“These Witch Academy buildings aren’t good either. I wonder which idiot built them. If we did it, no matter how much it gets bombed, it wouldn’t break.”
Under the moonlight, a group of little lolis wearing work hats chattered noisily.
Da Miao puffed out her flat chest, bragging.
“Exactly, exactly. We’re civil engineering majors. If it weren’t for being born at the wrong time, how could we have ended up in this situation?”
Wu Miao agreed.
Behind them, a large and a small figure walked silently at the very back.
Bai Miao, K423.
This afternoon, they suddenly heard the academy needed people to repair a battle-damaged house.
Da Miao and the others immediately signed up, and she was dragged along as well.
But when Bai Miao entered that battle-damaged house, she smelled the scent she had been longing for day and night.
‘So want to eat…’
A silly voice sounded in her ear.
A little loli was staring at the sugar painting in Bai Miao’s hand, eyes wide with longing.
Si Miao, a little foodie.
“Lao Si, come here, don’t think about eating all day.”
Da Miao grabbed Si Miao and left.
Bai Miao, however, stood dumbfounded, staring at the sugar painting in her hand, lost in thought.
This was what she found in that battle-damaged house.
The sugar painting was already damaged, but she still keenly recognized it.
‘Sister…’
Her voice carried a sob.
Her hands trembling, she pieced together the sugar painting.
It was of their family of four.
Su Yao, Su Ling, Bai Wei… and her.
She cherished it like a treasure.
What she held now was the sugar painting of Su Ling.
A smiling face with a faint touch of sadness.
This was Su Ling’s expression when she first got out of the car, drawn by that boss.
Bai Miao gently stroked the sugar painting, her eyes moist.
She wanted so badly to stay in that house and wait for her sister to return.
But…
“The Astral Grand Competition is about to start soon. Get ready, and try to secure a spot.”
A message from Bai Wei shattered her fantasy.
She remembered Bai Wei’s warning.
She couldn’t recognize her sister here.
It would harm her sister.
K423 silently accompanied Bai Miao.
Bai Miao had finally seen her family.
Even if it was just a sugar painting, but what about her?
‘K424… are you really still alive?’
‘Empress… Lady…’
On the top of a tall building.
K424 sat on the edge of the rooftop, a bottomless abyss below.
She looked at the live broadcast replay on her phone, watching Su Ling’s appearance, feeling both shocked and delighted.
‘Lady Empress seems to have grown a lot.’
But she felt somewhat lost.
After nirvana, she was completely free from the Insect Hive’s control.
That is to say, right now, she was one of the rare fully free Imperial Guards.
No, she was no longer an Imperial Guard.
She didn’t have to sacrifice her entire life to protect Lady Empress.
She could completely choose to start her own true life.
But still… like a moth drawn to the flame, she chose to come here.
She still chose to gradually approach Lady Empress.
“An announcement has been made. The Astral Grand Competition will begin in one week. Registration will open in three days. Compete for a spot.”
Behind her, the Comet Knight’s cold voice came.
“Are you going to participate?”
“Me?”
K424 was stunned.
“I… I don’t know…”
Her eyes were full of confusion.
She had followed this knight to the Witch Academy in a daze, but didn’t even know what she wanted or what to do.
“And you? Are you going to participate?”
“Yes, I want the Light of Hope.”
The knight was very frank.
She came to K424’s side.
Her tall, sleek figure had no sense of heaviness, and her slender lines gained a touch of elegance under the moonlight.
“I have a wish—to revive someone.”
K424 immediately became interested.
“A very important person? Your lover? Family? Or a teacher or friend?”
“A little girl. I don’t even know her name.”
The knight said.
K424 was a bit surprised.
“She died in my arms… I once swore to protect her.”
But in the end, she still died.
Silence.
K424 shifted her gaze to the starry sky.
This was one of the rare occasions the knight mentioned her own past.
“I see your stubbornness.”
“I also see your confusion.”
Another silence.
“The Astral Grand Competition, the Light of Hope… Huh. Since I have nothing else to do, I might as well join in the fun.”
K424 stood up, a smile curving at the corners of her mouth.
The knight watched her from behind.
“You still haven’t answered my earlier suggestion.”
“You can take a name for yourself and walk your own path.”
“Instead of being a code.”
K424 turned to look at the knight.
Unbidden, she thought of that silly one.
K423.
“I will, but not now.”
K424 suddenly felt motivated.
At least, she didn’t want to be alone.
There was still someone waiting for her.
…
The next day.
Su Ling slowly opened her eyes.
Beside her, a soft mass.
A fresh, bitter fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.
Su Ling turned her head slightly and saw Luo Qianxue’s beautiful sleeping face.
‘Mm, last night was full of passion. They… got a room. Ahem, it’s only human. Anyway, after the thirty-thousand-word battle, they fell asleep exhausted.’
‘But last night, Su Ling was more proactive than usual.’
Su Ling glanced at the Ezi Magic Cube on the nightstand.
One side with Luo Qianxue’s avatar was already full of energy.
The Ezi Magic Cube’s gene storage was limited.
What was stored before was only enough for Su Ling to use for ten hours.
After last night’s replenishment, and for some reason, Luo Qianxue seemed very excited last night and gave an unusually large amount, to the point that the Magic Cube was stuffed.
Su Ling estimated it could last twenty hours.
Ahem, of course, that was the amount of magic power.
Su Ling held the Magic Cube, looking at the Q-version avatar of Luo Qianxue on one side, in a very good mood.
‘It can store up to six, so one side per person?’
‘Hehe, Su Ling suddenly felt motivated.’
‘She has an excuse for cuddling from now on.’
“Mmm…”
At that moment, Luo Qianxue suddenly let out a soft moan.
Luo Qianxue slowly opened her eyes and saw Su Ling fiddling with the Magic Cube.
At this moment, Su Ling’s white hair reached her waist, her skin like snow, and in the sunlight, her curves looked even more tempting.
Her throat moved.
‘She wants it again…’
“Awake?”
Su Ling noticed Luo Qianxue’s movement.
When she saw the desire in Luo Qianxue’s eyes, she suddenly had a mischievous idea.
“Hehe, want it again?”
“…Mm.”
“Not giving.”
Su Ling made a funny face.
‘The Magic Cube is fully charged. If she cuddles again, she’ll lose out.’
‘Besides, last night she seemed to have drained Luo Qianxue dry. By the end, there wasn’t much magic power left.’
‘A witch’s magic power recovery takes time. One night, Luo Qianxue definitely wouldn’t have much.’
“It’s fine. There will be plenty of opportunities later.”
Su Ling wasn’t just saying that.
With the Magic Cube, the more they cuddled, the better.
A Great Witch would naturally be the best.
Unfortunately, aside from Qianxia, she didn’t know any other Great Witches.
Even if she did, she wouldn’t have the chance.
Bai Wei, her own mother—impossible.
Orphina, that was the Dean.
She’d have to be crazy to go after her.
Among Transcendent Witches, Luo Qianxue was simply an excellent power bank.
Oh right, she almost forgot about Ji Lingyuan.
But she heard Ji Lingyuan was confined.
What a shame.
So for now, Su Ling completely treated Luo Qianxue as her only reliable power bank.
Luo Qianxue suddenly hugged Su Ling’s slender waist, her little face pressed against the snow-white skin, greedily sniffing the sweet cherry blossom scent.
“Us… what are we now?”
“…”
Su Ling shot her a glare.
“What relationship do you want?”
“Mm, girlfriend? Last night you said you liked me the most.”
Luo Qianxue recalled.
Last night, the two of them were wild.
Su Ling kept saying she liked Luo Qianxue the most.
Su Ling’s face instantly flushed.
“Th-that was just for flirting! Let, let go. I need to take a shower.”
She had passed out from exhaustion last night, and her skin was sticky.
“Oh well…”
Luo Qianxue couldn’t hide her disappointment.
She picked up her phone and transferred 10,000 Moni to Su Ling.
But Su Ling returned it.
Seeing this, Luo Qianxue’s heart raced.
She looked toward the bathroom.
‘Not accepting? Then it’s not a transaction…’
‘Thinking about how last night Su Ling kept saying things like “I like Luo Qianxue the most”…’
Luo Qianxue’s face gradually flushed with red.
In the bathroom, Su Ling looked at her phone screen and scratched her head.
How could she accept it?
She had already taken such advantage of Luo Qianxue.
If she took money, she’d be inhuman.
Su Ling glared at the Magic Cube on the counter.
‘It’s all your fault for eating so much.’
Magic Cube: ?
“But I can’t just hang myself on Luo Qianxue’s tree.”
Su Ling soaked in the bathtub, starting to think.
The feeling of power was truly intoxicating.
But besides Luo Qianxue and Ji Lingyuan, what other targets did she have?