The sound of a key inserting into a lock echoed.
Shi Kong knew his sister was back, but he didn't know how to start the conversation. "Is that you on TV?" "Why are you a Magical Girl?" "Don't you know how dangerous that is?" All sorts of thoughts flashed through Shi Kong's mind, but when he finally spoke, it was still the same unchanging phrase he'd used for the past three years.
"You're back."
"Mm."
His sister remained as aloof as ever.
Shi Kong eventually couldn't help but say, "Don't do that again. It's too dangerous."
His sister, however, interpreted it as him not seeing her in the air-raid shelter, so her brother was very worried.
"Got it. I'm going to my room."
"Oh, the food's ready. If you want to eat, just warm it up. I have something to go out for this afternoon."
Shi Yu didn't respond at all; she just opened her door, entered her room, and closed it.
Shi Kong walked to the entrance, put on his shoes, went outside, walked to his moped, got on, started it, and set off.
Yesterday's Disaster Beast hadn't caused much impact on the city, or perhaps everyone was just used to it. Even in disaster, life had to go on.
Shi Kong rode past a plaza where a Magical Girl idol performance was taking place.
Most of the new generation of Magical Girls couldn't fight. These girls simply yearned for the glamorous side of being a Magical Girl. The moment they had to fight, they would start to cower, and a small injury would make them cry.
The backbone of current Magical Girls was still the group from before the Great Cataclysm.
The fate of Magical Girls wasn't good. Before reaching the Bright Moon-level, Magical Girls would be tempted by certain special Disaster Beasts and fall into becoming Witches. The fate of Witches was either to join forces with Disaster Beasts and hide in the unknown void, or to be captured or killed by the Tribunal.
The Demon Court possessed methods to purify Witches, but they were not something ordinary people could endure. Pain was the smallest price brought by such magic.
---
Shi Kong rode to the Bureau, which was affiliated with the Demon Court, full name: Magical Girl Management Association.
Shi Kong walked into the public restroom. As the spatial distortion ended, a white-haired girl, wearing a hooded trench coat, walked up to the Bureau's facial recognition device.
"Welcome. I hope you have a wonderful day."
As the sound of the access control ended, the door opened.
Shi Kong pulled up his hood to cover his face.
He entered the elevator, pressed the button for the highest floor, which was Director Bai's exclusive office.
The elevator doors opened.
"You're here?"
"I need an explanation."
"Follow me."
Shi Kong followed Director Bai to a place that looked like a room, except all the objects here were scaled down proportionally. Although they were smaller, they were still usable.
Director Bai pointed at a bird-like spirit and said, "That's the spirit that contracted with your sister. Go ask him."
Shi Kong quickly stepped forward, grabbed it, and instantly refined it.
The captured bird let out a shriek.
"You dare to lay hands on a spirit of the Royal Court! I'm reporting this to the Royal Court!"
"You know Shi Yu, right? Tell me, why did you sign a contract with her?"
The little bird pondered for a moment, looking puzzled.
"Who is Shi Yu? I don't know her."
"Height 1.58 meters, after transformation she has white and red gradient hair, and her magical outfit is white and red. Do you remember now? You dead bird."
Shi Kong appropriately increased the force with which he gripped the little bird.
"Yes, yes, yes! Let go of me first!"
As Shi Kong let go, the little bird shuddered and frantically flew away from the hooded villain.
"Who are you? Don't you know I'm a civil servant of the Royal Court? You dare to lay hands on me! Believe it or not, I'll report you directly to the Royal Court and have you arrested."
Director Bai massaged her forehead and said with a speechless expression.
"This is the former sixth-in-line of the Tribunal, codenamed Li Yu."
"My goodness, I'm sorry, officer. I didn't recognize you just now. Officer, if you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know. Oh, and officer, my spirit codename is Robin. I don't have any other intentions, I just really want to improve."
Shi Kong's eyebrows furrowed into the shape of the character 'river' (chuan), thankfully hidden by her hood.
"Tell me, why did you contract with my sister?"
This time, the spirit couldn't smile anymore.
"Officer! You must understand, I truly didn't know she was your sister, and... and..."
"Don't 'and' here. Just say whatever it is directly."
The spirit looked a bit embarrassed; even if he was covered in feathers, you could tell he was sweating profusely.
"And, this was an order from the Demon Court... Officer, didn't you know...?"
Shi Kong turned to look at Director Bai.
The Demon Court couldn't possibly know I have a sister. I've never mentioned this to anyone.
The only possibility... "Bai Baihe, did you tell them?"
Bai Baihe, Director Bai's Magical Girl codename, was a former Bright Moon-level Magical Girl who was active on the front lines. Due to damage to her Magic Heart, she retired to Nanhai City and became the Bureau Chief.
"Don't look at me, it couldn't have been me who said it."
Shi Kong thought, and indeed, it couldn't have been. Bai Baihe was her captain when she first became a Magical Girl, caring for her like an older sister, so it was unlikely she would have revealed it.
Why is this happening? Are they trying to force me out through my sister? But my appearance doesn't offer the Demon Court any substantial benefits. The Demon Court knows I escaped and knows about the Disaster Beast sealed within my body. Forcing me out, besides capturing me for experiments and containment, what's the point?
"Sister Bai, do you think there's a possibility—"
Before Shi Kong could finish, Director Bai directly interrupted him.
"Impossible. Once a contract is made, it cannot be broken unless the Magic Heart is completely shattered. As for the consequences of a completely shattered Magic Heart, I think you should be clear."
Yes, how could she not be clear? What the shattering of the Magic Heart represented. The simplest, easiest price was death. More severe consequences included being unable to withstand the corruption of magic and falling into a Witch.
What to do? Shi Kong's mind was a mess at the moment. Her efforts to think looked particularly adorable to an outsider.
The spirit looked at the inexplicably adult and whispered to Director Bai.
"What's wrong with the adult?"
"Quiet, she's thinking."
Bai Baihe inexplicably thought of the past. It was always like this; Li Yu, who had just joined the Magical Girl squad, would become dazed whenever she started thinking.
"Don't mind her, she's always like this. She'll be normal once her brain network reconnects."
What was Shi Kong thinking about?
She was thinking about how to convince her sister not to go to dangerous places, how to make her sister give up being a Magical Girl, or if she continued, how to make her pursue the safer idol side? And what identity should she use to persuade her? As a brother, he temporarily didn't know his sister was a Magical Girl. As a senior, not to mention lacking a suitable reason, openly exposing herself carried great risk. Only Bai Baihe had been helping her hide, otherwise, she would have been discovered long ago.
Shi Kong suddenly snapped back to reality.
"Dead bird, don't report my appearance here today."
"Is the adult on a secret mission?"
"Huh? Oh!!! Yes, yes, I'm on a secret mission. No one can know, understand?"
Robin thought to himself, 'If, and I mean *if*, I help the adult keep this secret, and even assist the adult in her mission, then wouldn't my future, Robin, be incredibly bright!'
"My future depends on just one word from the adult!!!"
The little bird spirit suddenly blurted out a strange sentence.
Shi Kong, still in a state of thought, didn't quite catch the sentence.
"What one word?"
"Nothing, adult! Don't worry, what heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. This bird has no other merits, except a tight beak."
Shi Kong looked at the little bird, whose smile couldn't be hidden, and a little uneasy, said to Sister Bai.
"Sister Bai, please keep an eye on him for me. I really don't want to be caught and brought back. I'm sick of Magical Girls."
Bai Baihe laughed.
"Little Li Yu, don't worry."
Shi Kong was wondering whether she should go see her sister, in her Magical Girl form, when Bai Baihe interrupted her thoughts.
"Aren't you going to see your sister?"
"Can I go, in my current state?"
Shi Kong said helplessly.
"Why not? Your past is highly classified by the Demon Court; no outsider can know your former identity. What's the problem with a senior going to see her junior?"
Bai Baihe grabbed Li Yu's arm, dragging and pulling her into the elevator, and pressed the button for the training room.
"Little Li Yu, did you know? All Magical Girls now have to debut as idols. Although they can choose to become battle-oriented or idol-oriented later, they must participate in idol activities before being promoted to the Star-level."
Shi Kong instantly wilted. The thought of the idol activities, mandated by the Demon Court for morale-boosting purposes when she first became a Magical Girl, made her uncomfortable. This was a dark past! This was an indelible dark past in the heart of a twelve-year-old boy. At twelve, the stage where self-esteem and shame were most intense, becoming a Magical Girl was one thing, but he even had to perform in front of countless people.
"What are you trying to do? I'm telling you, even if I have to fight a Calamity-level Disaster Beast alone, there's no way I'm going to teach them."
Shi Kong shoved Bai Baihe away and shrunk into the corner of the elevator.
Bai Baihe immediately pulled out her phone and took a flurry of pictures of Li Yu huddled in the corner.
"Hahahahaha, Little Li Yu is still so shy, exactly like before, so cute! But I was just teasing you, current Magical Girls all have dedicated coaches."
Shi Kong reached out to grab the phone, but Bai Baihe dodged.
"Delete it, delete it for me!"
Bai Baihe uploaded the photos to cloud storage.
"No can do. How could I bear to delete such a cute Little Li Yu?"
---
(PS: I'm a complete newcomer. If you ask about my writing style, you'd probably have to trace it back to my high school essays. Please give me any feedback you have. I have the world-building, but I haven't fully decided on the specific story yet. After all, I don't write outlines; I only know the plot a few hours before you do. So please, please give me some valuable suggestions!)