Chapter 27: A Calculated Proposal

The young woman was earnest; she genuinely believed that protecting the populace was the magical girl’s sacred duty.

He Yao, of course, did not object to this understanding.

After all, he too had become a magical girl for love and justice, to protect the innocent.

To put it bluntly, a magical girl’s salary was practically negligible to him; he could even pay to work.

Yet, he insisted on taking his remuneration, for money earned oneself simply felt different.

Liu Xingyue, however, harbored a peculiar obsession with this very mission.

He Yao sighed, retrieving two cans of chilled soda from the refrigerator.

“I’ve always been curious,” he began, “we ordinary people don’t know much about magical girls. Do you have some kind of trauma?”

He spoke quite directly: “For instance, perhaps during a certain incident, you failed to protect someone you should have.”

Liu Xingyue’s pupils constricted, her expression shifting dramatically.

Her reaction alone made further questions unnecessary; clearly, he had hit the mark.

“No need to be so surprised,” he said. “It’s a common plotline in novels. You should read more fiction and watch more anime; then you wouldn’t find me so strange.”

Handing a soda to Liu Xingyue, he added, “Take a couple sips; it’ll help clear your head.”

Liu Xingyue silently accepted the can, opened it, and took a sharp swig.

The slight sting of carbonation as it coursed down her throat invigorated her considerably.

“So, what exactly are you trying to say?” she questioned.

“Emerald lacks combat prowess.”

He Yao spoke bluntly: “I witnessed Rainbow Jade’s battle. While everyone constantly praises Rainbow Jade’s power—Ink Crystal struggled against the masked figures, but Rainbow Jade instantly annihilated one.”

“Though I’m unsure if there’s a power disparity among the masked figures, assuming they are equal, Rainbow Jade’s combat strength is likely more than ten times that of Ink Crystal’s.”

He continued, “And you, Miss Emerald. Judging by your previous fight in front of the sports store, your combat power might even be inferior to Ink Crystal’s.”

“At the very least, Ink Crystal possesses an offensive skill. That day, when you fought the giant baby, even without knowing all the details, I could tell you were in a bitter struggle. Had I not intervened with Zhang Xiao, you might not have won.”

This undoubtedly struck a nerve with Liu Xingyue. Her face contorted as she sought to refute him, yet she found herself speechless, for He Yao had spoken the truth.

“But that Great Aum is different. His power is immense, and he is not a magical girl,” He Yao remarked with a hint of deeper meaning. “Do you understand what I’m getting at, Liu Xingyue?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“My point is, I’m very interested in that Kamen Rider. If you could help me find him, I’d be truly grateful. Besides, it would benefit you too.”

“Such as?”

“For example, you could collaborate with him. Since he helped Ink Crystal, he must be a person of justice,” He Yao analyzed the situation seriously. “Wearing a mask indicates an unwillingness to reveal his identity.”

“And he clearly doesn’t possess the magical girls’ ability to mask their presence. So, if you can capture him and remove his mask, you can ascertain his identity. Your abilities are quite suited for such a task, aren’t they?”

A confident smile spread across his face as he concluded, “In this scenario, you could leverage his power to compensate for your own lack of combat strength.”

“What benefit would this bring you?”

“That’s none of your concern, is it? I simply want to know what else could be so powerful, apart from magical girls—assuming he isn’t a monster or a fiend.”

Liu Xingyue seemed to grasp a hint of He Yao’s meaning: “Are you suggesting… he might be a monster or a fiend?”

“I believe it’s possible, as it aligns with logic. However, I’m unsure of his reasons for helping Ink Crystal; your magical girl affairs are truly complicated.”

“I’m just an ordinary person and don’t particularly wish to get involved, but… as my classmate, I wouldn’t want you to suddenly die in some bizarre incident.”

Liu Xingyue was taken aback by his words, staring at He Yao. “You genuinely want me to be your girlfriend?”

“What’s wrong with that? Are you never going to find a boyfriend?”

“No, not exactly…”

“So, does the boyfriend you seek need superpowers? Or are there specific requirements, like certain special conditions?”

Liu Xingyue shook her head again.

“Then it’s settled, isn’t it? Since I know your identity and my family is wealthy, even if you decide to stop being a magical girl someday, I can ensure you have a good fallback.”

“I can also help conceal your identity in daily life. Furthermore, I’m quite intelligent and can assist you in analyzing situations. Being my girlfriend would only benefit you.”

As he laid it out, it truly seemed to be the case.

Liu Xingyue found herself pondering the matter.

“So, what’s in it for you?”

“Having a magical girl as a girlfriend—isn’t that a benefit in itself?”

“…I’ll consider it.”

“Of course. I’m not in a hurry.”

He Yao stood up, knowing that Liu Xingyue had, in fact, already agreed, for she had no reason to object.

Her claim of “considering it” was merely a pretense to convince herself.

“Would you like to look around my place? My parents gave me this house, so if you ever need a base of operations, this could serve as one.”

“There are plenty of rooms; I could let you have one.”

Liu Xingyue followed He Yao, taking a tour of his home.

Finally, she bid He Yao farewell.

In reality, his pursuit of Liu Xingyue as a girlfriend served two primary purposes.

First, it was to prove his orientation to his parents.

Though he was a magical girl, he still liked girls.

He could point out that he had found a partner, and this partner, also a magical girl, wouldn’t mind his identity.

Whether or not to reveal Liu Xingyue’s magical girl identity could be decided another day.

All in all, this was a means to put his parents at ease.

However, if merely proving this point was his sole objective, he needn’t have chosen Liu Xingyue; any girl would have sufficed.

But then again—helping Liu Xingyue conceal her identity was, in turn, helping him conceal his own.

When Liu Xingyue transformed, he could transform too.

He simply needed to follow Liu Xingyue’s lead. Theoretically, she would never discover his true identity.

Concurrently, if anyone suspected a magical girl’s identity, their focus would naturally fall on Liu Xingyue.

Not everyone was like Teacher Lin, who would resort to stalking, and having learned from his past encounter with Teacher Lin, he would be far more cautious in this regard moving forward.

Considering these two reasons, he decided to make Liu Xingyue his girlfriend.

As for the possibility of marriage in the future…

Perhaps?

It didn’t feel entirely out of the question. It depended on whether they were compatible; if a strong affection developed, marriage wouldn’t be a bad idea.

After all, Liu Xingyue was a magical girl brimming with a sense of justice.

While she might be a bit straightforward, he, as a good person, should be able to get along with her.

How truly excellent!

My wisdom is truly frightening!

He Yao felt a swell of pride in his own cleverness.

Soon after, he received a private message from Emerald within the magical girl domain, asking about Kamen Rider.

After sending back a message asking, “How do you know?”, he then, as Magical Girl Ink Crystal, provided a detailed description of Kamen Rider Great Aum’s appearance.

He harbored a strange feeling about Great Aum.

He was, of course, grateful that the individual had helped him.

However, the inability to ascertain their identity left him deeply uneasy.

Just as he had told Emerald earlier.

The individual’s physical statistics were even more terrifying than those of a Regenerator, a monster enhanced through flesh manipulation.

It almost made one believe they were a genuine monster.

The kind that merges with fiends.

And quite possibly, incredibly powerful.

Typically, when a monster merges with a fiend, they easily lose their sanity or become extremely radicalized.

After all, fiends are inherently collections of negative energy.

Merging with such an entity—the outcome is self-evident.

If this truly were the case, it would imply that an immensely profound darkness might be hidden within the heart of Kamen Rider Great Aum.

For Clear Sky City, this would undoubtedly be catastrophic news.

Thus, despite the potential accusation of repaying kindness with enmity, he was determined to uncover Great Aum’s identity by any means necessary.

This was a slight exploitation of Emerald, but he truly lacked connections among the magical girls.

Even if he wished to ask other magical girls for help, it would be difficult.

He estimated that in Clear Sky City, only Rainbow Jade could confidently contend with that Kamen Rider.

Well… it wasn’t a major impact, in any case.

He went out on another patrol.

Upon returning home, he lay down on his bed.

Today had been truly eventful: donations, treating everyone to a meal, making friends, and then the subtle maneuvering with Liu Xingyue.

He Yao hadn’t realized how long a day could feel when he wasn’t playing games.

Even he began to wonder if he had wasted too much time in the past.

It felt as though he could accomplish so much.

He lay on his bed.

Just then, he noticed a new friend request on his messaging app.

He presumed it must be one of his “friends.”

Then, seeing the note, he froze.

[I am Zhang Xiao.]

Even now, he still harbored a degree of fear towards the girl named Zhang Xiao.

After all, under the augmentation of fiend power, that child had genuinely come close to beating him to death.

In all his life, that had been his closest encounter with death.

Though he had broken her leg, seeing her name always brought back memories of her ferocious face as she tried to crush him.

Truthfully, he didn’t want to accept.

But now, he was a magical girl.

If this woman went berserk and transformed into a fiend again, he could use his magical girl identity to vanquish her!

There was no need to be so afraid. After all, as a symbol of love and justice, why should he fear a girl who was once a fiend?

Hadn’t he heard the saying, “Once bitten, twice shy”?

While he wouldn’t think that way, he truly didn’t need to be afraid.

He bolstered his courage with famous quotes.

He tapped “Accept.”