Chapter 56: Part (3): Uneasy Leisure

Maybe because she noticed Ke Xin’s gaze, the girl named Tang Yu’an suddenly broke away from her small group as if receiving an order and quickly came up to her.

“Group Leader Xia, Tang Yu’an reporting in!”

Her loud declaration naturally drew plenty of attention. The other new recruits from different divisions, who had no idea what was going on, all turned to look at the short-haired girl with golden-brown hair — and at Ke Xin, standing in front of her.

Being stared at by so many pairs of eyes at once, Ke Xin felt as though a hundred fine needles were pricking into her back.

According to the training plan, Ke Xin’s team was assigned to Plan B, which involved more advanced subjects. Participants were grouped into six-person teams. Ke Xin’s group consisted of herself as leader, along with Luo Anying, Yan Luofei, Maoqi Xiancang, Tang Yu’an, and Chu Xueqing.

Those assigned to Plan A were the true beginners. They attended the same theoretical lectures but had entirely different practical courses — and thus weren’t divided into teams yet.

“Oh my, Group Leader Xia~,” Qi Si whispered behind her, mimicking Tang Yu’an’s tone. Her reward was a quick elbow jab from Ke Xin.

“Ahem.” Since the scene had already escalated, Ke Xin decided to go along with it and tried to keep her composure.
“Hello, Tang Yu’an. I’m Xia Ke Xin — I’ll be acting as group leader for this round of training. If I make any mistakes, please don’t hesitate to correct me.”

While Ke Xin was speaking, Chu Xueqing had somehow moved to stand silently beside Tang Yu’an. If Ke Xin hadn’t caught her out of the corner of her eye, she might never have noticed the girl’s presence at all.

Can she suppress her own presence or something?

“Chu Xueqing. Pleased to work with you.” The black-haired girl gave a polite little nod, then just as quietly stepped back.

Yup, this one’s definitely a character, Ke Xin thought.

“Um, Group Leader Xia, don’t take it personally. That’s just how she is.” Tang Yu’an pushed up her round glasses and smoothly covered for her teammate.

“You two seem close?”

“Not really. We joined at the same time, so we’ve just spent a bit more time together. By the way, Group Leader Xia, you haven’t been a magical girl for very long, right? Since… August?”

“Yeah.”

Ke Xin answered automatically before realizing — wait, she’d never told anyone that.

“You’re probably wondering how I knew, right? It’s simple. The Mùzhou branch usually recruits new magical girls on a six-month cycle. Your name wasn’t on the last intake list, and you don’t seem like a senior either. That means your recruitment must’ve been… special.”

Bull’s-eye. Ke Xin hadn’t said a word, yet this supposedly simple, cheerful girl had deduced almost everything. Beneath that friendly face was an unexpectedly sharp mind — and the contrast made Ke Xin break into a cold sweat.

Still, it was the first she’d heard about the Bureau’s fixed recruitment schedule. She’d always assumed they just roped in new people whenever they found them.

In reality, there were also “support magical girls” — unofficial members who hadn’t fully joined the Bureau, nicknamed freelance magical girls. They weren’t as powerful on average, but they helped shoulder routine fieldwork, which allowed the Bureau to maintain a more measured pace. Eventually, even freelancers were integrated into the central system, receiving the same training as official agents, except they had more freedom in choosing assignments.

Not that Ke Xin was thinking about any of that right now.

“Of course, I don’t know the details,” Tang Yu’an went on, smiling innocently. “After all, if there’s one thing the Bureau never lacks, it’s surprises, right?”

To Ke Xin, though, that smile looked anything but harmless. A bead of sweat ran down her temple.

“Well… can’t argue with that.”

Sensing that the atmosphere had gone a little stiff, Tang Yu’an gave a polite bow.
“Then, Group Leader Xia, if you’ll excuse me. See you this afternoon.”

“Mm.”

Ke Xin didn’t add anything more — she had the distinct feeling that if she spoke again, the girl would somehow drag even more secrets out of her.

Watching Tang Yu’an rejoin her little circle and leave the room, Ke Xin finally exhaled in relief.

“Alright, let’s get out of here too. There’s still some time before lunch — how about a walk?” Qi Si asked, keeping a safe distance after mentally estimating Ke Xin’s elbow range.

“Weren’t you made a group leader too? Why aren’t you off greeting your recruits?”

“Already did! And let me tell you, every one of them’s got a few tricks up their sleeves.” Qi Si rattled off their names for good measure.

Compared with Ke Xin, who wasn’t fond of chatting up strangers, Qi Si was practically the Bureau’s social butterfly — not just among magical girls but even among regular agents. Ke Xin had even heard rumors that some freelance magical girls called her Big Sis.

Sounds more like a delinquent girl gang than a task force, Ke Xin thought wryly.

“Maybe so,” Qi Si shrugged, “but none of them are pushovers.”

“What lamps?” a sleepy voice asked.

Luo Anying sat up straight, rubbing her eyes and blinking in confusion at the others around her.

“Senior Luo, you were asleep just now?”

“Asleep,” she admitted without hesitation — utterly honest.

It hadn’t been long since Instructor Jiang had left, yet the girl had already managed to doze off right there in a noisy conference room. That level of skill was truly impressive.

“Well, since you’re up now, let’s go. Xihan, you coming?”

“I’ll pass.” Bai Xihan glanced up from her phone and waved with a grin. “I’ve got a video call with Wolf and the others.”

“Why? Did something happen back in Mùzhou?”

Ke Xin had only recently met the magical girl known as Wolf — a strong, commanding presence, though she was actually the same age as Ke Xin, still in her second year of high school.

But Wolf had been at this far longer, and among B-rank magical girls she was considered one of the top. Some even whispered that she’d once taken down an unrecorded Delta-class monster by herself.

“No, no, it’s nothing serious — just team business. We’re deciding where to hang out later.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Since it wasn’t anything urgent, Ke Xin lost interest in pressing for details — if she asked too much, she might get roped into the outing herself, which sounded like a headache.

Then, suddenly, she felt someone pinch her fingers.

Looking down, she found it was Luo Anying.

“…Hungry,” the sleepy senior murmured.