“Senior, the Human Alliance and the elves are making such a big fuss. Why aren’t we going to stop them…”
At the Magical Girl Association, a girl with an ice-blue color scheme and a single ponytail hovered around a pink-haired girl.
Inside the Magical Girl Association, the girls did not know each other’s true identities. For those with more seniority or strength, they were generally addressed as “Senior.”
“Shuanghua, our only enemies at the moment are the monsters.”
As for those of the same rank or juniors, they usually addressed each other by their titles.
The pink-haired girl sighed and patted the head of the ice-blue-clad girl, Shuanghua, behind her.
“No matter what anyone says, magical girls were all once ordinary girls. Just like how you have your own family, Shuanghua.”
“Everyone chooses to become a magical girl and gain extraordinary power, but it isn’t to play political games with those so-called higher-ups. Whoever destroys our happiness, we end its life. It is as simple as that.”
Shuanghua nodded, seemingly understanding but still a bit lost.
“Senior Qila really has thought things through.”
“You need to slowly learn these things too. No slacking off.”
“Ow… that hurts… So, Senior, what should we do now?”
Shuanghua cupped her forehead with both hands, as if the soft warmth of her palms would make the spot that had been flicked stop hurting.
“Let’s just wait and see. Even if we wanted to do something, we don’t have enough manpower, do we?”
Qila pulled over a chair and sat down comfortably. She crossed her long legs, looking quite at ease.
“You, me, and your three seniors who are still out on field duty… the combat power our Magical Girl Association can deploy at any moment is only five people…”
“Ugh… I want to reach First-Night Level quickly too…”
“Well, keep dreaming. Either way, the advancement of a magical girl is always very subjective. You might even have to sacrifice something you care about. Perhaps that is the price for obtaining power.”
Limited by the Supernatural Organization Convention established by the Human Alliance, even the most widespread and “legitimate” organization, the Magical Girl Association, only had one Midnight Level and two Dream-Entering Levels stationed in Satellite City.
However, for the Light-Containing Level and First-Night Level, the Human Alliance effectively left a backdoor open for the Association. After all, magical girls were widely recognized as “hot-blooded idiots.”
Having a few more positive and controllable combatants was not a bad thing.
‘What bad intentions could a magical girl possibly have?’
However, becoming a magical girl was not that easy. At the very least, among the many citizens of Satellite City, aside from the four magical girls who already lived here, only one newcomer, Shuanghua, had appeared recently…
“Um… is there anything else you need help with, Senior? I need to head back to school…”
Shuanghua rubbed her hands together sheepishly.
“Shuanghua is still a student… High school or university?”
“Eleventh grade…”
“Hmm… then studies are indeed more important… Can you manage both?”
“Ugh… does becoming a magical girl require worrying about such realistic problems too? Senior, can’t you let me stay immersed in the fantasy for a little longer!”
Qila turned her head to look at Shuanghua’s slightly dejected face and blinked.
“Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Eh?! A… a boyfriend… It’s way too early for that…”
Shuanghua shifted her body shyly.
“You really are pure… I won’t tease you anymore. Hurry back. Oh, right, magical girls do get a salary. If it isn’t convenient for you to receive cash, you can exchange it for other things. What do you want, Shuanghua?”
“Money!”
Shuanghua shouted the word, her eyes sparkling.
“Shuanghua… does your family… not give you an allowance?” Qila remarked, her expression complicated as she looked at the girl.
“Ehehe… it isn’t quite like that. I just want to make things a bit easier for my family…”
“Fine. I shouldn’t have asked too much in the first place. Remember to ask me for your bank card the next time you come… Hmm… just make sure you have an excuse ready in case your family notices. Head back to school.”
“Yay! Thank you, Senior Qila!”
Watching Shuanghua skip away, Qila turned her gaze back to the documents on the desk. After a long while, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes to rest.
“Sigh, things are about to get busy again…”
As the only Midnight Level stationed in Satellite City for the Magical Girl Association, Qila’s pressure was not light at all.
—
“Hehe~ Now when I argue with my brother, he can’t say I’m a free-loader!”
Ye Xingling hummed a song as she walked out of the maid cafe named “Sanhua.” As she walked quickly toward the school, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to the contact labeled “Idiot Brother”…
—
“Brother, what are we having for dinner?”
“Ye Xin,” who had just stepped out of the Epilogue Hotel, looked down at the phone. A message had arrived from the contact labeled “Inmate Sister.”
Being called “Brother” while in the “Ye Xin” state…
‘It feels a bit strange…’
“It depends on what your Sister Shiyue wants to make. I’m outside right now. I’ll pick you up from school in a bit.”
“Yay? Is Sister Shiyue cooking? That’s great!”
“Is my cooking really that bad…?”
Ye Xingyao curled his lips, feeling a sudden urge to fly over to his naughty sister and give her head a good knock.
“Aww, Brother, you know the difference between you and Sister Shiyue… Your cooking is delicious… but under the same conditions, it just doesn’t look as good as hers!”
“…”
His fist tightened. It really tightened.
“So when are you going to make things official with Sister Shiyue? I’m telling you, as a childhood friend, you have to take the initiative to solidify a unique position in her heart!”
“If you keep being this dense, what if Sister Shiyue gets stolen away! I still want to eat her cooking!”
Originally, Ye Xingyao felt a… tiny bit of touched emotion that his sister cared so much about him and Shiyue. But after seeing the rest of the message, Ye Xingyao stomped his feet in anger.
This embarrassing sister!
And here he was, having bought her a small cake from the Epilogue Hotel!
“Lovely lady, are you in some kind of trouble?”
Ye Xingyao only then noticed a well-dressed man with black hair standing beside him. The man wore a gentle smile that made it difficult to feel any dislike toward him.
Unfortunately, there seemed to be some leftover sauce from a meal at the corner of his mouth, which made the smile look exceptionally out of place.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about bothering me. I am very willing to help a young and beautiful girl.”
Thanks to the man’s reminder, Ye Xingyao realized his current identity was “Ye Xin.”
Ye Xingyao smiled gracefully and pointed to the corner of his own mouth.
“Hmm? Ah… my apologies. How unseemly of me.”
The man turned around, wiped away the sauce, and then turned back with a beaming smile.
“Thank you, miss. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask.”