The arrival of the weekend allowed Rong City a moment of respite.
The Magic Girls who came to provide support had already returned to their respective cities that same day, and Hyacinth and her two companions also returned to their normal lives after clearing away the Monster remnants.
The Hero Association, as always, began post-disaster reconstruction work.
As for a certain Villain Fox Fox who orchestrated all of this…
She was thoroughly enjoying her weekend!
“After a day of urgent repairs, the main road in the CBD area has resumed traffic and transportation capabilities, and the heroes dispatched by the Hero Association are intensifying efforts to repair the remaining roads and buildings,”
“People believe that with the help of the heroes, Rong City will soon restore its former prosperity. This station’s reporter brings you the news.”
News programs were broadcast on the large screen in the plaza, and below the screen was a Magic Girl performance stage spontaneously organized by the people, currently distributing commemorative gifts to the gathered audience.
Su Tianqing sat obediently on a nearby bench, listening to the animated songs playing on the stage over there, gently swaying her tail and ears with the music.
This was the opening theme song of the latest popular Magic Girl anime! Ben Hu was following it!
.
Today was the weekend.
She had already arranged with Jia Yu yesterday to come out and watch a movie, and to properly replenish her cat energy.
Ben Hu’s cat energy was already in a state of deficiency! She needed Jia Yu’s cuddles to recover, meow!
What’s more… she still had something she wanted to tell her.
Looking at the dark blue Cat Girl who was receiving complimentary gifts by the side of the stage, Golden Fox, wagging her tail, couldn’t help but recall yesterday.
Yesterday, on the way to the shelter, Jia Yu carried her and ran two miles to catch the last bus.
While running, she kept comforting her not to be afraid, and those caring words and worried expressions gave Golden Fox a more intuitive understanding of this Cat Girl’s excellent stamina.
Recalling Jia Yu’s expression at the time, Su Tianqing felt exceptionally pleased in her heart.
How did that saying go? When a cat is willing to actively approach you, it means you have completely entered her heart!
She couldn’t give up this wonderful opportunity; she had to seize the moment and stick close, not letting this Cat Girl get away!
“Tianqing—I got it.”
A small, dark blue Cat Girl squeezed out of the crowd and waved towards her.
Su Tianqing quickly reined in her scattered thoughts, raised her fox tail, and vigorously wagged it a few times towards that side.
“How is it, how is it! What’s the souvenir?”
“A pack of cards. Look, I got two.”
Two heads leaned together, looking at the two packs of Magic Girl collectible card game booster packs in Nan Jiayu’s hand.
“Oh, oh… it’s this…” Su Tianqing realized.
“It seems like Hyacinth has been playing this recently too. A pack of cards is quite expensive,” Nan Jiayu said, curiously picking up a bag and playing with it for a moment.
Golden Fox hugged her tail, picked up a card pack, and checked the logo on it.
The latest and trendiest Magic Girl themed card battle game, it seemed to be called… what was it called, YGO?
It was very similar to a certain popular collectible card game where you didn’t have the right to play if you didn’t draw a hand trap.
“Open the pack!”
Nan Jiayu pulled out the five cards from the pack and fanned them out in her hand.
Su Tianqing leaned in to look, but didn’t see any shiny card faces.
“Hmm… they’re all very ordinary cards.”
“Yes.”
“Mine are pretty similar too, but this illustration of Bai Lili is quite pretty.”
Carefully tucking them into their crossbody bags, the two walked side by side towards the mall not far away.
Today’s main event wasn’t sitting here opening card packs!
“What movie are we watching today?” the little fox took the opportunity to stick close to the Cat Girl, asking curiously.
“This one. I heard it’s super good.”
Nan Jiayu pulled out her phone from her pocket and showed Su Tianqing the highly-rated movie with a 9.8 score.
“Avengers Assemble 3? …Hmm, it seems pretty cool,” Golden Fox muttered softly.
She had some impression of this; recently, video websites were full of interpretations and excessive praise for this movie. Although she hadn’t watched the first two parts, judging by public opinion, it should be pretty good.
Although she wasn’t particularly keen on this genre, she’d just treat it as accompanying the Cat Girl to watch it!
.
The cinema entrance was lively.
Not only were there audiences waiting to watch the movie, but there were also many cosplayers of heroes posing for photos there.
Sitting at a nearby coffee stall, drinking coffee and waiting for entry, Su Tianqing heard some news about this blockbuster from Nan Jiayu.
“All of the Rongcheng Hero Association’s resident S-Class Heroes are in it? How amazing!” Su Tianqing exclaimed.
“Yes, many of the shots are real superpower scenes,” the Cat Girl nodded and said,
“And, this superhero series has very good reviews, and many heroes from the Hero Association have played roles in it.”
“No wonder it’s so popular.” Su Tianqing nodded.
The Hero Association did not only have Magic Girls; it also had other resident superheroes who often participated in battles against Monsters.
But this was limited to Monsters and criminals without Star Realm Magic.
However, the frequency of heroes appearing was not high, far less than Magic Girls, and people also preferred flashy and cute girls, which led to the heroes’ popularity always being lower than that of the Magic Girls.
“What’s more, only Magic Girls can deal with Monsters that possess Star Realm Magic, so there’s a reason why Magic Girls are highly valued.”
The Cat Girl gently blew on a cup of coffee to cool it, then said to Su Tianqing across the table.
Su Tianqing, intrigued, flipped through the movie flyer. The thank-you credits were almost entirely composed of active heroes from the Hero Association:
Guest appearances, 【Steel】 Frank, 【Electromagnetic】 Qi Yun.
And this one… 【Moira】 Yuan Wuyi?
The heroes’ titles were all this cool type. In comparison, the Magic Girls’ identification codes were much gentler.
But when she turned the promotional page to the previous one, Golden Fox’s slender fingers suddenly froze, her gaze fixed on the photo of one of the leading actors.
【Rongcheng Hero Association Active S-Class Hero · Meteor】
…Huh?
Principal Meteor?
S-Class Hero???
She was the one she met when she developed Lin Muyao into a legitimate Magic Girl!
What a good opportunity, she even said she was a retired hero, but it’s clearly written here that she’s active!
Golden Fox felt a surge of fear. Fortunately, she hadn’t used charm magic or similar methods to approach Lin Muyao back then, otherwise, she would probably be on the Hero Association’s wanted list by now.
“Hmm? Tianqing, you’re looking so intently, are you very interested in a certain hero?”
Noticing Su Tianqing’s change in expression, Nan Jiayu asked curiously.
“Not very interested, just… just that this hero looks a bit familiar. I must have seen her somewhere.”
The little fox quickly covered it up.
…
The movie was long, a full three and a half hours.
Actually, the story was very simple—Demon Realm people invade the human world, superheroes bravely fight back, finally defeat the Demon Realm’s big BOSS, and everyone lives happily ever after.
At the end of the story, the male and female protagonists kissed under the sunset, and with this romantic scene, the credits rolled, and the movie ended.
“Although the story is a bit cliché, the scenes are grand, and it’s unexpectedly good,” Su Tianqing said.
“Yes, it seems there’s a reason why the reviews are so high. The heroes’ superpowers are super cool!”
Nan Jiayu replied, her gaze drifting towards the arcade flashing with neon lights not far away.
But just as she was about to say, “Let’s go play there for a while,” she suddenly met the gaze of the little fox beside her and couldn’t look away.
Golden Fox chuckled, tilting her head to look at her, her eyes full of smiles.
“About what happened yesterday… Thank you, Jia Yu.”
“Why are you suddenly saying this… I should be the one thanking you. Tianqing, you accompanied me out all day, I…”
Nan Jiayu was a little shy, her face flushing instantly.
Today, she had indeed included a bit of her own selfish motives. For example, this movie, she had been longing to see it, so she took it upon herself to book two tickets.
She didn’t know if Tianqing liked it or not, she probably wouldn’t like it much.
It made sense, this little fox liked cute things, superheroes and all that…
“Superheroes are quite interesting.”
Golden Fox chuckled and took a few steps, then turned around to face the Cat Girl in front of her, saying softly,
“And, Jia Yu, who took me from the school yesterday and ran away with me, was like a superhero.”
Nan Jiayu was stunned.
“At that time, if you hadn’t taken me and run away with me, Jia Yu, I might have been left behind at school.”
“But luckily nothing major happened, but I still want to thank you, Jia Yu.”
Golden Fox revealed a sweet smile, as brilliant as sunlight.
“Thank you, Jia Yu. In my heart, you, Jia Yu, are the true superhero.”
Silence.
Nan Jiayu fell into a long silence, unsure how to respond.
—I’m not a hero, I’m a Villain Magic Girl, I’m the culprit behind the city’s crisis.
The Cat Girl really wanted to say that, but seeing the beautiful girl’s smile in front of her, she couldn’t bring herself to say it no matter what.
Seeing the Cat Girl frozen in place, Su Tianqing hopped and skipped to her, reaching out and taking Nan Jiayu’s hand.
“Don’t just stand there, let’s go play at the arcade over there for a while!”
Looking at the Golden Fox happily skipping in front of her, Nan Jiayu silently made up her mind.
So what if she was a villain?
Whether she was a villain or not, she would always protect her!