At breakfast the next morning, Dad was scrolling through his phone as usual. Li Xinghe ate while sipping soy milk and watching the news.

“According to reports, traces of a suspected A-Rank monster have been discovered in Qingshan Province. Personnel have been dispatched to investigate, and we’ll bring you updates as soon as they come in.”

Qingshan Province is near Tianhai City, which belongs to Shangyang Province and lies in the center of the country. The A-Rank monster mentioned in the news is powerful enough to destroy an entire city in half an hour.

On screen, the ground near a volcano was writhing in clumps. Lava bubbled up from below and splattered in every direction, quickly cooling into black sludge. Something seemed to be lurking at the center of the movement, making for a deeply unsettling sight.

But that was all they knew so far. The footage taken by the authorities’ drones was far from clear. For one thing, they were afraid the volcano might erupt if they got too close. For another, flying too near could provoke the monster underground.

“Dad, is Qingshan Province where you’re going?”

Li Xinghe was genuinely worried about his father’s safety. Monster attacks on people had become rare, accounting for less than a third of the number of accidental deaths each year, but there was no harm in being careful.

“No. We’re going somewhere farther away, in the exact opposite direction from Qingshan Province.”

Hearing his father answer while casually scrolling through his phone, Li Xinghe let out a sigh of relief.

“Have you packed your things?”

“I packed ages ago. You know how long I’ve been waiting for this day?”

His father wore a mischievous grin and a lecherous look. That guy really was hopeless. Li Xinghe had no idea what Auntie Bai saw in him.

To be fair, though, his father acted like a perfect gentleman around Auntie Bai. Their conversation yesterday had mostly been about work.

Li Xinghe sighed to himself. He watched his father leave for work, then closed the door and went back to his room.

He stared at the poster hanging beside his bed and fell into thought.

Come to think of it, Magical Girls had become a profession. More than a century ago, monsters suddenly appeared in the world—and Magical Girls came into being to face them.

Where there’s evil, there’s justice. Magical Girls, representing the forces of justice, had taken on the arduous task of saving humanity. Those chosen by contract spirits could transform into Magical Girls and gain immense power. The price they paid in return was just as immense.

For one thing, their average life expectancy was only forty. For another, around ten percent of them died in battle.

And most importantly, Magical Girls couldn’t let the public know who they really were. One girl had once revealed her true identity and ended up trapped at home by her obsessive fans. Some even spied on her for a long time, seriously disrupting her daily life.

After that, all Magical Girls were incorporated into the national forces, and management offices were established across the country. As for how to join, you’d have to become a Magical Girl to find out.

In short, with their short lifespans and high death rate—and with no choice but to appear in public under aliases or code names—Magical Girls were high-risk underground workers.

Even so, whenever a Magical Girl died in battle, a new one seemed to take her place right away. The criteria for being chosen by a contract spirit were still unclear, and no one knew where their magical power came from.

Eight years ago, Crimson Red Lotus, hailed by the world as the Savior Saintess, disappeared along with the monster that could destroy the world. The authorities officially listed her as missing, but it was overwhelmingly likely that she had died alongside the monster.

The poster in Li Xinghe’s room was a high-resolution image of the Savior Saintess.

Whenever he looked at it, he found himself slipping into memories. He’d think back on everything that had happened, and in the end, all he could do was sigh.

“Ding-dong, ding-dong! You have an incoming call. Please answer! Ding-dong, ding-dong! You have…”

Someone was calling him from a number he didn’t recognize. Li Xinghe hesitated, then decided it probably wasn’t an ad or some financial or insurance sales pitch and answered.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

The caller didn’t say anything. Li Xinghe thought they’d dialed the wrong number and was about to hang up when a gentle, pleasant voice, as soothing as a mountain stream, came through the phone.

“I’m Bai Xiaoxiao, the stepsister you’re about to meet. Um… Big Brother, are you free tomorrow night?”

Her voice was gentle and sweet. Was it any wonder she was an idol-in-training? With a voice like that, she could easily become a voice actress. Or, failing that, she could put on an avatar, stream online, and make a fortune off all the otaku.

“Huh? Yeah, I’m free. What’s up?”

“Could you pick me up from the Idol Agency fifteen kilometers away at eight? Make sure you dress up nicely.”

Li Xinghe understood as soon as he heard what she wanted. So she was asking him to be her chauffeur. Well, that worked out. He’d get to see what she looked like, and if they got along, they could have a more pleasant time living together.

“Oh, sure!”

He happily agreed, and it put him in a pretty good mood. Picking up his idol-in-training stepsister in a stylish outfit sounded great. First impressions mattered, even if he wasn’t exactly sure what kind of impression he’d make.

It looked like she’d gotten his number from his father. Li Xinghe saved it in his contacts in case he needed to reach her later.

This was great. He’d be living with a beautiful girl from now on.

Lost in his wonderful daydreams about the future, Li Xinghe got started on his daily routine!

Should he watch anime first, or play video games? What a dilemma.

Meanwhile, Bai Xiaoxiao had just hung up, her heart uneasy. She wore a pink dress and a blue butterfly hair clip. Her smooth, fair legs were on full display, and her neat, shoulder-length hair fell in perfectly tidy strands. Up close, you could even catch a scent that was unmistakably feminine.

With her delicate, cute features and rosy lips, she was beautiful enough to be called a girl even without a trace of makeup.

She was only 160 centimeters tall, but she was very well-developed. Her prominent chest bounced with each breath.

It was break time during Magical Girl training. The third basement level was the lounge, while the fourth was the training ground. Aboveground, the first floor was a company disguised as an ordinary agency.

Bai Xiaoxiao had gotten Li Xinghe’s number from Uncle Li a couple of days ago, but she hadn’t known how to bring herself to call him, so she’d put it off. When she spoke to her mother on the phone last night, she’d mentioned that her brother was handsome and had a fairly gentle, well-behaved personality.

Bai Xiaoxiao liked people who could make her laugh. If he didn’t talk much to people he didn’t know, wouldn’t he be just like her?

She was fine around her friends. They always picked up the conversation and knew exactly how to tease her. But she was going to live with a brother she’d never even met… She really wasn’t sure what to expect.

“What’s wrong, Xiaoxiao?”

The tall beauty who sneaked up behind her and wrapped her in a hug was Lu Wanxin. Her long black hair fell to her waist, and she liked wearing blue dresses. Unlike the petite, cute Bai Xiaoxiao, she gave off a mature, big-sister vibe.

“Oh, Senior Wanxin! You scared me.”

Wanxin didn’t let go. Instead, she let her mischievous hands wander, though she kept them mostly around Xiaoxiao’s waist and stomach.

“Hehe, I heard you asking someone to pick you up—and telling them to dress nicely. Don’t tell me you’ve secretly found yourself a boyfriend?”

Wanxin’s long fingers tickled Bai Xiaoxiao’s stomach, making her squirm. Xiaoxiao tried to wriggle out of her embrace, but Wanxin had already seen it coming and held her tight.

Anyone who saw the two beautiful girls in such an intimate moment might’ve wondered if they were into each other.

“No… Hahahaha, that tickles! It’s the brother I told you about the other day.”

Brother? The word immediately caught Wanxin’s interest. As a longtime fan of Mary Sue novels, she knew that a brother from a blended family could very well become someone’s future husband.

Think about it: people related within three generations couldn’t marry, but that wasn’t a concern with a stepbrother. They weren’t blood relatives, and he was a guy she’d be living with for a long time. If he had a nice personality and they got along when they talked, it’d be easy to fall for him.

And if he was handsome, that would be the killer blow.

Bai Xiaoxiao paused her hands for a moment, seized the chance to wriggle free, then hugged Wanxin from behind and used the same trick against her. Wanxin couldn’t stand being tickled and could only beg for mercy.

“Hehehe. Go on, beg me~ Even if you do, I’m not letting you off~”

As the two of them tussled and played, break time seemed to be drawing to a close.

Tianhai City’s secret Magical Girl base was beneath the Idol Agency. On the surface, it was just another ordinary company. Behind the scenes, it was the core force protecting all of Tianhai City.