Teammate Alternate

“…Yes. Just imagine the healing process. Picture every wound on your body being erased, restored completely.”

Under Tidal’s guidance, the magic crystal resting in Raging Flame’s palm slowly broke apart into countless tiny magic particles. The white particles swirled gently, enveloping her entire body in a soft glow.

When the light faded and the particles dissipated, Raging Flame stood whole again—her body fully restored, radiant with renewed energy.

“Senior, it really worked! I’m completely healed!”

She clenched her fist, feeling strength surge through every limb.

“This is Lesson One—the most basic, yet most essential knowledge,” Tidal said.

“From now on, always collect the magic crystals dropped by defeated aberrations. They’re incredibly useful.”

“Got it, Senior! I understand!” You Xi nodded obediently.

If only you were this well-behaved all the time… Why couldn’t you listen before? Why did you always talk back?

Seeing her niece so compliant now, Tidal couldn’t help but feel a pang of irony. Then she realized—she was jealous of herself. The version of her that could finally connect with You Xi… was the one wearing a magical girl’s face.

She let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

“I don’t have much else to say today. Oh, by the way—you’re still a student, right? You’ve got class tomorrow. Get Lao Lin to drive you home.”

Of course, Tidal already knew You Xi had been suspended for fighting at school. But since she was playing the role of a detached senior magical girl, she had to pretend ignorance.

“Ah… Senior, actually, you could teach me a bit more. I don’t mind staying out late. As for school…”

Here, Raging Flame let out an awkward “heh” and scratched her head.

“Actually… I’ve been suspended for disciplinary reflection.”

“Suspended? For what?”

“…I got into a fight at school.”

“A fight? Huh. Didn’t take you for the delinquent type.”

Tidal deadpanned.

Unlike her earlier feigned ignorance, this time, she was genuinely surprised.

“I want to make one thing clear—I wasn’t the bully. I was standing up for justice when I hit her.”

With that, Raging Flame recounted the entire story—how her friend Bai Mian had been bullied by Mo Li, how she’d stepped in to defend her, and how she’d beaten Mo Li to a pulp.

Tidal was hearing this for the first time. Before, You Xi had never opened up to her.

“…Senior, was I wrong? Why does it feel like no one supports me? Everyone just keeps criticizing me,” Raging Flame pouted, clearly upset.

Could this situation really be reduced to a simple right or wrong? Tidal hesitated.

Part of her wanted to stand with her niece, to shout at those spineless parents who blindly defended their kids:

Your child got beaten because they bullied someone first. That’s karma. That’s what they deserve.

She wanted to berate the useless homeroom teacher who did nothing but play peacemaker:

This happened because you failed as a teacher. No responsibility, no backbone. Protect your students or quit.

But then what?

Then You Xi would get punished—disciplinary records, suspension, maybe even a police report if the other side pressed charges. A stain on her future.

So on that day, she had no choice but to bow her niece’s head to the teacher.

So on that day, she had to carry bags of gifts to apologize—to the very person who should’ve been apologizing.

This was how the world worked: a system that made no sense.

You Xi was young. She could afford not to understand. She could question it, resist it.

But what about her?

…I’m doing this for your own good.

When Tidal was a child, her parents would say that whenever they forced her to study or do things she hated. Back then, she thought it was one of the most despicable phrases in existence.

Now, the roles had reversed. She was the one saying it.

And only now did she truly understand the weight behind those words.

“…Raging Flame, I don’t have the right to dictate your life choices. But I think… you should listen to the elders in your family. Don’t be rebellious. Think carefully about the consequences.”

After much thought, that was all Tidal could say.

“…Oh. Fine. If even you say so…”

Raging Flame nodded reluctantly.

I really hope she actually listens this time…*Tidal silently prayed.

“Alright! Focus on these few people for the next couple of days!”

Just as they were talking, Lao Lin finished his work and stretched dramatically.

On the coffee table in front of him lay a thick stack of profile cards—potential magical girl candidates. There had to be at least eighty or a hundred.

Beside the pile, a few cards had been pulled out and marked with colorful sticky notes. Those were clearly the ones Lao Lin meant by “focus on these.”

“…You know, magical girl squads are usually made up of four members.”

Noticing their curious looks, Lao Lin began to explain.

“For historical reasons, the Fifth Ring District in Shangjing City hasn’t had its own magical girl team for over a decade. My mission this time is to rebuild it. With C-rank and higher aberrations becoming more active lately, we need more frontline fighters.”

“So besides Raging Flame, I still need to recruit at least three more magical girls.”

Three new magical girls.

That meant three new partners who would fight alongside her niece.

The thought made Tidal curious. *What kind of people will they be?*

First of all, they absolutely couldn’t be troublemakers—she wouldn’t let her niece fall in with a bad crowd. And they shouldn’t be too young, given the risks involved.

Ideally, they’d be reliable adults—like herself.

“Let me see the files.”

Tidal walked over and picked up the stack.

Though she was only pretending to be a [Magic Commander], Lao Lin still needed her to help guide the team through its early days. So letting her review the candidates was actually quite reasonable.

“I wanna see too! I wanna see too!”

Raging Flame immediately jumped in, craning her neck.

“No way. This is classified. You can’t look,” Lao Lin said, blocking her.

But it was too late.

Raging Flame had already peeked.

“Huh?! Her?!”

The moment her eyes landed on one of the cards, Raging Flame’s mind exploded in shock.

On the name field, two characters stood out clearly: Mo Li.