The city landscape blurred past as Ye Xingyao stared listlessly out the window of the railcar. Beside her, Yi Shiyue had already reverted to her black-haired form.
“This weekend has been… full of twists and turns,” Ye Xingyao sighed.
Taking Shiyue away from the Human Alliance on Thursday night, being invited to dinner by Hongye Qiu on Friday while picking up her sister, and then the date on Saturday that turned into a mess of elves and humanoid monsters — just thinking about the moment she fell into that humanoid monster’s hands made her heart race even now.
It was a stroke of luck that the Star Elf Stone had worked. As for being turned into a girl… she didn’t actually mind that much. Faced with her life or her gender, her life was a bit more important.
Besides, she already had several years of experience with cross-dressing.
“Yeah, this weekend… it really went by fast,” Yi Shiyue added, reaching over to smooth the girl’s hair.
To be honest, dealing with things like superpowers and magic power all the time made them almost forget they were still sophomores.
Incidentally, although they were both students at Satellite University, their majors were different. Ye Xingyao studied Magic Power Engineering, while Yi Shiyue was in a less popular field, Elf History.
“Oh, you can see the stars today. There are quite a few of them.”
Suddenly, several bright, twinkling stars appeared in Ye Xingyao’s field of vision. Looking closely, one star after another emerged from the dark veil of the night.
“Hmm? Let me see…”
Yi Shiyue leaned in close, resting her body against the girl’s shoulder. She craned her neck to follow the girl’s gaze — but she only saw a handful of stars. They were probably just space stations or something.
“Where? I don’t see anything.”
Her small hand reached out to poke Ye Xingyao’s waist before she settled back against her.
“Huh? There are clearly so many stars…”
Ye Xingyao blinked. The sky full of stars continued to twinkle, but wasn’t the number a bit too high? It felt unusual.
Turning back, she saw that her childhood friend was staring blankly at the sky. It was a bit cute.
Unable to help herself, Ye Xingyao reached out and poked her soft cheek.
“Whoa, Yao, your eyes… they’re so bright.”
Yi Shiyue had been about to swat away the girl’s mischievous hand, but as her gaze returned to the girl’s pretty face, she noticed those star-blue eyes that seemed exceptionally bright in the night. Looking into them was like seeing a literal galaxy — a grand, magical sensation that radiated from within.
“What’s wrong? What’s bright, Shiyue?”
Ye Xingyao tilted her head, observing her childhood friend who seemed dazed. She waved a hand in front of her.
“Look.”
Snapping out of it, Yi Shiyue pulled out her phone and took a photo of the girl. She pulled up the latest image from her album and handed it to Ye Xingyao.
“Is there something different? My eyes aren’t that bright… Wait! That’s weird. Why can’t I see the stars in the photo…?”
Ye Xingyao felt like she had discovered something, but she couldn’t quite grasp the feeling.
“It’s probably the effect of the Star Elf Stone. You haven’t had a proper physical checkup yet, Yao. A Star Elf shouldn’t just be a normal girl, after all,” Yi Shiyue speculated.
“What kind of ability is seeing a bunch of stars…?”
Ye Xingyao pursed her lips and grumbled. Realizing she was essentially making fun of herself, she stuck out her tongue and went back to admiring the starlight.
“But it really is beautiful. I feel like my mood has improved a lot. Hey, Shiyue, send that photo to me.”
“Why? Are you obsessed with yourself?”
Yi Shiyue pulled her phone back and rolled her eyes.
“Hehe, it’s not like that’s something hard to admit. Don’t you like me like this too, Shiyue? A beautiful girl paired with the floating night view from a railcar, and the angle is perfect. It’s definitely worth keeping.”
Ye Xingyao recalled the image of her photo and licked her lips. She pressed closer to Yi Shiyue, acting spoiled.
She had to admit, her appearance was truly devastatingly beautiful. Aside from her little white rabbits being a bit disappointing, she was almost the perfect girl.
Then again, she wouldn’t be used to it if they were too big anyway. This current state felt like it was tailor-made for her. She wondered if a Star Elf would continue to develop…
Wait, ‘What exactly am I thinking?!’
Unfortunately for Shiyue, she couldn’t withstand Ye Xingyao’s relentless pestering and eventually sent the photo. The latter immediately set it as her lock screen, acting like a child who had received a new toy. Yi Shiyue could only watch with a sense of helplessness.
Soon, the railcar arrived near the safe house. The two went inside to change Ye Xingyao’s appearance. Before long, a pair consisting of a young man and a young woman — a normal-looking couple — blended into the crowds on the street.
In this era, “normal” people like them weren’t very common. From the public’s perspective, even if there were hidden threats like monsters and elves, that was something for the Human Alliance to worry about. For the people busy with their daily lives, the nightlife was just beginning.
There were all sorts of outfits on the street. There were even children who looked younger than them walking arm-in-arm, loudly discussing the games they were going to play today and bragging to each other. By contrast, “good students” like them seemed a bit out of place.
“Do you want to play or eat something, Yao?”
Yi Shiyue squeezed the restless hand in hers, noticing the other girl looking around.
“It’s nothing. I’m just looking at the people on the street. It’s a bit boring.”
“Then should we go home?”
“Let’s go home.”
The young couple held hands and walked toward the Human Alliance housing a few blocks away.
On the way, they passed Satellite Park. Many sections that should have been destroyed had already been mostly restored. Although some areas still had warning signs around them, the repair speed of the Human Alliance was truly amazing.
Looking further into the distance, they could see where they used to live. The rows of exquisite six- or seven-story buildings had been mostly destroyed by humanoid monsters. She imagined the memories of many citizens had been trampled as well.
However, in this world, this wasn’t anything new. Even a Han-light class monster was far more dangerous than an ordinary beast. Magical girls and Human Alliance professionals didn’t always arrive in time whenever a monster appeared.
She wondered how a society where everyone lived in fear managed to produce so many ordinary people who focused solely on immediate pleasure…
Lost in thought, she soon reached the front door of their new home. The two walked upstairs side by side.
‘Why bother thinking so much? I still have school tomorrow.’