Chapter 95: Return

That would be far too indecent, so in short—don’t ask. If you must ask, it’s magic.

After the battle ended, both Jiang Yao and Sha Chong canceled their transformations. Jiang Lingwei couldn’t keep up the act and waste her mana any longer; if she were forcibly reverted from transformation, things would probably get even worse. She had no choice but to revert to her ordinary human form.

At that moment, her phone, keys, and other belongings all returned. Over in Jiangcheng, they could finally make a call through smoothly.

Suppressing the tension she felt when talking to her daughter, Jiang Lingwei brought the phone to her ear.

The moment the call connected, Jiangcheng’s voice came through, quick and anxious.

“What happened? I—I suddenly felt something was very wrong!”

“Xiaowei, how is it over there?!”

Jiang Lingwei blinked at Jiangcheng’s worried words.

She hadn’t expected that, even at such a distance, Jiangcheng could still sense something going on here. What sort of magic was that? Or did they have some magical bond… No, no, no! He definitely sensed it from Jiang Yao. It’s only natural for a father to be attuned to his daughter.

Still, he wasn’t wrong.

“Hello? Chengzi?”

While fleeing toward the shelter from the sky, Jiang Lingwei hurriedly answered the call.

She’d forgotten about this entirely—just now, she’d been in full spirit gear mode, so her phone and everything else on her were probably tossed into subspace or some similar place for storage. Otherwise, every time a magical girl transformed, all her stuff would scatter all over, and even her original clothes, maybe even her panties, would probably fall to the ground.

If she hadn’t, at a crucial moment, for reasons unknown, transformed into [Cloud Glow Form], what happened next would have haunted her for life.

Come to think of it, Jiang Lingwei still didn’t quite understand the principle behind it. That move wasn’t something Grandpa had taught her, nor was it something she’d known before.

It felt as if… after gaining [Enlightenment], this new power just came naturally to her—when her emotions hit the right pitch, her mana would automatically shift in attribute, and even her appearance would change along with it.

Thinking about it, Jiang Lingwei’s mind drifted a bit. These different forms were just like regional variants of Pokémon.

Will there be someone with a “Magical Girl Handbook” or something in the future, pointing it at her and announcing:

“Magical Girl—Aurora (appears when using Cloud Glow magic).”

That just sounded so weird.

All these thoughts flashed through her mind in the space of a second or two. Jiang Lingwei quickly replied:

“Don’t worry, Chengzi, nothing major happened.”

“It’s just that a demon with a shark’s head came by to make trouble just now.”

At that, Jiangcheng’s anxious tone didn’t fade at all:

“Were any of you hurt?”

“No…”

Jiang Lingwei dropped her joking tone and continued,

“Well, not exactly. During the fight, Yaoyao hurt her arm, but she’s much better now…”

As for herself, a few scrapes from the stray dark mana weren’t even worth mentioning.

“Who?!”

Jiangcheng shouted on the other end, then realized he’d gotten too worked up and quickly spoke more carefully:

“Sorry, Xiaowei, I mean, is the enemy still there? Since you can answer now, did they die or escape? Did you find out who sent them?”

“We’re all fine.”

Flying toward the shelter, Jiang Lingwei answered,

“From what it sounded like, the guy got tricked by someone—came to attack Canghai City thinking it was Hanhai City.”

Now that she thought about it, her heart, which had been all about killing the opponent earlier, hadn’t even registered this. Looking back, Jiang Lingwei found it both infuriating and hilarious:

“This is really absurd. Can’t even go on vacation in peace! Called himself the Shark King—if you ask me, he’s more like the Fool King, doesn’t even know the way.”

“Huh?”

Just a few words couldn’t possibly recreate what happened. Jiangcheng followed up,

“By the way, now that it’s over, where’s Yaoyao? Why did you answer my call directly? Wait—”

Hearing the faint wind on Jiang Lingwei’s end, Jiangcheng said,

“Xiaowei, are you flying right now? Did you defeat the enemy yourself? But—didn’t you leave the transformation device at home…?”

“Heh heh.”

Hovering over the shelter, Jiang Lingwei chuckled softly,

“Fun fact: The mana core isn’t important. The magical girl is what really matters.” “But…” This really was a fun fact, and Jiangcheng, clearly confused, said,

“How can you transform without a mana core? The mana core is really important.”

“Nonono.”

Hiding on a nearby rooftop, Jiang Lingwei glanced around. By now, the Bureau had sent out an all-clear signal, and the people in the shelter were starting to leave. Her daughter hadn’t come over yet, so it was easy to blend into the crowd. Only then did Jiang Lingwei continue:

“Told you, the mana core isn’t important! It’s something only magical girls know the truth about. When you become a magical girl, you’ll understand.”

“Tsk tsk, I don’t think I’d ever make it. You do the job.”

“How annoying!”

Hearing Jiangcheng’s “keep your distance” tone, Jiang Lingwei stomped her foot on the rooftop, pouting:

“I’d pick you, too! Come on! Give me your armor, and I’ll trade you a pink dress!”

“Ehehe~ no deal~”

After some more banter about home, Jiangcheng was finally at ease. In any case, the martial arts school had already closed up and left; the students would probably complain, but whatever, the job was as good as done.

In the end, Jiangcheng said:

“I’ve booked the plane ticket. I’ll be there tomorrow. Also…”

He sounded hesitant.

“Something up? Spit it out!”

Feeling great, Jiang Lingwei waved a big hand.

“No, I just wanted to keep confessing my feelings, but it doesn’t feel formal enough over the phone. I’ll save it.”

“Ha! Jiangcheng!”

“That’s right, I like you too, Ha! Jiangwei! By the way, this round doesn’t count, see you tomorrow~”

“What?!”

Staring at the call-ended screen, Jiang Lingwei stood in silence for a long time before slipping her phone back into her pocket.

“Honestly….”

Suddenly, she remembered that just now she’d been waving and stomping at empty air, but Jiangcheng couldn’t see it at all. Why had she gotten so into it?

And, another confession—what did he mean, “this round doesn’t count”? Was he seriously planning to confess a hundred times?

“Sigh.”

At this point, even an ancient magical girl could only sigh helplessly, cast a spell on herself, cancel her transformation, and blend into the crowd.

“Mama!”

“Yaoyao!”

Mother and daughter, reunited after only a short while apart, immediately launched into a round of “I accidentally got separated, I was so worried!” and other such dramatic performances before setting off together down the road.

That section of the beach was temporarily closed—the authorities had cordoned it off, saying the magical girls needed to clear any hidden dangers first.

Still, the other beaches weren’t so strictly managed, and there were plenty of places in the city like marine museums.

Being able to see so many sea creatures in this day and age wasn’t all that common for inlanders, so there were still plenty of fun spots to visit.

Wandering aimlessly side by side through the streets, the two magical girls seemed less relaxed than the ordinary folks around them. The others had already returned to work or continued shopping as if nothing had happened.

Of course, those who’d come face-to-face with the Giant Shark King weren’t among them. They’d already been taken from the shelter for psychological counseling and magical soothing.

“Mama, since the magical girls have solved the crisis, where should we go next?”

Jiang Yao said cheerfully, pulling Jiang Lingwei by the hand.

“Let’s go buy a few clothes. And swimsuits, too.”

“Is it because Papa’s coming?”

“Wha—Of course not!”

Jiang Lingwei pinched Jiang Yao’s cheek, “It’s because Mama’s friend is coming too.”

“Ehh~”

Breaking free, Jiang Yao looked skeptical and giggled behind her hand, “So, what about the swimsuit part?”

“I…” Jiang Lingwei blushed, embarrassed and indignant, “Fine! Making fun of me, huh? You’ll have to help me pick out clothes, and if you do a bad job, no ice cream for you.”

“Okay, okay~”

Seeing her mother’s slightly flushed face, Jiang Yao replied happily, and then suddenly seemed to notice something.

“Huh? Mama?”

Jiang Yao craned her neck, looking at the spot above Jiang Lingwei’s chest.

“You put that necklace back on? Haven’t seen it for a month.”

“Hm?”

Realizing what her daughter meant, Jiang Lingwei stopped in surprise and touched her neck.

“!”

Under the sunlight, the pink gemstone shimmered brightly.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but it seemed—maybe, just maybe…

There were fewer cracks on it than before?