“A Magical Girl’s tea party,” Mizuho immediately remembered what that meant. “To put it simply, it’s a gathering where many Magical Girls come together to socialize, right?”
“Exactly,” Sundae nodded. “This tea party is specifically themed around you—or rather, Miss Raven.”
Mizuho raised an eyebrow slightly. “A tea party themed around me? Is it a welcome party?”
Sundae pursed her lips and thought for a moment. “Um… I suppose you could put it that way? I’m not entirely sure myself.”
She answered quite sincerely, which put Mizuho somewhat at ease. But then, a problem arose.
“Then, may I ask what I need to prepare?” Mizuho asked.
‘I hope that’s all it is,’ she prayed silently. If it was just showing her face, drinking a few cups of tea, and signing some autographs…
“You don’t need to prepare anything; just showing up is enough! However, since it is themed around you, you might need to show off your Familiar and your transformation.”
Then, Sundae completely shattered Mizuho’s wishful thinking.
Showing off the Familiar was one thing — a clone could probably fake that — but a transformation? Only Mr. Luo, who had signed the Magical Girl contract with Raven, could do that.
Mizuho couldn’t help but imagine a scene with Yuan Qing. Although he looked exactly like her, he was significantly taller, had a much deeper voice, and was a size larger. The thought of him playing her role in front of everyone was daunting.
“I see, I understand,” Mizuho said. She felt a chill run down her spine at the thought, but she maintained her composure. “I’ll clear my schedule and arrive on time the day after tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much!” Toward the end, Sundae’s voice became tense and high-pitched from nerves. “Well then, goodbye!”
With that, she practically fled, closing the apartment door behind her without even giving Mizuho time to say “goodbye” back.
It was a little awkward.
“Sigh.” Mizuho shook her head and sighed. The smile remained on her face, but it instantly turned into a look of helplessness. “Oh boy, this is really…”
The clone fluttered onto Mizuho’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? It’s just a tea party, isn’t it? Just go!”
“Oh dear…” Mizuho shook her head with a look of distress. She walked over to the sofa and sat down, then slumped over. The Raven on her shoulder flew off to the side. “Showing off the Familiar is fine, but Miss Raven’s transformation can only be performed by the actual contractor. That means Mr. Luo has to play my part in front of everyone that day.”
The clone tilted its head. “Then can’t we just let him go? You two look the same anyway, and it’s easy for me to use illusions so people won’t notice the difference. Who knows? Maybe a senior Magical Girl will discover his talent and give him special training.”
“That’s the problem,” Mizuho said, pressing a hand to her forehead in exasperation. “He’d have to use my face and my voice while performing those idol poses I usually do — all in front of a crowd. Do you really think he can handle that?”
The clone also imagined Yuan Qing’s perpetually sleepy face trying to pull off an idol-style smile.
“…That would be a bit difficult.” The clone shuddered.
“Right?”
“Then should we not let him go? But if we keep him away from the Magical Girl circle like this,” Raven tilted its head in confusion, “what about his talent? Someone has to discover him, right?”
Mizuho pulled her phone from her pocket. “There’s no other way. This tea party is too significant, especially since it’s themed around me. I can’t turn it down. And if we’re going, he’s the only option.”
Raven also shook its head. “We’ll just have to play it by ear.”
Mizuho was already typing. Consequently, Yuan Qing, who was just about to fall asleep, was woken up again by the notification sound.
“What is it now…?” A bit of his hometown dialect slipped out in his grogginess.
Yuan Qing fumbled for his phone, squinting at the screen before suddenly throwing off the covers and sitting up. “…What does this mean?”
“Ah, that’s right. A tea party,” Raven said. It had already received the news through the clone — or rather, Raven and the clone were one and the same. “This will be your first appearance in the Magical Girl circle. If you perform well, Miss Raven’s popularity will skyrocket. Don’t worry about being exposed; one of my abilities is managing illusions.”
When dealing with the deer monster earlier, Raven had already altered Yuan Qing’s voice.
Yuan Qing complained, “You make it sound so easy, but I’ve never been an idol. How am I supposed to perform well?”
After speaking, he fell back onto the bed in a huff, grabbing the blanket and covering half his head.
To soothe Yuan Qing’s minor tantrum, Raven hurried to explain, “You don’t need to act like an idol! You just need to play Miss Raven! Have some confidence! You’re the one I chose!”
“Fine, I’ll go. I have no choice — it’s for the money, anyway…” Yuan Qing’s voice was muffled through the blanket. He was already acting like a total slacker.
But Raven was not happy about that.
“Money? Who’s talking to you about that!” Raven stomped twice on the mound of blankets where Yuan Qing was hiding. Its weight felt slightly oppressive. “There are many things in this world that cannot be measured by money, and your talent is one of them!”
Raven spread its wings, catching the dim light from the window and casting a giant shadow across the rental room.
“…”
However, there was still only dead silence from under the blanket.
“Hey!” Raven grew anxious and pecked at the gap in the blanket with its beak. “Alright! It was my fault for only thinking about Mizuho’s popularity! But didn’t you promise me you’d fight monsters and save the world?”
The blanket finally moved.
Yuan Qing slowly pulled back a corner, revealing one eye that was exhausted to the point of collapse, and looked at the agitated Raven on the nightstand. “You’re so annoying.”
“How am I annoying?” Raven hopped up and down in frustration.
Yuan Qing squirmed and prepared to go back to sleep. “What I promised you was that I would smash my old, miserable life, and I’ve already done that. I’m going only because I want to maintain the status quo. Other than that, I don’t want to do anything else.”
“Is that the extent of your ambition?”
“Mhm.”
“No! Your life shouldn’t be rotting away under a blanket growing moss! You were born to live brilliantly! The stage, the camera, the battlefield — aren’t any of those better than this rental room?”
“Honestly, what is the point of all this?”
“To become stronger.”
“How boring.”
“It’s meaningful!”
“What if I become the strongest Magical Girl in the world? For someone like me, eating when I’m hungry and sleeping when I’m tired are the top priorities.”
“That’s why I want you to see a different world while in flight. As they say, the higher you stand, the farther you see. You will be the one standing at the peak.”
“You say that as if you’ve seen it yourself.”
“…”
“…I’ll go. We’ll just see what happens when the time comes.”
By the time he finished speaking, Yuan Qing’s voice had grown faint. Raven didn’t press him further and curled up on Yuan Qing, gradually falling asleep. Outside the window, only the bustling night of Tokyo remained awake.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.