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

Mostly because he had lived for a long time, and his previous line of work had indeed been related to this field, so he knew quite a bit about it.

"I do know a little, but I can only handle planning. I can design dialogue and movements, but I'm a complete amateur when it comes to filming."

Cong Yu nodded at that, then made up her mind and leaned closer to him.

"?" Cong Yu was somewhat confused. Lantian Zhu's breath tickled his ear, and then, in the next instant...

"Cong Yu, you wouldn't want Little Guang to discover your identity, would you?"

"..."

"???" Was she threatening him? Just to make him help make videos? Wasn't that kind of cute?

Cong Yu hesitated as he watched Lantian Zhu sit back down and look at him with a faint smile. He breathed a sigh of relief.

At the very least, it proved that Lantian Zhu would not expose his identity to the outside world.

Still unwilling to give up, Cong Yu looked away. "What are you talking about? I have no idea."

Looking at stubborn Cong Yu, Lantian Zhu said nothing more and merely stated with certainty, "Your 'previous job' was in Central City, wasn't it?"

Cong Yu: "..."

It seemed Lantian Zhu was far sharper than he had imagined.

Cong Yu had indeed been active in Central City before, and honestly...

He normally did not pay much attention to concealing the "small details."

Because he was confident he could flip the table if necessary.

"Ah, I suppose living together means you can't hide things for long."

As Cong Yu spoke, he rubbed his brow in distress. "But let's make this clear first: I've washed my hands of that life for a long time."

Lantian Zhu could understand that. For ordinary people, the work of a commander—an analyst—was truly dangerous.

Especially in a place like Central City, where the density of monsters and the frequency of combat were extraordinarily high.

"Mm. Life on the Inner Side really is too dangerous and exhausting, isn't it?"

Lantian Zhu sounded as though she felt the same way. "Sometimes, I really do want to live an ordinary person's life for a while."

"..." Cong Yu's previously serious gaze softened at once. "Yeah... It would be great if you truly felt that way."

Well, the two of them clearly were not on the same wavelength, yet somehow the conversation could still continue.

"But even so, the world of the Inner Side has never left me."

At Cong Yu's mildly resentful tone, Lantian Zhu—whose expression had remained calm—actually gave a rare soft laugh. "Because Little Guang and I exist, that was inevitable, wasn't it—"

As she spoke, Lantian Zhu felt she had figured out why Cong Yu found his former work as an analyst so exhausting.

"But compared with the veteran magical girl teams in Central City, Little Guang and I are clearly quite different, aren't we?"

Lantian Zhu said this.

After all, those veteran magical girls had life philosophies that were somewhat unlike those of normal people. For example...

Some of them were like Kizaru in a certain sense—the "not enough money" part.

And even if the money was enough, they might not be very capable.

Another group was like Akainu... As far as monsters were concerned, those magical girls were completely impossible to communicate with.

Even if they had only recently become monsters and their ambitions were still at a stage where they could be extinguished.

There were also all sorts of other strange personalities: being overly nostalgic, excessively controlling, incredibly lazy, or completely looking down on ordinary people... and so on.

"That's true."

At Cong Yu's agreement, Lantian Zhu remained expressionless. "Then why not try becoming friends with new magical girls under your new identity?"

Without a doubt, it was an invitation.

Since she had put it that way, Cong Yu felt he had no reason to refuse. "We've lived together for so long already. Maybe we've been friends for a while."

Hearing Cong Yu's words, Lantian Zhu smiled faintly, with the air of a plan having succeeded.

Then... her true purpose surfaced.

Lantian Zhu's expression returned to its usual calm. She pressed her palms together. "Cong Yu, as a friend... help me manage Metube! This is the request of a lifetime."

At the same time, Yaochuan Guang emerged after finishing her bath.

Yaochuan Guang: Huh? What's going on?

"..." Cong Yu fell silent... Lantian Zhu had made far too many dumplings just for this little bit of vinegar.

They were even filled with abalone and sea cucumber!

Speechless, Cong Yu let out a deep sigh. "Fine. Since you put it that way."

Yaochuan Guang's eyes lit up at Cong Yu's answer.

She instantly pounced beside Cong Yu, propping herself up while lying down and gazing up at him.

Her sparkling eyes made her look exactly like a dog.

"Cong Yu, I want it too! Cong Yu, I want it too!"

As Yaochuan Guang shook Cong Yu's arm, she copied Lantian Zhu's phrasing. "Cong Yu, as a friend... help me manage my Metube account, help me film videos and promote them, and help me attend meetings at headquarters! This is the request of a lifetime."

Wasn't that a little too many requests for one lifetime?

Way more than Lantian Zhu had made, wasn't it?!

So she was revising the terms without permission now?

"Get lost!"

Cong Yu irritably pressed a hand onto Yaochuan Guang's head and casually messed up her hair. "Look at me smiling while I pet the dog."

Yaochuan Guang: "..."

Yaochuan Guang: "Woof!"

Cong Yu: "???"

Yaochuan Guang: "Woof woof woof! Help me, Cong Yu-chan, or I'll lick you! Woof woof—help me, help me! Woof woof woof!"

In the next moment, Yaochuan Guang immediately pounced on him.

Caught off guard, Cong Yu quickly backed away. "Hey, what are you doing?! Don't... Damn, are you seriously doing this?"

Cong Yu held one hand against Yaochuan Guang's face as she stuck out her tongue and pretended she was about to lick him, shouting helplessly, "I surrender, I surrender! I'll help you, okay?! Stop! Stop it!!"

Having received Cong Yu's promise, Yaochuan Guang immediately stopped.

"Yay—"

"..." Very rarely, today was Yaochuan Guang's victory.

The Appearance of Little Black

In fact, there was a "bet" in Class 2-A of Wind City High School. Yes... a bet that had lasted for a long time.

Many students, and even teachers, participated in it, each staking their courage and using tangible money as their entry chips.

Win, and you became rich overnight. Lose, and you were buried on the spot.

The specific content of the bet was—

Would Cong Yu take leave the next day?

"..." Yesterday—that was, the second day of school—the betting pool had reopened, and most people believed Cong Yu would not take leave.

Although that guy's attendance rate last year had been below fifty percent.

Still, the new term had only just started. Surely he would not skip class so early... That was what a great many people thought.

Then Cong Yu gave everyone an unexpected answer—

Today, the third day of school, Cong Yu took leave.

All that could be said was that Wind City High School's atmosphere was outrageously open.

Normally, betting pools where people wagered their living expenses would be explicitly prohibited by other schools, but here...

"Hmph, class... Heh heh heh—"

The homeroom teacher chuckled confidently. Having also participated in the bet, she sighed over how her drinking money had arrived.

Because she had already guessed that Cong Yu would probably not show up.

It could only be said that this was a reasonable inference based on Cong Yu's situation last year... Calling it a blind guess? This was not a blind guess.

This was preparation.

"Tch..."

"Boo—"

"..." The students who had guessed wrong booed at the homeroom teacher, who had one foot on a stool and was leaning out over the podium.

However, Cong Yu was not the only person absent today.

It seemed that Yaochuan, the student living with Cong Yu, had also taken leave today.

And at this very moment...

Cong Yu, Yaochuan Guang, and Lantian Zhu silently waited outside one of the filming rooms inside the Wind City Magical Girl Agency.

Since they had no suitable filming equipment and no spare money to buy any, they still had to borrow the agency's professional equipment for the time being.

It was the filming room the agency used to record videos for magical girls in the past.

Now, that filming room had become semi-open to the public. But if someone wanted to use it, they had to pay to rent it.

It had previously been called "borrowing," but now it was being called "renting." At first glance...

That seemed a little contradictory.

But it actually was not, because Yaochuan Guang had some standing in the agency—during unreserved free hours, she could use it for free.

All that could be said was that she had made a name for herself in Wind City.

Congratulations, congratulations.

At that moment, the filming room in front of them... or rather, a studio about the size of a dance classroom, was currently being used by someone else.

Although it had been soundproofed, Cong Yu and the two magical girls could still vaguely hear what was happening inside.

[Hello, all my fans! I am magical girl trainee Lu Renjia, who has been debuting for two and a half years. I specialize in singing, dancing, rap, magic... Music!]

Cong Yu: "..."

Amid Cong Yu's silence, the magical girl trainee using the studio began to sing: [The sight of you walking toward me makes my heart stir! This kind of...]

Little Black, don't forget to bring your wand when court opens.

"..." Cong Yu did not wish to comment on those lines full of déjà vu, but the two people beside him did not feel the same way.

"Cong Yu..."

Yaochuan Guang tugged cutely at Cong Yu's sleeve, looking somewhat hesitant. "I'm not going to have to sing later too, am I?"

Cong Yu did not answer directly. Instead, he glanced at her with a puzzled expression. "Who are you?"

Yaochuan Guang: "You got amnesia?!"

Cong Yu shook his head and smiled, continuing to tap at his phone. "How could that be... Do you know your own identity?"

At Cong Yu's words, Yaochuan Guang blinked.

Then she seemed to understand something. She pouted aggrievedly and said in a resentful tone, "I understand. I'm Cong Yu's dog... so I won't ask unnecessary questions anymore."

"..." After a brief silence, Lantian Zhu, sitting nearby, could not help covering her mouth. With a "blank expression," she laughed out loud. "Pfft—"

Meanwhile, Cong Yu felt a mouthful of old blood lodge in his throat. He used every ounce of strength he had not to spit it out. "Yao! Chuan! Guang! Are you sick in the head?"

Watching Cong Yu seriously shout her name, Yaochuan Guang tilted her head in confusion... Wasn't that what Cong Yu-chan meant?