Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Book 2: Chapter 139: Sudden Announcement

Vol 2 Chapter 139: Sudden Announcement

During the second half of the patrol, Cornflower didn’t continue discussing Nina’s earlier actions.

In her opinion, once something had been said and the other person truly listened, there was no need to keep repeating it. Rather than going in circles, it was better to give the other person more time to think things through.

So for the rest of the patrol, the two focused on their rounds and inspections, occasionally chatting a bit, but not touching on that topic again.

They logged the patrol records for each sector and collected a total of seven damaged landmines. Just as the operation was nearing its end and Cornflower was already thinking about which route to take to leave the minefield, her communication magic mirror suddenly lit up.

“Hold on, the mirror’s reacting.” She informed Nina and took it out, answering the call.

—“Hello, this is the City Defense Command. Is this Cornflower?”

The voice came from a stranger, a Magical Girl wearing an officer’s cap who appeared in the mirror’s surface.

“Yes.” In the army, ranks and roles were clearly defined. Even if she didn’t recognize the higher-up, it was normal to receive orders from them, so Cornflower didn’t question anything and responded plainly, “What are your orders?”

The unknown Magical Girl in the mirror lowered her head, seemingly noting something on her desk, then looked up again with a serious expression:

“Here’s the situation. A Fairy just reported to Command that they sensed a Ravager appearing in the southern area of the city—which falls under your squad’s jurisdiction. Judging by the level of the magical energy fluctuations, the Ravager has evolved to at least the Cocoon stage, possibly beyond. Please dispatch an experienced Magical Girl immediately to handle it.”

Cornflower wasn’t unfamiliar with orders like this.

Ravagers were never exclusive nightmares of the Material Realm—in the Magic Kingdom, they were still unpredictable and troublesome disasters.

Just like in the Material Realm, these creatures were impossible to fully guard against. Even if every trap and seal was set, Ravagers would still appear in cities from time to time like refreshed data. Even a core city like Rune Noray wasn’t exempt from such incidents.

During wartime, all Magical Girl deployments had been reorganized. Nowadays, Rune Noray no longer had regular stationed Magical Girls—dealing with Ravagers was primarily the City Defense Force’s job.

Or rather, for a city like Rune Noray that wasn’t currently on the front lines, these randomly appearing Ravagers were the biggest threat for the Defense Force.

Still, even though it was familiar work, a few words the other party mentioned triggered Cornflower’s alertness.

“Cocoon?”

She frowned slightly. “Why would a Cocoon-tier Ravager suddenly show up in the city?”

And who could blame her for reacting like this? That kind of news was basically slapping her in the face with a label: “You didn’t do your job.”

Cornflower Squad was stationed in the southern part of the city and was responsible for the security of the entire southern district. As squad leader, Cornflower was naturally the primary person accountable.

To ensure nothing slipped through the cracks, Cornflower had worked tirelessly over the past month to eliminate Ravagers. Every Ravager that showed up in the southern district had been eliminated at the first opportunity. She’d even led the team to sweep the underground areas, just in case any were hiding there. In her mind, the district under her squad’s watch wasn’t just among the safest in Rune Noray—it was right at the top.

And now, Command was telling her a Cocoon had appeared in her jurisdiction?

Ravager evolution never just popped out of nowhere. From egg to cocoon, a Ravager needed to consume large amounts of food—whether that be humans, Fairies, or even other Ravagers. In the southern district of Rune Noray—a place where Ravagers were exterminated as soon as they showed up—there simply wasn’t room for one to develop that far.

So where did this Cocoon come from?

Most Ravagers started at the Egg stage. Some might begin as Worms, but Coccoon-tier straight out the gate? Almost unheard of. If you checked the histories of both the Magic Kingdom and the Material Realm, cases of Ravagers born at Cocoon-tier were so rare they could be counted on one hand—something most people would never encounter in their lifetime.

So now she’d hit the jackpot? This one-in-a-million occurrence just happened to fall into her squad’s territory?

Cornflower felt a strange knot in her chest.

“The Command has already marked the Ravager’s location, the city’s seal spells are active, the Ravager’s movement has been restricted, and evacuation notices have been sent to local residents.”

On the other side of the mirror, the Magical Girl from Command clearly couldn’t sense Cornflower’s mood and just continued reporting: “We’re currently lifting the magic usage restriction for the relevant blocks. Please head to the designated no-magic zone immediately. In five minutes, the Ravager’s movement abilities will return to normal.”

“...Understood.”

But no matter how she felt, Cornflower had no choice but to accept this reality.

Time was precious—a point both she and Command agreed on. So even if someone in Command suspected she had been negligent, now wasn’t the time for finger-pointing. They simply informed her about the Ravager and left it at that. Similarly, even if she had questions about the situation, she wouldn’t waste valuable rescue time on doubt and second-guessing.

Even if a Cocoon-tier Ravager had really shown up, figuring out how it got there and who was responsible would have to wait until after they took it down.

“Let’s go.”

Having thought everything through, Cornflower ended the call and turned to Nina. “We’re going to check out this so-called Cocoon.”

“Ah—right, but... wait, did you say Cocoon?”

Nina nodded blankly at first, then suddenly froze as she processed Cornflower’s words. “I have to go too?”

“That’s right.” Cornflower gave a slight nod. “We’re almost done with our current task anyway. We’ll head straight there.”

“N-no, that’s not what I mean. I mean... I’ve never dealt with a Cocoon before.”

Nina shook her head hard and shrank back a little. “What if I mess up and just get in the way?”

“Mohe.”

Cornflower didn’t respond to Nina’s concerns directly. Instead, she asked, “You’re Bud-tier now, right?”

“Y-yeah?”

“How many basic spell types have you learned? How many sets of preloaded runes do you have?”

“Um... I’ve learned all seven. The preloaded runes are standard—four sets,” Nina replied, sounding unsure.

“Then that’s enough.”

Cornflower nodded. “When it comes to handling a Cocoon, you might not be the core strength, but you won’t drag us down. Just come with me.”

“Eh? Really? But I’ve heard a lot of Cocoons have that cocoon armor... I don’t think I can even break through its defenses...” Nina muttered.

“That doesn’t matter. I’m here.”

Cornflower swung her wand like a club, a slight smirk on her lips. But her eyes? Dead serious.

“If something’s got the nerve to cause trouble on my turf—watch me smash that turtle shell to bits.”