The Road Home

Thirty-three-year-old Hong Siyu, for a time, forgotten the word "miracle".

Just as she had hoped during her student days, she became an ordinary employee, working in an unfamiliar city.

Of course, although she is called an employee, her workplace is actually a little special. It is not an ordinary private enterprise or organization, but the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

At the age of twenty-two, she ran away from Fangting City.

After graduating from university and receiving her diploma, she left the city without even saying goodbye to her teammates. She simply sent a group message and disappeared silently from the port.

She did not attend Anya and Lin Yun's wedding, nor did she attend their child's one-month celebration.

This wasn't her original intention. She had actually been trying hard to maintain a peaceful relationship with Anya, but ultimately found that she couldn't. So she could only run away, fleeing to a city where no one knew her and she didn't know anyone else.

She went to Tian Heavenly City, the Central City furthest from Fangting City in Eastern Hua Prefecture, where she registered and spent the rest of her magical girl life.

Later, Anya called her several times to try and communicate with her, hoping that Hong Siyu return to Fangting City, but she politely declined.

Anya didn't do anything wrong; she was simply pursuing her love and receiving a response. In this matter, she could have ignored it, since she wasn't in the right.

That's what Hong Siyu thought.

She knew Anya was a seemingly absent-minded but actually sensitive person, and her tolerance and gentleness towards her friends were the reasons why Anya was able to become the captain of the Fangting City Squad. Even though Hong Siyu's attitude in this matter was so bad, she still hoped to repair their relationship.

In contrast, she Hong Siyu so heartless in her actions, and even she herself was disappointed in her own behavior.

But she really couldn't do it.

Perhaps it was for this reason that she was never able to make any further breakthroughs in Blossoming abilities, remaining forever at the Blossom Rank. After all, her wish when she became a magical girl was to become happy.

Later, Hong Siyu found a permanent residence in Heavenly City, brought her mother there, and settled down completely. After ten years as a magical girl, she naturally chose to retire and then joined the headquarters of the Heavenly City Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau. Except for going home with her mother during holidays to see some unfamiliar relatives, Fangting City completely disappeared from her life.

Later, her mother passed away, and she never returned to Fangting City.

Anya would still call from time to time, Hong Siyu would occasionally answer, listening to her tell her what was happening in Fangting City.

After getting married, Anya's personality matured noticeably compared to her younger days. Although she still made silly, irresponsible mistakes, she became much more worldly-wise. She would tell Hong Siyu and Fangting City's team about the new members, and even intentionally introduce them to Hong Siyu, but she would no longer mention sending them back, merely expressing her thoughts silently.

Hong Siyu didn't respond to this, as if she hadn't grasped Anya's implied meaning.

And so, time flew by, until one day Anya stopped calling her.

At first, she felt relieved, thinking that Anya had finally given up on her pointless persuasion and let go of the past. But soon, a message from within the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau left her completely stunned.

--Sakura, the Strong Flower in the Magic Kingdom, has sacrificed herself.

When she learned of Anya's death, she didn't even know how to describe her feelings.

Are you happy? Relieved? Delighted?

She couldn't deny that feelings of self-loathing welled up uncontrollably from her heart at that moment.

The object of my jealousy and avoidance for so many years has simply vanished from the world.

But she knew that this dark thought wasn't the whole story.

After that, she took the initiative to apply to the headquarters of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau in Heavenly City, wanting to be transferred to Fangting City, where she could assist in the training and liaison work for the new magical girls, while investigating Anya's cause of death.

The General Administration granted her request and reassigned her to Fangting City.

This also means that after many years, she can finally see the person she cares about and likes again.

How should she face her seniors? Thinking this, she couldn't wait to go to Anya and Lin Yun's house on her first day back in Fangting City, and finally, she saw Lin Yun as she wished.

But she never imagined that the Lin Yun she saw again would be like that.

He was a thin, middle-aged man with a lifeless gaze and an unshaven face. His clothes were still neat and tidy, but even the most impeccably tailored suit could not straighten a person's spirit. He looked so weathered and lost that Hong Siyu could not find a trace of her former self in this man.

He is no longer the handsome young man he once was.

Even when he saw me, he didn't react in any particular way, just gave a very simple greeting.

Is this the man she's longed for all these years, the man she's burying her head in the sand in another city for so long, the man she's now making a special trip back to see?

At that moment, Hong Siyu felt only absurdity.

However, the next sentence the man said made her feel as if something was pulling at her heart.

Go back, go back to your own life.

He stood at the doorway, his dark eyes revealing no emotion. "Don't get involved in this. There's nothing left for you to cherish here."

Hong Siyu didn't know what the man in front of her was thinking when he said those words, but after hearing them, she felt she had to do something.

Whether for his sake or for my own, I should do something.

But what could she do?

She herself was just a coward, an unlucky wretch, an idiot who ran away to a strange city and hid for eleven years because the person she loved married someone else. What could she possibly do for the man in front of her?

She has always been inarticulate and not good at socializing; these personality traits determine that she is not someone who can enlighten others.

At thirty-three, she had lost the youthful years of a girl, the power of a magical girl, and the ties to her former companions. She stood there, but she and the man before her were no longer on the same path. He was an innocent civilian whose wife had been murdered, and she was an official employee of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

Never before had she felt so distant from this man.

The passing of time has silently distorted everything. All the innocence, beauty, and naivety of the past are gone forever, leaving behind two people alienated by life, looking so wretched and ugly.

Miracles and magic once embraced them, but for some reason, they failed to leave even the slightest mark on them. Their dazzling magical girl life seemed like a dream, and after the dream ended, all that remained in reality was a pile of rubble.

This shouldn't be the case.

Hong Siyu believes so.

She knew that the man before her had once been granted the right to be a "Lifetime Magical Girl," and even though he had been severely injured back then and could no longer wield that power, he still possessed a miraculous flame within him.

He shouldn't be like this, he can't be like this.

But can someone as tongue-tied as me really convey my feelings properly?

Is there any way to break down this barrier between us and tell him those words that I've never dared to say before?

Even she herself didn't know why, at that moment, she subconsciously chose one option. She forced a smile she had never worn before, and said to the man in a rather forthright manner:

"What's wrong with you? You're seeing a junior you haven't seen in years, why do you have to look so gloomy?"

She wasn't the type to smile like that, nor was she the type to say those kinds of things; she always kept her thoughts to herself. But now, she was forcing herself to speak out, to speak honestly like someone else.

Because she knew that she had always envied that person.

She admired that person's honesty, optimism, and perseverance; he had accomplished what she herself had failed to do.

That's why she was able to find love and get together with this man.

If it were her, what would she say upon seeing her husband like this? If it were her, what would she think upon learning she was dead? If it were her, what would she do to encourage someone?

As she pondered and thought about it, Hong Siyu began to laugh, start making a fuss, and start cracking jokes.

She knew who she was imitating.

She didn't want that person to die at all. Even if it was because of her death that she had the chance to stand here, if possible, she would rather that person be the one left here.

But now that things have come to this, the life lost can never be brought back, and all she can do is imitate.

She wanted to become Anya.

Thirty-three-year-old Hong Siyu wants to find a miracle.

To find a miracle and rekindle Lin Yun's spirit, she must first find out the cause of Anya's death.

The Fangting City Squad from 18 years ago is now history, and the magical girls stationed in Fangting City have also left to track down the real culprit. As the only remaining member of the team in the city, many tasks have fallen on Hong Siyu's shoulders.

She is responsible for liaising with the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau; she is responsible for assisting the next Seeder in training a new magical girl; she is responsible for investigating what happened before Anya's death. To do this, she needs to contact the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau.

After holding remote consultations with local high-ranking officials and scheduling a time, she went to the local Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau building the following day.

Having returned from Heavenly City and witnessed the grandeur of the Bureau of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau headquarters, Hong Siyu was surprised to find that the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, which she remembered as a magnificent mansion, now appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary building.

As she walked through the building's lobby, she noticed a few familiar faces among the employees of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau, people she might have met more than a decade ago, but Hong Siyu couldn't remember them at all.

Among the new faces, quite a few people noticed Hong Siyu and kept casting glances at her as they walked.

For some reason, these gazes made Hong Siyu feel subtly uncomfortable.

It didn't seem like a scrutinizing gaze towards a colleague, nor was it the look of someone sizing up a member of the opposite sex; there seemed to be something else hidden within it, an inexplicable malice.

But she didn't pay much attention, simply quickening her pace to get out of their sight, then shaking her head to shake off the discomfort. She ascended the elevator, weaving through the bustling crowd, and quickly reached the director's office door. She knocked gently, waited a moment, and then heard a voice from inside:

"Please come in."

Hong Siyu walked in, she saw a blonde woman who looked energetic and somewhat elderly sitting in the office, nodding and smiling in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Moss."

She said quite politely, "Hello, comrade from Heavenly City."

Perhaps it was the subtle gestures and tone of her voice that made her words feel like a gentle breeze.

She was not the director of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau that Hong Siyu remembered. Eleven years ago, when Hong Siyu left Fangting City, the director here was an old, bald man with a receding hairline.

It seems they've changed the person in charge.

Hong Siyu, unsuspecting, stepped forward and shook hands with the other person. "Hello, I am Hong Siyu."

"Thank you for your assistance; it is a great honor for Fangting City."

The elderly woman, who identified herself as Moss, said this, gently shaking the hand she was holding with Hong Siyu, then lightly releasing it. "I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration in the future."

Hong Siyu saw her hands, which looked white and smooth, unlike the age indicated by the Moss.

This lady seems to be very good at taking care of herself.

She thought this, but at the same time, she began to feel that something was wrong.

The two sat down facing each other on either side of the desk. After a short rest, Moss spoke first, "Well, although it may be a bit presumptuous of me to ask this, I would like to confirm first, what mission has your superior assigned you since you came to Fangting City?"

Her tone was calm, but Hong Siyu felt a subtle unease. She began to scrutinize and contemplate everything around her, but still couldn't find the source of this unease.

But this is the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau; in broad daylight, what could possibly make someone feel so uncomfortable?

"I'm sorry, I can't disclose that at the moment."

Thinking this to herself, Hong Siyu shook her head outwardly and said politely, "But this is only a requirement of the mission. I will tell you when the time is right."

"I see. Then I won't insist."

Moss smiled kindly, "I wish the Bureau's secret mission a successful completion. If you need assistance, we are always ready to help you."

The two chatted aimlessly like this, with Moss occasionally asking Hong Siyu some completely unrelated questions, to which Hong Siyu carefully chose her words and tried to answer cautiously.

But gradually, as time went on, Hong Siyu felt increasingly uncomfortable.

The uncomfortable feeling was hard to describe; it was like being tickled from the inside of her body with a feather. A tingling, numb, and painful sensation spread from her arm, making it increasingly difficult for her to concentrate.

She began to feel dizzy.

Something seemed to be making a rustling, crackling sound in her head, as if it were moving and disturbing her brain, making her feel increasingly drowsy.

"Speaking of which, I once heard a rumor that there are quite a few retired magical girls in the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau of a big city like Heavenly City. Miss Hong, have you heard about this?"

Moss suddenly brought up the topic, looking at Hong Siyu, and said, "That's a very interesting rumor, isn't it?"

I feel I should answer the question.

Hong Siyu told herself this.

But at this moment, she found herself unable to speak. Her body seemed to be no longer under her control, and her consciousness seemed to have detached from her body, split in two.

She began to feel her vision darkening.

Hmm... that's strange...

She began to feel her brain spinning.

What's wrong with me?

She began to feel her body becoming lighter.

Who I am?

She began to feel the urge to fly.

Struggling to raise her hand, she reached inside her coat, where the weapons issued to its subordinates by the Bureau of the Anomaly Countermeasures Bureau were hidden, allowing ordinary people without magical powers to fight against Mage. Hong Siyu tried to retrieve them, because she felt she had encountered an enemy.

But she could no longer do it.

Her legs, unable to support her weight, gave way to weakness, and she couldn't move forward. Hong Siyu simply turned sideways off the chair and fell heavily to the ground.

In her hazy state, she seemed to see Moss stand up from behind her desk, walk up to her, and then slowly extend her hand towards her.

The image froze at that moment.

A moth rested silently on the fingertip of that hand.