Murong Xiaochun

Xiao Chun analyzed it like this.

The three of them hit a dead end in their discussion and fell silent.

Nino, who was nearby, did not join in. She simply lounged on the ground in the sun, her tail swaying back and forth.

Just as things grew quiet, a cheerful ringtone sounded from Xiao Chun.

The three were drawn to the sound. Xiao Chun took out her phone, glanced at it, and suddenly stood up.

"Crap! It's already this late!"

"Huh?" Chen Xiaoxia looked at the clock, which showed 1:45 in the afternoon, utterly confused. "What time?"

It did not seem like quitting time yet.

And today was not a holiday, much less anyone's birthday...

"Ah..."

Xiao Chun suddenly froze. Her gaze darted from side to side as she said quietly,

"Um... well... that... manga! Right, it's the manga release time! Today's release is a limited edition, and if I miss it, I won't be able to get one, so... I'm leaving first!"

After saying that, Xiao Chun hurriedly ran out of the room, leaving Yu Muqiu and Chen Xiaoxia staring at each other.

After quite a while, Chen Xiaoxia narrowed her eyes and said,

"Something's off. There's definitely something going on!"

Nino, who had clearly been sunbathing nearby, suddenly came over as well. Mimicking Chen Xiaoxia, she narrowed her eyes, rubbed her chin, and nodded.

"There is indeed a problem."

"Come on, let's follow her and see!"

Chen Xiaoxia grabbed Nino, held her in her arms, and was about to chase after Xiao Chun.

Yu Muqiu looked at Chen Xiaoxia rather hesitantly. "Isn't this a little inappropriate...?"

"What's inappropriate about it? Xiao Qiu, have you ever seen Xiao Chun act all hesitant and evasive? The way she acted just now made it obvious she's hiding something from us!"

Chen Xiaoxia said righteously, "To keep Xiao Chun from getting tricked by bad people, it's our duty to follow her, protect her, and see what she's up to!"

"..."

Even if all of us got tricked, Xiao Chun probably never would... Yu Muqiu wanted to say that, but in the end, curiosity overwhelmed reason.

And so, half-willingly, Yu Muqiu was dragged along by Xiaoxia to follow Xiao Chun as she left headquarters.

What shocked them was that the moment Xiao Chun stepped out of headquarters, she immediately transformed into a Magical Girl, flew into the air, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Qiu: "..."

Xiaoxia: "..."

Nino: "...That direction seems to be Rock City?"

The two of them: "???"

"Mr. Fang, you now have administrative authority over the website."

Fang Ming sat in the Rock City branch of the Investigation Department. An official seated in front of him was personally teaching him how to use his permissions on the Magical Girl Website to alter information on it.

After explaining it to Fang Ming, the official added,

"However, although you now have the authority, there will be monthly evaluations and reviews. If you fail either, we will revoke your permissions. We hope you understand, Mr. Fang."

"I understand, I understand. I won't abuse the permissions to change things everywhere. I just feel that some of the wording on the website isn't quite appropriate, so I wanted to edit it myself."

Fang Ming explained.

The official smiled. "Understood. Several Magical Girls feel the same way. They also have permissions to edit their respective entries.

"Mr. Fang, you want to revise your own description too, right? But please do not make your personal description differ too greatly from reality.

"Although the Magical Girl Website is primarily for entertainment, it is still an official website. We hope you will exercise restraint, Mr. Fang."

Unlike the serious encyclopedia sites and the official internal websites concerning Nightmares, Demons, Magical Girls, and the like, the Magical Girl Website was an entertainment site launched by the authorities to give the public an outlet.

Even so, it was still an official site. Small changes were fine, but they could not be taken too far.

Fang Ming nodded, then suddenly thought of something and asked the official,

"By the way, who is the person in charge of this website...?"

"Oh, she is..."

"S-Sorry! I'm late!"

Before the official could finish, the door was kicked open with a bang. Murong Xiaochun rushed in, breathing slightly heavily. Upon seeing Fang Ming, she immediately returned to her usual gentle demeanor and said to them both,

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. And, long time no see, Brother Fang Ming."

She smiled at Fang Ming at the end.

Fang Ming looked at Xiao Chun in surprise, then looked up at the staff member beside him, who nodded at him.

He immediately understood.

It seemed that the person in charge of the Magical Girl Website was Murong Xiaochun.

Murong Xiaochun

[Name: Murong Xiaochun

Alias: Xiao Chun, Chun-chan, Mama Xiaochun, Classmate Murong (first appearance)

Representative color: Light green

Magic: Arrows, Healing

Character introduction:

A character appearing in Magical Girl Xiao Qiu, first appearing in the ending scene of Episode 2.

She was a classmate in the same grade as Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia, though not in the same class.

Born into a scholarly family, she was an outstanding student at school. Because her home environment placed too much pressure on her, she went out every evening to clear her head and occasionally fed the stray animals nearby.

At the beginning of Episode 3, her grades slipped somewhat and she was scolded by her mother. While feeling depressed, she happened to meet Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia, who were searching for Nightmare Seeds.

Because of this, she was drawn into a Nightmare Barrier and witnessed the world of Magical Girls firsthand.

When Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia fought Demons and were briefly at a disadvantage, Nino informed her that she had the aptitude to become a Magical Girl. She voluntarily became one and helped Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia defeat the Demon.

In Episode 4, she came to Rock City with Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia during summer vacation to search for Nightmare Seeds. When Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia were suppressed by the 'Speed Demon,' she appeared and attacked the Speed Demon, but nearly suffered severe injuries herself.

Fortunately, Magical Girl Xiao Bai came to her aid, allowing her to escape disaster.]

The instant he saw Murong Xiaochun, information about this Magical Girl surfaced in Fang Ming's mind.

Fang Ming was no stranger to Murong Xiaochun.

After all, she had stayed at his home for quite a long time, and as Magical Girls, Fang Ming often dealt with Murong Xiaochun as well.

Compared to the innocent and lively Yu Muqiu and the single-minded Chen Xiaoxia, Fang Ming actually had a better relationship with Murong Xiaochun.

Perhaps because of her family background, Murong Xiaochun carried herself with great maturity, giving Fang Ming the feeling that he was speaking with someone his own age.

It might have been a little impolite to put it that way, but that was indeed what Fang Ming thought.

Xiao Chun managing the Magical Girl Website really was fitting.

"Brother Fang Ming, why are you looking at me like that?"

After the official left, Murong Xiaochun tilted her head and looked at Fang Ming in surprise as they were alone together.

Fang Ming smiled and answered,

"Nothing. I just never expected that the three girls who stayed at my house back then were all Magical Girls."

"..."

Murong Xiaochun blushed slightly at that and lowered her head. "Sorry, Brother Fang Ming. We didn't mean to hide it from you."

"Why are you apologizing to me? I'm not angry. I just think..." Fang Ming trailed off.

He had wanted to say that becoming a Magical Girl was too dangerous, but on second thought, that sounded too much like Magical Girl Xiao Bai.

To distinguish himself from her, Fang Ming hesitated briefly before telling Xiao Chun,

"...I just think you've all had it too hard."

For some reason, after hearing Fang Ming's words, Murong Xiaochun took a deep breath as if steadying herself, then immediately replied,

"It's nothing, it hasn't been hard! After all... there haven't been any Demons lately. Aside from being trained by the authorities in combat techniques, we don't have anything else to do. Our usual... usual lives are still the same."

"Is that so? That's good."

Fang Ming nodded, seemingly relieved.

Yet he felt that the Demons could not possibly give up so quickly, nor could the Magical Girls truly remain peaceful forever like this.

Even though Fang Ming believed that Magical Girl Xiao Qiu would most likely end directly after its first season.

But... what if? What if there really was a second season, or a spin-off, or the characters from the first season became side-story characters...

Any of those things could happen.

After all, even the Pretty Cure girls next door had grown up and gone to work, only to be dragged back into battle. These girls were no exception.

Still, compared to other Magical Girls who could only rely on themselves and their companions, these Magical Girls now had the country backing them. There probably... would not be any major problem, right?

Fang Ming got carried away thinking and did not speak for a long while. Murong Xiaochun, however, did not think that much about it. She merely treasured this rare time alone with Fang Ming.

That was right.

Xiao Chun liked Brother Fang Ming.

It was not a sudden affection. If nothing unexpected happened, the matter between Xiao Chun and Brother Fang Ming would be explained in Episode 6 or Episode 7.

Because Xiao Chun remembered that after they learned the Wisdom Demon was a creature formed from multiple Nightmare Seeds gathered together, they began special magic training.

And then...

They encountered a second Wisdom Demon.

It was a Demon that appeared in a lake in Rock City. Xiao Chun was the first to discover it and fight it, but because Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia did not arrive in time, Xiao Chun and the mysterious Magical Girl Xiao Bai fought that Demon together.

Then, near the end of the battle, Xiao Chun was dragged beneath the water by that Demon alone and nearly died.

The person who ultimately saved Xiao Chun was Fang Ming.

Although Xiao Chun did not remember how she got from the bottom of the lake to its surface, she clearly remembered that when she regained consciousness, the first person she saw was Fang Ming.

Childhood sweethearts, spending every day together, and life-saving kindness were all among the circumstances most likely to give rise to affection.

Fang Ming had saved Xiao Chun, and it was from that moment onward that Xiao Chun began paying attention to him.

Then... little by little, that attention turned into love.

But Xiao Chun never dared to tell Fang Ming, because she knew that Fang Ming only saw her as a younger sister.

In his eyes, there was not the slightest trace of improper desire toward Xiao Chun or any other girl.

Yet it was precisely because of that that Xiao Chun liked Fang Ming even more.

On top of that, Fang Ming was a writer and had even published physical books. To Xiao Chun, who came from a scholarly family, that was an even greater bonus.

It was just a pity that Xiao Chun did not dare take the initiative, while Fang Ming had no other feelings for her. All she could do was hide her feelings in her heart.

Still...

Xiao Chun secretly glanced at Fang Ming, who was seriously reviewing the website, then lowered her head with a smile.

Still, this was fine too. As long as she could stay by Brother Fang Ming's side, she was already content.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Outside the window, Chen Xiaoxia, who had turned invisible using Yu Muqiu's Light Magic, watched the scene in the meeting room with Yu Muqiu and Nino.

Chen Xiaoxia made a series of tsking sounds, and Nino cooperatively made strange noises along with her: