Chapter 180: Friends

After the call was abruptly hung up, Luo Zining was left disoriented in the wind.

What… what did she just say to me?

“Auntie, if someone you barely know suddenly says ‘eat shit’ to you, what does that mean?”

Faced with a question she’d never encountered before, Ji Yue’s lips parted slightly in speechless disbelief, and she could only answer, “It probably just means… they really dislike you.”

“Even if we’ve never met face to face?”

“That’s possible, too.”

Luo Zining pressed her lips tightly together, feeling terribly uncomfortable.

No, seriously, why should I, a confirmed member of the Top Ten, have to be told to eat shit by someone who’s only been a magical girl for less than a month?!

This is completely backwards!

Just because she’s had a few achievements lately, does she really have to get so full of herself!?

If we’re talking about achievements, I’m not afraid of you, you know??

I’ve hunted down countless dimensional beasts too!

“I’m heading out. Figure out what you want to do,” Ji Yue said.

“Auntie, where are you going?”

“Xing Yue is looking for me. Want to come along?”

“…No.”

Until she accomplished something worthy of her status, until she truly became a magical girl deserving of being called one of the Ten Seats, Luo Zining didn’t want to meet Xing Yue.

Not long after Ji Yue left, another call came in from the Huahai City branch.

Ha!

You actually dared to call back!

See if I don’t scold you this time!

Luo Zining made a face fit for a ghost.

“Hello? Is this Little Red Riding Hood?”

“Eat— Wait, that voice is… Mushui?”

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing, just wanted to ask if Mushui-jie has eaten yet. That’s how they greet people in Jiuminghai.”

She narrowly dodged a crisis that could have ended a friendship.

Mushui continued, “Little Red Riding Hood, you just called Jin Lin, right? Did you need something?”

“I wanted to ask her how she became such a universally acknowledged core among magical girls, so I called… But it looks like she doesn’t really like me.”

“I see… But Da Ren Jin Lin doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“You know her well, Mushui?”

“Of course!”

On the other end, Mushui suddenly turned into someone Luo Zining barely recognized, her words overflowing with energy.

“Da Ren Jin Lin is amazing! She gives off such a strong sense of security. With her around, there’s no task we can’t accomplish. She even teaches us magic, and she’s super kind! And super cool! Ah, I wish she could be my big sister Da Ren…”

Hmm, in any case, Luo Zining understood: the Huahai City branch she’d stayed at had now completely become Jin Lin’s territory.

It left a really bitter taste!

Was this what it felt like to be NTR’ed?

That was supposed to be her old home!

All her first teammates were still there!

“Little Red Riding Hood, ever since Da Ren Jin Lin arrived, things have been so chill for us! Especially that time when she casually took down three ghost-class dimensional beasts…”

“What about me?”

“Eh?”

Mushui, who’d just been gushing about Jin Lin, froze.

“In terms of achievements, I did just as much, didn’t I? The month or two before I officially transferred to Jiuminghai, my performance was on par with hers, wasn’t it?”

Back then, Luo Zining had already awakened her Divine Particle ability, her combat prowess had soared, and taking down ghost-class dimensional beasts had become second nature.

During that period, she was always the MVP of the Huahai City branch, but— but!

“You never even once used the honorific ‘Da Ren’ when calling me!”

Luo Zining protested.

“Wait, why are you questioning me like an ex-girlfriend?”

“Just answer me!”

“Uh… Well… it’s still different, you know?”

“How is it different? Did Jin Lin take down a king-class dimensional beast? Or did she save your life?”

“Mm… She didn’t save me, but she did save Qiuyu-jie once.”

Hearing that, Luo Zining fell silent.

Qiuyu was her very first senior when she became a magical girl, and Luo Zining was truly grateful to her.

“Mushui, be honest. Back when I was at the Huahai City branch, you were closest to me, so you should know the difference.”

“Uh, go on.”

“What’s the real gap between me and Jin Lin? Why did she become your center so quickly?”

Hmm…

That was a tough question.

Mushui thought about it for a while.

When it came to speeches and fighting strength, Jin Lin and the pre-transfer Little Red Riding Hood weren’t too far apart. If anything…

“Maybe it’s because I watched you get stronger step by step, but Da Ren Jin Lin started out at the very top? Just think about it—the impact isn’t even on the same level.”

“Gah—!”

That hit home. Luo Zining was hurt.

“But, but since I worked with you guys for so long, and you saw me get stronger, doesn’t that deserve even a bit of respect?”

“Well… Thoughts like ‘Little Red Riding Hood is awesome’ were definitely there, but as for respect…”

“Too much! I’m breaking up with you, never contact me again.”

Of course, she was just joking.

Luo Zining and Mushui had been talking for so long, but her purpose was simple.

“Actually, I want to visit the Huahai City branch to observe Jin Lin, study her, and figure her out! Remember to cover for me.”

“Eh…”

“Don’t tell me you don’t even want to help a friend?”

“I’ll help you, fine.”

“OK! I’m heading over now, so don’t breathe a word to Jin Lin!”

“Got it, got it. Not a third person will know, not even Qiuyu-jie.”

Then, as Luo You was teaching the magical girls magic at the branch, Mushui dragged her to a corner.

“Da Ren Jin Lin! The Little Red Riding Hood from the Jiuminghai branch says she wants to come and study you, observe your every move!”

At that moment, Luo You was completely dumbfounded.

Seriously, just how bad was this rebel’s reputation in Huahai City, for her ex-teammate to sell her out the first chance she got?

“She asked you to keep it a secret, right? And you just told me like this?”

Mushui lowered her gaze.

“When I was talking to her just now, I could hear it—she was really, really upset…”

Mushui bowed earnestly.

“Actually, I just wanted Da Ren Jin Lin to be prepared, and maybe… look after her a bit, teach her something real, help her grow. Little Red Riding Hood is really talented! She’ll definitely become one of the Ten Seats in the future! My achievements will end here in the Huahai City branch, but she’s different! If you could teach her, she’d definitely become your most reliable teammate!”

Emmm…

Luo You thought long and hard, and asked, “If she needs my guidance that badly, why doesn’t she just come directly? Why sneak around and drag you into it?”

“Think about it… Da Ren Jin Lin, you’ve only just become a magical girl, right? For Little Red Riding Hood to come ask for your guidance, from her perspective, it’s a really tough thing to do. That’s why I have to be the one to ask you…”

“Alright, got it. Go back to your practice.”

Luo You understood.

Looks like this rebel actually had some skill in winning people’s hearts.

She even felt a little jealous.

She herself didn’t really have a friend who would look out for her like that.

Once, there was Akabane, but she died a long time ago.

Among her friends in the Alien Organization, Yue, though they got along, the years had made them more cunning.

The purity of their early friendship was gone.

When it really came down to it, Luo You couldn’t quite trust Yue with her back.

Ling would always stand up for her, but Ling wasn’t a friend, she was Xing Nu! Xing Nu!

As for Xue… uh, Luo You still had to look out for her.

As for the others…

Could she really expect those magical grudge-bearers to look out for her that way?

“Sigh~”

Luo You gazed up at the endless blue sky and at the magical girls practicing hard all around her, and couldn’t help but mutter softly,

“I wish I had a friend like that too…”