Sakura Emma, ​​I'm going to control you fiercely!

"Then, please call me 'Sakura'!"

The girl smiled awkwardly, and a cup of black tea appeared in front of her.

After the two gave their names, a light flashed in the center of the table, and a plate of macarons appeared.

"..."

They remained silent, and a little dessert was just what they needed to ease the tension of the conversation.

The two ate their desserts in silence, each silently complaining to themselves: When will this dream end!

Yang Wen was already at his breaking point.

Yang Wen glanced at the mood icon next to Sakura's head, which currently displayed the words "Feeling bored." He casually started a conversation.

"not in a good mood?"

The girl glanced at him in surprise, seemingly also struggling to find a topic to talk about.

Sakura nodded. "Yes... a lot happened today. Let me make it short..."

Afterwards, Yang Wen realized that he should never believe a girl's "keep it short" advice.

At first, Sakura hesitated as she observed his expression, speaking hesitantly.

But after receiving several words of agreement from Yang Wen, he started talking non-stop.

"Don't you think this is going too far? Although... although 'that person' really helped me a lot, I always feel... like He's always bullying me, openly or secretly!"

“嗯……‘

Yang Wen took a sip of tea.

His logical reasoning skills are quite good. Here's a brief summary of the story Sakura told:

Sakura's campus life seemed rather mundane, even somewhat lonely.

But with the help of a friend, Sakura meets her admired senior, cuts ties with her past complicated relationships, and defeats the mean classmates who bullied her and her senior.

On the surface, "that person" does indeed seem to be helping Sakura.

But that "friend" always made Sakura do things against her will.

Yang Wen said with a smile,

“I do agree with what He did. After all, He really helped you move forward, so He should be a good friend.”

He sipped his tea. "Since I can't change it myself, I'll let that person help me change it—I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

"Hmm..." The girl nodded.

Yang Wen could tell that Sakura was a kind and understanding girl. Furthermore, Sakura felt mostly gratitude towards Him.

Then the girl's face darkened slightly.

"But... I know exactly what 'that person' is going to do, but I don't have the courage to help Him. I'm always afraid of messing things up..."

Yang Wen frowned and put down his teacup.

"Can't you stop being so stubborn?"

“…Huh?” Sakura tilted her head.

Yang Wen raised his fingertip, his eyes becoming somewhat profound.

"Just do it if you want to. Even if you fail, you'll have to bear the consequences yourself, so it's no big deal. Just don't cause trouble for others."

“…Yes!” Sakura nodded with a smile. “I understand what to do!”

At this moment, the whole room began to shake slightly.

The two weren't stupid; they understood at a glance that the dream was about to end.

"I always felt that you and Him were somewhat alike!"

“Perhaps He and I have a lot in common,” Yang Wen replied.

Sakura stood up and bowed to him.

"Thank you so much! I will do everything I can to help Him!"

"You're welcome." Yang Wen drank the last sip of tea in his cup.

Sakura raised her head and smiled sweetly.

"You are such a kind older brother!"

"Cough cough..."

Yang Wen almost choked on his tea.

Under Sakura's questioning gaze, Yang Wen said,

"That's a good name, call me that from now on."

He added,

"If we can meet again."

"……Um!"

Sakura's figure gradually became blurry.

In her final moments, the girl waved to him before disappearing without a trace.

Yang Wen also watched himself disappear.

"Seriously, wasn't it a wet dream? What about nocturnal emission? How come you're acting like a life coach now?"

His sigh disappeared into the steam rising from the teacup.

……

……

Emma opened her bright, piercing eyes!

Then he suddenly sat up and stretched.

"Last night...I had a really strange dream."

Perhaps it's a side effect of becoming a magical girl?

She looked at the heart-shaped gem on the bedside table, a slight smile appearing on her face, and she mustered all her energy:

"Today must be very tiring, right?"

I got up, got dressed, and left the room.

"Mom! I want to eat three bowls of rice today!"

"Oh my gosh~ Emma's in a great mood."

"Hehe~ Yes!"

A moment later, Emma left the house.

At the dinner table, she had already made her plans for the day:

First, travel throughout the city to find the official institution mentioned by the deity—the Demon Administration Bureau.

The Bureau of Demonic Politics is particularly mysterious; its name is known online, but its location is unknown. Emma was already mentally prepared to skip a whole day of class!

But as she was walking on the street looking at a map, she was bumped into by someone.

The moment she was hit, the hairs on her body stood on end, as if she had been licked by a cold snake.

Two seconds later, she realized she should apologize.

But there wasn't a soul in sight ahead.

"Huh? What's going on..."

Puzzled, she scratched the back of her neck before continuing forward.

In Emma's blind spot, a lip print made of violet petals appeared on her collar.

At the narrow alley entrance, a beautiful young woman dressed in gorgeous clothes watched Emma's retreating figure as she walked away.

A predatory smile curled at the corners of the beautiful young woman's lips.

Ripples spread around her body like waves on water, and she seemed to melt into the air like paint, disappearing little by little.

The wind at the alley entrance has stopped.

Only that violet petal lay quietly on the ground, like a kiss laced with deadly poison.

Volume 1: Chapter 15 Magical Girl Opal

The next day.

Yang Wen ate some porridge from the plate of rice and recalled his dream from the previous night.

He roughly understood the function of the immersive sleep aid: it was simply to play a visual novel in a dream.

If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to see that girl in my dreams in the future.

After finishing the last mouthful of the pre-made congee with preserved egg and lean pork, Yang Wen walked to his computer in the bedroom, intending to declare his "loyalty!" to "The Judgement" for the day.

"Huh? That stupid Microsoft is forcing me to update to Windows 11 again? Windows 10 is the eternal god."

Looking at the progress bar for the system update on his computer, Yang Wen could only hope that Microsoft would hurry up.

I reckon I'll have to go unclog the toilets in the open-world city in the game today, and maybe find the Demon Administration Bureau while I'm at it.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, wishing that when he wasn't around, the characters could help him with the trivial matters.

……

……

Tokyo, Itabashi Ward, Riverside Park.

Emma put on her lucky beret.

She stood in front of the old vending machine and inserted coins.

The next moment—she swung a whip kick, and with a "thud!" the whip struck the fuselage!

Empty, empty!

The sound of a beverage rolling down.

The girl took a bottle of Pepsi from under the vending machine. She took a sip and exhaled deeply.

After a morning of searching, she still hadn't found a single clue about the Demon Bureau.

"My feet are all sweaty... sticky and uncomfortable!" Emma complained softly.

Emma wasn't wandering aimlessly; she had a clear goal:

Find the other magical girls and inquire about the Magic Bureau.

One of the functions of the Magical Bureau is to manage magical girls and assign them city areas that need protection to prevent attacks from debris and witches.

Emma looked toward the narrow street not far away.

She spent the whole morning exploring almost the entire Banqiao District.

That narrow street was the last area.

A moment later, they walked down the narrow street. Emma looked around, hoping to spot any clues about the magical girl.

The street was lined with cars, but not a single horn blared; it was midday, yet the restaurants lining the narrow street were all closed, and not a single pedestrian came by…

Is the food street too quiet at lunchtime?

Emma gripped the chain around her neck, took out the Heart Gem pendant, and placed it in her palm.

Scanning the entire street, she spotted a man walking slowly.

"Excuse me! May I ask—"

Just as she was about to strike up a conversation with him, she saw the man walk unsteadily into an alley without turning his head.

Emma gripped the gem tightly in her hand.

It seems like... we've found our target?