“If I can do something that only your brother can do, Xiaoye, would you be able to believe that I’m actually your brother himself and not some imposter?”
Hearing Mahiru’s quick-witted shout, Scarlet Moon — who had just lifted the heavy Nine Lives over her head, intending to smash Mahiru’s head into pieces with a single blow — paused her actions.
She couldn’t help but frown slightly.
She hadn’t expected this Witch, who had devoured all of her brother’s memories, to have such a strong will to live.
Although she utterly detested this little Witch who was all ‘Hehe, I must survive,’ there was always a what-if.
What if it really was as this little Witch said?
What if her brother truly held control over the Witch’s power and would never betray her no matter what?
If that were the case, wouldn’t she be missing out on a huge opportunity by killing her brother, who had accidentally turned into this, without even a word?
After all, Mahiru was her only brother.
He wouldn’t just revive on the spot like some Otherworld Witch who won a resurrection match.
Once her brother was killed by her, he would really be dead.
Besides, wasn’t it actually quite interesting that her brother had suddenly become such a tiny, cute girl?
With that thought, Scarlet Moon temporarily set aside the killing intent in her heart and gave Mahiru a chance.
She transformed the heavy Nine Lives back into its Magic Wand form and stared coldly at Mahiru.
“So, how are you going to prove it?”
“Uh… well…” Mahiru found himself momentarily at a loss for words.
“Hey, you haven’t actually thought of a way to prove it and you’re just stalling for time, are you!”
Seeing the killing intent rise in Xiaoye’s eyes again, Mahiru showed a look of panic and kept looking around, trying to find a way to prove himself.
Then, he saw two game controllers lying quietly on the floor less than five steps away.
Mahiru’s eyes lit up upon seeing them.
“Games! Right, Xiaoye, let’s play a game!”
“Games?”
“Didn’t we just have a gaming duel before? If I win against you in the next gaming duel, wouldn’t that prove I’m your one and only Gaming Master brother?”
“Gaming Master? Brother, do you really think you’re a Gaming Master?”
“I think I am.”
“You were easily defeated by me in just a few moves during our last duel. Can someone like that even be called a Gaming Master?”
“Uh… well… I didn’t use my full strength back then. If I had, you wouldn’t have stood a chance. But that would have just made it look like I was bullying you!”
“Then should I say I’m sorry for not making you use your full strength?”
As a shut-in who spent all his time on games and anime, Mahiru’s gaming skills were something Xiaoye had witnessed firsthand.
If the little creature in front of Xiaoye was just a monster formed by a Witch devouring Mahiru’s memories, then she shouldn’t be able to replicate her brother’s brilliant gameplay.
After all, that level of pro-gamer skill was deeply etched into her brother’s soul; only the real Mahiru could reproduce it.
“Hmph, since you’ve said that much, I’ll give you a chance for now. However, don’t think you’ll be able to defeat me easily.”
As she spoke, Scarlet Moon deactivated her Magical Girl outfit and reverted to Xiaoye in her original black dress.
Since they were just having a gaming duel, there was no need to stay transformed as a Magical Girl.
Xiaoye picked up the game controllers from nearby and handed one to Mahiru.
Mahiru was about to take the controller, but he realized his hands were still tightly handcuffed to the table leg.
He couldn’t move at all, let alone take the controller from Xiaoye.
“Uh… well… Xiaoye, why don’t you unlock my handcuffs first? How am I supposed to play like this?”
“Eh? Unlock them? No way. What if you suddenly run away while I’m unlocking the handcuffs?”
“How could I do something as cowardly as fleeing like that?”
“Oh? Really? But I recall that the escape rate on your game account is quite high, Brother!”
“That… that was just because the internet lag disconnected me! It’s not like I fled in shame because of a misplay! Xiaoye, you have to believe me! If you don’t unlock the handcuffs, I can’t play in this state!”
“You’re a Witch now. Can’t you just manifest a third hand to help you play?”
“Don’t joke around like that. If I really did manifest one, you’d be even more upset.”
This was Mahiru’s first time being a Witch, and he wasn’t very skilled at using this body yet.
He was like an elderly person using a smartphone for the first time.
At Mahiru’s pleading, Xiaoye finally agreed to unlock the handcuffs.
However, she only unlocked one.
The other cuff still firmly secured Mahiru’s left hand to the table leg.
“Uh… are you telling me to play against you with only one hand?”
“Since you think you’re such a Gaming Master, Brother, then giving me a one-handed handicap isn’t too much to ask, right?”
“Hmph, it’s just one hand. I’ll take that handicap. Even with only one hand, I’ll beat you so hard you’ll be looking for your teeth on the floor! Let me show you my true strength!”
“Don’t talk so big, Brother. It’ll be really embarrassing if you can’t even say a word after being crushed later!”
Xiaoye responded to Mahiru without turning her head as she pressed the power button on the TV to start the game.
After she pressed the switch, the loading screen appeared on the TV.
Xiaoye sat back down next to Mahiru as usual, quietly waiting for the game to start, as if she didn’t consider Mahiru to be a hostile Witch at all.
While the game was still loading, Mahiru couldn’t help but ask Xiaoye a question.
“By the way, where did you get these handcuffs?”
No matter how you looked at it, this didn’t seem like the kind of handy tool a normal family would keep at home.
Mahiru had only seen people handcuff their brother’s hands in certain little sister-themed anime.
“Oh, those are Level 1 Restraint Devices. The Magical Girl Association issues them to every Magical Girl specifically to control the movements of a Witch. They are great at suppressing the flow of magic within a Witch’s body. Even if a Witch tries to use magic by force, the effort would yield half the results for twice the work. Their efficiency would be greatly reduced.”
Xiaoye didn’t hide anything and directly shared the information of the Magical Girl camp with her Witch brother from the enemy faction.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. I thought you bought them online because of some personal hobby!”
Hearing those nonchalant words, Xiaoye couldn’t help but turn her head to stare at the little Witch beside her with a look of disdain.
“I am not some yandere sister with an extreme desire to control her brother!”
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