Living with a Magical Girl, but I'm a Monster Executive

"Still, this factory building is really well hidden. It was actually built deep in the woods. It feels perfect for a secret base."

As she spoke, Yaochuan Guang casually sat down on a raised, dust-covered concrete platform.

"When I was in middle school, I found an abandoned sports storage room at school and made it my secret base. Cong Yu, did you have a secret base?"

Finding a secret base at school during middle school sounded like the sort of hobby Japanese students would have.

As for Cong Yu, he had possessed a real secret base back in middle school... so he had never needed to find one specially.

The secret base of the Monster 22nd Group.

The kind of secret base that magical girls were constantly trying to locate.

So Cong Yu did not know how to answer that question. He merely nodded to indicate that he did indeed have one.

"..."

"Those school days were nice. They would have been even better without exams... I'm about to continue school at Wind City High School. I wonder how much of what I learned I still remember."

Yaochuan Guang looked delighted as she turned toward the visibly shaken Cong Yu. "Are you studying, Cong Yu? What school do you go to?"

Cong Yu: ???

Cong Yu, a second-year student at Wind City High School: "..."

Lantian Zhu Fainted from Hunger (Tragic)

"Huh? So you're going to be a second-year at Wind City High School after this? Haha, then I'm one of those legendary 'mysterious transfer students'!"

Yaochuan Guang looked thrilled, the curve of her lips proving just how happy she was. "Maybe I'll get placed in your class. Please take care of me at school too, Cong Yu-chan!"

If possible, Cong Yu really did not want to take care of her.

Watching Yaochuan Guang walk ahead of him, turning back with a foolish grin, Cong Yu could not understand why this girl had so much energy.

"So you really are the same age you look? I thought you'd graduated long ago..."

Cong Yu sighed like that, unaware that Yaochuan Guang's apparent age truly was her actual age.

After all, magical girls' appearances really did become fixed at a certain point. They were genuinely ageless and immortal beings.

It was difficult to encounter a magical girl who was not very old.

Take Lantian Zhu, for example. Lantian Zhu was definitely older than she looked. She was clearly a veteran magical girl.

No wonder Yaochuan Guang was so innocent in the way she dealt with people.

"Yeah. I attended my first year of high school before becoming a magical girl. Now that I'm already pretty famous in Wind City, I decided to go back and finish my studies. Haha!"

Yaochuan Guang proudly put her hands on her hips.

Cong Yu could not deny that. Yaochuan Guang really was popular in Wind City, and she really did have plenty of merchandise.

But seeing Yaochuan Guang looking so pleased with herself...

"You're a magical girl the agency forcibly pushed into the spotlight. It's only natural you'd be popular... but outside Wind City, you're not very well-known."

Cong Yu spoke up to knock Yaochuan Guang down a peg.

Yaochuan Guang was a little dissatisfied. "Huh? You make me sound like some incompetent trainee girl idol."

Apologize to trainee idols!

And sometimes, magical girls were worse than girl idols...

"..." Cong Yu said nothing, merely pursing his lips as he continued walking. Then he heard a sweet female voice from beside the street. "Excuse me, sorry to interrupt you two. This is the newly opened café—Echo Maid COF. We're currently holding a free tasting event."

"Our shop has a fresh, gentle atmosphere and is perfect for couples. Would you two be willing to visit and try our signature mini cakes?"

"Everything is free during our first month of business."

"..." The speaker was a girl dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit, holding a stack of flyers. Smiling, she handed one to Cong Yu.

Free?

Cong Yu's eyes lit up. He smoothly took the flyer, then cleared his throat. "Ahem, thank you, but we're not a couple."

As Cong Yu said that, Yaochuan Guang nodded as well. But then she heard what Cong Yu said next—

"She's actually a lesbian."

"..." Yaochuan Guang's nod froze instantly, and she immediately protested, "What are you talking about?! Little Lan and I are just ordinary friends!"

Cong Yu had only made it up casually.

But Cong Yu had not even mentioned Lantian Zhu... Could there really be something going on?

Against Cong Yu's calm expression, the slight teasing in his eyes became even more conspicuous.

Even Yaochuan Guang realized something was wrong.

"Ah! I'm really not a lesbian, Cong Yu!"

Watching Yaochuan Guang desperately explain herself, Cong Yu did not pay much attention to her. Instead, he looked at the flyer in his hand and headed in a certain direction.

Before Yaochuan Guang could ask anything, he explained first. "I'm going to eat cake and solve my lunch problem."

Yaochuan Guang hesitated a little, but still followed him. "Shouldn't cake and coffee be eaten in the afternoon?"

Was it really okay to have dessert directly for lunch?

Cong Yu answered Yaochuan Guang's question with complete honesty. "Because my life is very difficult right now, and I don't have money for lunch."

Because his Grass Flower Bank card had been frozen, Cong Yu had very little cash on him and was not particularly willing to use his credit card.

So when it came to every aspect of daily life, his attitude was to save wherever he could.

He was not so poor that he could not afford food, but he really did need to save wherever possible... at least until the Wind City Magical Girl Agency transferred the residency fee into his account.

Besides, it was about time to call his editor and ask about changing his bank card... though he had still not finished last month's manuscript even by today.

So he probably would not receive any manuscript payment this month.

As Cong Yu lamented, he compared the address on the flyer with the surroundings, searching for a place called "Free Food Café."

"Free Food Café? Hmm..."

But he could not find it. He only saw a strange café with both English and Japanese on its sign.

It seemed there were quite a few cafés on this street...

Thinking that, Cong Yu casually walked past the establishment.

The two girls dressed as maids standing at the entrance of Echo Maid COF stared dumbfoundedly as the long-haired boy holding their flyer walked past.

The boy was even muttering things like, "Where is it? The café should be nearby."

The two confused maids exchanged a look with the equally confused Yaochuan Guang.

Yaochuan Guang looked up at the café sign, then checked the expressions of the two girls in maid outfits again.

"N-no... isn't this it? Cong Yu? Cong Yu-chan?"

When Yaochuan Guang called out to him, Cong Yu turned and looked at the sign, then at the flyer in his hand. "Ah, we're here."

That left Yaochuan Guang speechless, and the professional smiles on the maids' faces stiffened slightly.

The maids: It seemed they had welcomed a very strange customer.

--

"Two free tasting sets, and... one Black Forest cake, one cookie, and one cheese stick. Thank you."

Yaochuan Guang handed the order back to the waitress in a maid outfit, then looked at Cong Yu, who was playing on his phone.

For some reason, she felt like a mother who had brought her child out to eat... No, more like an older sister.

Perhaps noticing Yaochuan Guang staring at him—

"Just so you know, I don't have money."

Cong Yu spoke blandly.

Yaochuan Guang sighed helplessly. "I know! I know... I'll treat you to the rest."

Cong Yu nodded, his expression extremely earnest. "Thank you very much. If I get the chance, I'll definitely beat you up."

It did not sound wrong at first, but...

"No need, and your pronunciation is weird!"

After making that jab, Yaochuan Guang suddenly felt exhausted... Whether it was Little Lan or Cong Yu, they both did things in such bizarre ways.

Ignoring the panting Yaochuan Guang, Cong Yu seemed to be in quite a good mood. "This place seems to give out free stuff for a long time after opening. I'll probably have lunch here every day from now on... Maybe dinner too."

You said that way too loudly! The waitress heard you! She had that awkward expression like, Should I pretend I didn't hear that?

Yaochuan Guang had her mouth open, even forgetting to thank the waitress who came over with their food. After thinking for a long time, she finally sighed. "Actually, at home, I make all three meals for Little Lan every day... You... Cong Yu, are you listening?"

Cong Yu: Munch munch munch—

Cong Yu: ???

He clearly was not listening at all, but she was getting used to it.

Yaochuan Guang sighed and picked up her cup, taking a sip of sweet coffee that was not bitter... Still, she felt like she had forgotten something.

It probably was not important, right?

--

Lantian Zhu (fainted from hunger): ...

The Café, Blown Up!

"Free, huh, free... Compared to 'paid,' something like 'free' is truly a transcendent thing untouched by worldly concerns."

As Cong Yu spoke, he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Something provided without an exchange of currency is the opposite of the Kick-the-Cat Effect. It is love being passed from person to person. Tomorrow, I will also calmly accept this love."

Yaochuan Guang broke out in a cold sweat listening to that. As expected of an artistic worker—he could make "coming back tomorrow to mooch food and drinks" sound so fresh and refined.

"I won't be coming with you tomorrow... I bought the cookies and cheese and all that, so don't forget my kindness."

Yaochuan Guang spoke as she painfully touched her shriveled wallet.

"I definitely won't forget. I have great confidence in my memory."

Cong Yu guaranteed it. Amid the farewells of the maid-dressed staff behind them, he left the café with Yaochuan Guang.

Then Cong Yu quietly added in a soft voice that both of them could hear, "At least I won't forget before I go to sleep tonight."

Yaochuan Guang could not hold it in—

"You'll forget that quickly?! Are you a goldfish?!"

Poor goldfish. Even to this day, they continued to be maliciously slandered by the rumor that fish only had seven seconds of memory.

There were plenty of similar rumors, such as "zebra stripes are meant to confuse predators," "elephants are afraid of mice," and "magical girls' natural enemies are tentacle monsters."

Although the last one did require verification, a little thought made it obvious... if they were caught at close range, then regardless of whether the monster was a tentacle monster or not—

Most magical girls would be pretty much finished.

Idly thinking about all sorts of random things, Cong Yu looked at Yaochuan Guang walking beside him. "By the way, why did you decide to attend Wind City High School?"

"Even if you want to experience school life, isn't there a school specifically for magical girls in Central City? Though it probably still isn't as good as the ones in Europe."

It was natural for Cong Yu to wonder about that. In fact, many magical girls did not choose to continue attending normal school after becoming magical girls.

They simply became full-time magical girls, recording videos, showing off their training and figures on streams, and occasionally filming themselves fighting monsters.

That was a path many magical girls chose, somewhat like the "internet celebrities," "content creators," or idols from Cong Yu's previous life.

Yaochuan Guang answered Cong Yu's question simply. "Because of my mom and dad. Before they died, my parents always told me to make more friends at school... They told me that if I could, after graduating from my original high school, I should try to go to college."

As she spoke, Yaochuan Guang clasped her hands behind her back and casually kicked pebbles along the ground. "I used to think they were annoying, but now that I think about it, I kind of miss them."

"..." Yaochuan Guang seemed a little downcast. That expression was rare on her, since she was usually quite outgoing.

"I'm sorry about that."

So Cong Yu expressed his condolences. Then, amid Yaochuan Guang's shocked expression of You actually know how to comfort someone?, he naturally said—

Cong Yu: "If you don't mind, I can be your new father."

"..." Yaochuan Guang: "..."