raknovel Chapter 3
Chapter 3
"Snoring."
The white kitten curled up on Cheng Chen's lap and dozed off, its soft belly rising and falling slightly with its breathing, and the tip of its tail swaying leisurely.
Jiang Fei seemed to be in a good mood, tapping her fingers lightly on the steering wheel and humming along to the melody playing from the car stereo.
From the day she found the kitten, Jiang Fei would come to Cheng Chen's house every evening.
The kitten was named Bai Xing and grew up day by day under the care of the two. It became naughty and cute, and became good friends with Cheng Chen's other pet, a Samoyed named Bai Guo. They played and ran all over the house every day.
She knew he was a demon, and he knew she had once been a magical girl.
That summer, however, the two still spent almost all their free time together.
"I'm going to Qiongcheng."
It wasn't until more than two months later that Cheng Chen told her this.
"Yeah…"
"Yes, I applied to the university over there."
Jiang Fei's hand, which was teasing the cat, froze in mid-air, then slowly fell down, and the smile on her face disappeared at some point.
She paused for two seconds, rummaged in her pocket, and took out Cheng Chen's spare key.
As a time traveler, Cheng Chen naturally had no family and lived alone. Jiang Fei came every day, and he was too lazy to open the door every time, so he simply gave her a spare key.
"In that case, here's your key back."
She took a deep breath and forced a smile, which looked worse than crying: "I won't come again tomorrow. As for Bai Xing... I'll try to take her home and raise her. Thank you for everything during this time."
thump.
Cheng Chen raised his hand, and Jiang Fei closed her eyes, only to be tapped on the head.
"What do you mean by bringing it home? This is my cat!" he said.
Jiang Fei suddenly looked up, her eyes wide.
"I'm going to transform it into my evil familiar's henchman to do evil for me, how can I just leave it here? The transformation is still in progress, it still needs my magic to nurture it, and you, this retired, stupid magical girl, can't help at all, so I'll take it with me to Qiong City." Cheng Chen said coldly with a straight face.
Jiang Fei clenched her fists and habitually bit her lower lip.
"Then... go." After a moment, she accepted reality with a sigh of relief. "Whether you go to university or take Bai Xing away, it has nothing to do with me. Why tell me?"
The hand that had been tapping her head didn't leave; instead, it remained on the girl's head, gently stroking her long, silky hair, and then placed the spare key that had just been returned back into her hand.
"Of course it's related."
Cheng Chen replied matter-of-factly, "When I'm not around, you have to come walk my dog every day. Otherwise, why should I take care of your cat for free?"
"But you just said Bai Xing is your cat!?"
Jiang Fei looked up and retorted without thinking.
As soon as she finished speaking, the girl froze, her cheeks instantly turning crimson.
The Samoyed puppy, Baiguo, circled around the two people's feet, making cute whimpering sounds.
Suddenly, Cheng Chen was tackled to the floor.
Jiang Fei buried her face in his chest, clutching his clothes tightly with both hands, and burst into tears as if she had finally found an outlet.
"Idiot! Idiot! Ugh! Go to hell... I have no magic, so I'm useless... Go find another useful magical girl!"
Cheng Chen looked up at the ceiling, silently enduring the rain of tiny fists falling on him. He was a little at a loss, but he still patted Jiang Fei's head until her crying stopped.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Fei moved her face away from his chest. Her eyes were still red, her eyelashes glistening with moisture, and tears still clung to the corners of her eyes.
The two stared at each other, their shadows reflected in each other's eyes.
"If you want to leave, then leave. I don't care."
Jiang Fei sniffed and stubbornly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to salvage some dignity.
But Cheng Chen grabbed her hand in mid-air and suddenly pushed her down onto the bed in the room.
"Huh!?"
She made a cute sound from deep in her throat, like a startled little rabbit.
Jiang Fei saw the boy's calm and deep eyes, clearly felt the body temperature transmitted through his clothes, and felt his hot breath.
But she did not resist, as if she had made some kind of mental preparation, and slowly closed her eyes.
Until Cheng Chen leaned close to her ear, his warm breath entering her ear canal, and his deep voice rang out:
"Activate the Magical Girl Domination Program."
……
You have permanently defeated Magical Girl Scarlet Cherry.
She completely lost the will to resist, your image etched deeply into her mind. Overwhelmed by a complex mix of emotions—tension, hesitation, fear, and excitement—she could no longer refuse your request.
[Depth Increase in Dependence]
[The evil magic has been thoroughly infused into the faded Crimson Sakura Wand. Well done! The evil demon, the magical girl Crimson Sakura, has been utterly destroyed and is completely subservient to you.]
[Please send her to infiltrate the magical girl group, break them down from within, and control more magical girls!]
Perhaps it was because I had returned to my hometown after many years that seeing familiar objects brought back memories of the past.
What was the final outcome that day?
Jiang Fei's ears turned as red as if they were about to bleed. She slapped him in a fit of shame and anger, and stormed off, making sure to take his spare key with her.
Cheng Chen covered his face, unable to understand why she was so angry when he used the system to restore her magical girl powers.
A week later, he left Yincheng.
Meanwhile, the long-dormant "Magical Girl Scarlet Cherry" reappeared, sweeping away all the threats from monsters and demons in and around Yin City with unstoppable force, and becoming the new president of the Magical Girl Association.
Six years have passed since then.
Cheng Chen opened the system after a long time. The panel displayed a list of magical girls under his control, and at the top of the list was that familiar name.
He turned his head and looked at her beside him—
The girl beside him was no longer the one who had sobbed uncontrollably against his chest. Her long, wine-red hair was glossy and smooth, with a few wisps of bangs brushing against her cheeks, making her skin appear as white as porcelain. Her black off-the-shoulder dress clung to her slender waistline under the seatbelt, revealing a glimpse of her fair and delicate calves beneath the hem, exuding the confidence and fragrance of a mature woman.
Noticing Cheng Chen's gaze, Jiang Fei's long eyelashes fluttered as she looked over.
"Is there something on my face?"
"It's nothing," Cheng Chen shook his head, answering calmly, "I just think you've become more beautiful."
Jiang Fei's grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly, and her heart skipped a beat. But when she looked again, Cheng Chen had already looked away and turned his head to look elsewhere.
She gritted her teeth, gave a defiant snort, and slammed her foot on the gas pedal.
Magical Girl: Scarlet Cherry Blossom
Current dependency level: 100%
……
"Is today's experiment over?"
"tutor."
Cheng Chen looked up; the virtual screen of the system panel was still floating in mid-air.
The mentor was a petite young woman with messy hair and long, silvery-white hair that almost reached her ankles.
She tucked her hands into her white lab coat, her ahoge (a stray hair on her head) swaying slightly as she glanced at the panel.
"Hmm... The limit of your 'system' output magic power has been calculated and the result is consistent with the prediction. Reaching the fifth level is almost the limit for you, and there is no possibility of it going any further."
Cheng Chen nodded slightly, neither discouraged by what she said nor alarmed by the exposure of the system.
"The fifth tier is the limit of the conventional magic system. The fact that you were able to reach the end in such a short time is enough to prove the effectiveness of the 'system'. There is no need to be discouraged."
The magic ranking system is divided into five ranks.
The ranks of magical girls are: Fire Sprout, Light Bell, Glowing Feather, Blooming Radiance, and Star Crown.
Their total magical power increases naturally with age and physical development. Most magical girls reach the second rank, "Light Bell," before adulthood, while a small number of exceptional individuals with a high affinity for their wands have the opportunity to become "Radiant Feathers."
The corresponding entities are: Distortions, Omens, Destruction, Evil Gods, and Star Calamities.
Even seasoned demons who have been active for many years mostly only hover between the second-tier 'Ominous Sign' and the third-tier 'Destruction'.
Cheng Chen's rank had long since reached its limit.
The fifth tier, "Star Calamity," is the upper limit of the conventional magic system. Only by reaching this tier can one be considered the King of Demons and obtain the title of "Lord."
At the same time, the fifth level is also the upper limit of the system.
After entering university, his strength never increased again.
"Mentor, how can I, like you, surpass my limits and reach a higher level?"
"Hmm?" The silver-haired girl laughed. "You've already reached your limit, aren't you satisfied? What a greedy fellow."
"I just want to be able to protect myself in a world full of dangers. Demoness, nightmares, extraterrestrial beasts, star observers... There are so many beings in this world that transcend the limits, which means that this is just a false limitation, and there must be a way to transcend it."
Cheng Chen did not deny it, but said it seriously.
"My method only works on magical girls." The silver-haired girl stood on tiptoe, raised her hand high, and ruffled his hair. "Unfortunately, my only disciple is a demon."
Cheng Chen let her do as she pleased until she was satisfied.
"...However, it's not entirely hopeless."
Cheng Chen suddenly looked up: "Really?"
"Magic is the power of 'wishes.' You can't become a magical girl, nor do you have 'wishes,' but you can 'borrow' what you lack from them..." The silver-haired girl stopped halfway through her sentence, starting to keep everyone in suspense.
Cheng Chen knew his mentor was waiting for him to speak first, so he asked:
"What should I do?"
"To tame, to enslave, to deceive, to conquer." The silver-haired girl revealed a beautiful, unreal, innocent smile. "To make them depend on you, become your slaves, become your servants, and finally willingly give up everything they have."
Cheng Chen hesitated for a moment.
"What? Are you giving up?"
The professor's silver-white eyes, hidden behind his round-framed glasses, stared straight at him.
Cheng Chen shook his head, his resolve hardening: "No, please ask my mentor to teach me."
"Hmm~" The girl smiled with satisfaction. "Then let's make this your graduation project. As for a name, let me think of one..."
"How about we call it 'Magical Girl's Heavy Addiction'?"
……