Chapter 19: High Tower Orientation and an Unexpected Revelation

Xu Yiyi, that’s what her siblings called her.

She was the eleventh infant her grandmother had unearthed from the ruins.

Her parents, who had held her close while hiding in their home, had sustained fatal injuries when the house collapsed.

This was the quintessential origin story of someone from ‘the countryside.’

****

“Ah! So there are elevators here after all?”

Xu Yiyi exclaimed in surprise, her various ornaments jingling incessantly.

Just moments ago, she had exerted every ounce of her strength to climb the Tower’s stairs.

Truly a masterpiece crafted by Magical Girls, each floor’s height was equivalent to three or four stories outside.

In short, Xu Yiyi had climbed nearly a hundred meters on foot.

Su Qingyao and Xu Yanqing found it difficult not to be astonished.

“Of course,” Xu Yanqing said, adjusting her glasses with a sigh of resignation. She stood by the office door and simply pointed out the elevator’s location to Xu Yiyi.

The woman poked her head out, her gaze landing directly on the ancient, rustic door.

“Oh, so this is what Grandma meant by a room that can ‘teleport’ you directly, right?”

“Teleportation… well, it certainly looks similar enough.”

Xu Yanqing frowned, grudgingly agreeing with the description.

“In that case, Ms. Xu Yiyi, you must have only recently arrived in Dawn City.”

“Ah, that’s right.” Xu Yiyi, unashamed of her origins, nodded vigorously.

“After I finished getting my ID, someone secretly slipped me a flyer.”

“I was just going to pick a random place, but then someone recommended this one when I was signing up, so I came here instead.”

“It was a girl with pink hair.”

“Ah, you must be referring to Liyev.”

Xu Yanqing sighed. She hadn’t discussed this with Liyev, so it was likely their shared contractual partner who had quietly informed Liyev.

“All in all, you’re just here to pad your resume, aren’t you?”

Xu Yanqing cut straight to the chase.

Su Qingyao frowned, finding the words quite grating.

Yet, to the young girl’s surprise, Xu Yiyi nodded openly. “Exactly. I want to use this to find a good job later.”

‘Wow, that’s incredibly blunt, isn’t it?’

Su Qingyao blinked.

“Alright, I understand then.”

Xu Yanqing nodded. “I’ll adjust the training schedule.”

Neither side seemed offended in the slightest. ‘When did their wavelengths align so perfectly?’

Su Qingyao glanced from left to right.

A look of bewilderment crossed her face.

“And what about you, Ms. Su Qingyao?”

‘Ah, uh. It’s the same for me…’

She responded honestly, a little blankly.

“Sigh.” Xu Yanqing’s sigh was her only reply.

“Though I had already prepared myself for it.”

A few new wrinkles creased Xu Yanqing’s forehead from a headache, and her sharp black eyes closed in response.

After a brief moment of respite, she reopened her eyes.

“Come, both of you.”

Xu Yanqing’s expression quickly reverted to its usual detached demeanor.

“At least for today, the objective remains the same as originally planned.”

“I will familiarize you with the areas you’ll be using for training in the Tower over the next few days, to prevent situations like Xu Yiyi’s.”

“Eh, but we’re just temporary workers, you know? Is familiarizing ourselves with all this really useful?” Xu Yiyi raised her hand, posing the question out of confusion.

Xu Yanqing explained earnestly.

“If you never step foot in the Tower again, then no, it won’t be useful.”

“However, if you intend to work within the Tower in the future, it becomes essential to understand its structure. Does that explanation suffice?”

‘Oh my, a classic tsundere type.’

Su Qingyao tilted her head, observing from behind the two.

“Understood!”

Having also grasped the underlying meaning, Xu Yiyi beamed happily.

“Thank you very much.”

“It’s merely a small gesture.”

Xu Yanqing silently averted her gaze.

****

The Tower’s structure indeed followed specific patterns.

However, to discern these patterns from the building’s intricate room arrangements, one needed a knowledgeable ‘guide.’

Xu Yanqing perfectly filled that role.

As she delivered her rapid yet clear and fluent explanations, even Xu Yiyi, who had never encountered supernatural architecture before, began to grasp many concepts, albeit vaguely.

“Up to this point, it’s a mixed arrangement of all research rooms, offices, and infirmaries.”

“Let’s see, then there are the exhibition areas occasionally open to the public, reception rooms, and temporary command posts.”

“Precisely.” Xu Yanqing nodded with satisfaction.

Su Qingyao witnessed the almost exaggerated transformation between the two. Xu Yiyi’s enthusiastic responses largely compensated for any negative impact caused by constant questioning.

In other words, the positive reinforcement was abundant.

“Truly worthy of the Tower Faction’s Magical Girls!” Xu Yiyi exclaimed with genuine emotion. “No wonder Bai Tuantuan insisted I come and see it for myself.”

Bai Tuantuan was the fantastical creature contracted with Xu Yiyi.

According to Xu Yiyi, Bai Tuantuan resembled a round-faced, red-eyed rabbit with long ears, and it particularly enjoyed perching on their heads.

As for the so-called Tower Faction, it simply referred to the fantastical creatures and Magical Girls who lived and worked within the Tower. For all fantastical creatures traveling abroad, the Tower was considered an exceptionally sacred place.

Taking a position in the Tower was akin to passing a civil service exam before the apocalypse.

This relationship, rife with a sense of déjà vu, left the silently observing Su Qingyao utterly astonished.

‘What happened to the free-spirited fantastical creatures they spoke of?’

“Oh, I almost forgot. Ms. Su Qingyao, how well have you understood everything?”

The gentle, somewhat delicate young woman’s presence was so subtle that Xu Yanqing occasionally overlooked her by mistake.

“Mm, I’ve mostly remembered it all.”

“Beyond this point should be where the Magical Girls conduct their drills and battles, correct?”

“Exactly.” Xu Yanqing offered a satisfied smile.

Unlike Xu Yiyi, Su Qingyao’s demeanor was far more composed.

The young girl, by nature, was accustomed to remaining in inconspicuous corners.

Such a state could be described as comfortable for her.

Su Qingyao, being more sensitive to the flow of magic, had actually focused most of her attention on charting its movements.

In a sense, it wasn’t that the Tower’s layout influenced the magic; rather, this peculiar magical flow existed first, and the layout was designed accordingly.

The young girl merely needed to record the magic in different sections and then deduce the rest.

This allowed her to construct a rough blueprint.

“Hmm…” Su Qingyao murmured to herself, her voice low. “It looks a bit like the work of ‘Mages.'”

Like Magical Girls, Mages also belonged to the caster faction, making them distant relatives.

Though seemingly insignificant, Su Qingyao filed this discovery away in her mind, to ponder further at a later time.

‘Oh, speaking of which—’

Su Qingyao discreetly lowered her head to check the time.

“Ah, excuse me, how much longer will this take?”

The young girl tilted her head, addressing her two companions ahead.

Xu Yanqing paused, pondering for a moment before replying, “Just a bit further and we’ll reach the end. However, going there right now wouldn’t be particularly meaningful… Ms. Su Qingyao, do you have something urgent?”

As expected, Xu Yanqing’s personality aligned with Su Qingyao’s guess: she was someone who would consider things seriously as long as they were straightforward.

The youngest-looking of the three girls offered an innocent smile, then explained apologetically.

“I’m sorry, but I need to go pick up my daughter from school.”

“Eh—”

This was Xu Yanqing’s stunned utterance.

“E-ah, AHHHHH!!??”

This was Xu Yiyi’s shriek of astonishment.

“Ha, haha.”

This was Su Qingyao’s polite laughter.

****

Jiang Jiuli’s hand was clasped by Su Muxue as they squeezed into the dismissal queue.

“Muxue, are you sure your dad isn’t picking you up today?”

It wasn’t that she would be disappointed or anything; it was just that Muxue’s expression yesterday had been utterly terrifying.

“Mhm, mhm.” Su Muxue’s tone was exceptionally confident.

“Mommy specifically promised me today!”

“Eh… actually, grown-ups’ promises aren’t always very reliable, you know.”

Jiang Jiuli murmured weakly.