Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

The transformation's duration was cut down to one hour. If I exceeded this time, I would revert to my original form and couldn't transform again within the next minute. After that one minute, a second transformation would also last for one hour; exceeding this time would mean reverting to my original form again. The cooldown time remained at one minute. Aside from the duration, there weren't any other limitations—it was just like before. Transforming into an animal still grants me the corresponding animal abilities; that part hasn't changed. The Transformation Ability has simply taken a significant hit to its duration.

Aozawa came to these conclusions just as class was about to start. He didn't dawdle outside any longer and headed for the academic building.

After changing into his indoor shoes in the shoe locker area, he walked to classroom 2-C.

Hojo Tetsuji was zoning out at the back, but the moment he saw Aozawa enter through the classroom's back door, he quickly stood up.

"Aozawa," Hojo Tetsuji called out, concerned that other students would overhear their conversation. Hooking his arm around Aozawa's shoulder, he whispered, "Do you think the young miss managed to successfully infiltrate the manga club?"

"Don't worry. With her abilities, joining the manga club is a piece of cake."

"I just wonder if she can get along with Yoshikawa."

Hojo Tetsuji's tone was full of worry. He was quite familiar with the young miss's personality: straightforward, unwilling to feign interest in things that didn't interest her. There was nothing wrong with such an upfront attitude. That was his personality too, so he could understand Phoenix Academy Maggie's directness. In his opinion, Yoshikawa Sayuri would definitely be able to accept Phoenix Academy Maggie's personality. The question was, would the other members of the manga club accept her? If the others didn't, Yoshikawa Sayuri might consider her friends' feelings and thus distance herself from Phoenix Academy Maggie.

"You don't need to worry. Everyone in the manga club is decent; they're just a bit quirky," Aozawa reassured him, recalling the scene where Nomura True Wave and Yoshikawa Sayuri were role-playing. A girl with middle-school syndrome couldn't be a bad person.

The two sat back down and chatted idly.

At the door, Phoenix Academy Maggie walked into the classroom alongside Yoshikawa Sayuri and Nomura True Wave, laughing and talking as if they were close.

Phoenix Academy Maggie had already become friends with Nomura True Wave and Yoshikawa Sayuri. This development exceeded her expectations. In her plans, becoming friends with Yoshikawa, even if she wanted to, should have taken several days, or perhaps several weeks. Yet, it had only taken a single lunchtime. Or rather, it wasn't just one lunchtime; from the moment she stepped into the manga club, it was perhaps destined that the three of them would become friends. Nomura True Wave and Yoshikawa Sayuri were both girls with lovely personalities. They might argue over some things, but such arguments wouldn't affect their friendship.

Phoenix Academy Maggie was so happy that she even forgot her original purpose for joining the manga club. Only when she had to part ways with the two and headed toward her seat did Phoenix Academy Maggie remember her initial intent: to put in a good word for Hojo Tetsuji.

However, unlike this morning, her stance had now changed.

"Maggie, are things going smoothly?" Aozawa asked out of curiosity.

Phoenix Academy Maggie pulled out a chair and sat down sideways on the stool. Looking at Hojo Tetsuji, she said, "Sorry, I forgot about your matter. But even if I wanted to praise you, I can't find anything to praise. Your academic performance is poor, and so is your athleticism. As for your personality? You're often getting into fights outside. Looks-wise, that uncle face of yours has nothing but flaws. To tell you the truth, it's really hard for me to point out your strengths to Yoshikawa."

The continuous, heart-stabbing words pierced Hojo Tetsuji like a sword. Even his strong right arm began to tremble. He pushed up his sunglasses and said in a low voice, "I joined the Guzheng Club."

Phoenix Academy Maggie sighed. "And then? Are you very good at playing the guzheng?"

Hojo Tetsuji fell silent.

Joining the Guzheng Club didn't mean he was good at playing it. In his sister's words, his fists, made for punching, couldn't transform into nimble fingers capable of playing the guzheng well.

"Could it be that I don't stand a chance with Yoshikawa at all?"

Hojo Tetsuji's face gradually turned ashen.

Aozawa tried to cheer him up. "Tetsuji, don't give up. You still have a sincere heart, and that's a rare quality."

Hojo Tetsuji quickly pulled himself together. Yes! My love for Yoshikawa is incomparable to anyone else's!

Phoenix Academy Maggie poured cold water on his hopes. "Sorry, but a girl will only feel troubled if someone she doesn't like holds such strong affection for her."

Hojo Tetsuji's defenses completely shattered. He slumped onto the desk, even his last bastion of sincerity losing its effect. He felt his life had turned monochromatic.

Seeing him in such a sorry state, Phoenix Academy Maggie sighed inwardly. She couldn't bear it any longer and suggested, "I've noticed Yoshikawa really likes reading manga. Maybe you can start from there. Draw a manga and get it serialized in Shonen Jump. I'll coax Yoshikawa to read it, and then casually mention it's your work. That might increase her interest in you."

"Oh, that's it!"

Hojo Tetsuji revived with full vitality, exclaiming excitedly, "Young Miss, you sometimes actually speak some sense!"

Phoenix Academy Maggie really wanted to retort but suppressed the urge, saying irritably, "Don't get so excited; drawing manga isn't that easy."

"I've watched Pirate King! I'll draw an adventure manga centered on a romantic comedy, with Yoshikawa and me as the main characters!"

Hojo Tetsuji was brimming with enthusiasm, completely disregarding Phoenix Academy Maggie's words.

She rolled her eyes and gestured for Aozawa to try and talk some sense into him.

After thinking it over, Aozawa said, "Then I'll call dibs on the Villain Demon King role."

"No problem! You can be the Demon King who destroys the world."

"Why destroy the world? I'd rather conquer it."

Hojo Tetsuji replied as if it were obvious, "A Demon King definitely has to destroy the world."

Aozawa couldn't help but argue, "That's a very old-school villain mindset. To draw a good manga now, your villain must have values that are even more relatable than the protagonist's, possessing noble ideals."

"Destroying the world *is* the Demon King's noble ideal."

"Why would a Demon King want to destroy the world?"

"Because he's the Demon King, duh!"

Hojo Tetsuji's response left Aozawa speechless. He turned to Phoenix Academy Maggie. "What do you think?"

Phoenix Academy Maggie, new to manga herself, surprisingly agreed with Hojo Tetsuji's view: "A Demon King is definitely meant to destroy the world. Expecting the audience to root for the villain and dislike the protagonist is proof of the creator's failure, isn't it?

"Being labeled as 'villains' means the evil in them outweighs their humanity. All noble ideals are just excuses to cover up their misdeeds."

Aozawa wanted to continue arguing.

DING DONG DONG. The class bell echoed through the campus. He had no choice but to change the subject: "Let's talk about this after class."