Magical Girls Exposed! Chapter 22

Because of what had happened a few days ago, Fang Ming had become even more concerned about the magical girls' safety. He basically wouldn't allow them to leave his sight.

And that became the first obstacle before the magical girls. They needed to find a way around Fang Ming's "protection."

"...What do we do?"

Yu Muqiu looked at her companions.

Chen Xiaoxia looked equally lost, her little face scrunched up. "If we sneak off... Brother Fang Ming will probably send us home..."

"No choice." Nino looked at them and said, "Desperate times call for desperate measures... Which one of you can use magic to knock him out?"

"?"

The magical girls stared at Nino in shock.

Nino spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable. "What's the problem? We're just using magic to make him sleep for a while. It won't hurt him."

That was what she said, but the others reasonably suspected that Nino was getting back at Fang Ming for teasing her earlier.

"That... does seem right..."

Xiao Chun's eyes flickered as though she were thinking of something.

Yu Muqiu hesitated. "Wouldn't that be a little inappropriate..."

Chen Xiaoxia, who had a strong sense of justice, didn't really approve of Nino's suggestion either. But... as Nino had said, desperate times called for desperate measures. They were only using magic to make someone sleep for a bit. That probably... maybe... possibly... didn't count as doing something bad?

"...I'll do it."

Xiao Chun said, "My Healing magic happens to include a spell that calms the mind. I'll take care of Brother Fang Ming while you go ahead."

Xiao Chun spoke righteously, with not the slightest trace of impure thoughts in her eyes.]

Meeting Again

(????)

(Xiao Chun! What are you doing, Xiao Chun?!)

(Xiao Chun, that scheme of yours is so loud I can hear it all the way from xx.)

(Huh? Why can't place names be displayed? xx...)

(Xiao Chun!! Don't do it!!!)

When they heard that Xiao Chun wanted to stay with Fang Ming, a wave of wailing swept across the Sky Screen.

It was known that Xiao Chun currently had more or less that kind of interest in Fang Ming. So what would happen now that Xiao Chun had voluntarily offered to take care of Fang Ming... did anyone even need to think about it?

But Fang Ming, who knew what had really happened, only wanted to laugh.

Xiao Chun had indeed used magic to knock Fang Ming out back then. But while she had let her guard down, Fang Ming had directly used magic to knock Xiao Chun unconscious in return.

Otherwise, how could Fang Ming have turned into Xiao Bai to defeat the Nightmare Seed while under Xiao Chun's care?

...Wait!!

As Fang Ming recalled what had happened then, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Xiao Chun knocking him out wasn't a big deal. The problem was that he had knocked Xiao Chun out afterward!

If the Sky Screen played that scene, then even if it didn't expose Fang Ming's ability to transform into a magical girl, it would expose something else!

Most importantly, he had no way to explain why he had knocked Xiao Chun unconscious!

"No, no... Don't scare yourself. It didn't get exposed before, so it won't get exposed in this seventh episode that has neither a beginning nor an end..."

Fang Ming comforted himself.

If things were really as he had guessed, and the entire story centered on Xiao Qiu's perspective, only occasionally switching to others, then before Xiao Qiu learned his identity, there was no way he could be exposed!

But even so, he should probably pack first...

So he could run at any time!

[Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia didn't suspect Xiao Chun's intentions. Xiao Chun had always taken care of them, after all, so they were perfectly at ease letting her take charge of Fang Ming.

After dividing up their tasks, Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia rushed toward the location where they had sensed the Nightmare Seed, while Xiao Chun found an excuse to get Fang Ming to follow her. Then, during a conversation, she used magic while Fang Ming wasn't paying attention and knocked him unconscious.

Fang Ming's body went limp and toppled forward, only to be caught in Xiao Chun's arms.

Then Xiao Chun gently laid him down on a nearby bench and simply stared at his sleeping face, who knew what she was thinking.

In that quiet scene, accompanied by stirring BGM, the view switched to Xiao Qiu's side.]

(?! Don't cut away! I want to see what Xiao Chun did!)

(What else could she do? After knocking him out, of course she went to support Xiao Qiu and the others. She couldn't just stare blankly at Fang Ming and forget to help, could she?)

(Ugly people always make trouble. Who Xiao Chun likes is her freedom. I think Fang Ming is pretty great. He's handsome, kind-hearted, and responsible.)

(Waaah, Brother Fang Ming, my Brother Fang Ming...)

(...Why is there suddenly a cousin's fan here too?!)

So even my original body had fans now?

Seeing the later comments, Fang Ming couldn't help touching his chin again.

That made sense. The Sky Screen was basically a giant television display that the whole world could watch. Anyone who appeared on it, even a mere extra, probably had plenty of fans.

Not to mention that Fang Ming looked like a fairly important supporting character.

And Fang Ming himself wasn't bad-looking, so it was perfectly normal for him to have fans.

In fact, entertainment companies had already called Fang Ming these past few days to ask whether he was interested in becoming an idol, but he had turned them all down.

Give me a break. I'm already financially free through copying... no, writing books. Why would I become an idol when I've got nothing better to do?

That was getting off topic. In any case, seeing that the scene playing in the sky didn't show him transforming into a magical girl and knocking Xiao Chun unconscious, Fang Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although once the viewers discovered that Xiao Chun hadn't gone to support them, and later found her asleep beside Fang Ming, they would definitely grow suspicious of what had happened during that time.

But as long as the evidence wasn't laid out in the open, no one would suspect that Fang Ming was Xiao Bai!

Because no man would become a magical girl!

No one!

[Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia rushed toward the place where they had sensed the Nightmare aura as soon as they left the swimming pool.

Following Nino's guidance, the two quickly arrived before a crack in a barrier floating on the water.

Looking at the Nightmare Barrier connected to the river, they exchanged a glance.

Xiaoxia asked hesitantly, "Could this really be... that Fish Monster Demon?"

"No." Nino shook her head. "The aura is too weak. It's far weaker than that Fish Monster Demon."

"Either way, we'll know once we go in and take a look!"

Yu Muqiu was decisive. She raised her right hand, and a pink wand symbol flashed past as her transformation began!

Chen Xiaoxia no longer hesitated either. She made the same motion as Yu Muqiu, raising her right hand as the phantom image of a blue greatsword appeared on the back of it!

Transform!

Chen Xiaoxia's transformation, just like the color she represented, was closely tied to water.

Within a blue space, water surged toward Chen Xiaoxia like waves and completely swallowed her.

But when the tide receded, Chen Xiaoxia's outfit had changed into another form.

Like the underlayer beneath unarmored battle gear, a skintight suit wrapped around Chen Xiaoxia's rather unremarkable figure.

Then the water flowed around her body, forming her armor and armored skirt. Afterward, a blue hair ornament bound her long hair into a ponytail. A greatsword appeared from thin air and was grasped in Chen Xiaoxia's hand.

Finally, Chen Xiaoxia swung the greatsword twice for a close-up. Transformation complete!

Chen Xiaoxia's transformation was full of energy, and afterward she looked like a knight straight out of a Western fantasy world.

Chen Xiaoxia stood side by side with the transformed Yu Muqiu, her blue single ponytail and Yu Muqiu's pink twin tails bouncing in the air.

The two were about to enter the Nightmare Barrier and eliminate the Demon inside.

But the next moment, countless Chains grew from the ground, precisely wrapping around their feet and arms.

"!? Damn it... This magic! It's that girl!!"

Although Chen Xiaoxia had only met Xiao Bai once, she was extremely familiar with her magic.

Now that she saw the Chains, Chen Xiaoxia immediately confirmed that this was the magic of that annoying magical girl, Xiao Bai!

"Xiao Bai!"

Yu Muqiu cried out as well, raising her head to look toward the sky.

Bang!

The silver-haired magical girl in black landed before them in a superhero pose.

She looked up at the two restrained magical girls. After only one glance, she withdrew her gaze and walked into the barrier without saying a word.

Chen Xiaoxia was so furious that three symbols representing anger appeared over her head at once.

"Hey!! Black-clad! What the hell do you mean by this?!"

"You'll only hold me back."

Xiao Bai spoke coldly, then walked into the barrier without looking back.

It took Chen Xiaoxia a second to realize what Xiao Bai had said, and she erupted in helpless rage.

"Ahhhh!!! Damn it!! How dare you call us dead weight! That's infuriating!!!"

But she could only rage helplessly, because she discovered that with her current strength, she couldn't break free from the Chains at all.

Yu Muqiu beside her was the same.

The restraining power of these Chains seemed even stronger than before.

This girl... she seems to have gotten stronger again? No, she probably just hadn't used her full strength last time.

Chen Xiaoxia thought as she stared fixedly at the barrier.

She wanted to see how long that silver-haired magical girl could last, and whether she would come asking for their help.

If Xiao Bai did ask them for help, Chen Xiaoxia would definitely help, but she would absolutely mock her properly first!

Unfortunately, Chen Xiaoxia was disappointed.

Only a short while had passed before the Nightmare Barrier in front of them vanished, and the silver-haired girl appeared before them.

That meant the Demon inside had already been dealt with by the silver-haired girl.]

They're Fighting!

[That fast??

Chen Xiaoxia froze for a moment when she saw the silver-haired girl appear safely before her.

The silver-haired girl didn't look at her. Only after confirming that the Demon was dead did she release the Chains around Yu Muqiu and Chen Xiaoxia.

At the same time, she tossed the Nightmare Seed in her hand to Nino.

"Keep it safe."

"Ah... okay...!" Nino hurriedly took back the Nightmare Seed and stored it in her space.

Once she saw that the Nightmare Seed had been put away, Xiao Bai turned around as if she were about to leave.

But she had barely taken a step when Xiaoxia called out to her.

"Hey!!! Wait a second!!"

Xiao Bai stopped and turned her head. Her silver hair trailed a streak of golden light through the air.

"What is it?"

"What do you mean, 'what is it'? We should be asking you that! What right did you have to lock us up here? What right did you have to go destroy the Nightmare Seed by yourself? That's supposed to be our job!"

Chen Xiaoxia's dissatisfaction with Xiao Bai had reached its limit. She waved her greatsword one-handedly as she pointed it at Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai's expression didn't change, but there was a trace of mockery and chill in her voice as she said,

"I've said it many times already. Rock City is my territory, and the Demons here should be handled by me. So strictly speaking, this is my 'job,' not yours."

"That's exactly it!!" Chen Xiaoxia shouted. "The Nightmare Seed only just appeared, and there weren't even any magical girls here before this! What right do you have to treat this place as your territory?!"