Luo Shuangyue, whose face was covered in dirt and ash from the explosion, brushed off her clothes and got up from the ground.
She muttered in a rather indifferent tone.
Good news: her little sister wouldn’t be taken away to become a human arsenal.
Bad news: this card’s versatility seemed a bit limited.
But given the circumstances, it was indeed quite clever of Luo Shuangxing to come up with this solution.
When facing those cosmic Demons, fighting would become much easier.
These Weapon Cards were essentially a way to store the Magic Power and time that Luo Shuangxing usually had no chance to use.
Then, during battle, she could use them, greatly amplifying her combat effectiveness.
Not only did it shorten the time needed to cast spells, but it also effectively extended her mana bar by quite a lot—a win-win.
It even made Luo Shuangyue want to secretly learn this spell from her sister… Maybe she could ask Luo Shuangxing to make her a couple of cards as snacks later?
Luo Shuangyue’s talent allowed her to gain some of the ability belonging to the Magic Power she consumed.
Since White Night Mana let her imitate Sealing Cards, logically, Luo Shuangxing’s Magic Power should enable her to mimic Weapon Cards.
But for now, that was just a thought in her mind. At this moment, everyone still needed to quickly return to their respective homes.
…Hmm, come to think of it, the four girls here together still didn’t quite add up to one mother.
“Everyone probably hasn’t eaten dinner yet, right? How about we go to my café for some food?” Xiao Mimi raised her hand and suggested.
Normally, they wouldn’t have trained this late, but today, because of Luo Shuangxing’s breakthrough, the training time had been extended by several hours.
Now, it was not just dinner that was missed, even a late-night snack felt somewhat late.
At this hour, most restaurants still open were fast-food joints, so Xiao Mimi thought it would be better to take everyone to her café, where they could enjoy some snacks while petting cats.
Luo Shuangyue didn’t mind much, and Luo Shuangxing and Xia Mo naturally wouldn’t refuse Xiao Mimi’s invitation.
A few minutes later, the four of them landed outside Xiao Mimi’s café and one by one dispelled their transformations.
Being Magical Girls had one definite advantage—the convenience of traveling. Within a city, it took only minutes to get anywhere.
Just like going out for a stroll.
The café was still lit, with faint shadows flickering inside.
The four pushed open the door and stepped in, catching the surprised glances of the few girl waitresses cleaning up.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just bringing my three friends here for some late-night snacks. You guys finish up and go rest. I’ll take care of the rest,” Xiao Mimi smiled at them.
“Thanks, Mimi,” the girls said with embarrassed smiles, quickly finishing their cleaning and then rushing upstairs to the café’s second floor.
“They all live here,” Xiao Mimi explained quietly.
When it came to how the staff were treated, Xiao Mimi’s Mi Mi Café was definitely top-tier. Not only were they provided room and board, but as the Store Manager, Xiao Mimi was completely down-to-earth, treating everyone like friends.
Everyone here really liked Xiao Mimi; several of the girls had even declared, “I want to work here for my whole life.”
“Are they all kids who lost their families because of the Magical Beast Disaster?” Luo Shuangyue sensed something deeper.
Room and board weren’t the critical factor, but the way these girls treated the café as home was what caught Luo Shuangyue’s attention.
If she guessed right, these girls were probably all unfortunate souls who, like them, had lost their families.
Xiao Mimi was silent for a long moment, then nodded firmly.
“Yes, everyone here survived that nightmare. I didn’t want everyone to remain trapped in the darkness of the past, so I pulled them together to open this place.”
Xiao Mimi’s cat café didn’t actually make much money, but since the staff expenses were almost zero, it could barely stay afloat.
After she became a Magical Girl and had more resources, she improved the treatment of the friends living here significantly.
She genuinely enjoyed spending time with these friends and truly wanted them all to remain lifelong companions.
As she shared the story of how the café came to be, Xiao Mimi prepared simple meals for everyone.
Xia Mo, unwilling to let Xiao Mimi work alone, also stepped into the kitchen to help make some food.
That left Luo Shuangyue in her Dark Moth form and Luo Shuangxing, who couldn’t cook, sitting outside looking at each other awkwardly.
Luo Shuangxing propped her chin on her hands and stared at Dark Moth’s face, feeling that her sister looked better in this form.
Feeling Luo Shuangxing’s burning gaze, Luo Shuangyue grew a little uncomfortable.
“What are you looking at?” she snapped.
Luo Shuangxing’s eyes flicked twice, then asked with some curiosity, “Dark Moth, what do you think of Senior?”
Huh?
What kind of question was that?
“A troublesome person, naive to the point of stupidity. You Magical Girls are all like this,” she gave a very standard answer.
Dark Moth’s attitude toward Magical Girls was always like this. Privately, she could admit defeat to Xia Mo, but not now.
“Oh~” Luo Shuangxing drew out the sound, her tone filled with doubt at Luo Shuangyue’s double-sided words.
“You’re a Magical Girl too. Are you insulting yourself?”
“I’m not one of you. You Magical Girls have short-sighted and complacent minds. Hanging out with idiots like you, how could you ever defeat Demons?”
“So you think the Eternal Night’s path is the correct one?” Luo Shuangxing’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
She really wanted to know why her sister chose to join Eternal Night instead of the more reputable Magic Department.
Normally, a Magical Girl’s first choice after awakening her powers would be to find the Magic Department and apply to join, or at least join a local Magical Girl organization.
But Luo Shuangyue went straight to Eternal Night after awakening, which was strange.
Could it be that Luo Shuangyue truly agreed with Eternal Night’s philosophy? But judging by her behavior, she didn’t seem to have a strong sense of belonging there.
Eternal Night felt more like a temporary refuge. She would eventually leave and go out into the wider world.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care which path is right. I just want to find the things I care about,” Luo Shuangyue paused, a hint of sadness flashing in her eyes. “Things I care about deeply.”
Luo Shuangxing fell silent. Even without Luo Shuangyue saying it outright, she understood her sister’s thoughts at this moment.
What could be the thing Luo Shuangyue cared about so much that had now disappeared without a trace?
As Luo Shuangyue’s younger sister, Luo Shuangxing naturally knew what kind of person her sister was.
Though she always complained about her sister, Luo Shuangyue was essentially a family person who cared deeply about her loved ones. Luo Shuangxing and Xia Mo were her family.
But a few years ago, their family was more than just these few people.
“Do you think… you’ll find the people you’re looking for?” Luo Shuangxing placed a hand over her chest, feeling her heart pounding.
She thought about the happy times with their parents, the warm and laughter-filled home.
She also thought about the day their parents suddenly disappeared, the confusion and helplessness that followed, the despair that crept in over the long wait, and even her self-destructive tendencies when she tried to search for them alone.
If Luo Shuangyue hadn’t forcibly stopped her, she probably would have silently disappeared from this world.
After a year of recovery, Luo Shuangxing barely pulled herself out of the grief and started a new life, but the once lively and warm home atmosphere had left deep scars on her heart.
Gradually, Luo Shuangxing became numb, as if she had adapted to this life.
But today, she heard an answer from Luo Shuangyue that made her heart ache once more.
“I don’t know, but I will try my best to find them. If I can’t find them here, I’ll search other cities. If not in other cities, then I’ll scour the entire land. And if they’re not on this planet, then I’ll look for them in the sky!”
“The sky? Do they fly?”
“No choice. What can I do if I can’t find them on the ground?” Luo Shuangyue smiled as if joking.
Some things should be slowly revealed to Luo Shuangxing, and this was a good opportunity for her to start accepting the truth.
Telling a story as Dark Moth to Luo Shuangxing provided a buffer that would minimize the impact.
Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t directly tell Luo Shuangxing that their parents might still be alive; she only wanted to convey that she was searching for them. As for their actual condition, she herself didn’t know.
Joining Eternal Night was just a stepping stone in that search.
“You joined Eternal Night to use them,” Luo Shuangxing stated matter-of-factly.
“It’s mutual benefit. I provide them with the combat power they need, and they give me what I want. How is that using someone?” Luo Shuangyue corrected her sister’s choice of words.
She wasn’t taking advantage of Eternal Night.
She got paid to work and fight for them—that was perfectly normal. Why talk about exploitation?
“The Magic Department has too many rules, and those so-called bonds are even more troublesome. I don’t want to be bound by those restrictions,” Luo Shuangyue said bluntly, pouting.
She just didn’t like the Magic Department; she preferred being a free-spirited “bad girl.”
“Emotions in the heart are the key to a Magical Girl’s strength,” Luo Shuangxing retorted.
“My heart is already full. I don’t need any extra feelings.”
Luo Shuangyue’s heart was small; it was already filled with her family, leaving little room for others.
She didn’t need the bonds other Magical Girls had because she already tightly held onto her family.
Xia Mo, Luo Shuangxing, and their missing parents—having them meant Luo Shuangyue wouldn’t lose her direction or motivation.
Luo Shuangxing resisted the urge to ask “Who do you have in your heart?” She already knew the answer without asking.
“From this perspective, you do seem quite like a Magical Girl,” Luo Shuangxing quietly reached out and covered Luo Shuangyue’s hand with hers.
Luo Shuangyue’s eyelid twitched but didn’t react to the gesture.
Her gaze drifted off into space, seemingly unaware of Luo Shuangxing’s action, which warmed Luo Shuangxing’s heart slightly.
“But you look pretty good today.”
“Is that so? Then I’m honored by your compliment,” Luo Shuangyue smirked, then felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
Strange—who would be messaging her at this time?
She withdrew her hand from Luo Shuangxing, took out her phone, and glanced at it. Her expression instantly turned odd.
The message was from Jiu Ye. She said Hei Ting found a girl in a terrible mental state during her usual patrol.
Now Hei Ting had located the girl and was asking if Luo Shuangyue wanted to bring her back to Eternal Night Headquarters.
Eternal Night was an organization that loved rescuing people. They’d always take in girls like this if they could help.
What made Luo Shuangyue’s expression strange wasn’t Jiu Ye’s request to bring the girl to the headquarters, but the girl herself.
Her Soul looked like this:
Her messy flaxen hair stuck to her forehead, her sapphire-blue eyes full of fear, pale complexion—a face utterly terrified and lost.
Looking at the photo Hei Ting sent, Luo Shuangyue was at a loss for words.
She’d just been thinking about how to find Xiao Yi, and now Jiu Ye had already found this girl—what an uncanny coincidence.
Tapping three times lightly on the table, Luo Shuangyue quickly made up her mind.
“Bring her here first. I want to assess her condition.”
She sent her current location to Jiu Ye and told her to bring the girl over first.
There was something strange about Xiao Yi; it was better not to take her straight to Eternal Night Headquarters.
Plus, Luo Shuangxing was here as well, so having Jiu Ye bring her here was a good choice.
As for whether there would be danger… Luo Shuangyue thought if the four Magical Girls here could face danger, bringing Xiao Yi elsewhere might be even worse.
“Here? Lord Dark Moth, can I not come?” Jiu Ye replied quickly, but her answer left Luo Shuangyue speechless.
Probably because she saw the location was Mi Mi Café and was afraid of seeing Xiao Mimi.