novelonline Chapter 979 The Last Routine 158
Chapter 979 The Last Routine 158
Chapter 979 The Last Routine 158
"Look. Things that hold memories—food, clothes… and so on. Everyone has those, right?" Kobayashi shrugged and said, "I've seen several people revert to their original state under this kind of stimulation."
Although it's only in movies and animations, it should be quite practical in real life, right?
“I see…” Darkness pondered, “So, all we need to do is show her things that contain memories?”
"This is it!" Youyou shouted excitedly, "Miss Softie, is there anything that will remind Miss Dongdonggu of the past as soon as she sees it?!"
She also intended to use this opportunity to turn Dongdonggu back into her original self.
"Yes, yes..."
The soft-spoken girl said somewhat impatiently, even reluctantly, "But wouldn't hitting the head restore it to its original state more effectively? If a magical item is in an abnormal state, a tap will fix it."
"It's not like an old television set!"
Xiaolin couldn't help but complain loudly.
When he was little, the family's television was too old to receive a signal, so usually just tapping it a few times would get it working again. Of course, this wasn't limited to old televisions; other household appliances were generally handled the same way.
"An old television set?"
“…No, it’s nothing.” Kobayashi knew they didn’t know what it was, but now was not the time to explain. Instead, she changed the subject, saying, “What I mean is…don’t confuse people with things. Try it first, and if it doesn’t work, try knocking on it.”
Of course, this is a last resort. They're not afraid of the other party getting hurt or dying, since Aqua will come to their rescue even if that happens. Their only concern is that the other party might change their personality or lose their memory as a result; if that happens, they'll be powerless to help.
"There's no other way." Soft and cuddly, she seemed to have no choice but to accept this method. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Do you have any memories...? If so, that might be just right."
It seems like he's thought of something.
Then, Kobayashi and the others followed the soft-boiled creature to find Dongdonggu. They eventually found Dongdonggu studying economics somewhere in the Crimson Devil Village.
“…That…” she said thoughtfully, glancing at her book, “The fundamental principle of economics is the balance between supply and demand. By manipulating either one, more profit can be made, therefore…”
He spoke with surprising clarity and logic.
"Found it!" Huihui pointed at Dongdonggu, who was deep in thought, and shouted to Xiaolin and the others, "Isn't that Dongdonggu reading a book in that tree?!"
"Why in a place like that...?"
Darkness looked completely bewildered.
After all, that tree is very tall and big, and it would be very difficult to climb it. If you just want to read, it would be better to go to a quieter and more convenient library or other places.
"Because we used to ambush people there often."
"ambush?"
"He jumped down to scare Youyou who was passing by, just to play a prank."
"That's too much."
Hearing the weak explanation, Xiaolin couldn't help but twitch her lips. This kind of behavior is generally considered bullying; it's a wonder Youyou is still willing to be friends with them.
"Right?!" Youyou complained unhappily, shouting, "No matter what I say, she just won't stop...!"
"Because Youyou's reactions are always so interesting." She softly explained her reason for not wanting to stop; indeed, it was always amusing when Youyou got scared. "But, if Dongdonggu is still stuck in the tree like that..."
“Maybe she remembered something,” Huihui chimed in, then suggested to the others, “This might be an opportunity…!”
“That’s right. If we show her the treasure that only two people know about, she’ll definitely…!” Softie seemed to have imagined that scene, and rushed over impatiently, saying to the others, “You guys hide for now, I’m going!”
A treasure known only to two people?
For some reason, Kobayashi had a strange and bad feeling.
Meanwhile, Softie had already reached the foot of the tree and called out to her friend above, "Dongdonggu! You still want to study in a place like this?"
"...Are you disturbing my studies again?" Dongdonggu was a little impatient and angry. She shouted down at the soft thing below, "I want to accumulate more knowledge and become an all-around great mage. I hope you won't disturb me."
It's such a normal and touching goal, but unfortunately, it completely lacks the style of the Crimson Demon Clan, making it feel uneasy.
However, Ruan Hu Hu didn't seem to care, as if she had developed an immunity to Dong Dong Gu's silly remarks. Then she took out something and showed it to Dong Dong Gu, saying, "After seeing this, can you still say such arrogant lines?... Come on, take a look!"
"This, this is...!!!"
"Hehehe... That's right! It's the quill pen I secretly borrowed from Huihui!"
She flaunted her soft, fluffy hand with a smug grin, waving the quill pen in her hand. Seemingly recalling past events, she said emotionally, "Every time I picked up a quill pen, Megumin would always dominate me. But in the end, we always won!"
"...Ah, is that so?" Huihui looked helpless. She shrugged and explained to her companions, "When we graduated, there was no quill pen in my drawer, and I thought maybe this was the case. I didn't expect them to actually take it. Anyway, they're being way too obsessed with my grades. I want to protest!"
After saying that, she made a move to rush over and confront the two men, but Kobayashi grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"Yes, yes, calm down a bit." He pressed her head down and said, "If you go out now, it will cause a lot of trouble, so you should stay with us and keep an eye on things."
"Woooooooo..."
There was no other way; even though Huihui was unwilling, she had to stop.
On the other side, Ruan Huhu flicked the quill pen in her hand and said to Dongdonggu, "Well, you must still remember it, right? After all, this quill pen represents our youth. So, hurry up and remember what the real you is like!"
"Youth..." Dongdonggu looked thoughtfully at the quill pen, closed her eyes to recall for a while, then opened them again, looking at her and saying, "It's soft and fluffy, I remember now..."
"R-Really...!? Then let's stop studying and go together again—"
"No, it's not good to cause trouble for others. I must return that quill pen properly and apologize to Huihui!"
"Huh?!?!"
Softie never expected the other party to say such a thing; it was truly unbelievable. It was nothing like the Dongdonggu from before. And not only that, she continued, "When you become an excellent Grand Magister in the future, you will definitely regret doing such a thing. Thank you for reminding me, Softie… Well then, I'll be right back."
Dongdonggu took Huihui's quill pen, turned around and ran away into the distance, seemingly looking for Huihui to apologize to her.
The soft-spoken girl, who hadn't yet realized her quill had been taken away, stared in disbelief at her friend's retreating figure, muttering under her breath, "Wh-how could this happen...how could this happen...!"
Clearly, her friend's change had dealt her a huge blow.
"Oh dear, she's run far away."
Aqua said this as she watched Dongdonggu walk away, and Kobayashi knew that her premonition had come true.
"long……!"
She nestled softly into Youyou's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried out, "Why, why did it turn out like this... I just wanted to talk to Dongdonggu about love or play a prank on her...!!"
"Um... good boy!"
Not knowing what to do, Youyou could only stroke the soft head like she was comforting a child.
Kobayashi stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Dongdong's reaction was far too serious..."
"Sigh..." Huihui also sighed slightly and said, "Although there are many things I want to say, it's really pitiful."
She clearly felt sorry for the soft-spoken girl, and didn't even complain about her own quill pen to her.
Darkness chimed in, "Things with memories don't seem to be having any effect. So what's the next step? Are there any other good methods?"
"Hmm!" Her soft eyes sharpened slightly, and she said with a hint of fierceness, "In that case, just like we said at the beginning... keep knocking until she returns to normal!"
"Wait, that's too rough!" Kobayashi quickly stopped her, reminding her, "In this situation, our friendship will be damaged!"
"That's not true! Because, you can even fix magical artifacts by tapping them!"
"I told you, humans aren't old television sets, don't confuse them with magical artifacts! ...Huh? Magical artifacts?" Kobayashi was about to burst out cursing when he suddenly seemed to remember something, and stroked his chin in silence.
"Mr. Xiaolin?"
“There’s something else here.” Kobayashi looked at her and said, “There’s a place I’d like to invite you to go with me.”
"Are we leaving the village?" Ruanhu raised an eyebrow, somewhat uncertainly asking, "Is this for real this time?"
"We'll have to discuss this," Kobayashi said smugly. "We're the only ones who don't know the reason and want to ask the others. That guy who knows everything about magical items!"
The person Kobayashi was referring to was, of course, Barnier.
That Duke of Hell is extremely knowledgeable about magical artifacts, and even if he were unaware of them, he could still offer sound advice, provided that one is not misled by his verbal traps and has prepared a large sum of money.
Therefore, Kobayashi and the others returned to Axel.
"Please give me the complete photobook of the Axel Little Theater, along with towels, support fans, and—"
"I said it was soft and fluffy, did we buy too many?"
"By the way, you really like the Axel Theatre."
"He's my younger brother."
Faced with Youyou and Huihui's questions, Ruanhuhu casually offered an explanation, then said, "Look, didn't they have a performance in the Crimson Demon Village before? He seemed to really like it when he saw it. If we buy some local specialties to take back, he'll definitely be very happy."
Speaking of which, this guy claims to be the number one brother-complex in the Crimson Demon Village, no wonder he buys so much stuff.
"For his younger brother?" Darkness nodded in agreement, saying, "He really thinks of his family."
"Hehehe, right? Hehehe..."
Soft and fluffy suddenly laughed with a hint of smugness, but her purpose didn't stop there. She then said in a slightly dreamy tone, "What if someone says, 'I like Axel's Little Theater, but I like my sister the most!' or something like that... Oh no, what should I do!"
No, no, no, that won't happen.
Because you buy enough local specialties, your brother won't say that. But Ruanhu clearly didn't understand this; instead, she reached out to Youyou and said, "You have to buy more, Youyou, lend me some money!"
"Huh, why me...?"
Youyou was somewhat at a loss.
"What does it matter? We're good friends..." she pleaded softly, "Please, just consider it a friend's request!"
"I really can't do anything with you. How much money do you want?"
Youyou was easily swayed by the word 'friend' and then pulled out her wallet.
Kobayashi sighed helplessly and said, "Seriously...we didn't come here to play, did we? Hurry up, we're nearby."
"I...I know!" The soft-bodied girl looked at the local specialties with great reluctance. After hesitating for a while, she reluctantly said, "Can we bring them all together again after the winter mushrooms return to normal?"
"That would be best."
"But I like my younger brother the most!"
"I know I know."
Then Kobayashi forcibly took the reluctant, soft-spoken girl to Axel's magic item shop.
"Welcome! Mr. Kobayashi, Lady Aqua, and the others have been waiting for quite some time!"
Wiz greeted them with a smile.
"Hmm, the reason?" After listening to their explanation of their purpose, Wiz said with some helplessness after recalling the events, "There are no clues... I'm sorry."
"Besides, our regular customers are shopping right now. This sudden influx of people is disrupting our business!" Barnier sounded like he was trying to kick them out.
Aqua immediately started picking a fight, clearly displeased.
"Oh, what a condescending attitude!" She strode up to Barnier, looked up at him, and sneered loudly, "Since you're only selling useless goods anyway, just lend a hand a little!"
"They're not useless products, they're all amazing magical items!"
Wiz quickly said that.
"Well, actually I don't mind." Chris... who was also a regular customer at the shop, looked at the soft-looking girl with a bit of a strange expression and asked, "The Crimson Demon Clan has suddenly become serious... is that true?"
“That’s right!” the soft-spoken girl exclaimed loudly. “Studying at your desk every day, fighting without any flair, no sense of crisis after winning, and no striking any cool poses… It’s all very strange, isn’t it? Miss Chris, do you know of any magical items that can make people act strangely?”
"Hmm... I can't think of anything right now." Chris shook his head and said with a smile, "I should say, after hearing what you said, I think it's all good news."
That's what she thinks too.
(End of this chapter)