Magical Girls Exposed! Chapter 25

"Mr. Fang Ming, please have a seat."

At the Investigation Department headquarters in Spring City, He Xuan personally poured Fang Ming a cup of tea in the reception room, then sat across from him.

Fang Ming looked at He Xuan sitting opposite him and could not help asking:

"Director He, did you call me here because there was something you wanted to ask?"

"Yes. I think you have probably already guessed."

He Xuan pointed at the Sky Screen outside.

Fang Ming pretended to think for a moment, then said in realization, "You want to ask me about what happened at the swimming pool that day?"

"Yes. I have already asked Xiao Chun. She does not remember much about that day and does not remember how she fell asleep, so I wanted to ask Mr. Fang Ming."

"Then you have come to the wrong person, Director He." Fang Ming said helplessly. "Just as the Sky Screen showed, Xiao Chun hypnotized me with magic while I was half-conscious. By the time I woke up... the three of them had already cleaned up and were just waiting for me to wake up."

At this point, Fang Ming even smiled. "I was especially embarrassed at the time. We had just said we would tidy up and head back, but I ended up snoring away in the chair... I thought I was so tired because I had stayed up late playing games."

Fang Ming spoke half-jokingly.

He Xuan gave Fang Ming a deep look, as if observing something.

In the end, she did not pursue the matter further and instead asked:

"Then do you think Xiao Chun falling asleep midway could have had something to do with the Demons?"

"You're asking me?"

Fang Ming pointed at himself, looking utterly stunned.

He Xuan froze for a moment as well, then smiled helplessly. "...Sorry, that was a foolish question. Please do not mind it, Mr. Fang Ming."

"It's nothing. I'm also curious why Xiao Chun fell asleep that day. What did she herself say? I mean, about how she felt at the time."

"She said she did not remember anything either. As for how she felt... she could not describe that, either."

He Xuan sighed.

Anyone even slightly rational could tell that there was definitely something wrong with Xiao Chun's sleep in the final scene of episode seven shown on the Sky Screen.

After all, Xiao Chun had always been steady and dependable. She kept her promises and would never do something like sleeping soundly while her companions were fighting Demons.

If it had been Chen Xiaoxia, people might have thought Xiaoxia was simply carefree.

But if it was Xiao Chun, even passersby who knew little about Magical Girl Xiao Qiu could understand, as long as they had occasionally watched the Sky Screen, that Xiao Chun would never do something like that.

After all, Xiao Chun had become a magical girl for Xiao Qiu and Xiaoxia. She had no reason not to go support them.

Therefore, why Xiao Chun had fallen unconscious that day became a very important question.

Yet so far, even after asking the person involved, they had no clue about what had happened that day.

More than two months had passed since then. Xiao Chun and the others had not paid much attention to the incident themselves, so when they were asked again now, they truly could not explain anything.

After confirming that Fang Ming truly knew nothing about the matter, He Xuan exchanged a few more words with him and dropped the subject.

She suddenly asked Fang Ming:

"By the way, Mr. Fang Ming, there is something else I want to ask. If the Sky Screen had not appeared, where would you have gone after Xiao Qiu and the others' summer vacation ended?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that?" Fang Ming asked in confusion.

He Xuan said, "Do you remember the Toy Bear that appeared last time?"

"I remember. It was mentioned on the news."

"Based on our analysis, if this entire world... has become a projection, something like an 'anime,' then the Toy Bear likely involves the plot of the second season."

As He Xuan spoke, she turned to look at the Sky Screen and slowly continued, "...At present, we are not certain what Xiao Qiu and the others will face in the second season. But because of the Sky Screen's appearance, we can be certain that the 'second season' in reality has already become completely different from the original.

"Even so, if we can follow the general plot progression of the second season, we can still infer some things.

"And Mr. Fang Ming, you could be considered a major supporting character in the first season. There is a high chance you will appear in the second season. It is even possible that certain events will revolve around you, so... we want to know your intentions in order to determine what we should do next."

He Xuan spoke to Fang Ming earnestly.

And it had to be said that He Xuan's reasoning was similar to Fang Ming's.

Setting aside what exactly the Sky Screen was, based purely on what it had shown, there was a high chance that Fang Ming, as a major supporting character, would appear in the second season.

In the first season, Fang Ming had provided Xiao Qiu and the others with a temporary place to stay starting from episode four, acting as their temporary guardian. It was unlikely that he would completely disappear in the second season.

At the very least, he would probably make a cameo appearance in one or two episodes.

Since he would appear, there would likely be certain special events centered around Fang Ming.

The Investigation Department's idea was to first determine Fang Ming's personal intentions before the Sky Screen appeared and infer Fang Ming's movements in the second season if the Sky Screen had not appeared.

That way, they could imitate the progression of the second season as closely as possible and prevent the fate of this world from deviating too far from its original course.

Before they knew what changing fate might cause, acting according to the original trajectory might be passive, but at least it would not go wrong.

After hearing He Xuan's explanation, Fang Ming understood her thinking as well.

After giving it some thought, he said:

"If nothing unexpected happened... I would probably have gone to Spring City."

"Hm? Why?"

"One reason was Uncle Yu's invitation. He and Aunt Zhang had always wanted me to live in Spring City, saying it would be easier for them to take care of me. The other reason was..."

Fang Ming thought for a moment, then said seriously to He Xuan, "I had actually noticed that there was something off about Xiao Qiu and the others. I could not say exactly what was wrong, so... I also wanted to observe them more closely."

"...I see."

He Xuan came to a realization and did not doubt Fang Ming's explanation.

Xiao Qiu and the others' usual disguises were actually very clumsy.

If one knew in advance that they were magical girls, then from an outsider's perspective, all their acting and disguises were practically child's play.

Even without knowing they were magical girls, one could guess that they shared some secret, and that this secret could not be told to anyone outside their group.

And during summer vacation, Fang Ming had spent time with Xiao Qiu and the others. Over time, even if Fang Ming had known nothing about magical girls, he would certainly have found them strange.

Whether as their cousin or as their temporary guardian, it was perfectly reasonable for Fang Ming to worry about Xiao Qiu and go to Spring City to watch over and take care of them at close range.

"Since that is the case, how about Mr. Fang settles down in Spring City?"

After confirming Fang Ming's movements in the second season, He Xuan made the suggestion.

Fang Ming considered it, then nodded. "Sure. I'm a freelancer anyway, so I can go anywhere."

"Thank you for your cooperation. The Federation will provide your residence in Spring City. You only need to follow your original plan and do what you were going to do."

"Alright."

That concluded Fang Ming's conversation with He Xuan. Since He Xuan still had other matters to handle, she did not remain in the reception room.

She told Fang Ming to make himself at home, then left the reception room.

Not long after He Xuan left, the reception room door was opened again.

The little heads of the three girls and Nino peeked around the side of the reception room door and looked inside.

Then they met Fang Ming's gaze.

Do You Want to Go to the Lantern Festival Together?

The moment the three girls met Fang Ming's eyes, they all ducked back out of sight.

In the end, only Nino walked into the room with her head held high, tilting her chin up at Fang Ming.

"What are you looking at? Never seen a talking cat before?"

"..."

Fang Ming fell silent, then said faintly to Nino:

"Ten cans."

Nino: "!"

"One bag... probably twenty cat treats."

"!!!"

"And fish biscuits, freeze-dried meat..."

"...I'm sorry, I was too arrogant just now. Please forgive me!"

Nino instantly dropped to her knees before Fang Ming, flat on the ground with all four paws outstretched.

During the time she had stayed at Fang Ming's home, Fang Ming had prepared plenty of food cats liked for Nino. Though she was a magical creature, her diet was surprisingly not much different from a cat's.

Fang Ming had fed Nino plenty of good food during that time. It could be said that Nino had completely been won over by food. The moment Fang Ming brought those things up, she had nothing left to say.

"Hmph, spineless!"

Chen Xiaoxia walked in right behind Nino and expressed deep disdain for Nino's immediate surrender before Fang Ming.

Then a bright smile appeared on her face as she ran to Fang Ming's side.

"Brother Fang Ming, long time no see~"

"Yeah, long time no see. Seeing that you are still so energetic puts my mind at ease."

Fang Ming smiled at Chen Xiaoxia as well.

Chen Xiaoxia's attitude toward Fang Ming was the complete opposite of her attitude toward Xiao Bai.

She disliked Xiao Bai, but she liked Fang Ming very much. After all, whenever Fang Ming took them out to play, he genuinely treated them to delicious food.

Ice cream cones, cake, and all kinds of ice cream.

Fang Ming was not short on money, and in his eyes, Yu Muqiu and the others were just a group of children. Naturally, he spoiled children however he could.

As a result, Fang Ming earned the three girls' wholehearted affection.

Even Chen Xiaoxia, who constantly picked fights with everyone, behaved like a well-behaved child in front of Fang Ming.

After Chen Xiaoxia came Yu Muqiu. She walked in rather awkwardly, then apologized to Fang Ming.

"...I'm sorry, Brother Fang Ming. That day... we did not mean to knock you out."

"You do not need to apologize. You did nothing wrong. If it had been me, I definitely would have done the same thing, so..."

Fang Ming looked toward the door. "Xiao Chun, you do not need to feel so guilty either. I do not blame you."

Xiao Chun, who stood hesitantly at the door, pinched the corner of her clothes and said softly:

"But... but I was the one who cast the sleep spell at the time..."

"Didn't you fall asleep in the end too? By the way, do you really not remember anything from that time?"

Fang Ming naturally changed the subject and turned the tables, asking about that day first.

However, Xiao Chun and the others did not think too much about it. Hearing Fang Ming ask, she thought about it again and shook her head.

"I don't remember..."

"That is really strange."

Fang Ming fell into thought. "You are a magical girl. How could you have fallen unconscious so easily?"

"It must have been that black one's doing!"

Chen Xiaoxia suddenly cut in and directly identified the culprit.

Fang Ming's heart skipped a beat, while Yu Muqiu asked Chen Xiaoxia in confusion:

"That can't be right. Wasn't Xiao Bai with us at the time?"

"Who knows what she did before she got there! Anyway, if we cannot find the culprit, we cannot go wrong blaming her for it!"

Chen Xiaoxia said righteously.

Fang Ming gave Chen Xiaoxia a dark look.

This little mouse hates kids with sharp instincts the most... Chen Xiaoxia is terrifying. She cannot be allowed to live!

Perhaps sensing Fang Ming's thoughts, Chen Xiaoxia shuddered. She turned and suspiciously looked over Yu Muqiu and the others. After meeting Yu Muqiu's gaze, she explained again:

"Who else could it have been? If it was a Demon, how could Xiao Chun have been spared? If it was not a Demon, then besides that person, who else could use magic?"

"...Th-that does seem right? But there is no evidence, after all..." Yu Muqiu was talked into it by Xiaoxia and actually felt that Xiaoxia's deduction was reasonable.