Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 109: Memorial Cemetery

Vol 2 Chapter 109: Memorial Cemetery

As a veteran employee at the Reception Division under the Examination Bureau of the Magic Kingdom, Receptionist No. 7 had always been known among her colleagues for being “capable.”

Sure, in everyday life, being recognized and praised is a good thing. But in the workplace, No. 7 would rather not have that so-called “good reputation.”

Thanks to this reputation, her supervisor always assigned her the most demanding tasks. Her colleagues, too, often came to her with things they couldn’t finish or didn’t know how to handle. And as for overtime work? That somehow always ended up on her plate.

Although the Examination Bureau was a joint agency under the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures and the Research Institute, meaning there was never a lack of overtime pay, constantly piling on extra work—well, no matter how diligent someone was, it was still demoralizing to see the workload never end.

Because of all the overtime, her No. 7 window had practically become her personal workspace, which earned her the not-so-pleasant nickname “No. 7.” And today, as usual, a colleague who was supposed to be off had an emergency, so naturally, it was up to her to step in and handle the current round of qualification registration at the Reception Division.

The Reception Division was located in the Academy District of Luennore. It now served as the registration center for qualification verification—an essential final step for Magical Girls before they could take the examination.

“Thank you for waiting. All of your personal information has been verified, and the internal system has been updated. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Sliding the exam permits across the window, No. 7 fought to keep her eyes open despite the exhaustion from several days of overtime. She tidied up the remaining files on her desk, all while giving the Magical Girls in front of her a standard professional smile:

“From the permit information, it looks like all of you are here for the White Card Exam, and this is your first time registering, right? The number of candidates this year is surprisingly high, so competition will be fierce—do your best!”

“There are a lot of candidates?”

The Magical Girl in front of her took the permits and redistributed them to her companions. But after hearing No. 7’s words, she looked puzzled:

“Why’s that?”

“Uh… huh?”

No. 7 hadn’t expected a candidate to ask that, so she paused briefly. Then, realizing the girl’s confusion, she answered:

“Well, there are a lot of reasons, but the main one… is probably because this year is the Queen’s Year. Her Majesty the Queen might personally visit the exam site, after all.”

She deliberately used the phrase “might visit” to avoid sounding too definite. But in truth, up until about a century ago, the Queen personally attended various events across the Kingdom almost every Queen’s Year.

The only exceptions were forty years ago and twenty years ago.

According to the official statements from the Royal Court, forty years ago, the Kingdom was at war with the Interstice, and the situation was so severe that the Queen was too busy to appear at that year’s Queen’s Year celebrations. Twenty years ago, although the war had ended, the wounds of the post-war period still needed healing. The Great Beast Disaster that broke out mid-year also dealt a heavy blow to both the Kingdom and the Physical Realm, leading to a hastily concluded celebration.

So, ever since the qualification verification system was established in the Magic Kingdom, apart from those two exceptional years, the Queen had always attended the Queen’s Year examinations in person.

Considering this is another Queen’s Year, and that twenty years have passed since the last war, in such a peaceful time, there didn’t seem to be anything that could interfere with this grand celebration. So, the idea that “the Queen will resume attending events across the Kingdom in person” seemed perfectly natural.

For the Kingdom’s native Magical Girls, having a chance to be seen by the Queen was an unforgettable opportunity. And the Magical Girls from the Physical Realm were all dreaming of “being noticed by the Queen through exceptional performance and gaining her favor.”

Considering that the last time the Queen attended in person was sixty years ago, it was no surprise that this year’s qualification verification had an overwhelming number of candidates.

If the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures hadn’t established strict rules in advance, some Magical Girls who had already received their Letter Cards might have even tried to cancel their registrations and sign up for the exam again. That would have been utter chaos.

As for how this influx of candidates had driven the Examination Bureau to the brink, and how it had forced the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures to make a series of adjustments—there were even rumors that they deliberately raised the difficulty to discourage candidates… well, that was an entirely different story.

---

“So, if we perform well in the exam this year, there’s even a chance we might get noticed by the Queen of the Magic Kingdom?”

Sitting on a bench near the entrance of the registration office, Lin Xiaolu stared off into the distance with a serious expression, piecing together what she thought was a reasonable deduction. “Then, if I show off my Offset Magic in the practical exam, maybe Her Majesty will see me in a different light?”

The one who had asked a question that had left Receptionist No. 7 momentarily stumped was none other than Lin Xiaolu.

To be fair, while her question might have seemed odd from the perspective of the locals, it had indeed provided their small group with some valuable information: the concept of the Queen’s Year, the war from twenty years ago, and the disasters that followed.

Since other Magical Girls were still waiting in line, No. 7 didn’t have the time to give them a full history lesson on the Kingdom. She had only briefly explained the origins and significance of the Queen’s Year, but that alone was enough to help them make sense of many things they hadn’t understood along the way—like why people were handing out free gifts on the streets, why the city seemed to be lit up with decorations everywhere, and why fairies were throwing themselves at them in the streets…

When they had arrived yesterday, it was a rushed and late arrival, so they hadn’t seen this festive side of Luennore. But today, they had personally experienced the warmth and joy radiating from the people.

“Forget it. Even if the Queen does come to the exam site, she’s definitely not going to watch the White Card exam.”

Summer Liang, who was flipping through a map nearby, glanced up when she heard Lin Xiaolu’s wild theory. She shot her a look that clearly said, “Are you serious right now?” and added, “And it’s just that your magic turns white, right? That’s hardly enough to prove it’s an Offset effect. Other Magical Girls who can cause Turbulence can also make their magic look strange, can’t they?”

“Hah! Do you think the Queen of the Magic Kingdom would have a perception as fuzzy as a mortal’s?”

Lin Xiaolu wasn’t fazed at all by Summer Liang’s splash of cold water. “Maybe she can see the magical nature of everyone in the room at a glance. Maybe the slightest change in my core color will catch her eye, you know?”

Summer Liang couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at that, turning her face away. Meanwhile, Bai Jingxuan, who was sitting next to her, instantly looked stricken.

“Huh? She can do that?”

“I think so,” Lin Xiaolu declared with certainty.

“Th-then what about me?” Bai Jingxuan nervously pointed to herself. “Will I get noticed too?”

“Huh? Oh, right, your core color is…”

Lin Xiaolu blinked, as if she had just remembered something, and then stopped herself before she could blurt out something she probably shouldn’t say. She quickly covered her mouth, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, and then quietly added, “Yeah, considering your situation… that could be tricky. Maybe I should change my perspective. It’d probably be better if the Queen can’t sense everyone’s core colors.”

“Is that the kind of thing you can just ‘decide’ is the case?” Summer Liang sighed.

“E-even so… what if Her Majesty can sense it? What should I do then?” Bai Jingxuan still looked far from comforted.

“Get arrested as a Claw… or something?” Lin Xiaolu mimed a hand chopping across her neck.

“Ah? I don’t want that…” Bai Jingxuan whimpered and scooted behind Summer Liang for cover.

“Alright, enough messing with Xiaoxuan. Don’t you feel ashamed, picking on a kid all the time?”

Summer Liang turned and hugged Bai Jingxuan, patting her back for comfort, before glaring at Lin Xiaolu. “This sort of thing—don’t you think our Senior Sakura would’ve considered it already? If she let Xiaoxuan take the exam, it must mean there’s nothing to worry about, right?”

After giving Lin Xiaolu a piece of her mind, she turned to Bai Jingxuan. “Senior Sakura must have discussed this with you, didn’t she?”

“Mm… mm.”

Summer Liang’s words jogged Bai Jingxuan’s memory. She thought back to Veronica’s promise, and her expression visibly relaxed. “Teacher said that as long as I control my magic properly, there won’t be any problems. Even if something unexpected happens, she won’t let anything bad happen.”

Summer Liang shot Lin Xiaolu a look that clearly said, See?, while Lin Xiaolu glared back with an expression that said, Why are you so smug?

“Well, now that you put it that way, that’s true. After all, Veronica is an Inspector at the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures. With that connection, even if Xiaoxuan did get arrested as a Claw, she’d probably be able to get released, right?”

Realizing she couldn’t tease Bai Jingxuan anymore with this topic, Lin Xiaolu felt bored and muttered listlessly, “Man, adults’ world sure is boring.”

“You should just shut up,” Summer Liang replied with a forced smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Luennore, near the boundary between the Emerald Archives and the Non-Magic Zone, Veronica was lingering in an open area.

Compared to the cities of the Physical Realm, Luennore’s urban layout was undoubtedly much more spacious.

In the Physical Realm, city planning had to take into account the risk of feral beast attacks. If a city’s area was too spread out without enough land utilization, it would only increase the chance of feral beast incursions, and Magical Girls or the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures would have to travel much longer distances for reinforcements. Officially speaking, cities that were too large and inefficient would reduce defense capabilities and increase costs—something that wasn’t worth it from any angle.

But in the Magic Kingdom, city planning didn’t have to worry about those issues.

That’s not to say cities in the Magic Kingdom were completely free from feral beast attacks—just that, compared to the Physical Realm, the Kingdom had a far greater number of Magical Girls, and cities had more comprehensive protective formations.

For example, in a major city like Luennore, ever since the Garden Defense Battle twenty years ago, they’d even installed high-cost enchantments like Giant Slowing across the city to slow down feral beasts that landed in urban areas.

As a result, even the buildings in the Non-Magic Zone of Luennore were relatively sparse. Expanses of green spaces and gardens were embedded throughout the city’s road networks, giving the entire city a lush, verdant feel.

The Non-Magic Zone itself was divided into neighborhoods, with each small residential district typically covering an area of 2–3 hexes—about 3–5 square kilometers in Physical Realm units.

There were over 370 small districts in the entire Non-Magic Zone, and near the northeast side, close to where it bordered the Academy District, there was a neatly maintained green space. This area wasn’t restricted, so locals often came here to stroll or rest.

Familiar neighbors would gather to hold small events or simply chat about neighborhood gossip. The place was basically their community square.

“Alright, done.”

Veronica gave the wheelchair she’d just finished fixing a push, then turned to the elderly man sitting nearby.

“Give it a try now. It should be working fine.”

It was around noon. Veronica had come from the Research Institute, originally planning to take a walk in the Non-Magic Zone to clear her mind after receiving some new information—and also to vent her frustration after being tricked by Emerald again.

That was when she spotted an elderly man who was stranded in the green space because his wheelchair had broken down.

Since she wasn’t in any rush, she’d offered to help repair it, which had led to this scene.

“Oh, let me give it a try… Ah, it’s moving, it’s moving! Thank you so much!”

The elderly man sat in the wheelchair, testing it by moving back and forth a couple of times. He smiled and nodded gratefully.

“I was about to call my grandson to come get me, but in this weather, with the sun blazing like this… by the time that kid got here, I’d have been roasted! Thanks to you, really—you’re so kind, I don’t even know how to thank you, young lady…”

Halfway through his sentence, the old man seemed to realize something. He squinted at Veronica, muttering to himself, and then after a long pause, he finally added, “…young lady?”

It was only when he paused that Veronica realized what he was thinking. After all, in the Magic Kingdom, Magical Girls could maintain their youthful appearance indefinitely. Many of them looked like young girls, but no one could guess their true age.

Considering that she, as Lin Yun, was already approaching thirty-seven, there was no way she could be older than the elderly man in front of her. So she simply nodded and agreed, “Yes, I’m a newcomer to the Magic Kingdom this year, here for the qualification exam. Just a rookie Magical Girl.”

It was a bit of a stretch to play the role of a “newbie,” but for now, she accepted the old man’s label.

“Oh, a rookie! Rookies are good!”

The elderly man seemed relieved at her response and said, “Right, it’s that time of year again.”

“Old-timer, how could you tell I’m a Magical Girl?”

Veronica was a bit curious. “There should be a lot of ordinary girls around here, right?”

Even though she was still wearing her elegant qipao—the attire of Magical Girl Gentian—which, in a place where eccentric outfits were the norm, wasn’t all that rare, she figured it wasn’t that unusual.

“Heh, isn’t it obvious? Your outfit aside, you girls—Magical Girls, I mean—have a different energy than normal girls.”

The old man grinned, pointing at Veronica’s eyes. “Even rookies like you don’t have the same gaze as your peers. People with eyes like yours are the kind who dream of becoming heroes.”

“Is that so? Thank you for the compliment.”

Veronica practiced her facial control, managing to produce a slightly stiff social smile.

Ever since her treatment by Emerald, she’d mostly recovered her original state. Using her Magical Armor no longer caused soul-level agony, and she didn’t suffer from various physical discomforts anymore.

Outwardly, that meant she could now manage a range of expressions without worrying about her face betraying her, unlike before when she had to stay stoic all the time.

“Haha, my grandma was a Magical Girl too. I grew up under her care, so I know a bit more about you girls than most folks.”

The old man leaned back against his wheelchair, his eyes softening. “She used to love playing pranks, acting like a young lady to mess with people. She even teased my wife at our wedding. But if anyone in the family dared to call her young or lower her seniority, she’d get upset, and we’d have to rack our brains trying to figure out what to call her.”

“What a fascinating elder.” Veronica nodded politely.

“Isn’t she? I really liked her—one of the elders I respected the most.”

The old man sighed, eyes squinting in nostalgia. “Time flies… I’m already the age she was back then, and she’s been gone a long time. We haven’t had any Magical Girls in the family since her, not like back when she was around… those were the days…”

Once he started talking, it was like opening a floodgate. As Veronica pushed the wheelchair to escort him back toward the busier part of the city, he spoke in fragments about his grandmother, the Magical Girl who had once been a central figure in his life.

They talked for quite a while, until Veronica finally dropped him off in a more bustling area. The old man waved cheerfully, looking thoroughly satisfied.

By then, it was already afternoon.

Veronica felt the phone in her waist bag vibrating. She opened her bag and rummaged around until she found it—not “Veronica’s phone,” but “Lin Yun’s phone.”

Who would be contacting her in this identity at this hour? Something from the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures?

As she thought about it, she unlocked the screen and glanced through the messages in her chat app.

Most of them were reports from department heads or temporary requests from employees. Veronica read them one by one, responding to each, until she reached the top of the feed and found the message that had triggered the vibration.

【Lin Xiaolu: [Image]】

【Lin Xiaolu: We’ve finished registration at the Magic Kingdom, everything went smoothly. [Keep it up]】

Veronica opened the image and saw a selfie of Lin Xiaolu’s group of three in front of the Examination Bureau’s reception office. Their expressions were stiff and awkward, obviously staged, but at least they looked okay.

This was something Lin Xiaolu had promised Lin Yun before leaving Fangting City—to send a message every few days updating on their status. Apparently, Lin Xiaolu hadn’t forgotten, so she sent the message as soon as they’d finished registration.

As for Veronica’s phone, they probably hadn’t messaged her because she’d said last night that she had tasks to handle, so they’d left her alone.

Veronica stared at the message for a moment, then typed: “Dad saw it. Prepare well, do your best on the exam.”

After hesitating briefly, she added a single rose emoji at the end.

That shouldn’t come off as too flippant… right?

With that thought, she sent the message, then put the phone back into her bag.

“Next… I should probably find time to change clothes. Walking around in this outfit is a bit too conspicuous.”

Feeling the gazes of passersby occasionally turning her way, she couldn’t help but mutter to herself.

Lin Xiaolu and the others had just finished registration, so they probably wouldn’t return to their hotel right away. Instead, they’d likely spend some time exploring the Academy District of Luennore. In fact, most of the registration could have been done online, and even the identity verification could have been handled remotely through a spell.

But, thanks to Lin Xiaolu’s peculiar principle of “not wanting to rely on technological means in the Magic Kingdom,” the three of them had chosen to register in person and take the opportunity to sightsee in the Academy District.

Considering all that, it didn’t make much sense for her to head back to the inn at this point. Rather than rushing back, she might as well stroll around for a bit and figure out how she was going to explain her sudden and unexplained shrink in height—or maybe just bluff her way through, pretending like nothing had happened.

With these messy thoughts swirling in her head, Veronica wandered the streets, occasionally accepting samples of chocolate offered by shopkeepers. She nibbled on the bittersweet treats as she moved along.

When she accepted a piece of chocolate at a snack shop on one street corner, she casually said, “Thank you,” which earned her a cheerful response: “Haha, you’re such a cute little girl!” Before she could react, another piece of chocolate, neatly wrapped in a small box, was stuffed into her hands.

“Here, take two. You can give one to someone you like.” The shopkeeper grinned as they spoke.

“Thank you.” Veronica thanked them again, and without hesitation, unwrapped one of the chocolates, popped it into her mouth, and gave an honest review after tasting it:

“Sweet. Tastes good.”

“Hehe, thanks for the compliment! I’m glad you like it.” The shopkeeper looked pleased.

Veronica was about to slip the other chocolate into her crossbody bag when she paused, turned back, and asked, “Is your shop nearby?”

“Hmm? Yeah, just down the alley over there, less than 20 meters away.” The shopkeeper pointed to the side.

“How much per box?”

“It’s a bit pricey, since they’re handmade—20 Fa per box.”

The price, equivalent to about 100 yuan in the material world, wasn’t exactly cheap.

“Alright, I’ll take three boxes.” Veronica held up three fingers.

“Wow! Big sale!” The shopkeeper beamed and welcomed her into the shop to pack the chocolates.

The shop was small, tucked into an alley with a slightly odd layout, but its interior design had a refined touch. The warm yellow lighting and wooden furniture gave it a cozy, homey atmosphere.

While the shopkeeper was busy packing up the chocolates, Veronica wandered around the store, looking for other treats she could bring back as gifts for her juniors. But after a full round, she found that aside from the various chocolates, most of the items were baked goods—less ideal for snacking. There were also some local specialty sweets from the Kingdom, but she wasn’t familiar with them and didn’t dare risk the unknown flavors.

As she wandered, her eyes caught on something unusual inside a display warmer: a dessert called Qi Yun Cake. It was a unique Kingdom specialty—completely transparent, almost like a large block of glass, but soft, sticky, and sweet once you took a bite.

What made it stand out wasn’t just its appearance. Veronica knew this kind of dessert wasn’t typically for eating—Qi Yun Cake was usually used as an offering for the dead, especially for the spirits of deceased Magical Girls.

No one really knew how the tradition began. The common explanation was that because Qi Yun Cake had no color and an indistinct shape, it resembled a cake-shaped soul. Since cake was the most beloved treat among Magical Girls, it was fitting to use a cake-like offering for them. And because the deceased no longer had physical bodies, the offering naturally had to be a “soul cake.”

Under this oddly logical reasoning, Qi Yun Cake—a perfectly edible sweet—ended up being reserved for the dead. Over time, most normal dessert shops stopped selling it altogether.

“Excuse me… Sorry to bother you, but why does your shop sell Qi Yun Cake?” Veronica didn’t plan to keep her question to herself. She walked back to the counter and asked directly.

“Huh? Qi Yun Cake?” The shopkeeper, who had been matching wrapping paper to the chocolate boxes, looked up and blinked. “Ah, is this your first time in our neighborhood?”

“Yes,” Veronica admitted honestly.

“Well, then it’s not surprising you’re confused. See, our shop’s in a special spot. If you turn up that hill over there and walk about 500 meters, there’s a cemetery.”

“A cemetery?”

“Yeah, it’s where they buried the martyrs from the Two Realms War—especially those who died in the Garden Defense Battle.”

The shopkeeper’s tone was calm, like she was explaining something that was just common sense. “The Kingdom built a memorial cemetery for them. Every year, a lot of people come to pay their respects. That’s why we sell Qi Yun Cake—just making a bit of money off offerings.”

Veronica froze. She stood there like a statue, her gaze locked on the shopkeeper’s work: wrapping the chocolates, tying neat bows with ribbons, and packing everything into grayish-brown paper bags.

“Alright, your chocolates are all packed, little lady. Careful—it’s a bit heavy…” The shopkeeper lifted the bags and turned toward Veronica, but her voice trailed off as she noticed the complex look on Veronica’s face. “Uh… is something wrong?”

“...No.” Veronica shook her head slightly, her expression returning to calm. She accepted the chocolates from the shopkeeper like nothing had happened and asked, almost offhandedly, “By the way, that memorial cemetery you mentioned—where exactly is it?”

“Ah, just keep going down the alley, turn inside, then head north. You’ll see a mountain.”

“On the mountain?”

“At the foot of the mountain.”

“Got it. One more favor, please.”

“...Sure?” For some reason, the shopkeeper felt a subtle shift in the air—the little girl in front of her didn’t quite feel like just a “little lady” anymore. She adjusted how she addressed her.

“Could you pack a few Qi Yun Cakes for me?”

Veronica wasn’t sure what expression she had when she said that. She hoped she hadn’t let any unnecessary emotions show—she didn’t want to frighten the kind shopkeeper. She could only instinctively apologize to indicate she wasn’t trying to cause trouble, though the shopkeeper clearly didn’t understand why she was apologizing.

A moment later, Veronica accepted the packaged Qi Yun Cakes with a polite thank-you and left the shop, the shopkeeper’s concerned gaze following her out.

Carrying the Qi Yun Cakes, Veronica followed the directions and found the memorial cemetery.

The shopkeeper hadn’t lied—it was indeed a large cemetery, grand and solemn. Seven life-sized bronze statues of soldiers stood just inside the gates, gazing outward. Judging by their attire, three were Magical Girls, one was a Fairy, and three were ordinary humans.

The bronze statues stood in a square, behind which was a memorial monument. The granite monument had been worn smooth by twenty years of wind and rain. Three bouquets of sealed lilies lay tilted against the base, their petals and the plastic wrap holding them together gathering dust, like an hourglass silently counting down the rate at which they were being forgotten.

Further in, there was a circular memorial wall surrounding the square, adorned with reliefs of over a thousand Heartstone Gems. Some of the reliefs had been damaged by time. Next to them were what seemed to be Farvor Runes, but they were too far for Veronica to make out.

This was it. Some instinct told Veronica so.

She had never heard of this cemetery before, nor had she ever been here, but standing at the entrance, memories long buried surged up uncontrollably. She could almost smell the stench of burnt flesh mixed with the musk of beasts.

Maybe it was the dream she’d had earlier about the past—those dormant memories felt more vivid now, pulling her back to that time. She raised her hand to cover her nose, as if to block out smells that no longer existed.

The Garden Defense Battle.

A battle hailed in legends as an epic miracle of love and courage—a song of bravery, an anthem of Magical Girls. Hyacinth, the hero who rose from that war, had become an idol admired by countless people, still widely discussed even today.

But for Veronica, it was one of the most painful memories of her life.

Unlike the sorrow of parting with Anya, or the lingering pain in daily moments that followed, if she had to summarize her feelings about the Garden Defense Battle in one word, it would be this:

Disgust.

For the citizens of the Magic Kingdom, that battle was the symbol of victory—the war that ended the conflict, the source of pride. But to Veronica, it was nothing like that. The carnage, the screams of her comrades, the roars of the beasts, the stench of burning flesh that still tried to claw its way into her mind... it wasn’t a place of honor. For those who had lived through it, it was hell.

They called the people buried here “martyrs,” but not all of them had been prepared to die. Many of these Magical Girls had been young girls who barely understood anything. The day before, they might have been chatting with friends about the future. The next day, their Heartstones were shattered, leaving behind only a broken gem and a corpse—nothing of what they had wanted to leave behind in the world.

In truth, Veronica hadn’t known many of the Magical Girls buried here personally. Some names brought her sadness, but for most, they were just reminders—reminders not to forget, that some things shouldn’t be cast aside just because they hurt to remember.

She really should have come here sooner.

Or so she believed.

Shaking her head a few times to clear the dark thoughts, she took a deep breath and stepped toward the cemetery gates, holding the Qi Yun Cakes. But as she approached, she noticed someone already standing there.

It seemed to be a visitor trying to pay their respects, but they appeared to be having trouble.

“No, without proper ID, you can’t go in. This is a martyr’s cemetery, not a place where rules can be bent!” The gatekeeper spoke bluntly to the visitor. “No matter how much you beg, it’s not happening. I don’t have that kind of authority, you know?”

“Please...” The visitor bowed deeply.

“I told you, no! Talking to me won’t change anything!” the gatekeeper snapped impatiently.

“Please...” The visitor bowed even lower.

“I said no!”

It seemed like the visitor had no ID, and the gatekeeper wasn’t about to let them in.

The visitor was a girl in a black school uniform, a long-sleeved knit sweater layered over it. With her back to Veronica, her face wasn’t visible, but a short ponytail bobbed behind her head as she bowed.

Veronica waited behind them for a while, but the girl showed no sign of leaving, continuing to beg while the gatekeeper grew more impatient. Seeing the situation about to escalate, Veronica decided to step in.

“Excuse me, may I ask a question—are you a Magical Girl?”

This question was directed at the black-haired girl in front of her.

Given how desperately the girl wanted to enter, Veronica guessed she was either a martyr’s relative or a fellow Magical Girl. The latter seemed more likely—relatives would probably have visited many times and wouldn’t be unfamiliar with the rules about needing ID.

As soon as Veronica spoke, the girl’s body stiffened.

She froze in place for two seconds, then slowly straightened up, turning to face Veronica with a look of utter shock.

“...Is there a problem?” Veronica asked, a little exasperated. “If you’re a Magical Girl, don’t you have an ID badge? Just show it to him, and that should be enough to prove your identity, right?”

This last part was directed at the gatekeeper.

“Well, technically, yeah,” the gatekeeper muttered, casting an annoyed glance at the black-haired girl. “But are you sure this kid’s a Magical Girl? I think she’s just a local brat messing around. These little punks always like to cause trouble.”

“...I have one.” The girl’s voice was soft.

“What?” The gatekeeper scowled at her.

“I have an ID badge,” the girl said seriously.

“You have one? Then why the hell didn’t you show it earlier? Trying to mess with me?” The gatekeeper grew angrier.

“...I forgot,” the girl mumbled, reaching into the inner pocket of her knit sweater. After a long search, she finally pulled out a dull, gray badge and handed it over.

The gatekeeper accepted it begrudgingly, inspecting the text, then activating a magic detection spell. After a moment, he returned the badge.

“Alright, it’s legit. You’re clear to go in.” His tone remained gruff.

“...Thank you.” The girl bowed low again and slipped through the gate.

With the girl no longer blocking the entrance, Veronica easily entered as well. The ID card she carried, forged by the Royal Capital’s black market, was technically fake, but completely indistinguishable from the real thing. A gatekeeper at a place like this wouldn’t have the means to detect a forgery.

But as she entered the cemetery, she quickly noticed the black-haired girl waiting by the statues, staring at her intently as if she had something to say.

“Captain, long time no see.”

The words stunned Veronica.

Captain? What was this girl talking about?

It took her a while to process what the girl meant. Twenty-one years ago, when she served in the Luennore City Defense Corps, Veronica had indeed been a squad captain.

But then she grew even more confused, because her squad had been small, and apart from the ones who had perished, she still remembered all of her team members. This girl, while vaguely familiar, didn’t match any of the faces in her memory.

Short, black-haired, skinny—those traits weren’t exactly rare. Her squad did have someone like that, Nina Krejius, but this girl didn’t look like her at all.

The biggest issue was that right now, she wasn’t “Veronica”—she was “Gentian,” a rookie Magical Girl. There was no reason for someone from twenty years ago to recognize her.

“So… who are you?” she asked, unable to think of anything else to say. It wasn’t the politest way to put it, and it clearly hit a nerve.

The girl visibly paled, her thin body trembling as if a breeze might knock her over.

“I… I… It’s me.” She raised her hands to her face, voice shaking. “Captain, it’s me.”

“Okay, so you’re telling me you’re my old teammate…” Veronica was starting to get why the gatekeeper had been so annoyed earlier. And she realized that trying to keep up her “Gentian” cover was pointless with this girl.

With a sigh, she said, “But it’s been so many years—I can’t recognize people just by their faces. Sorry, can you tell me your codename?”

The girl paused for a moment.

Then, as if suddenly remembering, she reached up, grabbed her own face, and yanked.

Rip.

With that sound, the skin on her face—or rather, the mask she’d been wearing—came off in one piece.

“Sorry, I forgot… I was wearing a mask.” She looked a bit embarrassed as she bowed her head, holding out the dull gray badge from before.

But really, the moment she took off the mask, Veronica no longer needed to see the badge. She already knew exactly who this was.

She was relieved, in fact, to realize that her memory hadn’t gone completely dull. Even though the girl had been wearing a mask, she had already been running through possible matches in her mind.

Standing before her was indeed the person who had been part of her squad 21 years ago—Nina Krejius.

As clearly engraved on that dull gray badge:

ID Number 13251, Codename: Ink Lotus.