Don't Be Like This

After successfully dealing with the Evil Beast attack, they immediately spread the news across the internet, easing the public's unease.

Post-battle interviews were a common part of every magical girl's combat aftermath.

But when the reporters arrived at their destination and failed to find a single magical girl, they could not help but feel confused.

Not to mention anyone else—Feiyan had never missed an interview after a battle.

Did she not want to raise her profile anymore?

That was not the case.

They had ended up with a team leader who had never received proper instruction at the Magical Girl Academy.

Once Qingyin took the lead, the others hesitated briefly before flying home to take a bath, completely forgetting about the post-battle interview.

As for the recording drone Qingyin had disabled, the relevant personnel successfully recovered it.

The company worked through the night editing footage of Feiyan and the other two fighting, complete with written commentary.

By tomorrow, fresh combat footage would surely be available.

The next day.

Wednesday, clear weather.

The pleasant weather lifted his spirits. Humming a tune, Ye Qing headed energetically to Abyss Return to clock in for work.

With a reasonable amount of work, plenty of entertainment, and enough sleep, it was hard not to feel energized.

Day after day, he went to work while maintaining a positive attitude.

The members of Abyss Return were inevitably influenced by Ye Qing, which was one reason the Hypnosis Department had such a good atmosphere.

"Morning, Ye." Karina caught up from behind in the corridor, patted Ye Qing on the shoulder, and greeted him warmly.

"Oh, morning." Ye Qing half-turned to look at her as he replied.

Ghost Eye activated, automatically locking on as Ye Qing took in Karina's appearance.

She was dressed in something like skintight underwear that covered only the most intimate areas, openly displaying her snowy skin and the two narrow ravines of her cleavage.

With her dressed like that, it would be disrespectful to Karina not to look.

"You human men really do love looking at me. An innocent succubus is so hot—my charm really is incredible." Karina narcissistically thrust out her chest, then swept back her wine-red hair.

"You learned human knowledge pretty quickly." Having enjoyed the view, Ye Qing withdrew his gaze.

There was no need to stare all the time, anyway. He got to see her every day, and looking at her always put him in a good mood. It was quite addictive.

"Of course. Have you had breakfast? Want to eat together?" Karina held up the breakfast bag in her hand.

"I bought your human steamed buns and fried dough sticks. I've recently become obsessed with greasy meat buns."

"Oh? I bought meat porridge and fresh shrimp shumai for breakfast today. Let's share—rich and varied."

"That sounds like a great combination."

"Your place or mine?"

"The ventilation in my office is better."

The two walked side by side to Karina's private office.

The moment they entered, a sweet and pleasant fragrance washed over them, stirring something in Ye Qing's heart.

Succubi were creatures that released a uniquely seductive scent under certain circumstances and emotions.

This scent could stir a creature's instinctive desires, so Karina's office had especially advanced ventilation equipment with the highest output.

It also dispersed food smells fastest after meals, making it a good place to eat.

Karina had her own laboratory too, but as someone from the Personnel Publicity Department, she usually had no use for it. It was basically an unattended storage room, and she was usually too lazy to go there.

Ye Qing sat down on the sofa and carefully moved the magical girl figurines off the table, clearing a space where they could put their breakfast.

Karina was the ultimate magical girl fanatic. Every spot in the office where something could be displayed was filled with magical girl figurines and merchandise.

She spent every bit of her salary on magical girl merchandise.

But this was neither strange nor uncommon, because every nonhuman race that had received magical girls' help was like this.

"Do you have a little takeout container? I'll pour you some porridge." Ye Qing opened the lid of the meat porridge.

"Hehe, no need." Karina wagged a finger and immediately turned a skirt-wearing magical girl figurine upside down.

"Pour it in here!"

"Damn, that's disgusting! You've gone completely crazy!"

"What's it to you!"

"Leftover porridge inside a figurine is filthy!"

"I'll eat it all clean!" Karina stuck out her pink tongue, far longer than a human's, more than capable of licking up the food from the bottom.

Complaints aside, Ye Qing knew what she was like. This was not the first or second time she had done something like this, but every time he saw it, he could not help saying a few things.

His hands did not stop, though. He poured the meat porridge into the figurine's skirt, splitting it roughly in half.

Karina had quite an appetite, and Ye Qing's appetite had grown lately, so they both bought breakfast portions meant for two. It was an extremely lavish spread.

"Have you gotten obsessed with any new magical girls lately?" Ye Qing asked casually while enjoying breakfast.

To chat, naturally, they needed to discuss topics both of them enjoyed.

When talking about everyday life with Karina, there was no need to discuss work. Talking about magical girls was enough.

"Yes, yes! Magical girls Yuyan and Yalin. I heard they're Feiyan's teammates, too." Karina was brimming with interest.

"Them? They're not very famous magical girls." Ye Qing paused before speaking.

"That's right, they're two new-generation magical girls." After introducing them, Karina spoke in an admiring tone.

"But their video fighting the Evil Beast yesterday was so cool! That courage to face such a disgusting Evil Beast head-on is incredibly charming!"

"Combat footage?" Ye Qing murmured.

So it had already been uploaded? What efficient work.

"Yes, yes! You haven't seen it yet, have you? You absolutely have to watch it later. I've already watched it five times! My favorite magical girl husbands, marry me, marry me!" Karina strongly recommended them.

"Magical girl... husbands..." Hearing that unfamiliar term, Ye Qing's mouth twitched. Looking at her lovestruck expression, he advised, "Maybe you should stick to men from the various races..."

Where could she find someone who accepted women and also liked Karina's magical girls?

The same-sex barrier alone eliminated plenty of magical girls, not to mention the nonhuman-race barrier.

"If they're not magical girls, I won't marry them." Karina said it with absolute conviction.

Just as she herself had said, Karina was an innocent succubus—physically pure, and attracted to magical girls.

"Good luck." Ye Qing condensed countless words into a single blessing.

Succubus x magical girl was simply too niche. He had only seen magical girls fall into depravity and become succubi.

"Your blessing is enough. After breakfast, I'll get to work promoting Yuyan and Yalin!"

"Looks like these two new-generation girls are going to get a little popular." Ye Qing smiled in a way that was hard to read.

As an Abyss Return executive, Karina was privately a well-known art blogger on P-site.

She often drew beautiful pictures of magical girls and uploaded them selflessly, then promoted the shining qualities of those magical girls to passersby.

In outsiders' eyes, she was a fairly influential professional specializing in magical girls.

"Oh, right! Are you going to watch the magical detective stage play this Saturday?" Karina asked Ye Qing, her fellow enthusiast.

"I am. I have to!" Ye Qing said without hesitation.

"Then do you have a way to get in?" Karina asked curiously.

A way?

Did she mean admission tickets?

With a reminder from his buddy Old Li, he had already successfully bought one.

"I do." Ye Qing gave a thumbs-up.

"Really? You've been hiding it well." Karina was somewhat surprised, then asked, "Is it your younger brother or sister, or someone else's?"

"What are you talking about?" Ye Qing was completely baffled and could not understand what Karina meant. Still, he put on an act first.

"Don't worry. We'll just meet inside the venue then.

I'm done eating. Take your time—I'm heading back to my office first."

"Wait, catch."

Just as Ye Qing stood up, he instinctively caught what Karina tossed him. Opening his palm, he found a lollipop, its wrapper featuring an adorable tiny magical girl.

"A post-meal dessert, a limited-edition magical girl collaboration candy." Karina said solemnly.

"This flavor is unbelievably delicious. Be careful not to die of pleasure when you eat it."

"Thanks. Now that you've done this, I kind of can't bear to eat it." Ye Qing looked at it a few times, slipped it into his pocket, and said just as solemnly, "I'll choose the most appropriate time to take it out."

"You really don't have to be so dramatic. It's just a little dessert after a meal."