Jiang Lingwei had long been prepared for death.
In her dreams, she and the other magical girls she fought alongside had all come to a profound understanding of this fact.
Upon waking, faced with a world that was completely alien to her, she was filled with confusion.
Perhaps, for her, dying right then and there might not have been such a bad thing after all.
But just then, the situation took a turn for the better, and she couldn’t calmly accept death anymore.
Jiang Lingwei tossed the iron lump aside and covered her bleeding hand with a corner of her clothes. Looking at the girl before her, she shook her head helplessly:
“I’m fine.”
(If I’d known it would be like this, I could have just closed my eyes and waited for her to strike. Holding onto her, I probably wouldn’t have even had a chance to transform.)
This thought arose because Jiang Lingwei didn’t even need to scrutinize carefully; at a glance, she could tell that the girl who had just elbowed away a soil demon bug at a critical moment was none other than her daughter, Jiang Yao!
And with that feeling, that posture and aura—this was definitely a magical girl.
(Tsk tsk, so it’s a skirt armor type of Spirit Garb. That sword-shaped magic gear looks just like a knight princess’s. Seems she’s a close-combat type magical girl.)
Jiang Lingwei admired silently:
(As expected of my daughter! Even her Spirit Garb looks so cool!)
As for why her daughter was pretending not to recognize her, that was normal too. Magical girls usually had a filter or some sort of consciousness barrier between their transformed and normal states, designed to protect their information.
Even if someone recognized the identical appearance, they wouldn’t connect the magical girl to a particular classmate.
She could see through it only because she wasn’t an ordinary person! Of course it made sense…
(Wait.)
A chill ran through Jiang Lingwei’s heart.
(Yeah, how could I see through that? Am I really not an ordinary person?)
In other words, the dream she had while unconscious must have been real. So where was her transformation device? Who took it? And the seniors, the companions—where had they gone? How had she grown into a woman?
She had almost accepted this new life.
But now, with these new developments, a complex mixture of emotions swirled inside Jiang Lingwei’s heart. It seemed these matters were far from over.
Of course, there was one most critical question.
If her previous life was real… then who gave birth to her child?! Bastard! (ノ｀Д)ノ
“Um, um, ah, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
At that moment, Jiang Yao, holding her longsword, stammered a few times before extending her hand toward Jiang Lingwei:
“I’m Magical Girl [Crystal]. Miss, quickly! Let me take you away from here.”
“Okay… no.”
Jiang Lingwei was about to agree immediately but changed her mind before the words left her mouth. Since Jiang Yao didn’t intend to reveal her identity, she figured she might as well play along:
“You should go help others first. I need to find my daughter—she was just with me a moment ago.”
“Ah.”
Jiang Yao was momentarily stunned, then quickly swung her sword and fired an energy blast that struck a soil demon bug attempting to pursue the crowd. She then explained:
“She’s fine.”
“Hm? You saw her?”
“She, she, she…” The girl wiped the nonexistent sweat from her brow and fired another light orb to lure away another bug before continuing: “Yes, I just saw her. I’ve already taken her to a safe place. Anyway, you should run now. After I handle this crisis, you’ll definitely be able to meet.”
At the end, she added:
“I promise.”
Jiang Lingwei nodded. This little performance would do for now. Given the current situation, it was better not to hold her back from saving people.
She could hear sirens and people shouting through loudspeakers, “This way!,” which meant the police were evacuating civilians. As long as she followed the flow, she’d reach safety.
If she couldn’t help, at least she shouldn’t be a burden. It was time to leave.
Still, an uneasy feeling rose within her heart.
Though she knew a fully powered close-combat magical girl wouldn’t fear soil demon bugs—aside from their acidic saliva being a minor threat, these creatures were otherwise useless trash monsters in speed and strength—this worry still grew quietly inside.
“Um.”
Before leaving, Jiang Lingwei called out loudly:
“Take care of yourself, don’t get hurt! I’m going to find my daughter!”
She ended with a hint of embarrassment.
It felt like the orphanage director telling everyone not to get hurt while going out to play.
“Mm.”
Jiang Yao, already turning away, didn’t look back. She quickly wiped her face, forcibly steadying her voice so it wouldn’t tremble and said simply, “Got it.”
…
“Phew…”
Jiang Yao took a deep breath. She had cried earlier that morning and almost broke down again because of something her mother said.
Since she was very young, ever since her mother had fallen unconscious for unknown reasons—or perhaps since her father had completely disappeared from this world—no one had ever cared for her like that.
Unconsciously, visiting that specially assigned sanatorium and talking one-sidedly to her mother—who she didn’t know how long she’d been asleep or how much longer she would sleep—had become her routine.
But luckily, today her mother had woken up!
Though the concern wasn’t directed at her but at Magical Girl [Crystal], it was still care.
“Ugh… pull yourself together, pull yourself together. Now’s really not the time.”
Jiang Yao muttered to herself, seemingly unaware that the five soil demon bugs had abandoned chasing the civilians and were now targeting her.
Instead, she gently slapped her cheek, trying to push her mother’s caring expression out of her mind.
“Roar!!!”
“If Mom knew I was a magical girl, that would be pretty funny.”
“Swish!”
The longsword in her hand reflected a light like amethyst crystals as Jiang Yao slashed down the gaping mouth of the first charging soil demon bug!
“Grr… squeak, squeak—”
The bug’s head and torso separated instantly, collapsing to the ground with a feeble howl before losing life and animation within seconds.
“Shhh…”
Its splattered yellow acid dripped onto Jiang Yao’s face and armor, immediately hissing with corrosive sound.
“But no, I must keep my identity as a magical girl secret! Otherwise Mom would worry about me.”
“Hehehe…”
A blush appeared on Jiang Yao’s face. One hand held the sword; the other hugged her own shoulder:
“Although it’s nice to be cared for by Mom, I can’t let that happen. If I do, I won’t be able to investigate Dad’s whereabouts.”
Changing her self-reference, Jiang Yao swung her sword and muttered:
“This really won’t do. Yao Yao, Yao Yao, you can’t keep overthinking!”
“All right—time to get serious. Remember what Mom said, no injuries~”
Another strike severed the head of a demon bug.
It was only then, after being splashed again by the corrosive liquid, that Jiang Yao seemed to finally feel the burning pain on her cheek. She touched her face.
The next moment, her pupils contracted, her expression twisted with fierce anger, and her hair was lifted by the surge of magic, revealing the hidden dark purple glow within, like neon lights.
“How… when did I get this…”
“…No, this really won’t do.”
“Although it’s easy to treat, but I promised Mom I wouldn’t get hurt! And even if I get treated, would Mom still think I’m hurt?”
“Ku…”
Clenching her teeth, Jiang Yao fixed her gaze on the remaining three bugs, emitting a muffled growl of rage from her throat.
“It’s all your fault.”
She stepped forward, and the form of her longsword seemed to shift.
Ignoring everything else, she struck forward!
“You, you, you, you, you, you—”
“Damn it!!!”
In the next moment, a wave of black energy swept over the three miserable soil demon bugs.
…
“Mom!”
Jiang Lingwei, who had been squatting at the temporary missing person’s station for quite a while, awkwardly waited for her daughter.
Usually, it was adults looking for children, but her situation was special. If her daughter finished and couldn’t find her, she wouldn’t know where to go either!
“Not hurt, right, Yao… Yao Yao?”
Awkwardly checking her daughter’s body, it was her first time as a mother, so she was naturally inexperienced.
(At least before, I was the one caring for the wounded.)
“No, a magical girl sister just saved me.”
“That’s good, that’s good.”
Sure enough, a magical girl—the child’s smile was always so radiant, warming Jiang Lingwei’s heart.
(But still, she just said it so directly? Doesn’t this child erase memories?)
(Looking around, no one seems too surprised… Usually, people would panic encountering something like this. Are people twenty years from now really that careless?)
Before she could voice her doubts, Jiang Yao tightened her grip on her hand:
“Let’s go home, Mom. If it’s your current memories, you probably haven’t even seen our home yet.”
“Mm…”
Putting her questions aside for the moment, Jiang Lingwei nodded:
“Okay, okay.”