“Good afternoon, Miss Qianhan. May I sit beside you and have lunch together?”
“O-Of course… Miss Lai Ming.”
Located in a somewhat remote corner of the city, far from the downtown bustle, in an area that could hardly be considered prosperous, stood a Western-style building as magnificent as a palace.
Inside the courtyard, which was at least the size of several soccer fields combined, there were lifelike granite sculptures and regularly trimmed shrubs. Flowers bloomed in clusters everywhere, with endless lawns and paths.
Ordinarily, it was quiet and peaceful, with birdsong and floral fragrance. But today, the weather was bad.
“What’s Qianhan having for lunch today? Still the usual filet mignon and pasta, right?”
“Yes. That’s what Auntie is good at and loves… So I’m used to eating it too, hehe.”
Qianhan and the same-age woman she called Miss Lai Ming sat near the window in the cafeteria. They enjoyed their lunch face to face while admiring the rain in the distant courtyard through the window.
“Miss Lai Ming, these dishes are… tempura and sushi rolls, right? Hmm, the caviar looks delicious.”
“Hehe, if you don’t mind, Qianhan, you can try some. I can’t eat all of this by myself anyway.” As she spoke, she slowly looked toward the window.
“Speaking of which, the rain is really heavy today. It must be the heaviest rainfall since autumn started.”
“Mhm! Then I’ll help myself… Huh?” Just as Qianhan was picking out food from the plate, her phone on the table suddenly rang.
“Miss Wuhua sent me a message… Let me see.” Qianhan quickly scanned the screen.
—Qianhan, it’s urgent. I’m standing on the bridge, transformed, shooting at monsters made of black mud with my pistol. The same kind we saw in the park that day. They can’t be eliminated, and one of them took a girl. The enemy’s true form is unknown. Help me think of a way to find the girl and escape.
Messages flashed through Qianhan’s mind like a revolving lantern. Her smile froze for a moment, then her face showed confusion and bewilderment, mixed with a pitifully anxious expression.
“…?”
At that very moment, in stark contrast to Qianhan leisurely enjoying her lunch, Wuhua stood on the rain-soaked bridge.
After discovering that the bullets generated by her Miracle Power could temporarily disperse the black mud, she kept advancing by continuously firing.
Bang, bang, bang bang bang. Gunshots rang out. Wuhua ejected the magazine and reloaded.
“All small fries, but there are too many of them.” Wuhua was deeply surrounded.
When she had arduously advanced about halfway to the center—
“—” The black mud sensed her intrusion. Countless fragments began to coalesce, eventually forming a presence far more powerful than the monsters she had encountered earlier.
“Th-This… This is worse than the ones before!” Regretting her earlier boast, Wuhua tried firing a few shots, but with little effect.
“Wuhua, use your ability to create some distance.” Seeing the monster closing in on Wuhua’s opening, Ruibi promptly reminded her.
“Tch!…” Mobilizing her energy, Wuhua’s surroundings began to swirl with thick white mist, gradually spreading outward, obscuring all vision from the outside.
Unwilling to retreat now, Wuhua hid herself in the mist and continued shooting. Magical bullets pierced through the fog, flying straight at the monster.
Soon, the condensed black mud was riddled with holes, becoming a ragged mess. But even as it was about to dissipate completely, it tried to retaliate against Wuhua.
“ROOOOAR!” The monster let out a tremendous roar, gathering the remaining half of its body’s black mud all to its right side.
Then it suddenly swung what resembled an arm—intending to attack the surrounding mist from every direction.
“What?!” Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Wuhua instinctively gathered the white mist, hoping it would buffer some of the damage.
Just as she closed her eyes, bracing to endure the impact that might send her flying—
BANG! A heavy striking sound rang out from beside her, but she felt no pain. As she marveled at her transformed body’s resilience—
“…A-Are you okay, Miss Wuhua?” A familiar, slightly shy but clear voice came from beside her.
“!?” Wuhua’s eyes snapped open, and she found Qianhan standing right in front of her, using a shield in her hand to block the attack.
“Phew. I made it just in time.” Qianhan sighed in relief and smiled sincerely at Wuhua.
Her deep purple, straight hair was neatly combed—more so than last time—flowing behind her in the wind. Her delicate face was partially visible beneath her blown bangs. She wore a cute headpiece.
She still had that same luxurious, high-custom dress with a side slit that fully exposed her fair thighs. Her voluptuous figure and slender curves were accentuated, her bust practically spilling out.
‘The most mature and sexy magical girl has appeared!’
“Why is that your first reaction?!… Honestly.” Having glimpsed Wuhua’s true thoughts, Qianhan quickly blushed and covered her chest, complaining.
“Shouldn’t it be something like ‘Qianhan saved me, Qianhan is so cool’?”
“Y-You read my heart again? You’re such a sly one, Qianhan.” Wuhua pretended nothing happened and turned the accusation around.
“Miss Wuhua is the one! Looking at someone after they transform and thinking th-things like that…” Qianhan lowered her head and puffed her cheeks like an angry hamster.
“Not that I’m surprised. It’s just like last time.”
“Alright, alright.” Wuhua walked over, intending to pat Qianhan’s head. But since she couldn’t reach due to the height difference, she ended up touching her face instead.
“Thank you, Qianhan… I didn’t expect you to come so quickly after my message.”
“Y-Yes.” Qianhan shyly averted her gaze, the corners of her mouth trembling slightly as she fought back a smile.
‘She asked for it herself, but now she’s shy. What a cute kid.’
“…” The next second, Qianhan’s expression froze. She stared at Wuhua in silence.
“Y-You don’t have to listen to that!”
“ROOOOAR—”
The sudden roar shattered the harmonious atmosphere between them. They both looked toward the distance.
“Tch. Looks like we have to deal with this to move forward.” Wuhua summoned her weapon. “Qianhan, I’ll leave the cover to you.”
“U-Understood.” As Qianhan responded, Wuhua dashed forward.
“If long range doesn’t work…” After a moment of thought, Wuhua leaped into the air.
At the same time, the monster caught sight of her. In an instant, the black mud on the bridge formed into spikes, attacking her from below while she was unguarded.
“The target is Miss Wuhua, right? I already know—” Qianhan lifted her shield and jogged forward. As she closed in on Wuhua, she chose to angle the shield upward.
Sure enough, just as the spikes were about to hit Wuhua, they suddenly changed direction and struck above her head.
BANG! But Qianhan had anticipated this and blocked it without question.
“A-Amazing.” Even Wuhua was impressed. She sincerely apologized for having doubted Qianhan just a second ago.
There was no time to ask about the principles or reasons. In the blink of an eye, Wuhua was already above the monster’s head.
“—” Accompanied by a gunshot that pierced the silence, a bullet infused with hope and confidence struck the monster’s head directly.
“Phew. Done.”
“A-Amazing, Miss Wuhua.”
As Wuhua and Qianhan landed again, the monster’s figure collapsed with a crash, turning into a puddle of mud.
“What perfect coordination, especially for a first-timer.” Ruibi commented from the side. “Maybe you two could form a good pair.”
“…First time for both of us. What are you talking about, Ruibi?” Wuhua only picked the part she liked.
“F-Form a pair with Miss Wuhua.” Qianhan was similar, blushing and fidgeting with her fingers.
Ruibi nodded thoughtfully in response.
“Yeah. Even your habits are alike in that regard.”