"The identification is complete. The deceased should be Du Juan, the freelance magical girl who joined the Witch Association two years ago."
Amid the shrill police sirens, Peony rubbed her eyes. "Shion must have burned away all the residual polluted magic. Du Juan suffered severe injuries and reverted from her transformed state, so she looks no different from an ordinary person."
Keke, who had been waiting anxiously nearby for the results, immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Beaming, she turned to Yinlian. "Captain, Captain, see? Senior Peony said she was a Witch Association member. I told you Miss Shion must have had her reasons!"
"Don't celebrate too soon."
Yinlian huffed. "Even Witch Association members don't all deserve to die. Some are just poor people who were lured in... According to proper procedure, once they've lost the ability to fight, they should be imprisoned in the tribunal. Only after their crimes have been investigated can the tribunal conduct a witch trial. Shion taking it upon herself to kill someone was completely illegal and against regulations. If someone had died during combat, that would be one thing, but she'd clearly already incapacitated her opponent and still dealt the killing blow. It's utterly despicable."
Keke thought for a moment. "Maybe Miss Shion felt she was in danger?"
"...What gave you the impression she felt she was in danger?"
There had been two core Azure Cloud Sect members right beside her. Even if Shion really had lost the ability to fight, she wouldn't have been in any danger.
Somewhat speechless, Yinlian continued, "Even if she really deserved to die, we could've captured her and interrogated her to find other Witch Association members. So no matter how you look at it, Shion killing her was wrong. Could you stop taking her side all the time?"
"I'm not taking her side," Keke said quietly. "Aren't you the one being biased, Captain Yinlian? Are you unhappy with Miss Shion because she beat you up before?"
"Of course not." Yinlian immediately put on a stern face. "I always handle things impartially, without letting personal feelings interfere. The Azure Cloud Sect is an illegal organization to begin with. I'm just worried they'll lead you astray. Even if the person they killed this time wasn't innocent, that doesn't mean they've never killed innocent people."
Peony yawned beside them.
She had already finished work for the day, but then the Witch Association and the Azure Cloud Sect had suddenly caused such a huge commotion that she'd had no choice but to come back and work overtime.
The Disaster Countermeasures Bureau doesn't pay overtime...
After spending ages helping search for Witch Association members and Jiang Si, she'd been called to the scene as well.
All because Yinlian and Keke wouldn't stop arguing about the identity of the person Shion had killed.
Ah, I really want to go home and sleep. Why do I have to find evidence for children having an argument...?
"Isn't that just how the purple magical girl does things?" Peony said lazily. "Hardly any Witch Association members who fall into her hands survive. It's been that way for ages. Rather than criticizing her, I'd say the Witch Association brought it on themselves and had bad luck..."
"Exactly, exactly," Keke chimed in.
Yinlian immediately pulled her teammate aside. "Don't undermine me!"
"What? Was there something wrong with what I said?"
"Keke already likes the Azure Cloud Sect, and now you're speaking up for them too. What if they lure her away? She's a new recruit our Disaster Countermeasures Bureau went through so much trouble to find!"
Peony immediately caught on. "Oh, right..."
In fact, the Bureau's higher-ups had a rather ambiguous attitude toward the Azure Cloud Sect. After all, aside from competing over Calamity Beasts, the Azure Cloud Sect rarely clashed directly with the Bureau. Their conflicts with the Witch Association, on the other hand, were exceptionally fierce.
From the Bureau's perspective, they obviously hoped the Witch Association and the Azure Cloud Sect would bloody each other, leaving the Bureau to pluck the fruits and wipe out both illegal organizations in one fell swoop.
Of course, plenty of people in the Bureau disliked the Azure Cloud Sect. Susan from the Security Department was one example. Although Yinlian didn't much like that old witch, Susan's dedication to the Bureau was beyond question. She utterly despised any organization that opposed it, whether the Witch Association or the Azure Cloud Sect.
Her own older sister Yinluo hated the Azure Cloud Sect too, and Yinlian's dislike of them was partly influenced by her sister.
Of course, there were also quite a few people in the Bureau who had a favorable impression of the Azure Cloud Sect, such as Peony. She placed great importance on those two magical girls with precognitive abilities. After crossing paths for so long, she'd developed some affection for them. After all, they never struck to kill, and had even helped her once or twice.
The children just had rather sharp tongues and needed some discipline.
So when Yinlian spared no effort in painting the Azure Cloud Sect in a bad light, she'd casually offered a rebuttal.
Hearing that Yinlian was worried about the Azure Cloud Sect taking Keke away, Peony immediately changed her tune. "Actually, the captain is right. Taking it upon yourself to kill someone is wrong, after all. The Azure Cloud Sect has no authority to do that. Their violations of law and discipline must be strongly condemned! Keke, be careful of the Azure Cloud Sect. If they dare kill Witch Association members today, they'll dare kill Bureau members tomorrow. The day after, they might even massacre a city. Don't go down the wrong path."
If you go down the wrong path, the Bureau will have one less workhorse, and my workload will never get any lighter...
Seeing Peony suddenly side with Yinlian, Keke couldn't really say anything. She merely gave an obedient "Oh."
But none of it had actually sunk in.
After all, from their very first meeting, Yinlian had never had anything nice to say about the Azure Cloud Sect. At every turn, she told Keke how terrifying and despicable they were.
Still, there was one point Keke did somewhat agree with.
Although Miss Shion had her reasons, killing was still far too shocking for a middle school student...
The petite girl in her mind, mysterious and aloof yet still somewhat gentle, had suddenly acquired a measure of ruthless decisiveness completely at odds with her cute appearance.
Ever since Little Senior Larkspur had saved her back then, Keke had followed all sorts of news about magical girls. She'd never seen magical girls associated with the word "killing."
There really was very little of that kind of cruelty in the world of magical girls...
Gripping her wand, Keke realized for the first time that her power wasn't only capable of dealing with Calamity Beasts.
Power was power. It didn't distinguish between its targets. It could destroy Calamity Beasts, and it could also kill people.
Feeling the somewhat terrifying magic inside her, she sensed the weight of being a magical girl for the first time.
Looking up, she saw all kinds of machinery being brought over: trucks, loaders, and excavators. To ensure that battles between Calamity Beasts and magical girls didn't affect citizens' normal lives, repair services in every major city were extremely quick.
They were also one of the largest drains on the Bureau's funds. Maintaining that kind of rapid response from a department had always been expensive.
Amid the roar of engines, Keke followed Yinlian outside and suddenly said, "Miss Shion said I'm better suited to the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau than the Azure Cloud Sect."
Pretending she hadn't heard, Peony hurried to the roadside and climbed onto her electric scooter.
That sounds like trouble. Better pretend I don't know anything and go home to sleep...
Yinlian looked back at the junior she'd gone to such trouble to find, her tone softening a little. "Looks like she still has a bit of a conscience."
"I feel like Miss Shion isn't the sort of person who lies," Keke emphasized, then continued, "I'm really not very suited to the Azure Cloud Sect. I'm not strong, I'm weak-willed, and I'm timid. I'd probably only drag them down."
"You're not quite that bad..."
"Only the Disaster Countermeasures Bureau suits me."
"Why does that sound so strange? Are you looking down on the Bureau?"
"No, I'm just telling the truth."
"..."
Seeing her captain fall silent, Jiang Keke took a deep breath, clenched her fists, and undid her transformation where no one was around. "Captain Yinlian, I want... I want to become stronger. More mature."
"So do I."
The short little girl, now out of her transformation, muttered quietly, then said, "Then let's go see Senior Hyacinth tomorrow. We'll do special training and make sure we beat that stuck-up little purple shorty! Senior Hyacinth is the strongest magical girl in BH City!"
"Can she beat Miss Shion?"
"...Anyway, she's the strongest magical girl in Beihai."
Keke understood and didn't press further, merely changing the subject. "Also, Captain, you don't have an advantage in height."
"I'll grow taller sooner or later!"
When Jiang Keke arrived home, she saw Jiang Si sitting at the dining table.
He'd made two dishes, one vegetable and one meat, both using ingredients left over from yesterday.
He must have just showered. His hair was still wet, and his clothes were brand-new too.
In fact, not long after Miss Shion had left, when Yinlian contacted Peony, they'd already confirmed that Jiang Si was fine and had arrived home.
That was why the two of them had taken their time arguing about exactly whom Miss Shion had killed, even calling Peony over.
Entering the house, she put down her little bag, took off her shoes, and put on her slippers.
"Where were you?"
Jiang Si sat rigidly upright while eating, meticulous in every movement, always giving off a taut, oppressive air.
Of course, Keke wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. She answered coolly, "A Bureau mission."
As she headed to the bathroom, Jiang Si asked again, "Why hasn't the floor been fixed?"
"Second Uncle said he doesn't have time. Next month."
Jiang Si frowned slightly. "Give me your phone."
"In my bag. Get it yourself."
She wasn't worried about Jiang Si snooping through her messages. He'd never had the slightest interest in that sort of thing.
Even if she opened them and put them right in front of him, Jiang Si wouldn't bother looking.
By the time she returned after using the bathroom and washing up, Jiang Si had already hung up.
"He'll come over to fix the floor tomorrow at four in the afternoon. Keep an eye on things."
"Mm."
As for how he'd convinced Second Uncle, Keke didn't know and didn't want to ask.
When she came over to eat, Jiang Si got up out of habit, wolfed down the rest of his food in two mouthfuls, and headed to the kitchen to wash his bowl and leave.
"Wait."
Jiang Keke stopped him. "There are some things I want to ask you."
"No time."
Used to his answers, Keke continued unconcernedly, "Did you meet anyone from the Witch Association today?"
Washing his bowl, Jiang Si raised an eyebrow. "You mean that alt-fashion guy with the seed on his forehead?"
"Yes, him."
"I did."
"Did you see a woman in a black robe?"
"No."
This was already the longest conversation the siblings had had in three years.
After that, Keke asked nothing more, and Jiang Si didn't speak again either. Once he'd finished washing his bowl and putting it away, he came out to find Jiang Keke setting a bracelet on the table.
"Keep this on you. It's from the Bureau."
"What is it?"
"To keep the Witch Association from targeting you," Keke said coldly. "Family members of magical girls all get one."
"Don't need it."
Jiang Si headed upstairs. "Just look after yourself."
Actually, that outcome wasn't unexpected.
Keke picked up the Bureau bracelet and casually tossed it onto the shoe cabinet beside her.
He could wear it or not. She didn't have the patience to persuade Jiang Si.
If something really happened, he'd have brought it on himself. It wouldn't have much to do with her.
After putting the lettuce on the table into the refrigerator, Keke had little appetite either. She drank a little water and returned to her room.
She called her captain and told her what had happened. Yinlian was a little unhappy too.
"How could he do that? I'll go talk to him tomorrow!"
"Whatever. Personally, I think it'd be pretty good if the Witch Association taught him a lesson."
"As long as his life wasn't in danger, that would be pretty good... I'll talk to him tomorrow. Don't worry about it, Keke, and don't take it to heart. I'll tell him off for you!"
"Don't worry. I'm used to it."
Hearing Li Yi's indignant voice, Keke couldn't help finding it a little funny. "You were always speaking up for Jiang Si before."
"Hmph. Like I said, I handle things impartially. I judge right and wrong, not the person. That goes for both Shion and Jiang Si."
"Yes, yes, our absolutely fair and impartial Captain Yinlian."
With the phone tucked against her shoulder, Keke took her nail clippers and asked as she trimmed her toenails, "You have tomorrow off, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"By the way, you're only first-years in high school. Why do you still have extra classes on Saturdays?"
"The students in our class love studying and asked for them..."
"Like anyone would believe that."
Yinlian sighed. "We don't have a choice. It's an honors class. We have to study a bit extra on Saturdays."
"You're amazing, Yinlian, balancing schoolwork with being a magical girl."
"I'm nothing special. Senior Hyacinth is even more amazing. Once I've taught your brother a lesson tomorrow, we'll go see Senior Hyacinth for special training."
"Mm."
They chatted casually about a few more girls' topics before Yinlian finally hung up.
She was sitting in a police car, with Rose driving beside her. Only after the call ended did Rose slowly speak. "You didn't tell her Peony's assessment of Jiang Si?"
Yinlian rubbed her temples. "There's no need to bring it up now. Nothing's been confirmed. If it turns out there's nothing wrong after all, wouldn't we have made Keke worry for nothing?"
"Why didn't she sound like someone who'd worry about her brother?"
"Their relationship looks awful on the surface, sure, but they're each other's only family. They must still care deep down. Probably," Yinlian muttered. "Besides, maybe there's something wrong with Peony's ability. Maybe she just happened to be unable to see Jiang Si?"
"That's unlikely. Peony said that ever since you asked her to look for him, she hadn't been able to see Jiang Si. She couldn't see his past or his present, not until he got home."
Rose looked worried. "And he's more likely to be involved with the Witch Association than the Azure Cloud Sect. The Azure Cloud Sect only accepts magical girls, and Jiang Si has been in contact with Witch Association members. Add his inexplicable physical strength to that, and you need to prepare yourself."
Sighing, Yinlian leaned against the car window and gazed into the darkness outside.
This really is a huge mess...