At this moment, inside a bar in the Underground Black Market of Summersea City.
Shandie hadn’t met up with Black Rose here for quite some time. Previously, Black Rose was worried about “walls having ears” in this place.
Now it seemed that the eavesdropping ear on the other side of the wall had already been dealt with by Black Rose herself, which was why Shandie dared to call herself here again for a meeting.
Black Rose was swirling her wine glass, savoring Shandie’s words with interest.
“You’re saying this [Sirius] has not only seen through our plan, but even openly negotiated with you, proposing a non-interference agreement? A Magical Girl from the Association who doesn’t care at all whether the Association or the City Council gets harmed? Interesting…”
Even someone like Black Rose, who always had everything under control, couldn’t figure out Sirius’s true stance or intentions.
Who exactly was she? This attitude definitely didn’t look like that of an ordinary D-rank Magical Girl.
“I’ll find some powerful people to test this [Sirius]. If she really is just a D-rank Magical Girl, then we’ll take her out quietly, problem solved. If she’s hiding something, we can probe her hand.”
Shandie paused, lifting her glass: “Is it really necessary to go that far? Since she’s willing to leave us alone, wouldn’t it be better to just leave her be?”
Black Rose smiled knowingly: “Of course it’s necessary. There can’t be any uncertainties in our plan. But I didn’t expect you to speak up for someone so insignificant, Shandie. That’s unlike you. Could it be that her earlier heart-to-heart actually convinced you?”
Shandie was momentarily stunned, furrowing her brow as she met Black Rose’s half-smiling, half-mocking gaze.
“Do you really think I’d be swayed by just a few words?” Shandie’s tone was cold. “I’m just worried that doing so will anger her, and then we won’t be able to establish the necessary enemy.”
“That doesn’t matter. A third party with an unknown stance is more dangerous than a known enemy, because you never know when they might suddenly become your enemy. It’s better to make an enemy early than to add one unexpectedly.”
Shandie didn’t argue further, lowering her head to drink quietly. After a long while, she spoke softly.
“I just want to confirm, Black Rose—are you sure? Are you sure your plan can eliminate humans’ bias against monsters?”
“Of course,” Black Rose lifted a sincere smile. “Not just between humans and monsters, but regardless of race, gender, identity, or character, all conflicts and prejudices in this world will vanish.”
Her words were earnest, her clear eyes gazing upward, as if looking beyond Shandie to a beautiful and ethereal future.
“Ah, Shandie, what a perfect world this will be. Don’t you agree?”
Shandie followed Black Rose’s gaze upward, but all she saw was the cramped, low ceiling of the Black Market bar and the chaotic tangle of pipes.
“Whatever, I believe you. That guarantee is enough.”
Then Shandie couldn’t help but think: the powerful people Black Rose had recruited would definitely be no weaker than B-rank.
From their last joint mission, Shandie had seen that Xiaoxi’s strength was only D-rank. She wondered if Xiaoxi could get through this test smoothly.
…
The next evening, inside Nightingale Café.
Xiaoxi had no idea just how much misunderstanding her protecting her sister from the Fiery Little Blond’s clinginess had caused.
The former Strongest Magical Girl, dressed in a maid outfit, was still clinging affectionately to her girlfriend as always.
At this time, the café had few customers. Store Manager Su Ying stood idly behind the counter, crossing her arms like a detective as she observed the young couple.
“You’ve been busy all day, always attending to other customers.”
“That’s because business was good today. Being busy is a good thing. You can’t expect the store manager’s café to be dead every day, can you?”
“…Hmph!”
“Alright, don’t be mad. Spending work hours on customers is normal. After work, isn’t all my time spent on you anyway?” Xiaoxi put her arm around Xinglan’s shoulders and gave a little shake.
Su Ying narrowed her eyes. Hmm… something felt off, very off.
Xiaoxi noticed Su Ying’s scrutinizing gaze and quickly explained.
“Store Manager, we didn’t have a fight. Xinglan just…”
“I know you two didn’t fight. It just seems like your relationship has gotten a lot closer lately.”
Su Ying thought to herself, obvious. I can tell the difference between a fight and romance, thank you very much.
“Well, how to put it… it felt like you two were pretending to be a couple before, but now it feels like a real couple, you know?”
Su Ying of course knew these two had been close for a long time, but closeness could mean many things.
Their previous closeness felt more like best friends who still kept a subtle distance, while now it was completely like a young couple deeply in love.
This theory might sound like nonsense, but basically… it was just intuition! Whether they were just friends or lovers, she could tell!
Xiaoxi was startled, never expecting Store Manager Su Ying—who usually appeared calm and quiet—would be so perceptive.
But it didn’t matter; now she no longer had to worry about being exposed as pretending to be a couple.
“What’s wrong? I actually think we’re not close enough,” Xinglan pouted in dissatisfaction. “Xiaoxi always avoids being affectionate with me after she gets home.”
Su Ying thought, your interaction isn’t close enough? Closer and you’d be… oh, oh! Never mind, got it.
Su Ying had assumed that the couple was this clingy outside, but maybe even more so behind closed doors.
Unexpectedly, Xinglan said Xiaoxi avoided affection at home? That sounded very abnormal. Could it be that Xiaoxi… cough cough.
“I told you, that’s for your own good! Don’t bring this up outside anymore, or people will misunderstand me!”
Though Xiaoxi had long shed her male identity, she still insisted on being the dominant partner. Xinglan was spreading rumors about her!
Xiaoxi angrily covered Xinglan’s mouth with her hand.
The silenced Xinglan blinked and playfully bit Xiaoxi’s finger, her tongue licking Xiaoxi’s fingertip like a kitten……
The warm sensation made Xiaoxi pull her hand back.
“Well, I think being a bit traditional is a good thing,” Su Ying once again took on the role of peacemaker.
“Of course, Xinglan’s point isn’t wrong. If you’re sure you’re going to spend your life together, sooner or later makes no difference.”
Xinglan immediately perked up. “Did you hear that, Xiaoxi? It means you haven’t decided to spend your life with me yet!”
“That’s definitely not what I meant!”
…Uh oh, it seemed the peacemaker role backfired and the conflict escalated?
Sensing the failure of her mediation, Su Ying decided to escape immediately.
“Aha, well, I think it’s about time. There probably won’t be any more customers. Xiaoxi, you should get off work early today!”