Volume 1 Chapter 19: If Other People Find Out...
“So strong...”
Nearby, Heidi looked at the scene in disbelief, her pretty face full of shock.
“This girl... is she really just a magical girl?”
This fusion beast was only a test model, but it was still the newest result of their Empire’s technology.
At least, Professor Death had confidently said it would have no problem defeating those magical girls!
Judging from how it performed, beating that purple magical girl from earlier really was not a problem.
But that black one...
Heidi touched her chin in surprise, blinking as she said,
“And she beat the fusion beast in only three moves? Strength like that is definitely not normal for a magical girl. And that scary feeling during her transformation just now... so strange.”
“What a pity. If that black magical girl had not interfered, we definitely would have won this time!”
Heidi puffed her cheeks, looking disappointed.
She wanted to say more, but suddenly stopped and turned to the side.
“Eh? You’re saying now is not the time to think about that, and we should retreat first? That’s true.”
Heidi nodded seriously.
Her small body slowly turned into several bats and scattered into the sky.
Suddenly, a strange light flashed in her eyes.
She carefully asked, word by word:
“Then, Sasha... if you fought her, could you beat that girl in black?”
After a long, long pause, Heidi seemed to hear an answer.
She spoke with surprise.
“Eh? You’re saying you’re not sure either!? This is the first time I’ve heard Sasha say something like that...”
As the bats flew away, the girl’s figure and her shocked voice disappeared into the air.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shen Jingyi watched Kaguya slowly crawl out from under the huge corpse of the disaster beast below.
Seeing that she was completely unharmed, a small smile appeared on Shen Jingyi’s usually cold and sharp face.
The feeling of surviving disaster was always wonderful.
As she breathed the fresh air around her, strong tiredness and pain spread through her whole body.
Her body, which had barely stood up, dropped to its knees again.
But even though she had no strength left, her eyes stayed fixed on Kaguya, who was slowly floating upward.
As if noticing someone staring, Kaguya tilted her head and gave Shen Jingyi a sly smile.
“...!”
Shen Jingyi quickly lowered her head and looked away.
If someone moved the long hair covering both sides of her face, they would clearly see that her cheeks were very red.
Before Shen Jingyi could say anything else, her clear eyes suddenly focused.
Just a moment ago, Kaguya had still been slowly flying upward.
But somehow, she had already appeared right beside her.
“I-I didn’t expect you were a magical girl too...”
Seeing the smile on the girl’s face, Shen Jingyi panicked a little. Not knowing what to say, she could only start a random topic.
“Mhm, so?”
Kaguya blinked playfully and asked in a teasing tone.
“So...?”
Shen Jingyi froze.
She had only said it casually.
At a moment like this, Kaguya should either continue the topic or avoid it.
But instead, she threw the question back at her.
What kind of answer was she supposed to give now?
“So... ahh!”
Before Shen Jingyi could make sense of what was happening, she suddenly felt her feet slightly lift off the ground.
Kaguya quietly moved her hand from Shen Jingyi’s hair to her back, and slowly continued downward.
Shen Jingyi’s pale face immediately turned a little red. A strange, ticklish feeling spread along her back. Unlike her usual cold and calm self, she quickly grabbed Kaguya’s hand in panic.
“Don’t… don’t do this here…”
The beast had just been defeated. People from the Special Investigation Department, Disaster Management Bureau, reporters, and curious citizens would soon arrive.
And Kaguya was still in transformation form!
If they were seen like this by others…
“Ah, I see~ Are you worried the media might take pictures of me, Teacher Shen?”
Kaguya smiled as if she understood, then gently rested her chin on Shen Jingyi’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind being seen~ It’s fine~”
“I’m not worried about you!”
Shen Jingyi’s face turned even redder, full of embarrassment and frustration. She weakly tried to stop Kaguya’s hand.
Even if she wasn’t transformed right now, if people saw her together with a newly appeared magical girl in such a close way, her peaceful life would be over.
Wasn’t the contract supposed to prevent exactly this kind of situation?
And this girl… she clearly knew that!
Shen Jingyi bit her lip tightly, trying not to make any strange sounds.
“Hmm? Not like that?”
Kaguya tilted her head, pretending to be confused.
“Oh, I see.”
A playful smile appeared on her face. She slowly stopped her hand and leaned closer to Shen Jingyi’s ear.
“Teacher Shen, you look really cute like this. And you know… if I get photographed looking this obvious, everyone in Wangdu will think we’re very close.”
“No… don’t…”
Shen Jingyi shook her head weakly. Her face was getting redder and her body trembled more.
A strange mix of fear and excitement filled her heart. Danger, uncertainty, and the nervous feeling of possibly being discovered all mixed together, making her shake even more.
Kaguya ignored her reaction and continued speaking in a teasing tone.
“If people find out, your peaceful life will end, right? My Teacher Shen?”
“Please…”
The teasing look on Kaguya’s face grew even more pronounced, yet the movements of her hands showed no sign of stopping.
“Please… don’t do this here… I’m begging you…”
Shen Jingyi leaned somewhat weakly against Kaguya’s petite body. The hand she had tried to use to stop those restless, wandering fingers had also gone limp.
“Are you satisfied now…?”
“Hm… not bad.”
Kaguya smiled softly.
Just now, she had used up a lot of her life force to save this girl. It wouldn’t be fair not to take something back in return.