Magical Girls Exposed!

That was right—the events playing out on the screen were happening in this world.

Everything they experienced, everything being shown, truly existed in this world.

Magic really existed!

Magical girls really existed too!

And then the world erupted.

Because if magical girls truly existed, then the enemies they fought—the beings known as "Demons"—existed as well!

Ordinary people could not see Demons, yet Demons could affect the world. Without magical girls, they might even gradually destroy this world!

Thus, the magical girls led by Yu Muqiu became utterly famous throughout the world.

Most people began treating these magical girls as saviors. They fanatically pursued their whereabouts, and the entire world descended into chaos.

If the Federal Government had not announced four days ago that the magical girls had partnered with the government and become government employees, some people might have done even crazier things to them!

At that time, the screen above had only revealed the existence of three magical girls.

But now...

A fourth magical girl seemed to have appeared.

(Wait, isn't this newly appeared magical girl an enemy?)

(Look at where she's standing, the action shots... and her clash with Xiao Qiu... She really does seem like an enemy!)

(Tsk, tsk. You can tell you guys haven't watched enough anime. Aren't characters who start as enemies, get redeemed later, and join the protagonist's group a common trope in magical girl shows? Just relax and watch.)

After the opening theme played in the sky, everyone realized that the newly appeared white-haired, red-eyed girl in a black dress seemed to stand against the protagonists.

But some people quickly began "explaining," believing that this new character was only hostile to the protagonists early on and would definitely join them later.

"...I was never a villain to begin with! Isn't joining the protagonist's group perfectly normal? Wait, I'm not part of the protagonist's group!"

Fang Ming grumbled inwardly.

His hands moved even faster as he packed his belongings. He was leaving now! He would flee to a deserted island and live out the rest of his life there! No one would stop him!

Just as Fang Ming thought that, a scene on the Sky Screen suddenly made him stop.

Then... his hands became a blur as he frantically stuffed things into his suitcase.

And the reason was—

["Brother Fang Ming! Long time no see!"]

On the Sky Screen, a girl with pink twin tails threw herself into the arms of a young man with short black hair.

That young man with short black hair was Fang Ming!

And the pink-haired girl, who looked energetic yet somewhat adorably airheaded, was Yu Muqiu, the protagonist of Magical Girl Xiao Qiu currently playing on the Sky Screen!

She was also Fang Ming's distant cousin!

"If I remember correctly, that was when I discovered she was a magical girl, and then somehow became a magical girl myself... So doesn't that mean... I'm about to be exposed?!"

That realization was why Fang Ming sped up his packing.

The scene currently playing on the Sky Screen had happened three months ago. That day, Yu Muqiu and the others had come to the city where Fang Ming lived for summer vacation, and they happened to meet him.

Fang Ming was an arts worker—or, more precisely, a plagiarist.

As a freelancer, he had plenty of spare time. So when he learned that his cousin and her group were coming to visit the city where he lived, hosting them naturally fell to Fang Ming.

And naturally, Fang Ming had to provide lodging for the girls as well.

Ever since his parents had died in a plane crash three years ago, he had lived alone in the whole house. A few more people would not take up much space.

But he had never expected an ordinary act of hospitality to change the course of his entire life!

["Xiao Qiu, long time no see."

The handsome young man named Fang Ming smiled at Yu Muqiu and the others. He naturally took Yu Muqiu's luggage, then looked at the girls beside her and asked:

"You're Xiao Qiu's friends, right? I'm Fang Ming, Xiao Qiu's cousin."

"Yeah, yeah, Xiao Qiu introduced you to us." The girl with short blue hair and blue eyes greeted Fang Ming energetically and introduced herself. "I'm Chen Xiaoxia! Just call me Xiao Xia, Brother Fang Ming! Please take good care of us while we're in Rock City~"]

The blue-haired girl radiated the vigor unique to young people. She was also the brightest and liveliest member of the group.

And without question, she was also a magical girl. She became one after Yu Muqiu, in the second episode.

(So jealous, so jealous, so jealous...)

(That Fang Ming actually gets to live under the same roof as three magical girls!)

(I'm dying of jealousy! Cousin, trade places with me!)

(...Am I the only one who thinks this cousin is pretty handsome?)

Fang Ming remained expressionless as he watched the comments scrolling across the Sky Screen.

Living in the same house as three girls was no good thing. During the days Yu Muqiu was there, Fang Ming did not dare leave the house too messy. Even when using the toilet, he kept the seat down!

He did not dare play games too late, afraid of disturbing the girls. He also did not dare casually go out, afraid of stumbling into some "lucky pervert" incident and being misunderstood by them.

The suffering of those days was simply beyond words.

But those were all things of the past. He had only met them as their cousin for a few days.

So running away now should not be a problem...

Just as Fang Ming thought that, there came a knock at the door.

Knock, knock, knock—

He extended his magical perception outside. When he saw several police officers standing at the door, Fang Ming looked silently at his already-packed suitcase.

He... seemed to have ultimately been too late to run.

A Must-Experience Magical Girl Moment

"Hello? Are you Mr. Fang Ming?"

"Yes, I am..."

"Sorry to disturb you, but you should have seen the footage playing in the sky. So... for Miss Yu Muqiu's safety, please come with us."

The police officers who came to Fang Ming's home were very polite.

That was because Fang Ming was not a bad person, much less a wanted criminal. They had only come to protect Yu Muqiu's relatives and friends from harm, preventing anyone with ulterior motives from using Yu Muqiu's family to threaten one of the world's only magical girls.

They had probably investigated Fang Ming beforehand. It was only because he had not appeared on the Sky Screen that they had not immediately taken him away for protection.

But now...

Since Fang Ming had appeared on the Sky Screen, even if he never showed up again after this episode, the Federal Government still had to place him under protection.

After all, he was connected to the magical girl Yu Muqiu.

"I understand. Please come in first, everyone. How about we finish watching this episode first?"

Having already dealt with the suitcase before opening the door, Fang Ming generously invited the officers inside.

The officers suspected nothing. Chatting and laughing, they entered the house, went to the best viewing spot on the balcony, and began watching the rest of the story.

Five minutes had already passed in the story above while they spoke.

In just five minutes, Yu Muqiu and the others had completed a whole series of activities: "shopping," "purchasing supplies," and "having fun."

What the Sky Screen was showing now was what happened the day after they arrived in Rock City.

["Haaah~ Morning, Xiao Chun, Xiao Xia~"

Early in the morning, Yu Muqiu walked out of her room, yawning as she greeted the two girls eating breakfast in the living room.

On the living room sofa, Chen Xiaoxia, with her short blue hair, was chatting with another girl with long wavy yellow hair. Seeing Yu Muqiu emerge, they greeted her in unison:

"Morning, Xiao Qiu."]

The blonde girl alongside Chen Xiaoxia was the magical girl who appeared in the third episode. Her name was Murong Xiaochun, and she had the relatively rare double surname Murong. She was gentle and shy, and just like her name, the way she spoke made people feel as if they were basking in a spring breeze.

She was the team's designated "healer."

[Yu Muqiu sat with Xiaoxia and Xiao Chun. She first looked around, then finally glanced toward the tightly shut door of the master bedroom and asked in confusion:

"Is Brother Fang Ming still not awake?"

"Oh, Brother Fang Ming made breakfast for us this morning, then went back to sleep. He said something about being nocturnal..."

Chen Xiaoxia explained.

Xiao Chun smiled gently beside her. "It seems... older brothers and sisters nowadays all keep that kind of schedule. We should avoid disturbing Brother Fang Ming."

"Agreed. But enough about Brother Fang Ming. Nino, how did your investigation go last night?" Chen Xiaoxia asked, shifting her gaze aside.

From their backpacks, an animal resembling a calico cat crawled out. As soon as it emerged, it copied Yu Muqiu and yawned before saying:

"Nothing has been found yet... Perhaps no one has been possessed by a Nightmare Seed yet."]

Nino was a visitor from another world. When its world neared destruction, it had come to this world carrying the Heart of Hope, which could transform people into magical girls.

It was the one that turned the three girls into magical girls, but it was also the one that brought Nightmares and Demons into this world.

According to Nino, those Demons had found this world because it was close to its homeland.

But some people believed that this tiny calico cat was the true culprit behind the Demons' invasion of the world.

One could only wonder whether Nino would protest its innocence if it learned what those people thought.

(Sleeping all day and staying up all night, playing games late... This cousin is totally me!)

(Wake up. You're not as handsome as him.)

(Wake up. You don't have such a cute cousin either.)

(By the way, why did they come to Rock City again? It's been a week, and I kind of forgot the earlier plot...)

(They came to search for the "Nightmare Seeds" that fell in Rock City. Go watch the replay. There are recordings online.)

That was right. Yu Muqiu and her group had come to Rock City to search for the "Nightmare Seeds" capable of manifesting people's nightmares.

According to Nino, and according to the recap at the beginning of the first episode, there were a total of twenty-four Nightmare Seeds that had fallen into this world.

These twenty-four Nightmare Seeds were the Demons' advance force. If all twenty-four Nightmare Seeds gathered and activated, the Demons would learn this world's coordinates and invade it.

That was how Nino's world had been invaded by the Demons.

["Nothing? Does that mean there aren't any, or..." Xiao Chun frowned in thought.

Nino explained, "It should mean no one has been corrupted by a Nightmare Seed yet. Otherwise... you would have sensed it last night."

"That makes sense..." Only then did Xiao Chun nod in relief.

Chen Xiaoxia said, "But we still can't let our guard down. Nino has been in this world for two months now. Look at Spring City, where we live. In two months, there have already been five cases of people being possessed by Nightmare Seeds.

"And the Nightmare Seeds in Rock City should have fallen at the same time as the ones in Spring City, so..."

"So it's very likely that a Nightmare Seed has already landed on someone, and it only needs a tiny trigger..." Yu Muqiu added.]

"Come to think of it, a lot of strange things really did happen in our city three months ago."

Beneath the Sky Screen, inside Fang Ming's home, one of the officers rubbed his chin and said:

"At the time, we received reports saying someone had jumped from a rooftop... Others said there were strange disturbances at the hospital... We thought someone was causing trouble, but we never imagined it was these magical girls..."

"Is it okay to tell an outsider like me about that?" Fang Ming asked blankly from the side.

The officer smiled. "The Sky Screen has already exposed the magical girls. What's there left that can't be said?"

"Y-Yeah, I suppose so."

As Fang Ming spoke, he continued looking up at the Sky Screen.

[Yu Muqiu and her group ultimately decided to search this city for traces of the Nightmare Seeds. According to Nino's magical sensing, there were three Nightmare Seeds in Rock City.

Thus, the three girls split up.

Nino followed Yu Muqiu, while Chen Xiaoxia and Xiao Chun each used Search Magic to look for the Nightmare Seeds.

Even without transforming, magical girls could use some less powerful magic in their daily lives. Search Magic was one such spell.

The perspective followed Yu Muqiu, and the place she mainly searched was Rock City First Hospital.]