Living with a Magical Girl, But a Monster Executive Chapter 12

Yaochuan Guang: "???"

Not knowing what to say, Yaochuan Guang found it a little funny while also feeling like she had been taken advantage of. She should have been angry instead of laughing.

What Cong Yu had said was truly very rude.

But it had been such a prank that she simply could not get angry.

(Guang's Dad, Guang's Mom: watching kindly)

Just as she wanted to complain symbolically a little, Cong Yu had already changed the subject. "Still, there really are a lot of cafés in this area."

As he spoke, Cong Yu looked at the signs for the various cafés and pastry shops around them, then turned to look at Echo Maid COF.

"As a newly opened café, they really do need to attract customers with freebies. This is just perfect for—"

Cong Yu had originally wanted to say, "It works out cheaply for me."

But before he could finish speaking—

"BOOM!!!!!"

Along with a massive explosion, a huge burst of fire suddenly erupted from inside Echo Maid COF.

Together with the blinding flames and deafening roar came a violent Shockwave, shattering all the windows of the café and several neighboring shops.

Yaochuan Guang heard the noise and turned her head. She immediately froze, letting out a questioning sound. "Huh?"

What that "Huh?" probably meant was, What a coincidence. It exploded right after I came outside? Damn it, if I'd come out later, maybe I could've stopped it.

"Huh?"

And Cong Yu's "Huh?" meant, I just said I wanted to freeload, and the place gets blown up? Are they screwing with me?

Then, they watched several seemingly injured maid waitresses run out, shouting things like, "It's a monster!" and "There's a monster!"

A monster...

Cong Yu was so annoyed his teeth itched. He wanted to catch that troublemaking monster and see whether it was wild or belonged to some group.

Ever since he had started living with a magical girl, nothing had gone right.

Was this the punishment for defecting to the enemy? Though I haven't really defected... probably.

"A monster? Cong Yu, let's go!"

After making a quick judgment, Yaochuan Guang immediately grabbed Cong Yu and started running, then rushed into a public restroom.

Cong Yu pondered matters related to the café while waiting for Yaochuan Guang to come out of the restroom.

Obviously, Yaochuan Guang was transforming.

Many magical girls in this world also hid their real identities... especially active-duty magical girls whose work involved fighting monsters.

To prevent retaliation against friends and family, they had to transform out of public view.

Though it was neither mandatory nor strictly enforced, they still had to keep up appearances so the agency could better seal off their identities.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Accompanied by sound effects and light from inside the women's restroom, the transformed Yaochuan Guang immediately flew out and charged toward the café.

"A monster has appeared! Everyone, please move away quickly! Magical Girl Shiny☆chan is here! Leave the monster to me!"

Her confident shout drew the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"Wow! It's Shiny☆chan!"

"It's my first time seeing a real Shiny☆chan!"

"Shiny☆chan! Shiny☆chan!"

"..." Although he had seen this scene countless times, Cong Yu still had the same opinion... these people shouting Kira☆Kira☆.

They were so damn noisy!

With a look of disgust, Cong Yu passed through the excited crowd and silently headed toward the café... He wondered how badly it had been damaged.

But he figured the free cake and coffee were now beyond his reach.

With both hands in his pockets, Cong Yu walked against the fleeing crowd toward the café, sighing.

Then, in the next moment, he felt someone bump into him from behind.

When he turned around in irritation, he saw an elementary school girl, who was clearly startled by his expression.

"Handsome big brother, I'm sorry!"

After bowing in apology, the child lifted her feet and headed toward the café, only to feel someone grab her collar from behind.

"There's a monster over there. It's dangerous."

At Cong Yu's warning, the little girl blinked at him with an expression that seemed to say, What? This big brother is actually a good person?

Then, beneath Cong Yu's irritated gaze, she pursed her lips, and her eyes immediately filled with a misty layer of tears. "But my mom is over there."

This child's mother was in that café?

"There's a magical girl over there. You going there won't do anything except get in the way, right? Your mommy might already be dead..."

Cong Yu said it casually.

Immediately, the little girl's mouth puckered as she began to cry. "No! Mom is the manager! She makes delicious pastries! She won't die! Wuwuwu—"

"..." Ah, what kind of strange logic was that? But... the manager?

Cong Yu calculated in his heart, then looked at the child very seriously. "I see! The lord must not come to harm! Young master, follow this general!"

With that, Cong Yu flicked his sleeve and resolutely hurried toward the café, reciting a short poem that sounded rather impressive. "Mighty on all sides, murderous aura adrift; protecting the king, I display my merit!"

This child's mother! I shall protect her!

Little girl: ???

Little girl: Wasn't my mom the one in trouble? Why are you acting like it's your mom?

Feed You Grass

How should one define a "monster"?

Perhaps someone with a strange appearance?

Well, many monsters indeed had all sorts of bizarre appearances...

But that was not a defining standard.

After all, many monsters looked no different from ordinary people aside from a few traits. Some were even prettier or more handsome.

To put it bluntly, monsters were also people who used magic.

They shared the same origin as magical girls.

Then did that mean anyone with magic besides magical girls was a monster?

Hmm... that was not right either.

There were indeed quite a few cases of men mastering magic without their appearance changing much.

And even if those men looked strange, they would not necessarily be called "magical girls" or "monsters."

Though many people did call all supernatural beings other than magical girls monsters or beasts.

"..." The answer to this question lay in labels and classification.

Those who joined the Monster Group were naturally monsters. Beyond that, those classified as "evil" wrongdoers by the news or radio—

Were naturally monsters.

As long as someone saw an evil magic-wielding criminal and called them a monster, they could not really be wrong, even if that person did not look strange.

"Seems to be a monster who just awakened his powers..."

Cong Yu spoke as he hid behind the greenery, peeking out sneakily to observe the situation inside the café.

The situation inside the café was currently very complicated.

In broad terms, a man with crimson eyes and eye sockets had a woman in a suit by the throat, facing off against Yaochuan Guang.

Scattered around them were coffee cups, saucers, forks, and tables that had been knocked to the ground by the Shockwave, either shattered or thrown into disarray.

Broken glass, torn menus, unfinished cake, and half-drunk coffee made a complete mess of the floor.

Several maid-uniformed servers were also trembling in a corner, their route out blocked by the confrontation between the monster and Yaochuan Guang.

Since they were still some distance from the outside, they apparently did not dare to escape.

While Cong Yu observed the situation, the little girl also cautiously raised her head, still with grass sitting on top of it.

Cong Yu's head was beside hers, with only their eyes showing.

The moment the little girl saw the state of the café, she began crying uncontrollably. "Wuwuwu—Mom—she was grabbed by the mon—"

Before her crying could grow louder, Cong Yu immediately stuffed a handful of grass from the greenery into her mouth... its sour, bitter flavor instantly drowned out everything else.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

The little girl immediately spat out the grass. Her tears had not even been wiped away, yet her eyes were full of shock. "Big brother, are you even human?!"

Facing her accusation, Cong Yu shrugged without the slightest guilt. "It keeps the monster from noticing you..."

"Maybe that monster hates hearing children cry the most. He might get annoyed when he hears you, squeeze a little harder, and snap your mom's neck."

"After that, you'll cry every night, wondering why you made a sound today and got your mother killed. Then you'll be distracted all day long."

"You won't study well, you won't do well on exams, you won't have any friends at school, and you'll spend your whole life drowning in regret over what you did today."

Cong Yu rattled off a huge pile of nonsense, then summarized beneath the little girl's vacant gaze, "So, I just saved your mother and your whole life. Don't forget to repay me when you grow up—"

Little girl: Blah blah—

It really did seem to make sense. Her mother indeed might not die this way, but... something still seemed wrong.

"Um, th-thank you, big brother?"

The little girl's gratitude clearly carried a question mark, but she thanked him anyway... It felt like Cong Yu was about to talk her into becoming crippled.

After messing with the child, Cong Yu turned his gaze back to the café.

How should he put it? The situation really was not good...

If someone made a ranking like [Top 10 Moments Magical Girls Hate Most When Fighting Monsters]—

Though it might not rank as high as something like "the enemy is a fallen magical girl senior"...

"Monster kidnaps a hostage" would definitely make the top five.

The upper limit of a magical girl's magic in battle came from her own personality and the magical traits born from it.

Whether she could reach that upper limit depended on her imagination.

But even with imagination maxed out, it was hard to master a technique for saving hostages without sufficiently precise magic control...

The hostage would probably just have to die.

Some magical girls could perfectly rescue hostages, but he did not know whether Yaochuan Guang could.

Judging by that expression, she probably had no plan.

While Cong Yu was thinking, the monster seemed to feel they had been deadlocked long enough and viciously spoke. "What do I have to do for you to let me leave?"

Yaochuan Guang answered almost without hesitation, "Put down the person in your hands, and I'll let you go immediately!"

"..." Obviously, such negotiations could not possibly produce a result.

The monster could not give up the hostage serving as his shield, while Yaochuan Guang would not allow him to leave the shop with the person in his grasp.

Growing somewhat anxious, the monster inadvertently tightened his arm, clamping the woman's neck in his hand like a pair of pincers.

"Ugh... urk, cough cough."

Along with her struggles, the monster realized what he had done and loosened his grip slightly, then softened his attitude.

"Listen, Shiny☆chan, I'm actually your fan... I was just caught up in an accident. When I woke up, I found that I'd turned into a monster."

Yaochuan Guang was clearly doubtful of his words. "You said you're my fan?"

As though he had seen a glimmer of hope, the monster immediately nodded. "Yes, yes, yes! I'm your fan!"