Starting as a Magical Girl, I Alone Shall Rule for Eternity

For the matter of his younger sister ultimately deciding to join the Disaster Control Bureau, Jiang Si wasn't particularly surprised.

Although their relationship had deteriorated significantly after their parents passed away, over the past three years, he occasionally came home to find Jiang Keke watching Magical Girl-related programs on the living room TV.

Some were real-time news about which Disaster Beasts the Magical Girls had eliminated and how many people they'd saved, while others were variety shows.

Magical Girls needed to earn money too, mainly because the Disaster Control Bureau required funds to operate, so it was common practice to monetize through Magical Girl idolization.

Variety shows, games, television dramas, and movies—there were plenty that invited Magical Girls to participate personally.

What Jiang Keke cared about most was that blue Magical Girl from back then, named Kingfisher, their savior who had rescued them.

Though she never said it aloud, having raised her all these years, Jiang Si could tell she carried deep guilt because she'd once misspoken and blamed Kingfisher for not arriving sooner to save their parents.

She often searched for ways to contact Kingfisher and had even written letters trying to send them to her before.

Unfortunately, they all sank without a trace.

In Jiang Keke's view, Kingfisher was probably her idol and goal.

And since Kingfisher was also the Magical Girl captain of the Disaster Control Bureau in the neighboring city, it made perfect sense for Jiang Keke to join the Bureau, giving her a chance to meet her idol someday.

It would be strange if she didn't agree—there was absolutely no reason to refuse the Disaster Control Bureau's invitation.

To ensure he wouldn't embarrass himself too much, he got up early and changed into an outfit his father had left behind. He'd been able to wear it since around his first year of high school.

Partly because Jiang Si grew relatively fast, and partly because their father really wasn't very tall.

With the cuffs and pant legs slightly rolled up, it fit him quite well.

He tidied his hair and made his eyes look weary, like the half-dead appearance of someone who'd already been to work.

He looked completely like a working adult now.

As for his face, demeanor could conceal many things.

At the very least, when he came downstairs, Silver Lotus's reaction upon seeing him proved his adjustments were quite successful.

"Your brother looks so much like your dad."

Hearing the Magical Girl beside her exclaim this, Jiang Keke couldn't help but feel speechless. "He deliberately dressed up to look like Dad."

"I just meant he dresses very maturely..."

"Hah, maybe he's actually a thousand-year-old monster inside." Jiang Keke showed no intention of speaking kindly about him. "Heartless and unfeeling."

Actually, he always wore this same outfit when attending parent-teacher conferences, so Jiang Keke had long grown accustomed to it.

Jiang Si only had two sets of clothes: his school uniform and the suit his father left behind. His father hadn't worn the suit often.

But whenever he wore it, he really did resemble their father.

The first time he went to a parent-teacher conference, the homeroom teacher even thought her father was just very young.

But he'd give himself away as soon as he spoke—his voice was still too youthful.

"Have you eaten?"

Jiang Si asked calmly, and Jiang Keke responded with her usual "Mm," unwilling to say anything more.

Silver Lotus, standing beside them, said obediently, "We saved some for you, Senior Jiang Si. Would you like some? The food in the kitchen probably hasn't cooled yet."

"No need, I ate last night."

He walked to the doorway and changed into leather shoes—also his father's. He only wore sneakers, for convenient exercise. "Let's go if you're ready, the sooner we go the sooner we return. I need to go to school this afternoon."

Hearing Jiang Si say he was going to school, Keke immediately showed a mocking expression.

As for his face, demeanor could conceal many things.

But she couldn't even be bothered to mock him, simply following behind to change her shoes.

Even Silver Lotus, facing such stiff and awkward tension, couldn't help but sigh.

A Magical Girl having serious family problems wasn't a good thing...

Though it seemed like most Magical Girls had some family issues anyway.

When they pushed the door open, the sunlight today was quite nice. Though Beihai was still far from autumn, it wasn't as hot anymore, especially now in the early morning. When the cool breeze brushed past, there was even a slight chill.

But if you stayed directly under the sunlight, you'd feel hot and stuffy soon enough.

After going out, Silver Lotus hid in the shadows along the roadside, enjoying the shade. Jiang Keke followed closely behind her. Since Keke was taller, the shadows from the buildings along the road couldn't fully cover her—her face still got hit by sunlight, so she had to occasionally raise her hand to shield herself from the sun.

Halfway along, Silver Lotus noticed Jiang Keke behind her raising her hand to block the sun and immediately copied the gesture. She stepped out a bit, deliberately letting sunlight hit her, and said, "It is a bit hot today, huh..."

"Does Senior enjoy suffering when there's no need to?"

"I really am hot." Silver Lotus muttered, then glanced back again. Jiang Si was at the very back, not even considering hiding in the shadows, instead striding forward directly under the sunlight. "Is your brother not afraid of heat?"

"His whole body temperature stays below zero all the time."

"What kind of special ability is that?"

"Just a frozen corpse."

"..."

Though somewhat impolite, Silver Lotus nearly laughed out loud. She covered her face to hide her inappropriate smile and asked, "Why do you hate your brother so much?"

After a moment of silence, Jiang Keke tugged at her single-strap bag. "Because he's not human."

Silver Lotus hadn't really intended to ask further—after all, it was someone else's family matter, and her curiosity about the reason was already crossing boundaries.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Keke continued, "When our parents passed away, on the day of the funeral, he didn't attend. He went to exercise instead."

Silver Lotus paused, glanced back at Jiang Si following at the rear, and frowned. "There must be... some reason, right?"

"No, it was purely for exercise." Jiang Keke said expressionlessly. "No reason at all. Even though our parents raised him, even though they lived together for over ten years, to him, our parents' lives mattered less than his exercise that day."

"Maybe he was just using exercise to numb himself, hiding his grief and pain..."

Silver Lotus watched as Keke showed a somewhat peculiar smile. "Senior, you're a bit detached from reality. Actually, when our relatives dragged him to attend the funeral, he looked completely impatient. Regarding our parents' death, he felt no grief or sorrow, let alone pain. To him, it was like two dogs had died. You just need to ask around to know."

Not expecting Jiang Keke to suddenly tell her so much, Silver Lotus was too shocked to speak, even slowing her steps.

"I noticed Senior Silver Lotus seems to have unrealistic expectations of him, so I'm giving you a heads-up to avoid disappointment later. That feeling really isn't pleasant."

Silver Lotus took a deep breath. "Thank you, Keke. I understand. But I still think there must be some misunderstanding."

"Hopefully."

Jiang Keke neither agreed nor disagreed. If Silver Lotus weren't also a Magical Girl who cared enough about her that Keke couldn't help but consider her a friend, she actually wouldn't be willing to talk about these family matters.

After all, she'd never told anyone all these years.

But whether Silver Lotus listened was her own business. Jiang Keke had absolutely no desire to get involved with Jiang Si's affairs. If Silver Lotus later insisted on siding with Jiang Si and trying to reconcile them,

Then Jiang Keke would definitely not join the Disaster Control Bureau, nor would she continue any association with Silver Lotus.

Many of their previous relatives had cut ties exactly this way.

"But I do understand—if my own brother were like that, it would be really hard to accept. I'm sorry for previously saying I hoped you could get along well with your brother; I was being presumptuous."

"It's not that..." Jiang Keke sniffled and turned her head away. "Senior, you didn't know about these things. It's not your fault."

Silver Lotus then grabbed her hand and swung it. "Just call me Silver Lotus from now on, none of this 'Senior' business."

"Little Silver Lotus."

"I never said you could add 'Little'!"

Jiang Si, watching the two lively girls ahead, frowned, unsure what they were doing.

They'd been wandering aimlessly for nearly twenty minutes now, with no intention of heading to the Disaster Control Bureau.

Was this girl just toying with him and Keke?

Although he could message Bingtang to get the Disaster Control Bureau's location,

That would be too easy to expose. Who knew if this girl named Silver Lotus was monitoring him?

Magical Girls always had some strange abilities, especially since she was a pink Magical Girl who typically specialized in mental magic. Combined with the Disaster Control Bureau's extensive resources, if they were targeting him, contacting Bingtang could easily expose her.

Better to be cautious, so he hadn't contacted Bingtang since last night, even switching his phone to airplane mode until now.

But wasting time like this wasn't sustainable either. Stopping, Jiang Si asked, "How much longer exactly? Should we call a car?"

Silver Lotus then released Keke's hand and replied with a smile, "We're almost there, no need to hurry."

But if you stayed directly under the sunlight, you'd feel hot and bothered soon enough.

After walking a bit more, the three entered a secluded street. From afar, Jiang Si spotted a somewhat familiar building.

The sanatorium where he and his sister had been sent for treatment three years ago.

So the Disaster Control Bureau was in a place like this? So close?

He found it strange. If it was this close, why hadn't Bingtang mentioned it to him?

But immediately, Silver Lotus turned again, exiting the alley and turning into another small path.

It wasn't necessarily about distance—Silver Lotus turned left and right, practically disorienting them completely, until they arrived at a place neither sibling had ever seen before.

It should be near the suburbs, with a small grove blocking the view. The three stopped beneath a wall corner. The wall appeared dilapidated from age, with red bricks exposed inside, numerous ants and insects crawling visible on it. A branch from an old poplar tree nearby hung down, shading the top of the wall.

Jiang Si felt the direction they'd come was strange, suspecting Silver Lotus might have used Magical Girl powers to distort their sense of direction, but he couldn't be sure.

"The Disaster Control Bureau is actually in a place like this?" Jiang Keke gasped, tugging at her collar. All that winding around had exhausted her.

Because of Jiang Si, Keke hated exercise, and by extension disliked PE class too, so her physical fitness wasn't very good.

Naturally, walking such a long distance was quite taxing.

"Of course not." Silver Lotus took out a key and pressed it against the wall.

Jiang Si raised an eyebrow, confirming she didn't consider him a suspicious person.

Because the key had a Miracle Seed hanging from it—she wasn't even avoiding suspicion.

The entire wall rippled after the key was inserted. When the key turned, the whole wall opened like a door, swinging outward on both sides.

Silver Lotus put away the key, hopped in briskly, then peeked out and waved to them. "Come in."

Jiang Si walked ahead of Keke. When he stepped through the doorway, he discovered a station on the other side.

There were ten platforms in total, each with a small brass bell at the far end.

The position they entered from the wall was between platforms nine and ten.

"Welcome to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Although this world's entertainment and culture were completely different from the original, their development trajectory was still similar.

Jiang Si knew about the work "Harry Potter," which had taken the world by storm a year ago.

In his previous life, he was a web novel enthusiast, uninterested in stories from low-magic worlds. The magic people used there made him scoff.

What was so appealing about a few kids saving the world? Without detailed progression paths and power classifications, it was far worse than web novels. He didn't understand how it became popular, could only say capital's influence at work.

He never expected the prestigious Disaster Control Bureau to imitate the platform here too.

How utterly childish.

Jiang Keke cautiously entered beside him, peering around for a long time before hearing the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters name and immediately quipped, "No copyright issues?"

"It's fine. They even collaborated with the Disaster Control Bureau—the actors were all Magical Girls from our side."

A Harry Potter with Eastern actors? Jiang Si couldn't quite imagine it.

"The previous platform was too old and scared many newcomers—it looked like a horror movie set back then. Later, the higher-ups said we needed to keep up with the times, at least making it something children would like, hence Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Other Disaster Control Bureaus are following suit."

"Any effect?"

"...You're the first newcomer since the platform renovation."

Silver Lotus scratched her head awkwardly, then said indignantly, "It's all the Azure Cloud Sect's fault! They're why the Disaster Control Bureau can't find Magical Girls anymore."

Yeah, right, all Bingtang's doing.

Jiang Si sneered internally. If your Disaster Control Bureau's recruitment loopholes weren't so huge, Bingtang wouldn't have had a chance.

Jiang Keke didn't join Silver Lotus in criticizing the Azure Cloud Sect either, instead curiously looking into the distance. "So it's also a train?"

"Of course not."

Silver Lotus walked to the bell and gently tapped it with her finger.

The melodious bell sound reverberated into the distance. More than the sound's reach, Jiang Si found it stranger that the echoing sound seemed like it was in mountains.

Soon, two brooms pulling a small carriage section arrived.

They were very fast, sparking friction when they stopped at the platform.

"One carriage only fits two people."

Silver Lotus explained. "Originally, there were only brooms. Later, to match the platform, we attached a carriage section to drag along, so newcomers wouldn't be scared riding this."

Saying this, she pulled Jiang Keke into the carriage first.

This small carriage section really only fit two.

"Senior Jiang Si, please wait a moment. I'll come back to get you..."

Just as Silver Lotus was speaking, while the brooms lifted the carriage to fly upward, she saw Jiang Si below slightly bend his knees.

Then, like a spring, he explosively leaped up!

Nearly six meters high, he grabbed onto the handle of the taking-off broom.

"This one will do."

Silver Lotus stared dumbfounded at Jiang Si gripping the broom handle tightly, showing no signs of falling off even as the broom flew at high speed.

Putting away her Miracle Seed, she turned to look at Keke, her mouth dry. "Your brother... what exactly is he?"

Snorting, Jiang Keke acted completely unsurprised. "I told you—he's not human."