already considered quite outstanding.
"How did you know my name? - Wait, don't tell me, you can read minds?!"
With this conclusion in mind, Sun Zhe's expression changed dramatically.
"If you can read minds, then you must be...you must be able to see what I'm thinking..."
He took several steps back, his voice trembling.
"Don't, don't read my thoughts... I... I'm out of here!"
Perhaps he was worried that his dirty thoughts would be read by Alice, or perhaps he mistakenly thought that Alice had already seen his thoughts.
Without looking back, Sun Zhe ran away like a shot, running faster than an electric bike.
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