Association

"Xingxing~"

Zhou Xingxing, who was getting ready for work, suddenly heard someone calling from behind her.

When she turned around, she saw two youthful and beautiful girls walking toward her.

The one in front was quite familiar. It was Chen Qianqian.

As for the one behind her...

Zhou Xingxing narrowed her eyes slightly.

Long black hair, a mature woman's figure... but without the corresponding aura. She looked somewhat lazy, yet still carried a hint of girlishness. One could barely call her lively.

Chen Qianqian was holding her hand...

To be this intimate with someone she didn't recognize... Could it be...

That's right!

This person was Magical Girl Celestial Star in her untransformed state—a sixteen-year-old girl whose real name was Zhou Xingxing.

She pushed up the round-framed glasses on her face.

"So you're the one who's so energetic first thing in the morning."

"And... Yang Cheng? Weren't you supposed to need a few more transformations before changing completely?"

Yang Cheng scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"I estimated wrong..."

"But I think it might have something to do with my state of mind... In the past, I subconsciously resisted changing, so the degree of change was smaller each time I transformed. But yesterday, I'd already let go of those feelings. I'd completely accepted becoming a girl, so the transformation happened in full."

Zhou Xingxing nodded in understanding.

"A reasonable deduction... Come on, let's head up together."

The middle floors of the building where the Association was located naturally served as the place where the Magical Girls and related staff worked and spent their time.

Compared with employees in the other departments, the staff here had it much easier.

For one thing, they got to see the Magical Girls every day.

For another, their main job was to ensure that the Magical Girls remained in good spirits. Most of them worked in everyday professions such as pastry-making, with the goal of providing the Magical Girls with a comfortable place to rest.

Magical Girls were kind-hearted, and most of them wouldn't casually torment the staff, except...

A burst of incomprehensibly passionate electronic music rang out.

At some point, a wild punk girl with smoky makeup and an electric guitar in hand had appeared in the center of the hall.

"Yo~ Looks like everyone's here! Let's begin!"

Bang!

A bass suddenly whistled through the air from behind her and smashed into the back of her head, shattering on impact.

"Begin your head!"

"This isn't our own Branch! Where's your manners? Where are your manners? NMLGBD!"

The band's vocalist and lead guitarist scratched her head as if nothing had happened.

"Aiya~ I just wanted everyone to feel our enthusiasm..."

"Your enthusiasm, my *∪∮々..."

Chinese not recognized.

The two girls rolled across the floor and began a warm and friendly exchange between companions.

Yang Cheng couldn't help praising them.

"This is truly rock and roll... Wait, isn't she a Magical Girl from the neighboring province? Why did she come here?"

Celestial Star pushed up her glasses again.

She had already made up her mind to buy a new pair. These glasses kept slipping, and she had to push them up whenever she made even the slightest movement.

"Of course it's because of you."

"You're the most prominent Dawn Rank Magical Girl lately."

"Most of the other Dawn Rank Magical Girls became famous long ago, and each has her own responsibilities. They rarely show themselves, and they conduct themselves steadily. They aren't as... somewhat flamboyant as you."

"They're right next door. Once they heard that you were about to join the Association, they naturally became curious and wanted to come take a look."

"And as it happened, they didn't have anything else to do."

The vocalist being pinned to the floor was Magical Girl Electric Sound—a rather simple and straightforward Magical Girl title.

The one who had knocked Electric Sound to the ground was Magical Girl Beautiful Sound.

Beautiful Sound? No.

One bass joke a day was enough to make anyone laugh.

As for the other members of the team... Since they couldn't possibly leave their Branch completely unattended, they had chosen to send Electric Sound, their captain, along with another member selected by drawing lots. The rest stayed behind to guard the Branch.

Because of Electric Sound's shouting, the Association's staff also noticed the three people at the elevator.

They naturally knew Zhou Xingxing and Chen Qianqian.

As for the other girl they didn't recognize... They didn't need to guess. They knew she was today's main character, Magical Girl Love.

Within Yang Cheng's vision, specks of light formed from Love gradually gathered in midair.

"Eh~ What a pure-hearted group of people~"

Tap...

Yang Cheng took a step forward, and light gathered around her, warm but not dazzling.

The next moment, Magical Girl Love appeared before everyone.

"Everyone! Are you having a good day?"

"Oh!"

At the sight of Love, everyone in the Association erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

Seeing this, Love slowly floated directly into the crowd, warmly greeting every member of the Association staff.

"Gua! To receive so much care from Love, it'd be worth dying for, gua!"

"Eh... You mustn't put it that way. Everyone has to stay well!"

Seeing how quickly Love entered work mode, the corners of Chen Qianqian's mouth visibly twitched.

Was she really aloof after becoming Thousand Blades?

Not at all. She was simply an extreme social phobe.

To greet and chat with everyone as freely as Love was doing now, without the slightest reservation, and even say such embarrassing things—she was completely incapable of it.

Love floated back and forth through the crowd, praising the Association's staff until they were dizzy with happiness. Some even got called "Mom," prompting everyone to stare in shock.

After floating around for a full ten minutes, Love finally returned to Chen Qianqian and Zhou Xingxing's side.

"Aiya~ Such irresistible enthusiasm."

"Qianqian, you should also learn to try responding to everyone's love~"

Love took Chen Qianqian's hand and gently rubbed her cheek against Chen Qianqian's.

Chen Qianqian:!

Seeing Chen Qianqian's face visibly turning red, Celestial Star had thought she might get to see Chen Qianqian lose her composure. Who would have thought that Chen Qianqian would suddenly transform as well, forcibly calming herself down.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

"All right, Love. We have business to attend to."

Thousand Blades coughed twice, then strode forward and pulled Love along with her.

Celestial Star followed behind them.

As soon as business was mentioned, the two rock Magical Girls, who had been enthusiastically interacting, also stopped and scrambled up from the floor.

"Wait for us!"

The bass and guitar transformed into Magic Power and reentered their bodies. They followed closely behind the three girls as they entered the Testing Center of the Magical Girl Association's Local City Branch.

Old Wei, Knight, and Masked Heroine had already been waiting inside the Testing Center.

As for Ranger?

She was still sleeping.

"You're finally here. We've already been waiting for quite a while."

"So? The Association's atmosphere is pretty good, right?"

Masked Heroine smiled at Love.

Knight also showed Love her goodwill. Even without saying a word, it was easy to sense.

"Of course~"

Love blinked.

"Everyone's love is incredibly passionate!"