TMGS 02

chapter 02

“Holy sh—… oh. Got it. Please, this way.”

The burly man who’d just had a crumpled paper ball smacked into his face almost reflexively let loose a curse, but once he saw who had thrown it, he wisely swallowed the rest of it. After quickly reading the note inside, he hurriedly led the two deeper into the residence.

“Everything’s prepared. Please take a look.”

Following him, the two stepped through a hidden door behind a mirror in the shop. They crept down a set of creaking stairs and arrived at a dimly lit basement.

“I bet this place hasn’t had a proper cleaning in at least ten years,” Jin Orelis muttered, staring at the moss thickly coating the walls. She took a deep breath—then broke into violent coughing. “Damn it… the air smells like mildew.”

“Agreed.”

Mo tucked away the last two candied hawthorn skewers and extended her gloved right hand, lightly brushing over the mottled wall. She gazed absently at the cobwebs hanging from the ceiling. “I suggest not eating lollipops. You might accidentally swallow dust—or worse—when you open your mouth.”

“If I’d known, I would’ve brought a gas mask.”

Grumpily chewing up the half-melted candy in her mouth, the red-haired girl coughed again and shot the burly man a glare.

“My sincerest apologies.”

Though he felt a strong urge to slap someone, the man kept his smile firmly in place. “Things have been under strict inspection lately. This is a newly established base—we haven’t had time to clean it up yet. Please forgive the inconvenience. Here is the full inventory list. Kindly review it.”

“No rush.”

Spitting the lollipop stick onto the ground, Jin Orelis ignored the stack of papers the man handed her and strode straight toward a series of stacked ammunition crates. In a few nimble leaps, she climbed to the top, flipped open the uppermost crate, skimmed through its contents, then hopped down. She randomly selected several black crates, dragged them to an open space, and began inspecting them.

What monstrous strength.

The burly man recalled how he struggled just to carry a single crate. Watching her effortless movements and casual expression, he sighed inwardly, unsure whether what he felt was envy, jealousy, or resentment.

Mo wasn’t idle either. She plucked a strand of her own silver hair and wandered to the far end of the basement. She inserted the strand into randomly selected crates, paused for two seconds, then swiftly withdrew it and moved to the next.

Ten minutes later, the two returned to the man’s side and exchanged a nod.

“Let’s see… ten thousand cans of tuna, ten thousand cans of luncheon meat, 10.3 tons of rice, three tons of cotton, twelve tons of flour, one ton each of salt, sugar, MSG, and ground pepper…”

Snatching the papers from the man’s hand, Jin Orelis scanned them herself. “I’m starting to forget what the word ‘ton’ even means.”

“Can you guarantee that all the supplies match what’s on this list?” Mo asked calmly. She pulled a small cloth pouch from her coat, untied it, checked its contents, then handed it over.

“Of course, of course.”

The bald man took the pouch and counted the contents in the same manner before tying it up again and storing it away. His face remained plastered with a smile. “We intend to build a long-term partnership with you magical girls. How could we possibly damage our own reputation by shortchanging you?”

“It better be so.”

Jin Orelis tossed the document back to Mo, then detached several small spheres hanging from her waist. After spinning her arm rapidly a few times, she hurled them outward.

“If we discover anything’s missing,” she said coolly, “we’ll make sure there isn’t even ash left of you.”

“Understood. Understood.”

The small spheres began gliding through the underground warehouse at high speed in smooth arcs. Wherever they passed, any crate they touched vanished instantly—like bubbles pricked by a needle, leaving no trace they had ever existed.

After sweeping up all the supplies, the spheres made a graceful turn and returned on their own to Jin Orelis’s waist, giving Newton’s laws a firm slap in the face.

“Let’s go.”

“Goodbye.”

“Thank you for your cooperation! Please come again!”

Damn it—the sky had cleared up.

As they stepped out of the shop, the red-haired girl scowled at the blazing sun overhead and irritably stuffed a lollipop—seemingly conjured from nowhere—into her mouth.

She hated sunny days the most.

“So, next we—”

Mo cut herself off mid-sentence, turning her head toward a nearby alley. Her left hand rose to the hairpin on top of her head.

“What’s up? Trouble?”

Seeing her companion shift into a battle-ready stance, Jin Orelis narrowed her eyes and followed her gaze. “Who’s tired of living and wants to try us?”

“It’s that child.”

Mo pointed at a girl deep inside the alley, being kicked and punched by several teenage boys.

“Oh. The one who was selling stale candied hawthorn earlier? I’d forgotten.”

Interest lost, Jin Orelis patted her partner’s shoulder and turned away. “Let’s go. Not worth watching.”

“I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before,” Mo murmured. The girl on the ground desperately shielded the few coins she had earned from selling candied hawthorn earlier, curling around them protectively. Mo’s blood-red eyes blinked slowly as she removed the hairpin from her hair. “Can I ask her a few questions?”

“You think every girl looks familiar,” the red-haired girl replied with a helpless shake of her head. Then she strode decisively into the alley. “I’ll handle it. One last time. No more after this.”

“Mm. Okay. The last billionth time.”

Jin Orelis didn’t even need to speak. The moment the boys saw her walking toward them, they panicked and scattered, vanishing in seconds.

A bunch of cowards. Boring.

“Hey. Are you alright?”

Half-crouching before the battered girl, Jin Orelis began checking her injuries. “Those useless bastards ran off. You don’t need to be scared anymore.”

“Mm…”

The girl, still lying on the ground, timidly pushed herself upright when she saw who had come. In a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, she stammered, “I-I’m f-fine… th-thank you… b-big sister…”

Several of her teeth had been knocked out—no wonder her words whistled through gaps.

A few ribs were broken. Bruises covered her body. There was a deep, bleeding gash on her back. In this filthy environment, infection was only a matter of time.

“Ask whatever you want to ask. She probably won’t live more than a few days,” Jin Orelis said, nodding toward Mo as she stood up and wiped her hands on her trench coat.

“Ah!”

The girl suddenly let out a soft cry. The silver-haired girl had lifted the tattered scrap of cloth that barely covered her body, exposing her completely before the two of them.

The lollipop fell from Jin Orelis’s mouth and shattered on the ground.

She saw it.

Between the girl’s thighs was a dark green emblem.

An emblem far too familiar—its craftsmanship exquisite even beneath the caked mud.

No wonder Mo had said the girl looked familiar. Now everything made sense.

Jin Orelis scooped the girl up in a princess carry and let out a bitter laugh toward her companion as she turned back the way they had come.

“Let’s go. Looks like we still have one last mission to fulfill.”

“Mm. The last billionth one.”