After the chat ended, Blazing Flame turned her attention back to her computer and began translating the black-and-white manga displayed on the screen.
Several hours later.
“Blazing Flame, we’re done! Check how much Magic Power is left now!”
Pandora jumped off the bed and then climbed into Blazing Flame’s arms, urging her on.
“No problem, let me check the power status.”
Blazing Flame replied, raising her left hand to glance at the bracelet on her wrist.
One percent.
Good, it was already at the edge of natural mana consumption, and she was about to return to normal soon.
“Oh! Not bad! Looks like all our efforts paid off! Now it’s time to watch the news! I can’t wait!”
Seeing the results, Pandora wriggled free from Blazing Flame’s embrace and climbed onto the desk, pawing at Blazing Flame’s computer screen.
“Still watching the same TV station as before?” Blazing Flame slid the mouse and asked.
“Yeah, we didn’t finish the last episode yet! Hurry up and show it to me!” Pandora replied eagerly.
“Don’t rush, wait a moment, I’m about to undo the Transformation… hmm?”
Blazing Flame suddenly frowned, lowering her gaze to her body.
The bracelet was gone, and the faint red starlight that appeared when undoing the Transformation shimmered around her.
But why was she still in the Magic Girl state?
These small hands that looked just like a woman’s were definitely not her normal ones?!
“Pandora, why haven’t I transformed back yet?” Blazing Flame frowned. “What kind of weird situation is this?”
“I don’t know either, it’s my first time seeing this… huh?”
Pandora froze mid-sentence.
“What’s wrong?” Blazing Flame asked.
“Is this the price you paid to gain new powers? No, why is the price incomplete? Where did the other part go?”
Pandora muttered to herself, looking at Blazing Flame in confusion, asking questions even she didn’t have answers to.
“You mean this is part of the price?” Blazing Flame pressed.
“Yeah, from now on every time you finish a Transformation, you’ll stay like this. But don’t worry, this state won’t last long, maybe just about ten minutes,” Pandora answered.
“Even if it’s only ten minutes, that price is way too high…” Blazing Flame sighed.
“Alright, no more sighing. First, find the news broadcast for me, I want to watch!” Pandora waved her paw at Blazing Flame.
“Alright, alright, I’ll get it for you.”
Blazing Flame, feeling a bit troubled, pulled up the local A City news broadcast for Pandora, then leaned back in her chair, pondering what exactly the price she had paid might be.
But after a long time of thinking, she still couldn’t figure out what had really happened to her, so she gave up.
Once her body finally returned to normal, Lu Ren shook his hands, stood up, and stretched.
“Are you heading out?” Pandora asked curiously.
“Yeah, I’m going to explain my absence this morning to the Professor,” Lu Ren nodded in reply.
“Can you wait until I finish this episode? If you leave, no one will help me play the next one,” Pandora pleaded.
“No worries, I set it to auto-play the next episode,” Lu Ren stretched lazily as his stomach grumbled incessantly. “I’ll go grab some food first. I rushed through breakfast this morning before going to fight monsters, haven’t had lunch yet, I’m starving.”
“Magic Girl bodies are indeed more convenient—no need to eat,” Pandora sighed in relief, eyes glued to the computer screen. “See you later, Lu Ren.”
“Yeah, see you later.”
Lu Ren waved goodbye to Pandora, then glanced at Xu Wenxing, who was wearing headphones and deeply focused on a shooting game, only to see him firing at the enemy’s back for a long time without a kill.
“…Really terrible aim.”
After commenting on Xu Wenxing’s shooting skills, Lu Ren didn’t linger any longer, opened the dormitory door, and walked out.
……
Inside the dormitory building, many students took advantage of the sunshine to hang their quilts and pillows on drying racks to air out the smell.
Lu Ren quickly went downstairs, weaving through rows of drying racks, exited the dormitory, and passed several couples whispering sweet nothings.
Walking along the campus path, the warm and gentle sunlight bathed him, and his shadow stretched long behind him.
Students heading to gym class lounged lazily under the shade, watching their teacher and other instructors gather together, throwing a basketball in a beautiful arc, sinking it perfectly into the hoop.
Lu Ren stopped to watch for a moment, nodded slightly, then hurried toward the school’s Commercial Street.
After casually buying some simple food to fill his stomach, he continued walking toward the Teaching Building.
He briskly passed by students loudly boasting about their game achievements, gave way to a shuttle cart, and then quickly ascended the main staircase.
Lu Ren finally arrived in front of the office door bearing the nameplate “Li Qingyuan.”
“Knock knock knock…” Lu Ren politely knocked on the door.
“The door’s not locked, come in,” came the Professor’s voice from inside.
Hearing the Professor’s voice, Lu Ren took a deep breath, double-checked the prepared notes in his head, then pushed the door open with a “creak” and stepped inside.
“Professor, were you looking for me?” Lu Ren asked as he approached Li Qingyuan.
“Yes.” Li Qingyuan appraised Lu Ren from head to toe, observing his physical state. “Why didn’t you come to class this morning? Can you explain?”
“Uh… something unexpected happened, and someone needed my help. Nothing worth explaining, I’m not making excuses.”
Lu Ren half-jokingly recited the rehearsed words he had prepared.
“Quite honest,” Li Qingyuan adjusted his glasses. “Was it really important?”
“Yes.”
“More important than class?”
“Yes.”
“The people who asked for your help, they weren’t just slackers, right? Didn’t drag you to bars, nightclubs, underground casinos, or some shady place to borrow money using your identity, or lure you to some remote place to make big money, right?” Li Qingyuan pressed.
“No, they all have legit jobs, official positions.”
Lu Ren awkwardly tugged at his collar, surprised the Professor would ask such questions.
“Alright then, since they’re all decent people, I have no more questions,” Li Qingyuan said calmly. “You missed class today, so I can’t give you full attendance credit for the final grade. No objections?”
“No,” Lu Ren nodded. He had already expected this outcome.
“Good, no objections makes things easier,” Li Qingyuan suddenly took out his phone and showed a QR code to Lu Ren. “Add me as a friend.”
“Ah?”
“Add me, I’ll send you today’s class files,” Li Qingyuan explained. “Today’s content is important, and since you missed class, you might fall behind on the material.”
“…Oh.”
Lu Ren was shocked that the Professor acted just like a high school teacher saying stuff like “falling behind on progress.” He didn’t even know how to respond.
The Professor, seeing Lu Ren add him as a friend, waved his hand and said,
“Alright, you can go. I’ll send you the files later. Make sure to study them well. I’ll ask you questions about today’s content in the next class, so be prepared.”
“Alright, then I’ll go now, Professor?”
“Go ahead.”
Even after leaving the office and walking out of the Teaching Building, Lu Ren hadn’t quite come back to himself.
He hadn’t expected to brush off his absence so easily, without telling a single lie.
This really was…
“…Sigh, I’m on a lucky streak,” Lu Ren said with a look of mixed disbelief and relief.