“Ah, what are you talking about?”
Lin Yu quickly grabbed Jiang Yao, who nearly jumped up in surprise, then glanced back at the classmates who had glanced this way once before returning to their own business. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and say:
“Shh… keep your voice down.”
“Mm… mm…”
Jiang Yao’s throat moved slightly as she spoke cautiously:
“So… that’s why you came looking for me?”
“What else can I do if I’m not looking for you? I’m really conflicted right now.”
Lin Yu looked deeply at Jiang Yao:
“I mean, I just can’t believe it. A magical girl is actually right beside me, and with an identity like that, no less.”
“…..”
Hearing this, Jiang Yao fell silent.
Yes, she was ready to lay everything on the table.
The special filter magical girls have exists mainly to protect their everyday lives and reduce the risk of people around them being harmed.
There’s no denying that the demon who always chased the rankings helped her a lot.
Teaching her how to use magic was one thing, but giving her a harsh lesson was another.
That lesson was: before going home after a fight, always make sure no one’s watching.
This is the biggest function of the magical girl’s awareness barrier.
The work magical girls do is extremely dangerous, and with their certain level of power, if an unscrupulous enemy can’t get to them directly, they might use any means to launch premeditated attacks on their family or friends.
For magical girls, who are emotionally passionate and intense, such things cause a huge impact. Whether or not their family ends up safe, it is still a major blow.
Jiang Yao was no exception. Last night, although she didn’t go into her mother’s room, she placed several crystals outside as warnings—including in the villa’s garden and at the entrances and exits. She buried a large number of magical crystals overnight within several hundred meters around.
Once dark magic passed through, the light magic contained inside those crystals would trigger an alarm.
Even so, she wasn’t very reassured. She had already decided that when the chance came, she must find a magical girl with similar talents to help set up some protection runes or something for her family.
Magical girls must do their best to keep their identities hidden, so those around them won’t be targeted.
But now, with Lin Yu speaking so solemnly like this, she must have found out too.
The night before, Jiang Yao had seen Lin Yu. She remembered this clearly. If the filter had failed for some unknown reason back then, it wouldn’t be surprising that she was recognized.
“Mm…”
Jiang Yao pondered for a moment and said:
“You mean…?”
After saying this, she shook her head quickly: “Well, never mind, I won’t pretend anymore…”
As she spoke, Lin Yu leaned forward slightly and whispered:
“I suspect my mom is a magical girl.”
“Pfft.”
The second half of Jiang Yao’s sentence caught in her throat.
She covered her face with her hand, stifling a laugh:
“Wait, wait… Who did you say?”
“What are you laughing at?”
Lin Yu nervously grabbed the hem of her shirt:
“I’m serious.”
“Hahaha.”
“Yao Yao!!!”
“OK, OK.”
Jiang Yao laughed, pushing her hand forward in front of her: “Let me sort this out—who exactly?”
“My mom.”
“Hahahahaha… okay, I’m done laughing, wrong, wrong.”
Seeing Lin Yu puff up like a blowfish, Jiang Yao quickly composed herself, leaned in, and quietly asked:
“So, why do you think that?”
On the surface, she was serious, but inside she couldn’t help but chuckle.
(My goodness, the mad lord’s wild imagination.)
(Oh well, as long as it’s not me.)
(Lol.)
“I have my reasons. Yesterday… I can’t really remember, but didn’t you go visit that relative of yours yesterday?”
“A relative?”
Jiang Yao was stunned: “What relative?”
“You know, the new poster girl. I originally planned to take you to see her, but then that whole thing happened yesterday.”
“Eh…”
Jiang Yao understood.
Lin Yu had once again let her more abstract-than-a-real-magical-girl imagination run wild.
Aurora is her relative? That’s impossible. Since she could remember, she never had anything like that. Her mother had only just woken up, and she didn’t even know if her father still existed. Where would she get relatives?
Besides, Aurora, who Xiaobai called an “Ancient Magical Girl,” was something Jiang Yao had thought about too. First off, this couldn’t be literally “ancient.”
If what Mingxin said was true—that ancient old grandpas and immortals were actually magical girls—then that would be way too weird.
Besides, Aurora’s usual way of speaking didn’t feel like that at all.
Her cute catgirl act had left a deep impression on Jiang Yao. There was no way she was someone from ancient times… That unfamiliarity with modern 2D terms mixed with a seeming understanding of old 2D culture? At oldest, she was from the previous generation.
Secondly, what Xiaobai said about the ancient magical girls being “born of ancient magic” meant that anyone who used that magic afterwards could also be called an ancient magical girl.
No matter how you thought about it, Aurora and she couldn’t be relatives… What kind of crazy thought process did Lin Yu have?
Shaking her head, Jiang Yao said:
“No, she’s not. She’s just… an online friend I met while playing games and killing bugs.”
“Eww~”
Lin Yu shuddered: “I’m most afraid of bugs. Yao Yao, you’re not scared at all?”
“Why would I be?”
Jiang Yao sighed: “I actually find killing bugs kind of fun now. It’s just like a leisure activity.”
Seeing the topic had drifted, she quickly brought it back, waving her hand:
“Go on, go on. What happened on your end?”
“Mm-hmm.” Lin Yu nodded nervously: “I mean, did you have nightmares back then too?”
“Yes…” Jiang Yao replied vaguely.
“That’s it, but it seemed my mom didn’t. When I woke up, I saw her smash a computer screen. Before I could figure out what was going on, she suddenly came over and asked if I’d had a nightmare.”
“So, did you?”
“No.”
Lin Yu shrugged: “I only heard about this dark invasion event today. Everyone there had nightmares.”
“No nightmares…”
Jiang Yao looked at Lin Yu’s anxious expression, a little puzzled herself.
Why didn’t Lin Yu have nightmares?
At that moment, Lin Yu continued, cutting off her thoughts:
“After I answered, she came over really worried and told me a bunch of strange things, and told me to hide in the coffee shop’s basement.”
“When I went downstairs, I saw a magical girl fighting that guy outside.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yao already knew who Lin Yu was talking about.
(My good friend—though the truth is I got beaten to the ground, thanks for trying to save face.)
“I felt something very familiar from that magical girl. I can’t explain it, but…”
Lin Yu gestured vaguely:
“It was just very familiar.”
“To put it in an analogy, it’s like eating a sesame bun filled with spicy strips in a Michelin restaurant. It looks different but it’s very familiar.”
Her voice lowered, eyes full of unwavering determination:
“Combined with how my mom has been acting, I suspect—no, I have a strong feeling—that magical girl must be… my mom.”
“Pfft——”
“Yao Yao!!! Didn’t we agree no laughing?”
“Sorry——I really couldn’t hold it in this time!”
“Jiang——Yao!”
“Sorry, sorry!”
At the same time, on the other side, Wen Yanquan finally caught hold of Jiang Lingwei’s arm and was about to drag her upstairs.
“Let’s go, let’s go, you have to see this… Ah-choo!”
“Hm?”
Jiang Lingwei quickly took out a tissue, while her other hand reached for the hot water kettle by the counter:
“What’s wrong? Did you get caught in the rain yesterday? Or… wait, let me check.”
“It’s nothing, nothing.”
Wen Yanquan held back Jiang Lingwei’s hand as she was about to transform, saying:
“I don’t know why, maybe my daughter missed me at school.”
“Tch.” Jiang Lingwei rolled her eyes:
“My daughter missed me at school!”
“Then maybe it’s my husband who misses me.”
“Well then, my husband also… Hakiquan!!!”