A Relentless Interrogation and a Subtle Shift

I’d certainly heard of similar incidents before, tales of strange individuals cloaked in the guise of urban legends or internet myths, luring unsuspecting people step by step into their meticulously laid traps.

Completely oblivious to the slight twitch at Kaguya’s lips, Shen Jingyi, casting aside her usual reticence, analyzed the situation to herself, her eyes downcast.

“If what you encountered back then was indeed a similar incident, how did you manage to escape?”

“Hey, hey…”

Watching Shen Jingyi, who seemed to be falling deeper and deeper into her own theories, Kaguya helplessly covered her forehead.

Such was the dedication of a magical girl; Kaguya had simply glimpsed a familiar sight, stirring a pang of nostalgia within her, yet Shen Jingyi could earnestly analyze something profound from it.

Honestly… she was usually so aloof, barely uttering more than a ‘hmm’ or an ‘ah’, or a string of ‘mm-hmms’ and ‘ah-has’, yet the moment this topic arose, she became utterly animated!

Kaguya pursed her lips, a silent complaint forming in her mind.

“How old were you when you encountered that beam of light?”

However, Shen Jingyi seemed to possess an unyielding spirit, determined to reach her goal, as she stared intently at Kaguya’s delicate features, asking with utmost seriousness.

“Eh?” Kaguya blinked, a hint of bewilderment in her eyes, her tone growing noticeably strained:

“Um, I was probably eleven, why do you ask?”

“Eleven…” The girl mused for a moment, her brow furrowed, before pressing on, “And aside from that beam of light and those flowers, was anything else different from the norm?”

“Uh…”

Twirling a strand of her long hair around her finger, Kaguya guiltily avoided Shen Jingyi’s gaze.

‘In truth, she hadn’t been eleven when that incident occurred, but rather in her thirties…’

Turning her face away, the girl furtively stuck out her tongue.

‘Moreover, the experience she had just recounted wasn’t her own… but that little girl Tang Xingwan’s.’

‘—Back then, Tang Xingwan hadn’t come home after school, even though her teacher said she had left much earlier. This had nearly scared her out of her wits; that entire night, she and her friends and family had searched almost all of Wangdu, only to finally find the little girl perfectly safe at the entrance to the city’s outskirts.’

‘And then, she listened as the little girl recounted such a fantastical, incredible story.’

‘At the time, she had simply thought it was enough for the little girl to come home safely; as for the fantastical tale, Kaguya hadn’t paid it much mind, dismissing it as mere childish whimsy, something to be heard and then forgotten.’

‘Thus, how could she, who had only relayed this incident to Shen Jingyi out of a sudden surge of reminiscence, possibly recall any specific details…’

“You can’t recall? What about those irises that guided you home? Were they in any way different from ordinary irises?”

Meanwhile, Shen Jingyi, fully embodying her professional dedication, continued her relentless interrogation.

“Mmm…”

“Were there any other peculiar features in your surroundings? Do you have any impression?”

“Ugh…”

‘Stop, I beg you, please just stop… I implore you, transform back into the cool and distant Shen Jingyi you once were!’

Completely outmatched by Shen Jingyi, Kaguya felt a cold sweat instantly prickle her skin; held captive by the relentless interrogation, she frantically searched for appropriate words in her mind.

“Indeed… so much time has passed, it’s natural not to remember the details.”

Observing Kaguya’s continued silence, Shen Jingyi surmised that Bai Muxue had simply forgotten the intricate details of the incident but was too proud to admit it.

Consequently, Shen Jingyi proactively concluded the conversation and resumed her contemplation, her gaze cast downwards:

“Yet, if strange individuals were indeed lurking in the shadows, there ought to have been a magical reaction back then… Alas, so many years had passed, leaving no magical residue behind…”

“Wait, speaking of which…”

As the words ‘magic power’ flashed through her mind, Shen Jingyi momentarily froze, a sudden realization sparking another thought within her.

‘—As far as she knew, the magic power used by magical girls was, in essence, the materialized manifestation of a series of positive emotions such as hope, optimism, and kindness.’

‘For instance, her own materialized element was ‘lightning’; it seemed there were also magical girls whose materialized elements were ‘fire’ or ‘gale wind’.’

But Kaguya was different; in the recent battle, she had displayed at least two elements: ‘ice’ and ‘fire’…

Shen Jingyi could feel the immense magical energy emanating from Kaguya, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that Kaguya’s magic power was somehow distinct from her own, and indeed, from that of the strange individuals.

Most peculiar of all, Kaguya lacked the distinctive patterns that signified a magical girl’s magical power reserves, and astonishingly, even after all this time, she could still maintain her transformed state.

Suppressing the multitude of doubts within her heart, the girl shook her head, resuming her customary cool demeanor, and let out a soft sigh as she turned to Kaguya:

“I apologize, I got a little sidetracked just now.”

Shen Jingyi had no intention of pressing the matter; after all, Kaguya’s willingness to share her childhood experience signified her openness to Shen Jingyi knowing about it.

However, her transformation into a magical girl touched upon her privacy, and if Kaguya didn’t volunteer the information, Shen Jingyi wouldn’t intrude.

“It’s nothing.”

Kaguya maintained her faint smile on the surface, yet inwardly, she breathed a profound sigh of relief.

‘So you *did* realize you were spiraling further and further off topic!’

Swiftly changing the subject, she feigned a yawn behind her hand, affecting an expression of utter weariness:

“Forget it, there’s no point staying here any longer, let’s go.”

‘This is no place to linger; we must withdraw, quickly!’

Shen Jingyi offered no comment, simply nodding gently.

However, as Kaguya soared over the suburbs, cradling Shen Jingyi, a flicker of light once again sparked within her pupils.

“That magical fluctuation just now was undeniably from that blonde bat-woman.

Why, then, did it vanish completely after I tracked it all the way here?

What exactly are they plotting?”

Kaguya’s eyes lowered slightly, carefully concealing the gleam within them.

****

Returning to a deserted alley outside the Disaster Prevention Bureau, Kaguya deactivated her transformation and immediately called to confirm Tang Xingwan’s safety.

That little girl had rushed off, spouting strange words… While the disaster beast’s attention had been wholly captivated by Kaguya and Shen Jingyi at the time, suggesting no immediate danger, confirmation was still prudent.

And during the time she had been wandering around with Shen Jingyi, calls and messages had poured in one after another, practically overflowing her phone.

However, Bai Muxue understood the commotion; after all, for the esteemed young lady of the Bai family to attend a funeral, only to encounter a disaster beast, vanish without a trace, and remain unresponsive to calls, was indeed a terrifying prospect.

Especially the Disaster Prevention Bureau; those leaders must be sweating profusely by now, haha.

Sure enough, no sooner had Bai Muxue contacted the Disaster Prevention Bureau and confirmed Tang Xingwan’s safety, than several high-ranking officials from the bureau immediately called her, expressing their profound concern and apologizing for their failure to evacuate Bai Muxue promptly, promising to significantly reinforce the Disaster Prevention Bureau’s management moving forward…

Concurrently, they subtly expressed their hope that Bai Muxue might attend the funeral again that evening, allowing them to personally convey their apologies to her.

“Oh dear, oh dear…”

At the thought of these high-and-mighty old officials at the bureau now cowering in such trepidation, Bai Muxue, in a rather excellent mood, hummed an off-key tune under her breath and casually remarked without turning her head:

“The Disaster Prevention Bureau’s leaders still need to see me tonight.

Perhaps I should take Teacher Shen to buy some more clothes?”

Her tone held no hint of a question; it was more akin to an announcement.

Yet, after a considerable pause, she received no reply from Shen Jingyi.

Bai Muxue turned back to find Shen Jingyi still rooted to the spot, her slender form draped in a white dress, appearing simultaneously cool and profoundly solitary.

Bai Muxue raised an eyebrow:

“Teacher Shen?”

Shen Jingyi silently met her gaze:

“I’m not going tonight.”

“Hmm?”

Shen Jingyi’s fingers slowly clenched into a fist as she met the gaze of the girl before her, repeating stiffly:

“I have to work overtime tonight, so I can’t go.”

Although the afternoon’s shared brush with death, coupled with Bai Muxue’s recent voluntary sharing of her childhood experiences, had made Shen Jingyi suddenly consider whether her relationship with Bai Muxue had undergone a subtle, profound shift.

But now… as they reverted to the rhythms of their daily lives, Shen Jingyi realized that her relationship with Bai Muxue would inevitably regress to its former, customary state.

—To the relationship strictly delineated by written contract.