Late at night, on the outskirts of Summersea City.
Miss L strolled across a barren field, the towering City Wall in the distance stretching endlessly on both sides like an unbroken chain of mountains, vanishing into the horizon.
Under the moonlight, the low, guttural roars of Magic Creatures could be faintly heard, adding an uneasy undertone to the desolate night.
Yet Miss L merely adjusted her glasses and continued on with brisk, confident steps.
Although she didn’t have the qualifications to awaken as a Magic Girl and worked in an administrative role, she’d still scraped and crawled through the Great Chaos Era alongside A Xing and the others.
By now, Magic Creatures and all manner of oddities were nothing new to Miss L.
Another roar echoed, and Miss L’s thoughts wandered… It seemed the number of Magic Creatures outside the City Wall had increased lately.
She’d have to arrange a cleanup operation outside the walls soon.
Though the city was protected by the City Wall and Magic Creatures generally couldn’t invade, leaving so many of them unchecked wouldn’t do either.
That’s why The Association regularly cleared Magic Creatures from a five-kilometer radius around the city.
In that sense, The Association was certainly necessary.
Back in the Great Chaos Era, someone like her—a mere admin—would never have dared to walk alone through such a desolate place.
If she’d run into a Magic Creature, there’d have been nowhere to run.
Now, Fox Momomo’s figure was already visible in the distance.
Miss L pulled her coat tighter and quickened her pace; summer was nearly over, and the night carried an early autumn chill.
“Miss Lin, you’re here…”
Fox Momomo forced a smile, but it was clearly strained, and even her fox ears drooped a little.
“What’s got you so timid tonight? Scared of the dark?” Miss L raised an eyebrow. “Those Magic Creatures can’t get into the city. Your fox nerves are as frail as ever.”
In the past, whenever they met, Fox Momomo would always blurt out “Lin” without a hint of courtesy. Her sudden politeness tonight actually felt odd to Miss L.
Fox Momomo clearly wanted to act normal, but her trembling body and that bushy tail quivering behind her didn’t escape Miss L’s notice.
Miss L shoved her hands into her pockets. “Are you cold? I see you’ve been shivering this whole time. It really has cooled off these last two days, and you don’t even think to wear more… Here, put this on.”
Miss L took off her own coat and draped it over Fox Momomo’s shoulders.
The little fox wanted to refuse, but Miss L was insistent, zipping up the coat for her and giving her clothes a quick tug and a few pats.
“It’s rare to see you treat me so well, Miss Lin. What about yourself?”
“I’m not as delicate as you are,” Miss L chuckled. “Seeing you like this reminds me of the first time we caught you. I remember Sister Xingge was standing in front of you with a baseball bat—you were shaking even worse than you are now.”
“Tch, that’s just because Sister Xingge was so violent! She really didn’t hold back when she beat me up! Not that I hold a grudge… If I really wanted revenge, I would’ve spilled the beans long ago! Her fans would be so disappointed if they knew what she’s really like, don’t you think?”
“I think you had that coming. You sold our intel to the Divine Summon Order that time—you put us through a rough patch, you know. And you, little fox, never learn from your beatings, do you? Didn’t see you change one bit afterward.”
Miss L showed no sympathy for Fox Momomo. “Alright, enough talk. Where’s the intel?”
“Well… I’ve got a big score this time! I managed to get something personal from Black Rose. Hang on, let me find it!”
Fox Momomo fished something out and clutched it tightly in her hand. Looking mysterious, she gestured for Miss L to come closer.
When their hands touched, Fox Momomo opened her palm—a mass of black tattoos slithered from her palm onto Miss L.
In an instant, the black mass swelled and transformed into two fierce Serpents, binding Miss L’s hands and feet like ropes.
Fox Momomo’s expression collapsed immediately. “S-sorry, Miss Lin, I really didn’t want to… But if I didn’t do this, that woman would kill me, I…”
The little fox’s guilty tail curled up tight. With a face full of tears, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing another black Rose Tattoo on her arm.
A soft laugh drifted over, and Black Rose, cloaked in black, stepped out from somewhere nearby.
“Don’t look so down, little fox. In the end, she’s just using you, right? ‘Informer’ sounds nice, but really you’re just a tool. You only did what any smart fox would do—choose the path that lets you survive.”
“Well then—nice to meet you, Minister Lin of the Magic Girl Squad, isn’t it? You don’t seem too flustered, I must say.”
Miss L’s face was indeed calm, even as the pitch-black Serpents bared their fangs at her.
“I’ve been through worse during The Chaos. I’m used to it,” Miss L eyed the woman before her. “So you’re Black Rose? I’ve heard plenty about you. You’ve been keeping me busy with overtime lately, you know.”
Black Rose pulled down her hood, a subtle smile on her enchanting face.
“Thank you for your hard work, Minister Lin. But you won’t need to worry about overtime from now on. With a gift this grand, I’ll have to think carefully about how best to use it.”
“As a hostage, you’re certainly high-value. And then there’s your access level and knowledge of The Association’s secrets… It’ll take me a while to make full use of all that.”
A glint flashed behind Miss L’s lenses. “You want my access privileges and memories about The Association—planning to make a move against The Association, are you? Trying to get some files or items from within?”
“Still fishing for information at a time like this, Minister Lin? I can almost admire you for it. I have a feeling we’ll have an interesting conversation. Let’s save it for later.”
Black Rose snapped her fingers. The little fox, now reduced to a porter, dragged Miss L behind Black Rose.
Watching her neat OL Uniform get smudged with dirt from the wasteland, Miss L sighed.
“If only you’d grow a bit taller, little fox. This outfit is a pain to clean.”
“Miss Lin, how can you still joke at a time like this…” Fox Momomo looked miserable and lowered her voice. “Do you think Sister Xingge and the others will really…”
Before she could finish, Black Rose, who had seemed so confident, suddenly looked up at the night sky.
She had clearly sensed a powerful surge of magic hurtling this way.
“Sorry, Ms. Black Rose. I didn’t just pick this remote location to keep things discreet… Mainly, it’s because there’s no one around here. If a fight breaks out, A Xing and the others can really let loose.”
As Miss L finished speaking, a figure streaked across the sky like a shooting star, halting above the trio.
Xiaoxi stood with her arms crossed. “Yo, Fox Momomo, where exactly are you planning to take Miss Lin this late at night?”
“A-A Xing! You’re here!”
The little fox’s eyes lit up instantly. It was the first time she’d ever been this happy to see her Miss A Xing.