Living with Magical Girls, but a Monster Executive

So, what was the "third identity" Lantian Zhu had mentioned?

Killing Them Instantly Feels So Good

"My lord, I failed..."

As he said this, the Ant Monster lay on the ground, his face bloodless as he reported to the figure on the video call from afar.

The original plan had been for him to wreak havoc at Grass Flower Bank, steal some of the money, and then have the bank report even larger figures to the media.

That way, they could cover up the deficit in Grass Flower Bank's accounts.

But that magical girl had stopped him twice.

.

"Don't worry about it. How many of our monster operations have ever succeeded? Failure has always been the norm."

Yet the figure on the call comforted the Ant Monster instead. "Whether it failed or succeeded, this plan was a success."

The Ant Monster froze at those words. His mind was rather slow, so he could not understand what the other person meant.

"Mm, to quote a monster executive I admire: [If evil has never prevailed over justice since ancient times, then let evil and justice, victory and defeat, arrive at the same destination by different paths.] Something like that."

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Rest up properly there. Once you've mostly recovered, find a chance to come back."

"..." After leaving those words behind, the other party severed the connection on their own...

And this so-called "video call" did not actually involve a phone at all. The screen was formed from an image made of magic.

This was the communication method monsters often used. It was difficult to trace and could not be tracked through technology.

"Phew... My lord!"

Looking deeply moved, the Ant Monster lay on the ground with his eyes closed, quietly waiting for his injuries to recover.

He had thought he would be punished.

This was wonderful.

"..."

"Tap... tap..."

"..." Footsteps were approaching?!

The Ant Monster abruptly opened his eyes. Looking around at the abandoned-factory-like surroundings, he did not think anyone would come near in the middle of the night.

No, not necessarily. It might be some drunk human stumbling around.

Thinking that, the Ant Monster opened his mouth, viscous saliva dripping from it... Then that unlucky bastard would become nourishment for his recovery!

The Ant Monster watched the abandoned factory's only entrance, hiding near the door with a cruel smile.

"Tap tap tap..."

The steady footsteps slowly drew closer. The Ant Monster tensed, ready to strike, and the instant the figure walked in—

"Die! If you want to blame someone, blame yourself... Bang!!!!!"

The instant the Ant Monster roared and pounced, a black shadow flashed before he felt a twisting pain in his abdomen.

That was followed by a violent impact...

"Boom!!!"

When he came back to his senses, the Ant Monster realized he had been sent flying by a single punch, blasted into the rubble on the other side of the factory.

A warm sensation came from his forehead.

Green blood flowed down from his forehead, obstructing the Ant Monster's vision. Even so, he could barely make out the Black Magic dispersing from the other person's hand.

The pitch-black magic carried a cold, savage aura.

"What the... Cough, cough. So you're one of us. Black Magic is really rare... Cough, cough."

The Ant Monster coughed up blood, unable to keep the resentment from his voice. "You bastard, even if I struck first, that counterattack hurt way too much."

The figure slowly entering the factory calmly replied, "I'm not here to help you, and I'm not on your side."

Though he stood with his back to the factory entrance and the light behind him was bright, it was still clear that the newcomer was a young man.

"You... Then who are you?!"

"My name is Cong Yu."

As he answered, Cong Yu, who had come here under the cover of night, seemed not to mind revealing his name at all.

Yes, because there was no longer any need to hide it.

The Ant Monster was very familiar with that name. His pupils constricted as he recalled what he had heard during his earlier fight with the magical girl.

Panic rose in the Ant Monster's heart. Suspecting that magical girls had already surrounded him, he shouted at Cong Yu, "What group are you with? Why are you helping magical girls? If the main group finds out about this..."

Seeing the obviously flustered Ant Monster, Cong Yu kindly explained, "No, it has nothing to do with the group. This is my personal action."

Since it was personal action, even if headquarters learned of it, they would not be in a position to say much. At most, they would suspend the rule-breaking monster pending investigation.

"Besides, to be honest, your group was the one that acted unfairly first... My money is frozen now."

At Cong Yu's words, the Ant Monster immediately realized something... This colleague in front of him had deposited money in Grass Flower Bank.

"Our group's plan means you temporarily can't use your money? But there was nothing we could do about that..."

"..." Though the Ant Monster tried to justify it, Cong Yu merely sighed. "Temporarily? Sigh... It's forever. Forever."

As he said this, Cong Yu slowly approached the Ant Monster. "So, which bank manager made a Pact with your group?"

Yes, Cong Yu had followed the magic Yaochuan Guang left inside the Ant Monster all the way here for this very purpose.

He had even deliberately instructed Yaochuan Guang to give this monster a chance to escape earlier.

All so he could get a clear answer now. Of course, it did not matter if he could not get one. Even if he learned the person's identity...

He probably would not get his money back anyway...

In the night, the golden magic lingering inside the monster was incredibly conspicuous. It belonged to Yaochuan Guang.

As for Cong Yu's question, the Ant Monster clearly had no intention of answering. He merely waited quietly for Cong Yu to approach.

Cong Yu did not care. He had not held much hope from the start anyway. "I won't make things hard for you. Just tell me who your superior is, and I'll negotiate directly with them. How about that..."

As Cong Yu spoke, the tense Ant Monster charged at him almost without hesitation. "What kind of joke is that?!"

"How could I possibly tell you?! Even if we're colleagues, don't think being monsters means you can get friendly with me! Die here!"

Watching the Ant Monster launch a desperate charge after using up his bombs, Cong Yu merely stood where he was with both hands in his pockets.

He seemed to have no intention of fighting back. All he could do was stand there and sigh regretfully.

This delighted the Ant Monster somewhat... This boy was far too full of himself. Just because he used bombs did not mean he was weak in close combat.

Ants! They possessed unimaginable strength!

Just stand there and let me smash your head in!

Thinking this, the Ant Monster watched Cong Yu neither dodge nor evade. A cruel smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and in the next instant...

[Magic Charge 0.55%]

[Activation: Manual Control Mode Enabled]

[Manifestation Type: Area Type: Non-Targeted: Confirmation Complete]

[Summon: Jormungandr Train]

"Boom!!!!!!"

A blackness that seemed to swallow even the blazing brilliance of the sun formed above the abandoned factory into an enormous illusory Giant Serpent beyond description.

The Giant Serpent, which had suddenly appeared through the ceiling, opened its fanged maw. Mere inches in front of Cong Yu, nearly brushing his nose, it "happened" to swallow the Ant Monster charging along its path from above, then plunged straight into the ground and vanished.

It was a serpent linking heaven and earth, swimming downward almost perpendicular to the ground. Like something that appeared in the sky and vanished the instant it touched the earth...

An enormous train.

As the wall of scales swept past, continuously pouring into the ground before him from above, the tremendous wind pressure made Cong Yu's hair and clothes whip violently.

Two or three seconds later, after the Giant Serpent had completely sunk into the ground, the world returned to silence as though nothing had happened.

Other than the Ant Monster's disappearance, it was as if nothing had ever appeared at all.

During this process, the transparent, illusory Giant Serpent caused no damage whatsoever inside the factory.

Nor did it leave much of Cong Yu's magic behind.

This was an achievement that could nearly be called extinct.

Although he had not gotten his money back, Cong Yu had decided to call in a favor with some old colleagues and ask them to investigate the Ant Monster.

For the first time in a very long while, a satisfied smile appeared on Cong Yu's face.

Cong Yu: Feels great!

Yaochuan Guang, You Idiot

How should he describe the two magical girls living with him?

Yaochuan Guang was quite easy to understand... Just as Cong Yu had thought before, she was a child who was somewhat "not that smart."

All one could say was that she possessed the innocence appropriate for her age.

But Lantian Zhu was different.

Cong Yu had not asked Lantian Zhu her exact age... But a magical girl's age could not be judged from her appearance.

Without question, beneath the title of magical girl and that girlish exterior lay a remarkably mature soul.

Even now, Cong Yu did not know whether Lantian Zhu had ever become suspicious of his identity or tried to deduce it.

Cong Yu could guarantee that she had not become certain he was connected to monsters.

But she had probably realized, more or less, that he was not an ordinary person who had never come into contact with the magical girls' world.

After all, the information he had exposed could also suggest he was some behind-the-scenes member of a magical girl squad, such as—an analyst.

So, he had to be careful.

Careful enough that when Cong Yu left the house last night, he had to sneak out through the window, and when he returned at dawn, he could only come back through the window as well.

Still, there was some time before school started. Since he was not a student for the moment, he could get a good night's sleep.

Hopefully...

--

"Cong Yu—Cong Yu-san!"

"..."

"Hello? Is Cong Yu-chan still sleeping?"

"..." Amid the girl's wake-up call... her voice waking him up, Cong Yu opened his eyes with an exhausted expression and immediately saw Yaochuan Guang standing beside his bed, looking at him.

"An unfamiliar... ceiling."

With great effort, he squeezed out the stock phrase that every transmigrator apparently had to say at least once, then tilted his head and was about to fall asleep again.

"Cong Yu-chan, wake up! It's already eight."

Yaochuan Guang bluntly shoved Cong Yu, hoping to wake him.

Only eight? Time to sleep more.

Keeping his eyes closed, Cong Yu tried hard to preserve his drowsiness. He remembered getting back into bed at around three in the morning.

In other words, he had slept a full five hours. It was not especially little for him, but if he could sleep, naturally he should sleep more!

Why was this girl suddenly calling me "Cong Yu-chan" so familiarly?

With that thought in mind, Cong Yu suddenly opened his eyes, stared at Yaochuan Guang as she shook him, and complained, "What are you doing? Ow..."

Then, after Yaochuan Guang said something, Cong Yu pointed a finger at her nose. "Although I appreciate that you called me by my full name instead of 'Yu-chan,' are we even that close?"

Though she did not quite understand Cong Yu's logic behind "I appreciate you calling me by my full name," Yaochuan Guang still took his words to heart.