Maybe the Erosion Body Was Hungry Too

Morning sunlight squeezed through the gaps in the curtains.

Two pigeons perched on the outdoor air conditioner unit, cooing as they discussed how last night's heavy rain had soaked their nest.

Qiluo rolled over under the covers, buried her face in her pillow, and slowly opened her eyes.

Her head wasn't dizzy, her legs weren't weak, and her magic circuits were running normally again.

After a night of deep sleep, she had recovered most of her energy.

Last night, when Shizuru was standing next to the vending machine, her eyes had flickered so many times.

Did she think Qiluo hadn't noticed?

That kind of look.

It was exactly like a wolf looking at a sheep, Qiluo looking at a pineapple bun, or a Magical Girl looking at Qiluo Tian Gong.

This realization made Qiluo blink at the ceiling as she lay in bed, before covering her face with her arm.

Fortunately, Mingyue seemed to have thought of something at that moment and quickly stopped pestering her.

Otherwise, she really wouldn't have known what to do.

Next time they met, she should probably be a bit nicer to her.

She threw off the covers and sat up, stretching before walking over to the window to draw back the curtains.

The sky, washed clean by the heavy rain, was as spotless as a freshly wiped glass pane, with a few lingering thin clouds drifting slowly eastward.

In the distance, the trains heading toward the station had already started running, their tracks reflecting a silvery-white light in the sunshine.

Today was going to be a nice day.

...

The clamor in the school corridors was denser than usual. The heavy rain had kept everyone cooped up for a whole day, and today it felt like they were pouring out all their pent-up chatter.

Qiluo wove through them, occasionally stepping aside to avoid a student talking while walking backward, and occasionally nodding to a girl waving at her.

Her presence control remained precise—not too high, not too low, just enough to be a warmly accepted transfer student... probably?

She had just sat down and hadn't even had time to pull her textbooks out of her bag when a figure appeared right next to her desk with pinpoint accuracy.

“Tian Gong-san—!” Rei tossed her schoolbag onto her own desk and spun around to lean over the edge of Qiluo's desk.

“Did you see the Magical Girl last night?! I did! I saw her from my window!”

Her voice was kept very low, but it couldn't suppress her excitement.

Her twin tails swayed on either side of her shoulders as she leaned forward, adorned today with a new pair of star-shaped hairpins.

“Since it poured all day yesterday, I was cooped up at home and couldn't go anywhere. I was just staring out the window last night when suddenly, a flash of light lit up the street opposite!”

“A Magical Girl leaped out of the water, holding a huge weapon, and slashed an Erosion Body in one swift stroke! Then she jumped onto a streetlamp and vanished. Weren't you working at the convenience store last night? Did you see anything?”

Qiluo placed her textbook on the corner of her desk and looked up at her.

Rei gesticulated wildly as she spoke, almost knocking over a nearby classmate's pencil case. She quickly pulled her hands back, but her body was still leaning forward, looking as if she might tumble right out of her chair.

“I did.”

“Really?!” Rei almost failed to control her volume, quickly covering her mouth with her hands and squeaking through her fingers in a hushed, high-pitched whisper, “You really saw the Magical Girl?!”

“Yeah... I was working at the convenience store last night when an Erosion Body attacked. A Magical Girl showed up right away to save me.”

Qiluo raised her left hand and made a dashing motion in the air. “She rushed in so fast and sent the Erosion Body flying instantly.”

Rei's expression instantly flipped from excitement to anxiety.

She grabbed Qiluo's shoulders with both hands, not too hard but urgently.

“An Erosion Body?! Seriously?! Are you hurt? Aren't those things super dangerous—”

“I'm not hurt. The Magical Girl arrived very quickly and took care of it in an instant.”

Qiluo gently patted Rei's hands, reassuring her.

“Besides, aren't I standing right here in front of you completely fine?”

Rei's fingers lingered on her shoulders for a few more seconds before letting go.

Instead of sitting back down in her chair, she crouched down and looked up at Qiluo's face, as if trying to confirm something.

The excitement in her round eyes had receded, replaced by genuine concern.

“Being scared is a kind of injury too.” She scratched the back of her head sheepishly after saying this, probably feeling she was being a bit too dramatic.

“My mom says some wounds are invisible. Did you have nightmares after you got home last night? Did you sleep well?”

“I slept great and had some wonderful dreams~”

“That's a relief.” Rei stood up and leaned back over the desk, her tone returning to its usual cheerfulness, though the worry in her eyes hadn't entirely faded.

Rei probably didn't know that she was exactly the kind of person who could make nightmares vanish.

“But honestly, an Erosion Body crashing into a convenience store is just too bizarre. Was it because you worked too late last night, and the bright lights of the store attracted it?”

“I read online that Erosion Bodies are attracted to light and sound, but some people say they only chase after mana. And there's no mana in a convenience store—”

“Maybe the Erosion Body was hungry too,” Qiluo said, turning to the next page of her textbook without batting an eye.

Rei froze for a moment, then collapsed onto the desk, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

Once she finished laughing, she sat up straight, her expression suddenly turning serious.

“Have you gone to the Association to register for victim compensation? I saw on the news last time that a clerk got scared by an Erosion Body, and the Association paid them a trauma compensation fee and even arranged a free health checkup.”

“It was too late last night, so I just went home to rest. I'll ask Ms. Tanabe during lunch break today.”

“Go during the recess! It's better to ask about these things early, in case there's some kind of deadline.”

Rei squeezed Qiluo's wrist again. “You're really not hurt, right?”

Qiluo slipped her wrist out of Rei's grip and lightly patted the back of her hand in return.

Rei finally turned back to organize her textbooks with peace of mind, still mumbling about bringing Qiluo some pudding to calm her nerves.