I'm a magical girl in the future

Chapter 95, the second assassin?

Seeing Noah's figure slowly flying over, Lingbo breathed a sigh of relief.

She, Bi'an, and Huixiang waited there for another ten minutes or so, almost thinking that something else had happened.

"Phew...it's finally over."

Noah's face lit up with a bright smile, radiating joy and relaxation.

"We've taken care of the first 'future assassin' just like that. I have to give a shout-out to Ayanami; that charged shot completely turned the tide of the battle."

"Lingbo, could you please make a lavish dinner tonight? Consider it a celebration!"

Looking at Noah from the other side, he felt a little strange.

Normally, she could sense that Noah, like her, wore a "smiling mask," a facade of cheerfulness. But now, her performance was incredibly clumsy.

Compared to her usual natural smile, Noah's tone and expression now carried a sense of awkwardness, as if she were "trying too hard."

What happened?

Lingbo looked up and stared at Noah. She could also tell that something was wrong with Noah's expression.

Earlier, when Noah gave the instruction to wait five minutes on the phone, she also talked to Fennel about the magical girl who was attacking, whose name was Meteorite.

When Fennel heard the name, she clearly looked surprised. But she didn't say anything more afterward.

What happened between Meteorite and Noah?

Although Noah was trying her best to "perform" an excited act, the atmosphere around her became somewhat somber.

Then, Lingbo felt her sleeve being tugged.

Lingbo looked up and saw fennel.

Fennel shook her head slightly, then stared intently into Lingbo's eyes.

Then, Lingbo understood her meaning from the hint in the fennel.

Fennel's look... was saying, "Leave it to me."

It seems... it's best to let her and Noah be alone for a while.

"Let's... go back first."

Lingbo turned her head to look at the other side.

"..." Bi'an glanced at Noah and nodded. The atmosphere was indeed a bit strange in the current situation.

"Well then, let's go back and prepare dinner." Lingbo left with a smile, and then she and Bi'an turned into two streaks of light and left the countryside first.

Only Noah and Fennel remained.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the smile on Noah's face gradually disappeared as Lingbo and the other shore departed, leaving only weariness and sorrow in the end.

"...Have you laid her to rest?"

Fennel stepped forward and asked softly.

She wasn't wearing glasses at the moment. This was a question asked by her "teammate, Fennel."

"Hmm." Noah nodded. "...I'm sorry, Fennel. Actually...I should have had you come too, to say a final goodbye to her."

"No need." Fennel gave a bitter smile, seemingly without regret. "That child, the person she longed for and loved most was you. My going there... wouldn't have made any difference. It's enough that she could spend her final moments alone with you."

Fennel knew very well that in Meteorite's heart, Noah held a unique place. As for the others, even her teammates who fought alongside her, they were perhaps just "the captain's comrades" to her.

"In the end, we are all bound together only because of your existence, Captain."

"Yiroko... If it weren't for you, she wouldn't be interested in anyone. Yotsuba... Ah, I mean Yotsuba from our era, she was in the team because she felt a great sense of guilt towards you."

"Floating Duckweed and I... regard you as our mentor in life."

"Mizuki and Meteorite... these two juniors who joined the team later also joined because they admired you."

"And Ji Xia, your sister Lu Yue, she—"

"Enough! Don't mention her to me anymore!" Noah suddenly stopped Fennel from continuing, somewhat displeased.

Seeing Noah's reaction to Ji Xia, Fennel sighed.

Privately, Noah really didn't want to talk about Ji Xia at all.

Because... doing such a thing... is something that can never be forgiven, no matter what.

Even former teammates, with such sincere memories...

Noah realized she had overreacted, and her tone softened slightly.

"Feel sorry……"

The two of them stood there blankly, without saying another word.

The atmosphere became awkward.

Then, as if suddenly startled by something, Noah's hand flashed with magic. Anise knew this was her summoning her Mystic Code. But this sudden action still left Anise somewhat bewildered.

"Captain... what are you doing—"

"It's a bit complicated." Noah held a strange board in her hand. "Shui Li wasn't brainwashed; she stayed in the future to help me monitor Yi Luoxin."

"Huh? She wasn't brainwashed?!" Fennel exclaimed, both surprised and delighted. "How did she do that?"

"It's related to her mental state. In fact, she's been hiding her mental state from us all along." Noah looked at the words on the board and smiled. "Didn't Shui Li always tell us that her mental state was about maintaining calm thinking? But actually, her mental state also has the effect of immunity to mind control."

"She kept this secret all along, and only I, her teacher, knew it. So no one else, including our team at the time, knew her true feelings."

"The next step was the brainwashing that followed the incident, which turned her into a seemingly brainwashed, corrupted magical girl, but in reality, she still retained her own consciousness."

"She's infiltrating that world, and we use this formal attire to communicate with each other."

Noah held up the writing board in her hand.

"This board comes in pairs. If you write something on one side, the same thing will appear on the other side."

"But... for a while, I couldn't get in touch with Shui Li. No matter what message I sent, there was no response."

"However, the link to this Mystic Code is still intact, so Mizuki herself should be unharmed. It's very likely that she encountered some kind of mishap that has prevented her from responding to me."

"But just now... she finally responded to me—"

Noah handed the board to Fennel, gesturing for her to read Water Glass's reply as well.

[Teacher, I'm sorry, I was invited to Yi Luoxin's place, so I can't reply right now.]

[But don't worry, I haven't been exposed. Yi Luoxin called me here to form an assassin team to hunt you down.]

She's already sent Meteorite; you may have already clashed with her. If not, please be extra careful.

[And, most importantly, the second group of assassins was me.]

Although I really want to stay here and continue gathering intelligence, I have to pretend to be brainwashed, so I have no choice but to agree.

We should meet soon, and I will discuss some important information with you in person then.