A little later, in the southern part of Rong City.
On top of a rather spacious office building, three Magic Girls stood side by side, listening attentively to the White Sable Spirit speaking before them.
"What I just said are the weaknesses you need to strengthen recently."
"All in all, there's nothing to fear about that Xin Yuehu. Although she possesses powerful magic and excels at summoning Monsters, her true body is actually quite fragile."
"And, although I only brought back Iris's training information from the Star Realm Library, it's quite reliable for you, Nightingale, too."
"Hmm... Is that so...? I thought it was specific to each person."
The pale yellow Magic Girl asked in confusion.
"Of course!"
Bai Ling nodded seriously,
"But then again, Nightingale, why are you still wearing yesterday's clothes? Where's your original magic dress?"
"I think this set looks quite nice, so I just used transmogrification magic to change my dress into this."
Nightingale replied matter-of-factly.
Hyacinth and Iris both tilted their heads to glance at their companion.
Her original magic dress was a lively and nimble short skirt, but after Xin Yuehu enveloped her in this dress from the Mind Image Space, she simply transmogrified into it today.
The White Sable Spirit looked Nightingale up and down.
Knee-high socks in yellow and white, a light, ruffled Western-style dress, retaining the puff sleeves of the original dress, but with the long gloves significantly shortened into short gloves that covered half the palm.
It lost some of its vibrant energy but gained much elegance and prettiness.
"Though I really don't want to admit it... Xin Yuehu's aesthetic sense is actually quite good." The White Sable Spirit nodded.
"Hey! Bai Ling, whose side are you on anyway?!"
Hyacinth called out to Bai Ling in dissatisfaction.
Everyone immediately shifted their gaze to her, and without prior agreement, looked down at the legs beneath Hyacinth's skirt.
The boat socks were gone, replaced by a pair of sky-blue vertical striped knee-high socks with bows.
Then the three looked at Hyacinth with even more subtle expressions.
"I think you're the least qualified to say that, Hyacinth," Bai Ling retorted.
"Exactly, exactly! How cute are these knee-high socks? Boat socks should have been eliminated long ago!" Nightingale chimed in.
Hyacinth's face flushed crimson with embarrassment, trying to find some confidence from the silent Iris, but the pure white girl's silently averted gaze dispelled Hyacinth's last bit of stubbornness.
"Although it does look better this way, why did you change to long socks, Hyacinth?"
Iris awkwardly changed the subject.
Hyacinth—or rather, Nan Xiaofeng—had a rather unpleasant memory concerning this matter.
The day before yesterday, after a battle with two villains, Hyacinth unexpectedly put on a strange pair of shoes.
She was then tormented by those shoes for a day and a night, only finding relief after meeting Xin Yuehu privately yesterday.
Then, in the Mind Image Space, she was transformed into her childhood self by her.
Fatigue and grogginess, combined with that soft, warm embrace and gentle, sweet words, made her completely let down her guard and fall asleep peacefully in her arms.
When she woke up, it was already late at night. She hurried home only to find that her father hadn't returned either, luckily escaping a calamity.
Last night, Nan Xiaofeng had the best sleep she'd had in three days, even the most peaceful sleep of her entire life.
But it was just too embarrassing! This matter absolutely couldn't be told to anyone else!
Then, waking up this morning and looking at her delicate feet, Nan Xiaofeng silently took out a pair of tights she had rarely worn.
"...Because the temperature dropped recently."
Ending her thoughts, Hyacinth tried to be stubborn.
"Don't your magic dresses come with constant temperature magic?" Bai Ling raised an eyebrow, asking in confusion.
"...Anyway, I'm just temporarily changing my image!!"
Hyacinth tried to cover her shyness and embarrassment by raising her voice.
But before everyone could perfunctorily nod in understanding, a figure streaking across the sky suddenly caught the attention of the three.
A large golden fluffy tail, a golden magic dress, and familiar magic characteristics along with a golden magic staff.
A petite Golden Fox.
"Am I seeing things? Why do I feel like Xin Yuehu is flying in the sky?"
Bai Ling stared blankly at the Golden Fox leisurely flying in the sky, muttering softly.
Spotting the three figures on the ground, the little Fox Fox stopped flying, wagging her tail a few times as if observing the three on the ground with interest.
Then she waved at the three and said:
"Good evening, everyone~ I didn't expect to meet you here. Are you specifically waiting for Fox Fox?"
Silence.
Hyacinth summoned her greatsword.
Seeing this, the Golden Fox immediately unleashed her magic to cast flying magic, accelerating to escape before the greatsword could strike her head!
“Xin Yuehu! You stop right there! I'm definitely going to deal with you properly today!!”
Before Hua Ling and Mu Yao could react, this chase suddenly erupted over Rong City.
As a Magic Girl specializing in close combat, Nan Xiaofeng prided herself on her swiftness,
But when facing Xin Yuehu's full-speed escape, she consistently couldn't catch up to her, even nearly getting hit in the face by a magic missile released from the tip of her tail.
This made her even more desperate to catch up.
Iris and Nightingale chased closely behind.
"Xiaofeng is flying so fast," Nightingale said.
"Yes, we're already flying at full speed, and we can only barely keep up with her pace," Iris nodded, replying to Nightingale beside her.
"But... Iris, don't you think today's Xin Yuehu is a bit strange?"
Hearing Nightingale say this, Iris looked up at the Golden Fox fleeing at full speed ahead of Hyacinth.
Saying it like that, it did seem a bit off.
In the past, Xin Yuehu would always issue a declaration of battle in advance and then wait in a certain place, and the three of them would have no choice but to stop her, having to brace themselves and walk into the trap.
There had never been a chance encounter like today.
"Could it be a trap she deliberately set?" Iris asked tentatively.
Then she shook her head, denying her own thought.
According to Bai Ling, Mind Image Space was a spell that required a long preparation time, and attacking during its activation could force Xin Yuehu to interrupt the casting.
Although she was currently fleeing at full speed, it was impossible for her to prepare Mind Image Space, but what if...
"Hyacinth! Wait a moment, there might be something fishy!"
Iris quickly shouted loudly, trying to call Hyacinth back.
But Hyacinth, who was chasing Xin Yuehu ahead, showed no intention of stopping.
—What happened yesterday, she had to get a clear explanation from Xin Yuehu!
Why did she do that?
"Fox Fox Mom" or whatever... no matter how she thought about it, it didn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment tactic!
She had to resolve all the humiliation from the past few days! To redeem herself!
.
Four trails of magic streaked across the sky above Rong City, stopping one after another in the densely wooded Green Heart Park.
"Xin Yuehu! Get out here! Don't hide and sneak around!"
Having lost her target, Hyacinth was furious, gritting her teeth and shouting loudly.
Hua Ling and the other two also arrived shortly after. The Magic Girl trio stood in the dim and quiet depths of Green Heart Park, looking around, but found nothing.
"...Be careful, there's a very strong Star Realm Magic aura here." Bai Ling peeked out from behind Hyacinth, saying.
Where was Xin Yuehu?
Hyacinth at this moment only wanted to find her and get to the bottom of things; besides that, there was no other thought in her mind.
But she had clearly followed her all the way here, so how could she suddenly...
"Heh heh heh..."
"I thought you would be more cautious, but I didn't expect you to fall for it so easily."
A delicate voice came from around the forest, and the three immediately became alert.
A strong Monster aura came from behind them.
Hyacinth only had time to turn around and look, her vision completely obscured by an rapidly expanding eye patch!
"Uwah!"
"Hyacinth!?... It came from that direction!!"
A golden figure flickered in and out of sight in the bushes, and from its magic aura, it was indeed the Xin Yuehu they had been chasing earlier!
Iris immediately raised her magic cannon, gathering magic towards the direction the Monster flew from.
But before she could unleash this attack, a familiar voice echoed in the girl's ears again:
"Oh, where are you aiming, Miss Iris~?"
"Wh—"
The fluffy tip of a tail floated past in her peripheral vision. Iris had just wanted to react but found that her body was already unable to move.
Darn it!
Why was it immobilizing magic again!?