Chapter 13: A Moment’s Respite and a Sinister Plot

During school hours, the campus was eerily quiet.

Casting one’s gaze, scarcely a soul could be seen across the school grounds.

As they dashed through the corridors, the lecturing voices of teachers, the boisterous chatter of students, and the playful whispers from self-study rooms all blended into a fleeting cacophony that brushed past their ears.

Chao Wu, her hand held firmly by Ling Xing, sprinted along the corridor.

To any outsider, they would have appeared as mischievous truants sneaking off for a secret rendezvous.

Having always been an exemplary student since her early days, Chao Wu kept her head bowed low.

A profound sense of shame, as if engaged in something illicit, made her instinctively want to avert her gaze.

Yet, despite her lowered face, her hand remained intertwined with Ling Xing’s.

Though this very connection was the source of her embarrassment, Chao Wu showed no inclination to let go.

“While I should probably ask how things are, well, it feels rather obvious, doesn’t it? So obvious that there’s no need to ask anymore—it seems even model students sometimes have to skip class, huh?”

Dashing through the corridor, Ling Xing tossed her white hair and paused briefly.

For some inexplicable reason, despite the day’s physical exertion not being particularly intense, she felt an odd weariness creeping in.

No sound emanated from behind them; the two magical girls seemed to have no immediate intention of giving chase.

With no urgent need to flee, Ling Xing decided to take a moment to gather her thoughts, recuperate her strength, and perhaps add a few more entries to her Book of Grudges for those two.

From her hot pants, Ling Xing casually pulled out a wallet that clearly didn’t belong to her.

She extracted some cash, then, with a flick of her wrist, flung the wallet, along with a stack of identification cards bearing Hane’s name, far down the corridor towards the lost and found office.

Grinning, she held up the banknotes, playfully waving them before Chao Wu.

“Hmph, I can’t usually be this extravagant, but today, a kind soul is treating us, so a little meal won’t hurt!”

Smiling, she attempted to pull her hand free.

Pull… her hand free.

She pulled, but her hand wouldn’t budge.

As if sensing Ling Xing’s intention, Chao Wu not only refused to let go but pressed her advantage, directly wrapping her arm around Ling Xing’s.

Her small head remained bowed, not meeting Ling Xing’s puzzled gaze.

“I… I’ve never experienced anything like this before… never… I’m a little scared…”

“Oh! I understand, I understand. After all, you’re a model student, so acting like a bad kid must be quite resistant, right—”

‘No, I already am.’

‘Good kids don’t lie.’

Chao Wu silently embraced Ling Xing’s arm, her lowered cheek so close it almost pressed against Ling Xing’s shoulder.

She no longer wanted to think about anything.

Were it not for a maiden’s reserve, she would have clung to Ling Xing right then, wept her heart out, basked in Ling Xing’s comfort, and then fled far, far away…

Though Ling Xing didn’t seem like the comforting type.

‘—It should be like that.’

“…Just consider it a few days of nightmare. Since I took your crystal and stripped you of your magical girl identity, I will resolve these troubles for you.”

To Chao Wu’s surprise, Ling Xing extended her hand.

She symbolically brushed Chao Wu’s hair and gently patted her bowed head.

Her words lacked their usual lightheartedness, making them feel… strangely unfamiliar to Chao Wu.

“After the nightmare, I will resolve all problems, allowing you to live peacefully as a good child.”

So unfamiliar, in fact, that a surge of dread washed over Chao Wu.

How could Ling Xing possibly make such a solemn promise to single-handedly confront two D-rank magical girls and an entire branch?

Suddenly, Chao Wu looked up, her gaze locking with Ling Xing’s.

The Ling Xing she saw revealed a detached calmness in her eyes, as if she had merely uttered the most unremarkable words.

“Then, we’ll use that machine to return the crystal to you. It’s a bit clunky, but if all magical girls were good kids like you, I wouldn’t—”

“Don’t.”

The word burst forth spontaneously.

An answer that required no thought whatsoever.

Even though these were precisely the words of a perfect senior figure she had imagined, hearing them from Ling Xing only filled her with a sense of bewilderment and resistance.

“Hmm? Ah, right, I suppose I should compensate you for dragging you into this…”

‘What is she even talking about? It’s almost as if, as if…’

‘She’s treating me like a helpless child, softening her voice to soothe me to sleep, then intending to solve everything by herself.’

“Ling Xing.”

“Hm?”

Before Ling Xing could withdraw her hand, Chao Wu seized her wrist.

Roughly, she pressed Ling Xing’s hand, which had been symbolically stroking her head, against her own slightly flushed cheek.

“I’m a girl your age too! I can do what you can do! Why are you speaking to me like you’re placating a child? Are you really—”

‘—Are you really trying to abandon me!?’

Talking about solving problems alone, talking about being a good child.

It was clearly a way of drawing a line between them, of leaving her behind to face things alone.

Why would she say such terrifying things?

Why…

“Ah… sorry, I’m a bit out of sorts… I feel a little…”

‘…’?

Those words were utterly unlike Ling Xing.

The hand caressing her cheek felt soft, so gentle it lacked any strength.

Chao Wu blinked, as if recalling something, and glanced sideways, her gaze sweeping towards the lost and found office by the door.

The wallet hadn’t made it inside; it lay forlornly in the middle of the path, its contents scattered.

Just moments ago, Ling Xing had launched an attack far more precise and lethal at the young lady, yet now…

****

In the disheveled principal’s office, the young lady, Hane, finally regaining a semblance of composure, propped her chin on her hand, stirring a tea cup riddled with cracks.

Before her stood her attendant, Hane, pressing down the hem of her skirt with her fingertips, legs neatly together.

“Yes, young lady! Although the target possesses magical girl powers, she is ultimately not a legitimate magical girl, and therefore cannot replenish her own mana.”

“That is to say, she requires an external source of mana, or must replenish it from other magical girls.”

The young lady’s beautiful, manicured finger tapped rhythmically on the desk. The clutter that had previously adorned the surface had all been swept to the floor during her recent outburst, leaving it sufficiently bare now.

“Yes! Theoretically, that is correct, young lady, but considering…”

“I know what you’re going to say. I’m not so arrogant as to believe she can’t handle such a trivial matter. However, this truly is a glaring weakness.”

“Yes! The young lady is absolutely right. If we can separate them, draw them into a prolonged battle, or perhaps…”

Hane bowed deeply, the faint crimson marks of fingerprints still visible on her neck, evidence of the immense effort it had taken to finally soothe the young lady back to calmness.

“I wasn’t talking about that. I meant, if she can’t restore her own mana, then we can drain her dry, make her struggle in painful craving, cry, wail, and beg for my forgiveness at my feet, heh heh heh heh heh—”

‘…She’s… not that calm after all.’

Hane buried her head even lower. At any rate, the one losing control wasn’t her.

It was best not to interject.

“Let the captain continue with their duties. I shall take over the Magical Science Team and command them to annihilate the dark organization, heh heh heh, ha ha ha ha ha—! I can hardly wait to capture them and revel in the joy of tormenting them.”

“…Yes!”