“Look at the mess Lando made of my place. At the very least, I should get some compensation, right?”
“Is that so? But it’s a rental, so any payment would go to the landlord, not you,” Tang Nai said nonchalantly, rummaging through a drawer.
“Then where am I supposed to live?”
“Good question. Working as a magical girl under me comes with no pay, but the upside is—room and board are covered,” she replied, finally pulling out a storage device and waving it at Su Mu.
“This one here should last you a month until you learn to control your magic,” she said, tossing the device.
It arced through the air, slipping through Su Mu’s outstretched hands and landing squarely on her pert nose, leaving a noticeable red mark.
“The room you’re in now is where you’ll stay. It’s a basement, but the conditions are quite decent. Remember to water the potted plant, but don’t spill on the carpet,” Tang Nai instructed.
Su Mu frowned, nursing her reddening nose, feeling a surge of irritation.
But Tang Nai was right; the ventilation was excellent.
The filtered air was as refreshing as the outdoors, making it hard to believe they were underground.
Soft, warm yellow ceiling lights cast an even glow, creating a cozy atmosphere against the off-white walls.
On the bedside cabinet sat a pot of pothos, its leaves gently swaying as if breathing in the cool air.
“Um, I’m curious, what’s the point of having a potted plant underground?”
“To keep the air fresh, of course.”
“But there’s no sunlight for photosynthesis. Wouldn’t it just compete with me for oxygen?”
Hearing Su Mu’s complaint, Tang Nai raised an eyebrow and pointed at the pothos and said: “I say it keeps the air fresh, and it will,” she declared.
A faint silver light shot from her fingertip, zipping through the leaves and embedding itself in the roots buried in the soil.
In the next moment, to Su Mu’s astonished gaze, the plant began to grow wildly, breaking through the confines of its pot.
Long roots pierced through the plastic planter, and plump golden buds pushed aside the thick leaves, stretching outward and releasing a brilliant radiance.
It was sunlight, shaped like a small sun, thrown out from the stem.
“Sunflower~”Su Mu’s mouth had dropped open wide enough to swallow a boiled egg.
Tang Nai, on the other hand, looked at her handiwork with satisfaction.
“Don’t give me that incredulous look, Irina. You need to learn to stay calm. There’s plenty more magic you haven’t seen yet.”
Su Mu took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down as she tore her eyes away from the cartoon-faced sunflower, now the size of a toddler, perched on the bedside cabinet.
No matter how she looked at it, it should be something from reality, yet this woman could just casually conjure it up.
But aside from its unusual appearance and the flame-like sunlight it produced, the sunflower seemed no different from ordinary plants.
“Remember to fertilize it. A little bit of magic will do.”
“……Okay.”
A moment later, the two were seated by the roadside in a café.
Su Mu was sipping her milk tea through a straw.
It tasted really good!
The café’s owner, who looked surprisingly young—her name was unclear, but she could be called Sister Lin—brewed coffee and tea that were exceptionally delicious, with a unique flavor unmatched by ordinary shops.
“So you’ll stay here for now. Lando and the others will take you around when there’s work. I sleep on the second floor. Unless it’s something as serious as an earthquake, don’t come to my bedroom,” Tang Nai said.
“Okay, but what about school…?”
Su Mu lived alone in this bustling city mainly because of her university.
Her unreliable father was often away on business, rarely seen, but the family’s financial situation was decent, which allowed her to rent a place here.
Now, she definitely couldn’t use her old identity anymore, but Su Mu still hoped to keep her family in the dark.
Just like when her magical girl series posts were discovered and she had desperately explained herself, she didn’t want to reveal her current predicament.
After all, telling them would only cause them unnecessary worry.
At this point, Su Mu had learned from Tang Nai the truth about being “unboxed.”
In simple terms, the resident certificate was viewable only by specific individuals.
Apart from privileged magical girls and Su Mu herself, other netizens could only see a blurry mosaic, thinking it was just a big scoop.
Otherwise, these matters would have already reached Su Mu’s parents.
The so-called unboxing was merely a joke played on Su Mu, purely out of Dona’s mischievousness.
“Don’t worry. Fake identities are easy to come by. I have a few friends in those departments. But, of course, everything comes with a price, you know that.”
“Forget it. I’ll figure something out on my own,” Su Mu pouted, quietly sipping her milk tea under Tang Nai’s teasing gaze.
“Really? This time, I can give you a friend’s discount. Won’t you reconsider?”
“You still owe me the 150,000…”
Tang Nai was definitely not short of money; she just enjoyed seeing Su Mu in a bind.
But I won’t let her have her way!
“You’re not thinking of dropping out, are you? In fact, due to the special nature of magical girls, we all agree that every magical girl must complete their university education.”
Nowadays, even magical girls have educational requirements?
What a cold world we live in.
“Impossible. I’ve come this far.”
She really disliked the cold atmosphere at home, including the city she used to live in.
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was so unpleasant, but she didn’t want to go back.
Su Mu had originally planned to settle down here after graduation.
But now, well, she had already been coerced into a tyrannical contract, becoming a pitiful new recruit at the mercy of an unscrupulous boss.
“Good. Keep it up, Irina. I’m counting on you to help resolve the monster crisis and boost my performance.”
Hey, at least have some restraint in front of the person involved, can’t you?
You really don’t hold back at all, do you?
Su Mu puffed out her cheeks indignantly, stabbing the round tapioca pearls at the bottom of her teacup with the tip of her straw, as if imagining them to be the silver-haired demon in front of her.
Watch me crush and pop you fiercely.
A howling wind whistled through the crack in the door non-stop.
The few old trees outside bent like bows in the gale, repeatedly springing back and swaying.
There was supposed to be a ten-level gale tonight, and it had already started?
Tang Nai put down her coffee and looked up at the gloomy sky.
Since it didn’t involve any monsters, let those guys deal with the mess they made.