When Hui Jin was gently placed on a chair in the second-floor lobby of the hospital by the intertwined vines, four people surrounded her.
Sakura Blizzard and Jie Geng sat beside her, while Xia Che and Feizuan sat side by side across from her.
Hui Jin scowled at the two who dared not meet her eyes.
“Hey, look at me! You two did something bad and don’t have the guts to own up to it!”
Feizuan lowered her head, hands on her knees, not daring to say a word.
Xia Che, on the other hand, dared to look at Hui Jin, but his gaze kept wandering over her body.
How should I put it…
Jie Geng’s binding method was pretty…
Erotic, accentuating the girl’s beautiful curves perfectly.
“Where are you looking?!”
Hui Jin gritted her teeth in anger, but her legs were bound, so she couldn’t kick him.
The caught Xia Che coughed guiltily and averted his gaze.
“So, this was your plan? Using Feizuan as bait to have the Task Force ambush me? And here I thought I had prepared myself mentally—is this how you repay me, huh?”
Hui Jin demanded.
“Speak!”
Feizuan flinched in fright.
It was the first time she had seen Hui Jin speak so sternly. She pouted and said in a small voice,
“I’m sorry, Senior Hui Jin…”
“Alright, alright.”
Sakura Blizzard leaned in with a smile.
“Miss Hui Jin, don’t blame them. This was led by the Task Force. If it weren’t for Mr. Xia, we might have taken more aggressive measures, you know?”
Hui Jin stared at her coldly.
“Even if you bring me back to the Task Force, what can you do? Without the hero’s own consent, you can’t force registration, right?”
As she spoke, she tried to gather magic at her fingertips to cut the vines.
But after cutting for a while, she only made a small cut, and the vines healed.
Although her magic control was precise, her intensity was too low.
Her E-rank overall ability stats really held her back.
“That’s true, but we really just wanted to create an opportunity to talk, okay?”
Sakura Blizzard blinked her cherry-pink eyes.
“After all, Miss Hui Jin was resistant to communicating with us, so we had no choice. We really need you.”
“If after hearing our proposal you still don’t want to join, we won’t stop you from leaving.”
“Um, Miss Hui Jin, I’m very sorry.”
Jie Geng, who had been silent, spoke up.
Her voice was soft, like her appearance—a very gentle girl.
“It’s our mission, we can’t help it…”
“…”
Hui Jin looked at Jie Geng, momentarily speechless.
Outside the window, a black bird swiftly flew low and disappeared into the rain.
True, even magical girls are just employees of the Task Force.
Why should workers make things hard for other workers?
“Alright, I don’t blame you. Since you’re just carrying out a mission, finish it quickly… but I will never join the Task Force.”
Xia Che pretended to look at the rain, but his gaze “accidentally” swept over certain parts of Hui Jin’s body outlined by the vines.
‘If Hui Jin found out that Sakura Blizzard took this mission just for fun out of boredom, she’d probably be furious…’
He thought, propping his chin on his hand.
“I-I need to go to the bathroom…!”
Jie Geng suddenly said in a trembling voice.
She stood up abruptly, her movements somewhat awkward.
It seemed she had been holding it in for a while, but because everyone was talking, she hadn’t had a chance to speak.
Now that she’d gotten a word in, she finally said it, as if she had made a huge decision.
“Okay.”
Sakura Blizzard smiled and watched the girl trot away, then turned back to Hui Jin.
“Joining the Task Force not only means a stable job, but also official status. You’ll receive rewards for every monster subjugation.”
“Miss Hui Jin’s stats may be low, but you have rich combat experience. If you fight monsters often, it’s a considerable income!”
“I don’t need that much money,” Hui Jin shook her head.
“Becoming a registered hero means exposing myself to the public eye, and that’s not what I want.”
Sakura Blizzard looked thoughtful, which, combined with her bewitching aura, gave her a charming contrast.
“So you’re worried about your identity being exposed? No need to worry about that. The Task Force has a high level of confidentiality for magical girls’ identities.”
She raised a finger and blinked.
“So far, not a single magical girl’s identity has been leaked!”
Hui Jin was noncommittal.
That line sounded too much like a flag.
“These alone can’t convince me. And besides, I’ve already decided to retire,” Hui Jin declared.
“Huh? Retire?”
Sakura Blizzard looked very surprised.
“But you performed so well in the fight just now. Look, look… your name is trending, even higher than Feizuan’s before.”
Feizuan, who was already feeling down, swayed slightly as if struck.
Xia Che patted her shoulder to comfort her.
“That’s exactly why I want to retire,” Hui Jin sighed helplessly.
“If your superiors ask, just say ‘Magical Girl Hui Jin chooses to retire due to personal reasons.’ That’s it.”
As soon as she finished, she met Feizuan’s teary eyes.
“Uh…”
“Senior Hui Jin, are you retiring?”
Feizuan looked like a pitiful puppy, her rain-soaked hair drooping like ears.
“Is it because of me…”
“Guh… no…”
Hui Jin, who had been expressionless, suddenly became flustered.
She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say.
‘Making her daughter cry twice in two days—some father I am…’
Nearby, Sakura Blizzard was first surprised, then a smile curled at the corners of her lips.
She covered her mouth as if she had discovered something amazing.
“Hoho~?”
‘I didn’t expect Feizuan to be so important to Hui Jin. Mr. Xia was right.’
‘If I use this point…’
Meanwhile, Feizuan was still going strong.
Teardrops as big as beans fell down, as if she had suffered a huge grievance.
“But, but I don’t want Senior Hui Jin to retire… Before, when there was no news from you, I was so afraid I’d never see you again…”
“Senior Hui Jin, Senior Hui Jin! Boohoo… Please don’t leave, okay?”
Hui Jin had never seen her daughter so heartbroken.
Even during their argument yesterday, Ye Xiao Chi was more angry.
“Alright, alright… Please stop crying, okay?”
Hui Jin tried to soothe the girl, but she really didn’t know how to comfort someone, and she didn’t understand why she was so important to her daughter.
“…I’m not that important, am I?”
She said words similar to what she had said to Ye Qianqiu.
“That’s not true!”
Feizuan suddenly looked up, tears splashing.
“Senior Hui Jin is not an unimportant person!”
To her, Hui Jin was a very reliable senior.
And from the first time she saw her, she felt close to her.
Just being near Hui Jin made her feel at ease.
How should she put it?
The feeling Hui Jin gave her… was like a mother?
For no reason, she wanted to rely on her, to act spoiled in her arms, to do things she couldn’t do with her mother…!
‘Senior Hui Jin, I’m sorry, but I absolutely cannot let you escape!’
‘So, even if I use a little trick, it can be forgiven, right?’
Feizuan wiped her tears while secretly glancing at Xia Che beside her, using her hand as cover.
The boy quickly blinked at her in confirmation.
On the way to Rain City Second People’s Hospital, Xia Che asked Feizuan this.
“Feizuan, do you really not want Hui Jin to retire?”
Feizuan nodded heavily.
“Yes, of course! If I can get Senior Hui Jin to stay, I’ll do anything!”
‘I see. So that’s what Xiao Chi is thinking.’
‘Even though I feel apologetic and guilty toward Hui Jin, since it’s Xiao Chi’s wish…’
‘—Xia Che can do anything for Xiao Chi.’
“Just go up and cry. She can’t handle it,” he said.