Hope There Won't Be a Season Two / Episode Five Premieres!

The sound of chains rang out. Chains stretching from the void sealed off all the space above, below, left, and right of Yu Muqiu.

Then, invisible magical barriers spread through the gaps between the chains, forming a small Magic Barrier.

Hearing the chains and seeing the Magic Barrier enclosing her, joy immediately appeared on Yu Muqiu's face. She spun around and looked behind her.

"Xiao Bai!!"

Behind her stood a cold-looking girl with white hair, red eyes, and black leather clothes, sitting atop the chains with her chin resting on one hand as she watched Yu Muqiu.

Hearing Yu Muqiu's form of address, the girl's expression darkened slightly, but she did not correct her.

She merely raised her chin and looked at Yu Muqiu with faint arrogance.

"What? Were you looking for me?"

Hope There Won't Be a Second Season

Seeing the person she had been looking for, Yu Muqiu immediately nodded her little head repeatedly.

She said happily.

"Yes, yes! I came to invite you to join the Investigation Department for supernatural... stuff! From now on, we can fight Demons together!"

"Not interested."

Xiao Bai answered without even thinking.

Yu Muqiu froze. She blinked up at Xiao Bai. "Why? Didn't we work together quite well before?"

She was talking about what had happened a month ago, two days before the Sky Screen began broadcasting.

At that time, they had just fought a powerful female Demon formed from the combination of six Nightmare Seeds.

Xiao Bai had originally planned to deal with that Demon alone.

But in the end, she discovered that she was no match for it. She could only join forces with Yu Muqiu and the other two, unleashing a combined magic attack to finally defeat the female Demon.

According to the calculations of those adults at headquarters, what Yu Muqiu had experienced back then should have been the ending of the first season shown on the Sky Screen.

If that was the case, then Xiao Bai should have been on their side.

She was also one of the main characters. There was no reason for her to reject them!

Yu Muqiu thought to herself.

Yet Xiao Bai's expression remained unchanged.

When the matter from back then was brought up, she only felt a brief trace of nostalgia before continuing.

"All twenty-four Nightmare Seeds have already been dealt with. I should be able to handle any Nightmare Seeds that fall into this world from now on by myself. I don't need companions, and you don't need to be Magical Girls."

"But..."

"There's no 'but,' Yu Muqiu. You think being a Magical Girl is too simple. You... and your friends are simply not suited to being Magical Girls. Just be idols admired by the whole world. As for Demons..."

Xiao Bai stood up, and the chains gradually withdrew. It looked like she was about to leave.

Only then did she speak the rest of her sentence.

"...leave them all to me."

"Y-You want to shoulder everything by yourself?! That's too selfish!"

Seeing Xiao Bai about to leave, Yu Muqiu shouted at her retreating back.

"Don't think of me as that kind. I'm just... bored."

As Xiao Bai spoke, her figure began to dissipate into the air, a sign that she was about to leave.

Yu Muqiu took out her wand, instinctively wanting to stop the other girl from leaving.

But perhaps Xiao Bai had been prepared for this all along. The instant Yu Muqiu drew her wand, countless chains wrapped around her body and limbs.

Then Yu Muqiu heard Xiao Bai's mocking voice.

"See? I controlled you so easily. That proves you're not a qualified Magical Girl at all. Be good and go back to being an idol. That... is the life you should be living."

Xiao Bai's words made her sound like one of Yu Muqiu's elders.

After saying that, her figure vanished without a trace.

Only two minutes after she left did the chains around Yu Muqiu gradually dissipate.

Those chains were magical chains created from Xiao Bai's magic power.

Their solidity proved that Xiao Bai's magic power was far stronger than Yu Muqiu's.

After not seeing each other for a month, she had become even stronger than when they fought that Scorpion Demon.

But...

"I won't give up!"

Yu Muqiu pursed her lips and stared in the direction Xiao Bai had left.

"I won't give up! I'll definitely... definitely make you my companion! I definitely will!!"

"...That's why I hate this kind of hot-blooded protagonist."

Having transformed back into his original appearance, Fang Ming listened to Yu Muqiu's voice transmitted through the chains and could not help sighing inwardly.

Before the Sky Screen appeared, if Fang Ming had met a child like Yu Muqiu, he would only have thought that she possessed the passionate spirit of youth.

He would have thought she had the innocence adults lacked.

That was why she believed that as long as she worked hard, everything would succeed.

But after seeing the Sky Screen, Fang Ming understood.

Yu Muqiu's efforts really could succeed.

Because she was the protagonist chosen by the Sky Screen.

And he...

He was a Magical Girl of unknown origin who could be exposed at any moment.

Precisely because Yu Muqiu was the protagonist, she would overcome any crisis she encountered.

And precisely because she was the protagonist, her single-mindedness, so typical of most protagonists, gave Fang Ming a terrible headache.

Before the Sky Screen appeared, Fang Ming had planned to settle down in Spring City and help Yu Muqiu out when appropriate.

But after the Sky Screen appeared, Fang Ming abandoned that idea.

He was afraid that if he got close to Yu Muqiu, she would discover his identity.

That was also why he had not acted as a Magical Girl over the past month.

He had appeared in that identity again today partly to let Yu Muqiu know that he had not run into trouble.

He was still alive.

And partly, he wanted to warn Yu Muqiu again.

Being a Magical Girl was far too dangerous a job.

Children like them, who were not even twenty yet, should not be doing it.

It was enough for him, an adult who had lived through two lives, to do it.

Even if they did not become Magical Girls, the people of this world would not blame them.

After all, everything shown on the Sky Screen was their achievement.

Those achievements could not be erased.

As long as those achievements existed, they would be heroes of this world.

With such a record, whether they became idols or actually joined a government department and earned a public salary, it would be better than fighting Demons to the death.

That was how Fang Ming had wanted to persuade Yu Muqiu.

But unfortunately...

Yu Muqiu truly lived up to being the protagonist.

She had not listened to a single word of Fang Ming's warning.

Instead, it had only stirred up her fighting spirit.

That damned fighting spirit!

That was why hot-blooded protagonists were so annoying!

Fang Ming felt helpless, but he could not exactly show himself and break Yu Muqiu's legs so she could not fight Demons.

Besides, Xiao Chun was beside Yu Muqiu.

Xiao Chun had mastered plant magic and was also extremely skilled in healing magic.

Even if he broke Yu Muqiu's legs today, she would be bouncing around in front of him tomorrow.

After thinking it over, Fang Ming could only helplessly give up on that very tempting idea.

"Forget it, forget it. There haven't been any Demons for over a month anyway... Maybe... there won't be any Demons in the future?"

One month and three days ago, three days before the Sky Screen appeared, Fang Ming had joined forces with three Magical Girls to defeat the final Upper Demon formed from six Nightmare Seeds.

After that, no new Nightmare Seeds fell into this world.

Then the Sky Screen appeared, and everyone watched four episodes of Magical Girl Xiao Qiu.

During that time, no Nightmare Seeds appeared either.

Fang Ming thought that perhaps the story of Magical Girl Xiao Qiu had already ended with its first season.

Everything he was experiencing now was the story after Magical Girl Xiao Qiu's ending.

Something like an epilogue.

Therefore, perhaps life would be nothing but everyday peace from now on, with no more Nightmare Seeds, Demons, or anything like that appearing.

That was what Fang Ming thought.

As for whether that was really true...

They would have to see whether there would be a second season after the Sky Screen finished broadcasting the first season of Magical Girl Xiao Qiu.

"I hope there won't be a second season. Otherwise... wouldn't the chances of me being exposed increase drastically?"

Whether for Yu Muqiu and the others' safety or his own "safety," Fang Ming prayed that a second season would never appear.

Because he truly did not want to die socially.

Episode Five Begins!

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Nothing much changed in Fang Ming's life during that week.

Aside from signing an agreement with the government and being placed in a guarded residential complex, his daily life was basically the same as before.

No Demons appeared, and no one guessed that he was a Magical Girl.

Thus, the week passed peacefully.

During that week, Fang Ming had also prepared an escape route for himself.

He had already decided that if even the slightest sign of his possible exposure appeared in the fifth episode, he would immediately transform and run away!

He had even found his way out already!

Regardless of what Fang Ming thought, the fifth episode began broadcasting on the Sky Screen right on schedule.

But unlike the fourth episode, this time it did not begin directly with the opening song.

Instead, it continued from where the previous episode had left off.

(Here it comes!) (Episode Five! I'm here!!) (Bai-chan, I'm here!!) (Bai-chan...?) (Ah, the official materials currently refer to the fourth Magical Girl as "Xiao Bai," so that's what we call her.) (Scythe-chan is obviously cuter!)

Amid the various comments scrolling past, the fifth episode's footage appeared before everyone.

Fang Ming watched the comments floating across the sky, and the corner of his mouth could not help twitching.

So... the official name they had ultimately given him had indeed become "Xiao Bai."

He just did not know whether it had been Chen Xiaoxia's idea or Yu Muqiu's.

["W-Who was that?!"

As the Demon shouted in shock and fury, his head slid from his neck.

The black-clad, white-haired girl swung her scythe and stepped over the Demon's body, arriving before Yu Muqiu. Her ruby-like eyes stared emotionlessly at the Magical Girl before her.

"Th-The fourth Magical Girl?!"

Yu Muqiu cried out in surprise.

As she cried out, the opening music began.]

(Oh no, the Sky Screen padded out another minute.) (Fine, fine, this is how you want to play it, huh!) (Didn't they just move the previous episode's ending to the beginning with a few minor changes...) (Stop talking, watch the opening!)

"...6."

Fang Ming watched the footage on the Sky Screen and posted a comment in speechless frustration.

He was still worrying himself sick here, yet the Sky Screen was deliberately keeping everyone in suspense!

It learned all the bad things and none of the good!