Chapter 44: Elizabeth Arrives in Tongzhou City

Last night, Elizabeth had already washed up and was about to lie in bed, planning her strategy to win over Alice Phil.
When she picked up her phone to search for tips on capturing a man’s—or woman’s—heart, she noticed an email in her inbox.

The sender was a subordinate she’d assigned to monitor events in Tongzhou City, Inner Plains Province.
The email detailed a Tier-Seven magical beast attack in Tongzhou that afternoon, injuring two magical girls and their mentor.

The mentor had been the most severely injured, teetering on the edge of death, but fortunately, she was saved and was now lively—healthier than the two magical girls still bedridden.

Elizabeth’s breath caught when she read that the mentor was near death, but she sighed in relief upon learning of her recovery.

She couldn’t imagine how devastated Corona would be if Lu Ming had died.
Before encountering Alice Phil, Lu Ming was Corona’s sole emotional anchor.
If Lu Ming perished, Corona might lose her will to live.

Thankfully, they were all alive.

Checking the email’s receipt time—8:35 p.m.—Elizabeth realized it arrived while she was soaking in the bath.
The beast attack had occurred that afternoon.

Hah, the Ministry of Natural Resources really has eyes everywhere.
They dared to conceal an incident involving an untracked Tier-Seven magical beast.
If the event hadn’t escalated so much, it might have been buried like other unreported beast escapes.

In the end, her good friend’s children—whether Lu Ming or Lu Yue—had been injured, nearly killed.
As their “aunt,” Elizabeth couldn’t just sit idly by.

This morning, carrying a pile of nourishing supplements she’d prepared, Elizabeth approached the hospital room door.
Hearing voices inside, she assumed someone was awake.
Feigning ignorance, she knocked and said:

“Hello, may I come in? I’m from the Magical Girl Association, here to visit the injured magical girls.”

Inside, Polaris heard the visitor’s purpose and replied without hesitation:

“Come in, the door’s unlocked.”

Elizabeth turned the knob and entered, immediately spotting two girls with gray and silver hair, looking like sisters, sitting on the bed—Abyss and Polaris.

Both sat with their legs tucked under, watching as Elizabeth, laden with bags, walked in.

As she entered, Abyss’s pupils visibly contracted.
She clearly recognized the blonde, red-eyed beauty as the sister and former teammate of Corona and Yuehua—her mother and mentor.

Polaris noticed Abyss revert to the quiet, reserved demeanor she’d shown when they first met, like a child meeting an unfamiliar elder.

Clearly, Abyss’s change was triggered by this Magical Girl Association staffer’s arrival.
Polaris grew curious about what kind of charm this visitor possessed.

She began observing the staffer, who carried a heap of supplements.
The first thing that caught her eye was the over-the-knee white stockings on the girl’s shapely legs.

Okay, I’m not a leg enthusiast, Polaris assured herself, but those white stockings do look great with her legs.
The girl wore a JK uniform with a light trench coat, blending youthful vibrancy with an air of authority.
In short, she was stunning.

As Elizabeth handed the supplies to Liu Lian, she noticed Polaris sizing her up.
The fact that Polaris’s first glance was at her legs nearly broke her composure, but her formidable mental strength kept her from laughing.

Like mother, like daughter—both staring at my legs first.

Elizabeth was also observing Polaris.
Her ceremonial outfit was stylish, likely paired with high heels.
But those legs…

Elizabeth wondered if a magical girl’s ceremonial attire was influenced by personal will.
Polaris’s outfit seemed tailor-made to hit someone’s strike zone.

But then she dismissed the thought.
Her long-lost sister of seventeen years wouldn’t do something so frivolous.
Besides, that “married” sister was still smitten with another “married” woman.

Right, dear “married” Miss Corona?

Elizabeth glanced at the white-haired, red-eyed beauty beside her, who had taken the supplies.
Though she appeared ordinary, Elizabeth’s honed mental senses saw through the altered light reflection on Liu Lian’s face—Corona’s simple disguise.

Even a mental-specialized magical girl like Elizabeth could barely detect it; no one else could unmask Corona’s ruse.

Sublime-tier magical girls wielded their authorities with such flair.
What a pity my Blood authority is permanently tainted, Elizabeth thought with a twinge of regret, despite her Tier-Nine rank.

Of their old four-person team, Abyss had vanished, Yuehua had permanently lost much of her authority and rank, and Elizabeth’s Blood authority was corrupted.
Only Corona retained her peak strength.

Four people, and only one is whole.

Elizabeth turned back, her gaze sweeping over Abyss’s face before settling on Polaris.
The girl was the spitting image of her mother—silver hair, purple eyes full of charm.

“Hello, Magical Girl Polaris. I’m Elizabeth, president of the Magical Girl Association,” she said, sitting on the bed’s edge with a smile.

“Huh? The president herself?” Polaris, surprised by Elizabeth’s title, shifted to a kneeling posture and said:

“I’m honored you came to visit us, President Elizabeth.”

“Oh, no need for such formality. You’re treating us old-timers like strangers,” Elizabeth chuckled, straightening Polaris’s white-stockinged feet from under her hips and lightly flicking her forehead.

“This is one of the worst incidents involving magical girls in recent years. As president, I had to come see you.”

“You said it’s an incident? But it was clearly a beast attack. We just couldn’t win,” Polaris said, confused, shuddering as she recalled being whipped into the air by the worm-beast.

“Poor child,” Elizabeth said, her heart aching as she saw Polaris tremble.

“After on-site investigation, it was confirmed that it wasn’t a ferocious beast but a magical beast—a Tier-Seven one at that.”

“Your current condition was caused by a certain department’s negligence.”

“The Ministry of Natural Resources let a Tier-Seven magical beast slip through. They tried to cover it up, but I only got word yesterday afternoon.”

“What do we do then…” Polaris glanced at the still-unconscious Jin Yan.

“If that’s the case, and Jin Yan hasn’t woken up, how do we get justice?”
Elizabeth’s words made Polaris realize how a routine field exercise for rookie magical girls had turned so catastrophic.

“Heh, don’t worry about that. Someone’s already gone to make trouble for them,” Elizabeth said.

“Who?” Polaris pressed.

“The Magic Affairs Department, led by their minister. In recent years, they and their local bureaus have been cleaning up the Ministry of Natural Resources’ messes.”

“Yesterday’s incident was too big—they couldn’t take it anymore and went to block their door,” Elizabeth explained.

“They’re probably at their doorstep now.”