The next morning, the air in Tokyo was still thick with the scent of damp earth following the rain.
The press hall of the talent agency Mine Mizuho belonged to was packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could trickle through. The frequency of the camera flashes was staggering.
This was because this was the press conference for the debut of “Miss Raven.”
“Regarding the monster suppression operation last night,” Mizuho said, bowing slightly toward the countless lenses, “as you have all seen, I was indeed chosen by a familiar and signed a contract with it. I have become the rookie Magical Girl, ‘Miss Raven.'”
The audience erupted into a localized uproar, and the sound of shutters clicking instantly merged into a continuous drone.
“Ms. Mine! May I ask why you chose to leave the scene immediately after the battle ended last night?” a reporter asked, urgently thrusting a microphone forward.
Mizuho flashed a regretful smile—one that was, of course, entirely rehearsed. “Because it was the first time I manifested my power, my cooperation with my familiar—in other words, my Magical Girl form—was still unstable. There was a risk I might lose control and attack bystanders. Therefore, I chose to leave the scene quickly. After all, protecting your safety is precisely my mission as ‘Miss Raven.'”
Another barrage of shutter clicks followed.
Meanwhile, in a cramped and cheap rental apartment, Luo Yuanqing wrapped himself in a blanket and watched the broadcast of Mine Mizuho’s press conference on his phone.
On the screen, Mizuho was radiant. Her world-weary face, which was identical to his own, had been carefully styled to exude the stoic, ascetic beauty of an unreachable flower.
‘She’s quite the storyteller…’ Yuanqing muttered to himself.
Looking at the woman on the screen who looked exactly like him, Yuanqing suddenly felt as if he were being overwhelmed by some vast and terrifying existence. The world his senses touched began to grow hazy.
At the press conference, a raven sat quietly on Mizuho’s shoulder.
“As Miss Raven’s familiar,” it began, its voice still shrill but doing its best to remain dignified, “from now on, I will also work hard to protect everyone!”
That raven was a clone, created by the familiar using the meager amount of popularity points it had collected the previous night. Although it had almost no actual combat ability, it was more than sufficient as a proof of identity.
“Staring blankly, are we?”
The raven’s shrill voice suddenly rang in Yuanqing’s ear. Without turning his head, Yuanqing replied, “No.”
“Tch, whatever…” The raven shook its body. “My clone is impressive, isn’t it?”
Yuanqing turned his head and found the real Raven perched on the apartment windowsill, preening its feathers. It didn’t even bother to look at him directly.
“It really is quite impressive. It looks no different from your main body over there with her.” Yuanqing went back to looking at his phone.
The raven let the light breeze fill its feathers, making its form look slightly fluffy. “Of course! As long as there are popularity points, there is nothing my feathers cannot do.”
“Mhm…”
Yuanqing gave a perfunctory response, his attention mainly focused on the press conference.
Mizuho smiled and tilted her head slightly, forming a finger heart toward all the cameras. “From now on, while I save everyone as a Magical Girl, I will also continue to pursue my career as an idol. I hope my fans will continue to support me.”
The contrast of the stoic goddess providing fan service made the reporters erupt in excitement once again.
However, Yuanqing didn’t understand idols at all, so he felt nothing.
“Will this really accumulate popularity points and make me stronger?” Yuanqing looked back at the raven.
“Exactly.” After saying that, the raven sighed and shook its head. “Sigh, there’s no helping it. Who told me to sign a contract with you in a moment of error? Now that things have come to this, I can only accept it.”
Yuanqing continued watching his phone. “But things aren’t that different now, are they? Both she and I are playing the role of ‘Miss Raven’ quite well.”
The raven merely lamented as if no one else were there. “As expected, Mizuho suits me better. Since she became ‘Miss Raven,’ I can feel my power surging up continuously! Hahaha!”
Those final few laughs were incredibly noisy.
“Keep it down,” Yuanqing said, grimacing at the noise. “If someone finds you, it won’t be good for either of us.”
The raven turned its head slightly. “…Hmph, it’s your fault for refusing to move.”
“Moving is exhausting, okay? Besides, I can only sleep in my own bed.”
Yuanqing retorted flatly.
To show its unreasonable and feeble protest, the raven simply turned its entire body around, facing away from Yuanqing in silence. Yuanqing, naturally, ignored it.
On his phone screen, various comments in the live chat almost buried the poised Mizuho.
—Little Mizuho is both cute and cool.
—I wish I could lose my memory just to fall for Ms. Mine all over again.
—I hope she can balance being a Magical Girl and an active idol.
And so on.
Yuanqing thought about posting a comment, too, but as he looked at the keyboard, his mind went completely blank. He couldn’t think of anything.
‘Forget it, I won’t post.’
That afternoon, news that “the true identity of the rookie Magical Girl ‘Miss Raven’ is Mine Mizuho” spread across social media platforms. The scale of the reach and the magnitude of the popularity could be seen in the raven’s face—which, though silent, was extremely arrogant.
But whatever the raven felt didn’t affect Yuanqing’s mood right now, because the first payment from Mizuho had arrived. This was a major event.
After shaking off his long-standing bad mood, he decided to end his old memories with a perfect bath and look forward to his beautiful new dreams. It was a perfect plan.
With his long hair draped over the surface of the water, he wiped the steam and water from his hands and opened his phone to send a message to Mizuho.
Yuanqing: “The money arrived. Thanks a lot.”
Mizuho: “No problem. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
Yuanqing: “Raven made a clone for you. Use it to communicate when necessary; it’s surprisingly convenient.”
Mizuho: “Sounds good. I have to go deal with my producer now. Bye.”
Yuanqing: “Bye.”
He put down his phone and continued to enjoy his bath.
After changing into new clothes as a commemoration of his rebirth in every sense, Yuanqing went to a yakiniku restaurant that he had only visited once before.
The smell of grease and grilled meat filled the restaurant, and the place was noisy with voices. No one noticed the young man in the corner who was focused on grilling meat, his long hair covering half his face.
At least, that was what he thought.
“Sir, here are your pork belly and beef short ribs.” The waitress walked over with the plates. The moment she set the meat down, she suddenly froze.
“?”
Yuanqing looked up and met the waitress’s surprised gaze.
“You…” The waitress blinked and looked closer. “Are you… a relative of Ms. Mine?”
For some reason, Yuanqing felt a spark of whimsy. He naturally let out a smile. “A lot of people say that.”
“You look so much like her!” The waitress couldn’t help but raise her voice, drawing the attention of guests at several nearby tables. “Especially the eyes and the placement of the mole… Ah, I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
The waitress bowed and then immediately left, looking back three times with every step she took. She didn’t even give him time to say “it’s okay.”
At that moment, conversation from the neighboring table drifted over.
“That guy really looks like Miss Raven.”
“Could he be her younger brother? I’ve never heard of Mine having any siblings…”
“Maybe it’s just the effect of makeup?”
Yuanqing said nothing and just kept eating his grilled meat.
Right then, a message from Mizuho lit up his phone screen. Yuanqing quickly grabbed the phone and hid it to prevent others from seeing.
Mizuho: “Is Raven not with you? The clone just told me there’s another monster that needs to be suppressed.”
Immediately after, Mizuho sent an address. it was right near this yakiniku restaurant.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
‘I have to go fight monsters in the middle of my meal again?’