Living with Magical Girls, but a Monster Executive

In other words, although Rabbit Man called himself a mere underling, he could actually be considered a squad leader within the Monster Group.

"Hop, hop—"

Cong Yu shifted his gaze away from the adorably acting Rabbit Man, then heard the other man, who had stopped bouncing around, ask, "So, how have you been lately, Lord Cong Yu?"

As he asked this, he looked at Cong Yu with curiosity.

Cong Yu had nothing to hide. "I've been doing pretty well. Going to school peacefully, more or less... probably."

Rabbit Man said, "School, huh—"

There was obvious wistfulness in his voice, because... he had never gone to school himself.

But it was impossible for him to leave the group and attend school.

Even temporarily leaving the group required undertaking something called a "Departure Mission"... which was basically a mission with no chance of survival.

Yet Cong Yu had paid nothing for his temporary departure.

Or rather, for some reason, headquarters had neither assigned him a similar mission nor expressed any opinion on the matter.

At the end of the day, Cong Yu's "power" was on a completely different level from ordinary monsters like them.

As Rabbit Man considered this, a commotion came from the distance...

"What are you doing? No... I still have money! I've already made a fortune! I... I-I-I!!"

"I'm about to win it all back! Damn it..."

"Help! The casino can't afford to lose!!"

"..." A weak shout from a middle-aged man came from nearby.

Then, Cong Yu and Rabbit Man saw a middle-aged man in a suit being dragged along like a dead dog by several monsters.

But for this already noisy casino, such a farce was merely a minor interruption.

Hardly anyone looked in his direction... and even those who did only gave him a brief glance before looking away again.

Everyone had long since grown used to people like him.

However, some people noticed Cong Yu—or rather, the young man sitting with the voluptuous bunny-girl receptionist.

Those people curiously speculated about Cong Yu's identity, then immediately turned their heads away. Others who kept staring were quickly stopped by their companions.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Get those thoughts out of your head."

"He's not someone from the same world as us."

"..."

"..." After a while, Cong Yu saw someone come downstairs and report to Rabbit Man, confirming his earlier guess.

The person who had just been dragged upstairs really was Nagashima Koji.

"Reporting, sir. Nagashima Koji has been dealt with. We used a few methods, so he definitely didn't die easily."

"However, when we had only broken his seventh or eighth finger, he fainted. We couldn't wake him up, so we finished him off directly. The body was thrown into corrosive fluid too. It was handled very cleanly."

Rabbit Man did not respond to the one making the report. Instead, he cautiously used his eyes to ask Cong Yu, who was sitting beside him, "Lord Cong Yu?"

He was probably worried that Cong Yu would be displeased. After all, even if they meant well, the torture had been an unnecessary extra step.

But naturally, Cong Yu did not care.

"He wasn't actually an enemy."

The moment Rabbit Man heard that, his heart sank.

Fortunately, Cong Yu had more to say—

"But as long as he died, it didn't matter how..."

As Cong Yu spoke, he watched Rabbit Man pat his ample chest in relief and smiled. "Anyway, thanks."

After saying that, he looked at the sky and figured Yaochuan Guang had probably finished her club activities by now... It was time to go home for dinner!

For some reason, even though he was preparing to go see an annoying magical girl, Cong Yu was in surprisingly good spirits.

Maybe it was because Nagashima Koji was dead.

Or perhaps it was only after briefly returning to the Dark Side that he realized just how peaceful the Light Side was.

In any case, Cong Yu felt quite relaxed.

"Rabbit Man?"

"Ah... yes, Lord Cong Yu, I'm listening."

"Next month is your birthday, right? Other than birthday wishes, what kind of present do you want? You can tell me in advance."

Faced with the smiling Cong Yu, Rabbit Man hesitated, unsure how he should answer—he was not sure what Lord Cong Yu wanted him to say.

Did he want Rabbit Man to name a specific gift?

Or did he want him to say something like, "There's no need to trouble yourself, Lord Cong Yu"?

Rabbit Man knew very clearly that his Fate had reached a turning point—or rather, he had been handed a life-or-death question.

Maybe if he said he wanted something, Cong Yu would instead find him troublesome.

Or perhaps if he said he did not want anything, Cong Yu... would think he was not straightforward enough.

What a dilemma... Perhaps that was the sorrow of being an employee.

"Can't think of anything? Then I'll make the decision myself and give you some small trinket. I hope you'll like it."

As Cong Yu spoke, he reached out and patted Rabbit Man on the head. Then, after waving goodbye, he said, "

Well then, farewell."

As he said this, Cong Yu left the casino entrance and walked straight into a wall.

But just before he hit it, a huge illusory snake head with a gaping bloody maw abruptly appeared on the alley wall.

Cong Yu stepped inside, and as the snake head closed, his figure was blocked from view. Then the illusory snake head vanished as well.

"..." Rabbit Man blankly held his head. Only after seeing the great figure of Cong Yu finally leave did he let out a sigh of relief.

The suited monster subordinate beside him stared at where Cong Yu had disappeared with sparkling eyes. "Lord Cong Yu... I'd heard so many rumors about Lord Cong Yu before. I never expected him to be so handsome in person! And he's so gentle too! Lord Cong Yu, I admire you!"

"..." To be honest, Rabbit Man really wanted to ask this subordinate of his exactly where he had gotten the impression that Cong Yu was gentle.

But after thinking about it carefully, Cong Yu really had acted rather mild-mannered.

"Mm... well... ah..."

Unable to refute it, Rabbit Man made a strange sound.

Mommy Mommy

"I'm home!"

"..."

"Welcome home—"

Yaochuan Guang, who had instinctively responded to Cong Yu's voice, froze for a moment. Wearing an apron, she poked her head out from the kitchen and looked at Cong Yu as he changed his shoes.

Cong Yu noticed it too and gave her a puzzled look.

Yaochuan Guang quickly withdrew back into the kitchen.

"..." Strange. It felt like this was the first time Cong Yu had said something like that.

Previously, he would not even say something like "Thanks for the meal," yet now he was actively greeting them.

Had he started thinking of Little Lan and me as family?

Thinking that, Yaochuan Guang felt very happy. As she prepared dinner, she softly hummed, "Hmm-hmm-hmm—"

Perhaps because soup was simmering in the pot, she wanted to make sure she could hear herself humming...

So her "soft hum" was not actually soft.

At the very least, Cong Yu and Lantian Zhu heard it.

"?" Wearing a confused expression, Cong Yu glanced toward the kitchen, then asked Lantian Zhu, "Why is she humming?"

Lantian Zhu, who also did not understand Yaochuan Guang's thought process very well, could only shake her head while sucking on a lollipop.

Before Cong Yu came home, Yaochuan Guang had been perfectly normal.

Once he got home, Little Guang's mood suddenly improved.

Thinking this, Lantian Zhu thoughtfully looked toward the kitchen, then at Cong Yu.

As for the truth, Detective Lantian Zhu had already made a guess.

"Sure enough, I shouldn't casually speculate about an idiot's thought process."

As he said this, Cong Yu poked Lantian Zhu's foot on the coffee table, signaling for her to move over a little. Then he turned on his laptop.

Next, Cong Yu immediately noticed a new email in his inbox.

[126XXXXXX31 (Sky Tree Entertainment Co., Ltd.): Is Teacher CY busy? We'd like to commission a character portrait for Magical Girl Showdown.]

Cong Yu had some impression of this mobile game.

They had few demands and paid generously. Their most basic requirement was simply [turn the magical girl in the provided photo into a character portrait].

And the magical girl they had asked Cong Yu to draw last time had been none other than Yaochuan Guang.

It could only be called a coincidence.

This time, it was presumably Lantian Zhu. After all, if they were on the same team, the art style needed to remain consistent.

Otherwise, once they were placed together on the game screen, they would look awkward no matter how one looked at them.

With that thought in mind, Cong Yu clicked in to check the email's details, and just as he had expected... it really was a character portrait of Lantian Zhu.

Or rather, a portrait of [Magical Girl Blue Sky☆].

There was also an attached photo of Lantian Zhu in her combat outfit.

"..." The feeling was actually rather strange... because Lantian Zhu herself was sitting right beside him, while he had accepted a commission to draw her.

Noticing Cong Yu's gaze, Lantian Zhu looked at him, then shifted her eyes to Cong Yu's desktop... where there was a full-body photo of her.

It was a photo of Magical Girl Blue Sky☆, dressed in her magical girl outfit.

After briefly scanning the email's contents, Lantian Zhu roughly understood the situation. She said nothing and merely continued eating her candy.

Cong Yu, on the other hand, undoubtedly gave the mobile game's official team an affirmative reply. After discussing the price, he accepted the commission.

Then Cong Yu's eyes sharpened. Instantly entering work mode, he pulled out his phone and displayed his astonishing ability—slacking off.

Cong Yu: There's plenty of time to draw it after the money arrives.

Client: Stare—

"..." Still humming, Yaochuan Guang carried out a bowl of soup. She glanced at the lazy Cong Yu, then at Lantian Zhu. "Dinner's ready. Little Lan, stop eating candy."

Lantian Zhu had always listened to her. In a few bites, she crushed and swallowed the candy in her mouth.

Still, Yaochuan Guang's words sounded unexpectedly like a mother telling a child not to eat snacks.

Uh, maybe it was just an illusion.

Surely nobody would treat a high school girl like their mother... right?

Cong Yu was not entirely sure.

"Today we're having salmon, miso soup, and mapo tofu... Little Lan said she wanted something sweet, so I bought some dango on the way home from school."

As Yaochuan Guang hung her apron on the wall, she spoke, then pointed toward the bathroom. "Wash your hands before eating."

"..." Oh no, he was about to lose it. Those words were just too classic...

But hold it in, Cong Yu. Maintain your persona.

If he shouted "Mommy!" here, his life would be over. He had it—he could cover it up by making a really loud noise!

No, forget that. He would not make strange noises.

Cong Yu grumbled internally. With an odd expression on his face, he obediently washed his hands and sat down at the dining table.