Chapter 12: A New Beginning and an Old Friend

It was likely through Luzhichuan that Su Qingyao had come to understand the intricacies of this “magical girl training.”

Even in the New World, largely characterized by its peaceful state, children of Su Muxue’s age were still considered “precocious” magical girls.

The criteria for “precocity,” however, were quite lenient; any magical girl from high school age onwards was deemed “mature” and granted full autonomy.

In contrast, magical girls in middle school or elementary school were simply too young.

This often led to the exasperated thought that these unreliable fantasy creatures might be deliberately contracting with children, purely to create headaches for adults.

Naturally, Su Qingyao acknowledged that he and Booboo bore a greater share of the responsibility for Su Muxue becoming a magical girl while still in elementary school.

Chen Jingye, it seemed, placed considerable trust in Su Qingyao.

After merely outlining a few crucial details, he crumpled the flyer, replacing it with a contract that already had the client’s information filled in.

His efficiency was nothing short of astonishing.

Given that the official training was set to commence on Saturday evening, and it was already Tuesday afternoon, time was of the essence.

Su Qingyao glanced at the handwritten note bearing a phone number, clutched in his palm.

The immediate priority was to carve out time as soon as possible to communicate with the true “lead instructor” for this training.

That being said, however…

Su Qingyao checked the time displayed on his phone’s lock screen.

A glaring 4:30 PM silently informed Su Qingyao that the better part of the day had already passed.

Senior Luzhichuan was likely already en route to pick up Su Muxue from school.

He then checked the balance in his e-wallet—

Immediately after completing his electronic ID registration, Luzhichuan had deposited a substantial sum into his newly registered account.

Unfamiliar with the new world’s currency, Su Qingyao decided to first try his hand at grocery shopping and cooking, eager to discover how supermarket prices had shifted over the past twenty-five years.

“Hmm, let me see,” Su Qingyao mused, his interest piqued as he navigated the unfamiliar operating system:

“Perhaps I should download a map application first.”

After a good deal of tinkering, Su Qingyao finally located the appropriate application among the device’s pre-installed software.

Once loaded, what unfolded before him was a colossal circular metropolis, entirely encircled by towering walls—

In its abbreviated form, the simple characters for “Dawn City” emerged prominently above the urban sprawl.

Naturally, this city’s sheer scale paled in comparison to Hope City, which was widely revered as the “birthplace of the New World.”

According to Luzhichuan, Hope City’s vital status, far from diminishing with the New World’s expansion, had only intensified, with legends constantly being sung about it, almost elevating it to the status of a holy land.

Despite this, Dawn City’s footprint was still astonishingly vast, necessitating its division into five distinct administrative districts: East, West, North, South, and the Central area.

The East District, where Su Muxue resided, was the second district to be developed, following the Central area.

While boasting the most comprehensive living facilities, it also retained a style most reminiscent of the old era; subsequent districts, in the estimation of Su Qingyao and Luzhichuan, leaned rather heavily into cyberpunk aesthetics.

‘At least no monopolistic behemoths have emerged yet…’

City planning, however, held little immediate relevance for Su Qingyao, who merely offered a simple sigh of awe upon beholding the colossal urban sprawl on the map.

He then proceeded to search for “wet markets” and “convenience supermarkets.”

With a slight adjustment to one or two seemingly insignificant keywords, Su Qingyao quickly pinpointed similar locations.

“Mm-hm.”

‘It seems I’m not quite the outdated relic unable to keep pace with the times, after all.’

Su Qingyao let out a soft, contented hum.

****

Su Muxue sat cross-legged on the elementary school playground, her knees drawn up to her chest.

Booboo, concealed by magic, was currently rolling with uninhibited glee across a patch of grass not far away.

Even if they were made of cloth!

Booboo was still a canid at heart and deserved the freedom to tumble and play!

The girl, likewise at ease, made only one subtle movement: quietly tilting her head back to bask in the now much gentler sunlight.

“Muxue—”

Suddenly, a faint yet excited call echoed from behind Su Muxue.

This was immediately followed by a warm, light weight pressing against Muxue’s back.

Su Muxue turned her head, only to find a peer with short black hair excitedly wrapping her arms around her neck, her face practically pressed against Muxue’s back.

“I finally get to see you!”

This girl, named Jiang Jiuli, had been Su Muxue’s childhood playmate since their days at the orphanage.

She was also the only “provisional magical girl” close to Su Muxue’s age in the magical girl training program.

When they initially entered elementary school, Su Muxue had been assigned to live alone in an apartment, believing she would be entirely separated from Jiang Jiuli.

This thought had saddened both girls for quite some time.

As fate would have it, however, both girls ended up attending the same elementary school, though they were assigned to different classes.

Their only opportunities to be together were during a few occasional overlapping public lessons and the free activity period before school dismissal.

“Be careful,” Su Muxue replied with a hint of helplessness:

“This is the school uniform Mom ironed for me.”

“Eh? EHHHHHHHH!?”

Jiang Jiuli cried out in astonishment, “Muxue, your mom has woken up!?”

Upon seeing the girl before her nod helplessly, Jiang Jiuli’s face broke into a genuine smile.

“That’s truly wonderful! Congratulations, Muxue.”

“Oh, I’d really love to see what Muxue’s mom looks like! I was always so curious back at the orphanage, but I could never quite picture her from your descriptions!”

Within their friendship, Jiang Jiuli typically served as the vibrant core of most interactions, with Su Muxue usually adopting the role of a quiet listener.

This time, however, a gentle arc graced Su Muxue’s lips, and she spoke with a soft, blossoming smile:

“My mom is very beautiful.”

“What’s more, Mom will be picking me up and dropping me off at school, so Jiuli, you’ll get to see her too.”

“Alright! It’s a promise, then!”

Jiang Jiuli laughed with unbridled joy, settling beside Su Muxue and recounting all the amusing anecdotes that had occurred in her class during the days they had been apart.

‘Truly, I still don’t comprehend why Jiuli finds these matters so entertaining.’

A contemplative glint appeared in Su Muxue’s otherwise vacant eyes.

The girl’s limited life experience rendered the journey to an answer incredibly protracted.

Yet, she continued to listen in tranquil silence.

For what truly captivated Su Muxue was not merely the girl who spoke so volubly once she began, but the very act of “listening to a friend’s story.”

Or perhaps, it was the contemplative process of “arriving at an answer” itself.

Unbeknownst to them, Booboo had once again settled onto the grass, covering their nose with their front paws, which were now dotted with blades of grass.

Their button eyes quietly gazed at the girl seated beside Su Muxue, their emotions utterly inscrutable.

****

At last, dismissal time arrived.

The two young girls quietly slipped away from their respective class lines, meeting up at their designated spot.

Ultimately, Su Muxue took the lead, walking at the very front of their little procession.

She held Jiang Jiuli’s hand, a palpable sense of anticipation radiating from her.

Su Muxue strained her eyes, meticulously searching through the vast sea of parents gathered to pick up their children, hoping to discern her mother’s figure.

However, his black-haired figure did not materialize as she had hoped.

“Su Muxue, over here!”

Su Muxue, with considerable reluctance, recognized Luzhichuan standing prominently at the very front.

Muxue’s smile had vanished.