Chapter 73: The Area I Refuse to Step Into

“Where’s your fighting spirit, little Edma? Don’t tell me you’re planning to give up now, or I’ll be seriously disappointed.”

Motes was wrapped in a snow-white robe, its edges lined with intricate dark red patterns.

When Motes pulled up her hood, the shadow completely covered her pale cheeks, making her seem even more mysterious and dangerous.

But the most stunning thing of all was that blood-red scythe.

Its long handle had now been replaced by pure white magic power, forming a stark contrast with the blood glow at the blade, making a unique word pop into one’s mind.

Death Angel.

When those two words were put together, they felt awkward and out of place, but on Motes right now, they fit perfectly.

“Wh-who said I’m giving up? I just… haven’t finished getting ready yet.”

Though Edma said that, inside she was panicking.

‘Ugh, I’m about to get beaten up again.’

Right now, Motes magic power index had firmly surpassed her, even though Edma had two concepts.

Yet up to now, Edma still didn’t know what concept Motes relied on.

To think she could be this strong.

Even if she wanted to back down now, there was no chance.

If she ruined Motes fun, she might face even worse consequences.

‘It’s fine. I’ll bide my time and endure humiliation. Let her be smug for a while—so long as I’m alive, there’s always a way to make a comeback.’

“Then hurry up and come at me. I can already sense your hesitation, Edma. Looks like you haven’t been disciplined enough.”

‘Damn it, bring it on!’

With a heart full of grief and indignation, Edma once again condensed Sunflame Peerless and charged at Motes.

‘At the very least, I’ll give you a good burn!’

***

“So, you’re still not planning to move out with me? The place is really nice, you know. Hey, wait, what are you looking at?”

Su Mu frowned as she flipped through the photo album, picking out a particularly terrible picture that had just flashed by.

“I thought I already told you to delete that?”

Ye Wanqing immediately started stammering guiltily.

“Spill it, or you can forget about the apartment!”

“Fine, there’s actually a recycle bin…”

Watching Su Mu delete that rather memorable photo right in front of her, Ye Wanqing immediately looked disappointed.

But of course, that was just for show.

‘No way Su Mu would guess—I already saved that photo as a meme, hehe.’

And Su Mu had just seen the house photos Ye Wanqing had taken earlier.

Honestly, it looked pretty legit.

“I’ll go check it out sometime. If it works out, let’s split the rent three ways, seventy-three percent each.”

“Uh, can’t it be free?” Ye Wanqing asked weakly.

“Keep dreaming. You think you’re my pet or something?”

Su Mu shot Ye Wanqing a sidelong glance, suddenly recalling a line she often used to taunt opponents in games—

—’Tame a mount, the other side falls, don’t tame.’ 

‘That’s you, you lazy bum!’

“Do pets do chores? You’ll see my value soon enough. I’m great at keeping a place tidy.”

Ye Wanqing put her hands on her hips, looking supremely confident.

Though honestly, she was even better at making a mess.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

Su Mu turned her attention back to her handheld console.

Lately, she hadn’t gotten much out of the Forum.

Ever since her own arrest, there hadn’t been another legend to emerge on the Forum.

It had gone back to being flooded with junk posts and flame wars, and it was rare to see the kind of united condemnation she once faced.

Back then, there were even things like the “Anti-Genius Girl Irina Forum,” which was all about trashing her.

Most of it was true or just records, but some things got pretty ridiculous.

Like the newly popular “Irina Hook Literature.”

Supposedly, the genius girl Irina wasn’t really a Magic Girl at all, but an overly cute boy.

To deal with her arrest, she was forced to sell her ‘hooks’ to several Magic Girls she’d once offended.

After some of them got photos and used them for blackmail, she fell even deeper, becoming the beloved cute mouse of all the Magic Girls.

What are you people on the internet imagining all this for?!

At first, Su Mu suspected Tang Nai, but thinking it over, spreading this kind of thing would only hurt her as well, so she dropped that hasty guess.

Probably just a coincidence.

Even so, Su Mu decisively banned that discussion thread for “offending public morals.”

Unofficial history is fine, but don’t turn it into the official record.

“By the way, you’ve been hanging out with Lando a lot lately, and you blush every time you bump into her. I can’t help but feel like something’s up.”

Ye Wanqing leaned in, her warm breath brushing Su Mu’s ear, but Su Mu just quietly pushed her away.

It really gave off the vibe of “Sorry, I’m not into girls.”

“So what if there is? Are you jealous?”

Su Mu replied with an exaggeratedly cocky tone.

Rather than letting Ye Wanqing tease her endlessly, it was better to admit it outright—this girl wouldn’t believe her anyway, so there was no point denying it.

Sure enough, Ye Wanqing looked disappointed, just as Su Mu had guessed.

But after a while, Ye Wanqing suddenly said something that caught Su Mu completely off guard.

“So, mousy, what do you think of me?”

‘Hey, I treated you as a bro, and now you’re pulling this?!’

“Don’t tell me you…”

“Of course I’m kidding, hehe. Mousy writes all those shipping posts, but doesn’t have any real thoughts herself. Are you planning to become a nun or something?”

“Believe it or not, I really will become a nun and leave you to pay the rent yourself.”

“No way, I’m just joking. You’re so stingy.”

Was it just her imagination, or did Ye Wanqing seem a little disappointed when Su Mu showed her resistance?

“Actually, Luo Jialan and I have some really important stuff going on lately. I’m still a newbie, so it’s hard for me to be of much help right now.”

“Why don’t you just tell me directly? I know a lot, you know.”

Hearing this, Ye Wanqing’s eyes lit up again, making Su Mu want to pat her on the head for some reason.

Kind of like a puppy.

“You really can’t help with this.”

Better get ready and help Luo Jialan solve the Shackle problem as soon as possible.

Irina’s advice was for Su Mu to stabilize her own D-rank strength first, and practice her abilities a bit more.

Ideally, she should explore the Second-Layer Dreamscape more, so she wouldn’t get lost in Luo Jialan’s dreamscape when the time came.

So Irina set some goals for Su Mu, like raising her Magic Index to 10% (currently it’s 5%), and finishing her exploration of the next area in her own Second-Layer Dreamscape.

According to Irina, a D-rank Magic Girl’s power depends on how much of the Second-Layer Dreamscape she’s explored.

So far, there hadn’t been any real obstacles, but Irina said her exploration was only at 20%.

Once she hit 100%, she’d reach the upper limit of D-rank strength.

As for the next area, if Su Mu guessed right, it would probably be the School.

Another place she really didn’t want to set foot in.