Chương 5: A Reliable Junior?

"Are you alright? Wake up."

In the hazy darkness, Yin Xue vaguely heard a melodious voice, like a clear spring, calling to her.

Her long eyelashes trembled like butterfly wings as she slowly opened her eyes, meeting a pair of amethyst-like eyes. The tips of her pink hair brushed against her nose in the night breeze, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.

"What an adorable child, sweetie~" Yin Xue was not fully awake yet, and he vaguely reached out to stroke the top of the girl's head, his fingertips sinking into the fluffy hair that was even more fluffy than cotton.

The heart-shaped ahoge (cowlick) bounced in her palm, like a kitten with its fur standing on end but too scared to move.

"What's wrong with this guy? Who touches their savior's head right after waking up? Besides, I just turned twenty-six last month, you bastard!"

Xingshuang roared inwardly, her fists clenched so tightly behind her skirt that they cracked, but a sweet, spring-like smile bloomed on her face: "How are you? Can you stand up?"

"Ah!" Yin Xue pulled her hand back as if she had been electrocuted, and was fully awake. She sat up in a panic and found that the huge erosion-level void beast had disappeared, leaving only energy cores scattered on the ground in fragments.

Not far away, Ruri and Ruby were looking at them with strange yet amused expressions.

"What happened? That virtual beast... was it this child who saved us?" Yin Xue was puzzled at first, then suddenly realized.

"Yinxue! Show some respect to your senior! Just because your senior looks like a figurine doesn't mean you can..." The white fairy Ruby felt the death stare from Xingshuang and immediately shut up and pretended to be dead.

Yin Xue's face immediately turned red: "I'm so sorry! I was half asleep..."

"It's alright." Xing Shuang elegantly raised her chin, trying her best to maintain the demeanor of a senior, but inwardly she was pounding the ground: This dark history of being patted on the head by an underage girl is something she absolutely has to take to her grave!

"This senior just appeared suddenly and destroyed the Void Beast that had caused us so much trouble with a single strike." Liuli stepped forward, her knuckles white as she gripped her wand, her deep blue eyes swirling with resentment and shock, yet she stubbornly pursed her lips.

"With just one strike!" Yin Xue exclaimed in surprise.

"Logically speaking, even a senior of the Crescent Moon level shouldn't be able to defeat an Erosion-level Void Beast that corresponds to their level so easily."

"Senior, could it be that you are a Rainbow Light level?" Yin Xue's eyes were already filled with a hint of admiration as she looked at Xing Shuang. She never expected that the magical girl in front of her, who looked like a child, was actually a senior magical girl.

"Whatever happens, the most important thing is that you're all safe." Xing Shuang still had a calm smile on her face, but her heart was pounding.

"What are Void Beasts? What is an Erosion-level? And what are Crescent and Rainbow-level magical girls? I have absolutely no idea."

That wretched system mysteriously fell silent after she arrived, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and pretend to be a reliable senior, not wanting to arouse the suspicion of these two genuine magical girls.

If the other party discovers that you are actually an imposter who knows nothing, then you'll be in big trouble.

Thinking of this, Xing Shuang couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate.

That was her first attempt at flying with magic, but she couldn't control her direction and speed at all and crashed straight into the lizard-like monster.

Although it wasn't her intention, the result was a lucky accident that hit something like the core, defeating her opponent.

Although I still have a throbbing headache, this is a good outcome. If I had fought that monster head-on in this state, I might have been eaten as dessert.

That's right. Judging by height, the two taller people next to her are the main course, while she is just a snack. Her current height is about the same as when she squatted down in her previous life, so she has to tilt her head slightly when talking to the magical girl named Yin Xue.

"Alright, you two hurry up and thank your senior. It would have been dangerous if she hadn't come to our aid this time," Ruby urged as she floated to their side.

"Thank you so much, senior." Yin Xue stepped forward respectfully and bowed.

"Thank you, but could you please stop calling me 'senpai'?" Xing Shuang said weakly in her heart. Ever since the two magical girls and a fairy started calling her 'senpai' this and 'senpai' that, she was almost numb to it.

Liuli looked a little reluctant, shuffling over and drawing circles on the ground with her toes.

"Um... thanks for earlier." She then grabbed Ruby and jumped aside.

"But that doesn't mean I approve of this kind of fighting style that relies on level suppression!"

"Whose kid is this? That's such a classic statement," Xing Shuang thought to herself, but on the surface, she nodded nonchalantly, "Very ambitious."

She didn't really care about Liuli's behavior; the other girl wasn't much taller than her and was clearly just a child throwing a tantrum.

Although the specific reason is unknown, she is a mature adult at heart and would not quarrel with a little girl who is young enough to be her daughter.

"I'm sorry, senior, that's just Liuli's temper. If she has angered you, I apologize on her behalf," Yin Xue said apologetically.

"If you keep calling me 'senior,' you'll probably make me angrier even more..." Xing Shuang thought to herself, but a sweet smile appeared on her face.

"It's alright, I don't mind. But I wonder if the child is alright?"

"Every time Ruri faces an enemy she can't handle and gets into a tough fight, she always looks so awkward after being helped by a senior who comes to her aid. Just let her calm down, and Ruby is there to keep her company."

"Then I'm relieved." Xing Shuang nodded, then she saw Yin Xue take out a phone with a pink cat ear case from her bosom, and she immediately had a bad feeling.

"If it's convenient, let's exchange contact information? I'm truly grateful for this, and if possible, I'd like to thank you properly next time we meet... under my real identity, of course."

"Wait, wait, wait, where did you pull that phone out from? All my belongings disappeared when I transformed. Is a four-dimensional pocket a standard accessory for magical girls?"

Xingshuang's heart was in turmoil, so much so that the perfect expression she had been maintaining on her face became slightly distorted.

"Senior?" Seeing that Xing Shuang hadn't responded for a long time, Yin Xue asked in confusion.

"... Sorry, Yin Xue! I suddenly remembered that I have some things to take care of. I'll thank you next time." Xing Shuang hurriedly turned around, assuming a posture as if she was about to take flight.

"But how to contact them..." Yin Xue stared blankly at Xing Shuang, her expression somewhat confused.

"We'll exchange contact information next time. If any more Void Beasts appear, we'll definitely meet again!" Pink and gold colors surrounded Xing Shuang, and the next moment, she appeared in mid-air.

"Senior! At least tell me your code name!" Yin Xue shouted from the ground.

"Code name? What code name? I was tricked into transforming by that awful system, how could I possibly have a code name?" Starfrost hovered in mid-air, hesitating whether to leave immediately.

Although the idea of meeting again was just an excuse, and she had no intention of contacting the other party again, it would be too impolite to just leave like that.

[Hint: The host's codename as a magical girl is Starfrost] Familiar fonts came into view, and the two characters "Star Frost" even shone with the same pink-gold color as the light around her.

Xing Shuang raised an eyebrow when the system, which had been feigning death for half a day, suddenly came back to life. However, this notification solved the immediate problem, so she didn't bother arguing with the system.

I'm too lazy to bother with it for now.

The next moment, the pinkish-gold light transformed into a rainbow and swept into the distance, the resulting gale causing the surrounding dark forest to rustle.

Yin Xue suddenly felt that the surroundings were much brighter. In her eyes, that figure was even more dazzling than the full moon tonight, dispelling all the shadows around her.

Only after the pinkish-gold iridescence disappeared into the horizon did a pleasant voice reach her ears: "Next time we meet, just call me Starfrost."

"Senior Xingshuang..." Gazing in the direction where Xingshuang disappeared, Yinxue silently recited her code name, clenched her fists, and made up her mind.

I must become a reliable magical girl like my seniors!

"Has that pink-haired dwarf senior already left?" Liuli's voice came from the side. Yin Xue turned her head and found that the other person's head was peeking out from behind a tree not far away.

"What pink dwarf? You should be more polite to your seniors. Her code name is Starfrost." Yin Xue felt a little helpless.

"I admit that Xing Shuang is very powerful and even cuter than me, but I will become as powerful as her sooner or later... no, even more powerful than her!" Liu Li shouted loudly, hands on her hips.

Yin Xue reached out and patted Liu Li's head, smiling as she said, "It seems we have the same goal, so let's work together and at least reach the Crescent Moon level first."

"How many times have I told you, don't touch my head!" Liuli crossed her arms and tried to stop the other person's hands from rubbing her head, but the struggle seemed futile because Yinxue's movements did not seem to be hindered at all.

Bathed in moonlight, the girl's silvery laughter carried far and wide.