Sweet Tooth

"Is there nothing you want to ask?"

"If you're going to be like this, there's no point in talking."

Youyue and Qingyin appeared in their ordinary forms and sat down in a café like normal people.

Youyue took a sip of coffee, seemingly intending to put on an air of mystery and take control of the conversation.

Now that she knew what Qingyin wanted, she could use it as bait to lure her into the Association.

Once Qingyin joined the Association, Youyue could mold her however she pleased.

However, Qingyin remained unmoved.

She had no desire to improve herself and no curiosity about magical girls.

In any case, she had no intention of becoming a magical girl. Perhaps after some time, she would forget all about the Heartglow Stone and transforming.

"I'll answer anything you ask right now, so why bring up meaningless topics?" Qingyin asked in confusion.

"Since that's the case, I'll be frank. I sincerely invite you to join the Magical Girl Association."

Youyue studied her carefully, but she could not read anything from that icy face. Helplessly suppressing her schemes, she spoke plainly.

"No."

"Why?"

"I already have a job. I don't need to find another miserable one," Qingyin replied.

Being a villain executive was a job.

Being a magical girl was also a job.

However, her living conditions were not bad, and she had no need to earn more money to support the Household.

When one had enough money to live on, refusing a leisurely job only to take on another was foolish.

"Is money all you seek from being a magical girl?" Youyue asked.

"That's how the adult world works. I have no reason to join the Association and become a magical girl." Qingyin stated her intentions:

"I believe you won't see me again before long."

Youyue persuaded her, "Don't be in such a hurry. If you join the Association and become an officially registered magical girl, the money you can earn is beyond your imagination.

I don't know what your current monthly salary is, but a magical girl could earn more in a month than you make in a year.

And magical girls have plenty of free time. You only need to maintain order when villains attack or spatial rifts appear. The rest of the time, you can do whatever you want.

You don't even need to quit your current job. Just treat it as taking on an extra easy side job.

Work as a magical girl for a few years, and you'll never have to worry about food or clothing again. Isn't that nice?

You know it too, right? There are few spatial rifts and few villain attacks in this era. It could be called an age of peace. Aren't you tempted?"

After countless magical girls had died, the course of the century had finally brought about the best and safest era.

If one had to choose the easiest era, it would be this very moment.

High pay and little work really were tempting.

"But I refuse." Qingyin still rejected her without hesitation:

"I have my own unspeakable reasons. It's impossible for me to become a magical girl."

Humans were, in the end, creatures shaped by experience.

Giving up a good job one had personally experienced just to switch jobs based on another HR representative's one-sided promises was absolutely inadvisable.

The very first lesson of entering society clearly stated that once one's needs were met, one should find the most leisurely job possible and never consider taking on two jobs.

Aside from such practical considerations, Qingyin did not want to spend long periods of time active in the form of a magical girl.

"Well, don't speak so absolutely. Isn't leaving room for every possibility also the adult way?" Youyue took out her business card and slid it across the table to Qingyin.

"Those who can become magical girls are destined to possess something more precious than money and their own lives. Only people like that become magical girls.

If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime. I was originally suspicious of you, but after what happened today, I believe you will definitely become a magical girl."

"I hope so?"

Qingyin stopped adding sugar to her coffee, downed the drink—which was far sweeter than any normal beverage—in one gulp, then casually pocketed the business card from the table.

"See you if fate allows."

"Who knows? We might see each other again tomorrow." Youyue smiled and waved goodbye, then looked at the empty coffee cup and the sugar jar that was more than half empty.

"People without desires don't become magical girls. Doesn't she hate bitterness? I'm really looking forward to working with her in the future."

"Xiao Qing, where did you run off to?! I couldn't find you anywhere, and you didn't reply to my messages either."

On a street some distance away from the mall where the incident had erupted, Ye Yuyan stood with her hands on her hips and glared at Ye Qing unhappily.

"I was running away with the crowd the whole time. Who would dare look at their phone while escaping?" Ye Qing lied without changing expression, spreading his hands like a little bear as he defended his disappearance.

"What if I looked at my phone and suddenly died? The moment I reached the temporary safe zone, I messaged you. There was nothing I could do."

"I'll let you pass." Ye Yuyan nodded.

"After all that, are we still going shopping?" Ye Qing asked.

Much of their enthusiasm had already been worn away.

"Of course we are. We're going back to see Mom and Dad tomorrow, aren't we? Are we not bringing gifts?" Ye Yuyan tapped Ye Qing on the head with a finger.

"You idiot."

"Got it." Ye Qing kept tilting his head backward with the force of her poking.

"This place is no good anymore. We'll take the subway to another mall later, but before that, I want dessert!" Ye Yuyan excitedly pointed at a cake shop in sight.

"How about you? Cream puffs, whipped cream, something sweet enough to soothe your throat?"

"Exactly." Ye Qing gave her a thumbs-up.

"Three should be about right. Want an egg tart?"

"Got it." Ye Yuyan imitated his tone.

With that, Ye Yuyan skipped toward the cake shop, looking to be in quite a good mood.

Surviving a disaster without injury really was something worth being happy about.

A familiar face entered his sight, and Ye Qing greeted her instinctively.

"Minister Zhao? Good morning."

"Ye Qing? Good morning." Zhao Xueshan looked up and replied weakly.

"It's rare to see you out on the street at this hour. Have you found a new direction for your research?" Ye Qing asked curiously.

"No."

"Then you..."

"It's all that damn magical girl's fault!"

Zhao Xueshan irritably scratched her already messy hair into an even greater mess. The dark circles under her eyes were heavy enough to make her look like a ghost, and the resentment radiating from her was like that of someone who had died unjustly.

"I don't know which magical girl dug straight through the foundation above the base. The noise from moving and repairing the base couldn't even be completely soundproofed from the laboratory. It's so loud I can't think at all.

Don't let me find out who that magical girl was who wrecked the base! I will—absolutely will—develop a mech specifically designed to deal with her and make her embarrass herself in front of the whole world!"

"Ha... ha..." Ye Qing scratched his cheek guiltily.

"Ye Qing, who is this lady?"

Ye Yuyan carried a bag of desserts as she rushed over in a few quick strides, wrapped herself around Ye Qing's arm, pressed close to him, and stared warily at Zhao Xueshan.

"A coworker I get along with," Ye Qing explained to Ye Yuyan, turning his head.

"You get along well? Mm, we do." Zhao Xueshan gave a polite little smile, then continued in a lifeless, utterly flat tone.

"Your little girlfriend?"

"N-no, she's not, not yet..." Ye Yuyan stammered at those words, rubbing the tip of her shoe against the ground.

"I won't disturb you two. I'm leaving first." Zhao Xueshan said no more and turned to leave.

Only magical girls could stir her emotions. Most of the time, she looked like she had just then—like a zombie steeped in the aura of death.