Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 120: Dreamer

Vol 2 Chapter 120: Dreamer

As soon as Mohe asked that question, the car started moving.

She pressed the gas pedal, put her hands on the steering wheel, and paused for a few seconds. When she didn’t get a response from Cui Que, she spoke again, as if talking to herself. “For me, no matter what happens, I still see you as a comrade, Captain. So, I want to help you.”

“You’ve already said that word several times now.”

Cui Que buckled the barely-there seatbelt on her side, the click of the metal clasp mixing with her words. “But I don’t think I need help. And I don’t believe you need to help me either…”

“I do.”

Mohe suddenly cut her off, her voice unusually firm. “To me, this is something that matters.”

“…Alright then, let’s say it’s because of our past that you owe me a favor.”

Cui Que sighed, choosing not to argue with Mohe any further. “So, what exactly makes you think I need help? And how are you planning to help me? Are you going to tell me you know who killed Miss Sakura?”

If she had to analyze it herself—what in her life could possibly need help, and what Mohe could actually know about—it could only be Anya’s death.

That grief, and the hatred and fury layered on top of it, had never left her. It was just that back then, she’d been badly injured and had to think about her daughter’s future, so she hadn’t been able to act on it.

Now that she was somewhat recovered, and Lin Xiaolu’s Magical Girl career had safely found its footing, those thoughts of revenge were stirring more actively in her mind.

It wasn’t that she was about to drop everything and hunt down the killer for a bloody reckoning. Rather, she was starting to consider some initial planning.

“…Sorry, I don’t know.”

But Mohe simply shook her head with a straightforward honesty. “I know that one day, you’ll go seek revenge for Miss Sakura, and when that day comes, I’ll help you. But right now, that’s not what I want to talk about.”

Her words made Cui Que sigh again—whether it was disappointment or the resignation of hearing the expected answer, it wasn’t clear.

“Then what do you want to talk about?” Realizing this “help” wasn’t about her future revenge, Cui Que’s lingering curiosity was fading fast.

“Captain, your Magical Armor... there’s only one left, isn’t there?”

Mohe’s voice was so quiet, it almost got lost in the sound of the car speeding along the road.

But Cui Que heard it clearly.

That made her eyes snap wide open.

“…That’s not something you should know.”

She turned to look at Mohe, and even though the Mohe in front of her seemed like a completely different person from twenty years ago, she had never felt as much of a stranger as she did at this moment. “There shouldn’t be too many people in this world who know that.”

“‘Ephemeral Bloom’ isn’t a secret within our legion. The commander taught that technique to anyone she thought might go off and die. Not many people learned it.”

Mohe’s tone remained calm. “But you should remember... I learned it too.”

“I know. But you shouldn’t know this much detail.” Cui Que wasn’t convinced.

“Because I have my own team. We’re able to gather a lot of intel from the material world.”

Mohe continued her explanation. “You’ve used ‘Ephemeral Bloom’ three times… last year was the third.”

Cui Que didn’t reply right away.

She leaned back into her seat, closed her eyes in thought for a while, then opened them again. “Keep going.”

“If you join our team, we... we’re confident we can restore your Magical Armor.”

Seeing that Cui Que had accepted her statement, Mohe went on. “Though, technically speaking, it might not be exactly the same as before. The appearance and abilities of the Magical Armor could change…”

“What’s the catch?”

Cui Que’s face was blank, showing no excitement at the mention of restoring her Magical Armor. “Or rather—what exactly does your team do? This kind of technology... not even the research institutes have it.”

“…Because we have our own technical team, including some pretty impressive members from the research institutes.”

Mohe answered honestly, like a recruiter trying to entice core talent at a job fair. “As for what we do... at least from my perspective, we’re trying to build a home.”

By this point, Mohe’s car had left the bustling downtown area and was speeding down an expressway connecting different districts. The car picked up speed.

“A home?” Cui Que raised an eyebrow in the passenger seat.

“Yes, a home.”

Mohe nodded. “A place where anyone, from anywhere, with any kind of past, can come and stay... though for now, most of them are Magical Girls who have been abandoned, and humans who have nowhere else to go.”

“Abandoned Magical Girls?” Cui Que honed in on that phrase.

“Kids like us,” Mohe replied softly, her voice gaining a faint tenderness. “Because we’re not accepted, we gather together—like family. We build together, farm together, and slowly carve out a future.”

“We found a safe spot in the wastelands of the material world, built houses, farmland, energy systems... if a Magical Girl can’t survive in the Kingdom anymore, she can come to us. Everyone is welcome. We’ll build the home together.”

“For those who get lost in the wasteland or can’t find a city to accept them, we’ll welcome them too. Though, of course, criminals would need stricter limits…”

By now, the sky had fully darkened.

The night in the Kingdom was a breathtaking shade of deep blue-violet, like an oil painting, the stars twinkling against it. The starlight and moonlight illuminated the road ahead for the two of them, soft and serene.

In the gentle evening breeze, Mohe did her best to describe her “team” and “home,” using her not-so-great communication skills. Though she didn’t always express it well, the passion in her words was real.

She wasn’t lying.

Cui Que could tell that much for sure.

For Mohe, this was genuine, heartfelt—even a little naive. She was pursuing a dream, and she truly cared for and believed in the members of her so-called “team.”

This made Cui Que, who had briefly suspected whether Mohe’s “team” might be connected to Claw Marks, slowly set that thought aside.

Because... it just didn’t seem likely.

She had seen and heard of many Claw Marks members before—there were people like Sparrow, who was simply rotten to the core; like Yuan, who didn’t care about right or wrong and would do anything; like the former Diamond Scepter Purple Diamond, who was a schemer... but no matter what, it didn’t make sense for Mohe to be one of them.

What Mohe was talking about, to Cui Que, sounded like a “dream.”

Because what she described—building another “Magic Kingdom” on the side—was basically undermining the Kingdom’s foundation. If it stayed small, maybe the Kingdom would turn a blind eye. But if it grew too big, it would likely be shut down, absorbed, or worse.

And then there was that phrase “abandoned by the Kingdom.” That really caught her attention.

Cui Que herself had been permanently exiled, forbidden from re-entering the Kingdom. That could indeed be seen as being “abandoned.” But what about Mohe? What had she and her “abandoned Magical Girls” gone through?

Cui Que had always had little faith in the Kingdom itself. She trusted most Magical Girls, and she believed the Kingdom was a paradise for most ordinary people. But she didn’t trust the Royal Court—an institution that had entrenched itself in the nation for a thousand years, a court that was stingy, decayed, and arrogant. So if the Royal Court had done something in recent years to oppress lower-ranked Magical Girls, Cui Que wouldn’t be surprised at all.

At this point, she was almost certain that in the years since she left the Kingdom, Mohe must have experienced things she couldn’t even imagine.

But truth be told, even if she wanted to know what Mohe had been through, she didn’t feel like she could ask right now.

Because she was already carrying too much—Anya’s death, her children’s futures, the safety of Fangting City, her dealings with Emerald and the others... She didn’t know, or perhaps she couldn’t be sure, if she had the capacity to take on even more.

And if she asked Mohe now, got an answer... she wasn’t sure if she could just ignore it.

She probably couldn’t turn a blind eye to injustice. But at the same time, she wasn’t someone who could make promises she couldn’t keep. She realized now that whatever Mohe had experienced over these years, it was likely much deeper than she could imagine. And if she got involved without thinking, she might get pulled in too deep to get out.

—“So it’s not just that I want to help you, Captain. I... I need your help too.”

“Because you’re strong, and you’re kind. So, if it’s you, I believe you can help me protect those kids, and protect that home.”

“That’s what I believe.”

And when Mohe finished speaking—her voice filled with hope as she looked at Cui Que—Cui Que once again felt her own limitations.

I’m not a hero after all.

Feeling that hesitation deep within, Cui Que closed her eyes, then, with a hint of bitterness, said:

“…Sorry. I’ll need to think about it.”

That was all she could say.