“Magical girls, you move even slower than a bunch of grannies.”
The black monster lay on his back on the ground, barely breathing.
His limbs were gone, and countless butterflies perched on his wounds, using their mouthparts to tear at his body.
A gray butterfly girl sat cross-legged on her scythe, her face full of disdain for the magical girls.
“If it weren’t for me, this evildoer would’ve gotten away.”
Xia Mo, who had just finished off the giant black serpent summoned by the monster and rushed to the scene, froze for a moment.
She was about to say something to ease the tension, but then she saw her two junior teammates hurrying over as well.
Well, she thought, guess I can’t soften my tone—otherwise, my secret relationship with Ming Die will be exposed.
“Even without you, we could’ve taken him down!”
Xia Mo straightened up and declared righteously to Ming Die, as Siam and Ling Lan looked at her with admiration.
“Yeah! You sore loser, stop bragging!”
Luo Shuangxing chimed in loudly from the side.
“It’s not like we’ve never beaten you before. Why are you acting all high and mighty?”
“Three fights total, I won two, you won one—and even then, you ganged up on me.”
Luo Shuangyue raised her hands, making a “2” with one and a “1” with the other, reminding the magical girls that she still had the upper hand in their overall record.
And that one loss? It was a 2-on-1!
They only won because they outnumbered her.
If they had the guts, they’d fight her fair and square, one-on-one.
“Oh right, Rosemary, you looked adorable after you disassembled last time. How about I visit you late at night in a few days and have a little chat?”
“R…”
“Ming Die, you evil woman! Don’t threaten our senior!”
Seeing the unease on Xia Mo’s face, Luo Shuangxing immediately stepped forward to shield her.
This little brat was super annoying, but considering how sincere she was toward Xia Mo, Luo Shuangyue decided to let her off the hook just this once.
She glanced at Ling Lan and let out a cold chuckle.
“So what if I am threatening her? What business is it of yours? Do you even know what your senior looks like or what her real name is?”
“Judging by your face, you know nothing, right? But I do. I know her name, what she looks like, where she lives, and who her friends are.”
“I know way more about her than you ever will.”
Luo Shuangxing’s expression froze.
She knew Ming Die was just talking trash, but on a technical level, it wasn’t wrong.
All she knew was her senior’s magical girl codename and combat ability—nothing else.
In contrast, Ming Die clearly knew much more.
“See? Your so-called bond is this shallow. And you dare talk about friendship and ties like they’re sacred…”
“Ming Die! That’s enough!”
Seeing her junior’s eyes welling up with tears, Xia Mo quickly stepped in and tried to stop her, signaling frantically with her eyes:
‘Come on, that’s enough. What’s the point in bullying a little girl?’
‘It’s super fun.’
Luo Shuangyue shot back a mischievous look, then cleared her throat and wiped the smirk off her face.
Pointing to the nearly-dead monster on the ground, she turned to Xia Mo.
“Take him with you.”
This had been prearranged with Xia Mo.
Polar Night (Jiye) didn’t have any professional interrogators, and bringing this guy back could introduce unnecessary risks.
Better to just hand this hot potato over to the Magic Ministry.
And besides, anything the Ministry got out of him, she could find out through Xia Mo anyway.
In a way, they’d just be doing the dirty work for her.
Of course, Xia Mo couldn’t just agree so easily.
Ming Die was a strong enemy she’d fought many times—she couldn’t just accept something from her without caution.
What if it was a trap?
“Why? Are you up to something?”
Xia Mo shouted suspiciously.
‘Hurry up and give me a convincing reason.’
In their silent eye-contact channel, Xia Mo’s tone was completely different.
‘Don’t rush, I’ll explain it.’
Though the two of them were supposed to be enemies, they were now cooperating in this little performance—something that made Luo Shuangyue want to laugh.
Especially when her eyes swept across Ling Lan’s guarded face, she found it even harder to maintain her cold, detached expression.
‘Little one, she thought, your beloved senior is acting behind your back with me. If you knew, how would you feel?’
A strange, inexplicable thrill stirred within Luo Shuangyue’s heart, putting her in an excellent mood.
“No reason. I just don’t like that bunch of people either.”
Jumping down from her floating scythe, Luo Shuangyue drifted over to Xia Mo and leaned in close to whisper in her ear.
“You’re too close…”
Xia Mo’s gaze flickered, and in a voice only the two of them could hear, she reminded Ming Die to back off.
‘We’re enemies—you can’t just get this close!’
“I do what I like.”
Luo Shuangyue then glanced sidelong at Ling Lan, who was gripping her magic staff tightly.
A new, playful idea sprouted in her mind.
Seizing a moment when Xia Mo wasn’t paying attention, she stuck out her tongue and gently licked Xia Mo’s earlobe.
Xia Mo’s face immediately turned bright red, like a ripened apple.
“R…”
“Thanks for the treat. Ah, and you—little white girl over there—your dear Rosemary-senpai tastes even sweeter than a fruit cake.”
After stealing that bold moment, Luo Shuangyue smiled slyly at the wide-eyed and totally bewildered Ling Lan.
Then, before anyone could react, she activated her butterfly transformation magic, scattering into a cloud of butterflies and fleeing the scene.
“She… Senpai, you…”
Even Siam was dumbfounded at this point, let alone Luo Shuangxing.
And Luo Shuangxing?
She was so furious it felt like her lungs might burst.
She was sure—absolutely sure—that Ming Die had done all of that just to mess with her!
And not just to provoke her, but to do it in such a perverted way!
“Ming Die went too far this time! Senpai, next time we see her, let’s just fight. No more reasoning with her!”
Running up to the still-stunned Xia Mo, Luo Shuangxing growled furiously.
Her eyes landed on Xia Mo’s slightly damp earlobe.
Damn that Ming Die—how could she do something like that to Senpai? Unforgivable!
“Uhm… Let’s just take the captive back first. We’ll deal with Ming Die later.”
Xia Mo’s gaze drifted slightly.
She didn’t know why, but when Ming Die had leaned in and licked her earlobe… she didn’t feel disgusted.
In fact… there was a strange, indescribable feeling.
She muttered to herself:
‘What’s wrong with me? Did Ming Die cast some weird spell on me?’
Touching her damp earlobe, Xia Mo’s thoughts whirled.
She clearly liked Shuangyue—so why didn’t she feel upset when Ming Die did something so outrageous to her?
‘How bizarre…’