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

Although he only occasionally came across video clips of Magical Girl Shining☆, he had not even followed her account.

"Alright, then let me ask you..."

Yaochuan Guang spoke without hesitation, questioning the monster who claimed to be her fan. "In the Magical Girl Showdown mobile game, what is my attack power?"

Monster: "..."

"Who the hell would know that?!"

The monster felt that Yaochuan Guang was deliberately making things difficult for him. He clenched his fists angrily. "Who besides you would know that? If anyone does know, I'll let the hostage go immediately!"

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, a timid voice came from the corner of the café—

"Magical Girl Shining☆, offensive SR card. Attack power 78, defense 61, tactical power 30... She's Wind City's very own magical girl, so any real fan would naturally remember it clearly."

A maid waitress rattled it all off, then continued as though she had not had enough.

"Her skill is:

When attacking, there is a chance to use Flash Attack, stunning the enemy for one turn. With good luck, you can keep stunning them continuously."

Under the waitress's introduction, the monster claiming to be Yaochuan Guang's fan fell silent... but obviously, he had no intention of keeping his promise.

"Damn it, who the hell understands this stuff?!"

After roaring that, the monster placed his nails against the hostage's neck. His rapidly mutating claws sliced a cut across her throat.

Glistening beads of blood slid down her neck...

The sight made the little girl beside Cong Yu tense up. She wanted to cry, but remembered what Cong Yu had said earlier and could only sob softly. "Waaah—"

Cong Yu, meanwhile, wore a grave expression, as if he had noticed something. He slowly spoke. "I remembered."

Those words made the little girl stop crying, her eyes lighting up.

She had long felt that this handsome big brother Cong Yu was no ordinary person. He must have thought of a way to break the deadlock!

Then, under her expectant gaze—

"I drew character art for that magical girl mobile game. They sent me a real photo and had me draw from it. There were no special requirements, and they paid without fuss."

"Ah, what an excellent client."

Little girl: "..."

Was this really the time to think about that?!

Cong Yu, the Golden Belt

"Listen, I only had an argument with a few maids in the kitchen. Then my magic got out of control and caused an explosion. That wasn't my intention."

The monster defended himself.

The instant he said that, one of the maid-dressed servers immediately refuted him. "You harassed Airi first!"

A shadow flashed through the monster's eyes at her words.

It was true. After discovering that he had gained magic, he had become arrogant and lawless, so he had harassed those chicks.

But setting the facts aside, if they had not rejected and insulted me, would my magic have gone berserk?

Even if I was 99% responsible, did those bitches not bear 1% of the blame? How dare they shamelessly accuse me of harassment?

Thinking that, the monster gritted his teeth, adopting an even humbler attitude as he looked at Yaochuan Guang almost pleadingly. "I was wrong. I know I was wrong. From now on, I'll be a good person. I'll never do anything like this again."

Though he said that, the monster showed no intention of releasing the hostage in his hands. His gaze also turned sinister.

As long as he was given a chance to escape, he would definitely find an opportunity to take revenge on those maids, as well as Magical Girl Shining☆, who had ruined his plans.

The monster had already made up his mind.

Originally, he wanted to be an unrestrained monster, but now he realized that he could not do without an organization. So afterward, he would try joining the 22nd Group.

He had heard from some monsters that the 22nd Group had a rare male executive who despised magical girls and could only sleep peacefully after tormenting one every day.

Then he would ask that executive to kill this Shining☆ or whatever.

(Cong Yu: ...)

After hearing the monster's words, Yaochuan Guang did not know what to do either—not because of his pleas, but because of the hostage in his hands.

His demand was to "leave with the hostage," which was practically treating her safety as a joke.

Yaochuan Guang pursed her lips and tried hard to recall how the other magical girls in the videos she had watched handled situations like this.

It seemed, perhaps, maybe... they attacked directly.

They would avoid the hostage as much as possible, but even if the monster killed the hostage as a result, there was nothing they could do.

Reason told Yaochuan Guang that this was the best choice.

But emotionally, all she could do was stand there helplessly...

Seeing Magical Girl Shining☆ hesitate without making a decision, the monster grew increasingly impatient. His claws gradually cut deeper into the hostage's throat.

The hostage being restrained struggled continuously. She was the café owner, a woman wearing a work uniform.

Even as her black-stockinged legs kicked wildly through the air, she could only watch the monster deepen the wound he was inflicting on her.

The situation had become too critical to allow Yaochuan Guang to hesitate any longer.

Yaochuan Guang began silently gathering magic... perhaps magical girls sometimes had no choice but to accept such necessary sacrifices.

Then, at that moment, a voice broke the stalemate—

"Wait! I have a proposal where everyone wins."

With those words, a young man slowly walked into the café under the watchful eyes of the monster and everyone else.

His movements were cool and dashing, but for some reason, there were three or four leaves on his head, making him look a little ridiculous.

"Huh? Who are you?"

The monster immediately became wary.

What he had not expected was that Magical Girl Shining☆ reacted even more strongly. "Cong Yu? Didn't you go home?"

Monster: They know each other?

Amid the monster's suspicious expression, Cong Yu glanced at Yaochuan Guang, who had revealed his name, then said, "I think I can trade places with this hostage."

In other words, the monster would bind Cong Yu and release the woman in his hands.

As soon as he said that, many expressions in the café changed. The black-stockinged female owner asked with difficulty, "You... cough, cough... why?"

In response to her question—

Cong Yu smiled helplessly, though his tone remained calm. "Your daughter is worried about you... If a mother dies in front of her daughter, it will ruin that child's entire life."

At Cong Yu's words, Yaochuan Guang, the owner, and even the monster all looked toward the entrance, where they saw a nervous little girl.

"But Cong Yu, you're just an ordinary person..."

Yaochuan Guang was moved as she said that. She wanted to stop Cong Yu, but could not bring herself to say the words. "Damn it, I... I'm still too weak."

Seeing Yaochuan Guang's pained expression, the monster had already made up his mind. He seized Cong Yu, then shoved the woman in his hands to the ground.

"Now! Let me leave immediately! Nobody is allowed to follow me!"

The monster roared as he took Cong Yu hostage and rushed toward the door. Once he was gone, the little girl immediately burst into tears and ran inside, throwing herself into her mother's arms.

"Waaah... Big brother... Big brother..."

Through the little girl's crying, the female owner, having caught her breath, also looked worriedly at the departing monster and the hostage Cong Yu.

That young man had done it merely because "a mother cannot die in front of her daughter"...

And he even seemed to be someone Magical Girl Shining☆ knew.

"Damn it, I'm clearly a magical girl, yet I need Cong Yu to..."

Yaochuan Guang's heart suffered a devastating blow. She gripped her wand tightly. "Damn it, I'll definitely find a way to save—"

Yaochuan Guang swore that oath, but before she could finish—

BOOM!!!

"..."

"Holy shit!"

"This kid..."

"He's got him! Rear naked choke!"

"..." The loud noise snapped Yaochuan Guang out of her daze. She opened her eyes in confusion, then immediately saw the awestruck expressions of the owner and the little girl.

"That big brother was so fast."

The little girl's eyes were full of admiration as she mimicked the motion of swiftly hooking someone around the neck and slamming them to the ground.

The owner's beautiful eyes also shimmered as she stared toward the outside.

"???" Yaochuan Guang looked outside in confusion, then saw... Cong Yu locked beneath the monster in a strange position.

The two were tangled on the ground. It was obvious to the naked eye that Cong Yu had completely subdued the monster.

Though he was a monster, he was now being strangled senseless by Cong Yu.

"Guh... gah..."

The monster seemed completely unable to breathe. He desperately tried to draw breath but could not, his face turning blue as he tried to pry Cong Yu's arm away.

Yet that seemingly slender arm was like a deadly guillotine, completely clamping down on the monster's throat.

"1, 2, 3, 4..."

The maids in the café began counting down as well, as if they were at a mixed martial arts match.

Everyone joined in, as though they were watching a professional competition live.

"8, 9, 10!"

Almost the instant the counting ended, the monster rolled his eyes, went limp all over, and lost consciousness.

Cong Yu immediately raised an arm into the air and gave himself a fighting-game-style announcement. "WINNER!"

Yaochuan Guang: "..."

Yaochuan Guang: ???

Interview

"Hello, everyone. Welcome to Wind City Radio Station. This is your neighbor, Sugisaki Hideo, bringing you a live report."

"Just moments ago, a massive explosion occurred near Heart Commercial Street! The blast injured thirty-one people, two of whom are currently receiving emergency treatment!"

"The culprit was a young man who had only recently become a monster. However, Magical Girl Shining☆ arrived in time and prevented further destruction."

"During the chaos, a young mother was taken hostage by the monster. Fortunately, a young man stepped forward and successfully subdued him."

A man dressed like a reporter spoke before all kinds of recording equipment... while some guy holding several different types of microphones added a few words as well.

He introduced the extent of the disaster.

The announcer named Sugisaki Hideo appeared to be an uncle in his thirties, but he always had dead fish eyes and looked utterly listless.

He gave people the impression of an office worker who was lucky enough to work overtime every day. But since this was a radio station rather than a television station—

There was no need to care too much about appearances.

As the microphone was aimed at Sugisaki Hideo again, he continued his live report. "Afterward, this young man received the gratitude of the public, and we have invited him here for an interview."

As he spoke, he directed the station staff to adjust the equipment and point it at Cong Yu, who wore an expression like he had lost all will to live.

"Hello. In such a dangerous situation, how did you come up with the idea of trading yourself for the hostage?"

Sugisaki Hideo asked.

"..." Cong Yu fell silent. He had no idea why a former monster leader like himself was now appearing on television to talk about his "heroic deeds."

Did this count as crawling out of a fandom only to turn around and trash it?

With all sorts of nonsense running through his mind, Cong Yu calmly made something up. "It was the Black Flame Dragon. The Black Flame Dragon residing in my right hand told me to act.

"

Black Flame Dragon?

Huh? What the hell?