Ye Xinglan naturally didn’t care whether Su Ying was a weirdo or not, but seeing Xiaoxi smile and wave goodbye to Su Ying, she was a bit surprised.
Wasn’t Xiaoxi a fan of the Eternal Star? She had thought that Eternal Star’s fans would be utterly disgusted and unable to accept monsters and freaks.
On the way home, Ye Xinglan casually brought up the topic.
“Of course, I don’t think that way!” Xiaoxi answered seriously. “Not all freaks are heinous criminals. Many of the monsters under the Divine Summon Order are pitiful too—they’re victims controlled by others!”
Also pitiful…? Ye Xinglan paused, then, on a whim, asked another question.
“What about the Blood Moon Witch? Such a terrifying freak—you’d look at her the same way?”
The moment she finished, Ye Xinglan regretted it. The question was so pointed; what if Xiaoxi saw through her?
She secretly watched Xiaoxi’s expression and noticed that when Xiaoxi looked at her seriously, she sheepishly looked away.
“Xinglan, do you think it’s strange that I’m willing to speak up for monsters?” Xiaoxi’s tone was earnest. “But I really do feel that way. Even if it’s the Blood Moon Witch, I’d think the same.”
The Blood Moon Witch was indeed a terrifying enemy, but precisely because she was an adversary, Xiaoxi understood her better.
The Blood Moon Witch was just a pawn of the Divine Summon Order—but who would want to be a pawn controlled by others?
Xiaoxi had always known that the ones truly deserving of death were the Divine Summon Order’s high-ups who cowardly hid in the safest places, controlling monsters to profit for themselves.
“Also, I have a feeling,” Xiaoxi’s thoughts drifted off, “the Blood Moon Witch must be… a very lonely person, right? If she had a choice, maybe she’d rather just be an ordinary person.”
Xiaoxi gave Ye Xinglan a sidelong glance. “Just like you—eat, then sleep, wake up and play games. Maybe deep down, she yearns for a life like yours.”
This was Xiaoxi’s sincere conclusion after putting herself in another’s shoes.
The Blood Moon Witch, notorious for bloodthirstiness and horror, likely had no one who dared to approach her. Such a person would be prone to loneliness.
Xiaoxi recalled that whenever she encountered the Blood Moon Witch in battle, she was almost always alone.
Except for Alanbel, the support companion, Xiaoxi had hardly seen the Blood Moon Witch fighting alongside anyone else.
Ye Xinglan stared blankly at Xiaoxi, never expecting such an answer.
Lonely…?
Ye Xinglan knew this topic shouldn’t be pushed further, but she couldn’t help herself. Her voice trembled slightly as she asked.
“If— I mean if— you really had the chance to meet the Blood Moon Witch, would you be willing to treat her like you treat me… like a friend?”
Xiaoxi tilted her head in puzzlement but looked into Ye Xinglan’s eyes and answered carefully, word by word, “Of course, I would.”
Privately, Xiaoxi had indeed thought about this question.
Especially back then, after every beating she took from the Blood Moon Witch, she couldn’t help but wonder if, had the Blood Moon Witch not been controlled by the Divine Summon Order, they might have become friends.
A feeling she’d never experienced before, making her heart race, suddenly surged within Ye Xinglan.
“All right, enough of these random talks. What do you want for dinner tonight? I’ll cook for you when we get back.”
Ye Xinglan said nothing, but suddenly took Xiaoxi’s hand and pressed it against herself, their fingers interlaced like a real couple.
“Ah, don’t squeeze me! The sidewalk’s so wide— why do you keep crowding me?”
“Hm?”
Ye Xinglan ignored her and took it a step further, resting her head on Xiaoxi’s shoulder.
“Xinglan, if you do that, I can’t even walk properly…”
The sun was setting in the west as the two of them walked side by side along the South Street sidewalk, their shadows stretching long and long in the twilight glow.
—
Late at night, inside a bar in the Underground Black Market of Summersea City.
Logically, the main function of the black market should be trading—clandestine trading.
Such a place shouldn’t have entertainment venues like bars, but the Underground Black Market in Summersea City had existed for so long it had developed into a lively, thriving area.
The Underground Black Market was established during the Great Chaos Era, mainly dealing in various magic-related items, and even buying and selling monsters and freaks.
To this day, its foundation in Summersea City remained solid.
Inside the bar, dazzling disco balls and the DJ’s deafening music actually provided the perfect cover for conversations and deals. In a corner booth, two people sat opposite each other.
“Your plan doesn’t seem as flawless as you said. The Association has already found leads on you reselling Divine Summon Order relic magic items. How long do you think you can hide?”
The speaker was a young girl, slender, with captivating fluorescent blue long hair.
“Shandie, no rush,” the black-robed figure opposite her swirled their drink. “Just toying with them.”
Shandie stared intently at the figure. The black robe couldn’t hide the figure’s alluring figure; the tight attire only added a certain provocative charm.
“Toying with what?” Shandie laughed bitterly. “Do you really think the Magical Girl Association are all idiots? They’ll trace the leads to the black market soon enough. What are you trying to pull?”
The black-robed figure said nothing, swirling their glass. The clink of ice cubes against the cup rang crisply.
For a moment, Shandie thought she saw a small part of the figure’s wrist exposed, wrapped in a blooming flower?
As the disco ball flashed overhead, Shandie realized she had mistaken it—it was just a pattern, a thorny flower design entwining the wrist, as if sucking on the wearer’s flesh and blooming in full.
“Shandie, how do you know I didn’t deliberately let them find those clues?”
The black-robed figure’s words stunned Shandie. After a long silence, she widened her eyes in disbelief.
“You did it on purpose? You deliberately caused the monster attack at the café to lead the Association to the black market?”
“Are you… crazy? What benefit would that have for us?”
The black-robed figure smiled without speaking. Shandie caught a glimpse of red lips curling beneath the hood.
“Forget it, I don’t get you. Just don’t mess up.”
Muttering, Shandie reached for her glass but missed.
Looking down, she saw that her drink had somehow ended up in the black-robed figure’s hand.
“Kids shouldn’t drink alcohol,” the figure said, downing the amber liquid. “Here, juice.”
Seeing the orange juice pushed in front of her, Shandie seriously suspected the other was just making an excuse to steal her drink too.
“I’ll say it again— I’m an adult. Stop treating me like a kid.”
Shandie snatched the glass and took a fierce gulp, mimicking the other’s action.
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