Go to work, and then educate magical girls.

Chapter 113 Hibiscus Oranges and Tangerines

Kanna City is a small town located near the sea.

In the deserted alley, a streak of orange light fell to the ground. As the light dissipated, a charming and lovely girl emerged from it.

After landing, Jinju canceled her transformation and walked towards the courtyard not far away.

Her family's two-story house has been around for many years and looks a bit old, but in this remote town, it is still considered a large family.

However, the expenses for my father's medical treatment and care over the years have already emptied our savings. If it weren't for my sister sending money home frequently, we probably wouldn't even be able to afford the medical expenses.

Jinju walked into the courtyard, unlocked the gate with her key, and called out as she changed her shoes, "Mom, I'm home."

"Back so soon?" A middle-aged woman came out upon hearing the voice. Seeing that Jinju was alone, she casually asked, "Didn't your sister come back with you?"

Jinju and her sister returned yesterday. An's mother was overjoyed to see her daughters after so long and prepared a sumptuous dinner. The family enjoyed a happy time together.

Today, Jinju and Jincheng went to the hospital in the city to visit their father. Afterwards, Jincheng prepared to meet some old friends, while Jinju felt it was inconvenient to stay with her sister, so she returned alone.

"My sister went to a party with her friends, so I'm going home alone." Jinju changed her shoes and walked into the house.

Upon seeing the girl sitting on the living room sofa, Jinju paused slightly, then, after a moment's thought, her eyes lit up with joy. "Xiaoling!"

Mother An chimed in, "You two haven't seen each other in a long time, have you? Sit down and chat, I'll go prepare lunch."

The girl on the sofa looked about the same age as Jinju. She used to play with Jinju a lot when they were little and was one of Jinju's few good friends.

Jinju walked over, ready to give her old friend a long-awaited hug, but found that the other person was holding a baby, so she couldn't get up to hug her.

"Hmm? Whose baby is this?" Jinju was slightly taken aback.

The girl giggled, "Hey, this is my child. I brought her here especially for Orange Jam to see. Look how cute she is!"

"Huh?!"

Jinju's eyes widened like saucers. "Xiaoling, you're married? And you have a baby?!"

"Yes."

"But...but...but you're clearly a few months younger than me..." Jinju's pupils dilated in shock. She was somewhat incoherent, and her tongue couldn't even speak properly.

"Is it really that strange to get married and have children at this age?" Xiaoling tilted her head slightly, a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Aren't all the girls around me getting married at this age?"

Jinju was taken aback. She thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case on their side...

In this poor and backward town, it is not uncommon for girls to get married at the age of sixteen. They often drop out of school and get married directly. Some help their families with farm work and take care of children, while others work nearby and live a life of daily chores.

As for magical girls, those are things you only see on TV, and they have absolutely nothing to do with them.

In such remote towns, it is rare for monsters to appear. The one or two that do occasionally appear are usually within the early warning system and are dealt with by the waiting magical girls before they even show themselves.

Jinju looked at the girl in front of her, who was about the same age as her, but was holding a baby, and felt a little complicated.

She lowered her eyes and looked at the baby, who was only a few months old and sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms.

At that moment, Jinju felt that the baby seemed to smile at her.

Jinju felt a little horrified, but when she looked closely, she found that the other person was sleeping peacefully.

"Is it just my imagination?" Jinju muttered to herself. She didn't take it to heart and continued chatting with Xiaoling on the sofa, from her experiences in the big city to her embarrassing moments in the past, and their shared experiences.

When the conversation turned to Jinju's time in school, Xiaoling suddenly giggled and asked, "Jiu-chan, did you have a boyfriend at school?"

"Huh?" A figure flashed through Jinju's mind, but she quickly shook her head. "Nothing like that!"

"Don't be shy, this is a natural and human thing." As she spoke, Xiaoling shook the baby in her arms, indicating that this was the final result.

"No, really."

Xiaoling looked incredulous. "Have you talked about it?"

"No," Jinju insisted.

Xiaoling suddenly moved closer and whispered in Jinju's ear, "Actually, it's better to have a boyfriend. You don't know how comfortable it is to do this kind of thing unless you've experienced it."

Jinju gritted her teeth. How could she not know? She was still at the train station yesterday morning...

It still hurts!

Seeing that Jinju didn't reply, Xiaoling assumed she was interested, so she continued whispering, "As someone with experience, I'll tell you, it's best to find someone strong, that way you can even... My guy is really vigorous, every night... You should pay more attention to this aspect in the future."

Jinju blushed slightly, not only because of the other person's risqué remarks, but also because yesterday in the station restroom, she had indeed...

But she certainly couldn't say it.

"It's too early to think about these things now, I'm still in school!" Jinju said shyly as she pushed Xiaoling away.

"You don't understand. Campus romances are the purest." Xiaoling looked regretful. "Once you leave school, there are too many things to consider. My boyfriend's conditions are just average. If he weren't so amazing in certain areas, I wouldn't be with him."

As Xiaoling spoke, she felt the baby in her arms seem to have woken up and become restless, so she quickly picked him up and soothed him.

"Sweetie, don't fuss, Mommy will breastfeed you now."

Xiaoling lifted a corner of her clothes, revealing half of her breast without any hesitation, and skillfully began to breastfeed.

Jinju watched the young mother, who was even younger than her, breastfeeding her baby, and felt a mix of emotions.

An's mother's voice came from the kitchen, "Xiao Ju, you should really start thinking about this. Several of the aunties around here who are my age have already had big, healthy grandsons. You should try to do better too."

Jinju didn't know what to say for a moment. That's just how things are here. If her father hadn't had that accident back then, she would probably have had a younger brother to take on the responsibility of carrying on the family line.

So ever since she left with her sister, she hasn't really wanted to go back to this poor and backward town.

"Mom, stop talking. My sister is two years older than me. Why don't you go and urge her?" Jinju decisively shifted the blame to Jincheng, who wasn't home, thinking that her sister wouldn't blame her.

"Hmph, when she comes back, I'll give her a piece of my mind." Mother An was very unhappy about this. How could someone be an adult and not consider getting married? In their area, this age is considered an old girl.

That's absolutely outrageous.

"Achoo!" Jin Cheng, who was far away in the city center, sneezed loudly. She picked up a tissue and wiped her nose, thinking that Jin Ju must be playing tricks on her behind her back.

She was having dinner with several magical girls from Kanna City. It had been a long time since they had met, and she missed her old friends very much.

"Oh, your boyfriend misses you?" a girl next to Jin Cheng teased.

"That's not true." Jin Cheng smiled awkwardly.

Boyfriend... Heh, the image of Tang Feng flashed through Jin Cheng's mind. This strange man who had deceived her almost became her boyfriend. Thinking about it now, it was utterly ridiculous.

Xiao Ju was completely taken advantage of by him, and she did everything except for the final step. She paid a huge price to find the truth, and she still can't forget the feeling from that night.

He took away so many of her first experiences. If he weren't an evil monster, if he hadn't hurt Xiaoju, she would have naturally become his girlfriend and experienced even more firsts with him, right?

But there are no "what ifs".

Just then, a young girl rushed to the table and sat down, saying, "I'm so sorry I'm late!"

"You're punished by having to eat a lemon later!" someone joked.

"Alright, everyone's finally here, let's begin!" a girl said.

"Is it all together?" Jin Cheng asked, looking puzzled.

When she left, there were four magical girls left in Kanna City, and there are still four now. However, she doesn't recognize one of them, so she must be a newcomer.

So, one person is missing from the original group, but that person is still the strongest.

"What about Elite? Has she retired?" Jin Cheng asked.

Upon hearing this name, the atmosphere instantly froze, and everyone present became depressed.

Jin Cheng seemed to understand something. This was... a sacrifice?

The girl next to her nudged her waist twice with her elbow and explained in a low voice, "Captain Jing... disappeared a year ago."

Missing!

This word made Jin Cheng extremely alert.

Another disappearance.

The strongest magical girl in Binhai City, Ruki, also went missing not long ago.

She still can't figure out who did it.

After Tang Feng's eccentric identity was exposed, Jin Cheng subconsciously thought that Tang Feng was responsible, but after thinking about it carefully, she felt that it was not him.

It's obvious that someone else did this.

Could there be traces of that strange person in this city as well? Why doesn't it target the other magical girls?

Jin Cheng began to compare the two magical girl disappearance cases, trying to find commonalities between them.

When she left, both Jing and she were B-rank, while the other magical girls were C-rank. In this remote city with few monsters, that was barely enough to handle most situations.

Now, some of their former companions have reached Rank B, and their captain...

"Was Jing a Level A when she went missing?" Jin Cheng asked subconsciously.

Despite their disappointment, the other girls nodded.

Jin Cheng rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought. The missing Liu Huang was also an A-rank, while the other magical girls, who were weaker, were unharmed. Was there any connection between them?

Suddenly, Jin Cheng remembered something, her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment.

She visited several nearby cities, but none of them had magical girls of A rank or higher!

Could this be a coincidence?

Although most magical girls in the world are so talented that they stagnate at B-rank for a considerable period of time and find it difficult to break through to A-rank, there will always be those who do. Either they have enough talent, or they have enough time to accumulate experience. If a city doesn't have an A-rank magical girl in charge, many emergencies will be difficult to handle.

Wait, Little Orange is an A-rank! It's dangerous here!

Jin Cheng suddenly stood up, accidentally knocking over the cup in front of her. The drink spilled out and slowly dripped down the edge of the table.

"What's wrong?" Several girls looked at Jin Cheng, and someone quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe the drinks on the table.

Jin Cheng's expression shifted unpredictably. Was she being too sensitive? She had also risen from A-level, yet she had never encountered a power that caused her to disappear.

Or is it... just that she was lucky?

But since it concerns Jinju, she can't afford to take any chances.

So, Jin Cheng bowed deeply to the girls and said, "I'm sorry, everyone, I suddenly have something urgent to attend to. Let's get together another day."

The girls exchanged glances, but instead of trying to stop them, they asked, "Do you need our help?"

"Thank you for your kindness, but no thanks," Jin Cheng declined.

If her guess is true, then these magical girls will not be of any help, but will instead become a burden.

"Transform!" An orange magical girl costume appeared, and Jin Cheng transformed into a streak of light, rushing home at top speed.

Several girls stared in the direction Jin Cheng had left, their faces filled with shock.

The magical fluctuations that erupted in that instant were far more powerful than those of their missing captain.

After many years apart, the gap between them has not narrowed; instead, it has widened to the point where they are worlds apart.

"That senior... is so strong," one of the newcomers remarked.

"Those who could survive against such an enemy must have been extraordinary," a young girl said with a nostalgic expression.

The other girls nodded in agreement.

What they were talking about was something that happened a long time ago, and it was even recorded in detail by the Kyoto headquarters.

Once upon a time, a small town was massacred by a monster. The scene was one of carnage, with corpses strewn everywhere and blood gushing through the air. The powerful monster eventually died at the hands of a magical girl who came from Kyoto.

That town is located in Kanna City, the town adjacent to the Jincheng family's home.

Jin Cheng's father was on business there at the time, and that's when the incident happened.

Their father suffered a head injury while fleeing with the crowd and became a vegetable. It was during that incident that Jin Cheng awakened.

Facing enemies several levels above her, Jin Cheng relied on her newly blossoming belief to persevere until reinforcements arrived.

At that time, an investigator from headquarters happened to be there and used all his skills to briefly force the enemy to retreat. Otherwise, the local magical girls alone would not have been a match for that strange man.

Contacted by the investigators, Kyoto's enforcement personnel arrived as quickly as possible, dragged the strange man out of the shadows, and killed him on the spot.

Jin Cheng was seriously injured at the time and remained in a coma for half a month before waking up.

Her father is still lying in the hospital, unable to wake up.

Jin Cheng sped up again, like a shooting star streaking across the sky, rushing home at full speed.

She had already lost a loved one, and she wouldn't let her sister suffer any more harm.

Hopefully, she's just overthinking it.

Hibiscus prayed silently.

(End of this chapter)