Chapter 66: An Uninvited Guest and an Unexpected Call

Within the Magic Girl Organization’s towering headquarters, in the dormitory wing, Nuonuo found herself. Her long, dishevelled hair splayed wildly, and she was curled up in a corner of her room, stifled beneath a small blanket.

Her room was spacious, yet she had confined all her belongings and activity to a small area, occupying only a quarter of the space.

To her, this cluttered, cramped space was the only territory that offered a semblance of security.

“Phew… I succeeded… Ling Xing.”

Her mind disconnected from the projected familiar, and Nuonuo exhaled deeply, pushing aside the small blanket she considered absolute defense against demons and monsters.

Having sweat profusely under the blanket, mixed with the lingering slime from the tentacles, Nuonuo’s disheartened, frail body emitted a faint, sour scent.

Even Nuonuo felt, to some extent, that she needed to clean herself.

‘After all, Ling Xing will carry me back to the base, won’t she? Hehe, my luggage is already packed.’

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Nuonuo’s disheartened face as she struggled to wave her small hand, fumbling towards the crutch placed by her bed.

Then, just as she was about to reach the crutch…

The crutch clattered to the floor, landing just outside her self-proclaimed territory.

“Uh…”

With one eye covered by a patch and only the other able to see, Nuonuo tilted her small head, finally noticing the uninvited guest in her room.

It was the Magic Girl, Blazing Blade.

“Oh, Nuonuo, you seem quite happy, don’t you?”

Blazing Blade chuckled condescendingly, looking down at the frail girl curled up on the bed.

Her tall figure loomed like a mountain in Nuonuo’s eyes, completely blocking her view.

“…L-long time no see?”

“We just saw each other a few hours ago, didn’t we?”

Blazing Blade maintained her smile, pacing leisurely around the room and observing Nuonuo’s cluttered sanctuary.

From the messy desk, she picked up a half-empty bottle of sports drink.

“You even said it was a bit sweet back then, hehe.”

“Ah…”

That was the half-bottle left from before. Though Nuonuo found it unpalatable, she had secretly hoarded it as a treasured item because Ling Xing had given it to her.

However, Blazing Blade surely hadn’t come for something so trivial.

“How does it feel? Being carried back in a princess carry by Ling Xing in front of everyone?”

“……”

Nuonuo did not reply, merely shrinking further towards the foot of the bed and pulling her small blanket tighter.

As if that thin layer of bedding could truly offer any protection.

“Don’t be scared. I’m not here to cause trouble for you—ahahaha, youth is wonderful, isn’t it? Old folks like me at this age probably don’t even qualify for a princess carry anymore.”

Blazing Blade flashed a cheerful smile, like any ordinary athletic girl, twisted open the cap, and tilted her head back to drain the drink.

She then tossed the empty bottle outside Nuonuo’s territory.

“If you had spoken up then, Ling Xing wouldn’t have refused.”

****

The empty bottle was crushed flat under Blazing Blade’s foot.

Blazing Blade stood with her arms crossed, her expression still smiling, yet her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared coldly at the frail girl on the bed.

“Perhaps you’re right, Nuonuo, but I feel it’s not too late now.”

Her fiery red hair swayed casually as Blazing Blade walked to the window.

“I know Ling Xing will deal with those Neon people; she’s always been that formidable. But Nuonuo, I must tell you—

The Dark Organization will rise again, effortlessly tearing through the Allied Forces’ armies, eliminating all those fools who boast they can protect humanity without relying on Magic Girls. Then, the Magic Girls will make a magnificent, heroic entrance and resolve everything.”

“……”

“This is a predetermined outcome, an outcome that cannot be changed no matter what she does. Rather, without the Neon people to cover for them, the Allied Forces will only suffer more miserably.”

Blazing Blade pushed open the window, allowing a gentle breeze to enter the stuffy room.

Outside the window, dozens of stories high, she gazed down at the ground, a scene of cars coming and going, tiny figures crisscrossing.

“Blazing Blade…”

In response to Blazing Blade’s lengthy discourse, Nuonuo merely uttered a single, hoarse sentence.

“Is that truly how much you want her to be your comrade?”

****

Time passed, and events unfolded.

The two confronting each other remained silent for a long time, with Blazing Blade merely gazing out the window.

Outside the window she watched, several trucks were neatly driving out from within the organization.

‘The Magic Science Team and their captain have both been deployed? What could possibly warrant such a large-scale operation… No, I need to gather evidence to tell Ling Xing…’

Chao Wu, a rookie Magic Girl pulled into duty, watched as the Magic Science Team deployed and the organization mobilized.

Meanwhile, at the Allied Forces’ base.

–Colonel, we still don’t know where the enemy is lurking. Isn’t it a bit too conspicuous for us to be driving around the streets at such a dangerous time?–

–Cut the chatter. As if we could accomplish anything by staying cooped up here. My grandmother would praise this camp’s defenses; do we really need to interfere? We’d be better off finding that Magic Girl!–

Colonel Sarif, an Allied Forces officer who felt personally humiliated by the Magic Girl, completed her tasks and then, with a few squad members, floored the accelerator onto the road.

Something was about to happen. Whether it was the officer, Chao Wu, or Nuonuo, they all felt a sense of unease, a premonition.

The only ones seemingly untouched by this wave of apprehension were Ling Xing, at this moment, and the Dark Organization’s base.

Hane, the Magic Girl who had kidnapped the Reporter Lady, was currently at the Dark Organization’s base, munching on bread that Dal had served as hospitality.

–Hehehe, eat up, eat up! It’s already past lunchtime; you must be starving, right?~–

–Thank you, Dal-sama… actually…–

Hane hesitated for a moment, wondering how to address the enthusiastic young girl with such a naturally cheerful smile.

However, she soon found she wouldn’t need to hesitate.

*Ding-a-ling-ling—*

Her terminal rang; it was a call from Kuonji Mashiro.

She raised her hand, ignoring the trembling Reporter Lady who had been coerced into accompanying them, and momentarily moved away from both to answer the call.

Generally, such urgent, consecutive calls from the Young Lady never boded well.

Hane braced herself, knowing that even without understanding the reason, a scolding was inevitably the first order of business.

–Hane?–

–I’m here, Young Lady.–

–Mission canceled. Ah… come back quickly, *huff*… for dinner. I… I cooked a whole table myself, and it won’t be… oh, ah… delicious if it gets cold.–

“……?”

Hane lowered her phone, casting a serious glance at the caller ID.

She stared at the Young Lady’s name on the screen, confirming it for a long moment before the realization dawned.

This gentle voice, laced with peculiar, faint gasps, was actually coming from the Young Lady.

‘What is this? This terrible tone, as if she’s being struck by a giant dragon while suppressing excited tremors!’

–…Are you alright, Young Lady? The mission was going smoothly; there shouldn’t be any need to cancel it.–

–Ah, ah? Ah-heh… Eh? Cancel, the need to cancel… Oh, well, it’s just… you’ll know when you get back.–

“……”

‘It’s over.’

‘In the time I was away on a mission, what on earth happened to the Young Lady?’

Hane’s vision went black, and she nearly collapsed in Dal’s home. It took her a good while to compose herself before she could tentatively pick up her phone again.

–Try this, okay? Be careful, it’s hot. Let me blow on it for you, *huff, huff*—–

“……”

For the first time in her life, Hane hung up on the Young Lady, her face as grim as someone who had just returned home after working overtime, only to watch LPL’s most promising year end in the top seventeen.