Living with a Magical Girl, but a Monster Executive

What Slave Brand?

[Lantian Zhu: Cong Yu, this is what happened.]

[Lantian Zhu: I stayed up late reading the manga you sent me last night, and somehow fell asleep.]

[Lantian Zhu: If you lifted the blanket this morning, you would have seen that I actually wasn't wearing anything.]

"..."

[Cong Yu: ...]

Cong Yu walked down the street, replying to Lantian Zhu with six dots on his phone... Come to think of it, he was the one with the bigger headache now.

Could something like this really be said so casually?

Or rather...

Cong Yu recalled how Lantian Zhu always kept a calm expression and tone, no matter what happened.

Should he marvel at how she truly was Lantian Zhu?

With that thought in mind, Cong Yu figured that if Lantian Zhu was not embarrassed, then he had no reason to be embarrassed either.

[Cong Yu: I did lift it. When I saw what was underneath, I felt that it was inappropriate, so I covered you back up.]

[Lantian Zhu: Did you feel that my body looked inappropriate?]

"???" Could my reply be interpreted that way? Was her way of thinking not too awful? How was he supposed to reply?

After hesitating, Cong Yu decided not to directly answer whether her body was inappropriate or not.

Though from that quick glimpse, if he did not consider whether it was criminal or not... it looked pretty good.

He could only say that she was indeed very cute.

[Cong Yu: It was inappropriate for my character.]

[Lantian Zhu: Thank you.]

After seeing Lantian Zhu's instant reply, Cong Yu waited for a while. When no follow-up came, he assumed this morning's incident was over.

But just as Cong Yu was about to put his phone back into his pocket, he received another message from Lantian Zhu at the last moment—

[Lantian Zhu: Could you not tell Little Guang about what happened this morning?]

[Cong Yu: I'm not someone who talks too much. Likewise, I'll have to ask you to keep my identity secret.]

[Lantian Zhu: Okay.]

[Lantian Zhu: Um, I'll exercise some restraint from now on.]

[Cong Yu: Mm.]

"..." This time, there really were no more messages. Maybe Cong Yu's "mm" had killed the conversation, leaving her with no idea how to respond.

Frankly, Lantian Zhu's initial confession should never have happened at all.

Cong Yu had a feeling that a situation like this, involving a "lecherous bastard" like him, could have been used a little to steer things toward a more... or rather—

A more manga-like development.

Of course, he meant the sort of manga Lantian Zhu had read last night.

But Cong Yu was clearly not that kind of person.

Besides, even if Cong Yu starved to death, died in Wind City, or jumped off a building, he would never date a magical girl.

Otherwise, given Cong Yu's understanding of magical girls and his awareness of the idealistic logic behind similar tropes—

It would be fine if his identity remained hidden.

But if his magical-girl girlfriend found out that he was a monster executive—

Then perhaps she would suddenly power up, shouting something like, [Even if I have to cripple Cong Yu, I'll bring you back to the village!] while...

Something seemed wrong with that, but that was roughly the idea.

Thinking such idle thoughts, Cong Yu put on his mask, entered the Nagashima family's yard, and pressed the doorbell—"Ding-dong—"

The one who opened the door was Nagashima Koki, looking cautious.

"Wow, the handsome big brother is here!"

Nagashima Koki happily ushered Cong Yu inside, then called out excitedly, "Mom, the handsome big brother is here! He must have killed Dad."

"!!!" Since he was wearing a mask, the child could not see Cong Yu's current expression... What she had said was truly terrifying.

What kind of child could say something so horrifying with such a straight face, and even a trace of delight?

Nagashima Koki's mother, Nagashima Riko, cautiously peeked out. When she saw it was Cong Yu, she let out a sigh of relief.

"You're here. Please, have a seat."

As Nagashima Riko spoke, her hair was tied up. She looked somewhat like a housewife now.

The apron she wore seemed to be the same model as Yaochuan Guang's, though it was obviously several sizes larger. Otherwise, it would not fit.

So Yaochuan Guang really was a housewife after all.

Yaochuan Guang! You housewife...

Calling her a housewife the moment he saw her?

The Way of the Househusband, proudly serialized!

Cong Yu sat down on the sofa without ceremony and got straight to the point, saying something that made both mother and daughter relax. "It's been taken care of. Rest assured, our hands are clean."

The omitted name was obviously Nagashima Koji.

Then Cong Yu looked at Nagashima Koki and asked, "Aren't you going to school? It's Thursday, isn't it?"

Judging by Nagashima Koki's age, she should be in elementary school.

"Mm. Since I thought you might come by soon, I requested the day off for Xiao Xi."

Nagashima Riko answered first. She asked the masked boy, "Would you like something to drink? Is black tea alright?"

"Pressure-masune."

At Cong Yu's affirmative—no, certain—answer, Nagashima Riko began making tea. Yet this atmosphere... somehow felt strange.

The whole "killing someone's father, then visiting their home as a guest" sequence felt rather terrible.

At least, that was what Cong Yu thought.

"Handsome big brother, aren't you going to school?"

Nagashima Koki had sidled up beside him. Cong Yu fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Why do you call me handsome big brother? And why do you keep coming so close? Are you always this friendly with strangers?"

Cong Yu felt that he needed to confirm it. After all, when he had interacted with her as the "kindhearted passerby," she had called him handsome big brother too.

People in this world lacked the ability to identify others by appearance, so perhaps Nagashima Koki was merely sweet-talking him. But the coincidence was too much for Cong Yu to ignore.

"Huh? Haven't I always called you handsome big brother? Handsome big brother is a good person. You saved Mom before too, when you caught that monster."

"..." Alright, Cong Yu could now be certain. Nagashima Koki was an anomaly in this world... Yes, an anomaly.

People in this world could not identify someone from their build, hairstyle, or looks as long as there was a mask between them—even if the other person only put on a pair of glasses.

Nagashima Riko was the standard example. When she came out carrying the black tea, her daughter's words initially left her confused.

Then she saw Cong Yu remove his mask with a nod.

"Huh? It was you?"

Nagashima Riko was thrown into confusion in an instant. She had never imagined that Cong Yu was the boy who had saved her before.

Then, in the next instant, she smiled, suddenly feeling much closer to him. "You've saved me twice—"

Indeed, that was how it was by ordinary reasoning.

Speechless, Cong Yu tapped Nagashima Koki on the head with a finger... She did not even try to dodge.

Only then did she seem to notice something.

"Huh? That tickles..."

Nagashima Koki said this as she scratched her forehead.

Then Cong Yu extended his hand toward Nagashima Riko and ordered, "Manager, shake my hand."

Nagashima Riko hesitated at Cong Yu's instruction. "Huh? Ah? Oh... Like this?"

"Huh? Mmph!"

The instant she shook Cong Yu's hand, Nagashima Riko felt a tingling sensation spread from the fingertips where their hands met.

Neither of them noticed faint black mist entering their bodies from the point of contact.

It then lay dormant within them, waiting for orders.

--

[Magic Power Filled: 0.03%]

[Activation: Switch Confirmation Mode Enabled]

[Control-Type: Continuous: Targeted: Confirmation Complete]

[Hydra Brand]

--

"Sorry."

As Cong Yu said this, he propped up his chin with one hand, looked at the mother and daughter who had no idea what had happened, and declared, "From now on..."

"Your bodies are my property."

Nagashima Riko: Huh?

Nagashima Koki: Yay—

"..." Was this child really alright?

The Strange Development He Had Imagined

Nagashima Koki, eleven years old, was a student currently attending Breezy Elementary School as a fifth grader.

But that was not the important part.

The important part was that this child's personality was a little strange... Or rather, her terrible home environment had warped her values somewhat.

Nagashima Koki was a little unwell.

She knew what it meant to "become someone else's property." She could also roughly understand what sort of strange scenario it could become if interpreted in a worse direction, but she was not frightened by it.

"Yay—"

On the contrary, she happily cried out like that.

Because she thought it was interesting, and because it would not cause things to develop in a bad direction... unlike when her mother had been taken hostage by a monster.

She found all of it very interesting.

Cong Yu took some time to explain to the Nagashima mother and daughter what the magic he had cast on them meant.

Basically, neither of them could reveal Cong Yu's true identity to outsiders, nor could they say anything related to events that might expose his identity.

The judgment depended on their subjective awareness.

In other words, if someone hypnotized them, brainwashed them, or even read their memories, they could still obtain information related to Cong Yu.

But what did that matter?

Cong Yu had always been indifferent to such things.

More than that, Cong Yu was concerned about Nagashima Koki's mental health.

"Can I use magic? Can Cong Yu teach me?"

The one saying this was Nagashima Koki, who was sitting astride Cong Yu's... stomach.