The little lolis who had gone home early gathered in Jiu’s room.
Each of them held a cup of hot cocoa that Li Ai had prepared, sitting in a circle around the small round table on the floor.
“Did everyone see that? Teacher and Senior appeared at the same time!”
Jiu spoke first, still wearing an expression of disbelief.
The others were much the same.
The simultaneous appearance of Bai Qiuchen and Bai Qiu had dealt them a considerable shock, no less than an asteroid striking the Jurassic period.
This phenomenon indicated that all their previous deductions were wrong.
Bai Qiuchen and Bai Qiu were not the same person at all.
A dark cloud called failure loomed over their heads.
The little lolis’ moods were visibly low.
“How is this possible, wuu~~”
Shang Mengyou sprawled on the table, clutching her head with both hands and letting out a wail, her usual laziness gone without a trace.
“It should have been double the happiness…”
“Qiuchen-ge and Bai Qiuqiu should have been the same person. I should’ve been able to make him turn into whichever one I wanted, and I could’ve teased her with that, wuu~~”
“But Teacher and Senior aren’t the same person after all. Sigh, how could this be…”
Li Ai’s finger traced circles on the table, her golden hair covering her downcast crimson eyes and revealing a look of disappointment and unwillingness.
“I think there’s no need to be so pessimistic, though.”
Alice set down her cup, looking perfectly composed.
“Little Alice…?”
Everyone looked at the dignified Alice with confusion.
“Senior and Teacher appearing at the same time doesn’t prove anything. After all, Senior has never shown her『Miracle』, has she?”
Alice carefully laid out her thoughts.
“Suppose our earlier deduction was correct—that Teacher and Senior are the same person. Is it only us who discovered Senior’s true identity?”
“Could it be that other magical girls who know the truth are using『Miracle』to help Senior?”
“Even if it’s not other magical girls helping Senior, could it be that Senior herself used her own『Miracle』? Though that possibility is slim.”
“Furthermore, I believe everyone felt it—that Senior… may not be the real Senior.”
Alice was right.
Not just her, but all of them could faintly sense that there was an indescribable oddness about Bai Qiu.
But none of them could grasp that elusive feeling.
“That does make some sense…”
Jiu nodded thoughtfully.
Bai Qiu was famously weak.
When fighting monsters, she could only rely on the “outlast the old man” tactic, and no one had ever seen her『Miracle』.
Some said her『Miracle』only triggered when she was on the verge of death.
However, this theory had already been disproven by Bai Qiu being beaten to near-death by monsters time and time again without it ever triggering.
Some said her『Miracle』was [Undying Body].
After all, she was so tough and was always pulled back from the brink of death.
If she didn’t have an undying body, no one would dare fight like that.
But Bai Qiu had never directly responded to this, only saying that she was rather tough.
Although it did look like [Undying Body], there was no direct evidence that she couldn’t die.
Still others said she was hiding her true strength.
They claimed that her『Miracle』was actually so powerful that a casual strike could destroy the world.
To protect the world, she supposedly suppressed most of her power, which was why she seemed so weak.
Of course, this theory was posted in the “Magical Girl Joke Compendium” group chat and mocked two hours after it was proposed.
What Bai Qiu’s『Miracle』actually was, only she herself knew.
She also guarded her『Miracle』like a treasured secret, refusing to let anyone else know.
This led to more and more speculation about her ability and more and more curiosity about what it actually was.
As a result, in her livestream, one could often see someone send a Super Chat asking:
“Streamer, Streamer, what exactly is your ability?”
At times like that, she would say:
“Come on, open a membership and I’ll tell you.”
Then the bullet comments would flood with:
“Don’t open it, don’t open it, she’s lying to you.”
When a viewer actually did open a membership, she would say:
“The streamer’s ability is『Sorrowful Army Will Win』.”
“The sorrowful army will win, the winning army will be arrogant, the arrogant army will lose, and the losing army will be sorrowful.”
“So the streamer can only fight one monster at a time, and after beating one monster, I get beaten up by the next monster for several hours first. Understand?”
Then the entire livestream would fill with bullet comments like [Deaf Again] and [Dragon Emperor Conquer], presenting a flourishing scene.
“But why has no one ever noticed anything from the other Seniors?”
Jiu murmured to herself.
“Because the Seniors might be just like us…”
Alice didn’t finish her sentence.
Even without saying it, everyone understood what she meant.
Everyone exchanged a glance.
Even without words, they understood each other’s thoughts.
‘We must be on guard against sneaky cats.’
‘Senior can only be ours… no, only mine!’
“How about we just tie Teacher up and interrogate him?”
Shang Mengyou’s tone had lost its laziness.
She was seriously considering this.
“N-No!”
Jiu slapped the table, agitated to the point of shouting sharply.
“We can’t do something like that, otherwise we’d be betraying our original intentions!”
“I think Teacher would actually be excited to be tied up by beautiful girls.”
“Why is even Li Ai-chan saying that…!”
Jiu’s reproachful gaze stabbed toward Li Ai, who merely smiled gently.
“That method is obviously not viable.”
Alice declared.
“Otherwise, wouldn’t it let Teacher know that we know his true identity?”
“I’ve already installed surveillance in Teacher’s room.”
“As long as we watch him transform once, we’ll know.”
The previously silent Xilalite placed her tablet at the center of the round table.
The screen displayed Bai Qiuchen’s room from more than one angle.
The magical girl Bai Qiu’s outfit hanging on the clothes rack was visible.
“Well done.”
Everyone gave a thumbs-up.
The little lolis, having decided on this method of verification, chatted idly while waiting for Bai Qiuchen to come home and enter his room.
“Come look.”
On the tablet screen, Bai Qiuchen was standing in his room, looking at the outfit on the wall.
“Will Teacher… transform…?”
Jiu was so nervous that she gripped Alice’s hand tightly with both of hers.
And then…
“…………”
Under the little lolis’ gaze, Bai Qiuchen directly transformed from a grown man into a white-haired, silver-eyed little loli.
“…Teacher really doesn’t guard against anything at all.”
Li Ai spoke with what seemed like both relief and helplessness.
The doting smile at the corner of her lips was impossible to suppress.
The others also breathed a sigh of relief at the sight.
The deduction was correct.
Teacher and Senior were the same person.
“But we still need to figure out who’s behind Teacher.”
Now that it was confirmed that Bai Qiu and Bai Qiuchen were the same person, the most important thing was to find out who was behind him, helping him appear simultaneously as Bai Qiu.
“You’re right~”
“I’ll look into the Seniors’ abilities in the Association afterward.”
Li Ai nodded.
Starting the investigation directly from the ability side was the simplest approach.
“They definitely communicate. I’ll install more surveillance so that person has nowhere to hide!”
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The door was suddenly knocked on.
“Ah, coming.”
Jiu got up to answer the door.
Upon opening it, the one standing outside was none other than Bai Qiu.
Bai Qiu peeked inside and let out a sigh of relief.
“What the heck, I was wondering why no one was in the other rooms. So you were all here.”
“Senior, is something wrong?”
Jiu stepped aside to let Bai Qiu in.
But Bai Qiu remained standing outside the door and said:
“I came to let you know that my brother is rather busy, so from now on I’ll be the one coordinating things.”
“Huh? O-Oh, okay. Is there anything else?”
The little lolis who knew everything said nothing.
Even Xilalite, who wanted to cause trouble, was held back by Alice at this moment.
“There’s more.”
Bai Qiu looked at them with reproach in her eyes.
“Do you know how much trouble you caused for my brother?”
“Remember this: the Guild Master is the one on top.”
“Don’t pull today’s stunt again, or I’ll have to teach you a lesson on my brother’s behalf.”
Although she couldn’t beat them at all, the tough talk still had to be said.
“…Oh.”
The little lolis responded without enthusiasm.
Who knew if they would actually listen?
Bai Qiu didn’t know what else to say either, so she could only move on to the next topic.
“Mm… then let me first go over tomorrow’s arrangements.”
Bai Qiu beckoned them to come out.
The group followed Bai Qiu to the living room.
After everyone sat down, Bai Qiu stood opposite them and said:
“Old… cough, since the Guild Master put me in charge as team leader, it’s probably considering my influence on the internet.”
“In that case, let’s start with livestreaming.”
“That’s Bai Qiuqiu’s specialty~ Bai Qiuqiu is indeed the solo magical girl with the highest follower count~”
After excluding group accounts, Bai Qiu’s account was the solo magical girl account with the highest follower count, directly surpassing second place by over a million.
“Keep it low-key, keep it low-key.”
Despite saying that, the smugness on Bai Qiu’s face was almost impossible to hide.
“Ahem, first let’s talk about what you can all do.”
“Sleeping~”
“No sleeping during livestreams.”
“Wuu~~”
Shang Mengyou hung her head.
Her only advantage was gone just like that.
“I know swordsmanship. Lots of swordsmanship.”
Jiu rarely volunteered, raising her hand with an eager expression.
“Pass. Useless moves that can only cut apples. No livestream appeal.”
“Wh-That’s, that’s not true! They’re not useless moves that can only cut apples!”
Jiu’s face flushed red with indignation.
She reached toward her waist to draw her blade and demonstrate.
Unfortunately, her blade was a magical item.
Without transforming, she didn’t have it, so she only grasped at air.
“Wuu…”
Jiu hung her head.
Li Ai affectionately patted Jiu’s head.
“I can cook. I could livestream teaching viewers how to cook.”
“That’s a decent ability, but compared to livestreaming cooking, making videos would clearly be more effective. So, pass.”
Li Ai wore a stricken expression and patted Jiu’s head even harder.
“Um… etiquette?”
Alice tilted her head.
“People don’t watch livestreams to attend class. Even if the teacher is a beautiful girl, it’s still a no.”
“Magic!”
Xilalite said excitedly.
“Viewers don’t know magic, and they’ve already seen plenty of it in daily life.”
Total wipeout.
“They’re just a bunch of kids after all.”
Bai Qiu wore an “I knew it” expression, displaying the arrogance of an adult through her petite frame.
“Try to learn from me, okay?”
“Your Senior here, I’m someone who can make livestreaming flourish even while working. Can anyone else do that?”
This feeling of stepping on others from above—it was just so satisfying!
Usually, because she couldn’t beat them at fighting monsters, she was always a step below them.
Now that there was finally one thing she was better at, of course she had to be wildly arrogant.
‘The strong exist to humiliate the weak!’
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Jiu gave a token round of applause.
“Ouch!”
Xilalite knocked Jiu on the head, and Jiu held her head with teary eyes.
“So then, Senior, what should we do?”
Xilalite looked at her with some dissatisfaction.
“Since you can’t do anything, then let’s not rush the livestream.”
“First, practice simple talents like singing and dancing.”
“No need to rush—slow work produces fine results. Even practicing for a year or two is fine. There’s plenty of time anyway.”
“Are you looking down on us?”
Xilalite stood up and confronted her.
“Something like this needs a year or two?”
Bai Qiu was stunned for a moment, instinctively thinking:
‘How did she see through me?’
But she immediately denied it.
‘No, that’s not it. I just want to find a suitable opportunity to run away, and I’m not looking down on them either.’
“I’m not looking down on you. It’s just that you can’t do anything.”
Bai Qiu just wanted to get her other self fired, which was why she was trying every way to deny them.
If they started livestreaming, that would be disastrous.
Who knew how high their popularity would soar?
Even just sitting there spacing out would surely draw a huge audience.
The title of “the five most popular magical girls of the newest generation” wasn’t just for show.
For the sake of her glorious escape plan, making the cute juniors suffer a little was only reasonable.
‘As long as I get fired, even my sister won’t be able to say anything then.’
“Xiao Xi.”
Li Ai tugged at her skirt.
“Senior is right. We really can’t do anything.”
“Be good. This is for your own good too.”
Bai Qiu stood on her tiptoes and poked Xilalite’s forehead.
“You don’t want any accidents at your debut either, right?”
“Nn…”
Xilalite deflated like a pufferfish, quickly wilting and obediently sitting back down.
“Well—that’s about it.”
“Figure out what to do during this time yourselves.”
“When the time is right, I’ll organize… I’ll have my brother arrange the next step.”
“Until then, do whatever you want.”
“That’s it. Don’t come find me unless it’s important.”
Bai Qiu ruffled her hair, yawned, and prepared to go back to her room to livestream.
‘Might as well promote myself while I’m at it.’
‘In the future, I might even be able to earn a fortune off their fans.’
‘Another step closer to early retirement.’
“Senior doesn’t like being with us…”
“We really are just a bunch of troublesome kids…”
Alice murmured softly, her dark golden hime cut covering her heterochromatic eyes, her head lowered and both hands clutching her ornate long dress tightly.
Although her voice was very quiet, Bai Qiu still heard it.
Bai Qiu’s body stiffened.
Her legs, which had wanted to leave directly, involuntarily stopped in place.
Only then did she notice four pairs of eyes with differing emotions looking at her.
Some were anxious, some sad, some dissatisfied, and some waiting.
“D-Don’t look at me like that…”
Bai Qiu wanted to escape, but no matter where her gaze drifted or what she did, the four pairs of eyes remained locked firmly on her.
“I-I know already…”
Bai Qiu sighed helplessly.
Even the most heartless person would find it hard to refuse them looking like this.
“I promise you, my brother and I will watch you practice, and when you’ve practiced to a level we think is acceptable, we’ll let you have your debut.”
“As long as you’re willing to work hard, that time will come sooner.”
“Sigh… feels like it’s still the idol routine in the end.”
Bai Qiu muttered under her breath with a pout.
Probably because idols and internet celebrities had a lot in common.
“Then shouldn’t we say that thing at a time like this?”
Li Ai suddenly said with a smile.
“That thing?”
“Form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever.”
Li Ai extended her hand.
“That’s right, form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever!”
Jiu’s hand stacked on top.
“Honestly.”
Xilalite wore a “what am I going to do with you all” expression as she stacked her hand on top.
“Form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever. There, satisfied?”
“Xiao Xi is such a tsundere~”
Shang Mengyou stacked her hand on top.
“Form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever~”
“Form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever.”
Alice raised her head, wearing a smile that said her scheme had succeeded, and stacked her hand on top.
Then, everyone looked at Bai Qiu.
‘Do I have to do it too?’
Bai Qiu pointed at herself.
Even without them answering, she knew the answer.
‘Saying such heavy lines at this age really doesn’t suit my style at all.’
‘By the way, is my other self excluded from this?’
‘Whatever. A girls’ group is fine too. It’s all me anyway, more or less the same.’
“Form a team for a lifetime. Everyone stays together forever.”
Bai Qiu placed her hand on top.
“One, two, three—”
Everyone’s hands shot up high, and Li Ai’s voice fell.
“…………”
The atmosphere suddenly fell into a strange and awkward silence.
The hands stopped midair, unmoving.
“Speaking of which, we never considered this before.”
Bai Qiu awkwardly shifted her gaze to the distance.
“What should our slogan be?”
“Also… what should our team name be?”
The others all looked away evasively.
Seeing this, Bai Qiu knew they were just like her.
They were all terrible at naming things.
“Fine, fine. Then it’s up to me.”
Bai Qiu held her phone above her head.
The others understood her meaning, gathering around her and summoning their『Heart Stones』to transform.
“Come on, look at the camera.”
“Yay~~”
Everyone struck a pose.
Click—the first group photo appeared on the screen.
“At a time like this, we should rely on the power of the masses.”
Bai Qiu posted on her account:
[We’ve formed a team! We’re now recruiting team names and slogans. Please leave the names and slogans you think are good in the comments. We’ll pick one from the ones with the most likes~]
[PS: No joke or troll submissions, or else be careful—a righteous magical girl might show up at your door at night and summon her fist in attack position.]
“That last line really wasn’t necessary, Senior.”
He Xi smiled.