Everyone was laughing very happily now.
But soon, their smiles vanished.
The closed doors had opened, and staff entered from the back, placing the books brought from the printing factory onto the floor.
Once everything was ready, the shop owner opened the main doors, then organized his staff to cope with what would be a more arduous time than usual.
This time, the first in line was a high school student, oblivious to his slightly damp clothes, his eyes filled with longing as he looked at the book handed to him.
"Finally, I'm the first to get it!"
He beamed, as if he had unlocked some milestone achievement, and then his attention was drawn to the cover.
This time, the cover was vastly different, featuring many more characters, and even Kyubey was on it.
Homura Akemi, the main character of the first volume's cover, was positioned at the very top, her back to everyone, giving the impression of being hidden in the shadows; it was notable that the girl's gaze was fixed on a spot below.
Opposite her was Mami Tomoe, and considering their previous confrontational dynamic, the high school student wasn't surprised by such a relatively inconspicuous stance.
The focus was still on the central image: a blue and a red, two different colors, with Sayaka confronting a new red-themed character holding a long spear.
As for Madoka, the protagonist in the title, she was still in the role of an observer.
"It looks like Sayaka has already become a magical girl, right? But why hasn't Madoka transformed yet? It's already two volumes! Or is this some strange setting where 'Madoka is the main perspective, but not the protagonist'?"
The high school student couldn't help but feel a little confused.
However, the information gleaned from the cover wasn't enough; only by reading the book would he understand the progress of the second volume's content.
He was about to put the second volume away and return home to read it carefully, but after seeing the gloomy sky, he immediately realized something.
Unless he could borrow an umbrella, if he kept getting soaked like this, he would truly catch a cold tomorrow.
So he made a wise decision: to temporarily stay in the bookstore.
This bookstore was already considered a relatively large light novel bookstore, with four branches, capable of accommodating some readers inside.
Moreover, the bookstore originally had a free reading area, where some forgotten old books were placed as a way to give back to readers who loved light novels.
Several people had the same idea as the high school student; they weren't in a hurry to go home, so they found a spot to sit down and took out the new volume they had just purchased.
The opening plot of "magical girl" Volume 2 wasn't particularly noteworthy; it mainly involved some of Sayaka's and Mami Tomoe's inner stories, filling in some gaps and setting the stage for the upcoming plot.
But as they read on, they felt the atmosphere becoming increasingly strange.
Madoka was still contemplating becoming a magical girl.
According to Kyubey, Madoka's aptitude was extraordinarily high; if she transformed, she could become the strongest magical girl in history!
This did fit the protagonist's setting.
However, her apparent reluctance to become a magical girl anytime soon still made people roll their eyes.
Although the readers didn't have the same keen intuition as some, the story had progressed this far, and under Izumi Masamune's setting, Madoka still hadn't become a magical girl, which completely deviated from normal plot progression.
Anyone would notice this incongruity.
This was clearly a foreshadowing!
And Homura Akemi's attitude before…
All of it was hinting at something.
It was just that no one could uncover it yet.
They could only continue reading.
"Tonight will definitely be the last time; we'll solve the problem just by talking."
Before hunting the witch, Mami Tomoe had a conversation with Homura Akemi, and the content of their talk was truly thought-provoking and profound.
Incidentally, Mami Tomoe also made some "flag" declarations.
That was one thing.
Next, Mami Tomoe had a long interaction with Madoka; they walked hand in hand, talking about many things.
From sadness to touching, and from touching to relief.
From Mami Tomoe's words, it was clear that she had become much lighter.
This was probably because Madoka had resolved the emotional knot that had existed since she became a magical girl.
But this also made everyone feel strange.
Wasn't this a common plot device in anime, where certain characters set a death flag and have a flashback before dying?
"I'll marry you after this battle."
"I'll give you as much money as you want."
"I'll be right back."
It had a similar uncanny resemblance!
"Okay, today I'll make quick work of it!"
"My body feels so light; it's my first time fighting with such a joyful heart."
"There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."
"Because I'm no longer alone."
"Excuse me, I'm going to… finish you in one go!"
The subsequent lines also seemed increasingly off.
"Is Mami Tomoe getting overconfident?"
Everyone thought to themselves.
But it didn't matter, after all, she was a magical girl; it couldn't possibly be a real death flag, could it…
However.
A sudden turn of events made the situation take a sharp decline.
During her subsequent battle with the snack witch, Mami Tomoe, through carelessness, misjudged the opponent's abilities and directly used her ultimate move.
As a result, not only did she fail to achieve a decisive victory, but she also exposed a fatal weakness!
The Dessert Witch used her ability to directly break free from the magical ribbons, growing larger and appearing before Mami Tomoe, biting down in front of her terrified eyes!
A magical girl's weakness is her soul gem; if the soul gem shatters, there's no saving her.
Unfortunately, the Dessert Witch not only bit off Mami's head but also crushed her soul gem.
This means...
Mami really died!
This scene was truly unexpected and left everyone stunned!
"Damn it!"
A single, short word already expressed his truest feelings. The high school student couldn't help but slap his knee, letting out a shocked shout when he saw this.
"What happened?"
"Did the Old Thief write something?"
The people around them gave them strange looks.
"You all see for yourselves!"
He took a deep breath and said.
He needed to calm his emotions.
Subsequently, the others also sped up their reading.
Everyone had been thinking that Izumi Masamune would come up with new tricks and interesting plots, but they never expected that with such anticipation, they would witness a scene like this.
Suddenly, the bookstore erupted into a frenzy.