Chapter 8: Part.5 [Interlude]

Part. 5 【Interlude】

When she just became a magical girl, Wang Quan often admired herself in the dressing mirror in the room.

The lustrous satin cape was dotted with gems, long enough to trail the ground; the ivory scepter, one meter long, bore a carving of an 'eagle clutching jewels' at its top, plus long evening gloves and a crown. Though the crown was small and simple in design, the diamond set in its center, whether judged by size or clarity, was no ordinary trinket. Her light‑purple hair, exuding a noble aura, was tied up with a hair ornament, and on her feet were a pair of crystal shoes. Her eyelashes were so long they seemed to make a sound when she blinked. The magical girl's body needed no foundation or makeup; she felt she finally didn't have to worry about the troublesome trifles of being an ordinary person, and was liberated.

However, people never stay pleased for long, even if they become magical girls.

After meeting her instructor, the magical girl Calamity Mary, Wang Quan's pride was trampled into rubble.

When she first saw her, Wang Quan still wanted to chat about her ideals, after all, they were both magical girls, beings like her.

However, before she could speak, she was kicked to the ground by the other party with lightning speed.

She, with a cigar in her mouth, exhaled its smoke, then deliberately blew the smoke away forcefully, occasionally taking a few sips of alcohol. Seeing her so nonchalant, Sanae just tried to stand up when, in an instant, she heard gunfire, and at the same time a booming explosion came from behind her. Looking back, she saw a hole nearly three meters in diameter in the wall behind her, almost blasting the entire wall apart.

Such terrifying power left the dazed Wang Quan unable to muster even a hint of anger; only endless fear kept her frozen in place. She couldn't even see clearly how Calamity Mary drew her gun.

"You must not defy me, not disturb me, not provoke me, OK~~?" Calamity Mary looked down at Wang Quan, with wisps of blue smoke still rising from the muzzle of the police revolver in her hand.

Sanae remained in the posture of wanting to stand up, motionless, frozen in place.

"OK?" Calamity Mary repeated, aiming the gun at Wang Quan and slowly pressing it to her forehead. With her other hand she grabbed a bottle of seemingly valuable liquor and poured it into her mouth, tilting her head back so far that some liquor ran down the corners of her mouth, trickled onto her collar, and finally seeped from her outer garment to her waist.

"Is this... your magic?" Wang Quan's voice trembled, but the stiffness from shock and fear kept her trembling only in her voice.

"When is it your turn to ask me? Now I'm asking you; just nod like an idiot, OK?" Calamity Mary's voice was teasing.

Perhaps it wasn't long, but for Wang Quan it felt like an eternity; afterward she mechanically nodded her head.

"OK, OK. Not a bad answer." Seeing Wang Quan's action, Calamity Mary smirked contemptuously, casually spun the gun in her hand and holstered it, then gulped down the liquor in her hand without any decorum.

After finishing her deliberate display of actions, Calamity Mary staggered away from the small temple where Wang Quan was.

The humiliation that made Wang Quan's blood boil caused her to bite her lip tightly. However, the sudden voice of Calamity Mary from outside the temple made the teeth‑gritting Wang Quan shudder unexpectedly.

"Remember, you must not defy me, not disturb me, not provoke me. I don't care how you feel now; if you offend me, I don't mind people finding your corpse in some corner of the city~."

From then on, Wang Quan understood that only power could truly make her Wang Quan. But due to the limitations of her own magic and her insufficient strength, she took another path.

She realized she needed a protector, a meat shield to sustain her until she could unleash her magic.

From then on, whenever a new magical girl joined, she vied to be the instructor to gather obedient people into a small group. As a result, the not‑so‑bright Xiao Yu, the parroting Minnaer and Yunnaer, and the taciturn Yongyong became her subordinates.

To Wang Quan, Xiao Yu was like a dog, obedient to a strong master. Even if scolded or beaten, as long as the master didn't abandon her, she would happily wag her tail for the master. When given a collar, she was so delighted she ran around the temple.

The Twin Angels were cowards; if one spoke a bit more sternly, they wouldn't dare talk back. Sanae still hadn't figured out which was Yunnaer and which was Minnaer, but they had no objections.

Yongyong's reticence stems from lack of knowledge. Once, Sanae noticed her staring fixedly at the tourist notice board in Nishimonzen Town and asked what she was looking at; to her surprise, Yongyong pointed at the romanized "NISHIMONZEN" and asked Sanae, "What does this mean?" She could remember anything she said, so her memory should be fine, but reportedly she can't read many simple kanji besides roman letters. This really proves the old saying 'big‑breasted, brainless.'

These people are all idiots; they cannot act on their own judgment, and only under Sanae's command can they function as magical girls. Even dying for Sanae would be happier than doing nothing.

Minnaer and Yunnaer, the two of them, one said "This is easy enough, great," the other said "How cool," lightly agreeing to join the big candy‑snatching operation. Yongyong also silently nodded in agreement. Only Xiao Yu hesitated over the supposed moral issue "Is it okay for magical girls to steal others' things?" but after Yongyong prompted, "Aren't you going to obey the leader?" she finally nodded assent.

——————

When the Twin Angels and Xiao Yu had been sent by Wang Quan to search for traces of the crystal souls, Wang Quan looked at the properly seated Yongyong sitting upright before her.

Yongyong remained in her kneeling posture, as if she wouldn't move no matter how much time passed. Wang Quan looked at her for a while, then spoke:

"Why do you kneel?"

"Because I must face the respected leader with a proper posture."

"...... Did I ever say that before?"

"You did."

Whenever something happened, Yongyong would repeat Wang Quan's previous words—from things the speaker herself didn't recall saying, to words uttered merely to satisfy a desire for show or simply to contradict others, completely meaningless statements all included. Wang Quan saw this as a sign of Yongyong's loyalty, but sometimes also found it annoying.

"Magical girls must not let their true selves be known to ordinary people, nor casually reveal their true selves to other magical girls."

"You must admire the leader. You must strive to draw close to the leader to activate our organization."

"The strongest enemy is the one that must be defeated first."

"Becoming a magical girl and gaining inconceivable power does not mean you can be careless, for the enemies blocking a magical girl's advance also possess inconceivable power."

Among them were plenty of improvised bragging, but even such off‑the‑cuff remarks Yongyong remembered perfectly clear. Wang Quan approached Yongyong, bent down, and touched her head.

"As long as your head is filled with valuable things... even an idiot can improve."

"What are valuable things?"

Wang Quan smiled and replied in a cold tone: "My words."

Upon hearing this, Yongyong, with her head lowered, flashed a glint of light in her eyes.

————————

One day later.

Ding~~~

"Huh, you want to meet me? The eighteenth magical girl. At this time... you're not coming to steal from me, are you?" Xin looked at the new message on the terminal, slurping her cup noodles as she thought.

——————

Since Mianmian was eliminated, Xin's pressure had increased considerably. On one hand, she knew the plot; on the other, while chatting with magical girls like Supreme Speed, she had discovered part of the combat abilities of some magical girls (referring to Calamity Mary and the Winter Prison), and upon realizing that these magical girls' true strength was not as simple as in the animation, Xin, who had originally looked down on them somewhat, was forced to abandon her initial assassination plan.

"To hell with it! A single handgun can blast a three‑meter hole in a wall with one shot; even if the wall is wood, that's too terrifying."

On the other hand, seeing that her sugar was at the top of the rankings and that another magical girl existed, Xin felt the plot drifting away from her memory. The fear of the unknown made her pressure rise linearly; thus, Xin now often eats various sweets and snacks while thinking and living. Fortunately, when she eats these things she is in her magical girl state, otherwise gaining weight would increase her pressure.

——————

Looking at the information on the terminal, Xin did not want her intelligence to be at a disadvantage, but neither did she want to put herself in danger. After finishing three cups of Hewei Dao and a can of cola, Xin came up with a method.

She picked up the terminal and sent a few messages.

After receiving the needed replies, Xin gathered up the trash she had finished eating, tidied her equipment a bit, and leapt out the window.