Nangong Xiwang observed Clara’s eating movements.
Her small mouth tried to stuff both the top and bottom buns of the Big Mac into it at once. The girl seemed to have some special obsession, struggling to open her not-so-large mouth.
The burger could be eaten layer by layer, but Clara just didn’t want to do that…
But her mouth was just that small, resulting in a very comical scene.
“Maybe next time you should try the kids’ meal; the burger there is smaller.”
Nangong Xiwang suggested this, but Clara was displeased.
“No, I’m not a kid! Why would I order a kids’ meal?”
Nangong Xiwang looked Clara over again. With a figure that could still get half-price tickets at an amusement park, she insisted she wasn’t a child…
The two, who had been kicked out of the studio by Beast Fox Bell, found a chain fast food restaurant nearby to settle dinner.
The fast food restaurant’s prices weren’t too high for the city center, the assembly-line products were served quickly, and the taste was relatively reliable.
Of course, they didn’t forget to pack a portion for the beast-eared girl who was still working on her draft.
“Clara, you really worked hard today.”
It was originally just agreed upon as a study observation, but it ended up dragging into the evening and even requiring overtime.
Nangong Xiwang felt somewhat apologetic about this.
“If you weren’t here, I really wouldn’t know what to do with that old fox today. Even if I put a gun to her head and forced her to draw, letting her draw all night, I’m afraid she wouldn’t make this deadline… She’s dead set on delaying.”
Clara’s appearance changed her mind. Maybe she wanted to act like a senior or mentor in front of a fan and junior colleague, so she put in a little effort.
With sauce squeezed from the burger at the corner of her mouth, Clara asked:
“Miss Nangong, Miss Beast Fox Bell no longer wants to serialize ‘Qun Lan’. Why does the editorial department still let her continue drawing? Wouldn’t it be better to let her draw a new work?”
Clara and Beast Fox Bell hadn’t talked much, but she had learned about this.
Nangong Xiwang immediately replied:
“That’s not my intention; it’s the editor-in-chief and the boss’s intention. ‘Qun Lan’ is a very successful work. The quality is there, and it can update consistently for decades. I don’t need to elaborate on the revenue it brings, do I?”
‘Qun Lan’ even has anime adaptations and merchandise, so it’s certainly quite profitable.
“It’s not just profit; our magazine also relies on ‘Qun Lan’ to maintain its reader base. If this manga ends, although not all… ‘Youth Creep’ would definitely lose many readers shouting ‘My youth is over!’ So until a work of similar popularity appears, we can’t let Beast Fox Bell Sensei finish.”
“She’s been living in that underground studio for a long time just to finish the manga? But she looks like she hasn’t left the room in ages.”
“That won’t do! You should allow her to suspend serialization and rest. Going out for a walk wouldn’t be bad for her, and it would be the same for your editorial department.”
‘Youth Creep’ is a weekly magazine; the manga updates every week. Beast Fox Bell doesn’t have assistants, so her workload alone is unimaginable.
Persisting at this intensity for ten years, and continuing to squeeze out content when her passion has worn thin…
Who draws manga without going crazy? It’s just toughing it out.
Clara said these things, and Nangong Xiwang certainly understood, but she couldn’t make the decisions.
“I know…”
She was just a full-time editor, with the editor-in-chief and boss above her. What right did she have to meddle?
She had even had ‘intense discussions’ with the editor-in-chief about this, but they all ended fruitlessly.
If she had become an A Rank hero earlier, would she still have to put up with this crap?
At that moment, the phone Nangong Xiwang had placed on the table let out a short, soft ring.
She picked it up and glanced at it. It was a location message sent by Blue Cavalier.
In a building three streets away from the restaurant where the two were eating, an incident of Naitemel secretly infiltrating a certain laboratory and stealing occurred.
The study observation was all a pretext; the real purpose was to bring Clara to the city center to fight Naitemel and see if she was actually a mole for a criminal organization.
However, what surprised Nangong Xiwang was…
This incident, as usual, had no client, was not made public, and even Naitemel’s side was infiltrating secretly. How did the hero network learn about such criminal information?
Another World Tree Technology laboratory?
Does Naitemel just like to fleece the same sheep?
Well, there’s no help for it. Even if attacked, they dare not hire heroes. That laboratory…
Probably researching something shady as well.
“Miss Nangong, what’s wrong?”
Clara looked at Nangong Xiwang’s furrowed brow and asked.
“Kamui is nearby handling a laboratory intrusion incident. She might need some help. Can you go over and take a look?”
“There are so many heroes around here, right?”
“She’s handling a secret mission on the hero network. Many heroes aren’t logged into that, so naturally they can’t see it. She knew I was meeting you this afternoon, so she came to ask me.”
After all, she had already promised Dr. Fran to infiltrate the hero association through the ‘hero network’ and approach alice the mechanical angel.
Letting Clara participate in this operation as Kamui might become a good opportunity.
Clara thought about it for a moment and agreed.
“Okay, I’ll go right now. That Kamui actually registered on the hero network?”
Nangong Xiwang then forwarded the location given by Blue Cavalier to Clara, but omitted the specific mission objective and information about Naitemel and World Tree Technology.
She took out some wet wipes she carried with her and wiped the sauce off Clara’s mouth.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, little hero.”
“It’s nothing! You go wait for me at Beast Fox Bell Sensei’s place first!”
Clara patted her chest and ran off.
Watching her jog out of the fast food restaurant, Nangong Xiwang also wiped off her smile, picked up the takeout for Beast Fox Bell, and followed out of the store.
Next, she had to arrive at the scene as Kamui…
So, where should she transform?
It was rush hour; there were many pedestrians on the street. Transforming in public would be troublesome…
But just then, a mobile hangar larger than a double-decker bus stopped in front of Nangong Xiwang and opened its door, as if welcoming her.
[No one in the car, borrowing it to you for now.] Blue Cavalier’s message.
“But still, this car is too flashy, isn’t it?”
Nangong Xiwang clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction. She didn’t like this feeling of having her background known. Blue Cavalier’s approval rating with her was dropping.
Though complaining verbally, Nangong Xiwang quickly got into the car.
No one was in the car. It picked up Nangong Xiwang and moved toward the block where the location was.
After getting in, she unbuttoned her shirt collar and took out a red-and-gold sparkling magic gem.
“Kamui, transform.”
A short, emotionless incantation, just like her straightforward personality.
Nangong Xiwang threw the magic gem. It shattered and expanded, finally forming a magic circle made of golden particles in the carriage in front of her, and it came charging toward her head-on.
Setting down her satchel and takeout, Nangong Xiwang collided with it without dodging or flinching.
The magic circle shattered into pieces, and the dazzling flow of magic illuminated the carriage.
And the adult woman’s figure instantly shrank under the effect of the magic.
The light particles of the shattered magic circle formed her red-and-gold western dress, while the magic gem itself transformed into a bracer.
“Magical Girl Kamui, appearing.”
Kamui flexed her fists.
“Now let me out.”