Raven finished answering Sundae’s question, and Sundae was now looking at Raven with eyes full of sheer admiration.
“That’s right! A Magical Girl’s potential is infinite multiplied by two! I’m writing that sentence down!” Sundae was almost jumping for joy.
Raven said, sounding half-touched and half-mocking, “It seems someone finally understands me…”
But Sundae was a bit confused. “Huh?”
Yuan Qing could only put on a fake, calm smile for Sundae. “That’s right. Just as my familiar said, from now on, I will also work hard to balance my dual identity as an idol and a Magical Girl. I believe that hard work can overcome all difficulties.”
“Mhm!” Sundae nodded vigorously.
“I have a question.”
Everyone turned to look. It was Hifumi, and she met Yuan Qing’s incoming gaze head-on.
Yuan Qing maintained his composed smile as much as possible. “Please, go ahead.”
“…” Hifumi was silent for a moment before she spoke. “In your second battle, ‘Crane,’ you used it three times.”
“!” Raven’s movements froze for a split second.
Three times.
When Yuan Qing had hunted the monsters last night, he had indeed used ‘Crane’ three times in a row. however, that was a combat live stream; the camera had been shaking, and the angles were chaotic. It should have been impossible for a normal person to count the specific number of times.
Yet Hifumi had not only counted them but remembered them.
“The angle of exertion was slightly adjusted each time,” Hifumi continued. “The first angle was perfect, but the follow-through was rushed because of the monster’s counterattack. The second and third times were a combo, with a gap of less than 0.5 seconds at the transition.”
“…”
Yuan Qing did not reply, waiting for Hifumi to continue.
Hifumi paused. “I would like to ask, was that 0.3-second gap a deliberate tactical reserve, or a technical flaw that needs improvement?”
The entire room fell silent. Regardless of the reason, no one expected this strongest member of the new generation of Magical Girls to so earnestly seek advice from a newcomer.
Just as Raven was about to speak for Yuan Qing, Yuan Qing opened his mouth.
“It was a tactical reserve. If the combo is too smooth, it becomes easier for the rhythm to be predicted.”
He maintained his smile.
Hifumi nodded slightly. Amidst the astonishment of the crowd, she seriously considered and understood the answer.
Raven also looked at the side of Yuan Qing’s face in surprise. ‘Hey… you…’
“Please spar with me,” Hifumi suddenly blurted out, bowing deeply at the same time. “The venue and time are your choice. I want to experience your talent for myself.”
—
The clone repeated those exact words to Mizuho.
“What?” Mizuho sat up abruptly. “There’s no way he’d agree to such an impossible challenge, right?”
The clone was silent for a while, clearly confirming the situation on-site.
“…He agreed,” the clone said.
Mizuho froze for a few seconds before saying each word individually: “He—a—greed?”
“Yeah, right, I think so.” Raven was also stunned.
“How could he just… That’s Kazama Hifumi! One of the strongest Magical Girls in the Tokyo Area! What if he loses…”
“If he loses, then he loses,” the clone said, tilting its head. “He isn’t the real ‘Miss Raven,’ anyway. If he loses, you’re the one who loses face.”
Mizuho went silent.
‘That’s right.’
‘If he loses, it’s Mine Mizuho who loses face.’
She suddenly felt even angrier.
She sat back down on the sofa and picked up her phone, wanting to send a message to Yuan Qing. She typed a few words and deleted them, then typed a few more and deleted them again.
Mizuho: “Are you serious?”
A few seconds later, Yuan Qing replied.
Yuan Qing: “Yeah.”
Just one word.
Mizuho stared at that “Yeah” for a long time.
The clone leaned over to take a peek. “Just that?”
“Just that.”
“Aren’t you going to reply with something else?”
Mizuho thought about it and sent another message: “Kazama Hifumi is very strong.”
This time, the reply came even faster.
“I know.”
Mizuho was speechless.
She threw her phone onto the sofa and leaned back, collapsing against the backrest. “What on earth is he thinking…”
—
After replying to the message, Yuan Qing tucked his phone back into his pocket. He still maintained his smile, looking as relaxed as if nothing were wrong.
‘What on earth are you thinking?’ Raven stood on his shoulder, leaning close to his ear to whisper the question.
Yuan Qing didn’t answer, only scanning his surroundings with the corner of his eye.
The gazes of those Magical Girls—surprise, excitement, anticipation, worry—were a mix of various emotions, but they all had one thing in common: everyone was looking at him.
No, they were looking at “Miss Raven.”
Phones were already being held up. Some were recording videos, some were typing, and some had directly started live streaming. Yuan Qing could even hear low exclamations coming from the corners.
“Oh my god, Miss Kazama is going to spar with her!”
“Quick, tell the others to come watch!”
“This has to be the biggest news today!”
‘News.’
‘That’s exactly what I want.’
Raven felt the muscles on his shoulder tighten slightly and then relax. It suddenly understood something.
“Raven, let’s make a bet,” Yuan Qing whispered. “If I win, you aren’t allowed to nag me anymore.”
“What?”
Before Raven could fully react, Kazama Hifumi straightened up, her gaze looking at him calmly. “Then, the venue will be the practice field in the backyard of the clubhouse. Is that okay?”
“It is,” Hifumi said, immediately striding toward the practice field. “Now?”
Yuan Qing smiled slightly. “Now.”
The surrounding Magical Girls were in a complete frenzy.
“It’s starting now?”
“Quick! Go grab a spot!”
“I’m going to live stream this! It’s the duel of the century!”
The crowd began to surge. Some ran toward the back door, some were still frantically typing messages where they stood, and some had already opened their live-streaming apps to start warming up.
Sundae struggled to squeeze to the very front, her small face flushed red. “Miss Mine and Senior Kazama, you both have to do your best!”
Yuan Qing followed Hifumi toward the backyard.
Raven lay on his shoulder, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. “Are you crazy? Fighting now? Just for a bet so I’ll stop nagging you?”
“That’s right.”
“What do you mean ‘that’s right’? Do you know what level Kazama Hifumi is at? She’s…”
“I know, but haven’t you noticed?” Yuan Qing interrupted it, his gaze sweeping over the Magical Girls holding up their phones. “They’re helping us spread popularity points.”
Raven was dumbfounded. It took a while before it could speak. “You don’t plan on relying on these new popularity points…”
Among the Magical Girls at the practice field, some had even started live streaming already, with all sorts of headlines—
[Shocking! Kazama Hifumi Duels Miss Raven!]
[Sudden Incident at the Tea Party! The Strongest New Gen Challenges a Newcomer!]
[Miss Raven Accepts the Challenge! Live Stream Starting Now!]
The comment section was already being flooded.
—”Kazama Hifumi? That Kazama Hifumi? Miss Raven is going to get destroyed…”
—”Don’t talk nonsense, Miss Raven is super strong!”
—”Hehe, I want to see blood…”
Raven felt its feathers trembling.
‘What else is this if not popularity points? What else is this if not power?’
Hifumi was warming up.
Yuan Qing also did a somewhat half-hearted warm-up. Hifumi stopped her movements when she saw it.
“Your warm-up posture is not standard,” she corrected.
“It’s fine,” Yuan Qing, playing the role of Mizuho, smiled slightly. “It’s enough.”
Hifumi didn’t speak again. The two of them stood on opposite sides of the practice field, about 20 meters apart, surrounded by various noises.
Their gazes met in the air; the sunlight was just right.
A breeze brushed past, stirring Hifumi’s black hair and Yuan Qing’s long hair.
There were no words.
There were no movements.
Sunlight, breeze, and a locked gaze.
The surrounding sounds gradually quieted down. The Magical Girls holding their phones, those preparing to stream, those ready to scream, and those ready to cheer—all of them felt something at this moment.
There was no warning.
There was no waste.
A shadow, a fierce wind, and a sprint.
20 meters.
A white light suddenly exploded around Hifumi’s body. In the light, her tracksuit transformed into a silver-white combat suit, and a slender, cold blade condensed in her hand.
But around Yuan Qing, there was only pitch black.
An overwhelming surge of crow feathers billowed out from him. Black robes took shape amidst the feathers, and wings unfolded behind his back.
Those crow feathers even surged toward Hifumi, swirling and probing at the edge of her white light before retracting.
5 meters.
3 meters.
1 meter. All movement seemed to freeze for a moment, as if a low tremor was echoing from their core.
Two silhouettes crossed in the center of the courtyard, white light and crow feathers exploding simultaneously.