“Lord Jinlin, how late will you be staying today?”
“Hmm… I’ll head back before seven in the evening.”
“Before seven? Are you leaving early because of work in real life? Or is it because you have a boyfriend!?”
“No, no, prying into a magical girl’s private life is against the rules. As punishment, go sweep the floor.”
“Ah—!! I’ve been punished by Lord Jinlin! (Screaming)”
Is there really nothing wrong with this group of magical girls?
Luo You’s brows furrowed into a deep 八 shape again, and her mouth twisted into a look of utter disdain.
She knew her popularity was high, but this was just ridiculous.
Before, she didn’t really feel it, but now it truly seemed like she’d walked right into a beehive.
Magical girls throwing themselves at her—of course, it was a good thing, but unfortunately, everyone’s tastes only rise to higher standards.
These magical girls from second-tier cities weren’t even close to her real targets.
Looking at these pure-hearted magical girls, Luo You felt she could easily lure them all into bed for a group silver party with zero effort.
If it weren’t for Mushui coming to her, she would’ve wanted to head back already.
“Well… is that ‘Reverse Girl’ watching?”
Luo You pretended to glance casually around, and sure enough, spotted someone sitting at a table in the restaurant—a plain-looking person sucking on a milk tea, wearing sunglasses, with the unmistakable aura of a Reverse Girl.
“Uwah! She’s spying, she’s spying! So scary, so scary! Is this Reverse Girl a professional stalker or what?”
Since Mushui had told her that Luo Zining would be coming, Luo You had made some preparations in advance.
She put in two extra insoles for herself.
Her hair was styled into a stern, dignified look.
She even padded her chest a bit in secret.
With all this disguise, if Luo Zining could still recognize her, Luo You would have to wonder if she was a Reverse Girl—or just a straight-up pervert.
“Though Mushui did say to try to teach her something…”
Honestly, there was a lot Luo You could teach, but what Luo Zining really wanted to learn was probably only one thing, so she had to hit the mark exactly, or this Reverse Girl would just keep staring at her.
***
“After coming back to ask me a question, she went back to Flower Sea City to seek Lord Jinlin’s guidance. It must be about conflicts of ideology among the team members.”
Luo You couldn’t quite figure out what sort of personal charm she had that could mediate intra-team conflicts.
As for resolving harem conflicts, she had methods—just fly everyone out and they’d behave.
But mediating team disputes?
She had never done that sort of thing.
Even back in the Xiren Organization, she always kept to herself, isolating everyone else.
“Hey, Qiuyu, come over here.”
“Lord Jinlin, I’m here! At your command!”
Qiuyu’s speed and obedience were so sharp that people might believe she’d been trained.
“Let me ask you: before I arrived, you and the magical girls here must have been influenced by the conflict between Manjusaka and Xingyue’s ideologies, right?”
“Uh… yes, we even argued about it. I’m really ashamed…”
“And now? Why don’t I see any sign of that?”
“Because you’re here, Lord Jinlin.”
“And why is it that after I arrived, your ideological conflicts disappeared?”
“Because things were too loose before, but now you’re leading us, Lord Jinlin?”
Aha. Now Luo You understood.
Thinking back, when she’d gone to Jiehai Customs with Zhizhi, she noticed that the Dwarf Squad led by Zhizhi never showed any sign of demoralization, because the Dwarf Squad received direct orders from a Ten Seats member.
Whatever Zhizhi said became their direction forward.
In fact, after her own reputation rose in Flower Sea City, the magical girls here instantly swept away their previous confusion.
“So that’s it, what she wants to learn is leadership?”
Luo You nodded to herself.
When it comes to leadership, the classic thought is “might makes right.”
“But in terms of combat power, I’m probably about the same as Zining now. So the only difference is…”
***
Got it.
Everything is under control!
“Looks like I’ll need to keep this up for a few days.”
Luo You muttered.
For the next five days, Luo You basically came to the Flower Sea City branch to check in every day.
She didn’t do much: occasionally practiced some magic she’d already mastered but pretended to still be learning, had tea in her downtime, and gave a hand when the magical girls ran into trouble.
All very ordinary things.
This made Luo Zining, watching in secret, grow anxious.
It looked almost no different from her own daily life, didn’t it?
“Lately, the pressure at Jiuming Sea is starting to build up—I can’t stay too long… I’ll have to take some risks!”
Previously, to avoid being discovered, Luo Zining always watched Jinlin in crowded places.
But this clearly wasn’t working.
She’d have to try spying when Jinlin was alone.
“Hmm… This isn’t good, is it? What if I see something private?”
The more she thought, the more hesitant she became.
As she was thinking this, she noticed that people inside the branch were moving about more urgently.
This phenomenon felt familiar, and then—
“Woooooo——”
Dimensional Beast Invasion Alarm. Judging from the siren, it must be a Ghost-class.
In the past, this would’ve been a tough mission for the Flower Sea City branch, but now things were different.
“Alright, just a few of you come with me, the rest go evacuate the civilians, and if you’re idle, start preparing a large-scale collaborative spell in advance.”
Luo You immediately began on-site command.
The magical girls, in high spirits, executed her orders at top speed—so much so that Zhao Xin, who used to be the branch commander here, ended up as little more than background scenery.
At this moment, Mushui, who happened to be near the incident site, hurriedly reported through the comms.
“Lord Jinlin! The Dimensional Beast has already emerged from the other space! And it’s inside a middle school! There’s no time to evacuate the civilians!”
“Oh.”
Luo You sounded as if she hadn’t heard anything remarkable, responding with just that.
“Then, you go lure it onto the playground and hold it there.”
“Eh? But— but there are still students on the playground who haven’t had time to evacuate!?”
“That’s still fewer people than the classrooms and streets outside. Do as I say, I’ll be there in about two minutes.”
“…Understood!”
Clearly, Luo You’s plan was hard for Mushui to accept, but she still chose to execute it.
Luo Zining was getting restless—she wanted to rush to the scene to help.
She understood Mushui’s personality; she’d never be able to make such a decision herself!
But at that moment, a hesitant magical girl nearby couldn’t help but ask, “Lord Jinlin… is this really okay? The ones in the middle school are just students…”
Luo Zining, who had just gotten up, immediately stopped, wanting to hear how Jinlin would respond.
Luo You turned her head, looked at the questioning magical girl, and spoke with utmost seriousness, leaving no room for doubt:
“I am a magical girl, and at the same time, I am a True Egalitarian, regardless of whether someone is a man, woman, old, or young. I don’t care if they’re students; everyone’s life is a life. There’s no reason for others to die in place of students—ordinary people aren’t obligated to do that. I choose the option that sacrifices the fewest lives. Stop dawdling, go now.”
“Y-yes!”
Luo Zining hurried off to the next floor to depart.
But on her way to the destination, Luo Zining couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration.
In Longguo… no, all over the world, when disaster strikes, it’s always ‘save the children first,’ then the elderly, and only after that the young adults.
It’s a common belief, and no one dares to publicly challenge this unwritten rule.
“I’m amazed she can say this sort of thing without batting an eye…”
Luo Zining’s heart pounded wildly.
She couldn’t say Jinlin was completely right, but this—this was the embodiment of Jinlin’s leadership.