Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 14: Confession

Walking along one side of the electronics district, passing several intersections, the crowd around them gradually thinned. After about ten minutes of silence, the girl finally couldn't suppress her curiosity any longer and spoke up to Lin Xiaolu.

"Hey, I gotta ask—who’s that kid up ahead?"

She leaned closer to Lin Xiaolu’s back, deliberately lowering her voice. "She talks like she’s really something. Is she actually important?"

Lin Xiaolu glanced at her but didn’t answer.

"Or… is she your little sister?" the girl continued probing.

"…No."

Lin Xiaolu couldn't hold back her irritation and replied with a bit of annoyance, "That’s Senior Veronica. You should show some respect."

"Why call her ‘Senior’?" The girl blinked. "And if I’m supposed to respect her… she really is a big shot, huh? Some kind of rich young lady?"

This time, Lin Xiaolu didn’t respond.

After all, Veronica had already said they’d talk somewhere else. She didn’t want to mess up her plans.

Seeing that Lin Xiaolu stopped reacting after just a few prods, the girl lost interest and took a step back, clasping her hands behind her as she started observing the street around them instead.

They had left the busiest part of the district. The shops lining the street here were older, unlike the prime locations in the city center, where every inch of space was expensive. Lower rents allowed small businesses to operate for longer here.

But in the end, it was still a commercial street. Besides the various storefronts and the occasional passerby, there wasn’t much to look at. After a while, the girl lost interest again and spoke up.

"Now that I think about it, I still don’t know your name."

"…"

"Come on, don’t be so cold. Just tell me."

"…Lin Xiaolu."

"Lin Xiaolu? Sounds like ‘little deer.’ Cute name, kinda nice! As for me, my name is—"

—"We're here."

Veronica's voice interrupted their conversation.

She turned back slightly, scanning the two of them with her usual confident expression. Without any change in tone, she pointed at a narrow alley beside them. "Go in here."

She didn’t wait for a response. Instead, she stepped forward and led the way into the dimly lit alley. Lin Xiaolu and Moko followed her without hesitation.

The girl, trailing behind, hesitated for the first time as she watched the two of them walk in so naturally.

—Why an alley?

Was this an ambush? A threat? Were they planning to silence her?

A flood of crime-related scenarios filled her mind, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if she should keep following.

But Veronica’s words from earlier echoed in her head. And truthfully, her curiosity about these two girls was only growing stronger. She had already followed them this far—there was no turning back now.

So, she pressed her lips together, pushed down her unease, and forced herself to relax before stepping forward again.

As she entered the alley, she saw Veronica and Lin Xiaolu standing there, with a dead-end wall further ahead.

Veronica tilted her head up, looking at the sky. When she heard footsteps behind her, she turned to face the girl. Without a word, she reached into the pocket of her dress and took out her Heartstone Flower. Then, she stepped toward the girl.

—Why is she coming toward me?

—What is she going to do?

The girl tried to maintain her casual smile, but the tension was creeping onto her face.

And then—Veronica transformed into a Magical Girl.

To the girl, the process appeared as a burst of dazzling light surrounding Veronica. Her long blue hair lifted as if caught in a breeze, and her light yellow puff-sleeved dress morphed into a navy blue Lolita-style outfit. A bonnet appeared on her head out of nowhere, and her attire became as intricate and elegant as something out of a fairy tale. In her hand was… a magic staff? Carved with unknown, delicate patterns?

She didn’t know who Veronica really was, so naturally, she didn’t realize she had just witnessed a Magical Girl transformation. But what had just happened completely shattered her understanding of reality.

Before she could even process it, Veronica extended her hand toward her.

"Grab my wrist."

"Uh… okay?" The girl instinctively reached out.

Veronica grabbed her wrist in return, locking eyes with her. "Hold on tight."

—Holding wrists? What was this? Some kind of ritual? A secret handshake?

A flurry of wild guesses ran through the girl’s mind. Without fully understanding what Veronica meant, she just mechanically nodded.

And then—her feet left the ground.

A powerful sense of weightlessness engulfed her, and the scenery around her blurred in an impossible way.

She turned her head in alarm and realized—

—She was flying.

And then, she screamed.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Veronica pulled her along, weaving through angles that kept them hidden from sight, flying up the wall of the dead-end alley and into the sky.

Avoiding the last few visible windows, Veronica took a few steps mid-air—seemingly walking on nothing—before landing lightly on a rooftop, bringing the girl with her.

A stream of soft blue magical particles flowed upward, and a moment later, Lin Xiaolu, also in her Magical Girl form, flew up to join them.

"Hah… hah… I thought I was gonna die…"

Now that her feet were back on solid ground, the girl felt her legs give out. She collapsed onto her knees, still shaken.

"Pfft, scared from just that little flight?"

Lin Xiaolu landed easily beside her, looking smug. "I adapted right away when it was my first time, you know?"

But her attempt to show off didn’t get the reaction she wanted. The girl completely ignored her, making Lin Xiaolu puff up her cheeks in mild frustration.

Veronica, meanwhile, got straight to the point. "This is a good place to transform freely. It’ll make explaining things easier."

Then, she turned to the girl. "Let’s start by introducing ourselves. What’s your name?"

"Hah… You’re asking me?"

The girl, still catching her breath, looked up. "My name is Xia Liang."

"Xia Liang."

Veronica gave a small nod, then abruptly asked—"Have you ever heard of Magical Girls?"

She wasn’t going to beat around the bush.

In fact, if before arriving here she had still been on the fence about recruiting this girl, just wanting to check things out, that uncertainty had disappeared the moment she saw Xia Liang in person.

This girl was exceptional.

Even without being a Magical Girl yet, she had been able to sense Moko from a distance and even track her. On top of that, she hadn’t openly displayed wariness but still remained cautious upon meeting Veronica—proof that she could instinctively perceive the vast difference in their magic power.

Her talent was unmistakable.

For a girl without magical potential, becoming a Magical Girl was only dangerous.

But for a true prodigy, it was an opportunity—a chance to wield magic far beyond human limits.

Just as she had been worried about Lin Xiaolu’s safety when she first transformed, but ultimately respected her decision, Veronica knew she had to give Xia Liang the same choice.

So she’d let her decide for herself.

Xia Liang’s eyes widened slightly at the term "Magical Girl", as if pieces of a puzzle had just clicked into place. "I’ve heard of them, yeah. But… does that mean—"

"My name is Veronica."

Veronica nodded, her expression unreadable. Then, she extended a hand toward Lin Xiaolu. "She is White Rose."

"We hunt Ravagers and protect the city and its people."

"We are the Magical Girls of Fangting City."