“All right. Keep up your magic practice for another two hours today. Everyone met last week’s requirements, so let’s keep it up this week too.”

At first glance, Qu Mengting seemed like the strong, capable big-sister type. Her side bangs covered one eyebrow, and she usually wore white glasses and a suit to work. Of course, she was also the person in charge of Tianhai City’s Magical Girl team.

“Okaaay~”

All five answered in unison. The Magical Girl team stationed in Tianhai City had five members in total. Bai Xiaoxiao had joined a year ago, making her the youngest by seniority, but she’d fit in quickly and got along well with the other four.

The training ground was on the fourth basement level. A huge space had been excavated beneath the Idol Agency, its inner walls supported by an enormous magic array. If Tianhai City ever came under attack by monsters, the array could also project a barrier above ground to protect the nearby buildings.

Qu Mengting went to the second-floor office to take care of some work, leaving the five girls there. After heading down to the fourth basement level, they began the next part of their training.

Summoning their contracted spirits to transform into Magical Girl outfits was a great way to protect themselves, and it greatly increased their attack and defense. Of course, the fastest way to deal damage was still to use powerful spells like fire or lightning.

The Magical Girls got Sundays off each week. They could do as they pleased when they weren’t on a mission, but they weren’t allowed to leave Tianhai City without permission.

It was for the sake of everyone living in Tianhai City. If a monster attacked while they were away, the damage couldn’t be made up for with money.

Magic could repair buildings, but it couldn’t bring the dead back to life. That was why a Magical Girl’s first duty was to protect ordinary people.

Bai Xiaoxiao threw herself into battle against the dummy made of special metal.

Time flew by. After the afternoon’s combat training ended, Bai Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel. She gently tucked the loose strands of hair by her temples behind her ears, then twisted open a chilled drink and took a few sips with her rosy lips.

The cool drink trickled down her throat and into her stomach. In summer, nothing beat an ice-cold drink for cooling off.

Qu Mengting said that a B-Rank monster might appear in Tianhai City soon. The Idol Agency had been on high alert for the past two days, ready to move out at any moment. The company didn’t have anywhere for them to stay, so Bai Xiaoxiao and the others had to spend the night in the break room for now.

The thought of moving into a strange man’s home still made Bai Xiaoxiao a little nervous.

She still couldn’t quite understand why her mother had to move in with a man she’d known for barely three months. But her mother would never put her in harm’s way. If she didn’t get along with her new big brother, she could always sneak out and find somewhere else to live.

If it came to that, she could just stay with a friend. Lu Wanxin and Cai Mengmeng, the two people she was closest to, would be more than happy to have her over.

At nine-thirty that night, the girls finished fooling around and got ready to lie down and rest. Just then, Qu Mengting suddenly sent everyone a message.

The pinned chat on their phones showed the monster they’d been keeping an eye on for the past two days—the one that might appear in Tianhai City. At first glance, it looked like a giant black lizard, with rows upon rows of teeth in its mouth and thick scales covering its body. It stood about fifteen meters tall. Qu Mengting then tagged everyone in the group chat and said they wouldn’t have to spend the night there after all. The monster had appeared and was heading toward the nearest stretch of coast.

All five cheered. Judging by its size, there was little doubt it was a B-Rank monster. Two members of their team had reached B-Rank: Lu Wanxin and Cai Mengmeng, both of whom were close to Bai Xiaoxiao. Bai Xiaoxiao and the team captain, meanwhile, had A-Rank magic strength.

Bai Xiaoxiao let out a sigh of relief at the thought of not having to fight a monster like that.

Magical Girls and monsters were ranked across six levels, from E-Rank to S-Rank. Newly born monsters and newly chosen Magical Girls were both classified at the lowest level, E-Rank. They posed little serious threat, and even an E-Rank monster could be easily taken out with ordinary firearms if it was spotted early enough.

D-Rank beings were considerably stronger. Anything capable of destroying a village in ten minutes was classified as D-Rank, though firearms could still hold them off. By the time a being reached C-Rank, human weapons were mostly useless. A C-Rank monster could destroy a small town in ten minutes.

The lizard monster in the picture was B-Rank. Monsters of that level could wreck an entire city in a very short time, as long as nobody got in their way.

Monsters and Magical Girls could use magic to shield themselves from harmful substances, even radiation. As long as they stayed out of the blast’s center and protected themselves, a B-Rank being was practically impossible to kill.

A-Rank was already powerful enough to cause a nationwide disaster. There had been fewer than twenty such beings in over a century, and each time, it had taken a great many Magical Girls to eliminate or suppress them.

Above A-Rank was S-Rank. It took at least ten A-Rank Magical Girls working together just to stand against an S-Rank being. Magical Girls of this level were humanity’s last hope for survival—and the same went for monsters. In over a century, there had been only three S-Rank monster invasions.

As for the highest level, SS-Rank, it was less a rank than another name for the world-ending monster Chimera and the Savior Saintess.

The world-ending monster Chimera was said to have the power to destroy the world, and it had nearly done so once. More than four hundred Magical Girls were deployed in the great battle eight years ago. Over three hundred died, and sixty-two were forced to retire with serious injuries. The rest only escaped that fate because they had to protect the people in their cities.

That was how terrifying Chimera was. It had nearly wiped out the entire generation of Magical Girls who fought it.

The Savior Saintess Crimson Red Lotus, who stood at the same level as Chimera, was just as extraordinary. At the world’s darkest hour, she suppressed Chimera all on her own and saved the world. That was when she earned the title of Savior Saintess.

There were countless legends about her. She’d never lost since the day she made her debut. Even against foes no one else could defeat, she’d always won with ease. Sadly, in the end, she used up all her power to restore the world after it had been all but destroyed. Then she vanished along with Chimera, which she had sealed away. No one knew where she’d gone.

Even now, people still hoped she was alive. As long as she was out there, there’d be no need to fear if another Chimera appeared in this world.

After saying goodbye to her coworkers, Bai Xiaoxiao headed home. Her mother had packed all her things and sent them ahead to her big brother’s house. Bai Xiaoxiao had arranged to go over tomorrow night, so she still had to spend tonight at home.

Bai Xiaoxiao’s home was in a prime location downtown. Her mother had apparently bought it for tens of millions, but starting tomorrow, it wouldn’t be theirs anymore.

The next owner had already seen the place, and they’d agreed to hand it over tomorrow. Tonight would be her last night there.

After living here for more than ten years, was it really time to say goodbye?

Bai Xiaoxiao was reluctant to leave. What if she couldn’t get used to her new home?

She pushed all her worries aside, washed up, and settled into her soft bed. Soon, she drifted peacefully off to sleep. Whatever happened later, she’d leave it for her future self to deal with!