Chapter 13: Your Espionage Was Caught Red-Handed by the Guardian Priestess Tomoyo!

“Ah!” Sakura exclaimed in surprise.

Kero-chan clutched the collar of Sakura’s pajamas with his mouth, flapping his wings steadily as they slowly descended.

“Why... why do you feel so heavy?”

“I’m not heavy at all!” This time, Sakura’s eyes didn’t turn into spirals. Hearing Kero’s mumbling, she blushed and retorted instantly.

At that moment, a radiant glow flickered around Sakura.

The Vajra Charm transformed into armor, enveloping her entire body.

“This feels... way more useful than the cards!” Sakura thought to herself.

Kero was also surprised by the power of the talisman that that Leaf Hui kid had given them.

“Could it be that cultivators really exist in this world? These talismans resemble the ones used in Huaxia Taoist magic, but their power is quite different...” he pondered silently, deciding to withdraw his earlier judgment.

Previously, Sakura had failed to see off Leaf Hui and returned from the doorway to the living room. Suddenly remembering the card Leaf Hui mentioned, she looked beneath the carpet with her brother’s strange gaze, but found nothing.

“That guy might be a fraud. As a sealing beast, I can’t sense any cards in the house. How could he have found them one after another? It doesn’t add up...” Kero had said back then.

He believed that even a powerful magician like Clow Reed had never encountered an immortal, meaning cultivators simply didn’t exist.

Compared to cultivators, Leaf Hui was more likely a wild magician...

“No, now’s not the time to think about that!” Kero snapped back to reality and shouted, “Sakura, use magic quickly!”

Leaf Hui quietly changed his angle, eager to continue filming Sakura’s first battle and not miss a single thrilling moment.

Such close-up shots were definitely more exciting than watching through Tomoyo’s telescope, right?

“Magic? How do I use it?”

Kero, exasperated, said, “First, remove the wand’s seal!”

“Ah? Oh, is that how it works?” Sakura took out a key and then chanted, “Seal release!”

“Whoosh!”

A flash of light gleamed.

Sakura held the bird-headed magic wand that the key transformed into.

In the distance:

“Such distant memories!” Hearing Sakura recite the incantation on site, Leaf Hui felt a rush of nostalgia, as if returning to his childhood.

Next, Kero continued instructing.

“The Flying cards have the wind attribute, so it should be possible to capture it using the Wind card!”

He urged Sakura to summon the power of the Wind card up close.

“Kero is really unreliable!” Leaf Hui muttered while filming.

He was well aware of the power in Sakura’s Wind card.

Clow Reed had fused Eastern and Western traditions, creating the Clow Card magic system.

He believed the four great elements—Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind—were the basic templates of the world.

Though the four elemental cards weren’t the strongest, they were certainly more powerful than the Flying card.

How could such a card require close range to use?

Leaf Hui guessed that Kero was simply accustomed to his own combat style and subjectively thought close-range attacks were more effective.

However, the monstrous bird was always accompanied by a hurricane, making it impossible for Sakura to get close.

Fortunately, the Vajra Charm was powerful. Its golden glow continuously protected Sakura, keeping her unharmed.

“That kid’s talisman is pretty sturdy... Sakura, while the talisman still holds, quickly use the Wind card! Don’t be afraid!” Kero muttered, then shouted urgently.

Leaf Hui saw Sakura leap high as the bird attacked, using the wall to vault and perform a backflip, landing on the bird’s back...

Just like in the animation.

The only difference was that this time, with his talisman’s aid, Sakura wasn’t blown away by the wind but managed to grasp a feather smoothly.

Then she drew her Sealing Staff, summoning the Wind card’s power to create a binding airflow that trapped the ugly bird.

The bird struggled, howling as it plummeted to the ground...

“Return to your original form, Clow Card!” Sakura struck the air with her Sealing Staff.

The beak tip of the bird-headed wand outlined a card, its powerful attraction pulling the bound monster into the card...

The howling ceased, and the wind died down.

The Flying card slowly floated to Sakura’s feet.

Without picking it up, Sakura collapsed onto the ground!

“Yay! So cool! No wonder you’re the chosen Clow Card magician!” Kero flew over to her side.

Leaf Hui watched from afar and chuckled, “Why didn’t Sakura lose any of her little pearls from fright this time?”

In the animation, this victory seemed quite coincidental.

As a viewer, he knew the protagonist would never face fatal danger.

Besides, the first battles in anime always end in victory.

But Sakura didn’t know that!

Being here, Leaf Hui could feel clearly this was a real world.

Sakura was a real person.

In the original story, when she vaulted off the wall...

If she was off by a fraction of a second, and if Kero had been blown away and couldn’t rescue her in time, she would have fallen to the ground.

After barely climbing onto the bird’s back, she was blown away by the fierce wind again.

If she hadn’t grabbed the feather in time, she would have fallen midair...

It was truly a matter of life and death!

Afterwards, when Sakura came to her senses and adrenaline faded, she was filled with fear and even cried.

She genuinely thought she could have died!

But now, with the protective talismans sponsored by Leaf Hui...

Several attacks were forcibly blocked, giving Sakura a strong sense of security, and she didn’t have to worry about injury.

Therefore, after the battle, her overwhelming fear was somewhat eased.

Still, this kind of thrilling action was far removed from the daily life of a fourth-grade elementary school girl.

Sakura remained resistant to becoming the Clow Card magician!

“I never agreed to be any kind of magician!” Sakura panted, glaring.

“Experiencing different life adventures now will make you a great person in the future!” Kero replied ambiguously in an Osaka accent, smiling.

However, Sakura didn’t find it amusing and kept glaring at Kero.

Kero ignored her and urged her to try the Flying card’s power...

Leaf Hui shifted the camera.

On the screen, Sakura flew toward the sky on the winged magic wand...

“Tsk, Kero really has a knack for directing. No wonder he gets along so well with Tomoyo!” he mused.

What a coincidence!

The first time, Sakura was blown into midair.

At that moment, Kero rushed over in a flash.

The second time, Leaf Hui noticed that after Kero was blown away, he didn’t speed up to chase Sakura.

If it wasn’t to help Sakura build courage, it was like the melon seller complaining that her melons weren’t sweet.

—Who would believe that!

No, actually, this might be true...

At this moment, Kero’s comforting words carried a deeper meaning.

Leaf Hui knew the anime’s plot: Sakura becomes a great magician by collecting the Clow Cards through this card game, gaining different life experiences.

In that sense... Kero was the true prophet?

Of course, Leaf Hui guessed these words might have come from Clow Reed himself.

The filmed footage showed Sakura flying farther and farther on her winged wand.

Leaf Hui put away the camera: “To fly freely—a dream humanity has never extinguished for thousands of years...”

Such temptation—how could an elementary school student resist?

Sakura would certainly succumb to this dazzling magic temptation.

Whether she wanted to or not, she would become a magician!

“I wonder when I’ll be able to fly... When I get home, I’ll practice drawing talismans properly. I want to fly too!”

“Buzzzzz!”

Suddenly, a buzzing sound approached, accompanied by whistling wind.

“Is that Leaf Hui? What are you doing here?” The buzzing came closer rapidly.

Leaf Hui was startled and looked up.

As the sunset faded, a silver small plane flew low, bearing a familiar emblem on its fuselage.

The Daidoji family crest?!

The system log refreshed just in time.

[Your surreptitious misconduct has been caught red-handed by Sakura Kinomoto’s guardian, Tomoyo Daidoji...]

[Among Sakura Kinomoto’s guardians, Tomoyo Daidoji isn’t the strongest, but she is the most influential.]

[She is arriving in her sect’s flying vessel, with many supporters. Knowing you lack strength, escape is impossible!]

Leaf Hui twitched at the corner of his mouth.

“Sect flying vessel?”

If a plane is a flying vessel, then I, this ‘miscellaneous spiritual root disciple,’ have several flying vessels at home...

And what is this encirclement about?