Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 117: The Answer to Mohe’s Question

Vol 2 Chapter 117: The Answer to Mohe’s Question

The call Cui Que picked up was for Lin Yun, but thankfully, the person on the other end wasn’t another staff member—it was Hong Siyu.

The reason she called at that exact moment was because a city construction bureau project near the outskirts had found traces of a Ravager’s activity but hadn’t actually located the creature. They hoped the Bureau of Anomalous Attack Countermeasures could send someone over to stand guard.

A guarding task like this would be a bit of a waste for a Magical Girl. Even though Hong Siyu herself was a Magical Girl, she’d been running herself ragged in the bureau lately, and she definitely couldn’t afford to waste time on an unseen Ravager. Asou Madoka had already been holding down pretty much the entire city’s defense on her own, and Hong Siyu didn’t think it was fair to pile even more on her plate.

After some careful thought, the best solution seemed to be sending a team of bureau staff armed with Magical Armaments. These squads could handle low-level Ravagers decently well, and they had more manpower compared to Magical Girls.

But since this involved deploying the Special Operations Division, they needed the approval of Lin Yun, the director.

“I think it’s fine. Let’s go ahead and approve it.”

That’s what Cui Que said. “But the Special Ops Division’s combat resources are valuable, so make sure to tell them this clearly: If the Ravager hasn’t appeared in seven days, they need to pull out. We’re not wasting our time. We’ll switch the task from guarding to observation, and only ensure a response as soon as a Ravager actually shows up. We’re not their babysitters. They need to learn how to manage their own risks. They can’t just throw every little thing at us.”

“Got it... Approve the request for now, but if no Ravager shows up after seven days, we tell them to stop. Understood.”

Hong Siyu muttered the words to herself. “So... should we assign one or two stronger employees to the team? I noticed Tian Sheng hasn’t been too busy lately.”

By “Tian Sheng,” she meant Tian Sheng from the Special Operations Division. Ever since the Black Ash Dawn operation, he’d been racking up an impressive record, with multiple solo kills of Egg-tier Ravagers to his name. He was the standout in his department, no doubt.

“If he’s not too busy, then let him go. That way the construction bureau won’t complain we’re slacking off.”

Leaning against the bathroom wall, Cui Que’s voice was calm. “But be cautious when deploying elite personnel. This kind of guard duty should only take up half their day. We need to make sure they have time to handle those lower-level Ravager attacks too... you know we can’t throw even Egg-tier Ravagers at Asou. We can’t overload her.”

“Mm, I understand, Senior.” Hong Siyu responded softly.

“Alright then... I’ll leave it at that for now. I ducked out during a meal to take this call, so I shouldn’t keep talking too long.”

Cui Que glanced at the time on her phone—this call had already lasted ten minutes. She took the initiative to wrap it up. “If anything else comes up, just find me.”

“Ah, oh, um, Senior, wait a sec!” Hong Siyu’s voice interrupted just as Cui Que was about to hang up.

“Hmm? What is it now?” Cui Que asked, puzzled.

“Well, um... happy birthday! And... happy Valentine’s Day.”

Hong Siyu’s voice weirdly spiked in volume at first, then trailed off, getting quieter and quieter. “I know I can’t say it to you face to face, but I hope you don’t forget...”

She paused, seeming to take a deep breath.

“—I’m over here in the material world, but my heart is completely with you.”

She spoke so fast that by the time Cui Que registered what she’d just heard, the phone had already gone dead, leaving only a string of busy tones.

When Cui Que finally processed what Hong Siyu had said, there was no chance to respond. She could only stare wide-eyed at her phone.

“This girl... lately she’s really...”

After a long moment, Cui Que let out a small sigh and decided to let it go. She had to get back to her meal; she couldn’t keep the others waiting too long.

Putting her phone away, she quickly freshened up at the sink and headed back to the dining area.

Her heart was indeed beating a little faster, but she adjusted herself quickly. By the time she sat down, her expression was back to normal.

After that little detour, she finally felt ready to continue the conversation with Mohe.

Thinking this, Cui Que glanced at the chocolate fondue set in the center of the table and the untouched metal cooler ball beside it.

Had the other person been waiting for her this whole time?

Realizing this, she felt a twinge of guilt for having left the table for ten minutes.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s continue.”

Cui Que did her best to look calm, wearing a perfectly standard smile. She reached for the metal ball beside her, gripped the lid, and tugged it up and down a couple of times. Once the gap widened a bit, she traced the seam with her finger and gently pried it open.

Inside the cooler ball were pre-cut banana slices.

Recalling how to eat chocolate fondue, Cui Que picked up a long-handled tong, grabbed a banana slice, and dipped it into the melted chocolate. After waiting about ten seconds, she fished it out, sprinkled on some sugar crystals, and placed it on Mohe’s plate.

“The method should be fine, so go ahead and try it.”

She spoke as she reached to open another cooler ball, but soon noticed Mohe staring at her intently, muttering something under her breath.

“What’s wrong?” Cui Que asked.

“...Nothing.”

Mohe looked down, a bit guilty for some reason, and nibbled on the banana Cui Que had given her. “The Captain’s cooking... it’s really good.”

“I just dipped it in the pot, so it doesn’t really count as my cooking.”

Cui Que corrected her but didn’t linger on the topic. “If you like it, then that’s good. Let’s dip some more ingredients—there are also biscuits and apples here.”

The two of them focused on the fondue.

Cui Que, however, was still thinking about the question Mohe had asked her before she left. She kept turning it over in her mind, wondering whether she should answer, or what kind of answer she should give.

Meanwhile, Mohe was frantically trying to come up with a solution, knowing she’d messed up without Cui Que realizing it yet. Her mischief hadn’t been exposed on the bill—yet.

“...Oh, right, if it’s a time machine!” After a round of brainstorming, Mohe mumbled this, and Cui Que caught it, giving her a puzzled look.

Mohe quickly realized she’d slipped up, so she stuffed a chocolate-dipped biscuit into her mouth and tried to play it off like nothing had happened.

Compared to the earlier part of the meal, the two of them had definitely fallen quiet. The only sounds were Cui Que occasionally explaining how to use the utensils, and otherwise, they just quietly ate.

A full meal made up entirely of sweets would’ve been unbearably cloying for Lin Yun. But in his current form as a Magical Girl, her taste had shifted, and she actually found the sweet dishes quite enjoyable. Plus, no matter how much sugar she took in, her Magical Girl body wouldn’t have any adverse reactions—it would all just get converted into magic anyway.

Biting down softly, she tore off a piece of the chocolate-coated biscuit in her mouth and slowly chewed, savoring the rich sweetness. She closed her eyes for a moment and made her decision.

“Mohe.” She spoke up.

“...Hmm?” Mohe looked over at her.

“That question you asked earlier—‘Are you happy?’—I think maybe I should tell you what I really think.”

Cui Que swallowed the last bit of biscuit and took a sip of tea from the table to cleanse her palate. “If we’re talking about a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ my answer’s the same as before. I’ve found my own life and happiness, and even now, I still believe I’m happy.”

Mohe’s expression didn’t change. “Really... is that so?”

“I don’t know why you’d doubt my answer, or even feel unhappy about it. But without a doubt, what I said is the truth.”

Cui Que set down her teacup. “It’s just that I didn’t tell you the whole truth. The truth is... I wasn’t able to cherish it, wasn’t able to hold onto the happiness that was mine, so some of it slipped away.”

“I feel regret, sorrow, even grief over the part I lost. But precisely because of that—because of the regret and grief—I can never say that I’m not happy.”

“Because if I let myself drown in sadness over the part I lost, and convince myself that I’m no longer happy, ignoring the happiness I still have...”

She paused, then looked at Mohe.

“Then I’d be an idiot who doesn’t even deserve the happiness that remains.”

That last sentence made Mohe’s hand holding her fork pause for a second.

“I don’t understand.” She raised her head. “If happiness has slipped away, can you really still call it happiness?”