Chapter 397: The Demon King’s Judgment, the Language of Forget-Me-Not Flowers

Esther was deep in thought. She looked at the soft, green-eyed cat, who had become so full of herself that she believed she was far smarter than Sherlock Holmes. Esther then glanced at the notebook’s front page held by her cute daughter, data streams flickering in her eyes.

A scan with the high-tech Dream Weaver Rabbit revealed the exact time the handwriting was recorded — roughly a few months ago.

So, the guesses by the little idols were probably wrong. But that didn’t diminish the value of this information, because magical girls were generally very intelligent.

Well, mostly.

At least in terms of memory, after Fully Blooming, magical girls could possess a kind of memory palace ability. With effort, they could easily unfold and recall past details.

Of course, it didn’t rule out the existence of witches who were so stubborn and single-minded that, despite having the ability, they would never use it.

In any case, if Liuli said she didn’t remember, then she probably genuinely didn’t. Given that the target range was locked onto this idol team, this passage was indeed valuable and worth referencing.

Kirimi Miyuki was thoughtful. She showed a subtle, complicated expression, looking at the pufferfish cat who was almost standing with her hands on her hips, then hesitated and said:

“So, the teammate we’re missing might be Liuli’s secret crush?”

Tang Liuli’s curled lips instantly stiffened. She belatedly realized the social death of having her XP publicly proclaimed. Immediately, she angrily looked toward Chu Wang Shu beside her.

Unfortunately, not long after,

the green-eyed cat was defeated, right before her cute daughter’s admiring and sincere gaze. She dared not blame anyone and could only swallow her shame, putting on a pretentiously confident expression. She cleared her throat a few times and said:

“First, although I wrote this, it might not be true.”

“Second, don’t you all think the white-haired, golden-eyed one is truly amazing?”

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment. Warm feelings blossomed in her chest, and she instinctively replied:

“Indeed.”

Little Sakura pondered briefly. Her eyes inexplicably softened, and she also instinctively answered:

“Indeed.”

Chu Wang Shu nodded in agreement:

“Indeed.”

Esther considered this, glanced at her own silver hair, then, like a character casually modifying data in a dress-up game, silently changed her eye color to gold. Calmly, she asked:

“Is that so?”

Afterward, the little idols looked at the Original Witch with white hair and golden eyes, exchanging subtle expressions, and all responded together:

“You can’t do it ×4!”

Esther pondered carefully. She was not discouraged, but rather made a rational judgment:

“It seems that even if you have forgotten, your subconscious still retains feelings, causing you to experience synesthetic effects related to that person. This proves that your past relationship was most likely very close.”

In short, white hair and golden eyes were not their XP, but because these little idols adored that person immensely, they also grew fond of this feature. Therefore, even if a beautiful girl with white hair and golden eyes truly appeared, they wouldn’t immediately take a liking to her.

Tang Liuli changed the subject and said:

“So, what should we do now? How can we find someone who has been forgotten?”

Kirimi Miyuki frowned and said:

“If she really is still in human society and not intentionally hiding, with Dream Weaver Rabbit’s authority, it should be easy to find her, right?”

Xie Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then spoke the worst possibility:

“Since all traces of her have been thoroughly erased, we actually cannot assume that our teammate is still alive. In the worst case, she might have died along with all traces of herself, leaving nothing behind.”

After she finished speaking, the atmosphere became heavy.

Xie Qingxuan’s tone was indifferent and her attitude calm, but no one was displeased because of it.

Because it was the truth.

Moreover, whether it was the Awakened One, the shrine maiden, or the cute daughter who had heard the story of the Demon King, everyone clearly knew the ending of the first playthrough.

Xie Qingxuan’s death in the previous world line was the result of exhausting her own existence weight, paying the price of having all her traces in the world erased, reversing her identity with the Calamity God, twisting their cause and effect, and breaking the Solar Calendar’s bond on the planet.

If the Demon King had not, before dying, passed on the Power of the Titan to Charlotte, allowing her to be partially exempt from the effects, perhaps no one would have known about the Demon King even in New Game Plus.

And now, how similar was this situation to that time?

Xie Qingxuan knew better than anyone what this feeling was like, and understood the despair of falling into such a state. She pierced through everyone’s vague hopes and expectations simply because she did not want them to suffer greater setbacks and sorrow.

The smile on Chu Wang Shu’s face faded. She pressed her lips together, feeling a heavy and uncontrollable dread.

This dread stemmed from the fear of possibly losing someone important, and also from… the numbness inside her heart upon hearing such a possibility in that instant.

Even if only for a moment, that moment caused her to put herself in the place of losing someone important, beginning to feel sadness and oppression. Yet this still meant that the traces left by that person were gradually peeling away from her heart.

Chu Wang Shu realized the severity of the situation.

There were only a few hours left until the end of the performance?

If it were one day later, one week later, or even one month later, would her heart still fluctuate? Would the vigorous growth of all things at that time, the new flesh and blood, fill the void inside her heart and make the word “forget” vanish from her mind?

Chu Wang Shu took a deep breath and said seriously:

“We must find her.”

Kirimi Miyuki voiced her stance:

“Alive, we must see her. Dead, we must see the body.”

Tang Liuli nodded in agreement:

“Let’s put the discussion about Carry Center and debut on hold for now.”

Esther looked at everyone’s attitudes and said:

“I just compared all the footage of the ‘Dazzling Stage’ contestants from the Sea City division during the competition. It can now be confirmed that the missing person was once the roommate of Tang Liuli, Xie Qingxuan, and Liang Xiaoxiao.”

“Now that a terrifying attack struck Sea City, everyone’s attention is still focused on that event. It hasn’t caused a major upheaval yet, but if she was an outstanding idol comparable to all of you, her potential fan base must be huge.”

“Therefore, there’s also a chance, like with Liuli, that clues and evidence will be left behind, potentially stirring up a storm online. After some time, perhaps we will know her name and more information about her.”

Inside Chu Wang Shu, a voice kept shouting, urging her to act quickly, constantly bubbling up an anxiety that pierced her heart. She shook her head to reject it:

“We don’t have time to wait. Although we don’t know how the intensity of ‘forgetting’ changes or according to what rules, one thing is certain: with the passage of time, more will be erased.”

Esther asked:

“What do you intend to do then?”

Chu Wang Shu spoke straightforwardly:

“Call for help across the entire network.”

“I thought we should take advantage of the short time before it passed to announce the truth of this matter to the entire network, inviting all viewers of ‘Dazzling Stage’ to provide related clues, decrypt as quickly as possible, and then find a way.”

Xie Qingxuan commented:

“Simple and straightforward, with many future repercussions, but indeed effective.”

Kirimi Miyuki sighed:

“This is a do-or-die approach. If it can’t be perfectly resolved, the panic afterward might even surpass the recent attack on Sea City.”

The green-eyed cat said nothing, only staring at Esther beside her. Esther’s will and decisions could not represent humanity. If anyone could carry out such a reckless plan, it would only be this super AI, the Original Witch from the beginning.

Esther shook her head, about to outright refuse. She had already forgotten Chu Yuanqing. Under the restrictions of the covenant, without enough information proving the benefits outweighed the risks, it was simply impossible to execute such a reckless plan.

Even if it were brought before the Supreme Council, this proposal would never be approved.

Ultimately, aside from figures like Lighthouse and Pure White, who were tied to humanity’s survival, a mere magical girl, a trainee who had yet to debut, was not worth gambling with the risk of affecting the future plans of ‘Dazzling Stage.’

But in the next moment, the stars shone through the cold data, recalling some humanity and transmitting dense information to the knowledge base.

Pure White.

Lighthouse.

The hero who created countless miracles and successfully defeated the Disaster group.

The savior who reversed all despair, sorrow, tragedy, and death, bringing the current peace.

The Pure White Witch who, not long ago, saved the world once more, entrusted everything, and chose to fall into slumber.

Esther’s pupils trembled as a vast amount of information swept through her consciousness, then slipped away like quicksand, disappearing from the knowledge base. She did not hesitate a second; the underlying code logic and the magical bonds of the covenant simultaneously gave way.

In an instant, all the electronic devices worldwide forcibly emitted pop-up windows. Countless nanoparticles wove through the sky over cities and continents like blazing signal fires, proclaiming the most urgent crisis to all humanity.

“Humanity’s Lighthouse has been forgotten.”

“Her name is ■■■. We earnestly plead with all who still remember this name to try their utmost to recall her, to find her regardless of cost, and to awaken her at all costs…”

Ten seconds.

Within these ten seconds, that long-forgotten name resounded again through the streets and alleys, echoing in the ears of every still-conscious person, forcibly gathering sparkles of hope in the loudest, most conspicuous, most reckless, and most irrational way.

The Stellar Will, still fragile after nurturing the magical girl system, shone between heaven and earth, swallowing numerous wishes and opening layer upon layer of dimensions in the universe, connecting light after light into threads transcending time and space. It transmitted them into that person’s hand, forging a new anchor point.

Yet silently, from a godlike vantage, a dark swamp swallowed the glow, like shadows engulfing the entire planet, absorbing the radiance of the stars as if luminescent dust had fallen at the edge of the sky, purifying heaven and earth.

For a fleeting moment, time seemed to reverse; the world’s beacon fires were extinguished, the stars’ brilliance faded, and a dim mist flowed along the threads, returning to all who had willingly offered their wishes.

Esther’s pupils returned to lifelessness, and she dissipated on the spot, as if she had never existed.

The café still played gentle jazz music. Behind the bar, a silver-haired old man baked desserts. Tang Liuli, Kirimi Miyuki, Xie Qingxuan, and Chu Wang Shu at the table snapped out of their daze and resumed eating the barely touched sukiyaki.

The little idols gradually shook off their gloomy moods. They began playing childish games like rock-paper-scissors, voting, and choosing the rooster, deciding their team roles. The atmosphere was light and cheerful.

They chatted about group names and daily trivialities in turn, occasionally bursting into joyful laughter.

Those strange emotions, the soul-piercing dissonance, the words in the notebook, and many other traces all melted away like snow thawing under the challenge to the void, leaving no glimmer behind.

At the same time, Vienna, Austria.

The Last Diva stood on the stage. She wore an exquisite performance outfit, her pale eyes brimming with emotion and passion. Her pink lips curled into a smile as she looked at the audience. As the last notes of the song faded, she completed her final dance move, announcing the perfect end of the performance.

Charlotte smiled and waved, bidding farewell to the enthusiastic fans below. She returned to the waiting room, skillfully and naturally greeting many contestants, answering their questions, and then walked easily back to her private resting room.

As soon as she opened the door, a fluffy, round little fat bird made a “cheep cheep” sound, fluttered its wings happily, and joyfully jumped into its family master’s arms, rolling around in the embrace.

Charlotte pinched her Lantern Elf and said seriously,

“Forget me not, you’re not allowed to call me that anymore. That annoying sunflower was called that too.”

The little bird blinked its innocent eyes in confusion. It tilted its head, its brain still smaller than a walnut’s capacity, clearly not understanding why it had learnt from the sunflower but ended up being punished.

Charlotte smiled warmly. She gently smoothed the little bird’s feathers with her fingertips and softly said,

“Alright, just don’t call out like that in front of Little Shu.”

“Forget-me-not, I’m going to rest for a while. You stay here quietly and watch TV. I’ll give you a packet of tomato-flavored chips as a reward.”

Charlotte took out the “payment” for the Lantern Elf from her private space — a packet of chips. After opening it, she placed it on the table. She sat on the soft velvet sofa, but the smile on her lips slowly faded away.

Deep in her consciousness, the Flower of the Soul, protected by [Decorate Phantasm], flickered and glowed as usual. The silent blessing of the forget-me-not flower quietly wrapped around her, softly whispering.

…

…

Sea City, Zhelong Town.

Underground base, Area A1, villa dormitory.

Xie Qingxuan stepped into the marble bathroom. She tugged at the fabric on her chest, feeling a little hot. Her fingertips moved like flowing water as she skillfully slipped off her clothes.

The girl’s thick, long eyelashes fluttered. She glanced back at herself in the mirror. Her full curves were proud and clear, her soft, slender waist delicate. The white lace garter stockings wrapped tightly around her legs, outlining their perfect shape. This beautiful and bold image displayed a figure that was both voluptuous and slender—a devilish body.

But…

“Why am I wearing such tempting lingerie?”

Xie Qingxuan’s dark eyes filled with a hazy emotion. She felt no confusion or doubt. Without thinking, she stared at the girl in the mirror with stubborn, instinctive calm and said,

“Because I have someone I love.”

—Why can’t I remember?

The girl asked herself and answered,

“Because I forgot.”

—What should I do?

The Demon King said calmly and softly,

“Find her/him.”