A Heart-to-Heart

Nan Xiaofeng did her homework in the bedroom.

Nan Jiayu stood beside her, holding a pointer and supervising.

Xiaofeng's father, who had just finished washing the dishes, was suddenly called to the company to handle some business and hurriedly drove out.

Only Golden Fox and the well-behaved girl remained in the living room, along with the occasional dripping from the kitchen and the magical girl anime playing on the television.

Su Tianqing leaned against the armrest of the sofa, her mind completely off the television as she glanced sideways at the girl beside her.

Hua Ling.

One of the girls with the highest magical girl compatibility listed in the Codex, and also someone Su Tianqing had selected as a potential orthodox magical girl. She was sitting right beside her now.

A rare chance to be alone!

At that moment, she was staring intently at the magical girl anime on the screen. The scene of the protagonist blasting down a monster with magical artillery reflected in her eyes, but her expression revealed nothing unusual.

The Codex said Hua Ling was a reclusive literary girl. Although Su Tianqing wanted more personal information, the Codex was miserly and refused to provide any. It looked like she would have to investigate on her own.

"Hua Ling."

"Huh? I'm here." Hua Ling paused before answering.

"Have you been staying at Xiaofeng's house lately?"

"Mm-hmm. Xiaofeng said my foot was injured, so she let me stay at her house for now," Hua Ling answered honestly.

Su Tianqing nodded lightly.

"You two are pretty close, huh? Close enough to stay over already. But if you're staying for several days... won't your family worry?"

"..."

A sudden silence fell.

Su Tianqing abruptly realized she had said the wrong thing and hurriedly shut her mouth.

What was going on? Could it be that every magical girl candidate came from a broken family?

A drunkard father, a gambling mother, maybe even a young little sister in a shattered home?

Or perhaps... there was no one at all?

"I'm sorry. I brought back unpleasant memories." After a long while, the little fox finally drooped her ears and spoke softly.

She might have been a villain, but she was absolutely not chaotic evil. She would not derive even the slightest pleasure from someone else's scars!

Only then did Hua Ling snap out of her memories. She turned and saw the golden-furred fox girl beside her, ears drooping and looking dejected as though she had made a mistake. The melancholy in Hua Ling's heart instantly vanished.

"N-No, it's okay! Sister Tianqing didn't mean to! Besides... I'm already used to it."

"Living alone?"

Su Tianqing replied. She looked up at the chandelier on the ceiling, the tip of her tail slowly tapping against the sofa cushion a few times before she continued.

"I can understand that kind of life. It must have been hard, right?"

"...Huh?"

Hua Ling had not expected that answer. She blinked in surprise and looked at the little fox.

"Eh? Sister Tianqing... you..."

"Honestly, I haven't seen my parents since I was old enough to remember. Fortunately, the Beastfolk Mutual Aid Society helped me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to attend Rongcheng Medical College."

"Little Fish had a similar experience to mine, except she met her grandparents. As for me... back then, I had no one."

Su Tianqing spoke calmly. Sometimes, it was precisely this kind of plain narration that resonated most deeply with others.

Especially for a literary girl like Hua Ling—since she liked reading, her capacity for empathy and understanding was surely quite outstanding.

Sure enough, after a brief daze, the literary girl beside her pursed her lips slightly and fell into thought.

The girl never noticed the faint smile curling at the corner of the golden-furred fox girl's lips.

"Hua Ling, do you like magical girls?" Su Tianqing asked, breaking the silence.

"Magical girls... I guess I'm just neutral about them. Xiaofeng likes them quite a lot, though."

Suddenly being called on made Hua Ling fluster for a moment, but she quickly adjusted herself back into the mood of an ordinary conversation.

"Is that so? When I was your age, I liked magical girls quite a bit too," Su Tianqing replied.

That was not a lie. In the memories of "Su Tianqing," there had once been an active magical girl in Rongcheng during her school years. Later, that magical girl vanished without a trace. She had probably gone to live in another city and never appeared in Rongcheng again.

There were still two pieces of merchandise from back then tucked away deep inside a cabinet.

"Sister Tianqing likes them too?"

Hua Ling asked curiously.

"Actually... I think their outfits are really cute. And after transforming, they can use such powerful magic... It makes people envy them."

"Sometimes, I wonder what I would do if I became a magical girl one day. Would I be able to use those powerful spells too?"

"Or rather, if I became a magical girl, would I be able to protect the people who needed protecting?"

Su Tianqing did not rush to respond to Hua Ling's words. She simply listened in silence.

"What about you, Sister Tianqing? What do you like most about magical girls?"

The topic was suddenly thrown back at her.

Su Tianqing paused for several seconds, turning to meet Hua Ling's gaze. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face as well.

"Me..."

"How should I put it... Maybe I'm not quite like most people. What I like more is magical girls'... will."

"Will?" Hua Ling blinked. Clearly, that description lay beyond what she could understand.

"Mm, will."

Su Tianqing nodded and said seriously,

"Magical girls fight monsters and protect civilians. They won't stand by and watch innocent people get hurt. Even villainous magical girls only play pranks. That Heartmoon Fox has not caused even a single casualty so far."

"Didn't you experience it too, Hua Ling? When the school was attacked, wasn't Magical Girl Hyacinth the one who protected you?"

The girl opened her mouth slightly, then silently closed it again. Recalling how Hyacinth had raised her greatsword and shield before her, she gently clutched the hem of her skirt.

This is working!

Su Tianqing cheered inwardly.

That was right, this was her plan!

Hua Ling did not really know much about magical girls. Her understanding probably came entirely from everyday news reports or Nan Xiaofeng's recent promotion of them. She had not formed any reliable impression of them.

And what Su Tianqing needed to do was simple:

Learn about Hua Ling's background, then use her own past to put herself in Hua Ling's shoes and give her the sense that "we're the same kind of people." But she could not identify too completely with her; she had to lay the groundwork for what came next!

Then, since she could not directly guide Hua Ling as Heartmoon Fox, she would gradually change Hua Ling's perceptions as a caring older sister!

As long as she could make Hua Ling interested in magical girls, and with Nan Xiaofeng as an orthodox magical girl right beside her, wouldn't turning Hua Ling into a genuine magical girl be easy?

But then...

Watching Hua Ling's conflicted, introspective expression, Su Tianqing stroked her tail while thinking.

Were her words just now a little too obscure for an innocent girl?

Even if Hua Ling was a literary girl, her literary foundation was probably not very deep yet. Was Su Tianqing setting her expectations too high by hoping Hua Ling would understand the meaning on her own?

"...Although this is sudden..."

Hua Ling's voice drew Su Tianqing's attention away from the television again.

"But, Sister Tianqing, can I ask you a few questions?"

"Go ahead! Leave it to me!"

Su Tianqing released her tail and confidently puffed out her flat chest.

[Mission: Expansion · Phase One, completed]

The Codex whispered in her mind. Su Tianqing froze briefly, then suddenly understood.

The Codex had marked the mission complete at this moment, which meant her verbal persuasion had been highly effective! Hua Ling had completely entered her rhythm!

Or rather, Su Tianqing's image in Hua Ling's eyes had thoroughly become that of "a caring older sister with similar experiences"!

Next, she only needed to take the initiative and enter Hua Ling's narrative as a listener. By carefully listening for the hidden implications in her words, she could further guide this perfect candidate onto the path of a magical girl!

Seeing Su Tianqing agree so readily, Hua Ling shifted closer to her. Leaning toward the fluffy fox ears, she whispered,

"Um... if I accidentally learned a friend's secret, how long should I keep it for her?"

"This..."

Su Tianqing hesitated for a moment.

This so-called "secret" was not hard to guess. It was most likely Nan Xiaofeng's true identity.

The little fox sat upright and said seriously,

"Hua Ling."

"If I learned your secret, then as long as I still believed we were friends, I would keep that secret for my friend forever."

"No matter what happened, I should guard it closely."

Hua Ling opened her mouth slightly and remained stunned for a long time.

Then she gently bit her lower lip and nodded firmly.

[Mission: Expansion · Phase Two, completed]

Another mission-completion notification sounded in her mind. Su Tianqing had not even had time to open the Codex and see what the mission was before somehow completing it.

Su Tianqing turned toward Nan Jiayu, who had emerged from the bedroom with a dark expression, and Nan Xiaofeng, who looked utterly miserable. She successfully drew Hua Ling's attention away from herself.

Then next... came the final step.

Become a magical girl, Hua Ling.