Kishiro Turned Green

While the mantis monster clashed with Kishiro, Hoshino Sakio encountered a new problem.

A wave of pain swept over her.

Caught completely off guard, her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

“Hiss!”

She instinctively tried to support herself on the ground, but doing so only worsened the pain.

Her lower lip turned pale as she gasped repeatedly.

Had the doll’s ability worn off?

But the faint light had already healed my wounds.

Paranoid Doll knew exactly what had happened.

Because…

Another voice spoke the truth within the doll’s mind.

“Because the ‘positivity’ painted over with lies will eventually be pierced by the truth.

And when the truth emerges, the pain doubles, this is the side effect of using lies to gain temporary advantage.”

It’s like a timid person relying on self-deception to push through difficulty.

But when the lie fails, the previous exhaustion from pretending combines with inherent timidity, making it hurt even more.

Conversely, if a brave person is made timid by lies, when courage returns, the pain isn’t as severe.

A familiar face appeared at the alley’s entrance.

“Paranoid Doll was created by the Pain Witch to torment others.

Given her personality, she naturally wouldn’t want her ability to be used for good, hence this painful side effect as insurance.”

“Florina!” the doll guarded Sakio cautiously.

“Are you here specifically to deal with me?”

“Don’t worry. Meeting you is coincidental. I’m here for Sakio.”

For Florina, encountering Paranoid Doll here was a fortunate surprise.

Indeed, Sakio was her lucky star.

“Step aside, I need to check Sakio’s condition.”

She tried infusing holy light into Sakio.

The pain eased slightly, but something seemed to repel it—the holy light was quickly expelled.

This meant Sakio’s body could only absorb a limited amount of holy light.

That made things tricky.

Florina withdrew the holy light, frowning.

“If this continues, she’ll die from the pain.”

The pain side effect was still too overwhelming for an ordinary human.

The doll was puzzled.

“Pain can kill? But Mom said pain is the most wonderful feeling. How can it kill?”

“Anything exceeding a limit can harm or kill.

Even too much happiness can kill someone. Pain, which people naturally avoid, is no exception.”

“The Pain Witch—your so-called mother—not only enjoyed pain herself but loved watching others suffer.

She tortured and killed countless people.

That’s why I burned her to death.

Since you helped Sakio, I’ll spare you.

But if you go down that path, I will execute you without mercy.”

Florina’s cold words made the doll take a step back.

But it quickly gathered courage and asked,

“Will Sakio die?”

“With me here? Of course not.”

Florina held Sakio in a princess carry.

“Where are you taking her?”

“Home.”

“Home…”

Sakio’s invitation echoed in her mind.

Come home with me!

The doll stepped forward, hugging Florina’s leg nervously.

“She’s my newly recognized subordinate. I won’t let you take her away.”

“Oh?” Florina was slightly surprised.

“If you’re going, take me too!”

This was the classic scenario: speaking the fiercest words with the most timid tone.

Understanding the doll’s meaning, Florina smiled.

Pain Witch, your creation is far cuter than you.

Glancing at Kishiro, though the battle was intense, she saw she was handling herself well.

No need to worry.

Better to take Sakio back first for treatment.

“Ah-choo!”

During battle, Kishiro sneezed.

“Why does it feel like someone’s mumbling about me?”

Could it be Florina noticed she disappeared after her bath?

Seeing Kishiro distracted, the mantis monster arched its hind legs and leapt.

Its scythe-like limbs cut toward her.

Kishiro quickly raised a magic shield.

The mantis’s blades pierced the shield.

Though she dodged in time, a bloodstain remained on her side.

Magic-breaking!

A numbness spread from the wound.

The scythe was poisoned!

Kishiro groaned, placing her left hand on her waist, covering the wound with frost to slow the poison.

Having landed a strike, the mantis roared arrogantly and pressed the attack.

“Not happening!” Kishiro shouted, coating herself in frost to form a rigid ice armor.

The scythe could pierce magic but couldn’t break ice.

As it struck the ice, Kishiro stabbed the left blade into the ground.

Cold surged along the blade, freezing half the mantis’s foot in the puddle.

She followed with a right-hand diagonal slash, cutting into the joint, spraying deep green fluid.

The mantis screeched in pain, thrashing its remaining legs, splashing dirty water at Kishiro.

“Just a dying struggle.”

Kishiro advanced, blades glowing icy blue.

Blocking the water, she plunged one blade into the mantis’s soft armor on each side.

Frost fog poured inside, surging chaotically.

“Too easy.”

She withdrew her blades confidently.

A loud boom followed behind her as the mantis exploded into dazzling ice shards.

“Ah!”

But the victory lasted only three seconds.

Kishiro took a step, feeling numbness in her waist.

Her feet slipped, and she fell into the puddle.

Embarrassed, she looked around.

“Luckily, no one saw.”

Otherwise, her failure would headline tomorrow’s news.

The poison still lingered.

Kishiro had to divert some magic to resist it, preparing to float back slowly.

Hopefully Florina didn’t come looking for her.

Unbeknownst to her, as she fell, a green-stained silk thread quietly fused into her hair.

…

At that moment, Hoshino Sakio shyly covered her face.

“This isn’t really appropriate.”

“It’s just a bath together. What’s wrong with that?”

Florina first tucked away her nun’s habit, then helped the struggling Sakio remove her mud-stained clothes.

“Can’t you use holy light to heal me?”

“Your capacity for holy light is too limited.

It can’t remove the pain side effect, so I have to do it this way.”

This was the first time she saw someone who could only hold a fingernail’s worth of holy light.

Any more would overflow, just like before.

How could she treat someone like that?

Using Kishiro’s voice, she said,

“You’ve been in the rain so long. Bathing helps prevent catching a cold.”

It’s not about catching a cold.

Compared to Kishiro, who only read one story in Citrus-Flavored Girls before acting, the well-read Sakio was far more shy.