I'm a magical girl in the future

Chapter 100 The Most Core Secret

"I roughly understand Yotsuba and Asaka's situation. So, what about Rei?" Floating Floating continued her question, which she had only half-finished asking. "I know Rei is the captain of this era, but she's still just a child. Why is it okay for her to join the fight against the Time Assassins?"

Shui Li now roughly understood; "Ling Bo" was Noah's code name in this era. The captain was much younger than she had imagined… But she still remembered another unfamiliar name—

"There's another question. You seemed to have mentioned... the other side? Who is that?"

"It's no wonder you have such doubts... Let's start with the simpler things." Li Mengling continued to explain, "The Other Shore is actually Yi Luoxin. Her code name is based on Captain Noah, so when the captain's code name changed, her code name changed as well."

"Huh?! Will the current Yi Luoxin fight against her future self?!" Fu Ping and Shui Li were both taken aback; this was completely unexpected.

"Of course. The current Bi'an and Yi Luoxin are completely different people, so it's best not to have any prejudice," Noah added. "You can trust her."

"Hmm... I'll try my best." Fu Ping frowned, then turned to another question, "What about Ling Bo? Why is she, a child, allowed to join the battle?"

"Well... I only found out about this recently myself." Li Mengling gave a wry smile. "By the way, have you ever wondered why the captain has never met you in his human form?"

"Huh? This... I'm curious, but it's not really anything strange, is it?" Floating Duckweed scratched her head. "There are a lot of magical girls who don't want to show themselves in their human form..."

"So, do you think the captain is that kind of person? We've spent so much time with Captain Noah, and we're all willing to reveal our true human forms to her. Given this life-and-death bond we share, is it really necessary for her to hide her true form?"

After Li Mengling finished speaking, Shui Li and Fu Ping both looked at Noah.

Indeed, I had been curious about what the captain's true form looked like before. However, in the world of magical girls, if the person doesn't want to reveal their true form, no one can force them to.

Therefore, neither of them took the initiative to ask Noah about her human form.

"Shui Li and Fu Ping's questions are probably on different points," Noah finally spoke up. "Shui Li and I met five years ago, so Shui Li, how old do you think I am?"

"I can't guess." Mizuki shook her head. "Magical girls don't change their appearance after they turn 18. When I met you, you looked almost exactly the same as you do now... so I can't tell your age."

"Captain Noah must be in her early twenties now," Fu Ping said with a hint of pride. "I've known the captain for eight years. Back then, she looked about 14 or 15, so she must be around 22 or 23 now."

"Yes, I initially came to the same conclusion as Fu Ping." Li Mengling nodded. "I met the captain 10 years ago. At that time, she looked like she was 12 or 13 years old, only a little bit older than Ling Bo now."

"Is there any other question?" Fu Ping felt this question was a waste of time. "The current timeline is 12 years ago, so the captain should be 10 years old, right? Ling Bo should also be around 10 years old. Is there a problem?"

Noah sighed, then slowly spoke—

"Because Rei, who is 'me' in this time and space, is 23 years old."

Upon hearing this, Shui Li and Fu Ping were both stunned.

"So, Captain... your real age... is 35?!"

"...You could say that." Noah leaned back on the sofa behind her. "And the reason I remain a magical girl is that my human form has been completely destroyed. I can only maintain my magical girl state."

"Huh? Is that even possible?" Floating Duckweed asked, somewhat doubtful. "Normally, if a human's physical body is destroyed, wouldn't they die instantly?"

"Theoretically, it's possible," Li Mengling replied. "This happens when someone is near death in human form and then awakens as a magical girl. The timing is very difficult to grasp, and normal people wouldn't try something like this."

Shui Li lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then asked a question: "Teacher, when did you awaken?"

Noah didn't hide anything: "Like Lingbo, I awakened at the age of 23... and even on the 'same day'. In fact, I specifically chose to travel to that day to save my past self."

"Then there's a problem." Mizuki shook her head. "In this era, there's no technology to artificially trigger awakening. Magical girls used to rely on 'self-awakening'."

"Even if you can help Rei awaken in this era... but in your own era, teacher... how can you awaken at 23? You can't 'awaken yourself' after you're over 18."

"Besides, Rei's appearance... she looks like she's only 10 years old..." Fu Ping said, crossing her arms. "If Rei is really 23, then... her magical girl transformation should make her look like an 18-year-old..."

All eyes were on Noah.

Noah sat up slightly, her face serious. But a hint of weariness was in her eyes.

"Actually, this is where it all began... Fennel, Water Glass, Floating Duckweed, you're all probably curious about one thing: why did Yi Luoxin betray us and do those things?"

All three nodded. This was also a long-standing mystery that had lingered in their minds.

Shui Li felt this most deeply. Her former teammate seemed like a completely different person now.

For Fu Ping, these events occurred after her death. She was shocked when she learned of Yi Luoxin's actions. Even though she had already eliminated the corrupted magical girl messenger, Fu Ping still suspected that someone had impersonated Yi Luoxin to do these things.

"These final secrets... you all have the right to know. However..."

"You must keep these things to yourselves."

"After hearing these core inside stories, you will probably understand the whole process."

"And... why is Ji Xia also excluded from our group?"

Noah's expression now went beyond serious; it even looked somewhat fierce.

"I want to emphasize again, absolutely, absolutely not to tell anyone else. Especially not the other 'me,' and the 'He Yuran' of this era."

"Otherwise... it might be a disaster that comes prematurely."