The little lolis seemed to have received the meeting notice as well and set out early for the Association at eight in the morning.
Bai Qiuchen sat in his room clutching his phone, nervously waiting for his friend’s reply.
“Ding-ling” went the notification, and Bai Qiuchen hurriedly opened his phone.
[It’s done.]
“It’s finally ready!”
Bai Qiuchen quickly pulled open the curtains, opened the French window, and rushed onto the balcony.
A small magic circle appeared on the balcony.
Bai Qiuchen pressed his hand onto it, and the magic circle rapidly expanded and unfolded.
Several small magic circles arranged themselves above the large one, like 3D printing.
White round-toed shoes, white over-knee socks, a blue-and-white dress, large silver eyes, white tied-back long hair with asymmetrical side locks—the magical girl Bai Qiu slowly emerged from the magic circle.
Bai Qiuchen took out the Heart Stone and placed it in her bow, and Bai Qiu’s silver eyes lit up.
“I already know everything, so let’s hurry up and get this over with.”
Bai Qiu stretched lazily.
“This is the same one from last time?”
“Yeah, can’t you tell with those shrimp eyes of yours?”
Bai Qiuchen’s smile instantly froze.
‘That’s the vibe, all right—that punchable feeling.’
Bai Qiuchen rolled his eyes and handed over his phone.
“You fly there first, I’ll drive.”
He didn’t want to expose his and Bai Qiu’s setup just yet.
It might affect his grand money-making scheme.
He’d wait until the time was right.
“Yeah, yeah, I got it.”
Bai Qiu took the phone, unlocked it, and checked the messages in the Magic Guild.
“One more thing—this time I only have four hours.”
“When the time’s up, I’ll disappear.”
“That swindler!”
“Blame yourself for being so poor. You get what you pay for, understand?”
Bai Qiu clicked her tongue disdainfully, as if scolding Bai Qiuchen for being so broke.
“Don’t insult me with my own cute face, and you’re insulting both of us at once!”
“Just remember the time limit.”
“I don’t expect you to remember anything else anyway—you’re just a good-for-nothing shut-in NEET~”
Bai Qiu shrugged and flew off, dragging out her words.
Bai Qiuchen stared in the direction Bai Qiu had flown, his clenched hands trembling.
“Why am I so punchable?”
Only when you talk to yourself do you realize how punchable you are.
He really wanted to punch himself.
‘Could it be that the swindler secretly slipped in some of his own quirks?’
‘Yes, that had to be it.’
‘I’m the beloved magical girl Bai Qiu—how could I possibly be that punchable?’
Bai Qiuchen cursed the swindler viciously in his heart once more.
He drove to the Magic Association.
After parking in the free lot downstairs, Bai Qiuchen looked at the building in front of him.
No flashy magical technology, no trace of anything magical-girl-related.
It was just very ordinary—so ordinary that from the outside, you’d never guess this office building was the headquarters of magical girls.
Bai Qiuchen passed through the facial recognition at the entrance.
The first floor was a bright lobby, where he could see many magical girls in all kinds of outfits, with all kinds of pets, gathered in groups.
Magical girls always loved keeping pets, and they always loved having one pet per team.
Bai Qiu had seen some before—like one that looked like a squirrel with a halo on its head, spoke with a bit of an accent, and always rambled things like:
“Come make a contract with me and become a magical girl.”
Or ones that looked like cats but floated, with yellow star patterns on black fur.
These pets looked pretty cute, but the more you looked at them, the more something felt off.
He had no idea where the girls had picked them up.
Some magical girls would even run up to greet him when they saw him.
“Good morning, Teacher Bai!”
“Mm, good morning.”
But he couldn’t remember any of their names at all.
There were just too many magical girls here—he’d mentored at least a thousand if not eight hundred, and he really couldn’t remember that many bizarre names.
Let alone remember both the magical girl name and real name at the same time.
Bai Qiuchen took the elevator to the fourth floor and found the meeting room based on the room number the president had given him.
He knocked on the door, and after getting a response, opened it.
Seeing the scene inside, Bai Qiuchen froze for a moment.
“……You’re all here.”
The people in the room were all familiar faces: He Xi, Nox, Caili, Alice, Zhen Hong, and Bai Qiu.
When the little lolis saw him enter, some widened their eyes, some began whispering with the person next to them, and some stood up directly.
“I didn’t expect it to be Teacher. This is wonderful.”
Zhen Hong clapped her hands happily.
This one was here to welcome him.
Aside from President Lade, everyone else clapped as well.
But for some reason, their movements were somewhat hesitant and puzzled, as if some incomprehensible question was gnawing at their minds.
“Since you’re here, have a seat, Teacher Bai.”
President Lade pointed to the spot beside him.
‘Whoa~~ Sitting next to the president?’
But he couldn’t refuse.
Bai Qiuchen could only steel himself and sit down.
Beside him was Bai Qiu, and across from him were five lolis.
“The main topic of this meeting is about forming your team.”
The surroundings dimmed, and the projector’s image cast behind President Lade.
President Lade interlocked his fingers and placed them at his brow, his glasses reflecting a white light that obscured his eyes.
“You know what forming a team is for, right?”
The little lolis shook their heads.
“Judging from how the seniors are, it should be like an idol group, right?”
He Xi said.
President Lade nodded.
“Teacher Bai, you explain.”
‘I knew it……’
When he first came in and saw the little lolis, his heart had already prepared for this.
Good thing he’d done this kind of thing many times before.
Bai Qiuchen stood up.
“Forming a team is to help magical girls deepen their bonds, train their own abilities, and also respond more efficiently to monsters, the Curse of Calamity.”
“There are many styles and routes to choose from—it doesn’t have to be an idol group.”
“Forming a team depends on personal will. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to join.”
“After forming a team, aside from operating as a group, there’s no difference from before.”
“Each team must choose a captain and a team leader—the captain is responsible for command, the leader for planning and arrangements.”
“If you feel the captain or leader isn’t good or doesn’t suit you, you can communicate with the president to switch teams or leave.”
“The leader is usually a Magic Association staff member, but a small number of teams choose not to have one.”
“The captain is usually the most experienced magical girl on the team.”
“Without a leader, the captain assumes the leader’s duties.”
“That’s the general situation regarding team formation.”
“For more detailed information, the leader and captain will tell you after the team is formed.”
“Clap, clap, clap”—another round of applause.
President Lade pressed his hand down to signal Bai Qiuchen to sit, cleared his throat to interrupt the applause, and took over.
“I plan to give the captain position to Bai Qiu, and the team leader position to Bai Qiuchen.”
“Any objections?”
“??”
Bai Qiuchen and Bai Qiu simultaneously widened their eyes and tilted their heads.
“None~ Bai Qiuqiu and Qiuchen-ge are the perfect match~”
Caili said with a smile.
“Rather, they’re exactly the ones who should hold these two most important positions.”
Alice said elegantly.
“Even I have to concede.”
Nox spread her hands.
“Mm, no objections.”
He Xi nodded.
Zhen Hong nodded with a gentle smile, indicating no objections.
“Then the rest of you may leave.”
“Bai Qiu and Bai Qiuchen, stay to discuss the arrangements going forward.”
“After you return, discuss it with them.”
He Xi stood up, but the others remained seated without moving.
Seeing this, He Xi silently sat back down.
“What’s wrong? Any other questions?”
President Lade looked at them.
No one moved.
“……Um, everyone can go now.”
Bai Qiuchen thought they hadn’t heard, so he said it again.
“Goodbye, President. Goodbye, Teacher~”
This time everyone stood up and said farewell to President Lade and Bai Qiuchen.
But only when saying goodbye to Bai Qiuchen did they have smiles on their faces.
“……Huh?”
Bai Qiuchen looked at everything happening with a bewildered expression, watching them leave the meeting room.
“Teacher Bai really is something special—teaching them to be so obedient.”
“No wonder they only listen to you.”
After the little lolis left, President Lade’s gaze toward Bai Qiuchen became meaningful.
‘These little brats are trying to get me killed!’
“Ahaha, you flatter me.”
“This humble one is merely a junior instructor under the president.”
Bai Qiuchen could only scratch his head and force a smile.
‘This is the cruel adult world—one slip and you’re doomed.’
‘Not only must you guard against your boss, but you must also beware of backstabbing from your own people.’
‘You fear not the boss’s scheming, but your subordinates having a clever little idea.’
Bai Qiu covered her mouth with her hand, struggling to hold back her laughter.
The president glanced at the two of them and said:
“I’d like to remind you of something, but you’re an adult after all, and you have your own family.”
“I trust you know your limits.”
He paused, then continued.
“Let’s talk about your work.”
‘What limits—can you not slander me!’
‘I’m not a lolicon!’
‘And I haven’t even had a first love in real life, what family!’
The projected slides changed.
“Teacher Bai, you’ll be responsible for planning what they do each day, and Bai Qiu will be responsible for executing your arrangements.”
“If possible, Teacher Bai, it’d be best if you planned out each day like a class schedule.”
“Future business activities will also be decided by you.”
“Yes~”
The slides changed again.
“Since this is a new team, it’ll take some time to mesh.”
“The first year, you don’t need to produce results, but training must not be neglected—especially specialized training for each individual.”
“That will require Teacher Bai to arrange based on their situations.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Bai Qiuchen tried his best to appear proactive to make up for the stunt those kids had just pulled.
“But.”
President Lade’s voice deepened.
“Within two years, if you still haven’t produced decent results, you can pack your bags.”
“……Just me leaving?”
Bai Qiuchen tilted his head.
“Yes.”
Bai Qiuchen could roughly guess what the president was thinking—probably because junior instructors were useless now, so he was just finding an excuse to fire him.
“Is there severance pay?”
“You’re not a magical girl.”
“Oh, oh, right, I guess so.”
Bai Qiu suddenly remembered—unlike magical girls who had permanent positions at every rank, junior and intermediate instructors had no tenure.
It wasn’t a stable job.
“………”
‘Well, this is a good thing.’
Bai Qiuchen couldn’t wait to dump this mess on someone else.
He’d rather troll with the trolls in his livestream every day than deal with kids.
After being fired, although his salary would drop by more than half, his work hours would also drop by more than half.
He could transform into Bai Qiu every day and livestream to make money.
‘Livestreaming earns way more than a job, doesn’t it?’
‘If he got fired, his sister wouldn’t be able to say anything either.’
‘No, I can’t laugh yet.’
‘One more year, no, 500 more days, then I’ll announce my escape from suffering.’
Bai Qiuchen forced his face straight, running through every miserable thing that had happened to him just to keep himself from laughing.
President Lade of course had no idea what Bai Qiuchen was thinking.
He continued:
“This is your first time leading a team.”
“If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask the senior teams or come to me.”
“I have a question.”
Bai Qiu immediately raised her hand.
“Why do I have to be the captain?”
“To balance the team’s on-paper strength.”
“Don’t people often say teams of five don’t last long?”
“So I’m arranging you in as the sixth member.”
“Also, Bai Qiu, your enrollment date is the earliest among all magical girls who haven’t formed a team yet.”
‘So I’m a veteran now?’
‘The magical girl industry is doomed.’
“Your professional ability……mm, especially when it comes to online matters—probably no one in the Association understands it better than you.”
‘What’s with that “mm”?’
‘You old geezer, are you insulting me in a roundabout way?’
Bai Qiuchen’s veins bulged on his forehead, but he kept a respectful smile on his face.
“Then what about me? Why make me the team leader?”
Bai Qiuchen asked again.
In his view, there were plenty of people better suited for this position than him.
He knew himself too well—he wasn’t someone good at planning and arrangements.
He was a pure lazybones.
President Lade looked at him, sighed softly, and shook his head.
“I originally wasn’t planning to put you in this role—after all, you don’t seem interested in this kind of thing.”
‘I’m indeed not interested.’
“Then why give it to me in the end?”
“Because you’re the only one who’s taught all five of them, and you’re living together now.”
“And as you can see, they only listen to you.”
At this point, President Lade’s tone became meaningful again.
“………”
Bai Qiuchen silently averted his gaze.
‘Should I call this lucky or unlucky?’
‘Probably unlucky.’
‘More work, and I might get hassled later.’
‘I really need to properly discipline those kids when I get back.’
“If possible.”
President Lade looked at Bai Qiu, who was barely holding it together, then at Bai Qiuchen, who didn’t dare meet his gaze.
“Let Bai Qiu live at your place too—it’ll be more convenient.”
“But it ultimately depends on Bai Qiu’s opinion.”
“To be honest, Bai Qiu is my little sister, and we do live together now.”
“That’s right, he’s my big brother, and I love my good big brother the most~”
Bai Qiuchen took this opportunity to explain his and Bai Qiu’s setup, and Bai Qiu sweetly chimed in at just the right time, affectionately clinging to his arm.
‘Yes, yes, this is exactly how to shape me into a good big brother.’
Bai Qiuchen mentally gave himself a thumbs-up.
‘As expected of something modeled after the real person.’
“So that’s why your names are so similar—you really are siblings.”
This news didn’t cause any waves.
President Lade merely nodded with an “I knew it” expression.
“So, any more questions?”
“Is there a salary?”
Bai Qiuchen and Bai Qiu asked in unison, voicing the question they cared most about.
“There is.”
“Bai Qiu’s salary goes up to 8000, Bai Qiuchen’s to 10000.”
“It can increase further with good performance.”
“This subject accepts the decree and thanks Your Majesty for the heavenly grace!”
“Long live the Emperor, long live, long live~”
The two answered in unison and simultaneously bowed with hands clasped to thank the president for his great kindness.
“Can you two not change how you see me?”
Lade looked at the two crazy siblings speechlessly.