Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 138: Grasp the Present

Vol 2 Chapter 138 – Grasp the Present

That same afternoon, Cornflower and Nina met in the construction zone south of Rune Noray.

Because the frontline between the Kingdom Army and the Interstice Army was just south of Rune Noray, and heading north past the city would bring you ever closer to the royal capital, the city’s southern side had long been fortified—even before the reorganization of the city guard. There were extensive defensive structures here: large-scale combined defense spells, fully equipped annihilation-class spell launch platforms, reinforced mid- and small-sized fortresses, and vast trigger-activated minefields.

What Cornflower and Nina needed to inspect and record was the integrity of the minefields, as well as the flow of magic within them.

These “landmines” were mainly used to stop Ravagers—brainless beasts that only knew how to charge forward. Their lethality was considerable. A single mine had enough power to break the cocoon of a Cocoon-tier Ravager. If multiple went off at once, even a Half-Shedder might not walk away in one piece.

Even though flying above the ground meant it was nearly impossible to trigger the mines, the two of them still moved cautiously through the air. They also suppressed the activity of the magic within their bodies—just in case.

“Hey, Mohe.”

After covering about a third of the area and settling into the rhythm, Cornflower broke the silence. “Lately... have you been avoiding me? Did I do something that upset you?”

“Huh? Eh? No, I—I didn’t...”

Caught off guard by her codename being called, Nina looked over in confusion, then hurriedly explained, “I-I didn’t mean anything like that! I—I would never have a problem with you, Captain!”

“Really? Doesn’t feel like it.”

Cornflower studied her expression with a raised brow. “If you really don’t have a problem with me, why’ve you been avoiding me? I’ve seen you turn around and walk the other way more than once when you spotted me from afar. That can’t be a coincidence, right?”

“Uh, well, that’s because...”

Clearly, Nina didn’t know how to explain her actions. As soon as she tried to speak, she got stuck.

“Because?” Cornflower wasn’t in a rush, though. She just prompted her to go on.

“It’s because... it’s my own fault.”

After stammering for a while, Nina finally managed to say, “I didn’t complete the task you assigned me. I didn’t teach Neem properly, so...”

“You didn’t teach her properly? When did that happen?”

Cornflower looked genuinely surprised. “I thought you did a great job. Didn’t you already teach her everything you were supposed to?”

“But I didn’t explain it clearly enough, so Neem still had to go ask you for help... And now, you’re even teaching her directly.” Nina’s voice grew even softer as she explained.

“Ah, so you’re jealous? You think I’m taking up too much of your little sister’s time?” Cornflower tilted her head, a bit curious.

“No, d-definitely not that!”

Nina’s voice jumped half a pitch. “T-The point isn’t the second part, it’s the first! I feel like I’ve let you down, Captain. I didn’t keep my promise!”

After she blurted that out, the two of them fell silent for a moment.

Cornflower tilted her head and stared at Nina with a slightly dumbfounded expression. Her face shifted a few times before she finally said, “You know, Mohe... no offense, but don’t you think you’re being way too hard on yourself?”

“I already kinda got that impression back when we were dealing with the Legion Commander incident. You always take responsibility for everything and start blaming yourself.”

She pointed at herself. “But have you ever considered the possibility that maybe, just maybe, no one else is blaming you?”

“Sorry,” Mohe muttered.

“See? That’s exactly what I mean. Even now, I haven’t said anything about being disappointed.”

Cornflower sighed. “But you’ve got to understand, if you keep guessing how others feel and always assume the worst, and then react based on that negativity, things really could turn out as bad as you imagine.”

“Like this thing between us—if I hadn’t brought it up, were you really going to keep avoiding me until we were in the middle of a battle?”

“We’re a team. In a war, that means we’re the tightest unit there is. If you keep your distance from me during peacetime, then when the fighting starts we’ll have no synergy, no tactics—that would be a complete disaster.”

“And going by your logic, when that happens you’ll just keep blaming yourself again, and that’ll make you even more hesitant to face your teammates. The whole team’s coordination could fall apart... and if it comes to that, you might die out there.”

Cornflower didn’t want to scare her, but she felt it was necessary to drive the point home. “You want to protect your sister, right? Do you really want it to end like that?”

“I don’t...” Nina said glumly. “...Sorry.”

“If you don’t, then the first thing you need to do is stop apologizing. At the very least, don’t only apologize.”

Cornflower resumed flying forward. “Apologies are for after things have actually gone wrong. Before that, you should try speaking honestly. Say what’s really on your mind, what you’re planning to do.”

“Like right now.”

She kept scanning the surroundings with her magical senses, then pointed at a minefield where magic was leaking. “There. Back to work. Be careful—it might blow.”

“Ah—okay, right.”

Nina followed the direction Cornflower pointed and raised her hand, transforming her wand into her Magical Armor. Dispersed magical particles attached themselves to her right hand, and once the glow faded, they became sharp finger sheaths nestled over her five fingers.

“Grasp the Present.”

She whispered the name of her magical gear, opened her right hand, and made a grasping motion toward the mine that could explode at any second if disturbed.

Immediately, the previously agitated magical energy around the mine settled into complete stillness.

Cornflower also summoned her Magical Armor, using magical threads to yank the mine out of the ground. Nina kept her hand clenched tightly until Cornflower sealed it in a special container, only then releasing her grip.

“All done. Nice work.”

Cornflower dispelled the threads around her and gave her some praise. “Your gear is seriously useful.”

“Th-thanks,” Nina replied softly.

Her Magical Armor—Grasp the Present—took the form of those finger sheaths. Its most common ability was to render a targeted object “completely still.”

Her grasping motion signaled the selection, and as long as she maintained that gesture, the chosen object would remain frozen—unchanging and unmoving.

The trade-off was that once she let go, the previously frozen object would be given a “double speed” effect for whatever change it was undergoing. A burning candle would burn twice as fast. A falling cup of water would hit the ground at double the speed.

The duration of this effect was the same as how long it had been held still.

To be honest, when Cornflower first saw Mohe’s ability in the report, her gut reaction was: This was made for the battlefield.

In a war zone where everything changed in an instant, being able to freeze something completely—whether it was an exploding spell, flying ammunition, an enemy’s movement, or a comrade’s wound—was a dream come true for any soldier.

What’s more, the secondary effect—double-speed change—also had its uses. It could catch enemies off guard in an attack.

That’s exactly why Nina had been assigned to minefield inspections in the first place.