On this particular day, Ji Yue was on duty in her office when she suddenly received a call from Luo You.
“Aunt—-! I got fired… (sobbing).”
“Who fired you?”
“The gym did! So unfair!”
“Oh, so that’s what you meant by ‘fired’.” Ji Yue muttered.
She had thought the little demon girl had finally messed up and gotten herself into some real trouble.
The very next second, Luo You’s tone returned to normal, “So, now I’m an unemployed drifter. Help me tell Zi Ning—her monthly allowance isn’t 8,000 anymore, just 1,000, take it or leave it.”
“You want me to help you find a job?”
“No need, Aunt. If you arranged something, it’d only be at Jiuming Sea, right? No need to trouble yourself.” If she worked at Jiuming Sea again, she’d be under that rebellious girl’s constant surveillance—way too inconvenient.
Besides, she only wanted a job related to fitness.
After all, the hours were easy-going—work when people came in, slack off and rest when no one did, so comfortable.
“Besides, Aunt, you don’t really have the leeway to find me a job either, do you?”
“…It’s a bit troublesome, but I could still arrange something if needed.”
“Aunt, what do you think about Manjusaka’s actions?”
***
Ji Yue fell silent.
The one asking her this now was Herrera, not Luo Zi Ning, so she couldn’t reply as she would to Luo Zi Ning.
This was the first time the two had talked on the phone since their almost ‘half-confession’ during her last visit to Flower Sea City.
“If Xing Yue were to come back, she’d definitely oppose what Manjusaka’s doing,” Ji Yue answered from another angle.
“So, if Xing Yue returns, you’d side with her?”
“Then I’ll take that as your tacit approval.”
Luo You could already foresee the changes.
It seemed the spiritual leader’s influence remained powerful—even though she rarely appeared, all the Magical Girls looked up to her.
Manjusaka was the true power behind the Magic Alliance, and the reason the current Magical Girls didn’t object to her actions was simply that they had no choice but to listen to her.
If Xing Yue raised an objection, it would surely trigger a massive rift within the Magic Alliance.
“Why are you asking all this?”
Ji Yue asked.
“I just got laid off, you know. Isn’t it normal to ask?”
“So, what will you do now?”
“Before I find a job I like, I’ll just laze around like a sloth~”
Luo You rolled around on her sofa at home, kicking her little feet.
“Aunt, if you have any troubles, you can come rely on me, too. I’m suuuper~~ free right now!”
“I’m not desperate enough to ask an unemployed drifter like you for help.”
Ji Yue hung up.
Wait. Did she mean…
Ji Yue suddenly realized that last bit from that silly girl seemed like an offer to help.
She remembered when they’d been filming with Herrera, that silly girl had said she’d help her unconditionally three times.
“…I should really think this through.”
Ji Yue moved over to the large guest sofa inside, the extremely~~ soft cushions letting half her body sink right in, while only her generous bosom rose and fell atop the surface.
It was undeniable—the Magic Alliance’s every move carried enormous weight, and right now the world was at a critical crossroads of transformation.
Judging by the Magic Alliance’s actions, who could say which track the train to the future would end up taking?
Ji Yue didn’t think she had what it took to be a commander.
From her perspective, the road Manjusaka had chosen didn’t look like it would end well for the Magical Girls.
So, what should she do?
The only answer: carve out a new path.
But creating a new path wasn’t something a single Magical Girl, even Feiyu, could do alone. It needed someone—or something—of significant weight to step in.
That someone could be the Angry Devouring Giant Spirit, it could be Xing Yue, it could be the National Government, or… it could be Herrera.
Only, Ji Yue didn’t know how to act.
Even if she wanted to forge a new way, she’d have to find the right direction first.
Charging in blindly could lead everyone into utter ruin.
“Sigh, my vision is just too limited… I can’t see through Manjusaka’s intentions.”
Ji Yue rubbed her forehead, helpless.
As one of the Ten Seats, Ji Yue felt much more pressure than Qiu Shui ever did at headquarters.
First off, Magical Girls basically couldn’t get featured on official media streams anymore.
It was always difficult, but at least it was possible in the past.
Now, it was utterly impossible—unless there was some extraordinary emergency where Magical Girls were needed.
Second, there was the government’s financial subsidies.
The frontlines were fine, but the Magic Alliance branch offices in the rear had been waiting endlessly for their due subsidies, which just never came.
When Ji Yue, as Feiyu, tried to communicate with the local government in Jiuming Sea, the cautious, almost criminally suspicious attitude from the other side was a real turnoff.
In such an atmosphere, communication between Feiyu and Jiuming Sea’s government became extremely inefficient—most of the time, it was just both sides probing each other.
Before, if the branch needed something, a quick word with the local government would do.
Now, after an entire day, nothing came of it—the progress was 0%.
Actually, things here were still pretty good compared to elsewhere.
After Manjusaka made her ‘take it or leave it’ hardline statement, some brainless politicians abroad actually began to drive out Magical Girls!
Some even cut off funding altogether, forcing the Magical Girls to leave, then spun the story in the media as if the Magical Girls had voluntarily abandoned the country and its people.
This crushed the morale of the Magical Girls.
Many became Magical Girls precisely to protect their own homelands, didn’t they?
Even if Manjusaka ordered them to withdraw from those countries, it would go against their very reason for becoming Magical Girls in the first place—they might not even obey.
So now, most Magical Girls outside the Ten Seats were feeling somewhat lost.
Their own national leaders, out of foolish ambition, had chosen to expel Magical Girls—did that mean they were already in league with the Boundary Sea forces, and should be treated like a cancer to be excised?
But at the same time, they didn’t really agree with Manjusaka’s way either.
Magical Girls weren’t supposed to be rejected like this, but to be accepted and trusted.
“Sigh—”
Ji Yue sighed again.
As one of the Ten Seats, what role was she supposed to play in this world-changing upheaval?
“You’re troubled?”
Her body reacted on instinct, Ji Yue immediately used magic to shield herself.
“Don’t be nervous, it’s me.”
“…Xing Yue?!”
Ji Yue’s eyes went wide with shock.
She hadn’t expected that, among all those with the power to change the situation and open a new path, one would show up right before her.
“It’s me.”
Xing Yue’s eyes were half-lidded, even her eyebrows seemed to wear a faint smile.
With that serene poise, it seemed there wasn’t a hint of confusion in her at this unprecedented turning point.
[What a relief.]
Ji Yue couldn’t help but wipe her brow.
That sense of stability—truly worthy of being the spiritual leader of the Magical Girls.
Xing Yue set aside her smile, her businesslike demeanor even more reassuring.
“I’ve heard a lot since returning. I stopped by to check in on you and hear your thoughts.”
“Me? Why not ask the other Ten Seats…”
“Once in a while, I want to hear what the newcomers think. Only listening to old acquaintances can be a bit too one-sided.”
“…Alright then.”
Ji Yue started recounting the events from start to finish.