“Phew…”
After glancing at Xu Wenxing, who was seriously reviewing his lessons beside him, Lu Ren stretched his arms and decided to temporarily set aside the matter of the Fanxing Church.
This was all the information he had for now; thinking about it further would be useless.
It was better to wait until Director Xu and the others found new clues before researching the secrets of the Fanxing Church again.
Having made his decision, Lu Ren casually found some things to do to kill time.
He played a few games, gave Xu Wenxing a brief rundown on the appearance and dangers of monsters, and taught him how to protect himself in a crisis.
Afterward, they went out to grab a quick dinner.
Looking at the clock pointing to 8:30 PM, Lu Ren shook his head and returned to his room.
He opened the mysterious website and logged into his account.
With nothing else to do, he continued his role as an “Internet hero” today, hunting for doujinshi that he felt were of decent quality.
Half an hour later, Lu Ren looked at the three webpages he had saved and fell into silence.
After his manual screening, these three black-and-white comics were the ones that had made it to the final selection.
Two of them were less than ten pages long and had passable quality.
The other one, however, was thirty or forty pages long, and its quality was leagues above the rest.
Considering the plot, character designs, and art style, he should have chosen the longest one without hesitation.
But…
Lu Ren looked at the title, then at the Red Star Pendant sitting on his desk, and fell silent once more.
“Magical Girl Scorching Flame in a Maid Outfit ~ Magical Girl Happiness Part Three!”
The eye-catching title reminded him exactly who the heroine of this black-and-white comic was.
‘If I really translate this manga, my life will be over, right?’
“Ahem, cough…”
He cleared his throat and took a few deep breaths, trying his best to stay calm.
Lu Ren closed the webpage that felt like a curse to him and clicked on the other two shorter comics, using the “great work” to numb his brain.
No, he couldn’t accept it.
The task of translating such a long manga should be left to professionals.
A person like him who worked entirely based on interest and hobbies was better off picking these short stories.
At least the workload was light and the efficiency was high.
Yes, exactly. That was it.
His hand shook slightly as he gripped the mouse. With an incredibly determined gaze, Lu Ren stared at the questionable images on the computer and completely immersed himself in his work.
Soon, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.
……
Ding-dong! Ding-dong!
The doorbell rang repeatedly in the morning.
Lu Ren yawned as he climbed out of bed, headed to the living room, and began his daily morning routine.
Xu Wenxing, who had just come out of his own room, greeted him before opening the front door to chat with the two girls standing outside.
“Is today’s training also being held early? Why are you two here so soon?”
“No, Meteor is heading to school. I felt bored sitting in my room alone, so I came over to hang out with you guys,” Jiang Yuening replied.
“Oh, I see. Please, come in.”
Knowing the reason, Xu Wenxing made a welcoming gesture to Jiang Yuening. He then waved goodbye to Meteor and watched her take the elevator downstairs.
Once Meteor was gone, Xu Wenxing closed the door and brewed a cup of tea for Jiang Yuening, looking puzzled.
“By the way, Sapphire, why are you staying with Meteor? Did your parents find all the private residences I lent you?”
“No, only one has been discovered so far. I’m living perfectly fine in the other one,” Jiang Yuening replied. “But the reason I’m staying with Meteor is for personal business.”
“Personal business?” Xu Wenxing was confused.
“Yes. Meteor has her College Entrance Examination next year, so I came here to teach her how to solve math problems.”
Jiang Yuening picked up the teacup, took a sip, and spoke with a calm expression.
Xu Wenxing nodded in realization and fell silent.
Although Sapphire was famous as a Magical Girl and was considered one of the guardians of City A, Jiang Yuening, as a Transformation User, was still a high school student currently preparing for the College Entrance Examination.
Thinking about it that way, Magical Girls weren’t actually that special.
Just like the vast majority of citizens, Magical Girls were also victims of Shadow Beasts. They were just ordinary people struggling with all their might to find happiness.
“…Are you thinking about something very dangerous?”
While Xu Wenxing was lost in thought, Jiang Yuening, who was sitting on the sofa, suddenly spoke. She looked at him with a suspicious gaze.
Being caught red-handed, Xu Wenxing scratched his head awkwardly and quickly made up an excuse to change the subject.
“No, I was just thinking that being a Magical Girl is actually quite hard. You have to be on standby twenty-four hours a day to eliminate Shadow Beasts. It’s really not a life for a human.”
Hearing this, Sapphire’s expression softened considerably. She took another sip of tea and replied.
“It’s alright. Those who can become Magical Girls naturally accept this kind of work. Those who can’t become Magical Girls wouldn’t be able to handle such dangerous things anyway.”
“Oh, I know that. There are requirements to become a Magical Girl, right? For example, believing in love and peace, being kind-hearted, and things like that.”
“You could say that. Although, I’ve actually forgotten what requirements the Magic Fairy set for me when I signed the contract back then.”
As Jiang Yuening spoke, she paused for a moment before continuing, noticing Xu Wenxing’s excited expression.
Hearing her words, Lu Ren, who had been looking down at his mobile phone, raised an eyebrow. He felt something was strange.
‘Requirements? What requirements? Are there prerequisites to becoming a Magical Girl? Can’t you just find a transformation device and force it to work?’
As if sensing Lu Ren’s gaze, Jiang Yuening also turned her eyes toward him, looking him up and down.
Sapphire was also quite confused about the existence of Scorching Flame.
She had never seen Scorching Flame summon a Magic Fairy, nor had she seen a Magical Girl who used greatswords and spears instead of a Magic Staff.
There were too many suspicious points about Scorching Flame, but even the Transformation User himself couldn’t answer these questions, let alone outsiders like them.
She wondered if the Dice could answer her doubts and explain why such an anomalous Magical Girl like Scorching Flame existed in this world.
“…You’re saying you don’t remember the scene where the Magic Fairy signed the contract with you at all?”
After listening to Jiang Yuening, Xu Wenxing, who had originally just wanted to chat to ease the dull atmosphere, suddenly turned serious. He threw out his doubt and asked for confirmation.
“No, I remember most of the scenes. It’s just that there’s one detail I’ve completely forgotten. No matter how much I think about it, I can’t recall it,” Jiang Yuening explained.
“What is it about?”
“I don’t know. But don’t worry, I’ve asked Magical Girls from other cities, and some of them remember the scene of signing the contract with their Magic Fairies very clearly.”
“Oh, so it’s just you who doesn’t remember, right?”
“Probably.”
Jiang Yuening nodded slightly, accepting Xu Wenxing’s conclusion.
Seeing this, Xu Wenxing felt relieved, and his previous worries vanished without a trace.
True. In this world, Magical Girls and Magic Fairies were on the same side. The possibility of a Magical Girl being deceived by her own fairy simply didn’t exist.
He was just overthinking things.