Work, Magical Girl

Chen De lay on his bed, staring unblinkingly at his bank balance.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands.

A full four hundred thousand.

That string of numbers reflected in his pupils. His eyes did not move, and even his breathing had grown lighter.

As if he were looking at his first love.

No, with far more affection than his first love.

His first love would not transfer four hundred thousand to him.

"I'm saying, you've been staring at your balance for a whole minute."

Qubi crouched beside his pillow, its head tilted.

"Aren't your eyes tired?"

"No. Watching my balance go up only makes me feel refreshed."

Even so, Chen De locked his phone and rubbed his eyes.

They really were a little dry.

But it was worth it.

Every second was worth it.

"That expression of yours is exactly like a miser admiring a painting of gold coins."

"That's appreciation, not miserliness."

"Is there a difference?"

"Misers don't spend money. I do."

"What have you spent money on?"

"A mattress, a desk lamp, curtains, plates."

"Less than five thousand in total."

"I still spent it."

Qubi's tail swayed before suddenly changing direction.

"Oh, right. Since you've saved up so much money..."

"Do you want to stock up on some magical-girl-exclusive items?"

"No."

Chen De rolled over, his tone as crisp as if he were rejecting a sales call.

"Just take a look. It won't hurt to look."

"The last time I casually looked at apartments, the agent chased me for three streets."

"I'm not an agent."

"You're more annoying than an agent."

Qubi did not refute that.

It fell silent for two seconds.

"There might be equipment in there that can temporarily solve the body interference issue."

Chen De rolled over at a speed that broke his personal record.

He grabbed Qubi, cupped that cat face in both hands, and stared at it with blazing eyes.

"Where?"

"You need to put me down before I can operate it."

"Explain first. What do you mean by temporarily solve it?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. There are items that can alter your appearance while you're not transformed."

"Think of it as a disguise."

Chen De took a deep breath.

This body interference issue was neither a major problem nor a minor one.

He had gotten two centimeters shorter, his voice had become higher, his face paler, and his weight had dropped.

Jiang Ping had already started suspecting something.

If he could slow it down, even if only slow it down—

"I sent it to your phone."

Chen De released Qubi and snatched up his phone.

A new app icon he had never seen before had appeared on the screen.

A pure white background with a star-shaped logo in the middle.

Its name was "Starwish Marketplace."

"When was this installed?"

"It was there when you signed the contract. You just never opened it."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"You didn't ask."

Chen De silently added that to the list.

This cat owed him enough to fill an entire ledger.

He opened the marketplace.

The interface was surprisingly simple.

The background was white, and the categories were clearly laid out.

Consumables. Special Items.

The upper-right corner displayed a balance—not his bank balance, but another number.

"Magic Coins: 40000"

Chen De froze for a moment.

"Where did this money come from?"

"Your bank balance."

"What do you mean?"

"The exchange rate is ten to one."

"That expensive? I'm not looking anymore."

Chen De moved to close the marketplace.

"But it can buy things money can't."

His finger stopped.

"Such as?"

"Such as the appearance-maintenance item you need most right now."

His finger slowly returned to the screen.

He opened the "Consumables" category.

The first row.

"Physique Maintenance Patch (24 hours)—500"

"Effect: After being applied to the body, your appearance while not transformed will remain in the state it was in when the patch was activated for 24 hours."

Chen De read it three times.

"Translate that into normal human language."

"After you put it on, your appearance freezes in its current state. No matter how your body changes, what other people see will be the version recorded by the patch."

"So I can keep getting shorter, paler, and thinner, but no one will be able to tell?"

"Correct."

"Is it reliable?"

"It's one hundred percent effective. Tenfold compensation for counterfeits."

"What if you give me eleven patches instead?"

Qubi fell silent.

"Just kidding."

Chen De quickly did the math in his head.

Five hundred a day, fifteen thousand a month.

At a ten-to-one exchange rate, that meant one hundred and fifty thousand a month.

Four hundred thousand would not even last three months.

"Qubi."

"Yes?"

"Did your marketplace base its pricing on the cosmetic medicine industry?"

"Prices are determined by supply and demand."

"I'm the only one demanding this, aren't I?"

"Globally, there are quite a few magical girls with similar needs."

"They're also men—"

"No. Most of them think their transformed figures don't look good and want minor adjustments in their everyday state."

Chen De's mouth twitched.

So this thing was essentially a beauty filter for magical girls.

He was using it as a lifesaving item.

The purpose was completely different, but the price was equally outrageous.

"Is there a cheaper alternative?"

"Yes. Physique Maintenance Potion—200. It lasts twelve hours, but it tastes awful."

"How awful?"

"People who have drunk it described it as 'putting traditional Chinese medicine and expired yogurt into a blender, then adding two spoonfuls of vinegar.'"

Chen De fell silent for a second.

"The patch, then."

"A wise choice."

"I'll buy one to try first."

He tapped purchase.

"Magic Coins: 39500"

The screen flashed, and a speck of light floated out of it and landed in his palm.

It turned into a translucent circular patch.

It was the size of a coin and as thin as plastic wrap.

"Where do I put it?"

"Anywhere on your body. I recommend somewhere not easily seen. The back of your neck, the side of your waist, the sole of your foot."

Chen De thought for a moment, then slapped the patch onto the left side of his waist.

A faint chill spread through him.

Then he felt nothing.

"It's activated. For the next twenty-four hours, your appearance will remain in its current state."

"So even if I transform ten times tonight, I'll still look like this when I go to school tomorrow?"

"Correct."

Chen De let out a long breath.

At last, he had something that would let him catch his breath.

Though it was expensive.

But not being discovered by Jiang Ping was more important than anything.

"What's in the other categories?"

"Didn't you say you weren't looking?"

"I changed my mind."

"Consumers are all like that."

Chen De ignored it. His finger had already begun scrolling through the marketplace.

The items page.

After two swipes, his face stiffened.

Pink magic wands, star-shaped pendants, bow headbands, winged wrist guards.

The screen was filled with pink, goose yellow, and mint green, glittering so intensely that his retinas hurt.

"Qubi, explain what this is."

Qubi leaned over and glanced at it.

"Oh, these?"

"Most active magical girls are between twelve and eighteen years old."

"So it's normal for things to be a little exaggerated and childish, but the functions are all legitimate."

"Scroll further down. The stuff up here is for little girls."

"Fine. I'll trust you."

Chen De's finger flew across the screen.

He scrolled for a full seven minutes.

The childish aesthetic covering the screen nearly ground his patience away.

At last—something different appeared.

It looked a little more mature.

Chen De compared the two categories.

Their functions were almost identical.

The prices differed by two to three times.

The flashy ones above were custom-made, while the ones below were more like raw materials.

All kinds of gemstones, precious metals, and basic materials.

"Qubi."

"Mm."

"What is this Mithril used for?"

Qubi blinked.

"Mithril is one of the precious metals, with excellent magical conductivity—"

"Stop. I'm not asking for an encyclopedia entry. What can it do?"

Qubi thought for a moment.

"Most of its uses are temporarily irrelevant to you. Its only use is to assist in constructing your armaments."

"Your guns and blades, that is."

"Materialized armaments constructed purely from magic consume a great deal of power. Mithril can reduce that cost."

"At critical moments, every bit of magic saved counts."

Chen De nodded.

It was priced at 500 per unit.

He thought about it.

Then bought ten units at once.

Qubi noticed.

"Why are you buying so much?"

"Stocking up for emergencies."

"Fine."

Chen De closed the marketplace and checked his balance.

Magic Coins: 34500

More than fifty thousand was gone.

He had felt nothing while spending it.

This was probably the horror of online shopping.

He locked the screen, lay back down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

He had earned four hundred thousand in less than a week.

Spending over fifty thousand had taken only ten minutes.

The speed of making money would never catch up with the speed of spending it.

He had only truly understood that today.

"Qubi."

"Mm."

"Have I stepped onto a road of no return?"

"You only just noticed?"

Chen De closed his eyes.

He took a deep breath.

Tomorrow, he still had to go to school, put on the patches, maintain his persona, and find Calamities to fight.

Make money—spend money—make money—spend money.

An endless cycle.

He suddenly felt less like a magical girl.

And more like an office worker trapped by a mortgage.