Chapter 42: Nightfall’s Plans and Unseen Arrivals

That night.

In a discreet maneuver, a small transport plane descended vertically onto an empty lot on the city’s outskirts. From within its belly, several warriors, armed with guns and blades, stepped out. There was no grand fanfare, no lavish welcome; their arrival was as understated as an infiltration.

“Young Mistress, we are fully prepared.”

“Mm, I don’t need you just yet. You may act independently, but when I summon you…”

“We shall appear by your side within moments.”

The warriors bowed deeply, then took up the firearms at their sides. These were pulse carbines, painted white, with such a futuristic design that their intricate mechanisms and distant origins were entirely obscured. Without needing the magical girl’s power reinforcement, these weapons alone could pierce the armor of D-class monsters, the Rust-Blooded Worms, through sustained fire. At each warrior’s waist hung the scabbard of a katana. Yet, these were not conventional katanas, but experimental beam sabers capable of confining high-energy beams into a blade-like form. A single strike from one of these could melt even heavy armor into molten slag.

“Hmph… Very well, go on, settle into your quarters.”

“Yes!”

The warriors bowed deeply once more, then departed with synchronized steps.

****

Under the cloak of night, on the city’s outskirts, only Kuonji Mashiro remained, dressed in casual clothes.

“Eh… Don’t you have anything to say, Hane? You just saved your past self, and I haven’t heard your thoughts on it yet.”

“…She is far stronger than I, Young Mistress. I don’t believe I’m quite so shameless.”

Though the Young Mistress appeared to be alone, her seemingly self-addressed words were met with a reply. Her attendant, Hane, was merged with the night, completely unseen.

“Does the Young Mistress truly intend to settle here? By all accounts, this is hardly a suitable location.”

“Eh~ it’s less about settling and more about investing, wouldn’t you say?”

Before their eyes, the plane roared to life once more. It blew down brilliant blue flames vertically, stirring up dust. Amidst the swirling dust, the Young Mistress gently held down the hem of her skirt.

“The Darkliel branch will become a force that changes the world… Don’t you think so?”

“Indeed, there’s no refuting that.”

“Hahahahahahaha, exactly! And besides, that love-struck foolish woman is dead, leaving behind an enormous power vacuum here.”

The plane took off, trailing brilliant blue flames as it soared straight into the sky. The Young Mistress released her skirt. If Ling Xing were here, she would likely be astonished. This Young Mistress was actually dutifully wearing a school uniform, rather than one of her usual unconventional outfits.

‘She actually knows how to dress properly?’

“Regarding this, if I may speak frankly, Young Mistress, I still believe your actions… are far too risky.”

“Ah, I know, and I’ll keep doing it, keep taking risks—what, can’t stand it anymore? Are you going to abandon me, Hane?”

“…No, I mean, if such things occur again, please, allow me to accompany you.”

The fiery glow receded into the distance. With no reason to linger, the Young Mistress stepped forward once more.

“Well then, you’d best prepare your gear.”

Mashiro smiled, pulling out from her school uniform pocket—a pair of brainwashing goggles, glowing with an eerie pink light. She triumphantly dangled them before Hane, as if showing off a prized possession. This caused the former combatant to momentarily lose her composure.

‘That tight-fitting uniform for brainwashed grunt combatants—it truly isn’t meant for humans!’

“Uh… Young Mistress, I think you should at least try the elite combatant’s uniform…”

“No, I think the grunt combatant’s uniform looks better.”

“…Alright.”

As night deepened, the Young Mistress stepped lightly, swiftly vanishing into the shadows.

****

Meanwhile, in the heart of the night, the Magical Girl Organization’s towering stronghold here remained brightly lit. Clearing battlefields, repairing facilities, managing the media, concealing the truth. Tasks piled up like mountains. And, it was evident that Qi Teng Shen Xue was utterly clueless about any of it.

“Ugh—I can’t stand it! Why am I being dragged here in the middle of the night to clean up your mess?!”

A tall woman with glasses, still in her combat attire, had already buried her head in a stack of documents. Qi Teng Shen Xue, meanwhile, merely sat beside her, offering a minimal boost of emotional support. She didn’t even lift a finger to help.

“You could also choose to let it continue festering.”

It wasn’t that she deliberately refused to work; it was simply that [Do not let Qi Teng Shen Xue handle clerical work] had long become a consensus within the organization. She was simply incapable of doing anything, yet too rigid to skip work during office hours, so she ended up just sitting beside her colleague.

“Tch, wasn’t the branch chief doing perfectly fine? What happened, how did you mess up? As her bodyguard, how could you let her get shot?”

The tall woman, with a deadpan stare, flipped through files irritably, asking casually. However, even before Shen Xue could reply, she already knew the answer.

“Your next sentence will be, ‘I wasn’t there—’”

“…I wasn’t there.”

‘So easy to guess,’ she thought, pushing up her glasses without lifting her head.

“The truth then? I don’t recall you being such a heartless woman. Could a mere grunt combatant really burn all the research data without leaving a single sheet?”

“…I did not endorse the research she spearheaded.”

While she wouldn’t stop it, she also wouldn’t participate or actively interfere. Naturally, this included the combatant’s attack. If it were a direct order, she would not refuse. But without an order, she would not intervene. Such was Qi Teng Shen Xue’s stance.

“Hmm… being able to unleash catastrophes and monsters anywhere in the world at any time, I actually think that sounds pretty cooooooool.”

“Never mind, let’s not talk about that. What do you think of that guy… or rather, girl, you were watching on the battlefield at the end?”

The tall woman pushed up her glasses, tilting her head curiously.

“Not bad. I believe she has the potential to kill me.”

“There you go again—”

The night had grown deep. The endless work seemed to have no end in sight. The two elderly magical girls would likely not see their beds tonight. Ah, work, work…

****

Compared to the two elderly magical girls unable to reach their beds, or the Young Mistress and her attendant still strolling through the night, the dark organization’s stronghold at this moment—was utterly quiet, with nothing happening. It was so late; good children were naturally already asleep. Even the naughty children were tired from playing and should be asleep. If there were any changes… it would probably be that an uninvited girl had appeared on Ling Xing’s small bed, encroaching upon her already not-so-spacious area. A few extra suitcases had appeared in the stronghold, and some sports-oriented girl’s living essentials had been added to the room. That was all. Ling Xing hadn’t woken up yet; if she were to react to these things—that would have to wait until she woke up tomorrow.