Working overtime during holidays is the worst.

Ran Jiuyi, 24 years old. A former government-employed Magical Girl, now a freelancer who frequently handles all sorts of troublesome commissions.

She wasn’t in a good mood today. She had finally managed to carve out a rare bit of leisure time for a vacation, but before she could even begin to enjoy it, she was interrupted by a work call.

“I’m sorry, Jiuyi. But after considering this commission over and over, you really are the most suitable person for the job. Besides, the client seems to know that as well—they specifically requested that you handle it.”

Well, judging by Chifuri’s tone, this was likely an offer Ran Jiuyi couldn’t refuse. Still, clinging to a final sliver of hope, Jiuyi argued:

“Please, Chifuri. I finally managed to get a long break, and it hasn’t even been three days yet. Making me take another commission now… aren’t you treating me like a pack mule? I’ve been working my tail off lately for peanuts. If I wasn’t doing this to help you out, I wouldn’t touch these jobs with a ten-foot pole.”

Chifuri countered, “Weren’t you happy with your last job? You helped a lot of people who deserved it, and punished plenty who had it coming.”

“Yeah, right,” Jiuyi said impatiently. “The price was having to personally take out a bunch more people—the kind where it’s a mix of ‘good’ and ‘bad.’ You know I don’t like that part at all. So right now, I just want to enjoy my vacation in peace. Everything else can wait until I’m done.”

Chifuri was well-prepared for this attitude; she knew her old acquaintance all too well. “I know that, of course, which is why I won’t let you come out short on this. Don’t you want to know how much they’re offering?”

“You always pull this trick. How much?” Despite the reluctant tone, Jiuyi asked about the price with total honesty. After all, if the offer was truly high, it would be a waste to pass it up.

At the crucial moment, Chifuri began to play hard to get. “I’ll give you a hint: the number 5.”

“Just tell me. I’m really not in the mood for riddles today.”

“Fine, fine. Sometimes you’re really a bore.” Hearing that Jiuyi was genuinely in a foul mood, Chifuri dropped the act.

“The client said five million total. One million as a deposit, and another four million upon completion. Plus, it’s a relatively simple short-term task—supposedly the kind you can wrap up in two or three days. So, do you want it? If not, I’m giving it to someone else.”

“Ugh…” Though she was loath to give up her vacation, that amount of money truly made Jiuyi’s heart skip a beat.

“I give up, I’ll take the job. But don’t you dare line up anything else for me for a while. After this is done, I’m going to have a proper rest.”

“Hahaha, I knew you’d agree!” Chifuri laughed. “I’ve already set the meeting time and the communication channel with the client. I’ve sent it to you. Be on time.”

Reluctantly, for the sake of both the money and her old friend, Jiuyi opened her laptop and entered the channel precisely on schedule. She wanted to see exactly what kind of commission demanded her specific involvement.

Upon entering the channel, the other party was already waiting.

“So, are you the one who insisted on me doing your dirty work? What’s the business?”

“Hello, Miss Ran. I am the client’s agent; you may refer to me as C65. I will be fully responsible for coordinating your commission for the duration of this task.”

The voice answering Jiuyi was the electronic drone of a robot. Jiuyi didn’t know much about robotics, but a single glance at the screen told her the machine on the other end was incredibly advanced.

“Using a robot as an agent? Should I call you cautious, or just plain paranoid? Forget it, doesn’t matter. Just tell me what you want me to do.”

A file was sent to Jiuyi’s computer. As she browsed through it, C65 began the briefing.

“Five days ago, one of our colleagues reported a message to us. An experimental reinforcement serum she was developing was stolen. The thief calls himself ‘Ken the Werewolf.’ According to our colleague’s report, Ken is one of the experimental subjects she created. His combat capabilities are exceptional, but no other information was disclosed. A total of seven vials were stolen. Your commission is to determine the distribution path of these seven vials, recover them, and report back to us.”

It didn’t sound like a particularly troublesome task. Jiuyi asked, “What if the serum has been used, or destroyed?”

C65’s answer was simple and cold. “Please eliminate all users. Destroyed vials require no further action; you simply need to ensure no one else uses them.”

“And what about that guy, Ken the Werewolf? Dead or alive? Or do I just ignore him?”

“Ken the Werewolf requires no specific attention. However, if you are able to eliminate him, we will provide a corresponding bonus.”

Jiuyi nodded. This sounded simple enough. Had Chifuri actually landed her a decent job for once?

“Sounds easy. But why hire me for something so straightforward? My rates aren’t low; surely there are cheaper, more suitable candidates out there.”

“There are two reasons,” C65 replied. “First, we have collected and studied your data. We have determined that your strength and tracking abilities are outstanding, and your methods of problem-solving are simple and effective. Therefore, we judge you have the capacity to quickly locate the vials and prevent their further spread.

Second, the direction of Ken’s initial escape has been confirmed as the coastal region of the New Union League. The primary supernatural force active there consists of Magical Girls. We have judged that, as a fellow Magical Girl, you can effectively negotiate with the local forces or operate under the guise of a local Magical Girl. This will minimize potential conflicts and, consequently, reduce the number of casualties.”

Jiuyi fell silent for a moment. “…Magical Girl? It’s been a while since anyone called me that. You’ve certainly done your homework. I assume you’ve dug up all my past deeds too?”

“Yes,” C65 did not deny it. “We conduct the most meticulous investigations on every potential partner to determine their value. However, we must admit that you have scrubbed your past information very cleanly. We were only able to gather six years of data leading up to the present. There is no useful information regarding your life prior to six years ago.”

Of course they couldn’t find anything. Six years ago, when she awakened as a Magical Girl, she had transformed from a young boy into this “Onee-san” figure overnight. At the time, she was quite excited about her sudden beauty and power, imagining a bright future. Looking back now, she really couldn’t say if becoming a Magical Girl had been a blessing or a curse.

Furthermore, it had taken Jiuyi four years just to figure out the difference between “de-equipping” her Magical Girl gear and “reverting” her transformation. Back then, when she first reverted, she had spent ages staring at herself in the mirror to confirm she had actually changed back. These factors allowed Jiuyi to perfectly hide her past. After all, no one would ever connect two people who looked completely different and had zero correlation.

“Additionally, your disguise is quite effective,” the robot continued. “Neither your appearance nor your conduct resembles that of a Magical Girl. Had we not performed a comprehensive investigation, we would not have identified you as one.”

That last part was totally unnecessary, Jiuyi thought. Saying her appearance and style didn’t fit a Magical Girl felt like a direct insult.

“Miss Ran, do you agree to cooperate with us?” C65’s inquiry interrupted her thoughts. “We wish to confirm your agreement as soon as possible.”

Jiuyi didn’t rush to answer. Instead, she asked one more thing. “I want to know, will you be providing any additional support during the operation?”

“We cannot guarantee that. We believe your abilities are sufficient to complete the commission without any support.”

In other words: “You’re useful, so we’re going to work you to death,” Jiuyi grumbled internally.

After thinking it over, Jiuyi finally replied, “I’ll take the job. But I have one last question: who exactly is the one giving me this commission?”

Jiuyi didn’t expect an answer. Based on the intel so far, the party seemed to have plenty of money but lacked their own field power.

“You may refer to our organization by its abbreviation: The Institute.”

Unexpectedly, C65 answered, and dropped a heavyweight name. If Jiuyi remembered correctly, rumors pegged The Institute as the world’s largest illegal organization of supernatural individuals, with ties to numerous governments.

“Fine. If you’re telling the truth, I don’t know why you’re hiring me, but at least I know you can afford the bill. That’s enough for me. But you still haven’t told me—I get why the vials don’t need to be recovered, but why must the users be killed? What does this serum actually do?”

C65 replied, “After a period of injection, the users of this serum undergo unknown mutations. We have judged these mutations to be harmful to human survival, so we require you to resolve the issue. No other details can be disclosed.”

Another non-answer. Jiuyi hated people who only told half the story. “In the end, I didn’t get a single useful answer. If you weren’t introduced by Chifuri, I definitely wouldn’t have taken this.”

With that, Jiuyi cut the connection and sighed to herself. Even though the task sounded brief, she had a nagging premonition that this trip was going to be a massive headache.