Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 47: Early Summer

Summer break—it was a vacation, no doubt. But in the end, the emphasis still lay on the word summer.

By mid-July, the early summer heat had already turned stifling. On the streets, crickets chirped incessantly, as if loudly complaining about the scorching sun.

Warm gusts of wind rustled the lush roadside trees, yet even the shade beneath them offered little relief. The air was thick with heat, making every breath feel like inhaling fire.

Lin Xiaolu sat quietly on the sofa in her living room, eyes tightly shut. Even though she was at home, she had transformed into her Magical Girl form, hands crossed over her chest, resting on the Heartstone Seed. Her mind was deeply immersed in focus, magic surging around her.

The cabinet-style air conditioner hummed as it blew cool air through the room, making it much more bearable compared to the sweltering heat outside. Thanks to this, she was able to settle her mind and focus entirely on training.

The hands of the wall clock ticked silently forward. In the midst of the still atmosphere, time slipped away unnoticed, and before she knew it, the hour hand had reached eleven o’clock.

"Time’s up—break time!"

A voice called out from beside her.

Pulled back from her deep meditation, Lin Xiaolu slowly opened her eyes, retracting the magic that had been flowing around her. After a brief daze, she let out a long breath, her expression becoming lively once more.

She turned toward the source of the voice—a pink, cat-like fairy sat there with an air of smug authority, its tail swishing. Seeing Lin Xiaolu look over, it said cheerfully, "You’ve improved a lot, Xiaolu! You didn’t lose focus even once these past two days!"

"…Well, thanks for the compliment, I guess."

She almost rolled her eyes but held back.

The summer training had been going on for nearly half a month now, and Veronica had been true to her word—she had ramped up both their magic training and academic studies several times over, with absolutely no mercy. It had practically stripped Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang of their entire summer break.

For any other task, Lin Xiaolu would have lost patience long ago. But first, this was something she had requested herself; second, the person enforcing it was a senpai she deeply admired; and third, it was crucial for her goal of becoming an independent Magical Girl. Stacked together, these reasons left her with no choice but to push through.

And after weeks of intense training, she had indeed made steady progress. Her magic and soul had grown stronger, and her control over magic had finally started to feel more natural.

Of course, she still couldn’t compare to that other newcomer.

"Ugh, it’s freezing in here. Can’t you turn up the temperature a little?"

A voice whined from behind her. Xia Liang had crept up unnoticed, rubbing her arms as she complained, "I swear, my legs are shaking from the cold. I can’t even focus properly."

"Then go to another room," Lin Xiaolu shot her a glance.

"But without AC, it’s too hot," Xia Liang said with a sweet, innocent smile.

"Stop being so picky! If you want to be comfortable, go back to your own house!" Lin Xiaolu glared at her.

"You already know my place only has that old, half-broken AC," Xia Liang said with a pout.

Flopping onto the couch and grabbing a pillow, she sighed in satisfaction. "Ahh, this is much better. I feel like I could take another nap."

Originally, Veronica had planned for all of their summer training to take place at Xia Liang’s house. Both the daytime magic training and the evening study sessions were meant to be held there, to help ease Xia Liang’s loneliness.

But for some reason, Lin Xiaolu had gotten competitive about it. She insisted that her house would work just as well, which led to the current awkward situation—daytime training at her house, nighttime sessions at Xia Liang’s.

"…You’re the only one who can act so carefree." Seeing Xia Liang so relaxed, Lin Xiaolu felt a twinge of frustration. "Then again, your progress has been ridiculous."

Ever since Xia Liang had made up her mind to get stronger two weeks ago, she had poured everything into it. Her talent kept exceeding expectations—Lin Xiaolu’s, Lin Yun’s, and even Veronica’s.

Not only was her magic growing at an absurd rate, but even her soul was strengthening faster than anyone had thought possible. Her precision in controlling magic had already reached a near-effortless level. At this rate, in just another half a month, both her magic and soul would reach the threshold for forming her True Form.

By comparison, most Magical Girls with average talent took at least six months to a year to reach this stage from zero.

Right now, all that remained was for Xia Liang to grasp the technique for manifesting her True Form. Once she did, she would smoothly advance to Bud-tier and gain her first Magic Construct.

Lin Xiaolu wasn’t untalented, but she was still far behind Xia Liang. At her current pace, she probably wouldn’t reach that level until after summer break.

"Speaking of which, you never explained it properly."

Still hugging her pillow, Xia Liang suddenly asked, "You mentioned getting some weird messages from a contact a few days ago—what was that about?"

"Hm? Oh, just something about a rogue Magical Girl causing trouble near Fangting City…"

Lin Xiaolu propped up her chin indifferently. "Something like… ‘Claw’ or whatever?"

"I don’t know their actual name, but I don’t think it was that," Xia Liang said, a bit skeptical. "But rogue Magical Girls? That’s a thing?"

"Of course it is."

Lin Xiaolu shot her a look. "Magic can hurt people, you know."

"Yeah, I guess that’s true. It’s not exactly like in those TV shows," Xia Liang mused.

"TV shows? You mean those old Magical Girl cartoons where they never actually hurt anyone?"

"It’s not like that anymore?"

"It hasn’t been for a long time."

Lin Xiaolu straightened up, counting on her fingers. "Starting from Magical Artillery Girl up to the recent Sky Prism Angels, Magical Girls have had to avoid civilian casualties in battle."

Xia Liang blinked. "Wait a second… Xiaolu, you sound like you really know your Magical Girl anime."

"…I just watch them sometimes," Lin Xiaolu muttered, turning her head away.

"Sometimes?" Xia Liang pressed.

"Sometimes," Lin Xiaolu said firmly.

The two locked eyes. Xia Liang’s gaze was full of curiosity, while Lin Xiaolu—though a bit guilty—stubbornly held her ground.

Clearly, she didn’t want anyone thinking she was into Magical Girl anime.

"Heh, fine, I won’t push it. Let’s talk about something else." Xia Liang shifted the topic. "So, what exactly does a ‘rogue Magical Girl’ do?"

"No idea. Not like I’d go around doing bad things myself."

"…Fair enough. I probably wouldn’t either."

For once, Xia Liang was left speechless. After a moment, she asked, "Then what should we do if we actually run into one?"

"I asked Veronica. She said to stay alert when heading out, and if we see an unfamiliar Magical Girl, just report it to her."

Lin Xiaolu thought for a moment. "I think Veronica said she’s an Inspector—dealing with rogue Magical Girls is part of her job."

"Inspector, huh…" Xia Liang murmured.

—Ding-dong.

Just as they were about to start another round of gossip, the sound of the doorbell suddenly rang from the entrance.