Suddenly Kidnapped by Fox Fox

"Magic Cannon—fire!!" "Boom!!!!"

The thunderous roar of the Magic Cannon echoed through Rongcheng Wetland Park.

As magical dust drifted from the cannon's muzzle, Iris fixed her gaze on the Mud Monster lying motionless on the ground and let out a soft breath.

"Whew... We finally took this thing down..."

It had been ten minutes since the battle with the monster began.

The Mud Monster in the lotus pond had finally fallen.

"Iris! Nice work!"

Hyacinth poked her head out from the nearby bushes, filthy and bedraggled as she loudly praised Iris, who was retracting her Magic Cannon in the sky.

Had she really underestimated this Mud Monster?

As she used magic to remove the dust and water stains from herself, Hyacinth muttered quietly to herself.

Ten minutes ago, she had charged at the monster with complete confidence.

That had always been Hyacinth's fighting style—no matter who the opponent was, rush in for close combat first!

Then the Mud Monster had given her a brutal welcome.

"Heartmoon Fox definitely did that on purpose!"

"Kick!"

Hyacinth walked over, raised her combat boot, and viciously kicked the lifeless Mud Monster sprawled before her.

"Of all things, why did it have to be something this disgusting?!"

"Come on... don't be angry, Hyacinth. Didn't we already beat it...?"

Iris landed on the ground and spoke with a wry smile.

Then Hua Ling remembered the sight of Hyacinth being grabbed by the Mud Monster and slammed headfirst into the lotus pond.

She kind of wanted to laugh, but she did not dare.

"I'm furious! I still feel like I stink all over!"

Even after using magic to clean away every speck of dirt and water from her body, Hyacinth made no attempt to hide the disgust on her face.

Anyone would be in a terrible mood after getting slapped into a pond by a monster covered from head to toe in mud.

Iris could only keep comforting her companion, though her gaze drifted involuntarily to the fallen monster.

Based on her magical perception, there really were traces of Heartmoon Fox's magic on the monster. She must have been the one who summoned it.

But Bailing found Heartmoon Fox's monster-summoning magic extremely strange:

[The magical girls all use Astral Magic. As far as I know, the Star Realm has no magic capable of summoning monsters like this!]

[I'll return to the Star Realm to investigate over the next few days. I'll be back soon!]

Those had been the exact words of the white mink spirit before she returned to the Star Realm to seek help.

"Crack!!" Hyacinth raised her greatsword and angrily slashed the Mud Monster several more times before snorting as though she had finally vented her frustration.

"This is so annoying. We were supposed to give Hua Ling special flight training tonight, but Heartmoon Fox just had to choose this moment to cause trouble."

"This lotus pond was actually pretty nice, but she ruined it all!"

Hearing that, Iris could not help looking around.

—The pavilion neatly sliced apart by the greatsword, the stone-brick path covered in sword marks,

and the shattered plants destroyed when Hyacinth fell into the water and thrashed around wildly made up everything in sight.

Xiaofeng, I think you caused more damage to the surroundings...

Iris had something she wanted to say, but she did not dare say it.

"Anyway, let's call it a night!"

After confirming that the monster had shriveled into a puddle of mud, Hyacinth put away her greatsword and spoke to Iris beside her.

"Yeah. Today was pretty easy." Iris nodded gently.

It was probably because Heartmoon Fox and that Hellcat were absent.

Her coordination with Hyacinth had grown increasingly seamless. As long as they were not facing another magical girl, dealing with a single monster was more than manageable.

...Provided Heartmoon Fox did not show up.

Whenever Iris thought of that little golden fox, her feelings became complicated.

Hyacinth said she was a sly, nasty fox, but Iris did not feel that way at all.

A little fox who loved pranks and was incredibly cute—that was Iris's impression of Heartmoon Fox.

But this strange feeling...

"Ah..."

Iris sighed.

It seemed her mental state really had been seriously off lately.

Not only had she been having strange dreams every night, but the contents of those dreams were always exactly the same—

This and that, one thing after another, like this and like that.

Even Hyacinth had appeared in her dreams.

Thinking of those strange dreams made Iris's face burn. She hurriedly shook her head, forcing away the dangerous thoughts.

Could this be the reason her condition had become so strange?

She had to get rid of thoughts like that!

"Come to think of it..."

Iris looked at Hyacinth beside her and leaned close to whisper in her ear.

"Xiaofeng, do you have Sister Tianqing's contact information?"

"Sister Tianqing...?"

Nan Xiaofeng blinked in surprise.

"Hua Ling, why do you want Sister Tianqing's contact information?"

"I have something I want to talk to her about. Xiaofeng, do you know how to contact her?"

"Um..."

Nan Xiaofeng scratched her cheek, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Sorry, I really don't have it. But Sister Jia Yu definitely does. Want me to ask her for you today?"

"Yeah, thank you."

"No need to thank me. We're friends, so helping you is only natural—"

Her words had barely fallen when enthusiastic cheers suddenly rang out from the sky, startling the two of them into hastily summoning their wands and weapons again.

"Pop-shoo!~"

"Congratulations on defeating the Mud Monster! Fox Fox is very pleased~"

Heartmoon Fox?!

But there was no magical reaction from Heartmoon Fox anywhere nearby. Then how had she...

A cardboard box flapping its wings above their heads caught their attention.

"Is that a monster?" Iris asked doubtfully.

No, it did not possess the powerful Astral Magic of a monster. It was probably just an ordinary summoned object.

The thing making the sound was merely a recorder inside that cardboard box.

"But!"

Heartmoon Fox's voice came from the recorder.

"If you two haven't left yet, then the gift Fox Fox carefully prepared for you should have taken effect by now. I wonder if you've noticed it?"

"Carefully prepared..." Hyacinth blankly looked around.

"...A gift?"

The lotus pond beneath the dusk was unnaturally quiet. Not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

It did not look like there was any "surprise" at all.

And the voice was coming from nothing more than a recorder, which made it even less believable.

—But.

A faint, lingering fragrance at the tips of their noses drew both their attention at once.

"It smells so nice..." Iris said softly.

"Where is that fragrance coming from? There shouldn't be any flowers around here that bloom at night..."

Then the suddenly churning surface of the lotus pond made both their hearts skip a beat.

The water surged upward, destroying the floating bridge, pavilion, and paths alike. The two hurriedly retreated to the shore and stared wide-eyed at the enormous shadow, as vast as a mountain!

"S-So huge?!" Hyacinth's pupils shook.

—A pitch-black mud monster had reappeared, several times larger than before!

Countless lotus flowers bloomed across its body, giving off that dense, bewitching fragrance!

There seemed to be a familiar presence within that scent... like that sweet, fresh fragrance of gardenias...

...No!

Iris froze, as if she had suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly covered her nose and mouth.

"Hyacinth! Cover your nose right now! Don't breathe in that scent!"

"Hy—"

Before she could finish speaking, the sky-blue magical girl's vision went black. With a thud, she fell backward.

She vaguely heard Iris's cry and the Magic Cannon firing beside her ears.

But after that—Hyacinth's consciousness was enveloped by a graceful golden figure, slowly sinking into darkness.