Chapter 52: The Terrifying Kindness of a Reporter Lady

“Ah, saved, truly saved—”

A new car, a new mood.

Leaning back into the seat, Ling Xing stretched languidly. Gone was the strange scent of sweat and gun oil mixed from a horde of soldiers; gone were the ‘evil big chests’ that could bury Ling Xing’s head completely, their owners oblivious as they hugged her with wild abandon. Finally, able to lean back comfortably in the seat, Ling Xing felt her entire body relax.

The car’s interior was subtly scented with a faint incense, almost imperceptible, yet it lent a refreshing undertone to every breath.

‘The reporter lady has good taste… much better than that big-chested freak.’

“Please, may I ask, where do you intend to go…?”

Her voice, timid and barely audible, was so faint it was as if she feared Ling Xing might devour her.

‘Her personality is so much better too. Flat chests truly are the epitome of beauty and kindness; every big-chested woman I’ve met has been worse than the last!’

Ling Xing, completely ignoring what the reporter lady was saying, scrutinized her for a moment before nodding to herself. Though she frequently worked in the field, the reporter lady seemed to have maintained herself subconsciously, retaining a touch of girlish innocence. Her figure, however, was balanced and capable.

‘She’s so much more pleasant to look at than those big chests. Who could understand the feeling of salvation after enduring big chests the entire way, only to meet the reporter lady now!’

“Ling Xing… ma’am?”

“What kind of ghastly address is ‘ma’am’? I’m a vibrant, beautiful young girl, alright? Don’t make it sound like my maidenhood has expired—”

After indulging in a pleasant sight to soothe her eyes and quell the urge to elbow someone that had been building up on her journey, Ling Xing finally couldn’t help but retort.

“My apologies…”

‘Everything else is fine, but truly, she’s still not as good as Dal.’

‘Dal would never be so cautious, acting as if she feared I might devour her.’

“Don’t be so serious. You’re making it seem like I’m treating you as a driver, but I told you, it’s just along the way.”

Ling Xing casually waved her hand, withdrawing her gaze from the reporter lady’s chest. Being forcibly pressed by those ‘evil big chests’ and enduring Nuonuo’s annoying communications in her ear had been a tremendous test of her mental fortitude. She had to absorb ‘righteous flat-chest energy’ just to maintain her illicitly joyful mood.

Fortunately, in this brief moment, she had nearly recharged, no longer needing to scan so indiscriminately.

‘Even if I’m not fully charged, I’ll still be with her for a while anyway.’

The matter should have ended there, with Ling Xing simply being dropped off at the Magical Girl Organization along the way. However, Ling Xing had clearly underestimated the impact of her current identity.

“No, no, not at all! Magical Girls inherently have the right to requisition anything. How much more so for a hero like you? To requisition my humble car is a complete honor! Let alone the car, I—I know—even if it were…”

The reporter lady’s already soft voice was laced with a slight tremor, as if simply sitting beside Ling Xing made it difficult to breathe. She didn’t even dare to look at Ling Xing directly. Her slender fingers fumbled aimlessly, searching for a place to rest, until finally…

Finally, with a sudden, almost comical swiftness, she dropped to her knees on the seat in a full dogeza bow, presenting her wallet, valuables, and car keys like a sacrificial offering.

“Even—even these paltry possessions aren’t enough to repay you! But—but please accept them as my sincere token! I—I still have over a hundred thousand in my bank account, and the password is…”

“Wait, wait just a moment—! This isn’t something a student like me should be seeing, is it? This isn’t something one should do to a beautiful young girl like me, is it!?”

****

It took Ling Xing several minutes to finally subdue the reporter lady, who had inexplicably become abnormally agitated, preventing the situation from devolving into something even stranger.

“I—I’m so sorry! I—I just wanted to repay your life-saving kindness, but when I thought of you as a noble Magical Girl, I couldn’t conceive of anything worthy as repayment, so I inadvertently, subconsciously…”

‘…and subconsciously did something terrifying!’

Even as she offered her stammering explanation with a timid demeanor, Ling Xing was genuinely… awestruck. Ling Xing was so startled she almost squeezed out of the window crack to prove her innocence, thinking it was a honey trap. Had she not realized that she, too, was a girl, and theoretically two women couldn’t pull off such a scam, Ling Xing might actually have bolted.

Evidently, the reporter lady, who had only halfway transitioned into photography from another profession, found her inexperienced mind completely overloaded upon truly encountering the Magical Girl she had anticipated.

In this small city, few people cared about local news, and even fewer about the quality of the photography. She could, at best, scrape by on her rather cute face. But now, in this very situation, facing the Magical Girl she idolized for an interview, whatever rusty skills and techniques she possessed had instantly vanished into thin air.

Furthermore, while her conversational and negotiation skills were abysmal, she held a profoundly strong impression of the Magical Girls’ current state of decadent luxury and their haughty, superior attitudes. She naturally harbored stereotypes far beyond what others might. The result was that, let alone proposing an interview, merely attempting to initiate a conversation had led to such a farce.

“…”

Realizing this, the reporter lady’s voice dwindled, eventually dissolving into a dejected silence. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Her gaze clearly avoided Ling Xing’s, yet her peripheral vision repeatedly stole glances at her.

‘Ugh, why does this feel so heavy?’

‘This ride… maybe it’s better not to take it?’

Ling Xing’s heart began to waver. She had a nagging feeling that, given the reporter lady’s mental state, any minor incident on the road might just send them both transmigrating to another world.

‘Even though the reporter lady is cute, if I’m going to transmigrate to another world with anyone, it has to be Dal!’

“Ah, no, no, it’s I who was being presumptuous. After all, it’s working hours. On second thought, I really shouldn’t disturb the reporter lady any further—”

Having made up her mind, Ling Xing pushed open the car door, resolved to follow her instincts and make a quick getaway.

But it was too late!

Though the reporter lady hadn’t appeared to be looking at her, the moment Ling Xing unbuckled her seatbelt and prepared to rise, the reporter lady’s hands immediately darted to her shoulders, wrapping around her arms.

“Please, please give me another chance, Ling Xing-sama! I’ll sell my house, I’ll embezzle company funds, I’ll take out every loan I can online, I’ll gather so much money for you! Please, don’t run away from me—!”

“When did I ever ask you for money?! The more you act like this, the more terrified I become!”

The reporter lady’s plea was pitiful, a tearful cry like that of an abandoned small animal. This successfully instilled fear in Ling Xing, who usually remained impassive even when facing D-class monsters or enemies capable of defeating Allied Forces.

‘What in the world is going on? These remarks, steeped in the essence of an overworked salaryman yet possessing a perfectly absurd quality, coupled with this attitude of abandoning her entire future just to cling to me…’

‘Flat chests… can they really be this terrifying!?’

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