“Sa… sa…”
Listening to the sound of the waves, Jiang Lingwei lay on a beach chair by the shore, dressed in casual holiday clothes.
More than a month had passed since the attack on Mudong City, and Wen Yanquan’s judgment had indeed been correct.
The dark minions truly no longer had the ability to stir up trouble there.
During this past month, the biggest crisis Mudong City faced was nothing more than a huge snake—origin unknown—that burrowed up from underground and caused some destruction in the suburbs.
Since it never entered the urban area, Jiang Lingwei didn’t even hear the alarm. She only happened to overhear the incident while Jiang Yao was chatting casually with Xiaobai.
It seemed Jiang Yao was quite satisfied with the outcome.
That lowly creature she had slain with three sword strikes brought back the joyful, carefree times when she used to mow down bugs.
Similarly, Jiang Lingwei’s own days were ordinary but fulfilling.
Although making decisions was difficult for her, once made, she no longer hesitated.
She cooked meals for the other two at home, did housework, enjoyed playing games, caught up on twenty years’ worth of anime and movies she hadn’t seen, and then went to work at Wen Yanquan’s place.
Of course, since she had taken off her transformation device, she could no longer serve as the store’s mascot girl; now she was just a regular shop clerk.
As for Jiang Cheng, he went straight to a martial arts school to challenge the masters, and through his fists and feet secured a job as a martial arts instructor. (Although Jiang Lingwei seriously doubted that it was as simple as “just a little sparring” as he claimed.)
Actually, the family had saved up quite a bit of money. Even if they didn’t work, they could live off their savings for some time.
But the two mainly wanted to experience modern society’s life; if they never went out, they would become disconnected from the world.
[Ming] hadn’t appeared since the day it manifested, and now that Jiang Lingwei’s body contained no magic, she couldn’t sense its whereabouts and had no choice but to let it be.
[Lie] still existed, however.
Before leaving on the day Wen Yanquan asked her about her future, Jiang Lingwei had cast various spells on Lie—especially concealment types—and had thoroughly sealed it in Wen Yanquan’s underground shelter.
The dark fairy was dead; it had never truly seen Lie’s presence to the end, and the remaining dark enemies surely wouldn’t be able to find it either.
As for the magic on Jiang Cheng’s body, he himself didn’t fully understand its principles.
The memories about these abilities were not in Jiang Cheng’s mind.
But after conducting experiments, he and Jiang Lingwei came to an astonishing conclusion:
Jiang Cheng’s magic almost entirely relied on Jiang Lingwei.
At this moment, aside from his sturdy body, he was, at least on the surface, no different from an ordinary person.
Strictly speaking, it was dependent on Jiang Lingwei’s magic core.
Just like that day, although he was desperate, it was only by being close to Jiang Lingwei that he could summon a magic-girl-like spirit armor as a kind of abdominal plate.
Even that small bit mostly came from the residual magic in his body after being inexplicably summoned by the dark fairy. To reproduce the original full set of armor, he still needed Jiang Lingwei’s magic core.
By the way, Jiang Cheng’s remaining memories told him that he could replenish his magic through Jiang Lingwei.
As for how exactly to replenish it… Jiang Lingwei didn’t ask, and Jiang Cheng didn’t say!
Days passed by uneventfully.
Within the family, the one who had the shallowest connection to ordinary daily life was Jiang Yao.
Next was Jiang Cheng, since Xiaobai still recognized him, and Jiang Yao knew about his connection to magic and occasionally chatted with him.
Jiang Lingwei, surprisingly, had become the most “ordinary” one.
That was fine; everyone was happy.
Jiang Yao, having experienced a great battle, had returned to the low-level realm and no longer complained about its boredom.
Jiang Cheng, who was reconnecting with her, was full of curiosity like a big boy, discovering new things every day and having a great time.
The guest room was never tidied up in the end; the bed was big enough, so Jiang Cheng just put on his pajamas and slept there.
As for why, Jiang Lingwei never gave a reason.
She herself hadn’t figured out why—maybe she just simply felt safe sleeping with Jiang Cheng, able to sleep well every night, treating him as a human-shaped sleeping pill.
Only Xiaobai sometimes looked a bit restless.
Like it still had something unfinished.
Convinced that Jiang Lingwei couldn’t hear its magic-concealed words and thus completely lowering its guard around her, Jiang Lingwei occasionally overheard it muttering to itself, “Aurora… I still have something to say…”
(What a pity.)
At that moment, Aurora itself was quietly shaking its head nearby.
(Aurora would no longer appear.)
.1
That was the end of the memories.
“Dun dun dun dun dun~ dun dun dun~”
The sea tide rose and fell, and nearby on the beach someone strummed a guitar and sang songs of this era.
The girl’s humming carried on the breeze. Jiang Lingwei didn’t quite catch the words, but the melody was pleasant enough.
Now she was lying beneath a coconut tree, leisurely enjoying the sea breeze.
This was not Mudong City, but a newer coastal city—Canghai City.
Such small cities were generally quite safe; places like Mudong City, small but troubled by high-level dark enemies, were exceptions.
Canghai City shouldn’t have any trouble, right?
And the reason Jiang Lingwei had come here—
“Mom! I bought ice cream!”
“Oh?”
Pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead, Jiang Lingwei sat up slightly on the lounge chair, looking toward Jiang Yao running over from the other side.
“Mom, what flavor do you want?”
Holding an ice cream cone in one hand, Jiang Yao smiled and asked.
“Hm…”
Jiang Lingwei looked at the two ice creams with identical colors: “Aren’t they the same flavor?”
“Right!”
The little girl smiled proudly: “But they have different fillings inside. Mom, you try first.”
“Okay.”
Reaching out casually, Jiang Lingwei took one and bit lightly. The outside was matcha flavor, and inside…
“Mm, red bean.”
She lay back down satisfied: “I like it.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Yao stood beside her, lightly poking her fair, exposed belly due to her posture.
“Mom~ Since we’re here, aren’t you going to go into the sea and play?”
Jiang Lingwei’s response was to put her sunglasses back on.
“No.”
“Ugh~ Mom~”
Jiang Yao clung to her arm, pouting, and Jiang Lingwei could only say helplessly:
“Wearing a swimsuit out there… please spare me, Yao Yao.”
“Uh,” Jiang Yao said weakly, “But we’re at the seaside…”
While speaking, she licked her ice cream and sat down on the lounge chair next to her.
“Mom, were you really that conservative back then? Seventeen-year-old girls shy about swimwear? It’s just a swimsuit, not even a bikini.”
“Well…”
Jiang Lingwei awkwardly scratched her cheek and forced a smile:
“Maybe I’m just a bit special.”
“Not just special. Refusing to change into a swimsuit is one thing…”
Jiang Yao looked resentful, pointing at Jiang Lingwei:
“What’s with this floral short-sleeve and tropical shorts? Mom, you’re so pretty—how could you go out looking like this? Where’s the good fashion sense you show when you’re with Dad?”
“Uh… uh…”
Jiang Lingwei’s eyes flickered beneath her sunglasses:
“That’s because when I’m with Chengzi, I try to keep up appearances a bit.”
Today’s outfit was also a little fulfillment of her old fantasy from when she played Grand Theft Auto: Vice City—dreaming of dressing like Tommy, who easily blends into the water, to go on seaside vacations: floral beach shorts, short-sleeve shirt, big sunglasses. That was Jiang Lingwei’s impression of the sea.
Now, the reason why she and Jiang Yao had come here could finally be revealed.
That’s right—it was for a vacation.
Jiang Yao was already on summer break, so mother and daughter came here to play first.
Jiang Cheng still had a few students to teach and wouldn’t arrive for a few days.
(Originally, Jiang Lingwei planned to tell him not to come and just let it be, but after a lot of persuasion, she stopped herself.)
Her friends Wen Yanquan and Lin Yu, along with their daughters, would also arrive in a few days.
Unfortunately, Wen Yanquan’s husband was tied up with something recently and couldn’t come. Otherwise, Jiang Lingwei really wanted to see what kind of expert “Old Lin” was who could tame Wen Yanquan.
“A vacation means relax~ When Chengzi arrives in a couple of days, I’ll have him take you out.”
Taking another small bite of ice cream, Jiang Lingwei said contentedly.
“Tch.”
Jiang Yao deliberately curled her lips: “Since Dad’s not coming, Mom won’t bother with fashion. So stingy—beautiful only for one person. Besides Dad, even your own daughter can’t see your pretty side.”
“That’s not true!”
Seeing her mother’s face flush from being teased, Jiang Yao laughed and ran off.
After spending some more time together, she really found that her seventeen-year-old mom was adorable.
As for how Jiang Lingwei managed to get out here? The answer was simple: as a magical girl in a small city, she just filed a report with the administration.
She wasn’t one of those magical girls deeply cooperating with the government with a large jurisdiction. Her area was small, and she could leave whenever she wanted.
After all, Mudong City was indeed quiet now; it was still fine to leave the magical girl Night Bat in charge.
(Hmph~)
Walking to one side, the girl happily resumed building the sandcastle she hadn’t finished earlier.
Today was also Jiang Yao’s first time at the beach.
Places like Canghai City, with few people, beautiful scenery, and no dark enemies targeting them, were perfect vacation spots to enjoy!
“Splash~”
Water splashed everywhere.
Unnoticed, about one kilometer off the coast of Canghai City, a giant fin, nearly three meters tall, emerged from the sea, parting the waves and swiftly heading toward the shore.