Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 102: On the Road

Vol 2 Chapter 102 On the Road

The stark white lights on the ceiling flickered faintly for a moment before settling back to a steady glow.

Veronica had spread her suitcase open on the bed and was kneeling beside it, going over the things she’d need for the upcoming trip.

After pulling out the essentials and organizing the rest into neat categories, she finally zipped the suitcase shut, let out a long breath, and sat down on the bed.

By now, the sky outside the window had already turned pitch black.

Across from Veronica, Xia Liang sat on her own bed, headphones on, fingers occasionally swiping across her phone screen. The video on her phone reflected in her pupils.

"Sorry."

Veronica took the initiative to speak.

“…Hm?"

Xia Liang took off one side of her headphones and looked over with a hint of confusion. “Why are you apologizing?”

“Sharing a room with me must be kind of boring, right?” Veronica said, looking at her. “I honestly don’t really get what young people are into these days. Most of your topics go right over my head, which is probably why we’re just sitting here, not talking at all.”

“Eh… really? I don’t think it’s boring.”

Xia Liang tapped her phone against her chin and thought for a second. “Honestly, even if I were rooming with Xiaolu, we’d probably still be curled up in our own beds, scrolling on our phones.”

“Really?” Veronica was skeptical. “I mean, you’re about to go to the Kingdom for the assessment. Shouldn’t you be nervous? Excited? Thinking about the future? Shouldn’t this be the kind of moment where you talk nonstop about what’s on your mind?”

“No… we already talked about that stuff a lot before. And now that it’s actually happening, there’s not much left to say.”

Xia Liang smacked her lips. “Actually, this might sound weird, but even though I’m really looking forward to seeing the Kingdom, I don’t have any big feelings about it. It just feels like something that was bound to happen.”

“Is that how young people are now?” Veronica was stunned. “I remember the first time I went to the Kingdom, I almost talked the whole night through with my teammate.”

“Well, maybe you and that teammate just had a lot to talk about. Probably had nothing to do with going to the Kingdom.”

Xia Liang let out a dry laugh. “Actually, I think I can already guess. You were with Senior Sakura back then, weren’t you?”

“Was it that obvious?” Veronica asked.

“Super obvious… Wait, scratch that—honestly, the scene’s already playing in my head.”

Xia Liang raised both hands and covered her ears. “Don’t say another word. I don’t wanna hear any more of your lovey-dovey teenage romance. It’ll bring out the absolute worst feelings in me.”

“I thought you’d like hearing that kind of thing,” Veronica said, blinking.

“I like it if it’s about someone else. Not you, little senpai.” Xia Liang crossed her arms in front of her in a big X.

Veronica found her reaction a bit baffling, but something told her not to push the topic. Instead, she chose to shut her mouth and looked out into the dark night beyond the window.

The wasteland at night didn’t offer much of a view. All she could see was desert, gravel, and endless sandstorms. The monotonous scenery quickly became boring.

As she’d mentioned earlier, Veronica genuinely didn’t know what to talk to Xia Liang about. It didn’t seem right to bring up assessments or school stuff—it’d just make her sound like a dull grown-up trying too hard to start a conversation. Probably better to keep quiet and not annoy her.

The silence lingered for a while, until Xia Liang suddenly turned her head and looked at Veronica. “If you’re feeling tired, you can go ahead and sleep, little senpai.”

“Oh… huh?”

Veronica responded instinctively, then looked a bit puzzled. “Sleep?”

“Yeah. I wanna finish this movie before I sleep, so go ahead and rest.” Xia Liang said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You mean… I can just go to sleep now?” Veronica asked again, as if she needed to confirm something.

“Yeah? Why not?” Xia Liang raised an eyebrow.

“…No reason.”

Veronica let out a breath. “Just realized I might’ve been overthinking things.”

“Ehh—”

Xia Liang gave a teasing smile. “So you were overthinking. Mind if I ask, my dear little senpai, what exactly were you overthinking?”

“Nothing important,” Veronica said flatly.

“Nothing important? What kind of ‘nothing important’? Were you expecting I’d invite you to play a board game or something? Or maybe force you into a late-night heart-to-heart?”

Xia Liang leaned forward a little. “Surely you weren’t worried I’d ask to sleep in the same bed as you, right? That’d be a bit too ‘nothing important,’ wouldn’t it?”

“You’re overthinking now.” Veronica closed her eyes.

“Aww, I wasn’t even gonna bring that up, but since you mentioned it yourself…”

Xia Liang scooted closer, her voice taking on a mischievous tone. “So, little senpai, how about this—tonight, would you please… go to bed a bit earlier and get a good night’s sleep?”

“…Huh?” The unexpected request made Veronica open her eyes again, only to see Xia Liang smiling like a fox.

“What’s wrong? You really think I’d take this rare chance to be alone and use it to make you uncomfortable?”

Xia Liang grinned slyly. “Nope. My only request is that you rest up, so you’ll be ready for the trip to the Kingdom.”

“…That was unexpected,” Veronica admitted after a brief pause.

“Hehe. You’re stuck between two girls constantly trying to one-up each other for your attention, and on top of that, you’ve got a mountain of messy work to deal with. Must be exhausting, huh?”

Xia Liang stood up and patted her jacket. “So don’t worry about anything while you’re with me. Just take it easy. I won’t make things harder for you.”

She paused for a moment, then looked back at Veronica. “Hard to understand?”

“A little,” Veronica nodded.

“That’s because it’s my new strategy,” Xia Liang declared proudly, hands on her hips. “I’m calling it the ‘Gentle Harbor Strategy.’ While Xiaolu and Xiaoxuan are busy embarrassing themselves fighting for your affection, I just stay calm, gentle, and chill. That way, being with me feels like a breeze. No pressure. And when you realize that, my approval rating shoots through the roof, right?”

“…That might actually work,” Veronica said bluntly. Then frowned. “But are you really supposed to tell me that?”

“Of course I am.”

Xia Liang blinked innocently. “You taught me this, remember? If I don’t say it and you don’t pick up on all the effort I put in, then everything I did would be for nothing.”

Veronica was left speechless.

“Alright then, just relax and get some sleep.”

Xia Liang plopped back onto her bed, slipped her headphones back on, and waved her hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll sleep when I’m ready.”

And she meant it.

When Veronica took her advice and went to bed first, she noticed that Xia Liang really did just keep watching her video quietly, without doing anything sneaky.

That, more than anything, helped Veronica finally let her guard down.

No more silly worries. She could finally unwind, let her thoughts fade away, and rest her mind properly.

…I wonder how Xiaolu and Xiaoxuan are doing.

The thought flickered briefly in her mind, but not enough to make her get up and bother people who might already be asleep.

And with that, Veronica closed her eyes.

---

As the landship moved deeper into the wasteland, night had fully fallen. A gentle white moon hung high in the sky, casting a soft glow over the dark hull of the vehicle.

Lin Xiaolu glanced out at the endless wasteland beyond the window. After watching the unchanging scenery for a bit, she pulled the curtain closed and shut her eyes.

The crisp sound of the roller shade filled the otherwise quiet room.

White Jingxuan, who had been reading with her head down, lifted her gaze briefly in the direction of the sound. Realizing what it was, she lowered her head again without saying a word.

As agreed upon from their earlier game, since neither of them won at flying chess, they ended up rooming together.

The modest-sized cabin held two single beds, with a square table bolted to the floor between them. When passengers weren’t sleeping, they could sit by the bed and face the table to do some light work.

At the moment, Bai Jingxuan had her book open on the table, reading intently under the cabin’s fluorescent lights.

Lin Xiaolu glanced casually at the pages and easily recognized the content—it looked like a primary school textbook.

She knew Veronica was planning to help Bai Jingxuan return to school, so she didn’t comment. Instead, she stifled a yawn behind her hand, kicked off her shoes, curled up on her bed, and pulled out her phone to finish her mobile game’s daily quests.

The two of them stayed in their own lanes. Bai Jingxuan turned page after page, while Lin Xiaolu’s phone screen shifted from one scene to the next. At one point, Bai Jingxuan left the room a few times, but each time she came back alone, looking somewhat down. She didn’t explain, and Lin Xiaolu didn’t ask.

Eventually, the deep night settled in. The only sound left was the low hum of the landship’s engine. Lin Xiaolu blinked sleepily and yawned again as she sat up.

She was the type to wash up before sleeping, but since the cabin didn’t have its own bathroom, she had to use the shared facilities.

Still groggy, she walked a fair distance down the hall—only to realize someone was trailing behind her.

Turning around, she found Bai Jingxuan standing silently behind her.

“…What are you doing?” she asked instinctively.

“Going to pee,” Bai Jingxuan answered bluntly.

“Oh.” With that, Lin Xiaolu didn’t think much of it and continued walking ahead.

But after covering a bit more distance, she realized Bai Jingxuan was still following behind her at that same not-too-far, not-too-close distance. Her curiosity was piqued again, so she turned around. “Hey, do you have to walk right behind me?”

Bai Jingxuan pouted but didn’t say anything.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Lin Xiaolu grew even more confused. She kept staring at the girl, trying to figure out what she was up to.

“…Um, can we keep moving?” After a pause, Bai Jingxuan finally spoke. “I’m really about to lose it.”

“I mean, if you need to go to the bathroom, why not just go on your own? You don’t need to follow me,” Lin Xiaolu said, puzzled. “It’s not like there’s anything blocking the way.”

“I don’t know where it is,” Bai Jingxuan muttered.

“…What?”

“I don’t know where the bathroom is!” she practically yelled.

“Oh. Ohh.” Lin Xiaolu immediately got it, feeling a little awkward as she started walking again.

Unlike Bai Jingxuan, she had made a point to note the restroom’s location when they first boarded, so after a few turns, she led the girl to the nearest one.

As she stood at the sink, filling her face towel with water, the realization suddenly hit her. Her eyes widened. “Wait, so all those times you left earlier, you didn’t even find the bathroom?”

Bai Jingxuan’s steps faltered slightly, then sped up. Before Lin Xiaolu could ask anything else, she darted into the closest stall near the door.

And just like that, the conversation was unceremoniously dropped—her silent protest said enough.

Nothing else happened on the way back. Lin Xiaolu led Bai Jingxuan through the softly lit corridor and back to their cabin. After changing into her travel pajamas, she got ready for bed.

But before lying down, driven purely by curiosity, she walked over to Bai Jingxuan’s desk to take a peek.

Bai Jingxuan was frowning at a Xiluo language reading question, the tip of her pen frozen in the air over the blank answer box. It was obvious she was stuck.

Lin Xiaolu glanced at the question but didn’t say anything at first. Then she turned away and headed back to her bed. But just as she was about to kick off her shoes again, she paused.

A thoughtful look crossed her face. After a moment, she walked back to Bai Jingxuan and, seeing the answer box still blank, cleared her throat. “It’s B.”

Bai Jingxuan looked up, confused.

“I mean, the answer to that question is B,” Lin Xiaolu repeated.

Bai Jingxuan tilted her head slightly, still looking unsure, but she lowered her head and filled in “B” anyway.

And then—got stuck on the next one.

Seeing that, Lin Xiaolu could tell instantly: the girl clearly hadn’t understood the reading at all. She sighed and shrugged helplessly. “Alright, I’ll explain it to you.”

She sat down next to Bai Jingxuan and started breaking down the passage and some of the vocabulary.

After months of intense tutoring from Veronica, Lin Xiaolu had pretty much caught up to her peers academically. Language courses were her strongest subject, and by now, her grades in Xiluo language were solid. Helping Bai Jingxuan with primary school-level material was no big deal.

Bai Jingxuan’s background—living in the orphanage, and her physical condition preventing her from attending school regularly—meant her foundation was shaky. She managed alright in science and Donghua language thanks to her habit of reading, but foreign languages like Xiluo were another story. She had never touched books in other languages, so she was starting from scratch.

Lin Xiaolu figured she might as well go all in. She guided Bai Jingxuan through the whole set of practice questions on those pages. Only when a wave of sleepiness hit her hard enough to dull her focus did she finally set her pen down with a tired sigh. “Alright, that’s enough for now. Time to sleep.”

“…Mm.” Bai Jingxuan’s eyes were still glued to the question sheet. Her response was vague—whether she really heard Lin Xiaolu or not was hard to tell.

Based on experience, Lin Xiaolu guessed she probably did, and didn’t press the issue. She stood up, ready to head to bed.

“Um, Sister Xiaolu.”

Just then, Bai Jingxuan finally lifted her head from the page. “Thank you. You really are amazing.”

“Eh, it’s nothing. No big deal,” Lin Xiaolu blinked, replying casually.

“But even though I’ve gotten a lot of help from you, and I do appreciate it… I’m not going to lose.”

Bai Jingxuan looked her straight in the eye. “I’m going to be Mom’s—uh, Teacher’s—favorite. I definitely won’t lose to you.”

Lin Xiaolu met her gaze.

They stared each other down, neither backing off. After a moment, Lin Xiaolu raised her hand and gave Bai Jingxuan a light pat on the forehead.

“Alright then. Challenge accepted. But just so we’re clear, I’m not going easy on you. Bring everything you’ve got—I want to see what you’re made of.”

And with that, she turned around and dove into her bed without another word.

“Because I’m the senior here, and I’m gonna make sure you remember that.”

---

The next morning, the landship arrived smoothly at Yannan City.

No danger, no surprises. There hadn’t been any Ravager attacks along the route. For this well-worn landship, it was just another routine trip.

Everyone disembarked with bags in hand, boarded the port shuttle bus under the guide’s instructions, and after a long ride of over an hour, they finally entered the city center of Yannan.

And even just a passing glance at this central metropolis was enough to leave Lin Xiaolu and the others—who had never been here before—in awe.

Towering smart buildings lined the commercial streets, with dynamic display screens covering the facades, broadcasting all kinds of advertisements. Suspended walkways stretched between the buildings over the city’s main roads, each one doubling as a sky garden filled with greenery and vibrant flowers.

Swarms of small drones zipped through the air, managing logistics, air purification, and surveillance. Every building had drone docking stations on the roof for efficient cargo delivery.

There was also an intricate network of inner-city rail lines, dizzying underground complexes, and vertical greenery embedded between overpasses and major roads—things that were simply nonexistent in smaller cities like Fangting.

In the Material World, central metropolises like this one were without a doubt the pinnacle of human civilization and technological advancement. They often covered five to ten times the area of a regular city and were surrounded by clusters of satellite towns. By past standards, these could easily be considered small “nations.”

The one thing that made all this prosperity possible—what truly set these cities apart—was their unparalleled advantage: being home to Kingdom Special Line terminals.

At this moment, Veronica stood in front of Yannan’s Kingdom Express Station.

The massive, monolithic structure resembled a giant black stone stele rising from the ground. Its main body was rectangular, with the top slightly slanted on one side, creating an asymmetric diagonal cut. That slanted surface shimmered with fine, flickering Favored Runes, glowing and fading with the shifting light.

From that slope, the huge rectangular mass split down the middle, forming a deep, dramatic chasm. Tracks extended from this cleft—entering from afar and exiting out the other side—cutting straight through the building in a clean, solemn line.

Large entry and exit points lined the station’s sides, but unlike the usual crowds at a regular train station, this one was nearly empty, with only a few people moving in and out. Compared to the bustling city just a few blocks away, the quiet here felt almost eerie—like maybe you’d come to the wrong place.

But Veronica knew she hadn’t.

This wasn’t her first time at this grand and unusual station. In fact, since Yannan was the closest central city to Fangting, she’d departed from here for the Magic Kingdom more than once.

The area around the station was protected by Kingdom-deployed barriers. Regular people couldn’t wander in by accident. Only those carrying valid Kingdom Express tickets and possessing a certain level of magic—enough to trigger the guidance spell—could even enter this space and find the hidden terminal.

Every train at this station had only one destination: the Magic Kingdom. They followed strict schedules and rarely ran late. The routes were identical—circling the central metropolises of the Material World before carrying passengers to the Kingdom.

Magical Girls weren’t the only ones heading to the Kingdom. Traders, tourists, scholars, even political envoys—so long as they had authorization, plenty of humans traveled there daily.

Though they were a tiny minority compared to the general population, in terms of sheer numbers, it was still a significant flow.

Compared to the process at the landship port, security screening at the Kingdom Express Station was much easier. Maybe because the staff were used to dealing with Magical Girls, they didn’t even bat an eye at a group of teenage girls traveling alone or in clusters. The group from Fangting passed through with no trouble at all.

With everything greenlit, Veronica and the others quickly boarded their scheduled train.