Lin Xiaolu had been in quite a good mood these past few days.
Not only because school was on break and she no longer had to deal with more coursework, but also because the workload related to Magical Girls had lessened.
The reduced workload was partly because Aberrant Beast attacks had become even less frequent lately, nearly dropping back to the level of a year ago; on the other hand, Lin Xiaolu herself had grown stronger, and with her Magic Armament, handling Aberrant Beasts had become much easier.
Thanks to that, she now had a great deal of personal time for the first time in a long while. Even after spending a considerable portion of it training as a Magical Girl, she still had plenty of free time to use as she pleased.
But when all was said and done, none of that was the main reason her mood had improved.
On the fifth day of the holiday, as the New Year arrived in an orderly fashion, the festive atmosphere gradually faded as well. People returned to their usual routines, and the streets had already regained their former bustle.
Early that morning, Lin Xiaolu wearily opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm.
The night before, the younger-generation Magical Girls and Fairies from both squads had gathered to play board games all night. Almost everyone had gone to sleep at dawn, so she was severely sleep-deprived.
Yawning as she entered the bathroom, she fumbled around the sink for her towel, dampened it with cold water, then slapped it onto her face with a loud smack.
"Phew."
Feeling the towel's icy touch against her face, even her nerves gradually woke beneath that chill. Only then did Lin Xiaolu feel somewhat better, slowly letting out a breath.
"I can see you're