“Mm, so headquarters specifically gave you all this time off. Make sure you enjoy yourselves this month!”

After a busy night, it was already past eight the next morning when Captain Qu Mengting suddenly said this to the team.

Apparently, headquarters had discussed it the night before. After realizing Tianhai City was short on personnel, they decided to transfer the two girls codenamed Tabby and Country—Zi Xuan and Zi Lan, the twin sisters—to another city. Starlight, the Magical Girl who’d arrived last night, would join Tianhai City’s Magical Girl team as a new member.

The wounds on Cai Mengmeng had mostly healed, but she still hadn’t regained all her energy. Usually so fond of making dirty jokes, she now looked drained, staring blankly at the ceiling in silence.

Maybe coming closer to death than ever before yesterday had given her a new perspective on life. Magical Girls might enjoy a life of material comfort, but it wasn’t unusual for one of them to die in battle without warning.

“Have you decided where you want to go, Xiaoxiao?”

Senior Lu Wanxin casually asked Bai Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao froze for a moment, then shook her head.

“I’m not sure. Do you have anywhere you’d recommend, Senior Wanxin?”

Hook, line, and sinker! I knew you’d be easy to fool, little girl. Since you asked me that, then…

“I do, of course! In a few days, the three of us girls can go to the amusement park and the aquarium, then eat and drink to our hearts’ content. How does that sound? My treat.”

Senior Lu Wanxin wore an expression that made it clear she wouldn’t accept no for an answer. She looked Xiaoxiao right in the eyes, as if to say, You can’t possibly refuse a kind offer from your senior, can you?

Bai Xiaoxiao caught on at once and turned to see Senior Cai Mengmeng, who’d seemed too exhausted to move, giving her a thumbs-up in approval.

As I thought. Those two had planned this together, hadn’t they?

Actually, it wasn’t exactly a plot. Lu Wanxin had simply wanted to go out and have some fun with Bai Xiaoxiao and Cai Mengmeng for a long time.

“All right, then. Since you’re treating, Senior Wanxin, I can’t exactly refuse. But I’m saying this in advance: don’t get handsy with me when we’re out, especially don’t touch my chest.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

Although Lu Wanxin agreed, Bai Xiaoxiao still had a bad feeling about it. Those two really were way too touchy-feely with each other. She’d have to keep her distance from them when they went out.

A little after nine, Captain Qu Mengting said they could all disperse. She reminded them to keep a close eye on the group chat this month and come back right away if any monsters appeared.

Usually, with Captain Qu Mengting here, there wasn’t much to worry about. But now that the Zi Xuan and Zi Lan sisters had been transferred away, they were a little short-handed. Still, Starlight would be joining them in a month.

That would give Tianhai City three A-Rank Magical Girls.

“All right, take care on your way!”

Standing by the reopened doors of the Idol-Style Agency, Bai Xiaoxiao waved goodbye to everyone. With a white backpack on her shoulders, she walked along, humming a cheerful tune.

The house in the city center had already been transferred to someone else. For now, her only option was to go see that brother of hers.

He should be at work at this hour, right? Calling him now might bother him, so she’d sneak over and take a look at his place first.

Li Ming had already given Bai Xiaoxiao the key to the front gate, and the address was precise down to the door number.

Following the directions on her phone, Bai Xiaoxiao hailed a cab. After chatting with the driver for a bit, the car finally started off toward what would soon be her home.

People’s laughter and cheerful voices filled Bai Xiaoxiao’s ears along the way. Watching everyone live happily and healthily beneath the sunlight, she wondered if this was what being a Magical Girl meant.

If they hadn’t dealt with that monster yesterday, how many people would have been left homeless, losing their families and jobs?

After reflecting on it for a while, she finally felt the car slow to a stop at its destination.

After paying the fare, Bai Xiaoxiao stepped out of the car and saw Uncle Li’s house.

The location wasn’t as bustling as her old place in the city center, but the surroundings were much nicer. Most of the homes in this neighborhood were detached villas, and the impressive, luxurious house before her had to be the one.

From the outside, it looked to be at least three or four hundred square meters, and the total floor area inside had to be even larger. The first-floor yard formed a half-circle, with plenty of flowers and plants arranged at the front and a garage for parking off to one side.

Bai Xiaoxiao didn’t have a driver’s license and had never bought a car, so the garage would be no use to her.

Looking up at the impressive three-story villa, she nervously knocked on the door.

She waited a long while, but, as expected, no one answered. Since she’d be living here soon, and her mother had already brought her luggage over, why not take this chance to have a look around?

Still a little nervous, Bai Xiaoxiao took out the key Uncle Li had given her earlier. She lined it up perfectly with the keyhole, turned it, and easily opened the outer gate.

“Don’t be nervous. This is your future home. You’ll be living here sooner or later! You can do it!”

Taking small steps, she closed the gate behind her and opened the front door of the house.

Inside, everything was spotlessly clean and tidy. The owner clearly liked to keep things neat; not a thing was out of place. The trash can even held what looked like milk cartons from that morning. There was a kitchen, a bathroom, and everything else she could need.

The first-floor hall was spacious, with a sofa, a TV, and a dining table. The different areas were set quite far apart, and the bathroom—which could get a little smelly—was in a separate, fairly large room where you could wash up.

A fresh fragrance drifted through the air, like seeds planted in spring sprouting after the rain. It smelled so fresh and youthful that she couldn’t help wondering what kind of air freshener could smell this good.

After looking around the first floor, Bai Xiaoxiao climbed the old-fashioned wooden stairs to the second. The spiral staircase led to rooms that felt quite different from those downstairs.

The second floor seemed to be where a middle-aged man lived. The walls were covered in somewhat retro posters, and even the decorations were mostly in a last-century style.

There wasn’t much to see on the second floor. The living room was huge, quite a bit bigger than the one downstairs, but it had the same sort of things: a TV, an air conditioner, and a sofa.

She was curious about the rooms with their doors closed, but she didn’t want to go poking around and disturb anyone, so she left them alone.

As she headed up the stairs to the third floor, she heard a man speaking before she’d even reached the doorway.

“Yeah, there’s a guy on A site who’s one shot. I just hit him for ninety-eight damage. Get up there and finish him off! Use your pistol, not the sniper!”

The voice belonged to a young man with short black hair and a headset. With his back to her, Bai Xiaoxiao could see his body bobbing up and down. The image from the computer screen was projected into the living room, and from the information displayed, she could tell he was lying. He’d only dealt thirty-two damage, not ninety-eight. Wasn’t he obviously setting his teammate up?

“Nice! I told you to use the pistol!”

He seemed to be talking to his teammates over voice chat. Several voices came through his headset, and they all sounded like men.

Bai Xiaoxiao tried to listen more closely, but the other person seemed to sense someone behind him and suddenly turned around.

“Holy crap?! A cute girl thief!!!”