“Drip…drip…”
The sound of the machine echoed in her ears.
Jiang Lingwei opened her eyes.
“….?”
(A strange ceiling…)
The ticking of the machine was still audible.
No explosion, no dark clouds—only sunlight streaming gently through the window, warmly illuminating the area around her feet, creating a comfortable feeling.
She shifted her gaze slightly; there was only her bed in the room, no other patients, no doctors or nurses.
More than a hospital ward, it felt like a small room in some kind of sanatorium.
(It really is true… we won.)
She felt relieved.
Jiang Lingwei was the name she used when working part-time as a magical girl.
Her real identity… was a seventeen-year-old male high school student named Jiang Wei.
Because of a rather accidental event when he was fifteen, in order to protect others, he made a contract with a Fairy and successfully gained the ability to transform into a magical girl.
Generally speaking, as a male, it was impossible to be a magical girl.
But as fate would have it, in that incident caused by the magical beasts, the Fairy had no other choice, and Jiang Lingwei showed an incredible aptitude, so she stepped forward and took the lead.
Since then, she gradually met many other magical girl companions—mostly from her high school—fighting against darkness again and again in their everyday lives’ other side.
At first, as a normal male, Jiang Wei naturally had many thoughts.
Just imagine, being male but able to transform into a magical girl, surrounded by other magical girls—that’s basically a light novel protagonist, right? Any normal person would have some fantasies!
However, as the darkness deepened, facing the pure magical girls, he put those thoughts aside temporarily.
More than romance, he hoped that after every battle, his companions would return safely.
Until the darkness was completely driven away, he could not relax.
What was bound to come, eventually did. One day, they finally faced the ultimate battle.
The gates of darkness opened in the center of the city. The Demon Clan invaded en masse, black energy surging, countless lives lost.
But Jiang Lingwei, her companions, and the interdimensional Fairy—they all faced the overwhelming tide of demons without fear, drawing their magical armors without hesitation.
They fought tirelessly and relentlessly, protecting the citizens, defending the light in their hearts, advancing toward the heart of the dark gate.
“We must close it!”
“Shut that gate!”
The shouts of her comrades still echoed in her ears. She remembered, after exhausting all her magic power, waves of dizziness hit her irresistibly, but she could still hear their excited voices:
“We did it!”
Then, she seemed to see sunlight blooming from the dark, rolling clouds above.
So, Jiang Lingwei fainted with peace of mind.
(…Ugh.)
The memory faded, returning to the present, Jiang Lingwei blinked.
She could feel her consciousness gradually taking control of her body—first her head, then torso, then hands and legs.
She could feel the soft bed beneath her and her toes wrapped in a blanket.
From the simple sensations, she realized she was still in transformation form, but without her magical girl armor—only wearing underwear, covered by a blanket.
Judging by the situation, she must have been unconscious for only a short time.
It was time to wake up fully and see how her companions were doing.
Just then, a voice came from the door—it sounded like someone entering.
(Hmph hmph.)
Just in time, Jiang Lingwei felt a playful urge, closing her eyes and steadily calming her breathing.
(Oh? They came to see me first? Hehehe, maybe I’ll pretend I’m still asleep and see what they do.)
Unexpectedly, the door opened, but it didn’t sound like many people coming in.
Only one pair of footsteps, then a chair being moved—the visitor sat on a stool beside her bed.
“…I… I came to see you again.”
It sounded like a girl’s voice.
Jiang Lingwei was a little confused.
(This voice sounds unfamiliar… who could it be? Maybe someone we saved before?)
That was impossible to know for sure—after two years as a magical girl, fighting magical beasts and saving people countless times, no one could remember everyone.
But she quickly dismissed that thought.
(No, no… we always erased memories afterward. If it were someone saved by us, they wouldn’t come visit.)
The more humans feared, the stronger the power of darkness became.
As magical girls, they erased memories after each operation.
Even if a few escaped, there was no reason they could find her here.
While Jiang Lingwei’s mind was full of question marks and wild speculation, the girl said just one sentence that made her pupils contract, her mind completely freeze.
“Mom.”
(Wait, who?)
Jiang Lingwei had to open her eyes.
In her sight was a girl wearing a summer school uniform, her hair simply long, straight, and black with no fancy styling.
She wore no makeup, face bare, but her appearance could rival Jiang Lingwei’s magical girl companions, exuding a pure and fresh beauty.
Especially her skin—it looked flawless, the whole person radiating youthful vitality.
If the old shameless Fairy saw her, it would probably declare her a natural magical girl prodigy.
Jiang Lingwei had been a magical girl for a long time, but that was only after transformation.
In daily life, she was still a normal boy, and seeing this girl, she couldn’t help but feel admiration for her beauty.
Of course, not in a romantic way, just pure appreciation.
Looking closer, Jiang Lingwei noticed something off about the girl’s face.
Her normally lively expression was weighed down by heavy fatigue, with faint dark circles under her eyes.
Jiang Lingwei opened her eyes wide, frantically searching her memory.
Meanwhile, the girl’s gaze was vacant, staring straight at the ceiling.
Rather than speaking to her, it felt more like she was talking to herself.
“A lot happened today… Mom…”
“I’m a bit tired, sometimes I just want to rest…”
“Lin Yu said some really hurtful things…”
“And also…”
(It sounds like she’s being bullied.)
Jiang Lingwei felt helpless knowing she’d never seen this girl before.
(…But girl, even I can tell—you’re way too exhausted. You’ve completely got the wrong person!)
(How do you even mistake your mom and come to the wrong room?)
While she pondered this, the girl turned her face toward her, looking into her eyes and continued in a weary yet trying-to-be-cheerful tone about school matters.
“But my grades are still great, I got first place again today… I…”
Suddenly, the girl’s cheeks stiffened.
She almost instantly held her breath, staring directly into Jiang Lingwei’s eyes.
In response, Jiang Lingwei blinked.
winkwink
Then she heard the girl’s voice, mixed with nervousness, excitement, and shock, pitch-shifting into an unrecognizable tone:
“Mom?! You, you, you’re awake?!”
Overcome with emotion, the girl instinctively covered her mouth but couldn’t stop the overwhelming voice.
“I, I, is this real… Mom… you finally woke up!”
Tears streamed down the girl’s cheeks in big drops.
“I…”
Jiang Lingwei wanted to speak.
No matter what, they were so close and face to face—it was ridiculous to mistake her for someone else!
She sat upright on the bed, about to say something, but suddenly felt something hot slide down from the corner of her eye.
She touched it with her hand and held it in front of her.
It was a tear.