Waking up, the girl found herself tied to a wooden stake.
She was alone in the quiet, vast Ruins; the silver moon hung high, and standing before her was a Witch.
“Heh heh, you’re finally awake, Magical Girl Qingtian.”
The Witch pursed her lips and giggled, her mouth curving into an alluring arc.
“Wha—what are you going to do?!”
Qingtian tried to struggle, but she found she couldn’t pull her hands free. Her wrists were marked with deep bruises from the rope, and even her Magical Battle Suit was dim and lackluster.
“Right!”
In the night wind, the Witch gave a startling reply.
Qingtian didn’t react for a moment.
“Wh—what exactly do you want to do?!”
“You.”
The Witch pointed at Qingtian, and over 100 tentacles rose from the ground.
Qingtian looked at the sky full of tentacles, and a look of terror flickered in her orange, snow-like, distant, cold eyes.
‘What on earth is this person talking about… No, what I should be thinking about is how to break free…’
“Heh, it’s only 168 tentacles. I’m sure a Magical Girl’s will can withstand it.”
The Witch’s palm fell lightly, and the 168 tentacles swept across the night sky like a tide, rushing straight toward Qingtian.
*Yaah—*
“That’s enough!”
At the critical moment, a Rainbow Beam enveloped in countless strands of magical energy pierced through the wall of tentacles.
In the moonlight spilling through the gap, a white-haired girl in a sky-blue bubble skirt slowly appeared.
“Magical Girl Tianyu?!”
“Tianyu!”
“Take a break, we’ll be right back.”
At the moment the plot reached its turning point, BYD TV Station cut to commercials and news again.
“Magical Girl Tianyu has been missing for 15 days, and her fans are extremely worried.”
“Reporting for the station, after a long search, we have still found no trace of Lady Tianyu. After the Final Battle of the Residual Beasts, where exactly did Lady Tianyu go?”
On the smoke-filled Ruins, the reporter held a microphone while a dense, wailing crowd behind her nearly filled the entire screen.
“Lady Tianyu! Where are you! Take me with you! Take me with you!”
“Lady Tianyu! For your sake, I’ll watch *Wild Mint*!”
“Tianyu, Tianyu, Tianyu, Tianyu…”
*Click.*
Switching off the television expressionlessly, Lin Jue, lying on the sofa, picked up a water bottle and tilted it back. Not a single drop came out.
‘These fans are beyond help—just like the water in this bottle, completely empty.’
Tossing the bottle into an overflowing trash can, she scrambled up and took another small bottle from a cardboard box.
It wasn’t that she was lazy; it was simply that this was the heaviest weight she could lift.
Covering the cap with a piece of tissue, she leaned back and placed both her hands over it, interlacing her fingers.
“One—! Two—! Heave-ho!”
After exhausting all her strength and tricks, she felt the cap loosen slightly.
Excitedly unscrewing the cap, she took a sip of the sweet, cool water and skipped back to the sofa.
She turned on the TV; the channel she was waiting for should be back on now.
‘Oho, let’s see what happens next!’
“Yaah—damn it, attacking my weak point…”
The opening was a total shock, leaving Lin Jue deeply shaken.
In front of Qingtian, she was performing a scene where the rescue failed, even though she had actually won that battle back then!
The voice actors were incredibly skilled; Magical Girl Tianyu had suffered an incomprehensible defeat.
*Click.*
Turning off the TV as if to escape, Lin Jue stared at her own reflection in the screen, dazed for a moment.
‘What did I just watch?’
Generally speaking, she wouldn’t skip such an entertaining segment—if one ignored the fact that she herself was Magical Girl Tianyu. And also, if one ignored the fact that she was originally male.
Unfortunately, both of those facts had been overturned. She was no longer a boy, and she had lost the power of Magical Girl Tianyu, turning into a soft and delicate girl.
She was 4 feet 7 inches tall, with fair, smooth skin that had a healthy pinkish glow, looking like a piece of milk-scented ice cream.
Her snowy white hair framed her golden eyes, and there was a beauty mark beside the corner of her slightly drooping eye. Her face was soft yet looked pitifully endearing.
As for the hand supporting her cheek, it was long and slender, so tender it seemed like it could bruise at a touch.
He—she—had become the most popular Magical Girl of the moment, Tianyu.
She was the hero who defeated the final boss and saved everyone, as well as the cutest idol. Even a blurry photo of her was 100% recognizable.
However, Lin Jue couldn’t find it in her to be happy about this.
Her other five teammates all retained their max-level power, yet she was left with nothing but her appearance, struggling even with daily life. Let alone working, she couldn’t even show her face right now.
Obsessive fans had been suspicious of this area for a long time, camping around the neighborhood 24/7 just to capture a glimpse of Lady Tianyu’s daily life.
If some ill-intentioned people discovered that Magical Girl Tianyu had lost her powers, the fate awaiting her would certainly not be a good one. It might even be worse than what was being remade for TV.
*Ding-dong—*
Right then, the doorbell rang.
Lin Jue knew it was Su Yaqing.
For the past half-month, she had relied almost entirely on her teammate’s help.
Of course, it was inherently suspicious for an idol Magical Girl to frequent the same location, so Magical Girl Qingtian, who possessed the Camouflage ability, was the primary choice.
“Coming!”
Lin Jue walked to the door, exchanged the secret signal, and after confirming everything was correct, she stood on her tiptoes to open the door.
The woman who entered wore a baseball cap. Her blonde hair fell like a waterfall, with tiny sparkles shimmering within it.
She had a slender build, and beneath her beautiful face, a cloth wrap was tied across her chest.
“Xiao Jue, I’ve come to see you again.”
Su Yaqing excitedly hugged Lin Jue, who struggled to break free from the suffocating embrace.
“I… I’m a boy! Don’t hug me like this!”
“Hmm? Why?”
Lin Jue retreated timidly, her two small hands fidgeting anxiously.
“If someone sees us, it’ll cause trouble… besides, you aren’t even married yet—”
“There’s no one else here. Besides, the current Xiao Jue is a girl! There shouldn’t be any problem with girls hugging each other, right?”
Su Yaqing tightened her hug a little more, her tone gentle and calm, as if she were soothing a startled little animal.
‘A girl…’
Lin Jue lowered her head, her expression darkening as if she were recalling something.
‘Xiao Jue, there will definitely be a way to turn you back! Just wait a bit longer!’ So said the Familiar who had been by her side for five years in her memory.
Unfortunately, fifteen days had passed without a single piece of news.
A thousand words turned into a sigh. Lin Jue pulled out a chair and sat at the table, her two bouncy, soft little legs swinging back and forth in the air.
“Yaqing, is there any news?”
“No, I’m also waiting for word from that side.”
Su Yaqing placed a box under the table and opened it to reveal a dazzling array of desserts and snacks. In addition, the bag in her hand was filled with groceries.
“Eh? Are you cooking today too, Yaqing?”
“Of course. In your current state, you can’t even lift a pot. If I didn’t cook for you, you’d definitely starve to death.”
“I suppose… that’s true? But as a Great Lady, your cooking skills are top-notch. You’re practically all-powerful.”
“Heh heh, I practiced specifically for everyone’s sake before.”
Su Yaqing blanched the meat in a pot and efficiently started steaming the rice.
As one of the only two members of the team who knew how to cook, Su Yaqing’s culinary skills were often compared to Lin Jue’s.
Every time they defeated a Residual Beast, they would gather at Su Yaqing’s home for a meal. Over time, everyone had accepted the fact that the Great Lady could cook.
“Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we competed. Once I turn back, I’ll definitely have to have another cooking duel with you. Maybe you’ll have even surpassed me by then.”
Watching Su Yaqing’s busy figure from the side, Lin Jue couldn’t help but dream about the future.
“Yes. When that time comes, the two of us will cook together. Just us.”
“Yeah, and we’ll bring everyone else along too.”
Lin Jue gestured excitedly as she planned out a blueprint for the future, completely failing to notice that Su Yaqing’s movements had come to a halt.
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