Off Work, Then I Become a Magical Girl
Chapter 94: The End of Summer Vacation

With the incident involving Clawmark and Black Cinder Dawn in Fangting City finally concluded, the lives of the Magical Girls returned to their usual rhythm.

Expelling Ravagers, training, studying, and occasionally playing—just like that, most of the summer break had passed.

However, for Veronica, these days had been anything but easy.

Though she had successfully resigned from her job, it only meant that all her energy was now focused on training the new Magical Girls, and life hadn’t become any more relaxing as a result.

During the previous battle, Lin Xiaolu had used a unique white magic that, according to her own account and the descriptions from Xia Liang and Bai Jingxuan, seemed to have a much greater destructive power than normal magic. The exact source of this power was unclear, but its effectiveness was undeniable—it could easily harm Ravagers that even Xia Liang, at Bud-tier, struggled to break through.

Given the nature of this peculiar magic, both Veronica and Hong Siyu agreed on one thing—Lin Xiaolu was a Deviator.

Deviators possessed inherently unique magical properties, though the exact manifestation varied from person to person. In Lin Xiaolu’s case, it seemed to grant either extreme penetrative force or immense destructive power—both plausible possibilities.

However, the reason they could only say it was “plausible” was simple: Veronica had yet to witness this so-called white magic herself.

Because Lin Xiaolu could no longer use it.

According to her, she just "didn’t feel it" or "wasn’t in the right state." No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t summon that white magic again.

This was a particularly troublesome issue.

Deviators were already rare, and Veronica knew little about their unique constitutions. She couldn’t determine what was blocking Lin Xiaolu’s abilities.

So, she resorted to the most fundamental but reliable method—controlling variables.

By analyzing the circumstances under which Lin Xiaolu had previously used the magic and identifying possible influencing factors, she planned to test each one systematically.

But because that battle had been so chaotic, there were too many potential variables to consider. So far, her efforts had yielded no results.

Aside from Lin Xiaolu, the person Veronica had invested the most effort into lately was Bai Jingxuan.

Unlike Lin Xiaolu, Bai Jingxuan, as a textbook example of a Deviator, had shown remarkable progress in developing her magical abilities.

Through recent tests, her green magic had been found to do far more than just heal physical wounds—it even had a subtle nurturing effect on a Magical Girl’s True Form with prolonged exposure.

During the battle at the orphanage, Xia Liang had sustained injuries that had slightly affected her True Form. However, with Bai Jingxuan’s assistance, she gradually recovered, making a full return to normal.

As far as Veronica knew, not even standard spells could achieve such absurd results. Techniques that could affect a Magical Girl’s True Form were extremely high-level and rare—few could master them. Even if someone did, their effectiveness wouldn’t surpass Bai Jingxuan’s magic in its natural state.

The only unfortunate part was that it had no effect on Veronica’s old wounds.

She never intended to bring up her old injuries with the girls—there was no point in making them worry. But every time she helped Bai Jingxuan explore her magical properties, she would secretly attempt to absorb a bit of it, hoping it might reach her Heartstone.

The result? Nothing. Or, if there was an effect, it was too minuscule to be noticeable.

Even so, there was no denying that this magical trait held immense value.

Even in the Magic Kingdom, Bai Jingxuan’s abilities would surely attract significant attention. If she were to go there now, countless factions would likely extend invitations just to research and harness her powers.

However, as Veronica spent more time with Bai Jingxuan, she gradually realized—this child was far from ordinary.

It wasn’t just her unique abilities.

It was her personality.

Just as Veronica had suspected before, Bai Jingxuan lost control in her first real battle against a Ravager.

Even with teammates beside her, she showed no regard for her own safety, launching into combat with a brutal, self-sacrificing style—trading injuries for kills.

Had Veronica not stopped her in time, Bai Jingxuan might have needlessly harmed herself against an enemy that wasn’t even particularly dangerous.

But that wasn’t the real issue.

The real issue was that Bai Jingxuan had no awareness of the danger in her fighting style.

Just like her usual quiet and obedient demeanor, she remained completely clear-headed during battle—eerily so.

She didn’t act recklessly out of hatred. She wasn’t blinded by anger. She simply made a calculated decision that this was the best way to fight… and so she did it.

When Veronica intervened to pull her back, Bai Jingxuan even looked at her with genuine curiosity and asked,

"Teacher, is there something wrong with how I fought?"

When questioned about her reasoning, she calmly replied,

"Because it seemed like the fastest way to eliminate the Ravager."

For a moment, Veronica was speechless, unsure how to correct her.

In the end, she could only sigh, swiftly finish off the dying Egg-stage Ravager, and take Bai Jingxuan back to the training grounds for a long talk.

She not only emphasized the importance of protecting herself in battle but also explained the pros and cons of prolonged engagements. More importantly, she stressed that when facing an opponent stronger than herself, she must retreat.

Throughout the conversation, Bai Jingxuan remained obedient, nodding like a little chick pecking at rice and even asking thoughtful follow-up questions. She seemed like the perfect student, truly absorbing every word.

And yet…

One week later, in another real combat scenario against an Egg-stage Ravager, she lost control again.

At the start, she followed Veronica’s instructions, using ranged attacks to chip away at the enemy’s vitality, maintaining a steady and controlled pace. But as the fight neared its end and the Ravager weakened, she suddenly changed tactics—charging in for close-quarters combat.

By the time Veronica pulled her back, Bai Jingxuan had already driven her wand deep into the Ravager’s skull and was just about to reach inside for its eyes.

In the process, she had completely ignored the fact that her legs were dangling precariously above the Ravager’s jaws—just seconds away from being bitten.

After pulling her away and finishing off the Ravager, Veronica was truly frustrated this time. She gave Bai Jingxuan a stern reprimand.

Bai Jingxuan’s response was, as always, calm and obedient—promising that she would definitely be more careful next time.

Whether or not she actually would… no one knew.

What Veronica did know was that training Bai Jingxuan had become the biggest challenge she had ever faced.

And so, time passed, bringing them to the end of August.

With a structured and productive summer break, both Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang had finished their assignments early. Now that the most intense training had passed, their days had become much more relaxed.

That evening, in the air-conditioned living room, Xia Liang and Lin Xiaolu lounged on the couch, watching TV.

"—As we can see, following the recent Ravager attack, the affected areas of Luoming District have reopened, and the damaged office buildings are once again in use…"

On screen, a bright and professional-looking news anchor reported the latest updates.

"Xia Liang, change the channel." Lin Xiaolu, looking bored, stretched out a foot and nudged Xia Liang’s leg.

"Change to what?" Xia Liang asked lazily, barely lifting her head.

"I wanna watch anime."

"I don’t know what channel it’s on."

"Just flip through and find it?"

"…Guess that works."

Propping herself up, Xia Liang reached for the remote and started switching channels.

"By the way, Xiaolu…"

"Hm?"

"That office building they mentioned—wasn’t that where your dad works?"

"Oh, that? Yeah, it was."

"Wait, so your dad was in danger too? Because of that bad Magical Girl, Clawmark?"

"He said no one got hurt. Veronica also mentioned that she took care to protect civilians during the fight."

"…So, our senpai protected your dad."

"Yep. Well, Veronica is the best."

Without hesitation, Lin Xiaolu launched into full fangirl mode.

"She’s strong, kind, mature, and cute—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Xia Liang cut in with a chuckle.

But as the conversation continued, their gazes drifted toward the study.

Lin Xiaolu clicked her tongue.

"Jealous much?" Xia Liang teased.

"Jealous? Jealous of what?"

Lin Xiaolu pouted. "It’s just temporary tutoring because the newbie is behind. That’s completely normal, isn’t it?"

"Your face says otherwise."

"My face is saying that I want to watch anime."

"It’s already on. Look." Xia Liang gestured toward the TV.

"…Oh." Lin Xiaolu gave a stiff response.

As Xia Liang had pointed out, her attention wasn’t really on the TV.

In the latter half of summer break, ever since Bai Jingxuan joined them, Veronica had been doing her best to keep things fair. But due to the gap in experience, she still had to set aside extra time to help Bai Jingxuan catch up on foundational knowledge.

Bai Jingxuan was young and lacked basic training, so she needed more preparatory lessons. On top of that, her reckless combat style forced Veronica to spend even more time correcting her.

As a result, in these last few days of summer vacation, Lin Xiaolu and Xia Liang’s main interactions with Veronica were limited to evening study sessions. During the day, she was entirely preoccupied with straightening out Bai Jingxuan, the problem child.

This naturally led to Veronica and Bai Jingxuan growing closer.

Veronica’s teaching style had always been strict but fair—concise yet thorough. While her standards were demanding, she wasn’t harsh, making her a genuinely good teacher.

Over the past two weeks, if Bai Jingxuan had initially called her "teacher" out of mere politeness, now, she said it with genuine respect and admiration.

Lin Xiaolu, having noticed all this, felt increasingly uneasy.

Her feelings toward Bai Jingxuan weren’t particularly warm or distant. At the very least, she had a better first impression of her than she had of Xia Liang.

Bai Jingxuan had a tragic past, was physically disabled, and always treated her with kindness and respect. Lin Xiaolu couldn’t bring herself to be mean to someone like that, so she had been making an effort to get along.

But as Bai Jingxuan grew closer to Veronica, Lin Xiaolu couldn’t help but feel… bitter.

She kept telling herself that there was no reason to get worked up over a girl three years younger than her. Besides, Bai Jingxuan had always been polite and friendly—getting jealous now would make her seem petty.

And logically speaking, Veronica had no choice but to focus more on Bai Jingxuan. Training Magical Girls was serious business, not a game. If Bai Jingxuan was behind and needed extra attention, wasn’t that just proof that Veronica was already satisfied with Lin Xiaolu’s progress?

After all, Xia Liang was the most independent of them all, so she required the least guidance. That was only natural, wasn’t it?

But no matter how much she reasoned with herself, she still found herself puffing up her cheeks.

Because even if she understood all that, it didn’t mean she could accept it.

She continued to stare vacantly at the TV until a sound from the study suddenly snapped her out of it.

Startled, she perked up slightly, lifting her head.

Refocusing her gaze, she turned toward the study’s entrance—just in time to see Veronica step out, her face expressionless.

Trailing behind her was Bai Jingxuan, looking dejected, like a scolded puppy that had just been caught doing something wrong.

A tiny, shameful flicker of satisfaction rose in Lin Xiaolu’s heart—only to vanish seconds later as she watched what happened next.

"I’m taking Bosetsu back to her place," Veronica said, stopping by the entrance. She glanced at the two girls on the couch. "You two keep resting. After dinner, meet me at Xia Liang’s house."

Then, as if reminding them of something routine, she added, "Make sure to watch TV for at least an hour to give your eyes a break. And don’t keep tilting your heads—those habits are bad for your eyesight."

With that, she turned and left, closing the front door behind her with a soft click.

"Ka-chak."

The brief yet crisp sound of the door locking echoed in Lin Xiaolu’s ears.

And just like that, she froze in place.