NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8 - Beautiful days
“Settled?”
“Settled.”
“……”
Seeing YouYu, who was now lying on the bed and scrolling through his phone, Mamba didn’t know what to say.
Well… just moments ago, after an “overwhelming” conversation, YouYu had successfully persuaded WuYue to accept his help.
Everything seemed so perfect and smooth, but for some reason, Mamba felt something was off.
Was it just its imagination? Mamba had the unsettling feeling that after the exchange between YouYu and WuYue, her attitude had undergone some strange change… especially regarding the matter of being a “magical girl.”
It couldn’t tell right away; It could wait and observe before informing YouYu of any news.
“So what’s your next move, YouYu? According to what you said, you’ve completed the ‘first phase’ of the plan. What’s the ‘second phase’?”
“The second phase is the process of gradually transitioning from acquaintance to understanding each other.”
Stopping his phone scrolling, YouYu answered Mamba:
“And during this phase, nothing particularly special will happen… Although it’s not a particularly difficult stage, it’s still very important.”
As the saying goes, ‘Time reveals a person’s true heart, and feelings grow with time.’
So, the plan for YouYu during this phase was also quite simple and straightforward: to gradually make WuYue accustomed to his presence in their daily life… and ultimately evolve into a very important relationship.
As for what that important relationship would be… he still needed to think about it.
It’s worth mentioning that, after their conversation over lunch, their relationship had successfully shifted from the somewhat unbalanced “savior relationship” to that of “ordinary friends.”
And with that, it would be easier for him to leverage the situation.
“So, with that topic out of the way, it’s time to discuss another important matter.”
“What’s that?”
—
“Mamba, I want to ask.”
“When will your former colleagues make their move?”
“Although asking you now might be putting you on the spot… any bit of information about those colleagues from your memories would be helpful.”
“……”
After thinking for a while, Mamba gave his answer:
“I’ve remembered a few things… Though the usefulness of this information is limited, I can still tell you.”
“In my past time travels, if I didn’t intervene before them, they would likely appear just before the magical girl Firebird is normally born.”
—
“Let me cut you there. What do you mean by ‘normally’?”
“The time when the magical girl Firebird would appear in the timeline if I did not intervene.”
“And if you did intervene?”
“Hmm… It would cause her to appear earlier.”
“… I see.”
Nodding, YouYu began to ponder.
As of now, he roughly grasped when those villains would appear, but there was still one thing he didn’t quite understand.
Why would the magical girl Firebird appear? What is the reason for her appearance?
With this thought in mind, YouYu continued:
“So, what do you to “Intervene”?”
“Summoning Negative Beasts.”
Mamba answered honestly.
“Negative Beasts are life forms formed born from the accumulation of negative emotions from humans or animals. Simply put, they are biological weapons controlled by beings like us.”
“And in the timelines where I interfered, as long as I summoned a ‘Negative Beast’ in advance, magical girl Firebird… no, WuYue, who hasn’t yet become a magical girl, would always appear right on cue.”
“And then… at the moment she attempts to self-sacrifice, she would become a magical girl.”
“Even if I tried to intervene personally… I couldn’t defeat her.”
“Ok, that’s enough.”
Nodding, YouYu continued to think.
Looks like WuYue’s transformation into a magical girl was triggered by this “opportunity.”
“In order to save someone, she is recognized by some sort of power?”
After some thought, YouYu could only come up with this possibility.
After all, this kind of setup is quite classic, and WuYue is probably one of those cases.
“I see… if it really is as I think…”
Then, this opportunity, that special moment—
He needed to make the most of it.
But before that, he had to first enhance his own strength to prevent any unexpected mishaps from getting him killed at that crucial moment.
Although after the conversation at noon, he had gathered some of WuYue’s self-blame and guilt, which were negative emotions, it was still far from enough.
Being a candidate for a magical girl meant she would naturally generate more negative emotions than ordinary people; it wouldn’t be enough for a significant boost in the short term.
Only when she truly became a magical girl would the negative emotions be more abundant.
So, besides his daily tasks, he needed to dedicate some time to learning how to use his own abilities.
After all, sooner or later, he would have to face Mamba’s former colleagues.
Battle seemed unavoidable.
“So, these will be the plans moving forward…”
“Phew! Well, it’s time to head to work; it’s almost time.”
After letting out a sigh, YouYu got up from the bed and began preparing the things he needed to take with him.
He wasn’t sure why, but after just two days of being here, he had adapted so quickly and even started making plans for the future.
Thinking about it now, it was indeed a bit strange…
“Maybe I really am cut out to be a villain after all?”
He mused half-jokingly.
“Creeeak—”
After pushing open the door, YouYu saw the quiet living room.
This was not surprising, as WuYue had already left early for school, leaving the house empty except for him.
“Ah! YouYu! Hurry up! I’ve been waiting for you!”
— Or so it should have been.
“Huh? WuYue, you haven’t left yet?”
Seeing WuYue standing at the door, seemingly impatient, YouYu was surprised.
“Of course I haven’t! I’m waiting for you!”
“Didn’t you just say that you’d personally cycle me to prevent me from being late for school!”
“What’s this? Not going back on your word now, are you? That’d make you a useless adult!”
“So, even at noon as well…”
YouYu chuckled with a touch of resignation.
“Alright, alright, seeing how happy you are, it seems it’s impossible not to.”
With that, YouYu stepped outside and mounted the bicycle.
“Well then, I’ll show you my skills once more! Just so you know, with my energy replenished by delicious food, my speed is unbeatable!”
“Hmm, can you really ride faster than you did this morning? Seems a bit unlikely…”
Smiling, WuYue climbed onto the back seat of the bicycle.
“Don’t you trust me, an adult? You’ve called me that, so I can’t be unreliable!”
“Oh, alright! I really dislike adults who brag like you do… get on with riding the bike already!”
“Looks like I’m being underestimated!”
With a smile and a shake of his head, YouYu focused ahead and began pedaling quickly.
WuYue, on the other hand, kept her gaze fixed on YouYu.
“…”
In this simple moment, doing nothing but watching someone, she felt a sense of peace and happiness.
Since losing her grandmother, such moments had become rare.
The beautiful days of the past…
“Is it coming back?”
WuYue asked herself with a heart full of hope.