It was still late at night. A “Closed” sign hung on the door of the Scattered Flowers Cafe. Due to the appearance of the humanoid monster and the events surrounding Frostflower tonight, Kira had decided to gather several magical girls from the Satellite City Magical Girl Society for a proper discussion.
Ye Xingling and Kira waited for the arrival of the three other magical girls. The former took a sip of the jujube tea prepared by the maid, trying to steady her nerves.
‘Ugh, why hasn’t my brother replied yet?’ she muttered under her breath.
‘Seriously, nothing could have actually happened to him, right…’
Recalling the cake her brother had brought back from the Curtain Call Hotel, Ye Xingling felt that her brother was not as simple as he appeared on the surface. At the very least, his boss was not simple. Therefore, her brother and Sister Shiyue should be safe, right?
“Little Frostflower… are you still mad at me?” Kira asked casually as she sat down beside her.
“No, Senior Kira. If you hadn’t saved me, I might have died under that person’s blade… However, it’s a bit of a regret that I couldn’t help the person who helped me, even if they were an elf…”
“Ha, what a kindhearted girl. So why does Little Frostflower have such a helpless expression on her face?”
Ye Xingling didn’t know if she should speak up. After all, Kira was a reliable senior and should be trustworthy. Furthermore, if she didn’t trust Kira, she didn’t seem to have any other help she could turn to.
“It’s just that my home is near Satellite Park. My brother went on a date with the sister next door today, and I don’t know if they’re safe. Neither of them is replying to my—wait! Sister Shiyue replied!”
Ye Xingling spoke dejectedly, but before she could finish, her phone’s notification sounded. She hurriedly turned on the screen and saw the message.
Sister Shiyue: “It’s fine. Xingyao and I went quite far, so we found a nearby hotel to stay the night. Sorry for worrying you. Is everything okay on your end?”
‘Phew, that’s good. That’s good…’
The heavy burden on Ye Xingling’s heart was lifted. She slumped into her chair, her body going limp, and fell fast asleep a moment later. Seeing this, Kira gently rubbed her small head.
A Radiant Class magical girl facing a peak Midnight Class monster and pressure at the Star-Dark Class level or higher… She had really been put through a lot.
“Rest for a while. Your seniors will be here soon.”
***
When Ye Xingling regained consciousness, she found herself surrounded by people. Looking at the various brilliant hair colors and the aesthetic dresses… she couldn’t help but ask herself: ‘Am I still in Satellite City?’
‘Oh, right, I’m a magical girl. Never mind then.’
“Ah, you woke up just in time. Come, Little Frostflower, let me introduce you to your seniors. Let’s start with some simple introductions. It’s a bit like an elementary school introduction segment, but it’s an old tradition of the Magical Girl Society. I’ll start. I’m the manager of the Scattered Flowers Cafe and the President of the Satellite City branch of the Magical Girl Society. Kira. I like growing flowers and magical girls. Midnight Class.”
Kira clapped her hands and looked at the circle of magical girls with a smile as she spoke.
‘That “likes growing flowers and magical girls”… surely flowers and magical girls aren’t on the same level?’ Ye Xingling thought with a strange expression.
This senior of hers… was a bit scary.
“Hello, Miss Frostflower. My name is Yunque. I don’t have any special hobbies; I just prefer peace and quiet. I am the Vice President of the Satellite City Branch of the Magical Girl Society. Dream-Entry Class.”
The magical girl named Yunque spoke with an air of brevity, as if words were made of gold, yet she still gave a proper introduction. Ye Xingling looked closely at her. She had white hair and white eyes, a very petite frame, and looked quite young… However, the conclusion of the introduction completely changed her impression of this “white-haired little girl.”
‘Dream-Entry Class…?’
“So you’re Frostflower?”
On the other side, a blonde girl with twin-tails who gave off a strong sense of déjà vu stood with her arms crossed, looking at her with a somewhat awkward expression.
“Ah, um, yes.”
‘This one… carries a strange amount of pressure…’
“What’s with the stuttering? You did something quite impressive!”
“Uh, sorry—wait, what?”
Ye Xingling’s small brain couldn’t process such an abrupt turn in the conversation for a moment. This seemingly unreasonable blonde lady… didn’t seem that hard to get along with? But why did it always feel like she was about to scold her?
Yunque rolled her eyes at Kira, while the latter simply smiled with an “I knew it would be like this” expression.
“Honestly, why are my teammates all so dishonest! As a newly-minted magical girl, your actions were enough to earn my respect! Have more confidence!”
“Um… thank you?”
“What is there to thank me for? I don’t need your thanks! However, I acknowledge you! My name is Jin Ming. I prefer European classical music and artistic paintings. Early-Night Class.”
‘Okay, so the silent white-haired girl senior is Miss Yunque, and this somewhat awkward, blonde, tsundere twin-tail is Miss Jin Ming.’ She committed it to memory.
Then, Ye Xingling turned her gaze toward the last magical girl who had yet to introduce herself.
This girl’s clothing was different from their gorgeous dresses. It could perhaps be described with a more literary term… like a celestial raiment? It made her look like a fairy descended to the mortal realm.
“Ahem, is it my turn? Hello there, Miss Frostflower. I am Qiansheng. I love singing, and my dream is to become a world-class diva. Please take care of me from now on. Dream-Entry Class.”
Her voice was beautiful—a type of beauty that Ye Xingling couldn’t quite describe. It was pleasant to the ear and carried a sense of intimacy. One could already imagine how wonderful her singing would be.
“Yes, please take care of me, Senior Qiansheng.”
“Alright, the introduction segment ends here. Please bond more later. I’m sure you all know the reason I called you here for this emergency. Yunque, report the data on the humanoid monster.”
Kira’s expression turned serious.
“Yes. The humanoid monster, which does not exist in the bestiary, shares approximately 70% similarity with the Midnight Class monster ‘Black Chimpanzee.’ Its speed, physical strength, and power are all at the peak level for the Midnight Class. It is far beyond the reach of power-type espers who do not possess physical specialization.”
Yunque pulled out a small notebook and placed it on the table around which they were gathered, pointing at some data that Ye Xingling couldn’t understand as she interpreted it.
“Unlike ordinary monsters, this humanoid monster seems to have some kind of purpose. it is capable of autonomously deciding its direction of travel. This is a characteristic that has never been seen in monsters before. It is reasonable to suspect that certain monsters unobserved by humans have already gained a degree of intelligence.”
Yunque paused before continuing.
“The worst-case scenario is that high-intelligence individuals have already appeared among the monster species, or even individuals capable of controlling monsters to conduct planned attacks on human cities.”