Senju Muramasa glanced at the cover, then hugged it dearly, walking home.
"Sigh..."
Usami Suzune sighed softly. Just as she was about to follow, she suddenly remembered something and turned to the store clerk, "Please give me a copy of puella magi madoka magica... Oh right, it seems this is already the second volume, please hand over the first volume as well."
After putting the two light novels in her pocket, the girl then chased after her.
She knew that Kohana had been reading demon slayer before, but she wasn't very keen on it and gave up after reading a bit, because she preferred Kohana's fantasy demon blade chronicles.
However, to win someone over, one must try to understand their preferences. To achieve her goal of having Kohana join the Literary Club, she felt she needed to try again.
Compared to demon slayer, she was quite interested in the 'magical girl' in the title of puella magi madoka magica. A few years ago, she would often watch children's magical girl anime on time in the evenings.
She believed she could use this opportunity, by reading puella magi madoka magica, to rebuild the bridge of communication with Kohana.
Therefore, she did not choose to chase Senju Muramasa home, but returned to her own house, preparing to delve into the work puella magi madoka magica.
After Senju Muramasa returned home, the first thing she did was put down other things, then placed the second volume of puella magi madoka magica on the small table and read it with full concentration.
When she saw the famous scene appear, her red lips parted slightly, and it was a while before they closed again.
"Teacher Izumi, this step was truly unexpected, a real surprise… The shift in style from the second volume, a complete change of pace, if one reads carefully, they will surely discover that it is actually systematic, not nonsensical… And Homura Akemi's repeated emphasis, indeed becoming a magical girl is not a good thing, if Mami Tomoe is like this, will others be the same? Teacher Izumi, this makes one even more curious, the initial foreshadowing, and Sayaka's future direction…"
The silent Senju Muramasa began to murmur to herself after reading, her expression showing a hint of excited smiles.
On the other side.
Usami Suzune was reading from scratch.
"It's nothing special, such a cliché template, why is Kohana so interested? She must have fallen for that guy, Izumi Masamune, after all, they've always corresponded…"
The girl read carefully, because her goal was to be able to converse with Kohana, which naturally required a very thorough understanding, but from the opening, she didn't see too many striking points.
"The writing style has improved a lot since then, but compared to Kohana, it's nothing… Well, Kohana's ability is not something just anyone can compare to, she's the genius I look up to."
This was one of the few advantages she found, but her evaluation was still not high.
Because there was about a year's difference in the release dates of the first volumes of the two works, an improvement in writing style was normal, but as a factor that could be anticipated by Kohana, this was far from enough.
She hadn't finished demon slayer before, but this time, for the subject matter and to achieve her goal, she persevered and continued reading.
She read from the afternoon until dinner time.
After hurriedly finishing dinner, she returned to her room.
"I've finished the first volume, and so far I haven't seen anything surprising, is my vision not good enough? Or did I miss something? But it does feel pretty good, enough to keep me reading, occasionally reading a light novel to relax isn't bad…"
Usami Suzune thought to herself, tossing the first volume aside, then picking up the second volume to read.
There were still over two hours until bedtime, she could read a bit more, at her reading speed, she estimated she could get about halfway through.
"Why does it feel a bit off…"
The girl let out a soft gasp.
"Ah!?"
She nearly dropped her jaw when she read the scene where the senior's head was cut off.
This isn't the magical girl I've read!
Is this not a horror novel?
"This is just too speechless."
Usami Suzune took a deep breath.
Although this plot surprised her greatly, it also made her feel a different kind of 'interesting' for the first time.
Normally, she would inevitably fall asleep at bedtime, but today she was surprisingly energetic.
She stayed up until she finished the entire second volume before going to bed.
The next day, with faint dark circles under her eyes, Usami Suzune arrived at school, and after napping during break, she sought out Senju Muramasa again during middle school.
"Kohana, yesterday I read puella magi madoka magica! It's really too exaggerated, that Izumi Masamune! He's too much! Why did the senior die! It's truly baffling!"
Her opening topic immediately caused a ripple in Senju Muramasa's eyes.
"You can understand it as, according to Teacher Izumi's plot design, Mami Tomoe needed to die here, either to achieve a sensational dramatic effect, or to use a pivotal event as a turning point, making readers realize the shift in the work's tone, and to view it from a different perspective."
Senju Muramasa slowly explained.
If one were to examine it with the perspective of past magical girls, it would no longer have any meaning; you need to immerse yourself in the perspective of this work to see its true charm.
Usami Suzune held her head, completely lost in confusion.
"Can you not be so professional, Kohana? Can you explain it a bit more simply?"
She said with a bitter face.
"Simply put, it's plot necessity."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of Senju Muramasa's lips.
"What a convenient explanation."
Usami Suzune looked dejected.
"And, and, I didn't understand these parts either, isn't Madoka, who appears in the title, the protagonist? And she has a lot of screen time, so why hasn't she become a magical girl yet? That's unreasonable."
She tentatively asked these questions again.
Although her initial purpose in reading puella magi madoka magica was to use these topics to attract Kohana's attention and create new common ground, after reading, she found that there were many parts she truly didn't understand due to her own comprehension abilities.
So, her desire to get answers from Kohana now outweighed that initial feeling.
"That's not hard to understand, it means that becoming a magical girl has become a more important event in this story, and it's not yet time for it to be revealed."
Senju Muramasa said simply.
"Oh~"
Usami Suzune suddenly understood.
Subsequently, she asked many more questions, but Kohana showed no reluctance, explaining them one by one.