Early Monday morning, Ziteng Sayaka opened her eyes in her single dorm room, wearing white pajamas and stretching out on her large bed.
She lazily leaned against the pillow but didn’t go back to sleep.
Waking up early was her habit; once she was awake, she couldn’t fall asleep again.
Due to her unique constitution, she basically never used a blanket regardless of the season.
Her bed was always covered with a cooling mat woven from jade, which was not only comfortable to sleep on but also had the advantages of fast heat conduction and being flame-retardant.
Recently, the Magic Beasts had quieted down a lot, which should have been rare leisure time.
But once she had free time, she always felt a bit aimless.
It wasn’t as satisfying as fighting Magic Beasts.
She had no family, no friends, and with the Magic Beasts quiet, even her colleagues and superiors were unreachable.
However, in the past few days, she had actually made a new friend: Hoshino Gen.
Normally, Ziteng Sayaka kept her distance from any strangers, but no matter what, Hoshino Gen had protected her.
Even more miraculously, Hoshino Gen was immune to her constitution.
Given that, both emotionally and logically, she shouldn’t be so cold to him.
Their conversations gradually increased, though most of the time, Hoshino Gen did the talking, and she was responsible for listening.
Hoshino Gen knew a lot of things, understood all sorts of strange and obscure trivia, which could really open one’s eyes.
Moreover, he often told some corny jokes, brain teasers, and ghost stories, etc.
No matter the genre, he told them well.
In the past few days, Hoshino Gen’s behavior had been completely normal.
Ziteng Sayaka had probed indirectly, but it seemed like he had completely forgotten everything related to Magical Girls. Only then did she completely relax.
She had been bored for two days over the weekend and didn’t even know how she passed the time.
It felt like an eternity.
Thinking that school started today and she could see Hoshino Gen again, for some reason, she felt a little anticipation in her heart.
Just then, Ziteng Sayaka’s backup phone suddenly rang.
The caller was none other than the steward of the Magical Girl League.
Ziteng Sayaka was the captain of a Magical Girl squad, and each steward managed several squads.
Communication between Magical Girls and the Magical Girl League was basically handled by the stewards.
“Why didn’t your squad bring back the energy core of the King-level Beast from the last mission to subdue it?”
The steward on the other end of the phone had a tone of accusation.
Ziteng Sayaka immediately explained, “Because we accidentally completely purified the King-level Beast, so the energy core couldn’t be preserved.”
“Accidentally? How careless do you have to be to destroy something so important?”
“Do you know how rare and precious that research material is? Do you know how much loss your carelessness has caused the League?”
“I…”
Ziteng Sayaka lowered her head, wanting to say something but unable to speak.
The steward continued, “I read your combat report. You’ve been a captain for so many years, yet you can’t even manage a newly promoted Magical Girl. And, as an S-class Magical Girl, you were actually ambushed by a King-level Beast. Where was your combat awareness?”
“If you had managed the team properly, I don’t believe that under your leadership, you couldn’t have handled that King-level Beast and brought the energy core back intact.”
“Ziteng Sayaka, you have disappointed me.”
Ziteng Sayaka stood silently in place, listening quietly, but her slowly tightening fist betrayed her feelings.
I almost died back then.
If Hoshino Hikari hadn’t suddenly been promoted to S-class and erupted with powerful light-attribute magic, forcibly purifying the King-level Beast, we both might have died there.
Yet the steward only cared about whether they retrieved the energy core, without a single word of concern.
Injuries caused by dark energy to Magical Girls weren’t easily healed.
If that mysterious Yeyan hadn’t given her medicine, she estimated she still wouldn’t be able to get out of bed even now.
The League didn’t used to treat the Magical Girls under them like this, absolutely not.
However, in the past two years, the League’s attitude towards them had taken a sharp turn for the worse.
The most noticeable feeling was the tone the stewards used when communicating with them.
“If there’s a next time, no matter the cost, you must bring the energy core back to me, understand?”
Ziteng Sayaka hadn’t spoken, her fist clenching tighter and tighter.
The temperature in the room was quietly rising.
Seeing no reply, the steward almost shouted,
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!”
“Understood.”
Ziteng Sayaka answered mechanically.
“A new King-level Beast will appear soon. You will still lead the team. Be sure to prepare properly.”
With that, the call ended.
Deep breaths, deep breaths…
Ziteng Sayaka closed her eyes, repeating this phrase in her mind over and over.
Her rising body temperature slowly returned to normal.
Shortly after, having adjusted her emotions, Ziteng Sayaka opened her eyes again and looked at the object in her hand—the one Yeyan had left for her just before suddenly disappearing last time.
A rubber band connected end-to-end into a circle, with a small hollow ball tied in the middle.
Yeyan had said this thing could solve her problem of magic going out of control.
Just now, when she was furious, she unconsciously clenched the small ball in her hand, and the result was that she forcibly suppressed her rage.
However, she didn’t know exactly how to use this thing.
It seemed like just holding it in her hand had an effect, which was quite miraculous.
She searched online for things similar to a “ball” but found no clues.
The most similar thing seemed to be a bracelet.
But who in the world had such thick wrists, and who would make a bracelet out of rubber?
It was simply unbelievable.
Maybe I should take it to the classroom and ask Gen when he arrives.
He’s so knowledgeable; perhaps he’ll know the specific use of this thing.
Unconsciously humming a little tune, Ziteng Sayaka arrived at the classroom early to wait for Hoshino Gen.
As soon as Hoshino Gen walked into the classroom, he saw Ziteng Sayaka sitting in her seat, eagerly waving to him as if she had something urgent.
“What’s going on?”
Hoshino Gen asked, puzzled.
“Gen, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
Ziteng Sayaka looked around, noticing only a few people had arrived in the classroom.
Then, she quietly took out that mysterious item and handed it to Hoshino Gen.
“Can you help me see what this thing really is and what it’s used for?”
Hoshino Gen took the object, looked at it in his palm for just a moment, and his eyes widened.
He looked at Ziteng Sayaka, then at the thing in his hand, his expression seeming utterly shocked.
Seeing there might be an answer, Ziteng Sayaka immediately grew excited.
“Gen, as expected of you! You really know how to use this thing!”
However, Hoshino Gen’s expression became very strange, and he asked with an uncertain tone, “You really want to know how this is used?”
“Of course, I do! It’s very important to me. If it’s useful, I might not be able to do without it in the future.”
Ziteng Sayaka nodded vigorously.
“Ah?!”
Hoshino Gen’s expression grew even more shocked, as if he didn’t recognize the person before him.
“Hey, could you stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me?”
Ziteng Sayaka grabbed Hoshino Gen’s arm, shaking it back and forth.
She didn’t even realize that her actions at that moment were like a younger sister acting spoiled with her older brother.
“W-well, I’m really going to say it then.”
Hoshino Gen also looked around the classroom, seeing only a handful of people had arrived, and seemed to relax a bit.
“Just say it, just say it.”
Ziteng Sayaka’s face was full of anticipation.
Hoshino Gen leaned close to Ziteng Sayaka’s ear and told her the true purpose of the item.
Speaking near the ear always carried a warm stream of air, making her ear itch and her heartbeat accelerate slightly.
When the girl clearly heard what Hoshino Gen said, her cheeks flushed bright red in a matter of seconds, red as if they were about to drip blood.