Chapter 44: The Forgetful Magical Girl and the TikTok Encounter

“Using Ling Xing for my transformation… does this mean we’ll be fighting side-by-side?”

Shaking off the last vestiges of sleepiness, Chao Wu instantly buzzed with excitement.

Disregarding any mention of suspicion or risk, she seized Ling Xing’s small hand.

“What are we waiting for then? Let’s go, let’s go, quick, let’s see, before they grow impatient—”

“Hah…”

A fool, it seemed, remained a fool.

To imagine a fool might suddenly grow clever was, predictably, a pipe dream.

Ling Xing let out a sigh, a faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on her lips, as if she were stifling a laugh.

This prompted Chao Wu to indignantly wave her fists.

“What is it now? You’re not going to leave me behind again, are you, Ling Xing? We explicitly agreed you wouldn’t go on missions without me!”

“No… I was just wondering, haven’t you perhaps forgotten something, my dear D-rank Magical Girl, Chao Wu?”

“…Huh?”

As a direct consequence of that battle, Chao Wu had not only successfully rejoined the Magical Girl organization but had also, quite deservedly, been promoted to a formal D-rank Magical Girl due to her outstanding achievements.

Yet, this endearing fool, who had harbored the dream of becoming a Magical Girl and striven for it for years, seemed utterly oblivious to her own achievement.

Having finally realized her lifelong aspiration, she was surprisingly—and somewhat anticlimactically—not particularly thrilled.

So much so, in fact, that she had completely forgotten.

As a fully-fledged Magical Girl, she was, of course, scheduled for duty during this very holiday!

The young girl swiftly glanced up at the antique clock adorning the base’s wall.

Noticing her frantic movement, Ling Xing’s lips curved into a smile she couldn’t quite suppress. Under Dal’s curious gaze, she reached out and gently covered the young girl’s soft, tender ears.

“Waaah! I completely, utterly forgot! No wonder Ling Xing wouldn’t let me lie in bed… Why didn’t you just tell me directly?!”

Having finally realized she had less than twenty minutes until her shift, Chao Wu let out a piercing wail, much like a blaring air-raid siren.

“Hmph, I rather thought my hints were quite obvious. If I had simply stated it outright, wouldn’t that imply I considered you a complete fool?”

“Grumph—”

With no retort at hand, the young girl could only emit disgruntled grumbles, much like a small, annoyed animal, vehemently conveying her displeasure to Ling Xing.

Naturally, Ling Xing remained utterly unfazed. With one hand planted firmly on her hip in an assertive stance, her other hand deftly snatched the piece of bread the girl had just dropped mid-air in her shock.

Both a Magical Girl and a Dark Organization combatant—it sounded rather peculiar, yet Hane had already managed to juggle these roles.

After all, no one had ever decreed that these two identities were mutually exclusive.

“Hmph hmph hmph, is it truly wise to stand there glaring at me? The run from here to the tower should take about…”

“Ugh, well, anyway, I only have duty today! You’re not allowed to sneak off on missions behind my back!”

With that declaration, the young girl, her long hair streaming behind her, bolted out in a frantic rush.

“If anything, anything at all, happens, come find me! I’ll come even if it means skipping work! Even if I get fired, I’ll still come! You absolutely have to tell me!”

Her figure vanished, yet her resounding voice lingered in the air.

What a remarkably overbearing declaration; even Dal wasn’t quite so assertive.

Ling Xing, a mischievous grin playing on her lips, then took a bite of the bread.

“Huh? Ling Xing, but… hasn’t our clock always been half an hour fast? Chao Wu doesn’t need to be in such a panic, does she?”

“Precisely why she’s a fool. She’s been here for days and still hasn’t noticed? What else would you call that but foolishness?”

Ultimately, Chao Wu hadn’t changed a bit.

She remained the same clumsy, foolish Magical Girl, utterly unchanged by her new role as a combatant, never morphing into anything peculiar.

And that was precisely how it should be.

To retain one’s true essence, regardless of circumstances, was a rare and truly precious quality.

“Oh, right, Dal. I still need your opinion on something. What are your thoughts on Nuonuo?”

“Hmm? Nuonuo…? If an old friend is returning, that must be wonderful news, right? It must be Ling Xing’s recent efforts that have brought the organization such renown, prompting everyone to start gathering once more!”

The young girl beamed with a pure, innocent smile, her tiny canines peeking out, her joy radiating visibly.

From a lonely duo of just Ling Xing and herself, to the recent addition of Chao Wu, the Dark Organization was finally beginning to resemble its former self.

Everyone bustling with activity at the base, striving together towards a common goal, their efforts unified.

There was truly nothing more wonderful than this.

“Alright, then I suppose I’ll go have a word with this Nuonuo. All these years without a single message, leaving Dal to guard the organization all by herself in such loneliness—I’ll certainly have to give her a proper ‘talk’.”

“Oh, oh! Be safe, Ling Xing! There are so many soldiers out on the streets now—”

****

Dal truly was prone to worrying.

Mere paltry soldiers posed no challenge whatsoever for Ling Xing, an elite combatant.

Besides, she knew the precise population of this small city; how many soldiers could they possibly deploy?

Ling Xing sauntered out of the alley and onto the main street, only to—

—then she understood precisely why Dal had warned her.

‘Holy crap, there really are a lot.’

The streets teemed with patrol teams in full military regalia, brandishing rifles and even individual rocket launchers as they scoured every corner.

Armored personnel carriers were parked at every street corner and major intersection.

On just one street alone, she counted no fewer than a dozen soldiers.

Their hair ranged from golden blonde to bright brown and even purple, making it evident at a glance that a significant number were not local military personnel.

‘Hmm…’

In the days Ling Xing had spent recuperating at home, she had indeed heard broadcasts stating that the Magical Girl organization was deploying additional troops to increase patrols, ostensibly to guard against further rift attacks. However, the sheer scale of this deployment far surpassed anything Ling Xing had imagined.

This level of military presence surely wasn’t merely for warding off rifts and monsters.

‘Damn it, has the Magical Girl organization become so utterly deranged in their pursuit of the Dark Organization that they’ve flooded this small, remote city with such a massive military presence…?’

Ling Xing, lost in these troubling thoughts, had barely stepped out of the alley—

—when she found herself face-to-face with a patrol team.

“Hm?”

“…”

‘To think I’d be needing a ‘rehabilitation session’ so early in the morning.’

Ling Xing sighed internally at her unfortunate start to the day, her hand surreptitiously slipping towards the pistol at her waist.

Three individuals: two armed with rifles, one with a machine gun slung across their back, and their communicators were…

‘Without transforming, taking down this particular patrol team might prove a tad—’

“Hey! You’re that Magical Girl from TikTok, aren’t you?!”

‘—?’

Just as Ling Xing was calmly formulating her tactical response, the other party unexpectedly spoke up.

The soldier, whose features were distinctly Western, lowered their rifle and, with an air of instant familiarity—no, more like the excitement of encountering a celebrity—immediately closed in around her.

Ling Xing’s hand, poised to draw her weapon, froze mid-motion. She had no idea what game they were playing.

They didn’t appear hostile, so naturally, attacking them was out of the question.

“Ah? Ah… ahaha, that’s right, it’s me! I am—”

Ling Xing, who didn’t even own a mobile phone, knew nothing of TikTok, and gleaned her scant information solely from radio broadcasts, was utterly bewildered, but no matter what, she couldn’t let her formidable aura waver!

The presence of an elite combatant demanded nothing less than—

“—an elite combatant under the Dark Cadre! I know, I know! Oh, that declaration is so unique, far cooler than those saccharine Magical Girls in Neon!”

“Exactly, exactly! Come on, sweetie, how about an autograph for us? Yes, right here…”

“Look what we’ve stumbled upon in this little city! Everyday photos of Magical Girl Ling Xing! I came all this way just for her; I absolutely have to get a picture with her!”

“……?”

‘Wait, aren’t you supposed to be hunting down the Dark Organization?’

‘A Dark Organization combatant is standing right before your very eyes!’

‘I’m an elite combatant, not some mere Magical Girl!’

‘What, exactly, does all of this mean?’

Ling Xing, who had never once used a mobile phone, knew nothing of TikTok, and gleaned her scant information solely from radio broadcasts, stared blankly as these patrolling soldiers enthusiastically whipped out their phones, eager to take selfies with her.