Family Conversation

Magical girls were drawn to one another.

For some reason, Su Tianqing suddenly remembered that line, though she had no idea where she had heard it.

As a Villain Magical Girl, Su Tianqing felt that she had recently demonstrated the value of being a villain to the fullest—not only picking fights with proper magical girls, but even filling in as HR when the righteous side was short-handed. She was practically a model villain.

But the epic-level problem she faced today would make anyone's scalp tingle.

The Magical Girl Hyacinth she had relentlessly picked on was right in front of her.

"Jia Yu, is medical school fun?" Nan Xiaofeng asked curiously.

"Mm... I wouldn't call it fun. The classes are difficult, but you have plenty of time to yourself, so you can arrange it freely." Nan Jiayu twitched her cat ears as she answered.

"Eh! Isn't that pretty great, then?"

"You'll understand once you study medicine yourself, Xiaofeng."

"Uncle—aren't you coming out to eat?" Nan Jiayu called toward the kitchen.

"There's one more plate of shredded potatoes. You girls go ahead," came a brief reply from the kitchen.

Su Tianqing silently listened in on the family's interactions. Her chopsticks shot out like lightning and swiftly withdrew, each time carrying away a piece of meat from a dish.

It had to be said that Nan Jiayu's uncle was an excellent cook.

The braised pork was rich without being greasy, and the boiled fish was fragrant and tender. Those two main dishes alone showed off his skill, not to mention the side dishes around them, each one a heavyweight in its own right.

When she had measured Hyacinth's three sizes, Su Tianqing had secretly pinched the soft flesh at her lower back. Seeing the lavish spread before her now, Su Tianqing suddenly understood.

Who wouldn't gain weight eating like this?

The sumptuous dinner completely dispelled the faint unease in Su Tianqing's heart.

It seemed that the Cognitive Veil after a magical girl transformed really was incredibly powerful.

Not only was she completely unable to connect Nan Xiaofeng with [Hyacinth], but even this righteous magical girl apparently had not recognized her. She simply regarded Su Tianqing as a friend her sister had brought home for the first time.

After dinner, the four of them sat on the living room sofa and chatted for a while.

The girls' after-dinner topics had not the slightest nutritional value.

They talked about skirts, socks, little accessories, amusing things that had happened a few days ago, and the strange people and strange incidents they had encountered recently.

And lately, there had undoubtedly been only one hottest topic in Rongcheng:

"Magical Girl [Heartmoon Fox]."

When Nan Jiayu said that name, Fox Fox's two ears abruptly perked up, and her attention immediately shifted away from the news program on television.

"Xiaofeng, do you know her? She's been pretty famous lately."

"...N-no, not really." Nan Xiaofeng's smile stiffened.

"Hm? Don't you like magical girls a lot, Xiaofeng? I remember you even collected several Hyacinth-themed items and figurines." Nan Jiayu looked puzzled.

"Hyacinth has absolutely nothing to do with Heartmoon Fox! And she—she calls herself some Villain Magical Girl, and she caused trouble at my school!"

Nan Xiaofeng said angrily.

"And she bullied Hyacinth too! I hate her!"

"That part is true... but Heartmoon Fox didn't hurt Hyacinth, did she? It felt more like a prank." Nan Jiayu thought for a moment before answering.

She could not help it; Heartmoon Fox was just too cute. Nan Jiayu had even sent gifts in her livestream, so as a fox fan, she had to defend her image in front of her younger sister!

The Nan sisters began debating what defined righteous and villainous magical girls.

Su Tianqing sat obediently beside them, nibbling on snacks.

The coffee table was just as generously stocked with snacks as the dining table had been with food. Famous brands were everywhere with a casual grab, letting the little fox, whose life had recently been tight on money, experience the freedom of unlimited snacks.

Rich people really were different!

The heated discussion between the sisters gradually cooled down. Neither seemed to have convinced the other, but judging by what they said, they appeared to have reached a consensus:

"That Heartmoon Fox... really is pretty cute." Nan Xiaofeng had to admit the fact.

"Right? Super cute." Nan Jiayu grinned.

"But she keeps bullying Hyacinth! And she causes destruction around the city! It doesn't matter how cute she is!" Nan Xiaofeng retorted.

"Her own definition is that she's a villain, after all. And she hasn't hurt any innocent bystanders," Nan Jiayu argued reasonably.

Su Tianqing listened silently.

Then, a delicate, soft voice came from beside her, drawing the attention of Fox Fox's other ear.

"Tianqing... Tianqing?"

At the soft call, the golden-haired fox girl turned and met the gaze of the timid girl seated beside her.

Hearing the unfamiliar form of address "big sister" from a girl nearly a whole head taller than herself felt rather strange to Su Tianqing.

Still, girls these days were all well-nourished. Their prospects were immeasurable.

"Mm, hello."

Golden Fox answered warmly with a gentle smile.

Su Tianqing felt this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

[Task: Expansion · First Stage]

[Magical girls must gain the recognition of a Guardian Star in order to transform. Find an opportunity to approach and learn about the candidate.]

She still remembered this task that had appeared in the Codex.

Su Tianqing had originally given up hope on this task. Her plan had been to find an opportunity to stake out the candidate, finish the task, and slip away. She had never expected to meet this candidate in a place like this.

Hua Ling. That was her name, as Su Tianqing remembered.

"You're Hua Ling, right?" Su Tianqing said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you~"

To Su Tianqing, it was merely an ordinary polite smile, but in Hua Ling's eyes, the petite fox girl beside her was almost unbearably cute, and that bright, sunny smile was even more dazzling.

"I-I'm... very happy to meet you too..." The girl was visibly nervous.

Hua Ling felt that she had been quite lucky.

Although she had encountered some danger, she had made a friend in Nan Xiaofeng. And today, she had even met Su Tianqing, this adorable golden-haired fox girl. It all felt like a dream.

"Come to think of it, did you come over to play today, Hua Ling? Or do you live nearby?"

"Um... not nearby... it's just, um..."

Perhaps because she had never encountered someone as enthusiastically friendly as Su Tianqing, Hua Ling timidly shrank into the corner of the sofa and explained why she was temporarily staying in this house.

"I see... You sprained your ankle and fell behind, so you got caught up in the battle between Heartmoon Fox and Hyacinth. Then the teachers who rushed back saved you, and Xiaofeng took you to the hospital for treatment..."

"That's more or less what happened." Hua Ling nodded lightly.

Nan Xiaofeng let out a breath of relief beside them.

What Hua Ling said was half true and half false—because she herself was the Magical Girl Hyacinth, and she had protected Hua Ling from Heartmoon Fox's barrage at the time.

But since only she and Hua Ling had been there, she could make something up and fool everyone easily enough.

Only Su Tianqing, listening from the side, secretly snickered.

Saved by teachers? Caught up in the battle?

That girl had clearly let out a random shout at the time and thrown off her judgment!

If Su Tianqing had not pulled back in time, and if not for Hyacinth's transformation defense, Hua Ling would never have been sitting here chatting like this!

"I see... I never thought you'd care so much about a classmate, Xiaofeng?"

Nan Jiayu looked surprised as she cast an astonished glance at her younger sister.

Nan Xiaofeng rolled her eyes at her sister.

"What kind of image do I even have in your mind, Jia Yu? I'm obviously very helpful, okay!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Then what about the summer homework I assigned you, Xiaofeng? Have you finished it all?"

"..."

Silence.

Su Tianqing and Hua Ling, who had been chatting about matching skirts and socks, tacitly stopped talking and turned to look at Nan Xiaofeng together.

Nan Xiaofeng's face flushed crimson. She stammered for a long while but could not get the words out.

"Th-this, this, this has nothing to do with being helpful, Jia Yu!"

"...Jia Yu?"

Nan Jiayu smiled, but her cat eyes gleamed with the ferocious light of a predator as she reached out and pinched her younger sister's ear.

"Wahhh?! That hurts! Jia Yu, I'm sorry! It hurts!"

"You're not going anywhere for the next two days! Stay home and catch up on your homework!"

Fox Fox sat obediently on the sofa, watching Nan Jiayu escort the wailing Nan Xiaofeng into the bedroom.

Su Tianqing and Hua Ling exchanged a glance, then both burst out laughing.