Chapter 15: Three Make a Journey

Coaxing Xia Kong was nothing new for Ren Huazhi. She did it skillfully, and in the end, everything landed smoothly.

After watching her enter the subway station, Ren Huazhi put the “Qigong (etc.)” book she had just borrowed into her bag, scanned a shared bike, and started pedaling towards Purple Mountain.

The influence of a magical girl’s blessing on her true body was subtle and gradual. She had never exercised, but now she could easily ride for dozens of kilometers, joining a group of road cyclists up and down the mountain without any problem.

After a year of continuous battles and communication with the sleepless god, the Owl, Ren Huazhi had basically confirmed one thing: the classic “enemy and ally share a common origin” trope from tokusatsu dramas also applied to magical girls.

The magical power flowing from the dream world into the real world was divided into the negative magical power of Nightmares and the positive magical power of the gods of the wilderness. Both were wrapped in the stuff of human dreams and could distort and reshape reality.

The difference was that negative magical power was what humans feared in their dreams. It could condense into a tangible Nightmare out of thin air without a vessel and spread a hostile Anti-Civilization Field around it.

Positive magical power, on the other hand, was what humans desired and fantasized about in their dreams. As everyone knows, no one can refuse the temptation of becoming a transforming magical girl, wielding the power of wind, fire, lightning, and darkness, and stepping forward to become a hero… These beautiful wishes, along with the blessings of the gods of the wilderness, rewrote reality, allowing magical girls to become magical girls.

But the boundaries of dreams were always uncertain.

As the number of times reality was modified increased, the magical girl’s true body would gradually acquire the abilities that were originally only available during transformation.

That’s why Ren Huazhi was willing to risk souring her relationship with the Nightmare Countermeasures Division to do everything in her power to stop them from studying magical girls.

Apart from the sensitivity of her own identity, it was also because she didn’t want magical girls to be treated differently as non-humans—

At this point, she herself couldn’t tell whether this soft, emotional thought was role-playing “what a hero should consider” or Ren Huazhi’s own genuine thoughts.

“Heave-ho…”

Having conquered another big uphill climb without breaking a sweat, Ren Huazhi was feeling a bit smug. Although this wasn’t her own strength… no, this was her own strength. So it was fine.

Ahead, she saw the backs of a group of cyclists.

Had she already lapped someone? Although Ren Huazhi’s goal was to observe if there was anything unusual about the wild boars’ activity on the mountain, observing the reaction of the person being lapped could also be used in a racing plot…

At the back of the main group, three girls were riding in a row, completely blocking the cycling greenway.

Ren Huazhi caught up and rang her bell twice.

The one on the left suddenly let out a strange cry, lifted her butt off the seat, and pedaled hard to join the row in front, leaving a gap the width of a bike for her.

She moved up to fill the spot and turned her head to look—

Well, well, a familiar face.

The Potato Chip sisters, codenamed Xiaoshu, Dashu, and Chushu, were the 3rd to 5th magical girls to awaken after Mangzhong. They were actual sisters, a tight-knit little group that held sway in the Xiaguan and Gulou districts near the Yangtze River, calling themselves “Old Nancheng people.”

They rarely cooperated with The Flower Arranger’s faction on anything other than matters related to their Hunting Gear, and were instead closer to the Nightmare Countermeasures Division—mainly by selling information on magical girls for some official support and supplies. Then, when Ren Huazhi passed by with a Nightmare in tow, the information would be wiped, and they could sell it again.

“Old Nancheng is out for a mountain ride too?”

Ren Huazhi struck up a conversation with them.

Dashu and Xiaoshu, still riding side by side, exchanged a look of confusion.

“…Who are you? Do we know you?”

“We don’t know each other, but I know Xia Kong. Not only do I know her, I know her very well.” Ren Huazhi said with a warm smile, “I heard from her that you treated her quite well yesterday?”

Actually, it was just the Doctor’s one-sided account. Ren Huazhi had only met Xia Kong twice in total, yesterday and today. She hadn’t mentioned anything unpleasant happening with the three sisters, and she had no injuries.

But thinking about it, a meeting between these people with differing attitudes towards the police was indeed more likely to be unpleasant. Perhaps Xia Kong felt she didn’t know Ren Huazhi well enough to confide such private matters in her? Since she had the chance, she might as well confirm it.

Dashu and Xiaoshu exchanged another look.

“You’re Mang… Xia Kong’s best friend?” Xiaoshu asked.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

In fact, she was her senior, even calling her a master wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Having confirmed Ren Huazhi’s position, Xiaoshu took a deep breath, her face shadowed by her bangs. She wasn’t even looking at the road ahead anymore, glaring at Ren Huazhi with a stern expression, her voice suddenly rising in volume:

“You’re not a very good best friend! Her senior passed away, and she’s been out of it for the past few days. Didn’t you know?!”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t even try to comfort her! The three of us couldn’t stand it anymore! She probably didn’t tell you that she’s a magical girl, right? That old stubborn The Flower Arranger taught her well, raising a little stubborn one. If she just cooperated with the police, she could have all the Molotov cocktails she wanted…”

“Sister, you’re getting off-topic,” Dashu reminded her.

“Oh, right. We’re just acquaintances with her, and it’s a bit awkward when we meet because of our different views on the magical girl path. But we can’t just let her stay down, can we? The Flower Arranger is gone, and Jingzhe just debuted. She’s the strongest magical girl in Nancheng now! If she shuts herself off and can’t use her strength, are we supposed to be responsible for everything?”

“…Jingzhe?” Ren Huazhi asked, puzzled.

“The new magical girl who awakened last month. The first of the Giant Eagle school in Nancheng. She uses a greatsword, and her magical attribute is lightning…”

“Sister, you’re off-topic again.”

“Oh, right. So yesterday, we asked her out and forced her to go shopping with us. We played a dancing game, drank bubble tea, ate pudding, and even took purikura photos, both solo and group shots. Finally, we had a buffet together. Of course, the activity funds were all provided by the police. Officer Si also said he was very worried about Mangzhong’s mental state.”

“Officer Si…?”

Oh, Ren Huazhi knew this one. But she pretended not to, for now, because she had no reason to know him.

“Officer Si is the liaison from the police department. He’s a very nice and kind uncle. He even said his daughter just entered her rebellious phase and asked us to be friends with her.”

“Sister…”

“I know I’m off-topic, but I’m done now, aren’t I?” Xiaoshu shot her sister a look. “Anyway, Xia Kong won’t be able to get over it anytime soon. You, as her best friend, should spend more time with her, got it?”

“I understand, I’m sorry…”

Knowing she was in the wrong, Ren Huazhi couldn’t bear Xiaoshu’s accusatory gaze. She slowed down and dropped out of the group of cyclists, like an Ultraman who has lost his light sinking into the sea, completely abandoning her plan to lap anyone.

Ren Huazhi hadn’t considered that The Flower Arranger had taught Mangzhong so much, becoming her mentor and senior in her magical girl career. Would a sudden fake death be too hurtful to her…

…No, actually, she had considered it, as Ren Huazhi.

Her important senior had died. What expression would Mangzhong show, what actions would she take? As a novelist, Ren Huazhi was very curious about this. Her creative desire urged her to observe Mangzhong’s pained and broken expression, to think about what kind of writing could vividly reproduce that fiery and intense emotion.

After all, she had never obtained such material before.