Chapter 11: Forced to Visit an Old Friend, Meow?

A Shocking Discovery

Half a minute later, staring at the cake box she had pried open, Xiao Xi froze in place, as if struck by a bolt from the blue.

The cake, with only the words “Wish” and “Joy” left, crushed on one side, was undoubtedly the one that D-rank magical girl had bought earlier!

No wonder Xiao Keke had come to Xia Hai City half a month early under the pretense of “school starting early.” That little brat had been hiding from her and their mom, secretly becoming a magical girl, hadn’t she?

No wonder she remembered every detail of what she’d bought… She really had seen it all in person!

Xiao Xi stood there for a full minute, silently staring at the cake in the trash bin. She had thought about texting her mom but gave up in the end. Passersby curiously glanced at this girl inexplicably fixating on a garbage can.

Xiao Keke had always been stingy and money-obsessed since childhood. When their mom used pocket money as a reward to get them to do chores, Xiao Keke would haggle for ages.

Looking at the cake, discarded only when she reached their building, Xiao Xi could guess what had happened.

Xiao Keke must have hesitated for a long time downstairs with that ruined cake before finally gritting her teeth, throwing it into the trash, and spending money to order a new one for herself.

That little brat…

Mixed Emotions and a Sister’s Message

With a jumble of thoughts, Xiao Xi walked into the house in a daze, just as she received a message from Xiao Keke.

Xiao Keke: “Big Sis, happy birthday [cake.jpg]”

“[Transfer] You have received a payment.”

“When you were cooking, I went through your closet. Those clothes of yours are so faded from washing, yet you still wear them. You’re a girl now, so why not buy yourself some nice clothes?”

“Big Sis, you’re pretty broke lately, right? You bought so much stuff today. Consider this five hundred bucks a birthday gift. If you’re short on cash, just tell me. I’ve saved up quite a bit in my piggy bank over the years… Of course, if you come to me again, it’ll be a loan!”

Looking at her sister’s transfer and the half-eaten birthday cake on the table, Xiao Xi’s heart swirled with mixed emotions.

If she hadn’t been there at the time, Xiao Keke might have died under that monster’s claws.

She knew someone had to step up, become a magical girl, and protect people—but she didn’t want that someone to be her sister.

Xiao Xi gritted her teeth.

Though she had sworn never to act as Eternal Star again and vowed never to set foot in that wretched Magical Girl Association, for her sister’s sake, it seemed she had no choice but to visit an old friend.

A Reluctant Errand

“Miss Ye Xinglan, I’m heading out for a bit. I might be back late, so you may need to handle dinner yourself. Sorry about that.”

After a long pause, a muffled “Oh, it’s fine” came from the room. Ye Xinglan’s voice sounded subdued.

After eating, Ye Xinglan had holed up in her room, doing who-knows-what. Xiao Xi wasn’t in the mood to care—she was set on heading to the Magical Girl Association now.

What Xiao Xi didn’t know was that Ye Xinglan was currently hunched over her desk, phone in hand, scouring every news report about Eternal Star’s appearance today. She scribbled notes, with the pudding Xiao Xi had given her sitting nearby.

Though she couldn’t contact A-Lan, she wasn’t about to miss this chance. She was determined to track down Eternal Star.

But…

Looking at her notes, Ye Xinglan frowned while eating her pudding, suddenly realizing something.

Ye Xinglan’s Suspicions

Most people wouldn’t notice this detail.

But she was currently living with Xiao Xi and knew her well—like how broke Xiao Xi was. There was no way Xiao Xi could afford a cab after buying groceries; she definitely walked home.

Combining that with the time Xiao Xi got home… No matter how Ye Xinglan calculated it, during the monster attack, Xiao Xi should have been at the scene. She would’ve been walking down South Street on her way home!

Moreover, the monster attack had affected an entire street, giving a wide margin of error for her calculations. This meant Xiao Xi had definitely seen Eternal Star and encountered the monster attack.

So why did she lie and say she hadn’t? Was it just because she didn’t want to tell her, an Eternal Star hater, the truth? Or… was there some other reason?

At the Magical Girl Association

Later that evening, inside the Magical Girl Association building in Xia Hai City.

A well-dressed woman in sharp, professional OL attire, clearly an elite white-collar worker, strode down the hallway.

Wearing black glasses and clutching a stack of files, she looked like she’d just left a meeting room.

“No need to make a fuss. Investigate quietly. If you can’t find Eternal Star’s whereabouts, so be it.”

“Keep the information under wraps for now. She probably doesn’t want this to blow up either. That’s all.”

Hanging up the phone, the woman stopped before a door labeled “Minister’s Office.” She pushed it open and froze slightly.

“Long time no see, Miss L.”

Miss L closed the door expressionlessly, messaged her secretary to clear her schedule for the next hour, then looked up at the uninvited magical girl lounging in her office chair.

“It’s been three years, hasn’t it, A-Xing?” Miss L locked the door behind her. “Long time no see.”

A Reunion and a Past Promise

Miss L was a sharp, ambitious woman. She had seen the potential in the magical girl industry early on and approached Xiao Xi and her group, acting as their manager to handle media interviews and events.

Her instincts had been right, or she wouldn’t have climbed to her current position.

Xiao Xi raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be more surprised.”

“You already showed up on South Street at noon, didn’t you? I figured you might come, so I was somewhat prepared. Are you ready to make a comeback? On behalf of the Association, I’d welcome you anytime.”

“That noon incident was just me stepping in because I had to,” Xiao Xi said flatly. “What was up with that monster? Didn’t the Association detect its cocoon beforehand?”

“It’s not that we failed to detect the cocoon. This is the post-incident mana fluctuation report from the monitoring department. See for yourself.”

Unsettling Revelations

A graph of mana readings was pushed toward Xiao Xi. Miss L didn’t hesitate to share Association intel with an outsider like her.

Xiao Xi frowned as she studied it. The mana levels were stable until a sudden spike at one point—clearly when the monster appeared.

This was odd. Monsters were products of accumulated mana, which took time to gather.

The graph should’ve shown a steady upward curve until the peak, when the monster hatched from its cocoon.

But on this graph, the mana surged to its peak in an instant, as if the monster had spawned out of nowhere.

“At noon, eight monsters appeared simultaneously in distant locations, all identical to the one on South Street.”

“We sent out every magical girl in Xia Hai City to barely contain the situation. Only some public property was damaged, and a few passersby were injured.”

Xiao Xi’s frown deepened. This was no coincidence—it was a deliberate act. To think something like this could happen when most villain organizations had been wiped out.

A Sister’s Safety

But more than that, Xiao Xi was focused on something else.

“Even so, the Association shouldn’t let a newly awakened D-rank magical girl face a C-rank monster alone, should they?”

Her tone carried a hint of accusation.

“That kid insisted on staying to fight. I already scolded her during the meeting earlier,” Miss L said helplessly.

“But I owe you one, A-Xing. If you hadn’t stepped in, that kid would’ve been in serious danger.”

Xiao Xi didn’t respond, inwardly cursing Xiao Keke’s stubbornness.

“Can I see that kid’s file?”

“Sure, one moment.”