Chapter 18 – “A Familiar Name

“Seems like she didn’t come today after all.”

Ke Xin walked into the second-year, Class A classroom at Crescent Moon Academy with Qisi, and immediately noticed the empty seats by the window in the back row.

Sitting down and looking at the two rows of empty seats in front, she felt a bit strange.

Even though she had only joined this class this week, she wasn’t exactly familiar with anyone.

Qisi, however, didn’t pay much attention. She gazed out the window and casually said, “Even following standard procedures, it wouldn’t be possible for them to be released the next day. Especially given their circumstances, and after returning, they aren’t allowed to talk about it.”

Although they had been in close contact recently, in terms of the current setup, the four of them hadn’t realized that the magical girls they had encountered were actually their classmates. Even though someone might notice that Ke Xin had the same pink hair as a magical girl, jumping to conclusions based on that alone would be premature.

When the four of them were allowed to return to their normal daily lives, they would have to pretend nothing had happened. If anyone asked, they could only give the pre-prepared excuse—that they had gone out of town for a competition.

On the surface, Crescent Moon Academy appeared to be a school that supported and encouraged students’ all-around development. Academic pressure wasn’t too high, and students could request to leave the school to participate in competitions at any time.

This wasn’t something the Special Investigation Bureau had planned when they invested in the academy, but it worked well in practice. After all, it was common for magical girl students to travel out of town on “assignments.”

However, the bureau might have overlooked one thing: the four girls didn’t have many friends in their class. Even Qisi, who had been sitting behind them for a year, hadn’t been able to break into their small social circle.

Chances are, no one would notice if the four of them suddenly missed school for a few days.

Ke Xin, as a transfer student who had just joined this class, wasn’t familiar with Ruo Lin and the others either. If she showed too much concern, it might raise suspicion.

Besides, she had other things to pay attention to.

Who exactly was the person using her uploaded avatar and ID? From the way they spoke, they seemed to know a lot about magical girls and anomalies, and were skilled in hacking. It was entirely reasonable to suspect that her phone had been remotely controlled last night.

The thought that someone might be monitoring her through her phone made her uneasy.

And that address the person mentioned—what did it mean? Would serious consequences really follow if she didn’t go?

Making a choice was tricky for Ke Xin. When solving problems, the question provides the known conditions, but in life, information is often asymmetric.

She couldn’t know what consequences a particular choice might lead to.

In the worst-case scenario, an anomaly could appear at the agreed-upon time. If she didn’t go or fail to alert the bureau, it could result in huge casualties.

Many anomalies could move stealthily within a supernatural space, but few could actively deploy barriers. If such an anomaly appeared in a crowded downtown area, even its mere presence could cause unpredictable effects.

But what if it was false information?

If the bureau pre-positioned personnel and the anomaly appeared elsewhere as a diversion, who would be held responsible? Ke Xin certainly didn’t want to take the blame.

After much deliberation, she realized she had no choice but to go herself. If there really was an anomaly, she would just have to deal with it.

At that moment, the bell rang for the end of the morning classes. Unaware, Ke Xin had been sitting motionless the whole time.

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Qisi waved her hand in front of Ke Xin, catching her attention.

“Is it already noon?”

Ke Xin quickly looked around. About half of the students had left, and the rest were looking for lunch companions.

Indeed, it was lunchtime. She hadn’t noticed the time at all—she had been lost in thought the entire morning, which was rare for her.

“You must have something on your mind.”

“Huh? Me?”

“Who else? I’m not talking to anyone else.”

“Nothing, I just feel a bit sleepy and distracted.”

“Ah, I see. I even took a nap.”

Qisi had a habit of going for a morning run, then returning to shower and eat breakfast with Ke Xin. She was usually the first to wake up in their apartment.

If nothing else came up, she was also the first to sleep. Last night, she had gone back to her room soon after returning to the apartment due to sleepiness.

Although it wasn’t late by Ke Xin’s standards, sleeping in class without being noticed was impressive—Qisi was truly exceptional.

As they began heading toward the cafeteria, they ran into the other three magical girls.

“Well, what a coincidence,” Qisi said, putting a hand on Bai Xihan’s shoulder, completely ignoring her scowl.

“What coincidence? There’s only one cafeteria at school. It’s hard not to see you,” Bai Xihan retorted.

If she hadn’t been carrying her lunch, Bai Xihan would have wanted to elbow Qisi.

“Don’t make it sound like I’m that annoying.”

“Go away, I don’t want to see you at all.”

Bai Xihan tried to push Qisi away, but there was no space—they were pressed tightly together.

“Qisi-senpai might be a bit too enthusiastic,” said a girl with naturally curly chestnut hair, Neko Saki Natsukura. People usually called her “Neko” for short. Her given name’s pronunciation was “Sakura,” but she seemed to dislike being called that formally.

“She treats everyone that way. Ke Xin, who works with her often, probably feels the most pressure,” noted Tsukizuki Usagi, her hair black with pink highlights—a rare hairstyle at Crescent Moon Academy.

Even just looking at her hair made her recognizable. When she looked at Ke Xin, she seemed to radiate a calming effect; just one glance made Ke Xin feel more relaxed.

Could this be magic too? Truly amazing.

“By the way, do you want to eat lunch together?”

“Yeah,” Ke Xin nodded decisively. She didn’t know anyone else at school anyway.

Though Crescent Moon Academy had many students from both middle and high school, the cafeteria was large enough to accommodate the entire student body. The five of them could easily find a quiet corner.

Magical girls usually avoided talking about related topics at school, but accidents did happen.

“What did you order?”

As soon as Ke Xin set down her tray, Qisi leaned in, chopsticks at the ready.

Even though the answer was obvious at a glance, she asked anyway—clearly the question itself wasn’t the point.

“Spicy chicken leg with Sichuan pepper, extra hot,” Ke Xin emphasized the spiciness.

Qisi, not believing her, sniffed closer and immediately frowned. “Oh~~ Ke Xin’s taste buds are quite intense.”

“Don’t say it like that!”

Muzhou City was a coastal and relatively flat city. Ke Xin, coming from a hometown 200–300 kilometers away, had a different tolerance for spicy food. For her, normal spicy food required marking as “extra hot.”

“Doesn’t matter. If it’s Ke Xin’s choice, it must taste good.” Qisi took a deep breath, steeling herself, and took a bite of the chicken.

Everyone around could see her face instantly turn red, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She almost cried, but she didn’t give up and swallowed it.

Though sweating profusely, it was a satisfying battle—if not for the cafeteria’s spicy chicken, it surely would have been described this way.

“You don’t have to push yourself,” Ke Xin said, handing her yogurt, as milk was supposed to relieve spiciness.

Qisi gratefully drank it straight from the bottle, even licking some with her tongue.

Despite appearing as a perfect student in front of others, Qisi had this side too. One wondered how her admirers would react if they knew.

Neko Saki skillfully changed the topic: “By the way, have you heard? The biggest real estate company in Muzhou City got exposed for financial fraud. What was it called again…”

“You mean Fuwen Real Estate?” Bai Xihan answered after a moment’s thought.

“Exactly!”

Ke Xin, eating her lunch, looked up blankly, completely unfamiliar with the topic. Real estate was far from her life, especially as an outsider to Muzhou City.

“Was it a big deal?”

“Not huge, just that due to management problems, they were in long-term losses. They kept borrowing to develop, and now they can’t even pay the interest. But the main point is, the company’s boss used to boast a lot, and now apparently he can’t be contacted.”

“That kind of thing happens often, right? Some people think that because they have money, it proves their ability. The higher they brag, the harder they fall.”

Tsukizuki Usagi said it plainly, without sugarcoating. Ke Xin had initially thought she might be a gentle older sister type, and while she could be, she clearly had a strong dark side too.

Still, Fuwen Real Estate—Ke Xin felt like she had heard the name somewhere before. Though it was the largest company in Muzhou City, she must have encountered it outside of advertisements.