“The princess is the dragon?” Wuhua murmured, repeating the words Hanna had said to herself.
For some reason, those simple and easy-to-understand words lingered in Wuhua’s mind.
It was as if the words themselves held a certain kind of magic. Before Wuhua could understand the meaning behind them—
“Thank you. I had a lot of fun today.” Hanna leaned in close to Wuhua’s ear again and whispered her thanks.
“This means I like you.” With that, she gently kissed Wuhua on the cheek.
.
“…Huh?!” Qianhan was the first to react, staring wide-eyed and letting out a strange sound.
“Oh, you two seem to be getting along well.” Lianying nodded with her hands on her hips.
“Come to think of it, I usually express my love to Xiaohua the same way… hehe.”
“Is that a friend of Mirror’s?” Qinglan sized up Hanna with suspicion.
“Why is she here? And she doesn’t seem to have any problems.” She felt that Hanna was hiding something.
“Well, well, I’m glad everyone is safe.” Xicheng clasped her hands behind her back, genuinely happy with how things turned out.
As for the other side…
“…A-Anyway, I’m just glad you’re okay.” Having come back to her senses, Wuhua shyly extended her hand to Hanna.
“Come on. I’ll take you to find your family.”
But reality often defies expectations. Hanna smiled and took a half step back.
“Hanna…?” As Wuhua’s confusion grew, Hanna slowly began to speak.
“Actually, there’s still more to that story I just told. Some parts I left out.” Hanna stepped back to where Wuhua couldn’t reach her, even if she tried.
“In the end, when the prince learned the truth, he didn’t understand the princess’s actions. He thought her willfulness had caused many people to lose their lives and homes.”
“The princess realized that too. She knew she could never return to the prince’s side. So the two were forced to part forever—”
“How about it? Is that an ending you would like?”
Faced with Hanna’s sudden question, Wuhua felt a tightness in her chest and a dryness in her throat.
“I…” She wanted to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat.
“I see.” Hanna’s expression turned lonely and sad. She reluctantly looked away from Wuhua.
“Let’s play together again next time. It’s a promise.”
.
Suddenly, the black mud that had completely disappeared earlier silently emerged from the ground again—this time right at Hanna’s feet.
“…Watch out!” Wuhua, being the closest, noticed it first. She quickly reached out her hand, trying to grab Hanna for the third time.
“—” But in an instant, the black mud burst forth like a geyser, completely engulfing Hanna’s body. Her condition was impossible to see from the outside.
“Hanna!” Completely panicked, Wuhua couldn’t care about anything else.
She rushed forward and plunged her hand into the viscous mud, letting her own flesh directly touch the dangerous anomaly. Soon, a searing pain burned into her bones, twisting her face in agony.
“Mirror…!”
“W-Wait!”
Lianying and Qianhan hurried over, trying to pull her out of it.
.
“You really are someone who loves to act recklessly.” But Hanna’s voice came from above her head again.
“Still, it makes sense. You came all the way to this dangerous place alone for a stranger like me.”
Hanna was sitting on the railing of the bridge in a pose no ordinary person could manage, swinging her legs back and forth and shrugging.
“Hanna…” Ignoring the pain, Wuhua realized she had misunderstood something and stared at Hanna in disbelief.
‘There’s no way she’s an ordinary girl!’
“They all call you Mirror. So I’ll do the same.” Hanna raised her index finger and hooked it upward.
In an instant, the black mud that Wuhua had touched began to dissolve, slowly dripping to the ground before disappearing.
“N-Never mind that… who exactly are you?” Having escaped safely, Wuhua noticed that Hanna seemed to have a connection to the black mud.
The pure, light-colored dress she was wearing now had black droplet patterns added to the hem and stockings, looking very incongruous.
“Mirror, the next time we meet,” Hanna said, her cute, bright smile fading as she parted her lips.
“I hope you’ll treat me like the evil dragon in the story.”
.
.
With that, the girl’s flickering body began to shimmer. The next second, she vanished from everyone’s sight, leaving no trace behind.
“Wuhua. I have bad news. And even worse news.” At that moment, Ruibi popped out of Wuhua’s pocket and floated beside her.
“…Is there no good news?” Wuhua subconsciously retorted.
“The reaction from the Evil Forces hasn’t disappeared. Your attacks were effective, but they can’t eliminate it.” Ruibi said expressionlessly.
“More importantly, I detected the source of all this—it was the girl you were just talking to.”
“…In other words.” Wuhua had a vague guess, but she didn’t want to believe it. She looked up toward where Hanna had been.
“Source?” Lianying tilted her head in confusion, not quite understanding.
“That girl is a Lost Girl, meow.” Miao Ke, standing nearby, added an explanation. “Everything that happened today was her doing, meow.”
“Ah… I see. That explains it.” Qinglan nodded in sudden realization. “She gave me the feeling of a magical girl.”
“Lost… Girl?” Qianhan, hearing the term for the first time, reacted much like Wuhua had earlier.
As everyone was discussing, a few staff members in Administration Bureau uniforms appeared faintly in the distance on the other side of the bridge, approaching.
“Um, everyone,” Xicheng promptly suggested. “How about we call it a day for now? Let’s talk after we leave this place.”
“Sure~”
“That’s right.”
Lianying and Qinglan waved a simple goodbye to Wuhua and Qianhan, then disappeared into the sky that was gradually clearing.
“…Let’s go too, Qianhan.”
“R-Right.”
The other two quickly left before they could be seen by any unrelated bystanders.
This emergency situation came to a close with the Administration Bureau’s intervention and investigation.
…
…
“…Good afternoon, viewers of Haizhu City. This channel, dedicated to magical girl news, now interrupts regular programming with a breaking story.”
“At around 8:00 AM this morning, during the peak of rush hour, a high-concentration anomaly appeared on the city’s seaside Twin Bridge. Under the Administration Bureau’s intervention, the dangerous area was promptly cordoned off.”
“Now, an hour has passed, and the anomaly on the bridge has suddenly disappeared. With visibility restored, footage from the scene shows… that five magical girls have gathered together.”
“Among them is the recently popular group ‘Cat Garden,’ as well as the silver-haired twin-tailed girl and her teammate. They must have protected the city once again.”
“That concludes this report. This station’s reporter will continue to bring you live updates—”
.
No sooner had they returned to Lianying’s house than Wuhua collapsed onto the sofa. Her eyes were vacant, as if she had something on her mind. Even the TV she had turned on was left as background noise.
“Thinking about the Lost Girl?” Sensing Wuhua’s mood, Ruibi appeared in time.
“Whatever her goals or thoughts may be, the fact that she is your enemy will not change.”
“…Maybe so.” Wuhua sighed dejectedly. “But she looked no different from us. I didn’t even recognize her as a magical girl.”
‘A girl that cute and well-behaved, being an enemy…’
Wuhua couldn’t accept this absurd and shocking reality.
“Surprised? What did you think a Wayward Girl would be like?” Ruibi asked curiously.
“Let me think… A hooked nose, wrinkled face, fierce expression, ugly looks, and a big hat or something?” Wuhua thought for a moment before answering.
“What you’re describing probably isn’t a magical girl.” Ruibi shook his head expressionlessly.
“…Maybe then I’d feel better about it.” Wuhua smiled bitterly, looking out the window.
The sky had cleared, but a shadow lingered on her cute face.