Chapter 26: Idle, Yet Not Completely Idle

Should she accept their invitation?

On the way back to her apartment, Kexin kept turning that question over in her mind. And another thing — this timing was way too coincidental. Why had those four come to her right after returning from the Special Investigation Bureau?

Could it be that her true identity had already been discovered?

The thought flashed through her mind, but after thinking it over carefully, she decided that probably wasn’t the case.

If, by some chance, they had found out that she was actually a magical girl, then inviting her to join their club would be like inviting a wolf into their home.

Well, maybe that wasn’t quite the right metaphor — but close enough.

Even after unlocking her dorm room door, Kexin still hadn’t figured anything out.

Her train of thought was interrupted by the scene she saw inside.

Upstairs residents Maozaki and Yue-tu were both standing at the entrance with small suitcases beside them, already wearing boots — clearly about to head out.

“Yo, Kexin, you’re back,” Maozaki greeted her cheerfully as soon as she stepped inside.

“Have you packed your stuff yet?”

Before Kexin could answer, Bai Xihan’s voice suddenly came from behind her.

Only then did Kexin realize someone had followed her in. She hadn’t noticed her presence at all — Bai had appeared without a sound.

Surprised as she was, Kexin quickly stepped aside to make room for her senior, while taking a moment to size up her outfit.

Even though they’d all just left school at the same time, Bai Xihan had already changed into casual travel clothes — she looked every bit the tourist. There was even a large suitcase sitting by the door.

If it were just a short weekend trip, Kexin couldn’t imagine what she needed so much luggage for.

“You’re going on a weekend trip or something?” Kexin asked, but it clearly wasn’t that simple.

“I wish it were,” Bai sighed, taking off a pair of meaningless sunglasses to reveal a disappointed expression. “But we’ve received orders. You’ve heard about the ‘Mountain Villa Monster,’ right?”

“The Mountain Villa Monster?” Kexin froze for a second, then realized what she meant. “They’re moving in?”

It was the creature she’d pursued for a long time but never managed to catch. According to Hoshino Erika’s tracking, the monster had moved toward the train station and was likely taken by the owner of Fuwen Real Estate — a developer based in Muchou — to his remote mountain estate several hundred kilometers away. There wasn’t another soul within ten kilometers of that place.

Every day, a designated staff member would drive to the nearest town to purchase supplies. Other than that, any disturbance would immediately raise alarms — so much so that even the Bureau’s agents could only observe from a distance.

But under those conditions, it was almost impossible to collect solid evidence — let alone when the case involved the supernatural.

“Captain Luo, who’s in charge of the operation there, sensed a faint trace of magic energy. And today, the supply car didn’t leave the estate as usual. The command center believes something must’ve happened.”

Bai Xihan explained everything she knew. As for the details — they’d only find out once they got there.

While she spoke, Maozaki and Yue-tu finished checking their luggage.

“Well, Kexin, we’re off then!” Maozaki said brightly.

Even though they were heading into a mission, she looked as cheerful as if she were going on vacation.

It made sense — after all, this was her first real battle against an anomaly since completing her magical girl training and certification.

When Yue-tu passed by Kexin, she simply met her eyes and gave a small nod. She didn’t speak, but Kexin understood her meaning.

Downstairs, the Special Investigation Bureau’s transport convoy had just arrived. To conserve their energy, they would be taking a helicopter directly to the mountain estate. Other magical girls and armed agents already in position around the area would begin their ground operations at the same time.

Kexin watched the convoy drive away, then returned to her room and flopped down onto the sofa, feeling oddly aimless.

“Kinda feels like I’ve got nothing to do now,” she muttered.

She pulled out her phone — no unread messages. Even the usual reports of suspected supernatural sightings had been few and far between lately.

That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but still — while some people were out on missions, others were patrolling, and her teammate Qisi was busy with club activities at school.

At this point, it felt like she was the only one left in the entire apartment building, and that thought brought a faint sense of guilt.

By all rights, this should’ve been great — no one around, free to do whatever she wanted. But when she actually found herself in that situation… it didn’t feel so great after all.

Watching the sunlight slowly fade across the balcony, Kexin decided she needed to find something to do. Maybe she’d play a game—

She had just thought that when her phone rang. It was Inspector Guan. Without hesitation, Kexin answered.

“Kexin, are you free right now?”

“Is something wrong, Inspector?”

“You’re at your apartment, right? Get ready — I’ll be downstairs to pick you up in a moment.”

Just from Guan’s tone, Kexin could tell something serious had happened. If it were a routine matter, she would’ve been told to get there on her own.

But Bai Xihan had just left with the others — what could have happened so soon after?

The call was still ongoing as Kexin hurried back to her room to change out of her Crescent Academy uniform. There was no way she could go out dressed like that — it stood out too much.

Five minutes later, she had put on a casual outfit she’d never worn before — one of the many clothes her mom had bought that filled an entire wardrobe. Since she usually wore her school uniform, and still wasn’t entirely comfortable in “girly” clothes, most of them had never been touched.

She packed a few essentials into the pouch at her waist, swapped her usual school bag for one of a different color, and took the elevator down to the entrance. A familiar car pulled up just as she arrived.

The moment she shut the car door behind her, Kexin couldn’t help asking, “Inspector Guan, did something happen?”

“If nothing had, I’d be off work by now,” Guan said wryly. “Actually, I had a blind date scheduled tonight.”

“Blind date?”

That was when Kexin noticed what was different about her today. Usually barefaced, the inspector was actually wearing makeup — and a rather expensive-looking dress, too.

She was only twenty-three, fresh out of the Federal Special Investigation Academy. From what Kexin had seen at the Bureau, plenty of people had a crush on her — she hardly seemed like someone who needed a family-arranged blind date.

Kexin had always assumed she wasn’t interested in romance at all.

Her confusion must’ve shown on her face, because Guan Mengyao caught her look in the rearview mirror and said, “Family’s idea. The guy’s some rich family’s son. I can’t exactly blow it off, can I?”

“I see…”

“Anyway, that’s not the point. Hoshino just called — she detected a strong magic wave entering Muchou City. But whoever it is, they’re concealing their presence somehow. She couldn’t pinpoint the location. Real pain in the ass — and of course it has to happen now.”

Guan let out a heavy sigh or two. The veins stood out on her hands gripping the steering wheel — Kexin had no doubt that if she could, Guan would’ve torn that “unruly bastard” to pieces.

So she did care about that blind date after all, Kexin thought wryly.

Since the target’s exact location was unknown, Kexin’s task for the night was to report to the Bureau and stay on standby — to strengthen their quick-response team.

Right now, even though the Bureau headquarters had the highest number of magical girls in the Federation, many had been sent on outside missions. As a result, Muchou City actually had fewer stationed magical girls than some branch jurisdictions.

Even with an assistance request pushed through the Magical Girl App to recruit “freelance” magical girls, their combat strength was still stretched thin.

All Guan could do was hope that, for the moment, the intruder would stay quiet — just a few more days, and everything would return to normal