Chapter 38: Terrible Magic
“Mom? Who’s that girl? Why does Yaoyao know her?”
While the private room chat unfolded downstairs, Lin Yu—having finished homework, previewed tomorrow’s lessons, and reviewed notes—was curiously eyeing Wen Yaquan’s surveillance gear on the third floor.
“Oh… should’ve put a camera in the private room… Whatever, no audio’s fine…” Wen Yaquan muttered, fiddling with the mouse, ignoring Lin Yu. “This angle’s off, that one too…”
Like a protagonist in Freddy’s Midnight Harem, she scanned camera feeds but found no trace of Jiang Lingwei entering the private room, giving up.
“Mom!” Lin Yu, recognizing her mother’s “zone-out” mode, patted her shoulder, raising her voice. “Dad asked if you’re home for dinner. And who’s that girl?”
“Oh… who?” Wen Yaquan spun around, feigning shock. “My dearest Xiaoyu! When’d you get here?”
“…” Lin Yu groaned. “I’ve been here the whole time, Mom.”
“Really? Too focused on your classmate… Whose kid is she?”
“Mother!” Lin Yu snapped.
“Okay, okay.” Wen Yaquan sighed, wiping fake tears. “My girl’s grown up. Can’t even tease her anymore.”
“If you put that effort into acting, maybe squeeze out real tears,” Lin Yu shot back. “Want me to grab onions?”
“What’re you saying?” Wen Yaquan whined. “I fooled you so easily when you were little. Kids these days, harder to trick.”
Lin Yu crossed her arms. “‘Easy to fool’? You conned naive little me into your schemes… Wait, you’re dodging again! Spill! What’s going on?”
“Yes, yes~” Wen Yaquan shook her head, ruffling Lin Yu’s hair. “Doesn’t my new poster girl look like your classmate?”
“Like…” Lin Yu muttered, skeptical.
Ignoring her tone, Wen Yaquan waved. “They’re relatives! Gotta be.”
“Last time, you said she was your friend.”
“No time to waste!” Wen Yaquan grinned. “That poster girl’s my old pal. We slayed dragons as big as the Twin Towers—I was mostly intel and support. Fought maxed-out Undead Warriors, Hellhounds, Tentacle Demons with caves so spicy kids couldn’t watch… Nearly saved the world together…”
Hugged by Wen Yaquan, Lin Yu sifted through her game-inspired nonsense, gleaning only “they met playing games.”
‘I shouldn’t trust Mom. Always spouting nonsense.’
‘I’ll ask Yaoyao later.’
In the private room, Jiang Lingwei, flustered, clamped her legs to trap the dropped cat-ear accessory. Too awkward to pick up or let fall, she ignored it, feigning calm. “You did great last few times, Crystal.”
“No, no,” Jiang Yao said earnestly. “Both times, you saved me. Without you…”
“Don’t think that way, Crystal.” Jiang Lingwei cut in, earnest. “You’re the magical girl protecting everyone. I just landed sneak attacks. Compared to you guarding this city, my help’s nothing.”
“Huh?” Jiang Yao blushed, embarrassed.
To her, smashing bugs wasn’t hard. Her biggest trouble was selfishly motivated, making [Aurora]’s praise feel undeserved.
“Aurora, I have a question.” Jiang Yao leaned forward, eager. “Ever heard of a magical girl who can banish someone from the world?”
“I… uh?” Jiang Lingwei froze.
“Sorry.” She nodded, pausing. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean,” Jiang Yao locked eyes with [Aurora]’s oddly familiar gaze, “can a magical girl, demon, monster, gadget, or weapon completely erase a person—name, existence, everything—so they never existed, past to present?”
Jiang Lingwei’s heart chilled, trembling.
Erasing someone entirely was horrific. No one would notice, no trace left.
Worse than memory erasure magic, which left clues for reversal.
Her own erased past echoed this fear, stirring confusion and loss.
Heart racing, she replied cautiously, “No, I’ve never heard of such a thing or related magic.”
“Magic?” Jiang Yao’s eyes lit up, picturing [Aurora]’s wand. “Are you a wizard-type magical girl?”
“Wizard… type…” Jiang Lingwei recalled Wen Yaquan’s talk on modern versus old magical girls. Instead of answering, she asked, “If you’re not a wizard, you can’t use magic?”
“What kinda question is that?” Jiang Yao shook her head. “Is your demon unreliable? Or you haven’t checked the Administration’s info?”
“It’s reliable…” Jiang Lingwei thought of the old fairy’s white beard, dependable in a pinch.
Before Jiang Yao could continue, Jiang Lingwei stood, hands on the table. “Kid, why ask such a question?”
Jiang Yao’s eyes narrowed. “Kid?”
“Ah, uh, slip of the tongue!” Jiang Lingwei’s momentum crashed. Clutching her skirt, she blurted, “Not important! Tell me! Why ask about that awful magic?”