Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 103: Tudinggui

Vol 2 Chapter 103 Tudinggui

"Hello, ladies. Sorry to bother you. For your safety, please present your travel documents before boarding."

On the quiet platform, a neatly dressed train attendant stood by the train door, bowing politely to Veronica and her group. "Pardon the sudden reminder. Since there may be first-time passengers on this special train, please be mindful not to use false or forged documents. This is no joke—if found, it could affect your journey ahead."

“Travel documents?”

Lin Xiaolu blinked in confusion when she heard the term, then turned to Veronica with a puzzled look. “Do we have those? I don’t remember anything like that.”

Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan also looked over curiously.

“Normally, if you want to enter the Magic Kingdom, you have to apply through the local Countermeasure Bureau. You’d fill in your personal info and reason for entry, pay a fee, and then they’ll submit it to the Kingdom’s Civil Affairs Court for approval. Usually, you get a response within a month. If approved, you get a temporary travel permit. You’ll need to present that to enter the Kingdom, and it’ll be collected again when you leave.”

Veronica explained smoothly, completely unfazed. “But that’s the standard route. We don’t need to go through all that.”

“Why not?” Lin Xiaolu asked.

“Magical Girls with a Certification Badge can use it as their travel document to freely enter and leave the Kingdom.”

As she spoke, Veronica pulled a few cards from her coat pocket. “And for us, we just need our admission tickets.”

By “us,” she was clearly including herself, because from this moment on, her external identity was no longer “Magical Girl Veronica,” but “Magical Girl Gentian.” As a “new Magical Girl” who hadn’t yet taken the Certification Test, Gentian technically didn’t have a badge of her own.

She had already explained this to her juniors, though her version was that she was “going back to the Kingdom on a secret mission and needed to keep her identity hidden.” Combined with her status as an Inspector from the Investigation Bureau, it sounded completely reasonable, so none of the juniors questioned it.

“Let’s see… I see. Magical Girls from Fangting City: Miss White Rose, Miss Little Viola, Miss Bosetsu, and Miss Gentian—am I right?”

The train attendant checking the tickets took the admission cards and widened his eyes slightly. A few Favored Runes flickered faintly across his pupils, clearly verifying the documents’ authenticity.

He didn’t react at all to their identities as Magical Girls. Clearly, on a train traveling between the Material World and the Kingdom, Magical Girls were an everyday sight—nothing special.

“All good. Documents verified. Everything’s valid. Sorry for holding you up.”

With that, he gave a slight bow and stepped aside to make way.

Veronica took the admission tickets back from him, gave them a quick count, and returned them to her coat pocket. Then she led the juniors through the train door.

She looked perfectly composed, but the girls behind her were brimming with excitement, practically buzzing as they hurried into the train, eager to see what this Kingdom-bound train looked like on the inside.

But when they entered, what greeted their eyes was just a small room a few square meters wide, covered entirely in green plants from floor to ceiling.

“This is... the Kingdom’s train?”

The scene before them was so unexpected that Lin Xiaolu blurted out, “Why is it so tiny in here?”

Her reaction was understandable—besides a crystal pillar of unknown purpose in the center, the room was filled with nothing but vines and grass. There wasn’t even a place to sit. It didn’t look like a train car at all.

“This is the transfer chamber, not the actual carriage.”

Veronica gave Lin Xiaolu a mildly exasperated glance while explaining. She took out her train ticket and pressed it against the crystal pillar in front of her. “Stick your tickets on here. It’ll transfer us to the carriage we’re assigned to.”

“Transfer?” Lin Xiaolu still seemed unsure, but followed along and stuck her ticket on the crystal too.

Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan did the same.

Soon after, the crystal lit up, and the floor beneath them suddenly jolted. The next thing they knew, the room began to move like an elevator.

“This train stops at the central metropolis of the entire province, plus dozens of major cities inside the Kingdom. So during peak hours, it carries a huge number of passengers—way more than a normal train can handle.”

Veronica took her ticket back from the crystal and continued, “That’s why the train’s interior has been magically expanded. It can hold nearly a hundred carriages.”

“And since that’s way too many for people to just walk to their assigned ones, it has this transfer system to take passengers directly where they need to go.”

She walked back toward the door they’d entered through. “This way, it only takes seconds instead of minutes to reach your carriage.”

Right as she finished speaking, the door before them slowly opened again.

This time, what lay beyond it was the real carriage interior.

Just like Veronica had said, it was far more spacious than it looked from outside. From the outside, the train seemed only about three to four meters wide, but inside it was over five meters across—wide and airy.

The interior wasn’t like a regular train either. Instead of standard rows of seats, there were bar counters, long tables, and various coffee tables, surrounded by plush armchairs and floor cushions. The walls were painted a bright yellow, and a soft brown carpet covered the floor. Further down, there was even a reading nook with scattered bookshelves and massive desks. The whole place looked more like a reading lounge or a café than a train carriage.

As Veronica and the others stepped inside, they saw that some passengers were already seated. Some were buried in books, others chatting in small groups, sipping coffee, or snuggled up on the sofas with blankets, fast asleep.

Nearly all the passengers were human women, most of them young. The rest were fairies—no surprise there, since this carriage was meant for new Magical Girls heading to the Kingdom for their test. Only Magical Girls without badges, and the Seeders accompanying them, were allowed here.

While the Magical Girls were relatively quiet, the fairies were rowdy as ever, playing incomprehensible games that clearly amused them to no end.

Eventually, amid laughter, the game ended, and a fairy shaped like a tiny pony fluttered lazily over to greet them.

“Welcome aboard! Thank you for choosing the Kingdom Express. I’m your attendant for Carriage No. 68. You can call me Opera.”

The little pony-fairy was all smiles and manners, nothing like the mischievous creature from moments ago. “This carriage is fully self-service. Feel free to sit anywhere. Food and drinks from the dining bar are free to take. You can also borrow any book from the reading area—just return them before getting off. If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to find me. I’ll do my best to help.”

She recited her lines like a pro, then added, “So, is there anything you need right now?”

The Magical Girls exchanged looks and shook their heads. They had just arrived and didn’t even know what to ask for yet.

Seeing that, Opera gave a knowing nod and bowed before flying back to her group of fairy companions.

“Her service skills are on a whole other level,” Lin Xiaolu commented, staring after the fairy.

“No kidding,” Xia Liang agreed.

Which naturally brought up the absence of their own Seeder from Fangting City—Moko.

Normally, when a city sends a new Magical Girl to the Kingdom for her test, the Seeder is supposed to come along. Compared to new girls, or even older veterans, Seeders know way more about the Kingdom and can help with paperwork and emergencies.

But things in Fangting City were different. Moko had made it very clear—it did not want to return to the Kingdom.

Technically, even if it had left the Kingdom without permission, it was now an officially recognized Seeder for Fangting City. Going back shouldn’t have been a problem. But when Veronica brought it up, Moko flat-out refused.

“I’m not going back!”

Its tone was so firm that no one even dared push further. But it didn’t explain, and everyone eventually gave up asking.

There was no rule that said Seeders had to escort Magical Girls for their tests, and with Veronica acting as a natural guide, Moko’s absence didn’t really affect the journey.

Plus, with Hong Siyu and Asou Madoka still in Fangting City, there didn’t seem to be any safety concerns. So they just let it be.

Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan wasted no time heading for the dining bar, peering into the long glass display case full of treats. Xia Liang found herself a spot in the lounge area and flopped onto a sofa with her phone.

Veronica sat in the lounge too, but she didn’t have the habit of using her phone, wasn’t tired, and couldn’t focus on reading. So after a bit, she stood up and decided to explore the carriage.

Compared to twenty years ago when she rode this train for her own exam, the interior had clearly been renovated many times. Even though she’d taken this train plenty of times before, it still felt fresh. She wandered slowly, stopping now and then to take in the sights.

But the most interesting thing wasn’t the furniture—it was the group of Magical Girls in the reading nook.

They were all gathered around a single table, at the center of which sat a white-haired girl. The others huddled around her, pretending to read, but every now and then, someone would sneak a glance at her.

Veronica quickly picked up on the odd atmosphere but couldn’t quite figure out what they were up to. It wasn’t until she left and overheard another group talking that she pieced it together.

“So? You thinking of joining that table?”

“I’d love to... but all the seats are taken.”

“Ugh, those girls are so annoying. Hogging the seats without even saying anything. If they don’t want to team up with Tu Dinggui, then don’t block the spots for others!”

From the scattered conversations of the surrounding Magical Girls, Veronica could piece together that the white-haired girl’s alias was Tu Dinggui—a name that apparently carried some fame among new Magical Girls. And besides being well-known, she was also someone whose strength drew deep admiration from the others.

Because Tu Dinggui had come to the Kingdom’s exam alone—and because the test included team-based components that required candidates to form groups—it meant she had open teammate slots. So naturally, many of the other girls who recognized her were trying to cozy up to her, hoping to be selected as her teammates for the group projects.

“Being famous sure is tough,” was Veronica’s only comment after figuring it out.

She completely understood where those other girls were coming from. Clinging to someone strong for the exam wasn’t shameful, as long as you stayed within the rules and didn’t sabotage anyone.

Still, it was obvious how uncomfortable Tu Dinggui was, hemmed in on all sides. The table was packed, so she had to curl up awkwardly just to keep reading. And with people constantly fidgeting around her to get attention, the reading conditions were downright miserable.

But what surprised Veronica was how, despite all the distractions, Tu Dinggui never once looked up from her book. Even when the crowd jostled her from side to side, she didn’t say a word of protest—just kept reading with total focus.

What kind of book could be that captivating? Curious, Veronica glanced at the title.

—Efficient Spellcasting and Spell Slot Allocation in Energy Manipulation Rituals.

She turned and walked away.

It wasn’t that she had anything against the girl she’d just learned about. On the contrary—anyone with that kind of drive to study was bound to have a promising future as a Magical Girl. No need to watch any longer. She wasn’t here to gossip.

After circling the reading area, Veronica headed back toward the dining bar and spotted Lin Xiaolu and Bai Jingxuan sitting across from each other at a small round table. The tabletop was crammed with treats—cakes, ice cream, fruit, and more.

“Hey Veronica! They’ve got so many snacks here! I can’t even choose!” Lin Xiaolu beamed, waving her over like she’d discovered treasure. “They’re all free! Want to grab some too?”

“I’m good, thanks.” Veronica gently patted her head. “I just wanted to walk around a bit. I’m not hungry yet. You two go ahead and enjoy.”

She turned to leave the dining area but had barely taken two steps when she noticed Bai Jingxuan giving her a wide-eyed stare. With a resigned sigh, she doubled back and gave Bai Jingxuan’s head a pat too, then finally walked off.

After wandering the carriage and getting a good sense of its layout—and taking a moment to admire the well-tended floral decorations—Veronica headed back into the transfer chamber and left the carriage.

On the Kingdom Express, passengers weren’t restricted to their assigned cars. Depending on their access level, many different functional cars were available.

For example, passengers with premium memberships—those who paid more—could access the gym car, swimming pool car, gourmet dining car supposedly staffed by a former Jewel Scepter royal chef, and even a spa car with fairy massage services. Thanks to its magically expanded interior, the train could offer luxury amenities rivaling those of a high-end hotel. If you had the money, just riding the train could be a luxury experience.

Meanwhile, Magical Girls with Certification Badges had access to specialized support cars—private meditation rooms for Soul Resonance, small-scale experiment labs, heavily fortified training rooms, and even strategy planning rooms for discussing battle tactics. Every service a Magical Girl might need for combat prep could be found on board.

Ordinary passengers—those simply approved for travel between the Kingdom and the Material World—or new Magical Girls like the Fangting City Squad, who didn’t yet have badges, had much more limited access. Basically, they could visit paid facilities like bars and shops, or the observation carriage.

That’s where Veronica was headed—the observation carriage.

Because the train’s expanded interior meant most of it was enclosed, with very few windows, the train team had added a dedicated viewing car for scenery lovers to enjoy the passing landscapes.

And for Veronica, this car was probably the one part of the train that made her feel genuinely nostalgic.

The design mimicked an old-fashioned train—narrow rectangular space, long bench seating along the walls, and large windows. In this Kingdom Express version, however, the aisles were overflowing with vibrant blooms, like a spring meadow stretching into the train itself.

Roses, daisies, lavender, baby’s breath—pink, purple, and yellow blossoms tangled together, with lush green grass filling the spaces in between. Sunlight streamed through the windows, making the flowers glow as if the line between manmade and natural had been erased.

Maybe because the space was long, passengers were spread out. Veronica only saw four or five people near her taking photos. The cushioned benches were covered with clean, floral-patterned cloths. Green vines and tiny flowers twined around the handrails, and warm yellow ceiling lights bathed everything in a soft glow. The whole car felt like a frozen moment from a dream—comfortingly familiar, yet quietly surreal.

It was exactly like it had been twenty years ago.

Veronica walked in slowly, careful not to step on the scattered petals, and picked an empty bench to sit on.

She remembered clearly the first time she rode this train to the Kingdom. The four-girl Fangting squad had scraped their way onto the journey—getting staff help from a neighboring city for their unattended post, applying for travel funding through the Countermeasure Bureau—and after days of exhausting travel, someone had led them into this carriage.

At the time, Veronica had been so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open, and just wanted to crash. But it was Aya who dragged her—reluctantly—into this car. What they saw here left an unforgettable impression on them all.

Aya had also gotten scolded by the fairy in charge for stomping through the flowers. Asou Madoka nearly got thrown off the train for screaming out the window. Veronica had passed out halfway through and napped on the bench. Su Shengzi had used the chance to take staged photos of her, titled them Alice in the Dream Kingdom, and later won a photography contest.

They’d done so many ridiculous things, the kind of memories that normally made you cringe. But right now, Veronica only felt nostalgic.

She raised her head and looked through the opposite window, watching the scenery blur past. The train was leaving Yannan City, so the view was wide-open fields—blending seamlessly with the flowers inside the car, as if the two worlds were one.

Just as Veronica was sinking into her thoughts, the sound of the transfer door opening pulled her attention sideways.

And in walked the white-haired Magical Girl known as Tu Dinggui.

She was of balanced height and build, with fair, rosy skin—clearly well cared-for. Her features were defined yet soft, with a hint of mixed heritage from different provinces. But the most striking thing was her ash-white hair, rare in Donghua Province where black and brown hair dominated. Her hair was tied into twin half-ponytails, with the rest flowing down, giving her a sweet and refreshing vibe.

Tu Dinggui walked in, still clutching the book she’d been reading earlier—Efficient Spellcasting in Energy Manipulation Rituals. Her dark blue skirt swayed gently among the flowers. She stopped at a bench diagonally across from Veronica, adjusted her white shirt, smoothed out the wrinkles, fixed her light knit vest, and carefully sat down. Through it all, her gaze was fixed elsewhere—either unaware or too deep in thought to notice Veronica.

Veronica had no interest in starting a conversation with a stranger, so the two of them just sat there in silence—one reading, the other daydreaming.

Eventually, perhaps due to eye fatigue, Tu Dinggui reluctantly looked up from her book. She leaned her head back, lost in thought. A moment later, she seemed to have figured something out, and smiled, pumping a fist in the air in triumph.

Realizing the silliness of her gesture, she glanced around to check if anyone had noticed. Seeing no one paying attention, she relaxed—until her eyes landed on Veronica in the corner.

There was no denying it: even among the typically good-looking Magical Girls, Veronica stood out. Even wearing a plain trench coat with no accessories, her looks were striking. People often said she looked like a doll, and in her case, it was less a compliment than a statement of fact.

So—had Tu Dinggui noticed her because she looked beautiful?

Veronica didn’t know.

All she knew was that ever since the white-haired girl noticed her, she’d felt an intense and uncomfortable stare coming from across the way.

Finally, unable to endure the scrutiny any longer, Veronica spoke.

“Excuse me… is there something you wanted to say to me?”

“Huh?”

Tu Dinggui seemed surprised that Veronica had initiated the conversation. She shook her head. “No.”

“Then pardon me if I’m being presumptuous,” Veronica said, raising an eyebrow. “But you’ve been looking this way for a while now. Is it because—?”

“Oh, was it that obvious? Sorry.”

Tu Dinggui gave a polite nod. “I didn’t mean to bother you. You just reminded me of something when I saw you. If I made you uncomfortable, I apologize.”

“Reminded you?” Veronica pressed.

“Yeah. You look really young—about the same age as my 9-year-old little sister. So I was thinking, ‘Wow, even little kids take the exam now?’ and kind of drifted into my own thoughts.”

She nodded again, speaking frankly. “Of course, maybe I was just assuming things. But since you’re here, I figured you’re probably a Magical Girl too. I just… kind of defaulted to thinking of you that way. Sorry.”

“No, you’re not wrong. I am a Magical Girl.”

Veronica shook her head. “But as for being a ‘little kid’—I can’t say I agree. I’m actually older than I look.”

“Oh, really?”

Tu Dinggui blinked. “Then I guess that makes it even more awkward. Sorry. So… how old are you?”

How old am I?

The question caught Veronica off guard.

She knew perfectly well she was 36—soon to be 37—but that was Lin Yun and Veronica’s age, not Gentian’s.

So how old was “Gentian” supposed to be?

15? 16? 18?

Veronica wanted to say something older, just to avoid standing out among the new recruits. There was an old rumor in the Magical Girl community: the younger you became a Magical Girl, the more potential you had. She was here to infiltrate, not attract attention—low profile was key.

But she couldn’t just make it up. Emerald would’ve set an age for the identity when the fake profile was created. Giving the wrong number now could blow her cover.

Then it hit her—she still had her admission ticket. It should list all her basic info.

Without hesitation, she pulled it out and looked down.

—【Candidate Information】

【Name: Gentian】

【Place of Birth: Fangting City, Donghua Province】

【Age: 10】

Ten. Years. Old.

Veronica stared at the number and nearly tore the card in half.

Fortunately, her self-control kicked in. She kept her composure, lifted her head, and calmly said, “Even though I might look young, I’m actually already sixte—”

“Ah, so you’re ten! That’s a bit older than my sister, then.”

Tu Dinggui stood next to her, looking down at the card as well. Then she smiled brightly. “Becoming a Magical Girl at ten and already taking the certification test—that’s amazing!”

“…Actually, about this admission card—” Veronica struggled to explain.

“Hm? What is it?” But Tu Dinggui had already taken the age as fact. Her face showed zero doubt. “Ah, sorry—were you worried I’d underestimate you because of your age? Don’t worry, I genuinely think it’s super impressive. …Wait, why do you look so sad all of a sudden?”

“It’s nothing. Just… thinking about something.”

In the end, Veronica gave up trying to explain.