Chapter 5: man!!!

On the way home in the car, Jiang Lingwei couldn’t resist asking:

“Yaoyao, are you familiar with magical girls?”

Jiang Yao visibly stiffened, then let out a dry laugh.

“Not really, haha, just a little.”

Sensing a misunderstanding, Jiang Lingwei clarified quickly.

“I mean, don’t magical girls usually erase memories… or something like that?”

“Hm?”

Jiang Yao tilted her head.

“Why would they do that?”

“Well…”

‘This kid’s a magical girl, contracted with a fairy. How could that fairy be so careless, not teaching her such a basic protocol?’

Jiang Yao’s reaction dashed Jiang Lingwei’s hope of soon meeting her old mentor.

She’d imagined if the same fairy had contracted Jiang Yao, she’d get answers to all her questions instantly.

Though the old fairy could be frivolous, he was serious when it mattered.

On matters of magical beasts and darkness, he’d lecture endlessly—first point, second point, third point…

A nostalgic glint flickered in Jiang Lingwei’s eyes, recalling the fluffy, bearded creature who rambled after too much drink.

She wondered what the new fairies were like.

Aside from her mentor’s drunken tales of his homeland and the dark fairies she’d fought, she knew little of others.

She couldn’t say too much to Jiang Yao, so she hinted vaguely:

“Maybe it’s from the anime I watched back then.”

Jiang Lingwei scratched her head.

Talking about last month’s memories felt trivial, yet she was embarrassed in front of Jiang Yao.

“Don’t magical girls stay secret, protecting humanity quietly from the shadows? But the passersby seemed to know about them. They weren’t even shocked by those monster worms.”

“Um…”

Jiang Yao’s face relaxed.

“Mom, you wouldn’t know. Seven years ago, magical girls became public knowledge. The government set up departments and laws for them.”

“Since then, more fairies from the fairy kingdom in another dimension have come, signing contracts with humans to make magical girls.”

“The same goes for these monsters. The government helps control them and supports magical girls, but the girls are the main force.”

“They say monsters have magical properties, so our weapons aren’t very effective. Magical girls are needed.”

“I heard fairies have other agreements with the higher-ups, but I don’t know much about that.”

Her explanation gave Jiang Lingwei a rough grasp of magical girls in 2032.

This shouldn’t have happened.

‘What went wrong?’

“I see…”

Jiang Lingwei noted the timeline: seven years ago.

“Did these monsters appear seven years ago?”

“No.”

Jiang Yao shook her head.

“They arrived earlier. Ten years ago, they surged in numbers. The ‘first generation’ magical girls barely stabilized things.”

“At first, all news about them was suppressed. It took three years for the public to learn.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Lingwei nodded, piecing together the timeline.

Seven years ago, magical girls went public.

Ten years ago, a demon army attacked.

Eleven years ago, she entered the sanatorium—whether she fell into a coma before or after was unclear.

And her memories, from twenty years ago in 2012.

Why shouldn’t this have happened?

Their final battle was to seal the Dark Portal, a rift opened by an evil entity, isolating Earth from the fairy kingdom and the plane of darkness.

No more monsters or magic should exist.

Magical girls were supposed to retire.

Instead, their numbers grew.

Did her companions succeed?

If not, where were they?

The earliest magical events Jiang Yao mentioned started ten years ago.

The decade from 2012 to 2022 was a blank for Jiang Lingwei.

One thing was certain.

She must have had a child in that time.

“What a headache.”

Jiang Lingwei rubbed her temples, then took Jiang Yao’s hand.

“By the way, though I don’t know much, I want to apologize for not being there.”

“You and me… your father.”

The words came hard, anger simmering.

“Whatever happened between us, you’re innocent. I should’ve been there for you, but I wasn’t.”

“I’m sorry. Those years must’ve been tough.”

Jiang Yao’s eyes reddened.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’m fine. Dad left me with Grandma at the coffee shop…”

She stopped, noticing Jiang Lingwei’s hand.

“Ah! Mom, your hand!”

Scratches and cuts marred Jiang Lingwei’s skin.

“Oh, this?”

She’d nearly forgotten the metal shard’s cuts.

“It’s just a minor injury.”

‘I’ve nearly been chomped by a Sharptooth Beast and survived. I wouldn’t bother with healing magic for this.’

‘Oh, right—I forgot I have no magic. QAQ’

“No way!”

Jiang Yao protested loudly.

“Why didn’t you tell me… or that magical girl? She could’ve healed you!”

“It’s fine. It’s minor. If it distracted her from saving others, that’d be worse.”

Jiang Lingwei pulled her hand back.

The wounds weren’t deep; a nurse at the missing persons center had bandaged them.

“No, no, no!”

Jiang Yao shook her head, leaning toward the front seat.

She tapped her phone, pulled a black card from her pocket, and scanned it near the driver’s seat.

Ding ding.

A green light flashed.

The barrier between driver and passenger retracted, and the car slowed toward the roadside.

“Wait.”

“Yaoyao, do you have a driver’s license?”

“Yes, Mom.”

The seat adjusted automatically.

Jiang Yao shifted gears and pressed the accelerator with ease.

“I forgot to ask—how old are you?”

“Sixteen.”

“What?! Sixteen-year-olds can drive in 2032?!”

The car’s surge cut off her words.

The engine roared, a hybrid’s hum revealing itself.

Vroom—

The taxi wove through traffic, speeding like it was on a highway.

“Slow down, slow down!”

The scenery blurred into afterimages.

Jiang Lingwei screamed, her heart pounding.

She never got motion sick, but this was dizzying.

“Slow—!”

‘What can I even say?!’