Chapter 21 : Miss Luo’s Gold Coins

“As long as you behave, we won’t make things too difficult for you, Miss Yaezakura.”

“Ugh, I-I… what do you want me to do…?”

“It’s nothing big. Your main task right now… is to help us gather some information on the Magical Girl Association’s internal affairs.”

“What?!”

She was being asked to be a spy!

How could she do that?

How could she possibly betray the magical girls?!

“It’s not as serious as betraying them.”

“We just want you to periodically update us on the general movements and targets of your Association.”

Yijinmo crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the girl lying on the bed.

Back when she was in the Association, she actually had her own informant—a little fangirl of hers.

Although she was a magical girl, she was especially infatuated with the cool and dashing Raiden Kaijin, and even had Yijinmo sign her magical armor.

As for what happened next… the great and wise Raiden Kaijin scammed her for food and drink, then ran off with her little stash of money to buy new gear.

Since then, they lost contact.

Well, to be precise, Yijinmo didn’t dare reach out anymore.

When Higanbana sanctioned her back then, every crime listed was completely true.

“Th-That won’t do… I can’t betray everyone…”

“Hmph, do you think you have any way out now, you perverted magical girl!”

The cute but fierce loli popped her head up from the other side, a phone in hand.

Snap.

A nice photo captured the panicked face of Toyokawa Shoko.

“Miss Yaezakura, you wouldn’t want your family and classmates to know your true identity, right?”

“Don’t say things like that!”

Resigned, Yaezakura finally lowered her noble head.

But she still had a little plan in her heart… once they let her go, she’d immediately notify Senior Higanbana!

As long as senior takes action, everything will be fine.

None of these monsters can escape senior’s palm!

That stinky loli might be stronger than her, but compared to senior, she was still way off.

And this big white rabbit monster… probably about equal to that stinky loli in strength; even if stronger, it wouldn’t be by much.

Her noble Senior Higanbana would definitely crush all these hateful monsters!

“Eh?”

While the girl was lost in such daydreams, a cool touch suddenly grazed her forehead.

It was Yijinmo’s slender hand pressing against her… Immediately, a tingling sensation spread from her head through her whole body.

“Eep!”

Shoko trembled and went limp like she had entered a sage state, her eyes glazed over.

“I’ve placed a small shackle in your mind. Its main purpose is to monitor you and prevent you from having any mischievous ideas you shouldn’t.”

“W-What!?”

Monsters really were terrifying and evil, just like on TV shows—if you disobey, your head explodes instantly!

Wuwuwu, what should I do? I’m still young; I haven’t even had a proper romance yet…

“I don’t want my head to explode, wuwuwu. I’ll do anything, please don’t do this to me…”

“Hehehe, it’s too late to say that now, you perverted magical girl. Just wait to die!!”

Vita was about to jump up excitedly but was promptly pushed back down by Yijinmo.

“It’s not really a head explosion. I’m not that cruel.”

“If I detect any sign of betrayal… hmm… this shackle will force you to beat up the person present who most closely matches your Star Feather.”

“Isn’t that punishment…”

“Worse than your head exploding?!!”

For Toyokawa Shoko, who already had psychological trauma, social death was far worse than physical death!

“Is-Is that so…”

Yijinmo blinked blankly, not quite understanding the girl’s thoughts.

She could rig the shackle, but only if she had the proper equipment to interface with it.

After Glove-kun died, her strength was barely level 3, almost level 4—hardly enough to pull off such fancy tricks.

So what she said just now was all made up on the spot to fool this dumb kid.

But judging by the result… it seemed to be pretty effective.

“In any case, I’ll be closely monitoring your movements. If I find anything suspicious… just wait for it!”

“Eep!”

…………

“Little Yijinmo, do you really think you can fool her?”

“Probably. That magical girl doesn’t look very smart, kind of clueless.”

This house wasn’t chosen randomly by Yijinmo.

It used to be a temporary base for Raiden Kaijin.

It was secluded with few passersby, offering excellent concealment.

Though a bit small, it was more than enough to fit a few beautiful girls.

Tricking Yaezakura into working for her was not only to avoid risks and hide information, but also to investigate the frequent monster incidents lately.

Compared to Vita’s self-reliant, brute-force miracles, Yijinmo clearly had better methods.

Newton, that mystic, once stood on the shoulders of giants—why couldn’t Raiden Kaijin stand on the heads of those foolish magical girls?

She didn’t believe the Association wouldn’t notice the recent abnormalities in Jiangnan City.

So rather than working alone, it was better to properly leverage their investigation results.

“So Little Yijinmo, why didn’t you just catch a prisoner and interrogate them back then?”

“Wouldn’t that be easier?”

Raiden Kaijin lowered her brows and pondered deeply.

“I forgot.”

“……”

“Ahem, um, how are the two monster girls doing?”

“They’ve woken up, but they’re still a bit shaken.”

“I see… If I remember correctly, Vita, you risked a fight to protect them, right?”

“Yeah, those two are newcomers who fell in just these past few years. Before that, they were always led by Ice Spike.”

Ice Spike?

Yijinmo’s mind gradually conjured the image of a girl with ice-blue hair.

Her impression of that girl was shallow—she only knew she was quiet, timid, and a bit cowardly.

“Where is Ice Spike now? Is she okay?”

“…Unknown. Probably taken away by those company people.”

Though she kept saying “company,” the little loli actually didn’t fully understand which armed personnel served which company.

And which company exactly had so much power to manufacture monsters under the Association’s nose…

Over these three years, Yijinmo realized she had missed out on a lot.

If she hadn’t fallen into despair and given up for three years… would the monsters’ situation be any better now?

“Vita.”

“Yes, Little Yijinmo?”

After a deep breath, Yijinmo looked at her good friend, her close sister again.

“I’ve made up my mind. I can’t live like this anymore… For you, for Mrs. Serene, I must take back the power that belongs to me.”

“!!!”

“Little Yijinmo, you’re finally pulling yourself together?!”

“It’s really touching to see you come to this realization… but what about funding…?”

“I’ll have to ask Miss Luo.”

When she was a monster, she knew many big financiers.

But now, the only one left around her was Miss Luo from Chaoge.

Sorry, Miss Luo.

If I hadn’t sold out all my panties already, I wouldn’t go back to my old ways and mercilessly drain the wallets of you highborn ladies again.