The 30-Year-Old Magical Girl - Chapter 57

The door wasn’t locked, but a Do Not Disturb sign hung from the handle.

After hesitating for a moment, You Dong withdrew his hand. Forcing his way in now would only push You Xi further away.

He knocked gently.

“…I brought some of your favorite food.”

Silence.

Although he had expected it, You Dong still let out a quiet sigh.

“I’ll leave it outside. Come get it whenever you’re hungry.”

“…Mm.”

A faint, lifeless response came from inside the room.

You Dong leaned against the door.

“…Let me guess. You had a fight with a friend?”

That night, You Dong—while transformed as Tidal—had been moments away from destroying the Nightmare Fiend when You Xi suddenly broke down in tears.

She had desperately begged Tidal to stop.

She had said that the aberration was her best friend.

At the time, Tidal hadn’t understood what she meant. But seeing her niece cry so desperately, she could do nothing but lower her wand.

And so, she could only watch as the hooded figure disappeared into the darkness.

The next morning, You Xi had left home early.

When she returned that evening, she looked like an entirely different person. Her eyes were vacant, and dried tear stains marked her cheeks. It was obvious she had spent hours crying.

Yet she refused to explain anything.

She simply went upstairs, locked herself in her room, and shut everyone out.

“How did you know?” You Xi muttered from behind the door.

“Heh. Just a guess,” You Dong replied. “You’re not the type to be frightened by a trip to the police station. The only thing I can imagine making you this miserable is a fight with your best friend.”

“…You’re annoying.”

“Sorry. Your uncle doesn’t know what happened.”

As he spoke, You Dong absentmindedly ran his fingers along the grain of the wooden door.

“But when you’re upset, talking to someone can help. If you don’t want to talk to me—maybe because it feels awkward—then find someone else you trust. A friend, perhaps. Or a teacher.”

“…”

There was no reply.

“Well, I’m heading downstairs. I have work later.”

You Dong eventually returned to the living room and sank onto the sofa.

He took out Tidal’s phone.

Perhaps You Xi would message her.

Perhaps she would find it easier to confide in Tidal than in her uncle.

But no message came.

Instead—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang.

“Coming.”

You Dong put away his phone and headed toward the entrance.

Checking the security camera, he saw a familiar face standing outside.

Mo Li.

…What is she doing here?

Confused, You Dong nevertheless opened the door.

“Hehe… Hello, Uncle! Remember me?”

The moment the door opened, Mo Li greeted him with her usual bright smile.

“Mm.” You Dong nodded. “Mo Li, right? And… sorry about what happened before.”

“Pfft. Forget about it!” Mo Li waved it off. “Anyway… is You Xi home?”

Before You Dong could say much else, she slipped into a pair of slippers and walked inside, casually looking around the house.

She showed no trace of nervousness.

In fact, she behaved as though she had visited countless times before.

“She’s upstairs,” You Dong answered.

“Huh.”

Mo Li crossed her arms and frowned.

“A classmate comes to visit, and she can’t even come downstairs to say hello?”

“She’s in a bad mood,” You Dong said with a helpless smile.

“In a bad mood?”

A brief flicker of panic crossed Mo Li’s face.

But she quickly hid it.

“Oh… I see.”

So it really is true…

Her uneasiness deepened.

After a moment of hesitation, she bit her lip.

“Then… Uncle, can I go upstairs and check on her?”

“Check on her?”

You Dong raised an eyebrow.

Since when had these two become close enough for that?

“Maybe I can help,” Mo Li quickly explained. “I mean—not that I particularly care or anything. I just thought I’d… check on her. That’s all.”

She deliberately avoided his gaze.

Her terrible excuse made her true feelings painfully obvious.

“Go ahead,” You Dong said with a smile. “You’re closer to her age. Maybe she’ll listen to you more than she would to me.”

“Doubt it.”

Mo Li laughed bitterly.

“She probably hates me now.”

The laughter quickly faded.

Her cheerful expression darkened.

“Maybe…”

Her voice became so quiet that almost no one could hear her.

“…Maybe this is my fault.”

After a brief silence, she forced herself to move.

“Anyway, I’m going upstairs.”

“Oh, wait.”

Halfway up the stairs, Mo Li stopped and leaned over the railing.

“This is girl talk. No eavesdropping, okay, Uncle?”

“Got it,” You Dong replied. “I’ll stay downstairs. Take your time.”

Mo Li nodded and continued upstairs.

She didn’t need to ask which room belonged to You Xi.

The Do Not Disturb sign made it obvious.

Standing before the door, Mo Li suddenly felt her chest tighten with anxiety.

She stared at the wooden door.

…That hooded figure was Bai Mian, wasn’t it?

Thinking back to You Xi’s behavior that night, Mo Li was now almost certain.

The pieces fit together too perfectly.

But that raised an even more troubling question.

Why had Bai Mian become an aberration?

In Mo Li’s memory, Bai Mian had always been timid and gentle—a girl who would carefully avoid stepping on ants.

Could something have happened?

Could she have caused it?

The thought weighed heavily on Mo Li’s heart.

And if You Xi believed the same thing…

She must hate me now.

“…Ugh. Why did things have to end up like this?”

Mo Li thought back to the time they had spent together as magical girls.

Their first mission.

Defeating the Fish Man Leader.

And then, just recently, their nearly flawless combination against the hooded figure.

They had only just begun fighting together.

They had only just begun to become friends.

Yet now, it felt as though everything was falling apart.

“We just started to…”

Mo Li’s voice trailed off.

Slowly, she placed her hand on the doorknob.

“Hey, are you in there? I’m coming in, okay?”

She called toward the world on the other side.

“Huh? Mo Li? What are you—”

Click.

Without waiting for an answer, Mo Li turned the handle and walked straight inside.

“Whoa…”

Her eyes widened.

“…A magical girl’s room?”

Figures.

Posters.

Decorations.

Mo Li stared around the room in surprise.

From the bed, You Xi hugged a pillow tightly and glared at the unexpected visitor.

“…What do you want?”