Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 50: Communication

Vol 2 Chapter 50 Communication

Kissing the back of the hand—whether in the Material World or the Magic Kingdom—has long been a time-honored gesture.

In the Material World, this gesture is known as the “kiss of the hand,” usually reserved for highly formal occasions. It’s either used to show respect to a venerable lady or to express a subordinate’s loyalty to someone of higher status. However, with the rise of technology and modernization, such customs have gradually faded from everyday life.

These days, hand-kissing mostly appears in movies or literature, giving it a romantic flair. So among young people, it’s come to be seen as something rather affectionate or intimate. When someone used it as a greeting—regardless of what Masao Marika herself was thinking—the young Magical Girls from both Fangting City and Bo’an City totally lost it, erupting into waves of surprised exclamations.

If the girls from Bo’an were just gossiping for fun, the ones from Fangting, especially Lin Xiaolu, looked at Masao Marika like she was ready to eat her alive. She practically stormed over in two steps, throwing out a sharp question:

“What are you doing?”

“It’s just a gesture of intimate greeting, Xiaolu,” Masao Marika replied calmly.

“A handshake or a hug is more than enough! Who does this… does this…”

Lin Xiaolu fumbled, unable to find the words to describe what had just happened. But as she processed Marika’s answer, she suddenly realized something else: “Wait—how do you even know my name?”

“I used to be a Magical Girl of this city, and I was a friend of your mother.”

Marika remained composed, casting a quick glance at Veronica. Seeing no reaction from her, she continued with ease, “You might not remember, but I even held you in my arms when you were just a baby.”

“Huh? Held me? Come on…” That kind of statement—basically claiming to be her elder—completely knocked the wind out of Lin Xiaolu. Though clearly still annoyed, her voice lost a bit of its edge. “You’re lying, right? I’ve never even heard of you…”

“You can ask Veronica, or your father.”

With a gentle smile, Marika looked at Lin Xiaolu with interest. “Even if none of them—including your mother—ever mentioned me, we were very close back then. I was even there when the name ‘Xiaolu’ was chosen.”

Lin Xiaolu opened her mouth, speechless. Everything Marika said sounded legit, but it was still too much to believe. She turned to look at Veronica.

Snapped out of her earlier silence caused by the surprise kiss, Veronica gave Marika a complicated look, then sighed and faced her daughter, nodding. “She’s right. Besides Hong Siyu, the rest of the Fangting City Magical Girls—your mom’s old teammates—were all there when you were born. So in a way, you’ve been watched over since birth.”

“Told you.” Marika spread her hands with a smile.

“Ugh… well, if Veronica says so, then… fine, I’ll treat it as true.”

Grudgingly accepting the sudden revelation that she now had “aunties,” Lin Xiaolu pursed her lips and nodded. But her glare quickly returned. “But what was with you kissing Veronica’s hand! Right there in public!”

“Among adults, a hand kiss isn’t a big deal.”

Marika stayed gentle. “It’s just a hand, not a kiss on the lips. But you kids probably shouldn’t go around copying it.”

The moment “kiss on the lips” was mentioned, Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan’s eyes lit up with gossip-hungry curiosity. Meanwhile, Lin Xiaolu’s ears turned red. She pointed at Marika and shouted, “How could you say that kind of thing out loud here?! You’re being a total perv!”

Marika froze for a second, staring at Lin Xiaolu. Then she couldn’t help herself and burst into laughter.

“Hahaha, this is hilarious!”

She laughed rather loudly and bent slightly toward Veronica, whispering in her ear, “Your daughter is adorable. You seriously never taught her any of this stuff?”

“Is that so weird? She’s only 14.”

Veronica shot her a glare. “And you better not go teaching her nonsense. Be serious.”

“Okay, okay, I got it.”

Waving her hand in reassurance—and completely ignoring Lin Xiaolu’s grumpy huff—Marika straightened up and walked over to the girl. With grace, she extended her hand. “Sorry. If my words made you uncomfortable, I take them back. I hope you’ll accept my apology, Xiaolu.”

“I just couldn’t believe how much you’d all grown. So I thought I’d tease you a little. Don’t take it too seriously.”

Seeing Lin Xiaolu not only refuse the handshake but also retreat slightly, Marika just smiled even more, and withdrew her hand without the slightest trace of awkwardness. “Anyway, I hope we can get along in the days ahead.”

“Days ahead?” Xia Liang, having been quietly watching, instantly caught that keyword.

“Yes. We’ll likely be staying in Fangting City for a while.”

Marika nodded. “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m the Captain of Bo’an City’s Magical Girl Squad, a probationary Inspector from the Investigation Bureau, Magical Girl Margaret. Due to the recent surge of activity from Claw Marks and Black Cinders Dawn in Fangting City, the safety situation is unstable. After discussing with the Bureau Chief, we’ll be stationed here for the time being to provide force support.”

“Also, with less than six months to go until the new year’s Certification Test, we’ve brought our rookie Magical Girls here for inter-city training and exchange.”

“Training… exchange?” Lin Xiaolu raised her head slightly, catching something in Marika’s words. She looked from her to the Bo’an girls nearby.

The Bo’an squad was already looking at her. Or rather, at the Fangting girls in general.

—“As our mentor said, we’re here for training and exchange.”

The girl with the alias White Thistle stepped forward, picking up where Marika left off. “In other words, we’re here to help, and to challenge. Our mentor wants to see how strong the current Magical Girls of Fangting really are. And we’re here to prove our own progress—to see if we can surpass the new generation from her hometown.”

“Challenge us…” Lin Xiaolu blinked, slowly realizing what they really meant. “You’re not here to ‘exchange’ anything—you’re here to fight us!”

“Scared?” the blonde girl standing in the back smirked. “I saw you earlier—you couldn’t even handle a Caterpillar-tier Ravager.”

“What do you mean I couldn’t handle it?! You snatched the kill from me!”

“How is that ‘snatching’? I didn’t even grab the Echo.”

“Only ‘cause you were covered in Ravager slime and ran off before you could!”

“I told you to stop bringing that up!”

Hearing Lin Xiaolu mention the Ravager slime again, the blonde girl immediately turned beet red and half-covered her mouth. “You—are you trying to provoke me on purpose?!”

“Ha! Who’s provoking who is still up for debate!” Lin Xiaolu snapped back, hands on her hips.

As the two girls seemed ready to go at it again, Xia Liang quickly stepped in, pulling Lin Xiaolu back. Then she turned to White Thistle. “So you’re here to exchange… or rather, to spar with us, right?”

“That’s our mentor’s intention.”

White Thistle nodded. “Just a sparring match to test our strength. We’re not here with hostile intent. And Mokuyuri may talk rough, but she doesn’t actually mean harm.”

“Mokuyuri is?” Xia Liang glanced at the blonde and the quiet girl beside her.

“That’s me.”

After glaring briefly at Lin Xiaolu, the blonde girl crossed her arms and said proudly, “Codename: Wood Lily. I don’t know how strong you all are, and yeah, that one who couldn’t beat a Caterpillar-tier was kinda disappointing. But since we were trained by the Inspector herself, don’t let me down—cough!”

She was speaking smugly, but before she could finish, Marika smacked her hard on the back.

Nearly choking, Wood Lily coughed for several seconds, then reluctantly added, “Hope I get to see what Fangting City is really capable of… Anyway, nice to meet you all.”

Then she looked toward the quiet girl beside her.

This girl, who had barely spoken since arriving, visibly flinched under the attention. She ducked her head, let her bangs fall over her eyes, and whispered in a tiny voice, “...I’m Mimosa.”

Then she took a few steps back, half-hiding behind White Thistle.

“...Fitting name,” Xia Liang commented.

“Indeed, it suits her well,” Wood Lily agreed with a serious nod.

Once the Bo’an City Magical Girls introduced themselves, the Fangting girls also exchanged their own aliases. With the intros done, White Thistle turned to Marika, signaling that she’d finished speaking.

“—Perfect, White Thistle. That about sums up what I wanted to say.”

Marika nodded, her gaze sweeping over the rookies, then returning to Veronica. “So, what do you think of my proposal?”

“Sparring, huh…”

Veronica narrowed her eyes, not answering right away. It wasn’t hesitation—it was calculation.

She knew exactly what was behind this so-called “exchange.” So she began by mentally assessing the Bo’an squad’s strength and comparing it with her own team’s.

And after making that comparison, she had to admit—grimly—it didn’t look good.

She knew her girls well. Lin Xiaolu could solo a Caterpillar-tier Ravager—unless she used that strange white magic. Xia Liang had reached Leaf-tier, but hadn’t even started learning rituals yet—she was only slightly above Bud-tier. Bai Jingxuan had grown rapidly, and even showed the power to beat Chrysalis-tier Ravagers… but that kind of strength couldn’t be used in a sparring match.

Which meant all three were still just Bud-tier—or a bit stronger—at best.

And the Bo’an squad?

White Thistle was undeniably Leaf-tier. Veronica had confirmed it during her stay in Bo’an—she’d seen her use rituals multiple times with clear proficiency.

Wood Lily might not be Leaf-tier yet, but her magic perception was top-notch. Her range could rival Veronica’s back in the day.

And Mimosa? She’d never shown any clear power. Always hiding behind White Thistle. But both the magic she’d occasionally released and Marika’s attitude hinted she was no lightweight.

Honestly? If they started a match right here and now, Fangting had maybe a 20% chance—and only if Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan performed above expectations. Otherwise, Xia Liang alone wouldn’t be enough.

Was it worth accepting a match they were almost guaranteed to lose? Would it inspire the girls… or crush them?

That’s what Veronica had to weigh.

But before she could make up her mind, Marika spoke again.

“Oh right, Veronica—just sparring isn’t enough. I have another proposal.”

She clapped her hands like she’d just remembered, and turned to Veronica, her smile fading slightly, her tone turning serious:

—“If you lose the match, I want the Fangting City squad to sit out this year’s Certification Test.”