The next day.
“Ugh, huh…”
Shenwei clutched her forehead and struggled to sit up.
“…Where am I?”
A heavy, old cotton quilt covered her body, the faded cover patched in places. She was sitting on a makeshift bed on the floor, laid out with another cotton comforter. All around her was the unfamiliar environment of an apartment, thick with the stench of alcohol.
Wait…
That smell of alcohol was coming from her own body.
After spending the whole night wrapped up in the blanket, she reeked so badly she was practically fermenting.
A splitting headache, waves of nausea.
Her mind felt like it had been stirred with a toilet plunger—dizzy, muddled, even her thoughts were lagging…
These were the symptoms of a hangover.
She forced herself to recall what had happened the night before.
All she remembered was downing several bottles of strong liquor alone in a small tavern, then stumbling outside to vomit. After throwing up, she’d filled her stomach at a ramen stall by the roadside, but after that…
Her memory ended there.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember anything after that…
This wasn’t the first time Shenwei had gotten herself this drunk. With her wealth of experience in drinking, she could more or less guess what had happened: she’d probably gotten dead drunk and collapsed by the side of the road, then been picked up and brought home by someone passing by…
With that conclusion, her muddled brain suddenly cleared with a jolt.
She scrambled to her feet in a panic, moving unsteadily as she began to check out the old apartment.
It was a long, narrow space—more like a train carriage than an apartment. The furnishings were simple, and the bedding was shabby. In her mind, Shenwei started sketching out a profile of the owner.
A single man who wasn’t doing too well financially?
That’s what she thought at first…
But not only were the walls plastered with Hero movie and anime posters, the glass display case was filled with all sorts of Hero and Monster figurines—including, but not limited to, Kamen Hero, Metal Superman, Magical Girl, Magic Knight, and Giant of Light. The collection was impressively broad.
Even the four-piece bedding set on the bed was a special collaboration printed with Hero designs.
These “toys” weren’t cheap. Living in such a shabby apartment, yet still buying these extravagant Hero collectibles…
The owner’s spending habits were a bit worrying.
Of course, Shenwei, who’d drunk herself into a stupor and passed out by the roadside, wasn’t really in a position to judge anyone else.
Lanting Street was the outskirts of the outskirts. Most people living here were Central City’s poor, and not many Heroes were active in this area, so the security was rather bad. The owner had obviously brought her back out of kindness, to keep her from getting her kidneys stolen while she slept.
Even though she ought to be grateful, being picked up and taken home by a strange man still gave Shenwei goosebumps. She couldn’t help but worry whether anything had happened to her…
Her clothes were all intact, so clearly the other party had been careful to avoid suspicion. Still, even if everything seemed fine, it was hard not to feel uneasy. After all, there was bound to be some physical contact when carrying someone home…
How to face the owner was now the awkward problem Shenwei faced.
“Huh?”
Shenwei looked around and saw a little girl slumped over the desk.
A black-haired loli, looking about the same age as her own transformed appearance, was quietly sleeping with her head on the desk. Her small frame was almost completely hidden by the chair back, so much so that Shenwei hadn’t noticed her at first.
Was this the owner?
Or the owner’s daughter?
The window in the bedroom was still open, and the penetrating chill of late autumn wind was pouring in, making the loli shiver in her sleep.
It seemed she’d dozed off while doing something.
Was she doing homework?
Shenwei looked at the desk, only to see a table covered in rough manga storyboards and character designs. According to the notes on the sketches, all of them were scripts for “Magical Girl Clara (Tentative).”
These manga gave Shenwei a sense of closeness.
The art style was clean and crisp, with a knack for using lines to express tension—a result of years of practice. If the little loli didn’t have a pen still clutched in her hand, and if crystal-clear drool weren’t trickling onto the paper, Shenwei would have a hard time believing these works came from such a small girl.
These days, not many manga artists still insist on drawing by hand. High-performance AI had lowered the barrier for manga creators, so many had given up honing their skills and lost their personal style. In truth, that was the one thing AI could never replace in humans.
Shenwei even picked up the protagonist’s character design for a closer look.
Though it wasn’t colored yet, the design of the dress was extremely similar to the one she was wearing. Did the girl get inspiration after picking her up off the street?
With a protagonist modeled after herself, Shenwei couldn’t help feeling a little excited.
But…
The girl’s distinctive art style overlapped with a certain recent work she’d seen.
“Could it be…”
Feeling a sense of familiarity, Shenwei picked up a nearby collection of practice pages. Comparing them confirmed her suspicion.
So it really was that submission…
But she hadn’t expected it to be a little girl. Some coincidences really were surprising.
“Mmm—”
The sound of turning pages woke the loli who’d fallen asleep at her desk.
Mumbling unconsciously, Squeal’s eyelids fluttered as she slowly opened her drowsy eyes.
She felt cold and rubbed her arms, then noticed Shenwei flipping through her portfolio…
She actually woke up while I was sleeping! Wait, when did I fall asleep?
Still groggy from sleep, Squeal was a bit confused. She didn’t know if Shenwei had recognized her yet. Though nervous inside, she still spoke up to remind her.
“Ahem, miss, could you not go through other people’s stuff without permission?”
Squeal’s tone was still polite. After all, her impression of this Magical Girl was limited to that explosive temper and rough fighting style…
“Sorry, I was just curious.”
Wait, that arrogant Magical Girl actually apologized to her?
Maybe it was the hangover, but Shenwei’s demeanor was completely different from her usual “this lady,” “small fry” attitude in battle. She seemed much easier to talk to.
No, it wasn’t that Shenwei had changed.
It was that her own appearance had changed from Monster to little loli.
Shenwei was still a Hero, after all. The way she treated enemies at work and the way she treated a little girl after hours were definitely different.
Not to mention, she was the one who’d dragged Shenwei home after finding her passed out on the roadside. There was no reason for Shenwei to show her a bad attitude…
Unaware of the turmoil in Squeal’s heart, Shenwei continued to ask:
“Did you draw all of these?”
“Yeah, I got a burst of inspiration last night and wanted to pull an all-nighter, but I still ended up falling asleep.”
Squeal yawned as she spoke. Shenwei pressed on:
“What about your family?”
Squeal caught the worry hidden in Shenwei’s words.
If she were in Shenwei’s shoes, she’d also be concerned about a kid this young living alone.
“My parents are back in the countryside. I came to Central City by myself to make a living. I can take care of myself, and I have enough ability to protect myself. You don’t need to worry about my safety.”
If she could beat even the Deputy Minister of Modification, why would she be afraid of some street thugs?
“It’s really impressive for someone your age to draw manga at this level. Not many artists have such solid fundamentals these days. I’m sure you’ll become a famous manga artist in the future.”
Thirty-five-year-old Squeal tugged at the corner of her mouth. Was there still a future for an old guy like her?
“I know exactly where my skills stand. You don’t have to say nice things just because I saved you. If my work isn’t good, it just isn’t… I’ve submitted more than ten times and never gotten accepted.”
“I’m telling the truth. Not getting published is just a small problem that needs fixing…”
Shenwei tried to comfort her, but Squeal changed the subject.
“By the way, do you live around here, Miss Shenwei?”
“Yeah, I live by the subway station… Wait, you know me?”
Crap, she let that slip.
Squeal, quick on her feet, answered, “I saw you had a Magic Bracelet, so I checked the Hero Encyclopedia. You’re a Magical Girl famous for using Mana Enhancement and Close-Combat…”
A fleeting trace of sadness crossed Shenwei’s face, and Squeal fell silent.
“Seems like there’s a story there?”
Shenwei explained helplessly, “Magical Girls have something called ‘Mana Emission.’ You can think of it as ‘casting range.’ How far your magic can affect a target depends entirely on your Mana Emission. My Mana Emission is almost zero… Which means my magic only works on myself, so I have no choice but to fight that way.”
She couldn’t project her mana outward.
Squeal suddenly understood the complicated expression Shenwei wore yesterday afternoon when she’d unleashed “Utenmokubaku”…
To comfort her, Squeal pulled out her phone, opened the Hero Encyclopedia, and feigned excitement.
“But you’re still really strong, Miss Shenwei! Quasi-A Rank—just one step away from upper-level Heroes, even if you can’t project mana, right?”
The way Heroes got their ranks was similar to Monsters.
Besides the necessary strength, they also had to show results. “Quasi-A Rank” referred to Heroes who had the strength of A Rank, but lacked the achievements.
Squeal was clearly trying to comfort her, but Shenwei shrank her neck and looked even more desolate. She stammered,
“No, that page… just hasn’t been updated. I’ve already… dropped back to B Rank.”
“…Huh?”
“I lost to a lower-level Monster yesterday, and an Experimental Item from World Tree Technology was stolen, which led to some serious consequences… My whole team’s rank got demoted.”
The autumn wind slipped into the room, rustling the drafts on the desk and making the scene even bleaker.
A rank demotion was like being downgraded at work, and even affected income.
Even from an enemy Monster’s perspective, this was pretty pitiful.
Picking up the scattered manuscripts and half-hiding her face behind them, Squeal said guiltily,
“Being a Hero isn’t easy either. Is that why you drank so much?”
An awkward silence…
“Ahem, I do drink pretty often, but I’ve never gotten this drunk before. This time was just a mistake…”
No need to thank me, after all, your bad luck was because you ran into me.
Of course, Squeal didn’t dare say that out loud.
“By the way, I still don’t know your name.”
Since Shenwei asked, Squeal answered without missing a beat:
“Lucia Roux.”
Naturally, that was her little sister’s name.
Since she’d already borrowed her sister’s identity, she might as well borrow the whole set.
“Little Lucia, big sis wants to repay you, but I have to get to work soon. Can we exchange contact info? I’ll treat you to a meal later?”
But Squeal had no interest in getting involved with a Hero.
“It was just a night on the floor, I don’t need any thanks, and there’s no reason to exchange contact info. If you’re in a hurry, feel free to leave… I’m a bit cold and want to take a bath and get some real sleep.”
Squeal said this, but Shenwei looked like she’d just remembered something and grew embarrassed.
“Um, I want to ask you for one more favor.”
“…What now?”
“Could I borrow your bathroom for a bit?”
Even Shenwei couldn’t stand the pungent reek of alcohol on herself.
She didn’t have time to swing by home or she’d be late for work, but if she went in like this, her intelligent image at the office would be ruined.
But Squeal wasn’t too keen on lending out the bathroom.
“You want to shower? Do you have a change of clothes?”
Squeal asked, and the Magic Gem on Shenwei’s wrist flashed red. The wrinkled dress she’d slept in all night instantly became bright and fresh, even most of the alcohol smell faded.
Shenwei explained, “A Magical Girl’s battle outfit is formed with mana. I can just recreate a new set like this, but the smell of alcohol isn’t so easy to get rid of.”
“Wow, that’s really convenient.”
Squeal’s praise was perfunctory, her tone almost robotic. After all, the Nyx Driver could do pretty much the same thing.
But Shenwei, mistaking Squeal’s reaction for awe, started promoting.
“If little Lucia is interested, you could visit the Detection Center under the Magical Girl Association and get tested. Maybe you’ll get your own Magic Gem.”
Shenwei genuinely hoped Squeal would try. Becoming a Magical Girl would mean she could protect herself.
“No, I have no interest in being a Magical Girl.”
Squeal was still worried about how to turn back from a Magical Girl into a squid Monster—there was no way she’d go test for magic powers…
“Aren’t you in a hurry for work? If you’re going to shower, do it quickly. I need to use it after you.”
Squeal said this, but Shenwei suggested,
“If you don’t mind, we could shower together, you know.”
To Shenwei, Squeal was just a thirteen or fourteen-year-old brat. Bathing together was nothing, even though her own appearance was about the same…
“No way, I mind!”
Squeal refused.
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