Transform into a magical girl after getting off work

As the test in the Cloud Realm was gradually drawing to a close, on the outer edge of the observation platform, on a small hill in the distance, Golden Snake silently turned around and left.

As always, she changed her makeup several times in the city before flying out of the Emerald District, then even out of Luennolay, and finally found a cliff far away in the suburbs outside the city. She condensed a few runes, filled them one by one into several inconspicuous grooves on the cliff wall, and a small door slowly appeared before her.

After silently pushing the door open, the sweet smell that surged out made her involuntarily knit her brows.

—"What the hell are you doing?"

"Ah, Golden Snake is back."

Golden Snake outside the door and He Ti inside both noticed each other's figures and then opened their mouths at the same time.

"This cave doesn't ventilate at all; you do this and it's not even livable anymore."

"Didn't you say you'd only come back at night if things went smoothly? So it still didn't work, huh, you didn't get in?"

Their voices tangled together, but the content was clearly on completely different channels. So they both stopped at the same time, big eyes and small eyes staring at each other for a few seconds, until Golden Snake clicked her tongue in mild annoyance, raised her left hand, the back of it pushing twice toward He Ti. "You go first."

"I don't really have anything to say, I just thought you looked a bit off."

He Ti inside was wearing a wide-brimmed, high-topped hat of unknown origin, standing beside a black cauldron and constantly stirring its contents with a long-handled ladle. The liquid in the pot was giving off a puzzling pink fluorescence and an extremely thick, cloyingly sweet smell. At first glance, the scene made He Ti look just like the evil witch in a fairy tale brewing poison, intimidating to behold.

But considering that Golden Snake, as soon as she entered, showed obvious revulsion, after a brief moment of thought He Ti still stopped what she was doing, rested the ladle on the rim of the pot, and then hopped down from the small footstool she'd been standing on.

"Heave-ho."

Accompanied by that kind of inexplicable sound.

"It really didn't go well—actually it's getting worse."

Golden Snake took one last look outside to make sure, then walked into the cave with some wariness and took off the coat she used as a disguise. "It's worse than last time. I can't even get close to the exam grounds. A couple of days ago the security force still included some Sheriffs, but now even the outermost patrols are all Magical Girls. I have zero doubt that if I tried to get any closer this time, I really wouldn't be coming back."

"That's why I told you there was no need to probe; you just had to argue with me." He Ti curled her lip. "With that old hag the Queen in town, what's so surprising about a setup like this?"

Golden Snake stayed silent, because He Ti was right; there was nothing surprising about it.

The three of them, members of Claw Mark, dignified former Flower Level Magical Girls, were now living rough in the open all because Luennolay's security measures were too strict. Up until a few days ago they could at least enjoy some fresh suburban air, but now even the outskirts had become a search zone for the Research Institute, and they were reduced to hiding in a cave.

As for whether such harsh searches were really because the Queen herself had come, or because their leader Black Cat had sold them out, that was still a complete fog.

"Let's talk about what you two are doing instead."

Feeling a bit irritable, Golden Snake pulled out her pipe and lit the tobacco. "What's with turning the place into this?"

"Don't smoke! Do you have any idea how disgusting the mix of smoke and sweetness is?"

This time even He Ti pinched her nose. "I'm preparing the secret weapon for tomorrow here, don't go messing it up for me."

"This stuff? Secret weapon?" Golden Snake couldn't help taking a look into the cauldron.

"What else? Are you looking down on my Candy House?" He Ti lifted her chin, proud. "Boss sent me here, obviously she had her reasons."

"…Suit yourself."

Golden Snake felt there was nothing to talk about and, holding her pipe, headed toward the interior of the cave.

"Put it out!" He Ti reminded her again.

Golden Snake reluctantly knocked out the pipe.

It wasn't that she particularly wanted to listen to He Ti, but this whole cave right now was within the bounds of He Ti's Miracle Realm, the "Candy House." If she didn't put the pipe out, He Ti absolutely wouldn't let it go, and might even make use of the Miracle Realm's rules over it.

Just indulge the kid—though that brat wasn't actually that young anymore; she was more like an oversized baby than a kid. Golden Snake thought so to herself.

Inside the cave, Black Cat was in a corner engaged in Spiritual Thought. Noticing Golden Snake's arrival, she opened her eyes and only lightly said, "You're back."

"Mm. I'm back." Golden Snake pulled out a chair and sat down.

Then came a long stretch of silence.

"Everything's been taken care of?" Black Cat suddenly asked, a bit abruptly.

"Yeah, I can confirm that. I just couldn't push it any further." Golden Snake narrowed her eyes, her gaze unfocused.

"That's enough."

When the words fell, there was silence again.

Clearly, both of them had plenty on their minds, but at this point, pouring out your heart wouldn't actually solve anything.

"Black Cat."

"I'm here."

"We're about to move. Can you tell me what the leader really has in mind for this operation?" Golden Snake stared into empty space. "The more I wander around this city, the more I can feel something is really off in the air. My instincts are telling me something very, very bad is going to happen next."

"So?"

"So, is our goal really to bring back the Source of Beasts? Or rather, is that really the full picture of the mission?"

Golden Snake turned her eyes to Black Cat. "Or are you going to tell me that the leader chose the three of us former Luennolay people for this job just because we know the place better?"

Black Cat lifted her head to look back at her, but didn't respond right away.

"I really hate my own instincts, because they're always so accurate it's sickening."

Yet Golden Snake didn't seem to care if Black Cat answered. She just went on talking to herself. "In my entire life, I've only had this kind of bad feeling three times."

"The first time was twenty years ago, during the interworld war, the day before that thing entered the Inner City District."

"The second time was twelve years ago, when I suddenly felt unwell for no reason in the interworld; later the Gardener wiped out our base."

"The third time is right now."

"But I don't get it. We're the last few old-timers Claw Mark has left. Without the two of us, Claw Mark is supposed to rely on that bunch of over-self-conscious brats to keep going? What exactly is the leader planning?"

"I don't want to assume the worst about my own comrades, so—do you know anything? Black Cat… no, Mo He?"

By the time she said this last line, the originally dim golden eyes had already lit up, fixed on Black Cat's gaze.

"I haven't kept anything from you. Your mission is to bring the Source of Beasts back." Black Cat answered that way.

"…'My' mission?" Golden Snake very keenly caught Black Cat's wording.

Black Cat looked at her and nodded, then lowered her eyes slightly.

—"Mm. Your mission."