"This is it..."

Xiaohuan glanced at the flyer in her hand, then looked at the girl with red ponytail beside her, who nodded.

They were standing outside a restaurant right now. It wasn't because they were hungry, but because when they were looking for those strange rumors about Kamihama City, the owner Yakumo recommended them to come here to look for information...

"Well, sorry to bother you..."

As she spoke, Xiao Huan carefully pushed the door open, but...

"Welcome to the Chunghwa Hotel!"

Accompanied by a lively voice, a girl with a side ponytail suddenly jumped out, jumped in front of Xiaohuan and screamed, which also scared Xiaohuan.

"Eh? Um..."

"ah!"

Seeing the flyer in Xiaohuan's hand, the girl with the side ponytail immediately broke into a big smile.

"So you are also a magical girl, please come in!"

“Ah, yes…”

Faced with the fierce momentum of the girl with the side ponytail, which was like a pyramid scheme, Xiaohuan nodded blankly, and then walked into the restaurant in front of them with the red ponytail.

The interior of this restaurant looks a bit like the Chinese restaurants often seen in Japan - well, it's just a Chinese restaurant that the Japanese think is Chinese.

After all, Chinese people don’t put garlic in dumplings when they run restaurants, and then eat dumplings with rice or ramen…

"What would you like to eat?!"

"Um... give me a bowl..."

Having said that, Xiaohuan subconsciously glanced at the girl with red ponytail sitting next to her.

"Two bowls of ramen, please."

"Okay, please wait a moment!"

After saying this, the girl with the side ponytail ran into the kitchen with a smile on her face. Then she heard the sound of ding-dong-dong-bang-dang-dang-dang inside. Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah…

"Sorry to have kept you waiting!"

As she spoke, the girl with the side ponytail brought out bowl after bowl of food...

"I never thought a magical girl would see the flyer and come over. I'm really happy. Oh, that's right!"

While placing the food in front of the two people, the girl with side ponytail introduced herself with a smile.

"I am Yubi Tsuruno, the strongest magical girl in the long live of Chunghwa Hotel. Please give me your guidance!"

"Ah, my name is Tamaki Iroha, and this is... Red Ponytail."

As she spoke, Xiao Huan nodded to Red Ponytail. She only knew this name after communicating with Red Ponytail. Before, after Red Ponytail regained consciousness, Xiao Huan also asked Red Ponytail's name, and Red Ponytail's response was to shake her twin ponytails. So Xiao Huan guessed Red Ponytail's name after several attempts... Although this is indeed not a name.

"…Um, I think I just ordered two bowls of ramen?"

Looking at the fried rice in front of her that was bigger than her face and the stir-fried vegetables next to it, Xiaohuan was confused, while Red Ponytail just stared at the food in front of her silently.

"Ah, don't worry, this is the Magical Girl Discount Package!"

There is also this kind of discount...

“And they’re all big portions…”

"No, this is the normal portion."

"……Why?"

After hearing Yubi Tsuruno's answer, Xiaohuan raised her head to look at the smiling girl with side ponytail, then lowered her head to look at the bowl that was big enough to fit her head in.

"Then... I'm going to start."

As she spoke, Xiaohuan picked up a piece of noodles with a chopstick and put it into her mouth - while Yubi Tsuruno stared at her with a smile.

"How about it?"

"Why?"

In response to Tsuruno's question, Xiaohuan's eyes drifted slightly.

"Hmm, that's... delicious, huh?"

"Really? So how would you rate it?"

"Well... forget about the scoring..."

Xiaohuan's expression was inexplicably complicated, while Yubi Tsuruno stared at her excitedly with a smile on her face.

"Come on, tell me, how many points do you think our food would get?"

"That... three..."

Xiaohuan hesitated for a moment.

"…Fifty points?"

"Fifty points?!"

Hearing this answer, Yubi Tsuruno stepped back in surprise and hit her head heavily on the table behind her.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant!"

Seeing this, Xiaohuan also started to explain in panic.

"It means ordinary, and ordinary tastes good! You see, fifty points is still half after all..."

"Bang!"

However, Xiaohuan had just finished speaking when they heard a loud noise coming from the side. The two turned around in surprise and saw Red Ponytail put down the empty bowl in her hand, then stood up and walked into the kitchen, stood in front of the stove, stretched out her hand to point at the rice pot in front of her, and looked at Yubi Tsuruno.

"?"

"What do you want to do?"

Looking at Red Ponytail's actions, Xiaohuan and Yubi Tsuruno were both a little confused, but soon Xiaohuan clapped her hands.

"Ah, Da, maybe Xiaohong wants to do something too..."

"Really? Please use it!"

Hearing this, Tsuruno nodded with a smile, and after getting permission, Red Ponytail immediately took out the ingredients from the refrigerator next to her, then lit the fire, heated the oil, cut the vegetables and fried the meat in one go. It took less than a few minutes, and Red Ponytail brought out a plate of chicken, cucumber, peanuts and peppers from the kitchen...

“This, this is…!”

Seeing this dish, Yubi Tsuruno stood up as if struck by lightning.

“…Kung Pao Chicken?!”

“Click.”

Red Ponytail said nothing and placed the Kung Pao Chicken in her hand on the table. Soon, a spicy and tempting aroma came, making Yubi Tsuruno and Xiaohuan swallow their saliva involuntarily.

"Oh, it smells so good...can I have a taste?"

“…”

In response to Tsuruno's question, Red Ponytail nodded, and Xiaohuan and Tsuruno each took a pair of chopsticks, picked up a piece from the plate and put it in their mouths, and then...

“——!”

Xiaohuan's eyes suddenly widened.

“It’s delicious!”

On the other side, Tsuruno fell to the ground as if he had lost all strength.

“Lose!”

"ah……"

Looking at Tsuruno who was kneeling on the ground as if shrouded in a shadow, Xiaohuan stretched out her hand and didn't know what to say for a moment. However, just when she wanted to say something to comfort the other party, she saw Tsuruno rushed to the side of the red ponytail and knelt down.

"Master Red Ponytail, please accept me as your apprentice!!!"

"Why--!?"

Seeing this, Xiaohuan was stunned.

After a period of chaos, everyone finally calmed down.

"I'm so sorry. You treated us to lunch, but we still..."

"It's okay, it's okay. Besides, I even found a master because of this, which is a good thing."

Yubi Tsuruno smiled and waved her hands, seemingly not caring at all.

"But I'm sorry, I don't have much information about rumors and hearsay..."

During the meal, Xiao Huan also explained to Tsuruno why they came, including the strange incident of "The Stairway to Breaking Up Friendship" that they had encountered before, and the monster that did not look like a witch. This also made Yubi Tsuruno very interested, but unfortunately, as she said, Tsuruno herself did not have any information about this.

"Oh, by the way, I know someone who is investigating these matters. I'll ask him about it for you."

As she spoke, Yubi Tsuruno took out her cell phone, took a deep breath, and dialed the number. Soon, the call was connected, and Tsuruno quickly picked up the phone and walked aside.

"Ah, hello, it's me. Long time no see. Um... there's a kid investigating something about a rumor... Hey?! Is this really possible?! Is this really possible? That's great!"

After hanging up the phone happily, Tsuruno turned around and looked at Xiaohuan and Red Ponytail.

"Xiao Huan, Master Red Ponytail, let's go meet her now!"

"good!"

Xiaohuan also perked up now. After all, there was a clue at last, right?

However, when the two followed the excited Yubi Tsuruno to the meeting place, they found that the person standing in front of them was actually an acquaintance...

"It's you again."

Nanami Yachiyo looked at Xiaohuan and the red ponytail and sighed helplessly.

"I want to go back."

"Wait a minute, Master Yachiyo!"

Seeing Yachiyo turning around to leave, Tsuruno pounced on her and grabbed her.

“Don’t go, ahhhhhhh!!”

Finally, after Xiaohuan's explanation, Heno also understood what had happened.

"What? So you know Master Yachiyo and Xiao Huan. What a coincidence."

"Yes, we also got her help with the matter about the 'Ladder of Breaking Off Friendship' mentioned earlier."

Xiaohuan also looked at Yachiyo with some uneasiness, and Yachiyo seemed to have given up under Tsuruno's pestering. She no longer intended to leave, but sat on the chair, carefully looking at Xiaohuan and the red ponytail in front of her.

"I came here expecting some new information, but now it seems that's not the case."

As she spoke, Yachiyo sighed helplessly. After all, Xiaohuan and Red Ponytail had already met her yesterday, so there was naturally no way they could have any new information.

"But never mind...let me tell you about my situation as well."

At this point, Yachiyo pulled out a diary from the bag beside her and opened it.

"The rumor I'm investigating right now is about the Kotorei Shrine. This is also a rumor that has been circulating recently."

"The Word Spirit Shrine?"

"Yes, according to rumors, if you have memories you want to recover, or someone you want to find, then come to the Kotorei Shrine, write the other person's name on the ema, and worship according to traditional etiquette, and you will be able to see the person you think about day and night."

"Is there such a thing?"

Hearing this, Xiao Huan's heart suddenly moved. Isn't the person she thinks about day and night her sister? In other words, as long as she comes to the Word Spirit Shrine, she can see her sister?

"I did some research and found out someone actually saw it."

"Really?!"

“It would be amazing if it were true.”

Hearing this, Xiaohuan and Henai became excited, but Red Ponytail continued to drink Coke silently without saying a word.

"But these people have not continued to update their posts since then. It is very likely that they have disappeared like the previous ladder of breaking off friendship."

“I see…”

Hearing this, Xiaohuan also frowned. If there was anything particularly strange about the monster "Stairs of Breaking Off Friendship", it was that after defeating it, those missing people actually returned unharmed.

This is completely different from witches. You have to know that witches eat people. Generally speaking, once you are caught by a witch, there is almost no hope or chance of survival. For example, in the Stairway to Breaking Up Friendship, many children have been missing for several days. If this happened to an ordinary witch, I'm afraid that she would have eaten them to the bone.

However, after being defeated, the rumor witch of the Stairs of Breaking Off Friendship was actually able to bring the missing people back - although they had lost their memories, everything else was normal, which was really puzzling.

"Anyway... let's investigate first."

Having said this, Yachiyo closed her diary and stood up.

"According to the rumored origin, the Kotorei Shrine should be in this area."