Chapter 14: Do I Have to Become a Magical Girl Too?

In the dead of night, Lianying—who still had to get up early for school—finished her bath and lay in bed with Wuhua.

However, Wuhua couldn’t fall asleep, tossing and turning, as if troubled by worries and concerns.

Until the calm, regular breathing came from beside the pillow. She quietly got out of bed, without disturbing Lianying, and left the room.

“Hah…”

She went to the rooftop, leaned over the railing, and looked out at the scenery. She let out a soft sigh.

A cool breeze brushed her cheeks, lifting her epiphyllum-colored long hair, instantly cooling her heated body and mind considerably.

“…As expected, taking a bath together was too stimulating.” Closing her eyes, Wuhua’s mind was full of Lianying, and the agitation inside her never stopped.

Even though she now had a girl’s body, her inner self was still affected by her past.

Even more so with someone like Lianying—a girl who was beautiful, eye-catching, slim yet well-endowed, and who gave her all her tenderness and care. Anyone would fall for that type at first sight.

‘There must be many people pursuing her in real life. Though she doesn’t seem to realize it herself.’

‘If not for the secret plan being carried out now, I might never have had the chance to get close in this lifetime.’

Thinking about this, Wuhua sighed again.

“…Now I’m supposedly in an adoptive mother-daughter relationship with her. Does this count as having perverted filial piety?”

Perhaps unable to bear the wild thoughts and wanting someone to talk to, Wuhua took out her communicator.

“Hey. Wuhua? What’s the matter calling so late?” Mingji’s voice came through quickly from the other end. She didn’t sound like she was going to sleep yet.

“N-no, nothing. Did I disturb you? Uh, sleeping, or something,” Wuhua said hesitantly.

“…Sleeping? It’s only been three days. Did you forget something?”

Mingji was a bit speechless and leaned back in her chair. “I’m still working overtime at the company.”

“Oh right, I forgot.” Wuhua glanced at the clock on the wall—

Because Lianying had said it was time to sleep, she instinctively thought it was already after midnight. But the hour hand was actually only pointing to eleven.

“Ahh, I envy you. You get to go to bed early and wake up early with a high school girl, without worrying about the next day’s schedule or work,” Mingji said, still sounding a bit sarcastic.

“…You’re really working hard.” Wuhua realized she was a bit ungrateful for her blessings.

“But it’s nothing. Actually, you’re the one working hard too.” Mingji laughed on the other end and said:

“Thanks to the information you sent this afternoon, our colleagues were able to get the intelligence and intel in time. They got to the commercial street early and managed to gain a lot of traffic before all the media outlets.”

—

“Ah… no wonder I felt surrounded by cameras so quickly this afternoon.” Wuhua recalled the scene.

“Of course, there were people from other media too. Their connections are just as good, but we have you as our secret weapon.” Mingji proudly nodded.

“Speaking of which, I saw you in the live video from the scene. Did something happen?”

“Ah, about that.” Wuhua told Mingji the whole story. Among it, the thing that interested her the most was—

“A mysterious doll guided you? That… could it be…” Mingji hesitated and paused.

“It’s too early to jump to conclusions. Let’s wait and see. For now, the mission priority is still Lianying.”

After receiving clear instructions from above, the two simply said goodnight and ended the call.

.

.

“Well then, I should go back to sleep. The autumn night wind is a bit cold; catching a cold would be troublesome.” As she spoke, Wuhua turned around and hadn’t taken a few steps—

Perhaps it was an illusion, but her peripheral vision suddenly caught a palm-sized black shadow quickly flashing through the room.

“…Miao Ke?” Wuhua tilted her head, walked over, and turned on the living room light.

However, the spacious and bright living room had nothing suspicious except for her.

“Did I see it wrong? (Yawn) I must be really tired too.” Wuhua rubbed her eyes and was about to go back to the room.

.

“He-llo.”

A voice suddenly came from behind Wuhua—ethereal, emotionless, like the sound of a vintage toy.

“Who?!” Wuhua spun around, breaking out in a cold sweat.

She saw a rabbit-shaped doll she had encountered once before. It was floating in the middle of the living room, having appeared there somehow.

“…Hah, it’s you. You scared me.” After recognizing the visitor as the rabbit doll that had guided her yesterday afternoon, Wuhua visibly relaxed.

“Speaking of which, I haven’t thanked you yet. Thanks to your help, I was able to find Xin Yu and bring her back to her mother. Thank you.”

Wuhua thanked her sincerely, smiling and nodding at it.

For some reason, after the incident at the shopping mall, when they met again, Wuhua felt an indescribable familiarity and trust toward it.

“You’re wel-come.” The rabbit doll responded as it slowly flew in front of Wuhua and lifted its cloth-woven head.

“Then, let’s, sign, the contract.”

.

‘C-contract…!? Could it be that thing between fairies and magical girls?’

‘I remember Mingji said yesterday that signing a contract would activate something inside the body to become a real magical girl.’

‘But even though I expected it, knowing that it’s also a fairy like Miao Ke is still a bit surprising.’

Wuhua thought to herself. Before she could answer—

—

“I sensed a faint magical fluctuation, so I came out to check, meow. Didn’t expect to run into a scene like this, meow.”

The direction of the room brought Miao Ke’s characteristic light and recognizable voice.

The cat-shaped doll emerged from the half-closed door of Lianying’s room and approached Wuhua.

“How dare you try to snatch a contractee I’ve got my eyes on, meow. What a bold fellow fairy, meow.”

Miao Ke also came to Wuhua’s front, forming a standoff with the rabbit doll—one on the left, one on the right.

The tense atmosphere instantly made Wuhua’s breath catch. Invisible pressure seemed to exist in the surrounding area—

“T-that, Miao Ke. Keep your voice down. Don’t wake Lianying,” Wuhua whispered to persuade her.

“Don’t worry, meow. Xiao Ying is fast asleep; she can’t hear us, meow,” Miao Ke said confidently. “Unless you call out to her, meow.”

“…Do I look like a mischievous kid to you?” Wuhua muttered to herself. Then she looked at the rabbit doll, about to say something to ease the atmosphere.

“According to the terms and regulations, mutual competition is allowed. Furthermore,” the rabbit doll interrupted, pausing to look at Miao Ke.

“Wuhua, I, saw her, first. You, should, know that.”

“Huh? When? I didn’t know…” Wuhua looked at Miao Ke in surprise.

“That’s true, meow. When you first entered the room, I noticed this thing was following you, meow.” It drooped its head and scratched its belly.

“You, have, too many, contractees. That, will, affect, work efficiency. The third, one, shouldn’t.” The rabbit doll pressed its advantage.

“The third… then who are the first two?” Wuhua asked in confusion. “I thought there could only be one contractee.”

“It’s not exclusive, meow. It’s Xiao Ying and Xiao Lan, meow,” Miao Ke replied.

“Although that one is a member of the same organization as Xiao Cheng, I’m not in charge of her, meow.”

“I see… Oh, who is Xiao Cheng?” Wuhua quickly changed the subject, pretending she didn’t know.

In fact, they had been in such a hurry at the commercial street that they hadn’t met yet.

“Xiao Ying will introduce you to her later, meow. Now I’ll leave you two alone. Good night, meow.” With those words, Miao Ke retreated back into the room, looking a bit subdued.

Only Wuhua and the still unnamed rabbit doll were left standing in the living room, staring at each other.

“Let’s, continue. Sign, the contract. Become, a magical girl.”

“Uh-huh. No wait, I haven’t agreed yet!” Wuhua answered hastily and corrected herself.

“Before that, first explain to me what happened before. And also, why choose me? There must be better candidates than me, right?”

To this, the rabbit doll only thought for a moment. Looking at Wuhua’s face, it slowly said:

“Because, you like, magical girls.”