“Well done! You did great, Inari!”
“Huff… hah…”
The girl’s gasps echoed one after another, accompanied by the heavy sounds of collisions and cheers, weaving together everything Su Tianqing heard and saw.
The Golden Fox stopped winding the music box.
—There was no trace of illusion magic on the music box,
and the illusion magic was only activated after its music had played completely, indicating that Inari had stored this illusion magic in the music box in the form of music.
Su Tianqing’s emotions were complex; she didn’t know what expression to show.
Should she be surprised? Or should she feel horrified?
Inari's skill in using magic far exceeded her own understanding, completely redefining her perception of “magic.”
Magic carried by music, so exquisite that it made her wonder who Inari truly was.
“Magic can be used like this?!” Su Tianqing really wanted to exclaim something like that.
But amidst her awe, the Golden Fox also realized the infinite possibilities of that passive skill which enhanced her control over magic power.
In any case, she should finish watching this memory of Inari first, to see what Inari intended to tell her through this form of illusion magic.
Su Tianqing looked forward.
The Golden Magical Girl gripped her magic staff tightly. Before her was a spacious park square, its pavement and flowerbeds shattered, with the wreckage of a pitch-black Monster, dissipating into magic particles, lying fallen.
The turtle spirit floated beside her, cheering loudly.
“How does it feel? This feeling of fighting a Monster yourself.”
“Very, very exciting… a bit too exciting…”
The Fox Girl sat on the ground, her red tail drooping behind her, as if she had used up all her strength.
The turtle spirit floated to her side to restore her magic power, praising her as it did so:
“You did great. That Monster just now was at least Pleiades-level strength. You were able to defeat it alone in your debut battle, which is already better than most Magic Girls.”
“Really?… So that guy just now was that strong…”
The Golden Magical Girl finally recovered, propping herself up to stand, looking at the dissipating Monster remains with considerable concern.
Hero Association vehicles arrived at the scene. The girl quickly pulled down the fox mask on her head to cover her face.
“Hello, are you the new Magic Girl who recently debuted?”
“Y-yes, I’ve already dealt with the Monster. As for the rest… please leave it to you all.”
“Thank you very much for your help! The nearby residents were not harmed at all!”
“Is that so?… Ahaha…”
“If it had escaped, it would have caused large-scale casualties. It would take at least fifteen minutes for the Magic Girls from nearby cities to arrive. Fortunately, you were here, which allowed us to intercept it in time.”
Hearing the words of praise from the staff member, the Red Fox Girl’s cheeks beneath her mask instantly turned crimson, and she shyly scratched the back of her head.
“By the way, we were still discussing what codename to give you. May I ask you—”
“Inari.”
Without any hesitation, the Red Fox Girl spoke the word that had been circling in her mind.
“Inari, huh…”
“I understand. I will relay your wishes to the Association’s HR department. Thank you again for your help, Miss Inari.”
…
The illusion ended here.
Su Tianqing calmly looked at the empty music studio before her, as if still immersed in the recent memory.
Inari’s Music Box, collected
Collection progress: 2/13
This way, the quest progress also smoothly advanced. She might as well check what kind of ability enhancement this item would bring her today.
Humming the tune she had just heard, Su Tianqing carefully stored the music box in her magic space and examined the Inari mask in her hand.
Oh? As expected, a new skill appeared on the mask’s description page:
Inari’s Note: Once daily, can record magic effects in the form of music and song, lasting up to three days.
What a mysterious skill.
Why would using magic in the form of music also fall within the scope of a daily limited ability?
But upon closer thought, things didn’t seem so simple.
—Previously, the magic she used had to have a precise target to be cast, or exist fixed in the form of a barrier, which offered very poor flexibility.
And while this music magic ability seemed like a gimmick, if she could pre-record the magic she needed into a music box or radio, and trigger its release like Inari demonstrated the illusion just now…
“…Heh heh, perhaps it’s a very interesting ability,” Su Tianqing said with a smile.
She would study it carefully tonight to see what extent of ability it could unleash. She still had fun to find today.
The Golden Fox walked to the studio door and peeked out.
Not far down the corridor, the dark blue tactical Cat Girl was setting up tripwire traps. She looked back and saw the Golden-haired Fox Girl poking her head out, then quickly hurried over to her and slipped into the studio.
“How is it, how is it? Where are Hyacinth and the others?”
“They’re chasing behind, but they won’t catch up anytime soon.”
The Cat Girl chuckled, her tail wagging happily,
“I’ve prepared quite a few gifts for them; they’re sure to bring them endless surprises.”
“Hmm? Are they yesterday’s landmines?”
“—Not just landmines, but also tripmines and booby traps EDD. I got quite a few from an arms smuggler yesterday.”
Before the two could chat for long, a muffled explosion came from the stairwell, and the smile on the Cat Girl’s face grew even more pleased.
“See, they fell for it.”
Su Tianqing blinked, feeling genuine sympathy for Hyacinth and the other two’s current predicament.
Although Jia Yu was a battle maniac who loved to fight, she still had a considerable passion for ambushes and tricks, always finding bizarre and tricky mine-laying positions.
No one would like tripwire traps and booby traps, let alone the tricky positions set by this Cat Girl beside her.
“Although landmines are fun, remember to disarm them, okay? It wouldn’t be good if they affected civilians.”
“I know, I’ve set a timed disarming magic for every booby trap; they’ll automatically deactivate in an hour,” the Cat Girl said confidently.
“That’s good~”
Su Tianqing showed a satisfied smile.
When looking for trouble and fun, one must always ensure the safety of innocent bystanders. This is Ben Hu’s code of conduct!
“Speaking of which, what’s the situation with Rabbit and Little Wolf? Are they in position?” Nan Jiayu suddenly remembered something and asked curiously.
“They said they’re ready to deploy at any time, but I don’t think that thing will be needed for now. There’s a better scenario for it to be useful,” Su Tianqing said with a mysterious smile, making a shushing gesture.
“And besides, if we only let Hyacinth and her team come alone to stop us, don’t you think it would get a bit boring if it kept repeating, Cat Cat?”
“Is that so?… I’m actually quite enjoying it…”
The Cat Girl tilted her head, answering honestly,
“Fox Fox, do you have any new ideas? Tell me.”
“Heh heh heh heh…”
A villainous, sinister smile appeared on the Golden-haired Fox Girl’s face, making Nan Jiayu pause.
“Cat Cat, do you remember? I arranged an imposter familiar in their team.”
“I remember. I’m quite curious, Fox Fox, who exactly did your familiar disguise as? Who is the imposter?”
“Well…”
Su Tianqing paced to the window, pulled open a slit in the curtains, and looked towards the distant rooftop with an open view,
“Among them, who do you think is more suitable to be the imposter?”