Border Fortress
“Zhizhi, I’ve finished the subjugation. Are you watching…?”
“Second Rank – Heavenly Armor Bind!”
But then—clang! Zhizhi used Inverse Sky Barrier, pinning Youyou to the wall with her magic.
Then, with a crisp snap, Zhizhi had already pressed close.
“…Using a leg for a kabedon, I’ve only seen this pose in BL comics.”
Luo You turned her head; by her ear was a delicate leg clad in a white sock, while right in front of her, Zhizhi loomed in a high-kick kabedon pose.
For someone so short to do a high-kick kabedon—what the hell is this weirdness?
But Zhizhi ignored her complaint and barked, “Youyou, what are you pretending for! You old magic fossil, show your true form already!” Damn it! Has she been exposed!?
Luo You’s pupils quaked.
Looks like there’s no turning back now—she’d have to discipline Zhizhi on the spot and make her into a Star Fury…
What a pity.
Luo You had wanted to woo Zhizhi normally, then reveal her identity for a pulse-pounding twist. Now, that wasn’t happening.
But just as she had this thought, Zhizhi released the binding and, looking utterly puzzled, asked, “Youyou, you’re really not some retired magical girl re-employed?”
“…Nope.” Whew, Zhizhi dodged a bullet.
Luo You grinned, “So? Were you surprised by my growth rate? Ara ara~ What will you do if I surpass you one day, Zhizhi? (Screaming)” It was as if she could hear Zhizhi mentally cracking.
“You, y-y-you don’t get so full of yourself! It was just a ghost-level bottom-feeder you took out. Against that kind of opponent… I could crush a whole bunch with just one finger!”
“Alright, alright, Zhizhi-sama is the best,”
“Hmph, you’ve gotten too cocky! Come with me.”
Zhizhi put her hands on her hips.
“I’ll show you what level the dimensional beast you just took out is on the real frontlines!”
Before Luo You could even refuse, she found herself brought to Jiehai Pass at the border between the neighboring country and the Dragon Nation.
Here, snow sealed the sky, the vast mountain ranges blanketed in white.
Military equipment of every kind sprawled across the mountains like giant serpents, the grandeur of it all slamming right into Luo You’s face.
“This is my base of operations.”
“Whoa.”
With her foot sinking into the soft snow, Luo You marveled at the rare scene before her.
No wonder there hadn’t been much news about the Fourth Seat—it turned out her post was abroad.
Here, the intensity of the dimensional beast incursions wasn’t as high as places like the Nine Abyssal Seas, but due to the climate and terrain, the hardship was no less.
Magical girls stationed here might not even get to return home once in half a year.
…Come to think of it, if Zhizhi was stationed in a place like this, how did she even find time to goof off in the city?
Luo You didn’t even bother to hide her skeptical look.
“What are you staring at! I have reliable team members to handle disasters, you know!”
Zhizhi made a snowball and shoved it into her face.
“You don’t even understand what it means for you to be chosen for Zhizhi-sama’s squad! Do you know how valuable my team is?”
“How valuable?”
“Hmph! Among the top thirty in combat strength below the Ten Seats, seventeen are in my team!”
Holy crap.
Luo You had known Zhizhi led the Shorties Squad, but hadn’t expected the members to be this good.
“You, Youyou, you might not realize it, but the moment I picked you, your life was set to skyrocket.”
Zhizhi smugly patted her on the shoulder, then suddenly switched her expression, shouting, “So show me more respect! Quickly say, ‘I was so arrogant before, I’m sorry! Please forgive me, Zhizhi-sama!!’”
“No way.”
The two soon arrived at the highest point of Jiehai Pass.
Rumble… Rumble——
Out on the sea’s surface, a dimensional beast was crossing the pass—a ghost-level dimensional beast.
Even from several hundred meters away, the roar of crashing waves was deafening.
Facing this ghost-level beast, only two magical girls went to engage it.
By the looks of them, neither was taller than 1.4 meters—both top-tier lolis—but Luo You had never heard of them.
The dimensional beast trying to cross the pass was swiftly defeated.
It took them three minutes—longer than Luo You’s battle, but it was handled calmly, almost blandly, without the slightest ripple, as if they’d just picked a flower during a stroll.
“See now? The ghost-level dimensional beasts considered troublesome in the rear lines are just daily bread here. Your performance, in my eyes, is just the bare basics. In my team, if anyone gets hurt by a ghost-level dimensional beast, I’d laugh at her for a lifetime!”
“Haa…”
Luo You gazed out toward the sea again.
As those two loli magical girls finished up, they immediately spotted Zhizhi and flew over.
“Zhizhi-sama.”
“And this is?”
“Oi, perfect timing, let me introduce you.”
Zhizhi waved them over.
“This is the new member, U… Jinlin…”
“Ah! I know her.”
The loli with shoulder-length pink hair pointed at Luo You and shouted, “She’s the cocky one from the tournament. I’m Jing Ting. Newbie, make sure you add ‘senior’ when you call me.”
“Oh… now that you mention it, I remember…”
The other, with long purple hair, mused, “I’m Ni Yu. When you call me, make sure you add ‘great senior’—all three words.”
……Luo You’s temple throbbed twice, and she glanced sideways at Zhizhi.
No wonder this brat’s squad was so arrogant—birds of a feather, all right!
Is this so-called “Shorties Squad” all people like this?
If Luo You didn’t treat the plain-looking magical girls as appetizers to change up the flavor, she would have run through Zhizhi’s whole Shorties Squad eight hundred times over until they broke.
“You two go get busy,” Zhizhi dismissed them.
“Yes, Zhizhi-sama!”
“Newbie, remember to greet your seniors next time.”
It had to be said, magical girls led directly by a Ten Seat were in much better spirits—no trace of confusion in their eyes.
If every Ten Seat assembled their own direct troops, the Magic Alliance would have no trouble surviving the current crisis.
But the prerequisite for direct troops was absolute obedience to a Ten Seat’s command.
The Magic Alliance was a loose organization, and magical girls lived their own way. Assembling direct troops was truly difficult and would raise national-level alarms and panic.
Zhizhi’s Shorties Squad was really a unique case.
“Why so quiet? Scared?”
Zhizhi covered her mouth and laughed.
“That won’t do~ This was just an appetizer.”
“Zhizhi, do you think now that the Magic Alliance is in a ‘split’ state, someone might try to take advantage?”
“What’s with the sudden serious question? Are you worrying about that stuff too?”
Luo You tilted her head.
“I’ve got talent that surpasses even yours, Zhizhi. Becoming a Ten Seat is inevitable, so of course I’m thinking about the future.”
“Like hell! You’re not better than me!”
“Yeah, yeah~ So, can good little Zhizhi tell mama? Onegai～”
All Zhizhi could do was stomp her feet in the snow, kicking it all over Luo You.
“Hmph! There is that possibility, but with Xingyue and Manjusaka around, even if some evildoers try to take advantage, they’ll have to think twice, and then some.”
If it were only Manjusaka, the deterrence would be lacking.
But this time, unlike four years ago, Xingyue hadn’t disappeared—she was right there in the Magic Alliance!
Xingyue had even once forced back a Light-Devourer-class dimensional beast.
Though she relied on Zero-Rank magic at Jiehai Pass to do it, there was no one else who could pull that off.