Aside from anything else, the Tianqi Church’s attitude toward Ye Xinglan gave Xiaoxi enough reason to take this matter seriously.
Moreover, in her eyes, investigating Silver Bell was simple, especially since the girl happened to live in Chenbi.
She knew exactly how to get close to her old teammate.
It was just a shame she had originally hoped to stay out of Silver Bell’s way and maintain the peace…
“So what exactly is the Tianqi Church hiding?”
“Mu Magecraft.”
Delta’s answer left Xiaoxi momentarily confused. ‘Can a technique, something invisible and intangible, really be used as grounds for a conviction?’
“You know the Tianqi Church used the discipline of the [Scale of Playful Laws] to stabilize North Blossom City, right? Our Hidden Bone Hall provided technical support for that—specifically, the Mana Supply Method I just told you about.”
“But the most critical step—how to expand the range of the Judgment Scales to the entire city—that part of the technology was the Church’s responsibility. Their High Tower houses a Magic Amplification Device they developed themselves…”
Xiaoxi nodded. She suddenly remembered that Qiu Gen had once been sent to the Church’s High Tower by bounty hunters to steal something.
A persistent thirst for knowledge flashed in Delta’s eyes.
“I’ve always been curious how they did it. But the Church refuses to share that technology with the Hidden Bone Hall, claiming their core technology can’t be leaked. Even though we provided all the other magical technical support, can you believe it?”
“Then I started to feel like something was off. The Tianqi Church definitely can’t match the Hidden Bone Hall in terms of magic research. How could they possibly have technology more advanced than ours? So, I want to ask you to keep an eye on this if you get a chance to contact the Church.”
Xiaoxi nodded in agreement. She finally understood why the Astrologer had sought an alliance with Delta.
The two of them were on the same page regarding the investigation of the Tianqi Church.
But… the Church’s High Tower. Xiaoxi recalled the sky-piercing tower she had seen when she first returned to North Blossom City.
It seemed the Church’s influence there had grown significantly during the several years she had been away.
……
After ending the communication, Xiaoxi shook her head to cast these problems aside for a moment. “Xinglan, what do you want for dinner?”
Oh, right. Keke seemed to have sent a message earlier that she hadn’t checked yet… Xiaoxi grabbed her phone and saw new red dots in the notification column.
“Hehe, I want to eat this…”
The sudden attack made Xiaoxi subconsciously squeeze her thighs.
She wanted to scold Ye Xinglan, but the other woman had already aggressively wrapped herself around her, sealing her lips.
“Mmph… at least let me check the message…”
Xiaoxi didn’t get to see the message in the end. Her phone was tossed aside.
Several minutes passed before Xiaoxi finally managed to push Ye Xinglan away and regain her breath.
“Stop it! We haven’t even had dinner yet!”
“But I’m really curious~” Several tentacles climbed up Xiaoxi’s body.
“Are you really not afraid anymore? You weren’t lying just to make me feel better, were you?”
Xiaoxi sighed. It was true, of course. She had told Muxingge before that this was a mental block she had to overcome herself.
She hadn’t expected it to actually happen, and she partly had the Divine Summon Order to thank for it.
Thinking about it, as Eternal Star, she had long been used to protecting others.
But Ye Xinglan had seemingly taken on the role of protector in front of her from the very start… Well, that was probably because, in Xinglan’s eyes, she was just a noob Magic Girl.
But looking at Ye Xinglan’s back at that moment, she had realized something from the bottom of her heart.
It was a reliable back she could lean on. That was her dear girlfriend.
However, Ye Xinglan’s eyes showed she still didn’t quite believe it. Xiaoxi felt a headache coming on.
‘How can I explain this clearly with just words?’
“It’s okay, I have my own way of confirming. I’ll know for sure once I probe a bit~”
Then Xiaoxi realized the “probing” was literal. Her legs went weak as she fell completely under the control of Ye Xinglan’s tentacles.
Furthermore, Ye Xinglan had ulterior motives… After all, she had been holding back her tentacles to avoid scaring Xiaoxi lately, and she hadn’t really had her fill yet~
Xiaoxi ultimately failed to stop Ye Xinglan’s advances. She completely forgot about the messages from Xiao Keke until a loud, violent banging sounded at the door.
“Whoa, it looks like you really aren’t afraid. Then how about this? Or this? And this?”
“Damn it, you aren’t testing my fear at all, are you? Pull those extra tentacles back! Mmph…”
Facing the stubborn Xiaoxi, Ye Xinglan’s solution was to make every part of her body soft except for her mouth.
“Wait, Xinglan… someone… someone is at the door…”
“Wait, wait, it’ll be over soon~”
As the Progress Bar hit zero, Xiaoxi finally got a chance to escape Ye Xinglan’s clutches.
At that moment, she was genuinely grateful to the person still thumping on the door.
“Wait a second, I’m coming—”
“You’re dead meat, you bastard sister!”
But when the door opened, Xiaoxi was met with a full-force elbow strike from a furious Xiao Keke.
Having her messages ignored was the final straw; Xiao Keke had finally lost her patience and come in person to deliver an elbow strike to her sister.
“Wait, what? Keke, why are you here? Whoa, don’t hit me! Your sister is feeling a bit weak right now…”
Did this jerk sister think playing dumb would work? Xiao Keke kept her cool and spoke with a squinty-eyed smile.
“My dear sister, what exactly have you been doing all afternoon?”
“N-nothing? I was just staying home with your Sister Xinglan. She kept dragging me into playing games…”
Even though she didn’t know why Xiao Keke was asking this out of the blue, lying had already become second nature to her.
At that moment, Xiao Keke realized her sister wasn’t playing dumb; she was treating her like an idiot.
‘She surely isn’t going to claim she didn’t see the messages I sent, is she?’
“And the messages I just sent you? I sent so many, and you didn’t look at a single one?”
“Oh, I was busy cooking, so I didn’t see them. Is it something urgent?”
Xiao Keke: “…”
At this point, Xiao Keke was so angry she became eerily calm. She exhaled a long, deep breath.
“Hmph.”
“Still being stubborn even when death is at your door? You really deserve it… Take my elbow!”
“Whoa! Help me, Xinglan! It’s sororicide!”
“Why don’t you think a little harder about what happened this afternoon? My dear teammate… Sirius?”
Huh?
Xiaoxi froze. Her brain, which had been occupied with various new matters, suddenly realized something.