Chapter 7: The Dark Arts of Magical Girls

“Um, um…”

On the lawn not far away, a girl with green hair and emerald eyes was the first to rise, or rather, was forcibly pulled up by Leila. She wore round-framed glasses, and her freckled cheeks were flushed with embarrassment from nervousness.

The girl kept her head down, her lips pressed together, her toes frantically trying to dig a three-bedroom, one-living-room apartment into the ground to burrow into.

“I… I’m called, called Ye Yunshu, no, it’s Ye Yunchu. I’m fifteen this year, oh no, sixteen. Ugh… ugh…”

To make two mistakes in one breath? Was it the tension of interacting with strangers?

Ila recalled this little girl. She was the same when buying things at the convenience store, often overpaying or underpaying due to nervousness. When pointed out, she would immediately blush and bow profusely, apologizing.

Then, she would suddenly produce a shovel, attempting to dig a large hole to bury herself alive.

The two distinctly colored craters on the convenience store’s floor were dug by Ye Yunchu.

‘She’s quite a distinctive young lady, though.’

As Ila mused, she eyed the smiling Leila with utmost wariness.

‘How did this woman manage to trick headquarters and get sent to Qingling disguised as a senior Magical Girl?’

“What I’m good at is drawing…”

Just as Ye Yunchu gathered her courage to continue, Leila raised a hand, interrupting her.

“I need your self-introduction, not irrelevant details like that.”

“Eh, but this… isn’t this…?”

Ye Yunchu, caught off guard, was stunned. The courage she had just mustered instantly vanished.

A deeper blush spread across her face.

Even the two onlookers, who had been watching with anticipation, turned their confused gazes toward the stern-faced Leila.

“I asked for what you should be good at, didn’t I?”

“Mm… mm-hmm.”

But she had just said it—she was good at drawing.

Ye Yunchu timidly lowered her head. She felt Teacher Bele’s aura was too overwhelming, making it difficult to look her directly in the eye.

“You are Magical Girls. Your greatest strengths should also be related to being a Magical Girl.”

“Like what?” Mona raised her hand, asking.

Leila nodded, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, she cast a mischievous glance at her good sister, who was glaring at her with hostility from under the tree.

Ila watched Leila’s lips curl into a smile, a sudden premonition of ill omen rising within her.

“For example, brainwashing, hypnosis, implanting common knowledge, memory alteration, body modification, and so on. These are the areas Magical Girls should be studying.”

Leila rattled off a string of words that utterly shattered the three new Magical Girls’ worldview.

Pfft!

Ila, not far away, couldn’t help but spit. Every single thing Leila had just mentioned, she had, unfortunately, experienced firsthand.

Mona, who typically read a lot of Magical Girl fanfiction and had previously been shared some ‘risk-free’ websites by unscrupulous chat group friends, quickly understood the meaning of these terms. A shy blush instantly crept onto her cheeks.

She then whispered the explanations to the two girls beside her. After hearing the clarification, their brains crashed for a full minute.

All three shared a common doubt: ‘Are these truly things a Magical Girl should be good at?’

“Um, Teacher Bele, are these things really what Magical Girls should excel at?” The blue-haired girl, Ling Ling, sitting next to Mona, asked awkwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, for a girl with somewhat conservative thoughts like her, these concepts were quite worldview-shattering.

“Yes, they are,” Leila nodded, glancing with a smile at Ila, who was wide-eyed.

“These are all mandatory courses for Magical Girls, you know~”

“Ah!”

“Student Ye Yunchu, I’d like to ask, what do you believe is the Magical Girl’s primary duty?”

Ye Yunchu, barely having warmed her seat before being called upon, was once again dumbfounded. She dazedly stood up again.

Her mind hadn’t yet recovered from the barrage of terms like hypnosis and brainwashing. Already timid, she was now crimson-faced, with shy steam seemingly rising from the top of her head.

Hearing Leila’s question, a dazed Ye Yunchu instinctively replied,

“Eliminating the Black Muck?”

This was also the conclusion Mona and Ling Ling had reached. As Magical Girls, their mission was to grow stronger and stronger, then completely eradicate the Black Muck.

“And what method do you use to eliminate the Black Muck?”

“Uh, with Sacred Relics?”

Leila was quite displeased with this answer. She shook her head and seriously told Ye Yunchu,

“Your goal is to maintain world peace, right?”

The three little ones nodded.

“That’s why we need to master skills like hypnosis, brainwashing, and memory alteration.”

Eh?

The three little ones’ minds crashed once more.

“Think about it, Magical Girls are chosen by Sacred Relics, one in a million, right?”

The three little ones’ brains were overloaded, and they nodded like automatons.

“So that’s why we need to learn hypnosis and brainwashing. We can turn all the living forces like the Black Muck and Cadaver Beasts into our own people. This way, they’ll fight among themselves, and humanity won’t expend too much energy.”

‘That actually makes some sense!’

The three little ones, their brains fried, briefly processed it and felt that this argument held a certain logic.

‘Logic my foot!’

Ila could no longer bear to watch. If this continued, these adorable juniors might be dragged into darkness by the demon Leila. She quickly scrambled to her feet, ready to stop Leila from spouting such twisted doctrines.

‘This woman truly has ill intentions!’

Leila noticed her good sister had risen but showed no panic. Instead, she suddenly looked at Mona.

Leila smiled, and Ila knew trouble was brewing.

“Student Mona, after this class, I’ll tell you the story of Magical Girl White Rose. These are all her unspeakable secrets, you know~”

Ila’s forward momentum froze.

‘This demon…’

Ila gritted her teeth, glaring fiercely at Leila.

Leila subtly turned her head, covering her mouth with a hand as she chuckled, casting a provocative sideways glance at Ila.

As if to say,

‘Ila, you wouldn’t want your sister to know White Rose’s ending, would you~’

Damn it!

“Eh, really? That’s great!” Mona hadn’t noticed their subtle exchange. Hearing that Teacher Bele could explain her older brother’s secrets as a Magical Girl, her eyes widened instantly, and she nodded excitedly, full of anticipation.

Ila’s teeth ground audibly, but there was nothing she could do. Yet, she couldn’t just stand by and watch the Dark Demon Princess corrupt her sister.

Finally, she calmed herself and walked over to Leila, entering the line of sight of the three little ones. She spoke calmly,

“Don’t go too far.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Sister. I’ll make sure these three Magical Girls become as strong as you once were. I won’t fail your trust.”

“Sister?” Mona tilted her head. ‘When did Sister Ila get a sister? I’ve never heard her mention it.’

“As strong as you once were?” Ling Ling tilted her head, feeling that a multitude of mysterious stories lay hidden behind that phrase.

“Trust?” Ye Yunchu tilted her head. ‘Was Teacher Bele instructed by someone to guide the three of them?’

Ila hadn’t expected Leila to suddenly say such a thing, or mention ‘trust’ and all. ‘How can you lie through your teeth like that?’

She was about to retort but was interrupted by her own sister.

“Um, Teacher Bele, you and Sister Ila…?”

“Oh, we’re sisters! Let me introduce everyone, this is the teacher’s younger sister, Bei Yi.”

Leila placed a hand on Ila’s shoulder, speaking intimately.

“Who’s sisters with a demon like you…?”

To expose in front of her own sister that her body had fallen and become the enemy boss’s sister.

‘How utterly shameful!’

“Student Mona, do you know? Magical Girl White Rose, after battling Dark Demon Princess Leila, was actually…”

“Sister, didn’t we agree not to reveal my identity?”

Ila forced a smile, politely interrupting Leila’s statement.

‘Don’t worry, little sister, your brother is just being forced right now.’

“Wuwuwu, my dear sister, you used to call me ‘Big Sister Adult’, but now you only call me ‘Sister’. Our feelings have grown distant…”

Leila pouted tearfully, her eyes slightly moist, as if she were truly about to cry over Ila’s estrangement.

“Don’t push your luck…” Ila whispered, gritting her teeth.

To make her call her sworn enemy ‘Big Sister Adult’ in front of her biological sister—this not only shamed Ila herself but would also make it impossible for her to face her sister ever again.

Ila would rather eat the tree behind her, jump from the eighteenth floor, or forever find her instant noodles without seasoning packets, than succumb to the Dark Demon Princess’s threats!

She had principles!

“Student Mona, at the end of this lesson, I’ll add a bit of popular science, such as Magical Girl White Rose’s journey to becoming strong. You see, she is also proficient in (being) hypnotized, brainwashed, memory-altered, and body-modified—skills that will be of great help to your future.”

“Eh!” Mona’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her own older brother, her idol whom she was so proud of, knew such… scandalous methods!

“I’ll also give you some information about Blood Demon Princess Ila. Coincidentally, these two have quite a history. According to confidential documents from headquarters, Blood Demon Princess Ila is very likely…”

Leila spoke halfway, her lips curling into a slight smile. As expected, she smoothly took Ila’s hand.

Behind her, Ila maintained a forced smile, cheerfully squeezing Leila’s hand and affectionately linking her arm through Leila’s, saying,

“Since it’s confidential, let’s not tell Xiao Nai and the others for now, shall we?”

“Wouldn’t you agree, Big Sister Adult~”